On this day in Tudor history, 15th January 1555, in the reign of Queen Mary I, Jane Dudley, Duchess of Northumberland and wife of John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland, died in Chelsea, London.
Forty-six-year-old Jane had outlived her husband, who was executed in 1553 after Mary I had successfully seized the throne from the couple’s daughter-in-law, Lady Jane Grey.
Here are some facts about this Duchess of Northumberland…
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On 12th January 1573, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, William Howard, 1st Baron Howard of Effingham, died at Hampton Court Palace.
The diplomat, soldier and naval commander was buried at Reigate Church.
Howard had served four Tudor monarchs: Henry VIII, Edward VI, Mary I and Elizabeth I, and had been Lord Admiral and Lord Chamberlain of the Household. At one point, he was convicted of misprision of treason, but was fortunately pardoned.
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On this day in Tudor history, 6th January 1538, in the reign of King Henry VIII, Jane Dormer, Duchess of Feria, was born at Eythrope in Buckinghamshire.
Jane was a favourite of Queen Mary I, and was the one Mary trusted on her deathbed to deliver her jewels to her successor and half-sister, Elizabeth I. She married Gómez Suarez de Figueroa, Count of Feria, later Duke of Feria, in December 1558.
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On this day in Tudor history, 22nd December 1557, in the reign of Queen Mary I, Protestants John Rough and Margaret Mearing were burnt at the stake at Smithfield for heresy.
Scot John Rough had excommunicated Margaret Mearing from his congregation, believing her to be a spy. She wasn’t, and she ended up being arrested after she tried to confront the real spy.
Find out about John Rough’s life, his link to John Knox, what brought him to England, how he came to be arrested, and what happened with Margaret Mearing…
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On this day in Tudor history, 18th December 1555, in the reign of Queen Mary I, John Philpott (also spelled Philpot) was executed.
The former Archdeacon of Winchester was burnt at the stake for heresy at Smithfield and died courageously.
Philpott had done a lot in his 40 years, including studying in Italy, upsetting Bishop Gardiner, and supporting fellow Protestants from his prison cell.
Let me tell you more about him…
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On this day in Tudor history, 6th December 1573, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, Sir Hugh Paulet died at his home in Hinton St George in Somerset.
Paulet distinguished himself as a soldier in Henry VIII’s reign, and in Edward VI’s reign he served as Governor of Jersey. Although he was a Protestant, he served as Vice-President of the Welsh Marches in Mary I’s reign, and went on to have a successful career in Elizabeth I’s reign.
Paulet was an important man and a royal servant, but still managed to die a natural death at his home.
Find out more about Sir Hugh Paulet…
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On this day in Tudor history, 5th December 1556, in the reign of Queen Mary I, Anne de Vere (née Cecil) was born.
Anne was the daughter of William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley, and his second wife, Mildred Cooke.
Anne had a relatively short life, dying at just 31 years of age, but she was respected and liked by scholars, had five children, and had a sadly unhappy marriage with Edward de Vere, Earl of Oxford.
Oxford did not treat his wife well and even refused to recognise their first daughter as his own, at one point. If only she had married poet Philip Sidney instead!
Find out more about the life of Anne de Vere, Countess of Oxford…
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On this day in Tudor history, 4th December 1555, in the reign of Queen Mary I, papal sentence was passed in Rome on Thomas Cranmer, who had served as Archbishop of Canterbury in the reigns of King Henry VIII and King Edward VI.
The papal sentence deprived Cranmer of his archbishopric and gave permission for his fate to be decided by the secular authorities.
Let me explain what led Cranmer to this day and also what happened next…
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On this day in Tudor history, 29th November 1528, in the reign of King Henry VIII, Anthony Browne, 1st Viscount Montagu, was born.
Montagu began his court career with the help of his father in Henry VIII’s reign. He was made a Knight of the Bath when Edward VI became king, served as a privy councillor in Queen Mary I’s reign and died a natural death in Queen Elizabeth I’s reign. Montagu even survived being implicated in a rebellion!
Who was Anthony Browne, 1st Viscount Montagu, and just how did he manage to not only have an excellent court career, but leave a fortune to his grandson, when he was a Catholic in Elizabeth I’s reign?
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On this day in Tudor history, 19th November 1564, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, Lord John Grey died.
He’s not the Lord John Grey of the wonderful Outlander series, but he is just as interesting.
Lord John Grey was the youngest son of Thomas Grey, 2nd Marquess of Dorset, and in Queen Mary I’s reign, he was involved in a rebellion with his brothers, Lord Thomas Grey and Henry Grey, Duke of Suffolk. Henry and Thomas were executed, but John wasn’t.
