Person    | Female  Born 1505  Died 13/2/1542

Jane Boleyn, Viscountess Rochford

Categories: Execution

Born Jane Parker, a distant relative of Henry VIII, she became a lady-in-waiting to his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, and to quite a few of those that followed.  Married Anne Boleyn’s brother, George, and later, when Anne was an unwanted wife and George and Anne were accused of incest, Jane gave evidence against her husband. Consequently George was beheaded on Tower Hill along with four other men also accused of adultery with Anne.  A few years later when Henry needed to get rid of another wife, Anne of Cleves, Jane again provided useful evidence.  When Catherine Howard (number 5) needed a go-between to facilitate her liaisons with Thomas Culpeper Jane stepped into the role.  But the affair was discovered and all involved and some that weren't, were imprisoned.  Jane appeared to suffer a nervous breakdown and was declared insane which ought to have saved her life but Henry changed the law to allow the execution of the insane and so Jane was beheaded at Tower Green, immediately after Catherine.

This section lists the memorials where the subject on this page is commemorated:
Jane Boleyn, Viscountess Rochford

Commemorated ati

Tower of London execution site

Catling wrote the poem as well as creating the sculpture. Doesn't that cushio...

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Tower scaffold - 1946

See Anne Boleyn's plaque for when/how this plaque was displayed.

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Other Subjects

Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex

Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex

Born Herefordshire.  Related via the Boleyn family to Queen Elizabeth I.  Married a daughter of Sir Francis Walsingham.  Became a favourite of the Queen.  However he performed badly as Lord Lieuten...

Person, Execution, Politics & Administration

2 memorials
Sir Thomas Wyatt

Sir Thomas Wyatt

Born near Maidstone, son of the poet of the same name.  Opposed the marriage of Queen Mary to Phillip of Spain, he marched on London in 1554 with 4,000 men of Kent but, failing, on 6 February, to g...

Person, Armed Forces, Execution

1 memorial
Ralph Jackson

Ralph Jackson

Burnt at the stake in Bow (or possibly Stratford) for his Protestant beliefs.

Person, Execution, Religion

1 memorial
John Bradford

John Bradford

Protestant martyr burned at Smithfield.

Person, Execution, Religion

1 memorial
Guy Fawkes

Guy Fawkes

Born a protestant in York but became a Catholic when his widowed mother married a Catholic. A professional soldier, he fought for Spain but when he realised that Spain would not invade Britain and ...

Person, Execution, Nationalism, Seriously Famous

1 memorial

Previously viewed

Tull, Samuel, & Co - Fenchurch Street

Tull, Samuel, & Co - Fenchurch Street

EC3, Fenchurch Street, 153

The building was designed by Osborn & Russel and erected in 1880.From Public Monument and Sculpture Association we learn: Small City ...

1 subject commemorated
Jacqueline du Pre - W1

Jacqueline du Pre - W1

W1, Upper Montagu Street, 27

This plaque is so low on the building that we are lucky Bob spotted it. It's likely that its position indicates that Jacqueline lived in ...

1 subject commemorated
James Hulbert

James Hulbert

EC4, Riverside walk, Garden of Fishmongers' Hall

We took our photos from the Riverside Walk, through a locked gate. To the right of our photo (out of view) one can see into the large ent...

6 subjects commemorated, 7 creators
Archbishop of Canterbury

Archbishop of Canterbury

SE1, Cornwall Road

We were expecting the phrase "May they have peace who dwell therein" to be a quote from the Bible but we can't find it.

1 subject commemorated