Speaker: Rebecca Batley
Sometime before 1518 Edward Seymour, the brother of Queen Jane Seymour, third wife of Henry VIII, married Catherine Filliol. Catherine gained connections in the highest echelons of Tudor society and Edward the prospect of a large inheritance, including many lands in Essex. It should have been a match made in heaven but instead within a decade their marriage was engulfed in uncertainty and scandal. Catherine was repudiated and the two sons she had borne her husband eventually disinherited. The nature of this scandal is unclear but later historians accused Catherine of an affair with her father in law. Her fate remains unclear but a tomb in Little Baddow might hold tantalising clues.
By 1535 Edward was free to marry again and he turned his
attention to another heiress Anne Stanhope, who would in her own way prove to
be just as scandalous. Katherine Parr would call Anne “that hell” but she was strong, opinionated and fiercely intelligent. A friend of
Anne Askew, a connection that almost cost her her life, Anne lived to see her
brother-in-law, her half brother and husband go to the block. Imprisoned in the
Tower she managed to keep her head and ultimately emerged wealthy and powerful,
dying peacefully on the 16th April 1587 at Hanworth Palace. Anne was the
ultimate Tudor survivor.
Rebecca Batley is a historian, and archaeologist with a particular
interest in women’s history. She has worked for amongst others the Louvre, the
Museum of London and Wessex Archaeology. Her work has appeared in many
publications including New Scientist, Aeon, Nautilus, History Scotland and NILE
magazine.
For details of how to get to the Record Office, and parking, see: www.essexrecordoffice.co.uk/visit-us/
