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Women Of Norfolk Joan Larke
Women Of Norfolk
Joan Larke (c.1490 - c.1532)
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Joan Larke was born in Great Yarmouth circa 1490 to a Peter Larke and his wife, whose name was (unfortunately) never recorded.
Her father’s occupation has many in disagreement as some believe he was an innkeeper in Theford while others argue he was a common councilman of London, however, the majority of historians document Peter Larke being a gentleman of Huntingdonshire. What is known is that her family had a strong religious influence, with both her uncle and brother taking the cloth.
Her uncle, John Larke (d.1544) (better known as ‘Blessed John Larke’), was a Catholic Priest and martyr who was a close personal friend of statesmen and social philosopher Sir Thomas Moore (1478-1535). John was executed in 1544, during the reign of King Henry VIII, and then beatified in 1886 by Pope Leo XIII (1810-1903). Joan’s brother, Thomas Larke, later become Dean of Bridgnorth (at the collegiate church, Church of St. Mary Magdalene) in 1508. Prior to being the Dean, Thomas was chaplain to a Thomas Wolsey (1473-1530); the future Cardinal Wolsey.
In 1509 Wolsey served as an almoner (a pastor who was in charge of distributing donations to the poor) to the King, Henry VIII of England, when he met the young Joan. It is believed they met on the introduction by her oldest brother, Thomas. They soon became close and began an affair out of wedlock - at this time the edict of celibacy among clergymen was not fully adopted and influenced within England. Joan was then moved into Bridewell Palace (the main residence of Henry VIII in the early years of his reign) to live with Wolsey, where they entered into a form non-sacramental marriage for nearly ten years - it is counted as ‘nonsacramental’ because it is believed that, though having both uncle and brother as clergymen, Joan herself was never baptized. During their relationship Joan had two children (out of wedlock); Thomas Wynter (c.1510-1542) and Dorothy Clancey (b.1512). Thomas was sent to live with a family in Willesdon in North West London and Dorothy was adopted by alderman of Worcester John Clancey - this was done to hide their illegitimacy (hence not sharing their mother’s or father’s surname), though whether they were in fact Wolsey’s children has been brought into question by historians.
Thomas would soon study divinity and scripture at the University of Padua, in Italy, and on his return (not soon after Wolsey was arrested and executed) he was financially supported by Queen Anne Boleyn, who was a close adversary of his father’s. From his close relationship with the King and Queen (who were said to have taken pity on him) he would enjoy influential positions such as; Dean of Wells, Archdeacon of York, Archdeacon of Richmond, Archdeacon of Suffolk and Archdeacon of Norfolk. Dorothy, on the other hand, entered Shaftesbury Abbey in Dorset and became a nun. In 1539, during the English Reformation, the Abbey was dissolved and she received a pension personally from
Sir Thomas Cromwell (1485-1540), a powerful minister to Henry VIII and the very man to have the Abbey dissolved.
As Wolsey rose swiftly within the Church and the government, from Bishop of Lincoln to Archbishop of York, Cardinal Prince of the Church of Rome and finally, to Lord Chancellor of England. During this time he was rumored to have become embarrassed by Joan Larke, the reasons of which are unknown as she was known to well spoken and a woman of great beauty. In 1519 he arranged Joan to be married to George Legh (whose surname has been documented as having different variations, such as ‘Legh’, ‘Leigh’ and ‘Lee’), who was a squire of Adlington Hall in Cheshire and had inherited his father’s estate. Wolsey provided Joan with a dowry and would later go on to be crucial within a property dispute involving the Leghs who enjoyed great privilege during the Tudor period. During this marriage Joan had four children; Elizabeth Legh (1525-1583), Thomas Legh (1527-1599), Mary Legh and Ellen Legh.
In 1529 George Legh passed away and left Joan a widow. The Legh estate was inherited by Joan’s and George’s only son, Thomas, who went on to marry Maria Grosvenor of the very influential Grosvenor family (a family whose descendants went on to receive the title of ‘Duke of Westminster’ by Queen Victoria).
The following year Joan Larke married a second (and final) time, to George Paulet who would be knighted and created a Sir in 1553 (twentyone years after Joan’s death). Two years after they got married, in 1532, Joan died during childbirth - it is unknown whether the child survived, however, there are no documentation of George taking care of a child or remarrying after her death.
