Elizabeth Gaunt

Elizabeth Gaunt (died 23 October 1685) was an English woman sentenced to death for treason after having been convicted for involvement in the Rye House Plot.

[2] She was the daughter of Anthony Fothergill of Brownber, Ravenstonedale, and was well known to give shelter to persecuted people, such as victims of religious and political oppression.

[1] According to Bishop Burnet, she spent "her life in acts of charity, visiting the gaols and looking after the poor of what persuasion soever they were".

She helped one of the participants of the failed Rye House Plot of 1683, James Burton, to escape to Amsterdam.

Gaunt considered the trial to be a martyrdom and reportedly behaved with such good humour that the audience was moved to tears.