Martha Denny, Lady Carew (1505 – 9 January 1572) was an aristocratic English woman who was also a recusant and was sent to prison in 1562 for having attended mass. Her husband was Sir Wymond Carew

Wymond Carew

Sir Wymond Carew was a sixteenth-century courtier and politician.Carew was born by 1428, the son of John Carew of Anthony in Cornwall...

, by whom she had 19 children, including lawyer Sir Matthew Carew

Matthew Carew

-Life:He was a younger son, the tenth of sixteen children, of Sir Wymond Carew of Antony, Cornwall, treasurer of the first-fruits and tenths, by Martha Denny, sister of Sir Anthony Denny. He was educated at Westminster School, under Alexander Nowell. He went to Trinity College, Cambridge, where he...

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Family and marriage

Martha was born in 1505, the daughter of Sir Edmund Denny

Edmund Denny

Sir Edmund Denny, of Cheshunt was a Tudor courtier and politician. He was the chief Baron of the Exchequer during the reign of Henry VIII of England....

, Chief Baron of the Exchequer, and Mary Troutbeck. Her brother was Sir Anthony Denny, a leading member of the Privy Chamber

Privy chamber

A Privy chamber was the private apartment of a royal residence in England. The gentlemen of the Privy chamber were servants to the Crown who would wait and attend on the King and Queen at court during their various activities, functions and entertainments....

, and a confidant of King 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...

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On an unknown date she married Sir Wymond Carew of Antony, Cornwall

Antony, Cornwall

Antony is a coastal civil parish and a village in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom.The village is situated on the Rame Peninsula about three miles west of Torpoint and has a shop, a pub and a garage....

, by whom she had 19 children, including:

• Thomas Carew (1527 – 12 February 1565)
• Roger Carew
• George Carew
• John Carew
• Sir Matthew Carew
  Matthew Carew
  -Life:He was a younger son, the tenth of sixteen children, of Sir Wymond Carew of Antony, Cornwall, treasurer of the first-fruits and tenths, by Martha Denny, sister of Sir Anthony Denny. He was educated at Westminster School, under Alexander Nowell. He went to Trinity College, Cambridge, where he...
  
   (1531–1618), lawyer; married Alice Rivers, by whom he had issue.
• Anthony Carew
• Harvey Carew
• Prudence Carew married Anthony Brugge or Bridges of West Ham. Anthony was the son of Giles Brugge of West Ham (d.1557) and Helianor Robbins and grandson of Sir John Brugge (or Bruges), Alderman, Draper and Lord Mayor of London 1520-1521.
• Temperance Carew (1537 – 9 October 1577)
• Elizabeth Carew ( - March 1578/1579) married George Dacres of Cheshunt (1534 -30 September 1580)

Sir Wymond was the treasurer of King Henry's fourth 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 ,...

, Anne of Cleves

Anne of Cleves

Anne of Cleves was a German noblewoman and the fourth wife of Henry VIII of England and as such she was Queen of England from 6 January 1540 to 9 July 1540. The marriage was never consummated, and she was not crowned queen consort...

. The Carews lived in extravagant style at their many residences in Bletchingley

Bletchingley

Bletchingley is a village in Surrey, England. It is on the A25 road to the east of Redhill and to the west of Godstone.-History:The village lay within the Anglo-Saxon administrative division of Tandridge hundred....

, Surrey

Surrey

Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...

, Pyshoo, 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...

, and Hackney

London Borough of Hackney

The London Borough of Hackney is a London borough of North/North East London, and forms part of inner London. The local authority is Hackney London Borough Council....

, Middlesex

Middlesex

Middlesex is one of the historic counties of England and the second smallest by area. The low-lying county contained the wealthy and politically independent City of London on its southern boundary and was dominated by it from a very early time...

. When her husband died on 22 August 1549, Martha was left with debts totalling £8,000. As she was unable to pay, what was in the 16th century a large sum of money, the manor at Hackney as well as other lands passed to the Crown in 1554.

Recusancy

Following the loss of her home at Hackney, Martha moved to London, where on 8 September 1562, she was arrested for having attended a Roman Catholic mass. After being tried and convicted, she refused to pay the required fine of 100 marks and was sent to prison for six months.On 4 April 1568, she was arrested a second time for the same offence; this time, however, she received a pardon from 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...

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Martha died on 9 January 1572.