Throughout the centuries there have been many barbaric and brutal executions that occurred
at the hands of some of the most evil rulers, Kings and Queens that History has ever seen.
For example during the reign of Edward I, the Hammer of the Scots he would order William
Wallace the Scottish rebel known as Braveheart to be hanged drawn and quartered. He was dragged
through London behind a horse and he was then subjected to his harrowing ordeal in the land
of his enemies. Henry VIII is remembered as a 6 wived monarch who would sentence even
2 of his own wives to death inside of the Tower of London. Anne Boleyn lost her head
by a French swordsman, but Catherine Howard would not be so lucky being forced to die
by the commoner’s axe within the walls of the infamous fortress. But during the reign
of the terrifying Tudor Monarch, there was one execution that haunted the thousands of
people who attended and saw the poor man being boiled alive by a number of executioners.
But it was the brutal will of King Henry VIII. Join us today as we look at the execution
of the cook boiled alive by King Henry VIII. Remember to support our channel, please make
sure to subscribe.
Richard Roose was a cook who worked inside of the Household of Bishop John Fisher. Fisher
was a well respected member of the church across England, but he would for some time
encounter a significant amount of criticism and threat from Henry VIII. Richard Roose
was a strong support of Catherine of Aragon, the first wife of the King whom he wanted
to divorce, and the King at this time had become infatuated and obsessed with Anne Boleyn.
It was clear that he wanted to divorce Catherine of Aragon for Anne Boleyn, but it would be
incredibly difficult for the King to do this as the Pope would not grant the separation.
Henry would eventually split from Rome and would declare himself the Supreme Head of
the Church of England, but Bishop John Fisher the Bishop of Rochester would be incredibly
outspoken against the King and eventually Henry VIII would have enough and would chop
his head off. But in the afternoon of the 18th Feburuary 1531, Bishop John Fisher was
sat down with a number of his guests in his home in Lambeth Marsh in London. The guests
were being fed, and many of them were people who had been invited in on behalf of John
Fisher to share a meal as they were poor and suffering.
However it was said that, ‘On the Eighteenth day of February, 1531, one Richard Roose,
of Rochester, Cook, also called Richard Cooke, did cast poison into a vessel, full of yeast
or baum, standing in the kitchen of the Bishop of Rochester's Palace at Lambeth March, by
means of which two persons who happened to eat of the pottage made with such yeast died.’
So someone had poisoned the food that was given to the guests of Bishop John Fisher’s
household. It was certainly not a good image for Fisher as he had invited starving people
in off the streets and they were now being poisoned. However two people were killed by
the poison, one of them was a gentleman named Bennet Curwen who served in the household,
as did Alice Tryppt a woman who had eaten the porridge and had became mortally infected.
It was clear that Bishop John Fisher was the target of the poisoning plot, and fingers
have been pointed towards Henry VIII being the one behind it, or Anne Boleyn and her
family being involved due to the resistance he had towards the King’s new love. 17 people
were very violently ill and were sick, but Fisher had not eaten any of the food as it’s
believed at the time he was fasting. He may also have accidentally employed the poorer
people who were accepting the charity as food tasters as he would not usually eat until
they had. But in the carnage inside of the Bishop’s home, Richard Roose the cook was
nowhere to be seen. Suspicion very quickly turned towards the staff of the Kitchen and
in particular Roose and after a short chase, Richard Fisher the brother of the Bishop arrested
and apprehended him nearby. He was clearly trying to flee London, but he was then questioned
after being taken to the Tower of London.
Whilst inside of the Tower, Roose was tortured on the infamous rack. He was strapped down
on the device and the cranks were turned which stretched him limb from limb and the pain
was excruciating. Inside the tower because of his torture Roose would admit to placing
what he thought was a laxative inside of the food and he said it was ‘a certain venom
or poison,’ and he said he did this for a joke. He claimed that the substance would
cause discomfort but would not kill, but the news of the poisoning plot went around London
and there was a great fear amongst the wealthy people of the capital at the time because
of this. Roose it’s believed was Fisher’s own cook, and that he would personally prepare
the Bishop’s meals on a daily basis. There was the possibility raised that he was persuaded
to do so by someone else and that someone told him to poison the food, or provided him
with the substance to do this. It’s strange as Roose’s motivation is not that clear,
but the King was linked to the plot by the Imperial Ambassador Eustace Chapuys. He was
suspected of poisoning the Bishop due to his rebelliousness with regards to Anne Boleyn.
