Margery Lyster or Lister, nee Horsman (died 1565) was an English courtier. She is known as a member of the households of three queens of England;

Catherine of Aragon Catherine of Aragon (also spelt as Katherine, historical Spanish: , now: ; 16 December 1485 – 7 January 1536) was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England as the Wives of Henry VIII, first wife of King Henry VIII from their marr ...

Anne Boleyn Anne Boleyn (; 1501 or 1507 – 19 May 1536) was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England from 1533 to 1536, as the Wives of Henry VIII, second wife of King Henry VIII. The circumstances of her marriage and execution, by beheading ...

and

Jane Seymour Jane Seymour (; 24 October 1537) was Queen of England as the third wife of King Henry VIII from their marriage on 30 May 1536 until her death the next year. She became queen following the execution of Henry's second wife, Anne Boleyn, who was ...

Career

She became a

Maid of Honour A maid of honour is a junior attendant of a queen in royal households. The position was and is junior to the lady-in-waiting. The equivalent title and office has historically been used in most European royal courts. Tudors and Stuarts Traditi ...

at court, and is recorded in the service of three queens consort of

Henry VIII of England Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...

. Her dates of birth and death are uncertain, the burial of a "Margareta Lyster" at

St Martin-in-the-Fields St Martin-in-the-Fields is a Church of England parish church at the north-east corner of Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, London. Dedicated to Saint Martin of Tours, there has been a church on the site since at least the medieval pe ...

was recorded in July 1565. Her family background is unclear, but in November 1534 she wrote a letter to

Thomas Cromwell Thomas Cromwell (; – 28 July 1540) was an English statesman and lawyer who served as List of English chief ministers, chief minister to King Henry VIII from 1534 to 1540, when he was beheaded on orders of the king, who later blamed false cha ...

describing Martin Hastings of Binham and

Elsing Elsing is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. Elsing is located north-east of Dereham and north-west of Norwich, close to the course of the River Wensum. History Elsing's name is of Anglo-Saxon origin and derives f ...

(died 1574) as her cousin. He was a member of the household of

Henry FitzRoy, Duke of Richmond and Somerset Henry FitzRoy, Duke of Richmond and Somerset (c. 15 June 1519 – 23 July 1536) was the son of Henry VIII of England and his mistress Elizabeth Blount, and the only child born out of wedlock whom Henry acknowledged. He was the younger ...

, and builder of

Hindringham Hindringham is a village and a civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. Hindringham is located north-east of Fakenham and north-west of Norwich. History Hindringham's name is of Anglo-Saxons, Anglo-Saxon origin and derives from the Old ...

Hall.

Service of Anne Boleyn

Margery Lyster was a maid of honour to Catherine of Aragon, but is most documented during the tenure of Anne Boleyn. Margery was involved in the business of placing 15-year-old

Anne Bassett Anne Basset (1520 – before 1558) was an English lady-in-waiting of the Tudor period, reputed to have been the mistress of King Henry VIII. Biography Anne was born in 1520, the fourth child of Sir John Basset and Honor Grenville (daughter of ...

, a daughter of Lady Lisle, at court. She is the source of information about

's dog Purkoy. The name is ''pourquoi'', French for Why? Thomas Broke wrote to Lady Lisle on 18 December 1534 that "Mistress Margery Horsman" had told him how much Anne had delighted in "little Purkoy", presumably one of her many gifts to Anne. Sadly, Purkoy had died from a fall, and for a time, according to Margery, there "durst nobody tell her Grace of it, till it pleaseth the Kings Highness to tell her Grace of it". Broke's letter does not say when or where Purkoy died, he was writing to encourage Lady Lisle to send Anne another dog. Lady Lisle sent Margery a jewellery box in March 1536. Most of the letters mentioning Margery are part of the Lisle Papers, an important source for life at the Tudor court.

