Bishop Gardiner wrote of the date of the Countesses execution as the 27th of May but Eustace Chapuys wrote of it as the 28th, either way Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury, the daughter of George Duke of Clarence and Isabel Neville was taken to her place of death at the end of May in 1541.
By the time of Margaret's execution, three years had passed since her son's Geoffrey and Henry Pole had been arrested on a charge of treason at the beginning of November 1538. It was just over a week later, the 12th November that Cromwell's henchmen came knocking on the Countesse's door.
Probably not tortured, but certainly coerced by the Earl of Southampton and the Bishop of Ely Margaret said nothing, her two interrogators eventually telling Cromwell that they had to conclude that her sons had told her nothing or that she was
"the most arrant traitress that ever lived"
Margaret was sent to Cowdray Park, the home of the Earl of Southampton where the abuse at the hands of Cromwell's men continued. It was there in the May that a Bill of Attainder was issued and evidence of 'guilt' was presented in the form of a silk tunic embroidered on the back with the Five Wounds of Christ. This and other trumped up charges were brought against her, and Margaret was sent to the Tower where she was kept for just under two years. The Countess was not treated well during her incarceration, the conditions were austere and inadequate for woman her age let alone her status, the room was cold and damp and she suffered as a result.
Margaret heard of her execution only hours before it was due to happen.
Looking pale and thin, it must have been a distressing sight as she made her way to Tower Green, but her suffering was not over. At the hands of inexperienced executioner a
‘wretched and blundering youth who literally hacked her head and shoulders to pieces in the most pitiful manner’
Margaret Pole, the last true Plantagenet was dead.
She was sixty eight year old.
By the time of Margaret's execution, three years had passed since her son's Geoffrey and Henry Pole had been arrested on a charge of treason at the beginning of November 1538. It was just over a week later, the 12th November that Cromwell's henchmen came knocking on the Countesse's door.
Probably not tortured, but certainly coerced by the Earl of Southampton and the Bishop of Ely Margaret said nothing, her two interrogators eventually telling Cromwell that they had to conclude that her sons had told her nothing or that she was
"the most arrant traitress that ever lived"
Margaret was sent to Cowdray Park, the home of the Earl of Southampton where the abuse at the hands of Cromwell's men continued. It was there in the May that a Bill of Attainder was issued and evidence of 'guilt' was presented in the form of a silk tunic embroidered on the back with the Five Wounds of Christ. This and other trumped up charges were brought against her, and Margaret was sent to the Tower where she was kept for just under two years. The Countess was not treated well during her incarceration, the conditions were austere and inadequate for woman her age let alone her status, the room was cold and damp and she suffered as a result.
Margaret heard of her execution only hours before it was due to happen.
Looking pale and thin, it must have been a distressing sight as she made her way to Tower Green, but her suffering was not over. At the hands of inexperienced executioner a
‘wretched and blundering youth who literally hacked her head and shoulders to pieces in the most pitiful manner’
Margaret Pole, the last true Plantagenet was dead.
She was sixty eight year old.
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