Anne Bourchier, 7th Baroness Bourchier
Encyclopedia
Anne Bourchier was the suo jure
7th Baroness Bourchier
, suo jure Lady Lovayne, and Baroness Parr of Kendal. She was the first wife of William Parr, 1st Marquess of Northampton
, Earl of Essex, and the sister-in-law of Catherine Parr
, the sixth wife
of Henry VIII of England
.
She created a scandal in 1541 when she deserted her husband to elope
with her lover, John Lyngfield, by whom she would have several illegitimate children. Due to the intervention of Queen Catherine, who spoke to King Henry VIII on her behalf, Anne avoided the possible penalty of execution, which her husband had pressed the king to apply as a result of her adultery
.
to Queen Catherine of Aragon
. Her paternal grandparents were William Bourchier, Viscount Bourchier and Anne Woodville
, a younger sister of English queen Elizabeth Woodville
, and her maternal grandparents were Sir William Say and Elizabeth Fray. Anne was related to three queens consort of Henry VIII: Anne Boleyn
, Jane Seymour
, and Catherine Howard
, having shared the same great-grandmother, Elizabeth Cheney
.
As the only child of the last Earl of Essex, as well as the contingent heiress of the Countess of Oxford, Anne was one of the wealthiest heiresses in England
. The Bourchier wealth derived from the 14th century marriage of Sir William Bourchier to Eleanor de Lovayne (27 March 1345 – 5 October 1397), a rich heiress in her own right.
, Sheriff of Northamptonshire and Maud Green. Anne was approximately ten years old at the time of her marriage which had been diligently arranged by her ambitious mother-in-law. Anne later succeeded to the titles of suo jure 7th Baroness Bourchier and Lady Lovayne on 13 March 1540 at the time of her father's accidental death. His viscounty of Bourchier and earldom of Essex did not pass to her, however, and both titles became extinct upon his death. Her husband had been created 1st Baron Parr of Kendal in 1539.
Anne was described as having been "poorly-educated"; and she appeared to prefer the peace of the countryside to the excitement of Henry VIII's court, as her first recorded appearance at court was on 22 November 1539 when she was aged 22.
, who served as a Maid of Honour to Queen Catherine Howard
. In that same year, a scandal erupted when Anne eloped with her lover, John Lyngfield, the prior of St. James's Church, in Tanbridge, Surrey, and by whom she had an illegitimate child. He was also known as John Hunt or Huntley. The birth of Anne's child prompted Baron Parr to take action against her to protect his own interests, lest the baby should later in the future lay claim to his estates. In January 1543, he applied to Parliament
, asking for a divorce from Anne on the grounds of her adultery
. From the Letters and Papers, Foreign and Domestic, of Henry VIII, dated 22 January 1543, there is this item:
On 17 April 1543, he obtained an Act of Parliament
, repudiating Anne and her child, who was declared a bastard, and unfit to inherit. At this time, his sister Catherine was being courted by King Henry VIII. She was also a close friend of Anne, and supported her against her brother who was pressing the King to apply the death penalty for his unfaithful wife. Catherine petitioned the King to grant clemency for Anne; Henry agreed, provided Parr himself pardoned her, saying to Catherine that "if your brother can be content, I will pardon her". After much pleading on Catherine's part, Parr relented and Anne received the King's pardon. She was, however, constrained to forfeit her titles and estates to her husband, and spent the next few years living in exile at the manor of Little Wakering, in Essex. It was highly unlikely that Anne would have been sentenced to death, as adultery was not a capital offence in 16th century England. Henry VIII's wives, Anne Boleyn
and Catherine Howard
were both executed for treason
. The act of adultery, when committed by a queen consort of England, was legally a crime of High treason
, and punishable by death.
In 1543, William Parr had begun his courtship of Elizabeth Brooke
, who was the niece of his mistress, Dorothy Bray, as well as a former Maid of Honour of Catherine Howard. He was created 1st Earl of Essex
on 23 December 1543. As Parr never assumed or claimed her barony of Bourchier, Anne thus retained the title of baroness until her death.
The marriage was annulled (again) in 1552 by Act of Parliament. In 1553, despite their divorce, Anne, along with several other ladies, intervened on Parr's behalf with Queen Mary I
, after his traitorous complicity with John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland
's failed plot against Mary to place Lady Jane Grey
upon the throne. Anne succeeded in securing a pardon for her erstwhile husband, who had been facing the death penalty as a result of his treason.
Anne had several more children by John Lyngfield but they, like her first child, were legally declared bastards. Only one daughter, Mary, is documented as having lived to adulthood. She married a Thomas York by whom she had children, but they all lived in obscurity. Anne was at the court of Mary I until December 1556 when she received an annuity of £450. Following Queen Elizabeth I
's accession to the throne in November 1558, Anne retired to Benington, in Hertfordshire
, where she lived out the rest of her life.
