Ann Askew: Burned at the Stake in 1546 for Heresy

Anne Askew was born in 1521 at Stallingborough into what was a notable family of Lincolnshire. Her father Sir William Askew had forced her into a marriage with a Catholic man named Thomas Kyme when she was only 15. She was given to Kyme as a replacement for her sister that had died. Askew had rebelled against this marriage so far that she would not even take Thomas Kyme's last name when they married.

Askew was a member of the Reformed Church and it was her Protestant beliefs that had her burned at the stake for heresy. She would do much for the Protestant religion before being burned though.

Upon her return to London, Askew would go and preach out against the doctrine of transubstantiation. This made her husband basically throw her out of the house. She used the bible versus 1 Corinthians 7:15 as cause to ask for a divorce, claiming that her husband was non-believer. This did not work out for Askew.

When Askew went back to London she began to really push her Protestant beliefs by giving sermons and handing out Protestant books. Since these books were banned at the time, Askew as arrested. Her husband was ordered to take her back home to Lincolnshire. Askew would soon get away from her husband and be right back in London doing it all again.

Askew was arrested a second time and placed in the London Towers were Sir Anthony Kingston who was the Constable of the Towers at the time had been given orders to torture Askew. The torture was done to try and get Askew to start naming names. Askew was placed on the rack as part of her torture.

The rack was a torture device used in those days to extract a confession or other information they were seeking from the victim. The victim would be tied spread eagle to the rack and the interrogator would turn a handle and ratchet that was attached to the top roller. This would increase tension in the chains and induce pain in the victim's joints. With continued use of the rack a victim's limbs would not just merely be broken or dislocated, they would be completely ripped off the body.

Askew behaved in such a way while on the rack that Sir Anthony Kingston became impressed with her and refused to torture her further. It was at this point that Henry VIII's Lord Chancellor took over torturing Askew.

Askew would try and gain support from her friends at court but in doing so she brought Catherine Parr under suspicion and Parr could not save her from the charges. In 1546 Askew would be imprisoned, and tortured on the rack, in an effort to make her implicate Parr. Askew never broke from months of torture.

Askew was given chances to recant but refused and finally was taken to her death. She was so crippled by this time from so much torture on the rack that she was unable to walk to the stake for her execution. She was burned at the stake without ever turning on her friend Catherine Parr nor without every naming any Protestants.

During her ordeal Askew did write a personal account of what she went through and of her beliefs. This account was published as the "Examinations" by Protestant Bishop John Bale. It would later be done again in John Foxe's "Act and Monuments of 1563". In the 17th century several ballads were also written about Ann Askew.