Grizelda von Liechenstein was born into an esteemed family March 15, 1438. Raised as a country gentleman's daughter, she took refuge in Southampton in March 1456 after the unexpected death of her new husband while they were traveling through Wiltshire. Moved by the plight of the Northern Counties in the wake of the Ireland Exodus, Gri traveled the length of the country and arrived in Preston in the County Palatine of Lancaster in early June of 1456. In late November of the same year, Grizelda moved south Bristol in the fair county of Somerset.