Anne, Lady Shelton née Boleyn (c. 1483 – 8 January 1556) was a sister of

Thomas Boleyn, 1st Earl of Wiltshire Thomas Bolina, Earl of Wiltshire, 1st Earl of Ormond, 1st Viscount Rochford KG KB (c. 1477 – 12 March 1539), of Hever Castle in Kent, was an English diplomat and politician who was the father of Anne Boleyn, the second wife of King Henry ...

, and one of the aunts of his daughter,

Queen Anne Boleyn Anne Boleyn (; 1501 or 1507 – 19 May 1536) was Queen of England from 1533 to 1536, as the second wife of King Henry VIII. The circumstances of her marriage and of her execution by beheading for treason and other charges made her a key f ...

, the second wife of

King Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disag ...

Life

Anne Boleyn was born at

Blickling Blickling is a village and civil parish in the Broadland district of Norfolk, England, about north-west of Aylsham. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 136 and covers , falling to 113 at the 2011 Census. Since the 17th century t ...

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

, the daughter of Sir

William Boleyn Sir William Boleyn, KB (1451 – 10 October 1505) of Blickling Hall in Norfolk and Hever Castle in Kent, was a wealthy and powerful landowner who served as Sheriff of Kent in 1489 and as Sheriff of Norfolk and Suffolk in 1500. He was the father ...

and

Lady Margaret Butler Lady Margaret Boleyn (c. 1454 – 1539) was an Irish noblewoman, the daughter and co-heiress of Thomas Butler, 7th Earl of Ormond. She married Sir William Boleyn and through her eldest son Sir Thomas Boleyn, was the paternal grandmoth ...

, daughter of

Thomas Butler, 7th Earl of Ormond Thomas Butler, 7th Earl of Ormond PC (1426 – 3 August 1515) was the youngest son of James Butler, 4th Earl of Ormond. He was attainted, but restored by Henry VII's first Parliament in November 1485, and the statutes made at Westminster, by ...

, and Joan de Beauchamp. She married

Sir John Shelton Sir John Shelton (1476/7 – 1539) of Shelton in Norfolk, England, was a courtier to King Henry VIII. Through his marriage to Anne Boleyn, a sister and co-heiress of Thomas Boleyn, 1st Earl of Wiltshire of Blickling Hall in Norfolk, he became ...

before 1503. In 1533, Lady Shelton and her sister, Lady

Alice Clere Alice Clere (died 1538) was the third daughter of Sir William Boleyn and his wife Margaret Ormond (otherwise Butler), the daughter and co-heiress of Thomas Butler, 7th Earl of Ormond. Alice was thus the sister of Thomas Boleyn, 1st Earl of Wiltshi ...

, were placed in charge of the household of the King's daughter,

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...

. There is some evidence that Lady Shelton was harsh towards the young Mary, often taunting her with Elizabeth's higher status, but it is widely believed that she never resorted to actually hitting the young girl to chastise her. She received letters from Queen Anne criticising Mary. By July 1536 Sir John Shelton was

comptroller A comptroller (pronounced either the same as ''controller'' or as ) is a management-level position responsible for supervising the quality of accounting and financial reporting of an organization. A financial comptroller is a senior-level executi ...

of the household established for Mary and Queen Anne Boleyn's daughter, Princess Elizabeth. In the same year five women were appointed to serve Queen Anne while she was imprisoned in the

Tower A tower is a tall Nonbuilding structure, structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from guyed mast, masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting ...

and to report to Sir William Kingston, the Lieutenant of the Tower, and through him to the King's chief minister,

Thomas Cromwell Thomas Cromwell (; 1485 – 28 July 1540), briefly Earl of Essex, was an English lawyer and statesman who served as chief minister to King Henry VIII from 1534 to 1540, when he was beheaded on orders of the king, who later blamed false charge ...

, all that the Queen said. These women included Lady Shelton, who had perhaps fallen out with Queen Anne during Henry VIII's affair with Anne's first cousin, Lady Shelton's daughter,

Madge Shelton Margaret Shelton (likely died before 1555) was the sister of Mary Shelton, and was once thought to be a mistress of Henry VIII of England. Family Both Margaret and Mary were daughters of Sir John Shelton and his wife Anne, the sister of Thomas Bol ...

. The other women to attend Anne were Sir William Kingston's wife, Lady Mary Kingston; Lady Elizabeth Boleyn, Queen Anne's aunt by marriage; Lady Margaret Coffin, the wife of Queen Anne's

Master of the Horse Master of the Horse is an official position in several European nations. It was more common when most countries in Europe were monarchies, and is of varying prominence today. (Ancient Rome) The original Master of the Horse ( la, Magister Equitu ...

