Claire | May 17, 2014
On 17th May 1536, Sir Henry Norris, Sir Francis Weston, Mark Smeaton, William Brereton and George Boleyn, Lord Rochford, were executed on Tower Hill. They had all been found guilty of high treason and sentenced to be hanged, drawn and quartered at Tyburn, but their sentences had been commuted to the more merciful death by […]
Claire | May 16, 2014
On 16th May 1536, George Boleyn, Sir Francis Weston, Sir Henry Norris, Sir William Brereton and Mark Smeaton prepared for their deaths by confessing their sins to Dr Allryge (or Alridge), the chaplain sent to them. Sir Francis Weston wrote out a list of his debts, which can be found in Letters and Papers, and […]
Claire | May 12, 2014
On 12th May 1536, Sir Henry Norris, Sir Francis Weston, William Brereton and Mark Smeaton were brought before a special commission of oyer and terminer at Westminster Hall and arraigned for high treason. Smeaton pleaded “guilty”, while the others pleaded “not guilty”. Although the jury included Thomas Boleyn, Earl of Wiltshire, who would certainly not […]
Claire | May 10, 2014
On 10th May 1536, Sir William Kingston, Constable of the Tower of London, was ordered “to bring up the bodies of Sir Francis Weston, knt. Henry Noreys, esq. William Bryerton, esq. and Mark Smeton, gent.” for trial at Westminster on 12th May. These four men, as commoners, were going to be tried by a special […]
Claire | May 3, 2014
On 3rd May 1536, Sir William Kingston, Constable of the Tower of London, wrote his first report to Thomas Cromwell regarding Anne Boleyn’s imprisonment in the Tower of London. The ladies appointed to serve Anne during her imprisonment had been ordered to act as spies and report to Lady Kingston what the Queen said. Lady […]
Claire | May 30, 2013
As part of the celebrations for Queen Anne Boleyn’s Coronation in 1533, eighteen men were created Knights of the Bath. You can read all about this ceremony and the men who were chosen in my article 30th May 1533 – The Knights of the Bath, but the list of men included Sir Francis Weston, who […]
Claire | May 17, 2013
“These bloody days have broken my heart”, wrote the famous Tudor poet, Thomas Wyatt, after witnessing the executions of the five men, and then Anne Boleyn, from his prison in the Tower of London’s Bell Tower. Those days of May 1536 were indeed “bloody” and the 17th May saw the executions of five men, all […]
Claire | May 16, 2013
On this day in 1536, the five men condemned to death for high treason prepared for their executions, which were scheduled for the following day. Sir William Kingston wrote to Thomas Cromwell on 16th May regarding preparations for the building of the scaffold for Anne Boleyn’s execution and mentioning that the men were waiting to […]
