The Execution of George Boleyn © Hulton Archive
In the early hours of 17th May 1536, five men were led out of the western entrance of the Tower of London under heavy guard, and taken to a recently erected scaffold. There, one by one, in front of large crowds, they knelt at the axe man's block, gave up their souls to God, and were beheaded.
There their mutilated bodies lay until guards and Tower officials stripped them of their clothes and piled them onto a cart, escorting them to their final resting place. George Boleyn, Lord Rochford, was buried in the Chapel of St. Peter Ad Vincula, with Sir Henry Norris, Sir Francis Weston, William Brereton and Mark Smeaton resting in the nearby churchyard.
All five men were charged with and found guilty of High Treason and adultery; Lord Rochford was also charged with incest, having allegedly slept with his own sister the Queen, Anne Boleyn. Anne’s own charge reads that she had procured her husband’s servants to be her “adulterers and concubines” by “base conversations and kisses, touchings, gifts, and other infamous incitations” so that some of them “yielded to her vile provocations” (1). She also seduced her own brother “to violate her, alluring him with her tongue in the said George’s mouth, and the said George’s tongue in hers, and also with kisses, presents, and jewels” so that he “violated and carnally” knew her. With such scandalous accusations levied against them, one would assume a full and fair trial was carried out to ascertain the truth.
One would assume.
On 19th May 1536, the day of Anne’s own execution, diplomat Eustace Chapuys wrote to Charles V:
‘On the 11th were condemned as traitors Master Norris, the King’s chief butler (sommelier de corps) Master Weston, who used to lie with the King, Master Brereton, gentleman of the Chamber, and the groom, of whom I wrote to your Majesty by my man. Only the groom confessed that he had been three times with the said putain[whore] and Concubine. The others were condemned upon presumption and certain indications, without valid proof or confession. On the 15th the said Concubine and her brother were condemned of treason by all the principal lords of England, and the duke of Norfolk pronounced sentence... Neither the putain [whore] nor her brother was brought to Westminster like the other criminals. They were condemned within the Tower, but the thing was not done secretly, for here were more than 2000 persons present. What she was principally charged with was having cohabited with her brother and other accomplices; that there was a promise between her and Norris to marry after the King’s death, which is thus appeared they hoped for; and that she had received and given to Norris a certain medal, which might be interpreted to mean that she had poisoned the late Queen, and intrigued to do the same to the Princess. These things she totally denied, and gave to each a plausible answer. Yet she confessed she had given money to Weston, as she had often done to other young gentlemen. She was also charged, and her brother likewise, with having laughed at the King and his dress, and that she showed in various ways she did not love the King, but was tired of him. Her brother was charged with having cohabited with her by presumption, because he had been once a long time wit her, and with certain other little follies. To all he replied so well that several of those present wagered 10 to 1 that he would be acquitted, especially as no witnesses were produced against either him or her, as it is usual to do, particularly when the accused denies the charge.’ (2)
It is worth noting that Chapuys states the men were assumed to be guilty ‘without valid proof or confession’. Chapuys was infamous in his dislike of Anne, referring to her repeatedly as the ‘Concubine’ and ‘whore’. Thus, even one of Anne’s enemies acknowledged the blatant faults with the trial.
So, were they guilty?
The Accused: George Boleyn, Lord Rochford
Portrait of a Young Man, possibly George Boleyn by Hans Holbein. Royal Collection
As the highest in rank, George Boleyn was the first to be executed. A small mercy as he at least was spared the ordeal of watching his friends and co-accused facing the axe.
Born c.1504, Boleyn was the younger brother of Anne and their elder sister Mary. He is noted for sharing Anne’s charisma, ambition and intelligence. He had a successful career as a courtier, which was furthered by his father Thomas Boleyn’s schemes, his sister’s marriage to Henry VIII and by also being the maternal nephew of one of the most powerful men in the country – the Duke of Norfolk. Boleyn’s career rose along with the progress of his sister’s relationship and marriage, although as the tides turned against Anne this mirrored her brother. On 23rd April 1536, Boleyn was expected to be chosen to receive the Order of the Garter, but a rival Sir Nicholas Carew received the honour instead. The following day, Henry VIII commissioned Thomas Cromwell to begin to ‘investigate’ the rumours of treason. In less than a month, George Boleyn would be dead.