, and secondly to Helena Snakenborg, but fathered no children by any of his wives.
Upon Anne's death, the barony of Bourchier passed to her cousin, Walter Devereux, 1st Earl of Essex
.
Suo jure
Suo jure is a Latin phrase meaning "in her [or his] own right".It is commonly encountered in the context of titles of nobility, especially in cases where a wife may hold a title in her own right rather than through her marriage....
7th Baroness Bourchier
Baron Bourchier
The title Baron Bourchier is an abeyant peerage which was created in the Peerage of England in 1342 for Sir Robert Bourchier, who had been Lord High Chancellor from 1340–41....
, suo jure Lady Lovayne, and Baroness Parr of Kendal. She was the first wife of William Parr, 1st Marquess of Northampton
William Parr, 1st Marquess of Northampton
William Parr, 1st Marquess of Northampton, 1st Earl of Essex and 1st Baron Parr, KG was the son of Sir Thomas Parr and his wife, Maud Green, daughter of Sir Thomas Green, of Broughton and Greens Norton...
, Earl of Essex, and the sister-in-law of Catherine Parr
Catherine Parr
Catherine Parr ; 1512 – 5 September 1548) was Queen consort of England and Ireland and the last of the six wives of King Henry VIII of England. She married Henry VIII on 12 July 1543. She was the fourth commoner Henry had taken as his consort, and outlived him...
, the sixth wife
Wives of Henry VIII
The wives of Henry VIII were the six queens consort married to Henry VIII of England between 1509 and 1547. The six women to hold the title 'queens consort' of King Henry VIII were, in order:* Catherine of Aragon ,* Anne Boleyn ,...
of Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
.
She created a scandal in 1541 when she deserted her husband to elope
Elope
To elope, most literally, merely means to run away with a girl and to not come back to the point of origination. More specifically, elopement is often used to refer to a marriage conducted in sudden and secretive fashion, usually involving hurried flight away from one's place of residence together...
with her lover, John Lyngfield, by whom she would have several illegitimate children. Due to the intervention of Queen Catherine, who spoke to King Henry VIII on her behalf, Anne avoided the possible penalty of execution, which her husband had pressed the king to apply as a result of her adultery
Adultery
Adultery is sexual infidelity to one's spouse, and is a form of extramarital sex. It originally referred only to sex between a woman who was married and a person other than her spouse. Even in cases of separation from one's spouse, an extramarital affair is still considered adultery.Adultery is...
.
Family
Anne was born in 1517, the only child of Henry Bourchier, 2nd Earl of Essex, 6th Baron Bourchier, Viscount Bourchier, 2nd Count of Eu, and Mary Say, who was a Lady-in-waitingLady-in-waiting
A lady-in-waiting is a female personal assistant at a royal court, attending on a queen, a princess, or a high-ranking noblewoman. Historically, in Europe a lady-in-waiting was often a noblewoman from a family highly thought of in good society, but was of lower rank than the woman on whom she...
to Queen Catherine of Aragon
Catherine of Aragon
Catherine of Aragon , also known as Katherine or Katharine, was Queen consort of England as the first wife of King Henry VIII of England and Princess of Wales as the wife to Arthur, Prince of Wales...
. Her paternal grandparents were William Bourchier, Viscount Bourchier and Anne Woodville
Anne Woodville
Anne Woodville, Viscountess Bourchier was an English noblewoman. She was a younger sister of Queen consort Elizabeth Woodville to whom she served as a lady-in-waiting. Anne was married twice; first to William Bourchier, Viscount Bourchier, and secondly to George Grey, 2nd Earl of Kent...
, a younger sister of English queen Elizabeth Woodville
Elizabeth Woodville
Elizabeth Woodville was Queen consort of England as the spouse of King Edward IV from 1464 until his death in 1483. Elizabeth was a key figure in the series of dynastic civil wars known as the Wars of the Roses. Her first husband, Sir John Grey of Groby was killed at the Second Battle of St Albans...
, and her maternal grandparents were Sir William Say and Elizabeth Fray. Anne was related to three queens consort of Henry VIII: Anne Boleyn
Anne Boleyn
Anne Boleyn ;c.1501/1507 – 19 May 1536) was Queen of England from 1533 to 1536 as the second wife of Henry VIII of England and Marquess of Pembroke in her own right. Henry's marriage to Anne, and her subsequent execution, made her a key figure in the political and religious upheaval that was the...
, Jane Seymour
Jane Seymour
Jane Seymour was Queen of England as the third wife of King Henry VIII. She succeeded Anne Boleyn as queen consort following the latter's execution for trumped up charges of high treason, incest and adultery in May 1536. She died of postnatal complications less than two weeks after the birth of...
