History's HEROES? 1521 - 1546 Anne Askew

Things you may not know about Anne Askew

Now widely known as Askew, her name is more accurately spelt Ayscough. More In other accounts it is also Aiscough. Ayscough is probably the more correct version but in Tudor times there were often different spellings of the same name, even sometimes in the same document.

Her family had close family ties to the court of King Henry VIII. More Her father, William Askew was a significant landowner who served in the court of Henry VIII. His son, Edward Askew, was cup-bearer to Henry VIII and his eldest son, Sir Francis Askew, was Sheriff of Lincoln in 1545, 1549 and 1554.

She was forced into marriage as a substitute for her sister Martha who had died. More Her husband, Thomas Kyme, was a Catholic and it was not a happy union: she refused to take his name.

Anne never referred to herself by her married name. More In her writings Anne never refers to herself as “Anne Kyme” but always as Anne Askew, despite the fact that by some accounts she had children by Thomas Kyme.

Very little is known of her domestic life or children. More The Dictionary of National Biography tells us only that she left her children to go 'gospeling'.

She was a woman of very strong and sincere beliefs. More In her early life she showed an interest and ability for theological studies. Anne was converted to Protestantism when the 'new bible' emerged from the continent. After much study and reading of the Holy Scriptures she adopted the principles of the reformers and became a dedicated believer.

She was intelligent and witty as well as courageous. More Askew reveals in her writings her knowledge of the law and the Bible. Her writings also indicate her courage, wit and intelligence in how she cleverly answered questions put to her.

Anne was a 'gospeler'. That is someone who knew large parts of the bible by heart and could preach about it. More The City of London was full of Bible Study Groups .Members were a mixture of nobility and commoners - anyone, high or low, male or female, who revered the Scriptures, could attend. The ban on Bible reading had intensified the hunger for it, and those who knew the Bible well became known as 'gospelers', a new breed of lay preacher.

Sir Anthony Kingston, the Constable of the Tower of London, was so impressed with the way Anne behaved that he refused to torture her. More King Henry VIII's Lord Chancellor Wriothesley and Sir Richard Rich had to take over. Other accounts say it was Anne's obstinacy that so enraged Wriothesley that he turned the rack himself.

Anne Askew is the only woman on record to have been tortured at the Tower of London. More Before being put on the rack, prisoners were usually shown others being tortured. They would often 'give in' without the need for being tortured themselves. Anne was denied this, as it would have been unsuitable for a lady to see a naked man upon the rack.

A link between Anne’s sister and the Duchess of Suffolk may have been used by the plotters to link Anne to the Queen's court More Anne’s sister Jane’s husband was George Saint Paul, a Protestant and a close friend of the Duke of Suffolk. The Duke's young wife, Catherine Brandon, was close to Queen Catherine Parr. There are no records of a meeting between Anne and Catherine but the two outspoken Protestant women probably met on several occasions.

A few days before Anne was burned, the Privy Council seized Queen Catherine's estate books. More They must have presumed that Queen Catherine would soon be arrested and her property confiscated. In response to Anne Askew's execution, she hurriedly threw out her most evangelical books.

Anne had to be carried on a chair to her execution. More Anne was condemned to be burned to death at the stake in July 1546. She was so weak from the physical torture she had suffered that she had to be carried to her execution on a chair.

Her body was covered in gunpowder before her execution. More This was seen as a kindness. Friends often placed gunpowder on the condemned, as it hastened what could be a very slow and painful death.

So many people turned out for the execution that there was hardly enough room to carry it out. More Such a large gathering of people assembled to watch her execution that the crowd had to be pushed back far enough in order to make room her to be burned at the stake.

At her execution there was a sudden thunderstorm and a loud clap of thunder. More Bale wrote that “Credibly am I informed by various Dutch merchants who were present there, that in the time of their sufferings, the sky, and abhorring so wicked an act, suddenly altered colour, and the clouds from above gave a thunder clap, not unlike the one written in Psalm 76. The elements both declared wherein the high displeasure of God for so tyrannous a murder of innocents.

She was the last martyr in the reign of Henry VIII. More However, many more Catholics and Protestants were to die before the end of the Tudor period.

She became more famous dead than when alive. More Her own account of her ordeal and her beliefs was published as 'The Examinations' by Protestant Bishop John Bale. Later it was reprinted in John Foxe's 'Acts and Monuments' of 1563 which proclaims her as a Protestant martyr. Several ballads were written in the 17th century about her.