George Boleyn was arrested alongside his sister on 2nd May, after the May Day Joust in which he was a principal jouster. May Day was the last time he, and indeed Anne, would ever see the King again. Anne’s trial was before her brother’s, during which she was found guilty, therefore he was essentially pre-judged and also found guilty. Although he vehemently denied all accusations, his fate was already decided.
George did make a speech to the crowd before his execution, although there are several versions of his exact final words. Below is the version from the Chronicle of Calais:
“Christen men, I am borne undar the lawe, and judged undar the lawe, and dye undar the lawe, and the lawe hathe condemned me. Mastars all, I am not come hether for to preche, but for to dye, for I have deserved for to dye yf I had xx. lyves, more shamefully than can be devysed, for I am a wreched synnar, and I have synned shamefully, I have knowne no man so evell, and to reherse my synnes openly it were no pleaswre to you to here them, nor yet for me to reherse them, for God knowethe all; therefore, mastars all, I pray yow take hede by me, and especially my lords and gentlemen of the cowrte, the whiche I have bene amonge, take hede by me, and beware of suche a fall, and I pray to God the Fathar, the Sonne, and the Holy Ghoste, thre persons and one God, that my deathe may be an example unto yow all, and beware, trust not in the vanitie of the worlde, and especially in the flateringe of the cowrte.
And I cry God mercy, and aske all the worlde forgevenes, as willingly as I wowld have forgevenes of God; and yf I have offendyd any man that is not here now, eythar in thowght, worde, or dede, and yf ye here any suche, I pray yow hertely in my behalfe, pray them to forgyve me for God’s sake. And yet, my mastars all, I have one thinge for to say to yow, men do comon and saye that I have bene a settar forthe of the worde of God, and one that have favored the Ghospell of Christ ; and bycawse I would not that God’s word shuld be slaundered by me, I say unto yow all, that yf I had followecl God’s worde in dede as I dyd rede it and set it forthe to my power, I had not come to this. I dyd red the Ghospell of Christe, but I dyd not follow it; yf I had, I had bene a lyves man amonge yow : therefore I pray yow, mastars all, for God’s sake sticke to the trwthe and folowe it, for one good followere is worthe thre redars, as God knowethe.” (3)
If George is to be considered innocent, a possible theory for his involvement is that as part of a greater coup to remove Anne, this included removing her brother and her family’s power. Two birds with one stone, two necks on the same block.
The Accused: Sir Henry Norris
Sir Henry Norris (born c.1482) held the title of Groom of the Stool within the King’s Privy Chamber. This position possibly would have made Norris the most intimate of the King’s companions. In 1526, the year he took up this role, he also became Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod. Due to his close friendship with Henry VIII, his career progressed at rapid speed and he was awarded lands and properties across England. Henry Norris is noted for becoming a friend of Anne, and assisting her in establishing her circle when her own position at court rose. He was supportive of her attempts to gain power, which may have brought him into conflict with Cromwell. Arguably, out of all those accused, Henry Norris was the closest to the King and (excluding her brother) the closest courtier to Anne.
Anne allegedly solicited Norris on 6th October 1533, with the adultery taking place on 12th October at Westminster and then again at Greenwich. It has since been proved that Anne was in fact in Greenwich at the time she was accused of soliciting at Westminster, as she was recovering from the birth of her daughter, Elizabeth, who was born on 7th September. Women during this period observed what was called a ‘lying-in’, essentially a prolonged period of bed rest after giving birth, which was usually six weeks in length. Thus, the date of the alleged solicitation would have been incorrect.
Despite denying the charges, Norris was found guilty.
Originally, he, along with his co-accused, were sentenced to be hung, drawn and quartered, although because all of them were in service to the Royal Court, this was demoted to beheading.
The Accused: Sir Francis Weston
Sir Francis Weston (born c.1511) was only around twenty-four or twenty-five at the time of his death. The son of an influential courtier Richard Weston, he joined court at age fifteen. Despite the twenty-year age difference between himself and the King, he quickly became a member of his circle and over the years became a friend. He was awarded the honour of Knight of the Bath at the Coronation of Anne in 1533.
When Anne was arrested and taken to the Tower, she told her ladies that she had reprimanded Weston for what she described as flirting with Madge Shelton, who at that point was betrothed to Henry Norris, his co-accused. Anne had asked Weston why Norris had not yet married Madge, when Weston allegedly stated that Norris frequented Anne’s chamber not to see Madge but to see Anne. None of the ladies assigned to attend to Anne in the Tower were sympathetic to her and the details of this conversation was first recorded in a letter to Cromwell.
