On 27 May 1541, Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury, was executed at the Tower of London.
The daughter of George, Duke of Clarence, and Isabel Neville, Margaret was orphaned by the age of five. She spent the rest of her childhood under the care of her uncles, Edward IV, then Richard III, until 1485 where she joined the new royal court of Henry VII, as an attendant to her cousin, Elizabeth of York. Henry VII arranged her marriage to Richard Pole who, on his death in 1509, left her a widow with young four children on a small income.
In 1512, Margaret successfully petitioned to have her family’s earldom of Salisbury reinstated, making her one of the wealthiest magnates in England, and one of a very small number of women to have held a peerage in their own right during the medieval and early modern period. As Countess of Salisbury she became Governess to Princess Mary, and spent time in the Welsh Marches, at Ludlow Castle, Tickenhill and Thornbury Castle, during Mary's time there in 1525-28, presiding over the Council of the Marches. Margaret was a loyal supporter of Katharine of Aragon and Princess Mary following the queen's fall from favour, and exile from court in the early 1530s, which put her in an increasingly precarious position with Henry VIII.
Many of the domestic buildings within the inner bailey of Ludlow Castle were built during Roger Mortimer, 1st Earl of March's ownership of the castle, including the palatial North Range ©Shutterstock
Against a backdrop of constant fear of invasion from France or the Holy Roman Empire to restore papal authority during the late 1530s, Margaret’s son Geoffrey was arrested in 1538. There was evidence he was in communication with the exiled Reginald discussing the king’s policies, though he was eventually pardoned. Margaret herself was arrested in November 1538 and spent a year confined to Cowdray Castle under the supervision of the Earl of Southampton, before being sent to the Tower of London in December 1539. There was insufficient evidence to charge Margaret with treason, but an Act of Attainder passed by Parliament removed her peerage and lands.
Ruins of Cowdray Castle in West Sussex where Margaret, Countess of Salisbury was held under house arrest ©Alamy
The King was never free from anxiety of a rebellion, and increasingly paranoid about potential challenges from his Yorkist relatives, and upon hearing of a disturbance in the North of England, he ordered Margaret's execution. She was woken early on the morning of 27 May 1541, and, though she had not been charged, nor stood trial, Margaret was hastily, and inexpertly, executed after several blows by an inexperienced executioner. Her body was buried in the nearby Chapel Royal of Saint Peter ad Vincula.
The Chapel Royal of Saint Peter ad Vincula, within the Tower of London, where Margaret, Countess of Salisbury is buried, along with Queen Anne Boleyn, Queen Catherine Howard and Lady Jane Grey © Historic Royal Palaces
In Issue 3 - The Many Roles of the Chapel Royal of Saint Peter ad Vincula, Alfred Hawkins delves into the history of the Chapel Royal of Saint Peter ad Vincula. Most famous as the final resting place of Tudor queens and nobles who met a gruesome death within the Tower of London, this sixteenth-century chapel has served, and continues to serve, the diverse community who have lived in the Tower over the centuries.
In Issue 17 - Ludlow Castle: A Royal Base in the Welsh Marches, Dr Elizabeth Norton explores Ludlow Castle, the imposing Norman fortress on the Anglo-Welsh border, residence of several royal heirs and the Council of the Marches, where Margaret spent time with the newly-wed Katharine of Aragon, and later with her daughter, Princess Mary.
Warblington Castle
Established in 1517 by Margaret, Countess of Salisbury, Warblington Castle was a luxurious Tudor residence that marked the countess's astronomical rise to power and wealth following the accession of Henry VIII. It was also at Warblington that Margaret was arrested over two decades later in 1538, and events would lead to her imprisonment and subsequent execution at the Tower of London in 1541.
A single brick turret and adjoining arched gateway, along with deep ditches marking the footprint of the former moat, are the only visible remains of Warblington Castle © www.housepartnership.co.uk
Although her fortunes fluctuated, at their peak Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury, was one of the most powerful and wealthy women in England, with extensive landholdings in the southeast of England and across the channel in Calais. In Issue 15 - A Countess and her Coastal Castle: Margaret Pole's Residence at Warblington, Dr Rachel Delman looks at Margaret’s principal residence of Warblington Castle on the south coast. A section of the gatehouse remains as a tantalising glimpse of this once splendid Tudor property.
A Weekend in Tudor West Sussex
Map of Tudor West Sussex © The Tudor Travel Guide
Cowdray Castle, where Margaret was confined for over a year, has a gatehouse believed to have inspired one of the gatehouses of Warblington. Cowdray features in an itinerary prepared by Sarah Morris, The Tudor Travel Guide in Issue 05 - A Tudor Weekend in West Sussex.