, and Catherine Howard
Catherine Howard
Catherine Howard , also spelled Katherine, Katheryn or Kathryn, was the fifth wife of Henry VIII of England, and sometimes known by his reference to her as his "rose without a thorn"....
, having shared the same great-grandmother, Elizabeth Cheney
Elizabeth Cheney (1422-1473)
Elizabeth Cheney , later known as Elizabeth, Lady Tilney and Elizabeth, Lady Say, was an English aristocrat, who, by dint of her two marriages, was the great-grandmother of Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, and Catherine Howard, three of the wives of King Henry VIII of England, thus making her...
.
As the only child of the last Earl of Essex, as well as the contingent heiress of the Countess of Oxford, Anne was one of the wealthiest heiresses in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. The Bourchier wealth derived from the 14th century marriage of Sir William Bourchier to Eleanor de Lovayne (27 March 1345 – 5 October 1397), a rich heiress in her own right.
Marriage and inheritance
On 9 February 1527, Anne was married to William Parr, the only son of Sir Thomas ParrSir Thomas Parr
Sir Thomas Parr was an English knight, courtier and Lord of the Manor of Kendal in Westmorland during the Tudor period. He is best known as the father of Catherine Parr, queen consort of England and the sixth and final wife of King Henry VIII.-Life:Thomas was the son of Sir William Parr of Kendal...
, Sheriff of Northamptonshire and Maud Green. Anne was approximately ten years old at the time of her marriage which had been diligently arranged by her ambitious mother-in-law. Anne later succeeded to the titles of suo jure 7th Baroness Bourchier and Lady Lovayne on 13 March 1540 at the time of her father's accidental death. His viscounty of Bourchier and earldom of Essex did not pass to her, however, and both titles became extinct upon his death. Her husband had been created 1st Baron Parr of Kendal in 1539.
Anne was described as having been "poorly-educated"; and she appeared to prefer the peace of the countryside to the excitement of Henry VIII's court, as her first recorded appearance at court was on 22 November 1539 when she was aged 22.
Adultery
Anne was apparently unhappy with her husband. In 1541, Baron Parr began an affair with Dorothy BrayDorothy Bray, Baroness Chandos
Dorothy Bray, Baroness Chandos was an English noblewoman, who served as a Maid of Honour to three queens consort of King Henry VIII of England; Anne Of Cleves, Catherine Howard, and Catherine Parr...
, who served as a Maid of Honour to Queen Catherine Howard
Catherine Howard
Catherine Howard , also spelled Katherine, Katheryn or Kathryn, was the fifth wife of Henry VIII of England, and sometimes known by his reference to her as his "rose without a thorn"....
. In that same year, a scandal erupted when Anne eloped with her lover, John Lyngfield, the prior of St. James's Church, in Tanbridge, Surrey, and by whom she had an illegitimate child. He was also known as John Hunt or Huntley. The birth of Anne's child prompted Baron Parr to take action against her to protect his own interests, lest the baby should later in the future lay claim to his estates. In January 1543, he applied to Parliament
Parliament of England
The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England. In 1066, William of Normandy introduced a feudal system, by which he sought the advice of a council of tenants-in-chief and ecclesiastics before making laws...
, asking for a divorce from Anne on the grounds of her adultery
Adultery
Adultery is sexual infidelity to one's spouse, and is a form of extramarital sex. It originally referred only to sex between a woman who was married and a person other than her spouse. Even in cases of separation from one's spouse, an extramarital affair is still considered adultery.Adultery is...
. From the Letters and Papers, Foreign and Domestic, of Henry VIII, dated 22 January 1543, there is this item:
"Whereas lady Anne, wife of Sir Wm Parre lord Parre continued in adultery notwithstanding admonition, and, finally, two years past, left his company and has since had a child begotten in adultery and that the said child and all future children she may have shall be held bastards."
On 17 April 1543, he obtained an Act of Parliament
Act of Parliament
An Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...