Some even said that the poor relations that the Boleyn’s had with Fisher was enough
to also make them culpable and likely to be blamed. But what was even more bizarre is
the efforts Henry VIII went to almost cover up the poisoning and deal with it.
Roose would not be tried, and he would not get any chance to defend himself in front
of a jury or the public. This meant that his story would not get out, and he would not
implicate others which led people to suspect King Henry VIII. The King would address the
Lords of Parliament days later and he told them at length about what had happened, and
he would inform them about the incident and how he deemed that he wanted to protect his
subjects by having Richard Roose executed and condemned quickly for his crime. He was
sentenced to death and was condemned based on what the King said rather than evidence
in front of a jury or a trial. But Henry even went further and Roose who was judged by Parliament
would also then face the fact he was now accused of treason.
Henry VIII would change the laws of England and his realm to make sure that the crime
of poisoning was considered treason and with this he introduced a shocking execution for
those who were punished for this sort of activity. It was said that the King in his speech ,considering
that mans life above all things is chiefly to be favoured, and voluntary murder most
highly to be detested and abhorred and specially all kings of murders poisoning, which in this
realm hitherto the lord be thanked has been most rare and seldom committed or practiced.’
Henry said that murder by poison was a new thing for England and that because of this
it deserved a specific sentence, and an Act of Attainder was brought forward to condemn
and sentence Richard Roose to death. This act said that, ‘The said poisoning be adjudged
high treason; and that the said Richard Roose, for the said murder and poisoning of the said
two persons, shall stand, and be attainted of high treason, and shall be therefore boiled
to death without benefit of clergy. And that, in future, murder by poisoning shall be adjudged
high treason, and the offender deprived of his clergy and boiled to death.’
So Henry VIII altered the laws of his land to specifically state that Richard Roose the
man accused of poisoning the food of one of the King’s enemies should be killed by being
boiled alive in front of a huge crowd. Boiling as an execution method was rare across England
and was only used a handful of times, but Richard Roose was left to rot inside of the
Tower of London until his execution took place on the 15th April 1532. But the execution
of Richard Roose was a complete circus. It was clear that the King would symbolic believe
that Roose being dipped into the vat of boiling water was the poison being added to the food,
mirroring his crime. But the execution began with Roose being taken by guards from his
cell inside of the Tower of London to Smithfield where he was marched towards the fire where
the boiling pot was found. A huge crowd was there, and they were there to see the execution
of the Tudor era. Crowds would flock to see entertainment and execution, and they would
believe that with this execution that the King went too far and many were sickened by
what they saw.
Richard Roose was tied up in chains and he was then placed into a gibbet, a large iron
cage and frame which was secured to a Crain which could be lowered and highered. He was
on display in front of the crowd, and underneath him was a large pot filled with boiling water.
Three times Richard Roose the cook was lowered in and out of the boiling water, each time
screaming and screeching until on the final time no sounds were made as he had died. Many
of those who witnessed the execution were disgusted, and it was said ‘He roared mighty
loud, and divers women who were big with child did feel sick at the sight of what they saw,
and were carried away half dead; and other men and women did not seem frightened by the
boiling alive, but would prefer to see the headsman at his work.’
But this would be the end of the story of Richard Roose, but it would not be then end
of people wanting Bishop John Fisher dead. Shortly after the poisoning a volley of gunfire
from a cannon was shot through the roof of Bishop John Fisher’s house randomly. HE
was inside of his study at the time, and it’s believed that the gunshot came from Thomas
Boleyn’s House. With this Fisher knew people wanted him dead, and Henry VIII would later
get what he wanted with Fisher executed on the 22nd June 1535. Fisher lost his head on
Tower Hill in front of a huge crowd, and many that day were greatly distressed by what they
saw. But the execution of Richard Roose was one of the most harrowing of the Tudor period,
and it showed the immense brutality of Henry VIII.
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