How did Lord John Grey escape execution? And why did he get into trouble again in Elizabeth I’s reign?
Let me tell you all about Lord John Grey…
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On this day in Tudor history, 18th November 1559, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, Ralph Baynes (Baines), Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield, died.
Baynes had started his career in Henry VIII’s reign and in Mary I’s reign, he had been actively involved in the persecutions of Protestants, examining many well-known martyrs and featuring in John Foxe’s “Book of Martyrs”. He came to a sad end, dying while imprisoned in the home of Edmund Grindal, Bishop of London.
Find out more about Ralph Baynes, his life and career, and how he came to be deprived of his bishopric and die in confinement…
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On this day in Tudor history, 12th November 1555, Stephen Gardiner, Bishop of Winchester, died.
Queen Mary I’s lord chancellor was laid to rest at Winchester Cathedral in what is now known as the Bishop Gardiner Chantry Chapel.
Let me tell you about the life and career of Stephen Gardiner, “Wily Winchester”. He led quite a life – going from being a valued advisor to Henry VIII to being imprisoned, and then rising in favour once and again, crowning a queen and becoming her lord chancellor. An interesting man!
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On this day in Tudor history, 10th November 1556, in the reign of Queen Mary I, English explorer and navigator Richard Chancellor died by drowning.
Chancellor, who is known for being the first foreigner to enter the White Sea and to establish relations with Russia and Tsar Ivan IV (Ivan the Terrible) sadly drowned after saving the life of Osip Napeya, the Russian ambassador, after their ship, The Edward Bonaventure, was wrecked just off the Aberdeenshire coast of Scotland.
Find out about Richard Chancellor’s life, career and sad end…
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On this day in Tudor history, 3rd November 1592, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, Sir John Perrot died at the Tower of London.
Sir John Perrot, who was a privy councillor and former Lord Deputy of Ireland, is a fascinating Tudor character. He survived being a Protestant and protecting ‘heretics’ in Mary I’s reign, and he was saved six times from serious punishment by Queen Elizabeth I’s intercession.
Was this favour due to him being the queen’s half-brother? Some people think so.
You can find out more about Perrot and the arguments for and against him being Henry VIII’s son, in this video:
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On this day in Tudor history, 16th October 1555, in the reign of Queen Mary I, two of the Oxford Martyrs, Protestant bishops Hugh Latimer and Nicholas Ridley, were burnt at the stake in Oxford for heresy.
In the video below, I give an overview of Latimer and Ridley’s careers, and then share an account of their burnings from John Foxe’s Book of Martyrs. Warning: John Foxe’s account is pretty horrible.
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On this day in Tudor history, 12th October 1555, in the reign of Mary I, Lewis Owen, member of Parliament and administrator in Wales, was assassinated.
Owen was murdered on Dugoed Mawddwy, a mountain pass, by a group of bandits as revenge for his campaign against them, which had led to around 80 hangings.
Find out more about Lewis Owen, his life and what happened…
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On this day in Tudor history, 23rd September 1571, John Jewel, Bishop of Salisbury, died at Monkton Farleigh Manor. He was laid to rest in Salisbury Cathedral.
Forty-nine-year-old Jewel had been taken ill while preaching a sermon in Lacock, Wiltshire.
Jewel’s life and career spanned the reigns of King Henry VIII, Edward VI, Lady Jane Grey, Mary I and Elizabeth I – a time of huge religious change. He was a clergyman, a Protestant exile, a theologian and bishop, and someone who spoke up for what he believed.
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On this day in Tudor history, 21st September 1557, in the reign of Queen Mary I, theologian and chaplain Henry Pendleton was buried at St Stephen’s, Walbrook, London.
Pendleton, who was a friend of Bishop Bonner, is known not only for his strong preaching, which led to him being shot at once, but also for his changing religious faith. Pendleton went from staunch Catholic to zealous Protestant back to staunch Catholic. He even took part in disputations with his former friends and saw them imprisoned and burnt.
Find out more about Henry Pendleton, his life, career and changing religious beliefs…
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On this day in Tudor history, 18th September 1556, in the reign of Queen Mary I, Edward Courtenay, 1st Earl of Devon, died at Padua in Italy.
Courtenay, who died from a fever, had been sent to the Continent after being implicated in Wyatt’s Rebellion. The 1554 rebellion sought to replace Queen Mary I with her half-sister, Elizabeth, who would marry Courtenay.
