Joyce Lewis or Jocasta Lewis (died 1557) was an English Protestant martyr.

Life

She was only daughter of Thomas and Anne Curzon of

Croxall Hall Croxall Hall is a restored and extended 16th century manor house situated in the small village of Croxall, Staffordshire (close to the southeastern border with Derbyshire and historically part of it). It is a Grade II* listed building. The man ...

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation ''Staffs''.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, ...

. Her maternal grandfather was Sir John Aston of

Tixall Tixall is a small village and civil parish in the Stafford district, in the English county of Staffordshire lying on the western side of the Trent valley between Rugeley and Stone, Staffordshire and roughly 4 miles east of Stafford. The populati ...

. She first married Sir George Appleby of Appleby in Leicestershire and they had two sons. Her husband died in 1547 at the

Battle of Pinkie The Battle of Pinkie, also known as the Battle of Pinkie Cleugh (), took place on 10 September 1547 on the banks of the River Esk near Musselburgh, Scotland. The last pitched battle between Scotland and England before the Union of the Crowns, ...

. She then married Thomas Lewis of

Mancetter Mancetter is a village and civil parish in North Warwickshire, England, where Watling Street crosses the River Anker. The population was 2,339 at the 2011 census. It is contiguous with the town of Atherstone, on the B4111 road towards Hartshil ...

on 10 September 1547. She was a Catholic, but she began to question her faith, according to the partisan martyrologist

John Foxe John Foxe (1516/1517 – 18 April 1587) was an English clergyman, theologian, and historian, notable for his martyrology '' Foxe's Book of Martyrs'', telling of Christian martyrs throughout Western history, but particularly the sufferings of En ...

, after the martyrdom of

Lawrence Saunders Laurence Saunders (1519 – 8 February 1555) was an English Protestant martyr whose story is recorded in ''Foxe's Book of Martyrs''. Early life Saunders was the son of Thomas Saunders (d. 1528) of Sibbertoft, Northamptonshire, by Margaret, the da ...

on 8 February 1555. Her move to being a Protestant was led by the brother of another martyr, Robert Glover, who died the same year. Her previous devotion to Catholicism was replaced by "irreverent behaviour in church" which came to the notice of Ralph Baines, the

Bishop of Lichfield The Bishop of Lichfield is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Lichfield in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers 4,516 km2 (1,744 sq. mi.) of the counties of Powys, Staffordshire, Shropshire, Warwickshire and West M ...

. Lewis spent a year in jail before she was taken, with the comfort of the priest Augustine Bernher, to be burnt at Lichfield on 18 December 1557.

Legacy

Lewis was said to have been aware of the impact of her own death and she had consulted to maximise the value of her sacrifice. After she died, eleven of her supporters were summoned to account for their actions. Under pressure they all recanted.Henry Summerson, ‘Lewis , Joyce other married name Joyce Appleby, Lady Appleby] (died 1557)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 200
accessed 31 Jan 2015
/ref> A memorial to Joyce Lewis and Robert Glover was placed in Mancetter Church in 1833.

References

;Works cited * ;Attribution * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lewis, Joyce 1557 deaths People from Derbyshire (before 1895) Converts to Protestantism from Roman Catholicism Protestant martyrs of England