Four days before his execution, Francis Weston wrote his last letter to his family, asking them to forgive him and settle his debts:
‘Father and mother and wife, I shall humbly desire you, for the salvation of my soul, to discharge me of this bill, and for to forgive me of all the offences that I have done to you, and in especial to my wife, which I desire for the love of God to forgive me, and to pray for me: for I believe prayer will do me good. God’s blessing have my children and mine.
By me, a great offender to God
My cousin Dyngley with my father, John Horseman, Barnarde my father’s cook, Mr. Harve, Farfax, John Rutter, Wyngfyld, Browne the draper, Domyngo, Genenes, the page of the chamber, Peter Hoseer, Hocrofte, my lord of Wiltshire, William Horant, Pope, Bradbe the broderer, Brydges my tailor, Parson Robynson, a poor woman that Hannesley of the tennis play had married for balls I cannot tell how much, Cornelius the goldsmith, Harde Derman at the gate, Henry Semer, Mr. Bryan, the King for 40l. and 50 mks., Mr. Locke, Henry Parcar, page, Thomas Dyer, Sir William Peccarynge, William the broderer for 35l., whereon he has a gown, a coat, and a doublet of cloth of gold, my sadler, George Node, my shoemaker, Ambrose Barcar, Codale at Greenwich, Crester my barber, Richard Gresscham, Percake of the stable, Chr. Melyner, Askewe in Watlyngstrete, my lady Mosgrave 50l. whereon she has plate of mine, Jocelyne that was Mr. Norreys servant, John Norres, Secheper that playeth at the dice, Temple the fletcher, the King’s broderer.
Total, 925l. 7s. 2d.’ (4).
The Accused: William Brereton
William Brereton (born c. 1487-1690) was a courtier who came from a family who had served at the courts of Henry VIII and his father Henry VII. As Brereton’s career progressed, he was granted lands and, alongside George Boleyn, Francis Weston, and Henry Norris, was part of the Privy Chamber. William Brereton was arrested on 4th May, after it was alleged that Anne had ‘solicited’ him on including 16th November 1533 with adultery taking place on 27th November. He pleaded like the rest of the men accused with him, except Mark Smeaton, to not guilty.
William Brereton was notable for opposing Thomas Cromwell’s northern reforms and Sir Anthony Browne, who assisted Cromwell’s ‘investigation’ into the claims of Anne’s adultery, was equally no friend of William Brereton. The two had been involved in a land dispute, although they were kin by marriage, as William Brereton’s wife was the sister of the man married to Browne’s sister. Therefore, Thomas Cromwell and Anthony Browne both had motives in wanting the removal of William Brereton.
William Brereton does not seem, or the evidence does not suggest, to have had a particularly intimate relationship with Anne, or certainly no more than any other courtier. He did gift her a greyhound named Urian, named after his own brother, but this is not peculiar. Gift culture in the Henrician Court was rife, with many courtiers and members of the royal family gifting a variety of material objects or animals to each other to curry favour or pay tribute.
George Constantine later wrote about his execution:
‘What was layed against hym I know not nor never hearde. But at his deeth these were his wordes: I have deserved to dye if it were a thousand deethes, But the cause wherfore I dye judge not: But yf ye judge, judge the best. This he spake iii or foure tymes. If he were gyltie, I saye therfore that he dyed worst of them all.’
Notably, William Brereton’s widow believed in her husband’s innocence until she died, leaving her son in her will a bracelet, which was the ‘last token’ her husband had given her before his execution.
The Accused: Mark Smeaton
Mark Smeaton (born c.1512) was one of the youngest of the men accused, being around twenty-three or twenty-four at the time of his execution. Mark Smeaton was a court musician and thus a commoner, so, unlike the others, he was able to be tortured, of which he most certainly was. Due to this, Mark Smeaton is the only one of the men who pleaded guilty.
He was said to be a talented musician and singer, who was able to play the viol, lute, virginals and organ, marking the beginning his career in the choir of Cardinal Wolsey. He became a favourite musician of Anne after he was established as Groom of the Privy Chamber in 1532.
During her own arrest, Queen Anne disclosed an episode which took place with Mark Smeaton on the Saturday before May Day, in which she had found him standing in her chamber and looking out the window. She asked him why he looked so pensive and upset, and he replied that it was no matter. Anne allegedly replied "You may not look to have me speak to you as I should do to a nobleman, because you are an inferior person."