; and Elizabeth Stoner, wife of the King's

Serjeant-at-Arms A serjeant-at-arms, or sergeant-at-arms, is an officer appointed by a deliberative body, usually a legislature, to keep order during its meetings. The word "serjeant" is derived from the Latin ''serviens'', which means "servant". Historically, s ...

. Sir William Kingston described the five as "honest and good women", but Queen Anne said "I thynke 'moche onkindnes yn the''kyng to put seche abowt me as I never loved." When in 1536 the Queen was arrested and taken to the Tower, Lady Shelton was dismissed from her service. Four days later Anne Boleyn was executed. Historians have debated as to whether Lady Shelton and Mrs Coffin were still in her service at the time, and whether she was one of the "four young ladies" said to have attended and escorted Anne to the scaffold. Lady Shelton was widowed 21 December 1539, and her husband was buried in the chancel of Shelton church. He was said to have been "a man of great possessions", which he sought to pass on to his heirs contrary to the

Statute of Uses The Statute of Uses (27 Hen 8 c 10 — enacted in 1536) was an Acts of Parliament in the United Kingdom, Act of the Parliament of England that restricted the application of use (law), uses in English property law. The Statute ended the practi ...

. When the stratagem came to light after Shelton's death, the lawyers involved were punished, and an Act of Parliament was passed annulling such "crafty conveyances".

Death

Anne Shelton died 8 January 1556, at Norwich. It is unknown whether she was buried at Shelton church or Carrow Abbey, but her image appears in the stained glass windows of St. Mary's Church in Shelton. Her will was proved at the Consistory Court of

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...

on 1 June 1556.

Issue

Lady Shelton had three sons and seven daughters. A daughter named as 'Madge' Shelton is said to have been a mistress of Henry VIII; it is not known if Madge refers to Margaret or Mary Shelton. *

(died before 11 September 1583), married Thomas Wodehouse (or Woodhouse) of Kimberley. A Tudor bed valance decorated with the insignia of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn was kept by her family and is now held by the

Burrell Collection The Burrell Collection is a museum in Glasgow, Scotland, managed by Glasgow Museums. It houses the art collection of Sir William Burrell and Constance, Lady Burrell. The museum reopened on 29 March 2022 with free entry, having been closed for r ...

. * John Shelton (1500-November 1558), 22nd Lord of Shelton, married Margaret Parker, daughter of

Henry Parker, 10th Baron Morley Henry Parker, 10th Baron Morley (1476/1480/14813 December 1553/1556), (notes to Parliamentary records show this as 25 November 1556) was an English peer and translator, Lord of Morley, Hingham, Hockering, &c., in Norfolk. He was the son of Alic ...

and elder sister to

Jane Boleyn, Viscountess Rochford Jane Boleyn, Viscountess Rochford (''née'' Jane Parker; c. 1505 – 13 February 1542), was an English noblewoman. Her husband, George Boleyn, Viscount Rochford, was the brother of Anne Boleyn, the second wife of King Henry VIII. Jane had been ...

.R. Virgoe, 'Shelton, Sir John (by 1503-58), of Shelton, Norf.', in S.T. Bindoff (ed.), ''The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1509-1558'' (from Boydell and Brewer 1982)
History of Parliament online
*

Mary Shelton Mary Shelton (1510-1515 – 1570/71) was one of the contributors to the Devonshire manuscript. Either she or her sister Madge Shelton may have been a mistress of King Henry VIII. Family Both Margaret and Mary were daughters of Sir John Shel ...

(died 8 Jan 1570/71), married first Sir Anthony Heveningham, and secondly Philip Appleyard. * Ralph Shelton (died 26 Sep 1561), married Amy Wodehouse or Woodhouse (sister of Thomas, who married Margaret Shelton). * Thomas Shelton (died after 1579), married Anne Appleyard * Anne Shelton (c.1505-1563), married first

Edmund Knyvet Sir Edmund Knyvet (c. 1508 – 1 May 1551) was the eldest son of Sir Thomas Knyvet (c. 1485 – 1512), a distinguished courtier and sea captain, and Muriel Howard (died 1512), the daughter of Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk. Family Born ab ...

, and secondly Christopher Coote, Esq. * Gabriella Shelton (died October 1558), without issue. * Elizabeth Shelton (died after 1561), without issue. * Amy Shelton (died November 1579), without issue. * Emma Shelton (died after 1556), without issue.G.E.Cokayne, The Complete Peerage

Footnotes

;Secondary sources * * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Shelton, Anne 1475 births 1556 deaths 16th-century English women

Anne Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie. Anne is sometimes used as a male name in the ...

English courtiers People from Blickling Wives of knights Household of Anne Boleyn People from Shelton and Hardwick