On this day in history, 16th July 1546, the Protestant martyrs, Anne Askew, John Lascelles, John Adams and Nicholas Belenian, were burned at the stake at Smithfield in London for heresy.
You can read more about them and also the Newbury Martyrs, who were burned on this day in 1556, in my article 16 July 1546 – The Burnings of Anne Askew, John Lascelles, John Adams and Nicholas Belenian.
Also, on this day in history…
John Lascelles was also the person who dropped the dime on Catherine Howard — his sister Mary had lived in the Duchess of Norfolk’s household with her when young, and told her brother about certain goings-on in the girls’ dormitory. According to Antonia Fraser, he probably did it because he was afraid that Catherine’s ascendancy would endanger the Reformist cause, so it was more political than personal. Considering his own subsequent fate, you can see why the symbol of Fortune’s Wheel was taken to heart so much in those days; people were surrounded by all-too-vivid examples of it!