On this day in history, the 16th July 1546, Anne Askew, John Lascelles and two other Protestants were burned at the stake at Smithfield for heresy. Anne had been so severely tortured on the rack that she had to be carried to the stake and her body supported on the stake by a seat, but she refused to name any names (Catherine Parr was the name her torturers were looking for) and she died bravely for her faith.
You can read more about Anne Askew and see clips from her arrest and execution from “The Tudors” Season 4 in my article “Anne Askew Sentenced to Death”.
RIP Anne, John and friends.
Catherine Parr was not the only one Stephen Gardiner was aiming for; he was the godfather of Catherine Willoughby, Duchess of Suffolk. She was his goddaughter, and the two were known to have disliked one another intensely. Gardiner thought she was an uppity heretic, and the Duchess had a sharp tongue she frequently used on Gardiner.
Anne Askew was a lower level noblewoman, and did not have the power and prestige the two Catherines had to protect her. But she was a very strong, intelligent, and passionate reformer, and probably held her tongue, because she wanted the work of the reformers to go on.
John Lascelles – wasn’t he the man who reported his sister Mary Hall’s testimony against Kathryn Howard, which eventually led to Kathryn’s execution?