March 13 – A young horse causes the death of an old earl and The hangings of conspirators Henry Cuffe and Sir Gelly Meyrick

On this day in Tudor history, 13th March 1540, sixty-eight-year-old Henry Bourchier, 2nd Earl of Essex, died after suffering a broken neck in a horse-riding accident. Chronicler Charles Wriothesley recorded: "the Earl of Essex, riding a young horse, by misfortune cast him and brake his neck at his place in Essex, which was great pity."

Henry Bourchier, 2nd Earl of Essex, was related to the royal family and served both Henry VII and Henry VIII.

Find out more about this Tudor man in this talk...

Also on this day in Tudor history, 13th March 1601, Henry Cuffe and Sir Gelly Meyrick were hanged at Tyburn for their part in the disastrous Essex's Rebellion of February 1601.

Who were these men and how did they become involved in the rebellion led by Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, a former favourite of Queen Elizabeth I?

You can find out more about them and what happened in this video...