The Execution of Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury
Posted By Claire on May 27, 2010
An unknown lady, Margaret Pole?
On this day in history, the 27th May 1541, Margaret Pole, the 8th Countess of Salisbury was executed at the Tower of London. I was fortunate enough last week to see her memorial tile on the floor of the Chapel of St Peter ad Vincula near the altar when we paid our respects to Anne Boleyn on the anniversary of her execution. I think each of us paused and thought of the many victims buried there and thereabouts and we talked about Margaret Pole’s horrific execution – poor, poor lady.
Who was Margaret Pole?
Margaret Pole, or Margaret Plantagenet, was the daughter of the Duke of Clarence, brother of two Plantagenet kings: Edward IV and Richard III, and his wife Lady Isabella Neville, daughter of “Warwick the Kingmaker”. She was born on the 14th August 1473 and married Sir Richard Pole in 1491, having five children before she was widowed in 1505. One of her children was Reginald Pole who became a cardinal and then Archbishop of Canterbury during the reign of Mary I.
The Fall of the Poles
At the beginning of King Henry VIII’s reign, she was in favour. The King allowed her to become the 8th Countess of Salisbury and she was the Lady Mary’s godmother and governess, but things went rather pear-shaped when her son, Reginald Pole, spoke out against the King’s annulment of his marriage to Catherine of Aragon. Things got even worse when Reginald Pole published Pro ecclesiasticae unitatis defensione, which denounced Henry VIII’s policies. This brazen insult to the King made Henry want to wreak his revenge on the Pole family and the situation was not helped by the Countess of Salisbury’s Plantagenet blood, which Henry VIII also saw as a threat.
In November 1538, various members of the Pole family were arrested for treason and taken to the Tower of London. In January 1539, many of them were executed. Even though the Countess was elderly (for Tudor times), being 65 years of age in 1538, she was questioned and taken to Cowdray House near Midhurst. In May 1539 a Bill of Attainder was issued against her by Thomas Cromwell and a tunic displaying the Five Wounds, which was used as a symbol in the Northern rebellions, was used as evidence against her, having allegedly been found in her belongings. She was stripped of her titles and imprisoned in the Tower of London.
The End of Margaret Pole
After two years of being imprisoned as a traitor in the Tower, the now frail 67 year old Plantagenet heiress was executed. As a woman of noble birth, Margaret Pole was given a private execution. There are two accounts of her execution – One says that she was executed by an inexperienced axeman who missed her neck the first time, gashing her shoulder, and that it took a further ten blows to finish her off. The second account tells of how she managed to escape from the block and that she was hewn down by the executioner as she ran. This second account concurs with the first in that it says that eleven blows were required. Whichever account you believe, this lady had a truly awful end. I will never understand how Henry could take his anger out on a frail old lady who was no threat to him and who had acted as a mother figure to his daughter Mary.
Blessed Margaret Pole
On the 29th December 1886, Pope Leo XIII beatified Margaret, making her Blessed Margaret Pole, a Catholic martyr. Her feast day is the 28th May, the date that some sources give as her execution date.
These are the words found on the wall of her cell and thought to have been etched there by Margaret:-
For traitors on the block should die;
I am no traitor, no, not I!
My faithfulness stands fast and so,
Towards the block I shall not go!
Nor make one step, as you shall see;
Christ in Thy Mercy, save Thou me!
RIP Margaret Pole, Lady Salisbury, another victim of King Henry VIII.
Further Reading
There is a great page on Margaret Pole at wikipedia – see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Pole,_8th_Countess_of_Salisbury and a book on her – Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury 1473-1541: Loyalty, Lineage and Leadership by Hazel Pierce.
I had no idea she was a Blessed. Instead of saying RIP Lady Salisbury I’ll say Pray for us, Lady Salisbury! Henry made martyrs out of a lot of people, didn’t he?
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What a sad end to a women who was of no threat to Henry. It is also rumoured that Henry had her grandson executed, right?
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Dreadful! As so often, there are so many aspects of Henry’s policy of government that defy all logic or rationality. So many aspects of his character that are simply repulsive.
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Hi Sheena
Margaret Pole’s grandson, the son of Lord Montagu was arrested with his Father. He was 17 or 18. No record of what happened to him.
Another family also arrested at the same time was Henry Courtney, his wife and his son Edward. Cousins to Henry VIII. Courtney was accused of treason along with the Pole family. Henry Courtney was beheaded. His wife was released in 1540. She was a good friend of Mary. (Henry’s daughter) Edward Courtney who was 11 at the time of arrest and was kept prisoner in the Tower for 15 years.
Henry always feared that his right to the throne was illegitimate. Reginald Pole started writing against the divorce from Katherine. Even though the Pole family were his cousins, he felt the need to be rid of them. Why he had to kill a 67 year old lady is beyond comprehension.
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margaret Reply:
August 18th, 2012 at 12:55 am
its disgusting thats what it is to allow a man such as henry to be allowed rule and just murder people as he wished all in the name of the crown again corruption they were all tainted with this madness
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This was one of the saddest executions of Henry’s reign. I have never understood what could have been going on in his mind when he condemned this poor lady to death.