, repudiating Anne and her child, who was declared a bastard, and unfit to inherit. At this time, his sister Catherine was being courted by King Henry VIII. She was also a close friend of Anne, and supported her against her brother who was pressing the King to apply the death penalty for his unfaithful wife. Catherine petitioned the King to grant clemency for Anne; Henry agreed, provided Parr himself pardoned her, saying to Catherine that "if your brother can be content, I will pardon her". After much pleading on Catherine's part, Parr relented and Anne received the King's pardon. She was, however, constrained to forfeit her titles and estates to her husband, and spent the next few years living in exile at the manor of Little Wakering, in Essex. It was highly unlikely that Anne would have been sentenced to death, as adultery was not a capital offence in 16th century England. Henry VIII's wives, Anne Boleyn
Anne Boleyn
Anne Boleyn ;c.1501/1507 – 19 May 1536) was Queen of England from 1533 to 1536 as the second wife of Henry VIII of England and Marquess of Pembroke in her own right. Henry's marriage to Anne, and her subsequent execution, made her a key figure in the political and religious upheaval that was the...
and Catherine Howard
Catherine Howard
Catherine Howard , also spelled Katherine, Katheryn or Kathryn, was the fifth wife of Henry VIII of England, and sometimes known by his reference to her as his "rose without a thorn"....
were both executed for treason
Treason
In law, treason is the crime that covers some of the more extreme acts against one's sovereign or nation. Historically, treason also covered the murder of specific social superiors, such as the murder of a husband by his wife. Treason against the king was known as high treason and treason against a...
. The act of adultery, when committed by a queen consort of England, was legally a crime of High treason
High treason in the United Kingdom
Under the law of the United Kingdom, high treason is the crime of disloyalty to the Crown. Offences constituting high treason include plotting the murder of the sovereign; having sexual intercourse with the sovereign's consort, with his eldest unmarried daughter, or with the wife of the heir to the...
, and punishable by death.
In 1543, William Parr had begun his courtship of Elizabeth Brooke
Elizabeth Brooke
Elizabeth or Elisabeth Brooke may refer to:*Elizabeth Brooke, Lady Wyatt, alleged mistress of Henry VIII and estranged wife of the poet Thomas Wyatt...
, who was the niece of his mistress, Dorothy Bray, as well as a former Maid of Honour of Catherine Howard. He was created 1st Earl of Essex
Earl of Essex
Earl of Essex is a title that has been held by several families and individuals. The earldom was first created in the 12th century for Geoffrey II de Mandeville . Upon the death of the third earl in 1189, the title became dormant or extinct...
on 23 December 1543. As Parr never assumed or claimed her barony of Bourchier, Anne thus retained the title of baroness until her death.
The marriage was annulled (again) in 1552 by Act of Parliament. In 1553, despite their divorce, Anne, along with several other ladies, intervened on Parr's behalf with Queen Mary I
Mary I of England
Mary I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from July 1553 until her death.She was the only surviving child born of the ill-fated marriage of Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine of Aragon. Her younger half-brother, Edward VI, succeeded Henry in 1547...
, after his traitorous complicity with John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland
John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland
John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland, KG was an English general, admiral, and politician, who led the government of the young King Edward VI from 1550 until 1553, and unsuccessfully tried to install Lady Jane Grey on the English throne after the King's death...
's failed plot against Mary to place Lady Jane Grey
Lady Jane Grey
Lady Jane Grey , also known as The Nine Days' Queen, was an English noblewoman who was de facto monarch of England from 10 July until 19 July 1553 and was subsequently executed...
upon the throne. Anne succeeded in securing a pardon for her erstwhile husband, who had been facing the death penalty as a result of his treason.
Anne had several more children by John Lyngfield but they, like her first child, were legally declared bastards. Only one daughter, Mary, is documented as having lived to adulthood. She married a Thomas York by whom she had children, but they all lived in obscurity. Anne was at the court of Mary I until December 1556 when she received an annuity of £450. Following Queen Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...
's accession to the throne in November 1558, Anne retired to Benington, in Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
, where she lived out the rest of her life.
Death
Anne Bourchier died on 28 January 1571 at Benington. Parr died the same year, having been created 1st Marquess of Northampton on 16 February 1547. He had married two times after Anne, firstly to Elizabeth BrookeElisabeth Brooke, Marchioness of Northampton
Elisabeth Brooke was the eldest daughter of George Brooke, 9th Baron Cobham of Kent and Anne, his wife. She was the niece of Sir Thomas Wyatt the elder, the courtier-poet credited with bringing the sonnet form into the English language, and Elizabeth Brooke who was associated with Henry VIII of...
, and secondly to Helena Snakenborg, but fathered no children by any of his wives.
Upon Anne's death, the barony of Bourchier passed to her cousin, Walter Devereux, 1st Earl of Essex
Walter Devereux, 1st Earl of Essex
Walter Devereux, 1st Earl of Essex, KG , an English nobleman and general. From 1573 until his death he fought in Ireland in connection with the Plantation of Ulster, where he ordered the massacre of Rathlin Island...
.
Ancestry
Sources
- Weir, Alison (1991). The Six Wives of Henry VIII. New York: Ballantine Books. ISBN 0-345-38072-X
- Martienssen, Anthony (1973). Queen Katherine Parr. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company. ISBN 0-07-040610-3
- www.thePeerage.com.