At this, Mark Smeaton left saying that a look ‘sufficeth’ and fared her well. The details of this conversation was then reported to Thomas Cromwell. Mark Smeaton was arrested on 30th April, reportedly taken to Cromwell’s home in Stepney where the torture took place. The method of torture allegedly included a knotted cord being placed around his eyes. When Mark Smeaton confessed, he himself had got the dates for the adultery confused, stating it first took place on 13th May 1535, however Queen Anne was at Richmond at this time. During his ordeal he also confessed the names of Anne’s other lovers, naming Henry Norris, Francis Weston, William Brereton, and Anne’s brother, George.
Due to being the lowest in rank, he was the last to be beheaded. He watched the men he named walk to the block before him, one by one, before his own time came to meet his end.
. . .
There have been many theories surrounding the nature of the trial, with one possible theory being a court plot seeking to overthrow Queen Anne and remove those either close to the Boleyn faction or of those in personal conflict with Thomas Cromwell. Innocent or guilty of their crimes, over 480 years ago, five men were executed as part of a miscarriage of justice. The victims of a rushed and faulty trial and, in Mark Smeaton’s case of torture, justice certainly did not prevail. Whilst the trial did not seek to prove the innocence of the accused, no effort was extended in plausibly proving their guilt either.
Thomas Wyatt the Elder, by Hans Holbein, Royal Collection
At the time of Queen Anne’s downfall, the poet Sir Thomas Wyatt the Elder was arrested and imprisoned in May 1536 on allegations that he too was one of Anne’s lovers. Due to his father’s connections, specifically with Thomas Cromwell, he was released. He would later write about his co-accused, and the five men who lost their lives on that spring day:
In Mourning wise since daily I increase, Thus should I cloak the cause of all my grief;
So pensive mind with tongue to hold his peace’
My reason sayeth there can be no relief:
Wherefore give ear, I humbly you require,
The affect to know that thus doth make me moan.
The cause is great of all my doleful cheer
For those that were, and now be dead and gone.
What thought to death desert be now their call.
As by their faults it doth appear right plain?
Of force I must lament that such a fall should light on those so wealthily did reign,
Though some perchance will say, of cruel heart,
A traitor’s death why should we thus bemoan?
But I alas, set this offence apart,
Must needs bewail the death of some be gone.
As for them all I do not thus lament,
But as of right my reason doth me bind;
But as the most doth all their deaths repent,
Even so do I by force of mourning mind.
Some say, ‘Rochford, haddest thou been not so proud,
For thy great wit each man would thee bemoan,
Since as it is so, many cry aloud
It is great loss that thou art dead and gone.
Ah! Norris, Norris, my tears begin to run
To think what hap did thee so lead or guide
Whereby thou hast both thee and thine undone
That is bewailed in court of every side;
In place also where thou hast never been
Both man and child doth piteously thee moan.
They say, ‘Alas, thou art far overseen
By thine offences to be thus deat and gone.
Ah! Weston, Weston, that pleasant was and young,
In active things who might with thee compare?
All words accept that thou diddest speak with tongue,
So well esteemed with each where thou diddest fare.
And we that now in court doth lead our life
Most part in mind doth thee lament and moan;
But that thy faults we daily hear so rife,
All we should weep that thou are dead and gone.
Brereton farewell, as one that least I knew.
Great was thy love with divers as I hear,
But common voice doth not so sore thee rue
As other twain that doth before appear;
But yet no doubt but they friends thee lament
And other hear their piteous cry and moan.
So doth eah heart for thee likewise relent
That thou givest cause thus to be dead and gone.
Ah! Mark, what moan should I for thee make more,
Since that thy death thou hast deserved best,
Save only that mine eye is forced sore
With piteous plaint to moan thee with the rest?
A time thou haddest above thy poor degree,
The fall whereof thy friends may well bemoan:
A rotten twig upon so high a tree
Hath slipped thy hold, and thou art dead and gone.
And thus farewell each one in hearty wise!
The axe is home, your heads be in the street;
The trickling tears doth fall so from my eyes
I scarce may write, my paper is so wet.
But what can hope when death hath played his part,
Though nature’s course will thus lament and moan?
Leave sobs therefore, and every Christian heart
Pray for the souls of those be dead and gone.
References: