Joan Larke (c. 1490 – 1532) was the
mistress
Mistress is the feminine form of the English word "master" (''master'' + ''-ess'') and may refer to:
Romance and relationships
* Mistress (lover), a term for a woman who is in a sexual and romantic relationship with a man who is married to a ...
of the powerful English
statesman
A statesman or stateswoman typically is a politician who has had a long and respected political career at the national or international level.
Statesman or Statesmen may also refer to:
Newspapers United States
* ''The Statesman'' (Oregon), a n ...
and
churchman in the
Tudor period
The Tudor period occurred between 1485 and 1603 in History of England, England and Wales and includes the Elizabethan period during the reign of Elizabeth I until 1603. The Tudor period coincides with the dynasty of the House of Tudor in Englan ...
,
Thomas Wolsey
Thomas Wolsey ( – 29 November 1530) was an English statesman and Catholic bishop. When Henry VIII became King of England in 1509, Wolsey became the king's almoner. Wolsey's affairs prospered and by 1514 he had become the controlling figur ...
, Archbishop of York, and mother of his two illegitimate children.
Wolsey's mistress
Joan was born in about 1490 at
Yarmouth,
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 Peter Larke, variously described as a
Thetford
Thetford is a market town and civil parish in the Breckland District of Norfolk, England. It is on the A11 road between Norwich and London, just east of Thetford Forest. The civil parish, covering an area of , in 2015 had a population of 24,340 ...
innkeeper
Inns are generally establishments or buildings where travelers can seek lodging, and usually, food and drink. Inns are typically located in the country or along a highway; before the advent of motorized transportation they also provided accomm ...
,
common councilman of London or
gentleman
A gentleman (Old French: ''gentilz hom'', gentle + man) is any man of good and courteous conduct. Originally, ''gentleman'' was the lowest rank of the landed gentry of England, ranking below an esquire and above a yeoman; by definition, the ra ...
of
Huntingdonshire
Huntingdonshire (; abbreviated Hunts) is a non-metropolitan district of Cambridgeshire and a historic county of England. The district council is based in Huntingdon. Other towns include St Ives, Godmanchester, St Neots and Ramsey. The popul ...
, whose elder brother was
Blessed John Larke
John Larke (fl. c. 1500 - died 7 March 1544) was an English Roman Catholic, Catholic priest and martyr, who was executed during the reign of Henry VIII of England, Henry VIII. Larke was a notable personal friend of Thomas More, Lord Chancellor, ...
. Her brother Canon Thomas Larke,
dean of Bridgnorth, was
chaplain
A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a Minister (Christianity), minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a laity, lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secularity, secular institution (such as a hosp ...
to Wolsey. In about 1509, when Wolsey served as
almoner
An almoner (} ' (alms), via the popular Latin '.
History
Christians have historically been encouraged to donate one-tenth of their income as a tithe to their church and additional offerings as needed for the poor. The first deacons, mentioned ...
to the new king
Henry VIII of England
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 disa ...
, Joan became his mistress, living with him at
Bridewell Palace
Bridewell Palace in London was built as a residence of King Henry VIII and was one of his homes early in his reign for eight years. Given to the City of London Corporation by his son King Edward VI for use as an orphanage and place of correc ...
. She bore him two illegitimate children:
*
Thomas Wynter
Thomas Wynter or Winter (c. 1510 – c. 1546) was the Archdeacon of York, Richmond, Cornwall, Provost of Beverley, Dean of Wells Cathedral and the illegitimate son of Cardinal Thomas Wolsey.
Biography
Thomas Wynter's exact date of birth is ...
(1510 – 1542),
dean of Wells
The Dean of Wells is the head of the Chapter of Wells Cathedral in the Mendip district of Somerset, England. The dean's residence is The Dean's Lodging, 25 The Liberty, Wells.
List of deans
High Medieval
*1140–1164: Ivo
*1164–1189: Rich ...
, and had issue.
* Dorothy Clancey (b. 29 September 1512), a
nun
A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 599. The term is o ...
.
Her son, Thomas, was sent to live with a family in
Willesden
Willesden () is an area of northwest London, situated 5 miles (8 km) northwest of Charing Cross. It is historically a parish in the county of Middlesex that was incorporated as the Municipal Borough of Willesden in 1933, and has formed ...
, whilst her daughter, Dorothy, was adopted by John Clancey,
alderman
An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many Jurisdiction, jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council membe ...
of
Worcester
Worcester may refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England
** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament
* Worcester Park, London, Engla ...
, later entering
Shaftesbury Abbey
Shaftesbury Abbey was an abbey that housed nuns in Shaftesbury, Dorset. It was founded in about 888, and dissolved in 1539 during the English Reformation by the order of Thomas Cromwell, minister to King Henry VIII. At the time it was the second ...
as a
nun
A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 599. The term is o ...
; she received a pension from
Sir Thomas Cromwell when her
religious house was later
dissolved.
Sometime after
Cardinal Wolsey
Thomas Wolsey ( – 29 November 1530) was an English statesman and Catholic bishop. When Henry VIII became King of England in 1509, Wolsey became the king's almoner. Wolsey's affairs prospered and by 1514 he had become the controlling figur ...
's arrest and death in November 1530, Thomas Wynter went to
Padua
Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of the ...
to read
divinity
Divinity or the divine are things that are either related to, devoted to, or proceeding from a deity.[divine ...](_blank)
, at the King's expense. When he returned penniless to England in about 1535, he was financially supported by
Queen
Queen or QUEEN may refer to:
Monarchy
* Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom
** List of queens regnant
* Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king
* Queen dowager, the widow of a king
* Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...
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 ...
, Wolsey's former adversary.
Marriages and children
As
Wolsey
Thomas Wolsey ( – 29 November 1530) was an English statesman and Catholic bishop. When Henry VIII became King of England in 1509, Wolsey became the king's almoner. Wolsey's affairs prospered and by 1514 he had become the controlling figure ...
continued to rise swiftly and prominently through Church and government ranks, eventually becoming
Bishop of Lincoln
The Bishop of Lincoln is the ordinary (diocesan bishop) of the Church of England Diocese of Lincoln in the Province of Canterbury.
The present diocese covers the county of Lincolnshire and the unitary authority areas of North Lincolnshire and ...
,
Archbishop of York
The archbishop of York is a senior bishop in the Church of England, second only to the archbishop of Canterbury. The archbishop is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and the metropolitan bishop of the province of York, which covers th ...
, a
Cardinal Prince of the Church of Rome, and
Lord Chancellor of England
The lord chancellor, formally the lord high chancellor of Great Britain, is the highest-ranking traditional minister among the Great Officers of State in Scotland and England in the United Kingdom, nominally outranking the prime minister. The ...
, Joan, despite her beauty, became a source of embarrassment to him. In 1519, he arranged her marriage to George Legh,
squire
In the Middle Ages, a squire was the shield- or armour-bearer of a knight.
Use of the term evolved over time. Initially, a squire served as a knight's apprentice. Later, a village leader or a lord of the manor might come to be known as a " ...
of
Adlington Hall
Adlington Hall is a country house near Adlington, Cheshire. The oldest part of the existing building, the Great Hall, was constructed between 1480 and 1505; the east wing was added in 1581. The Legh family has lived in the hall and in previ ...
,
Cheshire
Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...
, shortly after he had inherited the
Adlington estate from his father
Thomas Legh by his wife, Catherine, daughter of
Sir John Savage. Wolsey provided her
dowry
A dowry is a payment, such as property or money, paid by the bride's family to the groom or his family at the time of marriage. Dowry contrasts with the related concepts of bride price and dower. While bride price or bride service is a payment b ...
and would later assist the
Leghs in a property dispute; this
ancient family of
Cheshire
Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...
extraction, variously spelled
Leigh
Leigh may refer to:
Places In England
Pronounced :
* Leigh, Greater Manchester, Borough of Wigan
** Leigh (UK Parliament constituency)
* Leigh-on-Sea, Essex
Pronounced :
* Leigh, Dorset
* Leigh, Gloucestershire
* Leigh, Kent
* Leigh, Staf ...
or
Lee, also enjoyed privilege and patronage during the
Tudor period
The Tudor period occurred between 1485 and 1603 in History of England, England and Wales and includes the Elizabethan period during the reign of Elizabeth I until 1603. The Tudor period coincides with the dynasty of the House of Tudor in Englan ...
.
Kathy Lynn Emerson
Kathy Lynn Emerson is an American writer of historical and mystery novels and non-fiction. She also uses the pseudonyms Kaitlyn Dunnett and Kate Emerson.
Emerson writes historical mysteries as Kathy Lynn Emerson, historical fiction set in royal ...
, ''A Who's Who of Tudor Women''
Together Joan and George Legh had four children:
* Elizabeth or Isabel Legh (1525–1583), who married Sir Alexander Barlow.
* Thomas Legh (1527–1599), his heir, who married
Maria Grosvenor (married secondly
Sir Richard Egerton), by whom he had a son and heir, Thomas Legh (1547–1601),
Sheriff of Cheshire
This is a list of Sheriffs (and after 1 April 1974, High Sheriffs) of Cheshire.
The Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most ...
.
* Mary Legh
* Ellen Legh
After George Legh died in 1529, his
widow
A widow (female) or widower (male) is a person whose spouse has Death, died.
Terminology
The state of having lost one's spouse to death is termed ''widowhood''. An archaic term for a widow is "relict," literally "someone left over". This word ...
the following year married
Sir George Paulet (knighted 1553), younger brother of the
1st Marquess of Winchester, KG, as his second wife.
Joan Paulet (''née'' Larke) died in
childbirth
Childbirth, also known as labour and delivery, is the ending of pregnancy where one or more babies exits the internal environment of the mother via vaginal delivery or caesarean section. In 2019, there were about 140.11 million births globall ...
about two years later.
See also
*
Blessed John Larke
John Larke (fl. c. 1500 - died 7 March 1544) was an English Roman Catholic, Catholic priest and martyr, who was executed during the reign of Henry VIII of England, Henry VIII. Larke was a notable personal friend of Thomas More, Lord Chancellor, ...
(uncle)
*
Leghs of Adlington
The Leghs of Adlington were established by Robert de Leigh who inherited the lordship of the manor of Adlington from his mother Elena de Corona (''née'' de Baguley). His father, John de Leigh, who was lord of the manor of Over Knutsford and ...
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Larke, Joan
15th-century births
1530 deaths
People from Great Yarmouth
16th-century English women
English Roman Catholics
Mistresses