Sir William Askew (also spelled Ascough or

Ainscough Ainscough is an Old Norse, Scandinavian surname,. also spelled Ayscough, Aiskew, Askew, Ascough and Aynscough. Origins and variants It is thought that the name is derived from the Norse words "ask skog", although other sources suggest that Aisk ...

or Ascue; 1490–1540 or 1541) was a gentleman at the court of

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 ...

. He has gone down in history as one of the jurors in the trial of

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 ...

and as the father of

Anne Askew Anne Askew (sometimes spelled Ayscough or Ascue) married name Anne Kyme, (152116 July 1546) was an English writer, poet, and Anabaptist preacher who was condemned as a heretic during the reign of Henry VIII of England. She and Margaret Chey ...

, one of only two women to be tortured at the

Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is separa ...

, alongside Margaret Cheyne. Ayscough brass

He was born the eldest son of Sir William Askew of Stallingborough, Lincolnshire, who he succeeded in 1510. He was knighted at Tournai in 1513 when serving on the French campaign and in 1520 accompanied King Henry VIII, together with other knights, to the famous meeting with

King Francis I of France Francis I (french: François Ier; frm, Francoys; 12 September 1494 – 31 March 1547) was King of France from 1515 until his death in 1547. He was the son of Charles, Count of Angoulême, and Louise of Savoy. He succeeded his first cousin once ...

at the

Field of the Cloth of Gold The Field of the Cloth of Gold (french: Camp du Drap d'Or, ) was a summit meeting between King Henry VIII of England and King Francis I of France from 7 to 24 June 1520. Held at Balinghem, between Ardres in France and Guînes in the English P ...

. He was a

Member Member may refer to: * Military jury, referred to as "Members" in military jargon * Element (mathematics), an object that belongs to a mathematical set * In object-oriented programming, a member of a class ** Field (computer science), entries in ...

of the

Parliament of England The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England from the 13th century until 1707 when it was replaced by the Parliament of Great Britain. Parliament evolved from the great council of bishops and peers that advised t ...

in 1529 for

Great Grimsby Grimsby or Great Grimsby is a port town and the administrative centre of North East Lincolnshire, Lincolnshire, England. Grimsby adjoins the town of Cleethorpes directly to the south-east forming a conurbation. Grimsby is north-east of Linco ...

. He married three times; firstly by 1508, Elizabeth, the daughter of Thomas Wrottesley of Wrottesley, Staffordshire, with whom he had 2 sons and 3 daughters, secondly the daughter of a Struxley or Streichley of Nottinghamshire and thirdly in 1522, Elizabeth, the daughter of John Hutton of Tudhoe, co. Durham and the widow of Sir William Hansard of South Kelsey, Lincolnshire, with whom he had 2 further sons. He was described as ''a welcome guest in

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 ...

's household'' in 1536,p. 384,

Eric Ives Eric William Ives (12 July 1931 – 25 September 2012) was a British historian who was an expert on the Tudor period, and a university administrator. He was Emeritus Professor of English History at the University of Birmingham. Early life ...

, ''Anne Boleyn'' indicating that he was a religious conservative. He is said to have physically forced his daughter, Anne Askew, to marry Thomas Kyme. Her repudiation of this marriage and her disbelief in the doctrine of

transubstantiation Transubstantiation (Latin: ''transubstantiatio''; Greek: μετουσίωσις ''metousiosis'') is, according to the teaching of the Catholic Church, "the change of the whole substance of bread into the substance of the Body of Christ and of th ...

led to her torture and execution, burnt at the stake in 1546. Her accusers attempted to implicate influential women at court as sharing Anne's beliefs, including the

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 ...

Catherine Parr Catherine Parr (sometimes alternatively spelled Katherine, Katheryn, Kateryn, or Katharine; 1512 – 5 September 1548) was Queen of England and Ireland as the last of the six wives of King Henry VIII from their marriage on 12 July 1543 until ...

. William Askew died in 1541, five years before his daughter's execution. He was buried at

Stallingborough Stallingborough is a village and civil parish in North East Lincolnshire, England. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 1,234. History Prehistory-1840 The area around Stallingborough may have been inhabited in prehistoric ...

References

Members of the Parliament of England for Great Grimsby 1490 births 1541 deaths English MPs 1529–1536 {{1529-England-MP-stub