Service of Jane Seymour

In 1537, Margery Horsham married Sir Michael Lyster and became known as Mistress or Lady Lyster. On February that same year, she and another Mistress Margery were asked by

John Husee John Husee (died November 1548) (''alias'' Hussey) was a London merchant, and the business agent in England of Arthur Plantagenet, 1st Viscount Lisle (d.1542), during Lisle's absence abroad whilst serving as Governor of Calais during the years 1 ...

to find a place for

Katherine Basset Katharine Basset (c. 1522 – after 1558, occasionally misnamed "Elizabeth") was an English gentlewoman who served at the court of Henry VIII of England, King Henry VIII, namely in the household of Queen Anne of Cleves, and was briefly Arrest, j ...

as a

chamberer A chamberer was a female attendant of an English queen regnant, queen consort, or princess. There were similar positions in aristocratic households. Chamberers at court At court, the position was similar to a male groom of the privy chamber. The n ...

or lady in waiting to the newly married Countess of Sussex. Lyster explained that the three places in the countess' household were filled, but offered to take Katherine as her own companion or place her with young Mrs Norris. Lyster would bring Katherine to the queen's chamber every day, the result desired by her mother Lady Lisle. Lyster advised that if Katherine came to court, she would need silk gowns and kirtles and good attirements for her head and neck, By October 1537, Lady Lyster was in charge of the jewels of

. An inventory was made of the queen's beads, jewels, pomanders, tablets, girdles, borders, brooches, bracelets, buttons, aglets, and chains, in the care of Mistress Lyster. Many of the items described were gold decorated with enamel and few pieces were set with gems. Lady Lyster received several jewels as gifts. As a "gentlewoman of the privy chamber to the late Queen Jane", on 29 November 1537, she was given a discharge or receipt for the late queen's jewels. Michael Lyster was a groom of the King's privy chamber at the reception of

Anne of Cleves Anne of Cleves (; 28 June or 22 September 1515 – 16 July 1557) was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England from 6 January to 12 July 1540 as the Wives of Henry VIII, fourth wife of Henry VIII. Little is known about Anne before 1527, ...

in 1539.

Marriage and family

She married Michael Lyster (died 1551) of

Hurstbourne Priors Hurstbourne Priors is a small village and civil parish in the Basingstoke and Deane district of Hampshire, England. Its nearest town is Whitchurch, which lies approximately 1.8 miles (3.1 km) north-east from the village. Geography The par ...

, a son of

Richard Lyster Sir Richard Lyster (c. 1480 – 14 March 1554) was an English judge and Chief Justice of the King's Bench. Origins and early career Sir Frederick Madden in his "Remarks on the Monument of Sir Richard Lyster in St. Michael's Church Southampton ...

, in 1537. Richard Lyster had a house in

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

, and was buried nearby at St Michael's Church, where there is a monument. Henry VIII gave Margery Lyster a lease of Newbo Abbey in

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (), abbreviated ''Lincs'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber regions of England. It is bordered by the East Riding of Yorkshire across the Humber estuary to th ...

as an income. Her children included: * Lawrence Lyster * Charles Lyster (1534-1613). Michael Lyster had a son, Richard Lyster (1532-1558), from his first marriage to Elizabeth Delabere. Richard Lyster junior married Mary Wriothesley, a daughter of

Thomas Wriothesley, 1st Earl of Southampton Thomas Wriothesley, 1st Earl of Southampton (21 December 1505 – 30 July 1550), was an English peer, secretary of state, Lord Chancellor and Lord High Admiral. A naturally skilled but unscrupulous and devious politician who changed with the ...

. A note in an inventory of

jewels of Mary I of England An inventory of the jewels of Mary I of England, known as Princess Mary or the Lady Mary in the years 1542 to 1546, was kept by her lady in waiting Mary Finch. The manuscript is now held by the British Library. It was published by Frederic Madden ...

mentions that she gave a "heart" from a rosary of lapis lazuli beads to the "Lady Lyster's daughter".Frederick Madden, ''Privy Purse Expenses of the Princess Mary'' (London, 1831), p. 182.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lyster, Margery Household of Jane Seymour Household of Anne Boleyn Household of Catherine of Aragon Ladies of the Privy Chamber English maids of honour