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Michele Reply:
October 30th, 2012 at 10:41 pm
…if you think that Henry VIII, in defiance if the Catholic Church over his wish to marry Ann Boleyn, “created” the Anglican church so he could marry her … then you can understand that he could do apparently irrational inexplicable things when it suited him
it has always puzzled me how people can call themselves devout Anglicans when the entire reason the Anglican church even became a denomination was because it was founded for nefariuos resons
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Katheryn Dennes Reply:
February 4th, 2013 at 8:34 am
So I suppose the Catholic Church doesn’t have any blood on their hands do they???? She’s not called Bloody Mary for nothing!!! And I’m sure a lot of innocent children suffered under the hands of the catholic church even in recent times!!!!!!!! Get a grip!! You need to look at the period as a whole, Henry was no different to any other ruler at that time!!
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i would say she died because there was risk her person would had been used by supporters of the Pole family and the lady Mary, by people who would like to see on the throne somebody else than Henry, and Reginald was still a threat then anyway…..just imagine, you would support somebody you like in his/her studies & life and at the end s/he turns back to you and is not your faithful and loyal subject. Its just politics, nothing personal. At home i sometimes have huge discussions with my mum about Elizabeth I. & Mary of Scots. Defiinitely i vote for Elizabeth, peace in realm and security of the throne is more important than to cut off somebodys head.
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Ernest Shakleton the explorer was believed to have a particular insight into how to rule his men, because he was brought up in a dominantly feminine family. and this insight was beneficial. Likewise, Henry was raised and protected by his Mother, in the tower, and by a series of nannies, etc. this softer influence does not seem to have benefitted him, nor his daughters, wives, aunts, cousins, etc. His agenda overtook his tenderer feelings.
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Margaret Pole did indeed meet a terrible end. It is appalling that a lady of her standing and one who had resolutely kept her distance from the court and had always behaved with gravity and dignity, should die in such a cruel way. After all, she did not express any political views or had any aspirations for her family other than being a friend and supporter of Katherine of Aragon. I suspect the executioner botched the job and hacked her to death. A sad death for a frail woman who had been arrested on trumpted up charges and who had actually be woken with out warning and told that she would die that day – no wonder she resisted!! RIP.
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So unfair. RIP Margaret.
Sarah
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janice says:
May 28, 2010 at 1:15 am
i would say she died because there was risk her person would had been used by supporters of the Pole family and the lady Mary, by people who would like to see on the throne somebody else than Henry, and Reginald was still a threat then anyway…..just imagine, you would support somebody you like in his/her studies & life and at the end s/he turns back to you and is not your faithful and loyal subject. Its just politics, nothing personal. At home i sometimes have huge discussions with my mum about Elizabeth I. & Mary of Scots. Defiinitely i vote for Elizabeth, peace in realm and security of the throne is more important than to cut off somebodys head
Some executions by state heads are required, (traitors, assassins, etc.) but so many times it has been shown throughout history (and present times) that executions are used as an excuse for murder. And by the way, Elizabeth’s and Mary (Q of Scots) situation is entirely different than Henry’s rampages of pique and fit. There was no reasoning behind it, and murderous rages were a part of his persona. A persona that obviously was suffering from major mental instabilities. So in that context, no it wasn’t for the safety of ‘state’ or ‘throne’ that drove his fondness of executions, it was his love for himself above everything else.
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My guess for Henry’s actions can be summed up with one person, Margaret Beaufort. Henry must have known about her part in the removal of Richard III from the throne. Though I have not had a chance to research her fully, Robin Maxwell’s novel To the Tower Born was very interesting in showing what she could do (though I must remind myself it is a novel). I think Henry was scared to death of those events playing out once again and as a result good people suffered.
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I think he killed her to punish her son who was out of his reach.
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Here is a link ti a stained glass window for Margaret — with some background info as well –
http://norbertinevocations.wordpress.com/2010/05/29/blessed-margaret-pole/
I think you will have to save and paste the
link, but the window is very nice!
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Maureen, it was a clickable link for me (no copying and pasting needed). The picture is beautiful but sad, showing her praying in her cell in the Tower with rats at her feet. I was struck by a line in the article describing Margaret’s son, Reginald Pole, as being the last Archbishop of Canterbury (he died the same day as Mary I). Is this because it’s a Catholic web site and they don’t consider the office legitimate now that it is under the authority of the Anglican church? I’m not criticizing, being neither Catholic nor Anglican. I was just curious.
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Is the poem still on the cell wall?
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I think that this is one of the most shocking and sad executions during Henry’s reign.
Rest in peace Lady Saliisbury.
