Born Bath, of royal blood, she survived the Wars of the Roses and was trusted by Henry VIII enough to be a governess to Mary, his daughter by Catherine of Aragon. However when the king wanted a divorce from Catherine, Cardinal Pole, Margaret's son, from the safety of Italy, wrote denouncing the king who then turned against the whole Pole family. This meant execution for Margaret, even at age 68. There are stories that she ran from the block and the executioner chased her around Tower Green before he could complete the job (cue the Benny Hill theme tune).
This section lists the memorials where the subject on this page is commemorated:
Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury
Commemorated ati
Tower of London execution site
Catling wrote the poem as well as creating the sculpture. Doesn't that cushio...
Other Subjects
John Tiptoft, Earl of Worcester
Unusually well-educated. Titles: Lord High Treasurer, Lord High Constable, Deputy Governor of Ireland.... and Butcher of England - for his relish in executing many Lancastrians. Thus when the Lan...
Richard Fitzalan, 11th Earl of Arundel
Had been one of the group who arranged for the execution of Simon Burley. King Richard never forgave that, and when Fitzalan joined Gloucester to oppose the King's peace with France the King took ...
William, Lord Hastings
An important man in the court of Edward IV, rising to the position of Lord Chamberlain. On the king’s death he supported his brother, the later Richard III, but something was not to Richard’s liki...
John Apprice
Burnt at the stake in Bow (or possibly Stratford) for his Protestant beliefs. Blind. Shared a stake with Laverock who chatted with him during their ordeal.