Jane Lewkenor, Lady Pole of Trotton,

Sussex Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...

(c. 1492–1562) was a member of the English nobility.

Family

Jane Lewkenor was the daughter and co-heiress of Sir Roger Lewkenor (b. 1469 and died January 15, 1543, in Trotton, Sussex) of Trotton, Sussex.

Marriages

Lewkenor's first husband was Sir Christopher Pickering of Ellerton (c. 1490 in Yorkshire and died September 7, 1516, in Woodbridge, Suffolk), whom she married before 1516. Lewkenor's second husband was Arthur Pole, son of

Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury Margaret Plantagenet, Countess of Salisbury (14 August 1473 – 27 May 1541), was the only surviving daughter of George Plantagenet, Duke of Clarence (a brother of Kings Edward IV and Richard III) and his wife Isabel Neville. As a result of M ...

, whom she married before 24 October 1522, most likely around 1526. The couple had at least four children: Henry (1525), Jane, Margaret (b. 1527 in Racton, England) who marrie
Sir Thomas Fitzherbert
and Mary (b. 1528 in Racton, England) who married Sir John Stanley. When Arthur died, his mother and brother, Lady Salisbury and her son,

Lord Montague William Shakespeare's tragic play ''Romeo and Juliet'', set in Verona, Italy, features the eponymous protagonists Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet. The cast of characters includes members of their respective families and households; Prince Es ...

, did not wish Lewkenor to remarry, which would deprive the Pole family, and Arthur's heirs, of her fortune. They coerced Lewkenor to become a novice at

Syon Abbey Syon Abbey , also called simply Syon, was a dual monastery of men and women of the Bridgettines, Bridgettine Order, although it only ever had abbesses during its existence. It was founded in 1415 and stood, until its demolition in the 16th cent ...

. Lewkenor was eventually released from her vows by William Barlow, the new Bishop of St. Asaph, who was residing in his priory of Bisham. She said to Barlow, "Can I leave the veil at pleasure?"; "Yes, for all religious persons have a time of probation. You are only a novice and could leave your nun's weeds at your pleasure. I bind you no further...", he said. In 1539, Lewkenor married Sir William Barentyne (b. 31 Dec. 1481 - d. 17 Nov. 1549), Sheriff of Oxfordshire and Berkshire. Their marriage was declared void by the consistory court of London on 15 December 1540 because of Lewkenor's vow of chastity. The Barentynes' sought and received an act of Parliament to declare their marriage valid and their children legitimate in 1544 after the passage of th
Act of the Six Articles
Despite the passage of this act ( 34 & 35 Hen. 8. c. ''46''; 1543), the Barentyne's sons were still trying to secure their inheritance in 1563. With Barentyne, she had two sons: Drew and Charles Barentyne. Lewkenor died on 12 March 1562/63.

Notes

References

* http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1509-1558/member/barentyne-(barrington)-sir-william-1481-1549 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lewkenor, Jane Jane People from Trotton 1490s births 1562 deaths 16th-century English people