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Another female sacrificed in the tubulent world of male politics of Tudor times. The countess was born ‘to close to the throne’. She was a constant threat in the Kings mind. She had more royal blood running through her veins than either Henry or his father, and she was in and out of favour depending on the Kings mood. In a time when the whole of your family could be destroyed, and your wealth and belongings taken and put in the royal treasury by upsetting the Henry, you would have thought that her son Reginal Pole would have considered the danger he put his mother, and his family in by speaking out against the King’s policies, while he was hiding behind the Pope’s cassack in Europe. He knewn how vengeful Henry could be. To my mind he was as responsible for his Mother’s execution, and the other members of his family as the King, he had no qualms about offering them for sacrifice, because he was after a cardinals cap. Reginald Pole gave the King the last excuse he needed to remove the family that he considered a threat to his crown, and get his hands on their wealth, after all Margret was around the 5th richest women in the kingdom
As for her execution, I have read that with her being a proud woman, and protesting her innocence to the end, she refused to place her head on the block, when they tried to force her down she struggled and fought, and would not keep still. While they were trying to hold her in place the axeman was told to strike when he could, therefore the poor woman ended up being butchered alive. A terrible end to another innocent woman, at the hands of men and their power struggles. I only hope that the cardinals cap, the Arch Bishops mitre, which he later received from ‘Bloody Mary’, was worth it.
Am I too cynical, maybe, but power, religion and wealth, is a terrible mix. Keep up the good work, I find the articles up for discussion stimulating and refreshing. Reading other comments/ideas gives you a whole new prospective on things, Thank you.
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I think this sad Lady’s execution is just another example of Henry VIII’s domineering power and his desire for revenge against anyone (her son, Reginald) who dared to speak out against him. His method of dealing with those who disagreed with him was to silence them by any means possible, including death. We often hear of those he executed but I’d be interested to learn of who and how many were financially and socially ruined by him during his reign. I imagine the number might be staggering. Even his so called close friends did not escape his wrath; notable Norries who died on the block accused of adultry with Anne Boelyn, but also the Duke of Suffold and his sister for their marriage without his permission. Henry almost destroyed them financially; it was only their willingness to submit to him totally after their marriage that they were able to once again regain his favor – something that rarely happened once Henry’s anger was stirred against someone. Would it not be interesting to have a mental evaluation of Henry VIII? Just imagine what it would say.
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RIP dear Lady Salisbury. You are in heaven while Henry resides in hell – where he belongs! He had over 70,000 people killed in his reign. Unbelievable!
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While I agree with much of the above, I would point out that Lady Salisbury is the only case I know of where an aristocratic woman did not go to her execution with the courage and dignity expected of her class. Guilt or innocence were relative in the religious / political turmoils of her day. The correct and expected behaviour was to show dignity and courage. To forgive ones enemies in general and the executioner in particular and not to make a fuss. Such behaviour as Lady S showed might be interpreted as being cowardly by her contemporaries. It was even more important for a Christian martyr to behave well. Not to do so suggested a lack of faith in God’s mercy. I do not understand while the pope declared her “Blessed” – clearly a political gesture just like the original execution.
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margaret Reply:
August 18th, 2012 at 1:05 am
well how in the name of goodness could u remain at ease and showing courage and dignity on a scaffold about to have your head hacked off , henry was evil and will never be at peace
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Katheryn Dennes Reply:
February 4th, 2013 at 8:45 am
Others did!! I’m not judging I believe there was nothing wrong with her behaviour just stating the obvious!
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renalda Reply:
February 28th, 2013 at 11:39 am
Maybe she had dementia and didn’t understand. She was 67 years old, after all. Contemporary accounts sympathized with her, and didn’t portray her as cowardly.
dynastic stability was. important for henry 8th after all before his farther 16 battles had .taken place .you cant judge history with 2013 veiws and the risk of a catholic war was allways a risk
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Katheryn Dennes Reply:
February 5th, 2013 at 7:09 pm
Well said exactly my thoughts in an earlier comment!! I’m sure people forget the inquisition????
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St Margaret was murdered by Henry VIII for two main reasons:
1st she was a Plantagenet, thus a menace to the throne because Henry VIII actually as an usurper was fully aware of his illegitimacy to the throne of England (as well as his father Henry VII, responsible for the biggest destruction of official Archives in England).
2nd being a staunch Catholic, she was a threat to Henry VIII’s schism, the proof of this was that Henry VIII i.a. dismissed her as Governess of his dautghter Queen Mary. Who, it has to be acknowledged, later reintrocuded the Roman Catholic Faith in a what I dare call une manière très peu Catholique.
Saint Margaret by equipollency, having shed her blood for the Catholic Faith, is to all effects a Saint for the Roman Catholic Church as the late Rev. Father Walsh in St. Asaph, a Relatore delle cause dei Santi for this case, wrote to me several years ago.
The only missing step is an official proclamation from the Holy See which I presume has never materialized for neither understandable nor obvious diplomatic ??? reasons.
Her son Card. Reginald de la Pole actually proved to be a pusillanimous person, most probably because he did not wish to end as a Martyr as his Mother, since Henry VIII remunerated killers pursued him even in Italy were he had sought sanctuary.
Even if perhaps resting on scant historical documental evidence, I would suggest further reading of Hugh Ross Williamson’s (a direct descendant of St Margaret) books (out of print and difficult to find) on the subject.
Pray Saint Margaret’s reliquiae (now under the floor of St Peter ad vincula at the Tower in London) may some day be brought to rest in her own shrine in Christchurch East Dorset.
M-G.S.
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