Let me tell you more about Edward Courtenay, Earl of Devon, and how he was a prospective bridegroom for both of Henry VIII’s daughters…
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On this day in Tudor history, 17th September 1563, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, Henry Manners, 2nd Earl of Rutland, died.
The courtier and soldier died during an outbreak of the plague, which was rife in London that year and killed about 24% of London’s citizens.
Manners had served King Henry VIII, King Edward VI, Queen Mary I and Queen Elizabeth I, so had a long and interesting career, which also saw him imprisoned at one point.
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On this day in Tudor history, 5th September 1569, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, Edmund Bonner, Bishop of London, died in Marshalsea Prison.
Bonner had started his career in Henry VIII’s reign and was not just a churchman, he was also a diplomat. He’d been nicknamed “Bloody Bonner” in Mary I’s reign from being in charge of burning reformers in London.
Find out about his life, career and how he ended up dying in prison…
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On this day in Tudor history, 31st August 1555, in the reign of Queen Mary I, the queen who has gone down in history as “Bloody Mary”, Robert Samuel, a former minister, was burnt at the stake in Ipswich, Suffolk.
Robert Samuel was burnt as a heretic, a Protestant martyr. He had continued to minister privately, after being deprived of his living, and he had refused to leave his wife. He stayed firm to his Protestant faith and became one of the Ipswich Martyrs as a result.
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On this day in Tudor history, 22nd August 1553, in the reign of Queen Mary I, John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland, was beheaded on Tower Hill along with his friends and supporters, Sir John Gates and Sir Thomas Palmer.
Northumberland was executed for his part in putting his daughter-in-law, Lady Jane Grey, on the throne.
His execution was actually scheduled for the previous day. The executioner was ready and a crowd had turned up to see him die, but the duke was taken to church instead.
Wny?
Find out, and also hear a contemporary account of the duke’s execution…
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On this day in Tudor history, 11th August 1581, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, Sir Maurice Berkeley died.
You may not have heard of Sir Maurice Berkeley, but he had a wonderful court career. He served Henry as a gentleman usher of Henry VIII’s Privy Chamber, and also served Edward VI and Elizabeth I. He proved his loyalty to Mary I by arresting rebel leader, Thomas Wyatt the Younger.
Find out more about this lesser-known Tudor man…
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On this day in Tudor history, 10th August 1553, the same day that the new monarch, Queen Mary I, held requiem mass for the soul of her late half-brother, her predecessor King Edward VI, seven men died at London Bridge. They died of drowning.
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On this day in Tudor history, 31st July 1553, in the reign of Queen Mary I, Henry Grey, Duke of Suffolk, was “discharged out of the Tower by the Earle of Arundell and had the Quenes pardon.”
Suffolk had been imprisoned after Mary I had overthrown his daughter, Queen Jane, or Lady Jane Grey, and been proclaimed queen on 19th July 1553. Suffolk’s release was down to his wife, Frances, interceding with her cousin the queen and begging for mercy.
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On this day in Tudor history, 24th July 1553, in the reign of Queen Mary I, merchant and conspirator Richard Hesketh was born in Lancashire.
Hesketh is known for the Hesketh Plot of 1593, when he urged Ferdinando Stanley, 5th Earl of Derby, to lead a rebellion to claim the throne of England.
But who was Richard Hesketh and why did he plot against Queen Elizabeth I?
What happened to him and what happened to Ferdinando Stanley?
And why did Stanley take bezoar stone and unicorn horn?
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On this day in Tudor history, 21st July, 1553, two days after Mary I had been proclaimed queen, John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland was arrested near Cambridge.
This was just days after Northumberland had left London with an army to apprehend Mary, on behalf of his daughter-in-law, Queen Jane (Lady Jane Grey).
But how and why did the man who had ruled England on Edward VI’s behalf, as Lord President of his privy council, come to this?
I explain his role in the accession of Lady Jane Grey in July 1553 and what happened when Mary overthrew Queen Jane…
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On this day in Tudor history, 15th July 1556, in the reign of Mary I, the trial of Julins Palmer, John Gwyn and Thomas Robyns opened at St Nicholas Church in Newbury. These men, who are now known as the Newbury Martyrs, were accused of sedition and heresy.
But how did Julins Palmer, a formerly staunch Catholic end up being executed for heresy in Mary I’s reign?
Find out more about Palmer, his trial and the executions of the Newbury Martyrs…
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July 1553 was a month of three Tudor monarchs – Edward VI, Queen Jane and Mary I – but how did this come about?
In this talk, historian and author Claire Ridgway looks at what led to the events of July 1553 and particularly the actions that Mary took to stage her successful coup d’etat.
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