It is believed that Anne Askew was the only woman in recorded History tortured inside
the Tower of London during the Tudor Period.
On the rack, the horrific device that would leave victims with horrific injuries Anne
Askew was brutalised by two men who wanted to extract a confession from her.
Anne was later executed by being burned at the stake for being a heretic, however there
was actually one more woman who its believed was tortured for a confession at the Tower
of London.
This would mean that Anne Askew was not alone, and that the History books need to be rewritten
slightly.
But who is this woman, and what did she do that was so illegal that she needed to be
tortured inside of the infamous Tudor prison where two of Henry VIII’s wives lost their
heads.
Margaret Cheyney was born around 1500 and many believe that she was the illegitimate
daughter of Edward Stafford, the 3rd Duke of Buckingham.
He later would be executed for treason against Henry VIII, but as a young lady she married
William Cheyney, and she later following his death became the mistress of John Bulmer.
Bulmer was a well off landowner in Yorlkshire and following the death of his wife, the couple
then lived together near to Pickering.
It’s believed in around 1534 the pair were married, and Margaret was then known as Lady
Bulmer, and she was considered a very beautiful young woman.
However at this time in History, Henry VIII was beginning to invoke his brutal policy
against many of the religious houses in England.
The Dissolutions of the Monasteries were brought about following the King’s declaration that
he was the Supreme Head of the Church of England and he turned his back on the Pope and Rome.
The Dissolutions were one of the largest land grabs in English history, with the King shutting
down monasteries, abbeys, nunneries and many more buildings.
With this the monks and nuns lost their ways of life and many were made homeless and were
made very poor.
Those who did not abide by the King’s rules often were subjected to execution.
Some of the abbots of many of the abbeys were hanged, drawn and quartered because of this
with very quiet and pious men brutally slain in front of huge crowds.
But on the 28th September 1536, the King’s commissioners arrived at Hexham Abbey to kick
out the monks and take possession of the religious house.
The monks locked themselves in and barricaded themselves in, and a monk appeared on the
roof dressed in armour.
He said that the 20 monks inside were armed with cannons and guns, and would die before
the commissioners should taker it.
But following this, a large rebellion broke out in Yorkshire known as ‘The Pilgrimage
of Grace.’
This was led by a lawyer Robert Aske and around 40,000 rebels protesting against Henry VIII,
Thomas Cromwell and the Dissolutions of the Monasteries occupied York and forced the King’s
forces back.
They were also very unhappy with the rising taxes and food prices, and the people of England
were very angry.
John Bulmer, Margaret Cheyney’s husband joined the rebellion, but he claimed he was
forced to do so as rebels would have burned his house down if not.
But he soon became known as one of the leaders, and Bulmer was involved in the negotiations
with Thomas Howard the 3rd Duke of Norfolk.
It’s believed that there was no evidence that Margaret Cheyney was a member of the
pilgrimage of grace, and that she was very heavily pregnant at the time of the uprising.
She did give birth to a boy named John in January 1936.
But Robert Aske tried to get the terms that the rebels wanted, but it was clear that this
would not happen.
But because of this another rebellion broke out in the East Riding of Yorkshire known
as Bigod’s rebellion.
This was led by Sir Francis Bigod, who accused Robert Aske of betraying the pilgrimage of
grace.
However Bigod’s rebellion was quickly defeated, and Thomas Howard the 3rd Duke of Norfolk’s
army managed to defeat the rebels.
But many of the leaders of this as well as the Pilgrimage of Grace were then arrested.
John Bulmer and Margaret Cheyney were living at home when they heard about the arrest of
Robert Aske, and Bulmer stated that he would rather die in a battle with royalists than
if he went to London as a prisoner.
He debated with Margaret heading to Scotland, but Bulmer stated that if the pair left the
country that Margaret would leave him.
It was said that, ‘others heard him say that he would rather be put on the rack than
be parted from his wife.
For her part, she vowed that she would rather be torn to pieces than go to London, and she
begged him to get a ship that would take them and their 3 month old son to the safety of
Scotland.’
The English government later said that Margaret suggested her husband should start another
uprising.
It was said that ‘she enticed Sir John Bulmer to rise the commoners again,’ and that ‘Margaret
counselled him to flee the realm if the commoners would not rise, than that he and she should
be parted.’
John Bulmer and Margaret Cheyney were arrested in April 1537, and they were then taken to
London.
Inside of the Tower of London the pair were imprisoned, and it is said that the both were
tortured brutally.
It is known that John Bulmer did not give over any information from the torture, and
instead he pleaded guilty to treason charges in the hope of exonerating Margaret Cheyney.
What sort of torture Margaret was subject to is debated, and there are no records of
her being put on the rack.
But she could have been put on the manacles and suspended in the air.
At the time women were not subjected to torture, and it was deemed inappropriate to do so.
It was during Henry VIII’s reign that Anne Askew was racked brutally, in which she was
nearly killed by the ordeal.
Extracting information from rebels was deemed a necessary reason to use torture, and it
is probably with this that Margaret was tortured.
As mentioned her torture is not entirely recorded as to what she was forced to, but ultimately
she was seen as part of a power couple of dangerous rebels alongside her husband.
However despite this Margaret Cheyney was sentenced to death, and was to be burned at
the stake in horrific fashion in Smithfield.
Burning at the stake was a punishment for women found guilty of treason, and many of
her supporters said that, ‘"She committed no overt act of treason; her offences were
merely words and silence....
It [her execution] was intended as an example to others.
There can be no doubt that many women were ardent supporters of the Pilgrimage....
Lady Bulmer's execution ... was an object-lesson to husbands ... to teach them to distrust
their wives."
This did little to appease the King’s will, and on the 25th May 1537 inside of Henry VIII’s
kingdom at Smithfield she was brought to the stake.
She was tied to it in front of a huge crowd on market day, and then the fire was lit.
Margaret Cheyney would have screamed and cried as the flames rose, but she was killed for
her involvement alongside her husband in rebellious activities in the north of England.
It was said that, ‘Margaret Cheyney, other wife of Bulmer, was drawn after them from
the Tower of London into Smithfield, and there burnt, according to her judgment, God pardon
her soul, being the Friday in Witsun week; she was a very fair creature and a beautiful.’
It was also said that, ‘ Although she did not admit to acting or speaking against the
king or his government while she was being investigated and examined, she still pleaded
guilty to the charge.
Her sentence - burning at the stake - was the prescribed method of execution for any
woman convicted of high treason.
Even so, it was not the usual sentence carried out on those who were found guilty.
Just a few months earlier, in an act of relative mercy, Anne Boleyn had been beheaded after
her conviction for the same crime.
Margaret Cheyney's execution followed several others on that Friday.
Earlier in the day six prisoners also judged guilty of high treason had suffered public
execution at Tyburn.
Sir Stephen Hamerton and Sir John Bulmer, enjoying the privilege of knighthood, had
been hanged and beheaded. ‘
But inside of the Tower of London, it’s believed that Margaret Cheyney may have been
a forgotten victim of torture there.
It’s likely that this was never recorded or written, and she certainly would have had
a large amount of interrogation there regarding her activities in rebellions.
She could have fled to Scotland if authorities were not on her back, but alongside Anne Boleyn
she could have been subjected to torture inside one of Tudor England’s most brutal prisons.
It’s unlikely she was racked, but almost certainly would have been subject to lesser
tortures such as the thumbscrews and manacles.
With this, Margaret Cheyney would be the forgotten victim of torture of the Tower of London.
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