Mrs Anne Turner
Encyclopedia
Mrs Anne Turner aka Mistress Anne Turner or Mrs. Anne Turner, was the widow of a respectable London doctor who was hanged at Tyburn
for her role in the famous 1613 poisoning of Sir Thomas Overbury referenced in the plays A New Trick to Cheat the Devil
, The Widow
, The World Tossed at Tennis
and The City Nightcap
.
, Cambridgeshire
. Later, as her reputation came in question, rumours began to spread that she may have been one of the illegitimate children of a disreputable London apothecary
and astrologer
named Simon Forman
. Also considered to a be a "beautiful" woman she had married physician
, Dr. George Turner, but was then widowed and later became the mistress of Sir Arthur Mainwaring. At some point she had become a "waiting woman" or "companion" of Frances Howard
. It seems that at this time that Howard had fallen in love with the king's favourite, Robert Carr
and they soon began an exchange of romantic correspondence. Unfortunately for Howard she was married at the time to the Earl of Essex
and at his instance was obliged to travel back with him after his return from France
to his house at Chartley in Staffordshire
. There she persisted in a stubborn refusal to sleep with her husband thereby hoping no doubt to have the marriage annulled on the grounds on non-consummation. Whilst Carr may have been satisfied with this state of affairs Frances wished to marry him. There was one person who stood in her way, Carr's mentor, Sir Thomas Overbury who disapproved of the match. Fortunately for Howard help was at hand both in her uncle, Sir Henry Howard, 1st Earl of Northampton
and in friend and ally Mrs Turner.
on trumped up charges, it was now Frances Howard's wish that he be murdered. Although a widow and outwardly respectable, Mrs Turner was in fact an independent businesswoman who ran her own "houses of ill-repute" at Paternoster Row
and Hammersmith
, where couples could indulge themselves together in secrecy. She was also running a lucrative monopoly in the supply of a saffron
based starch which provided the yellow colouring to collars and ruffs which was then in vogue. Mrs Turner was therefore well connected with both the court and the less savoury sections of London
society. She was thus able to put Howard in touch with Forman to provide love potions for Carr and a range of poisons, including arsenic
, cantharides. and sublimate of mercury
for Overbury from another apothecary named Franklin. These poisons were then included in a selection of "tarts" and "jellies" which were delivered to gaoler Richard Weston. They were then left with the Lieutenant of the Tower
, Sir Gervase Helwys
, before they were eaten by Overbury who died as a result in September 1613. A few weeks later Howard's marriage was annulled and she was able to marry Carr.
, Sir Francis Bacon. With overwhelming evidence mounted against her Turner confessed to her role in the crime. In passing sentence Chief Justice Coke referred to her as "a whore, a bawd, a sorcerer, a witch, a papist
, a felon
and a murder
er". He also ordered her to be hanged in the fashionable starched ruffles she had invented "so that the same might end in shame and detestation." Turner was hanged at Tyburn
on November 15, 1615. Her hangman, not by coincidence, also wore "bands and cuffs of the same colour." Yellow starch then went out of fashion. Turner reportedly left behind three illegitimate children she had with Mainwaring.
Tyburn
Tyburn is a former village just outside the then boundaries of London that was best known as a place of public execution.Tyburn may also refer to:* Tyburn , river and historical water source in London...
for her role in the famous 1613 poisoning of Sir Thomas Overbury referenced in the plays A New Trick to Cheat the Devil
A New Trick to Cheat the Devil
A New Trick to Cheat the Devil is an early seventeenth-century stage play, a comedy written by Robert Davenport that was first printed in 1639. One of only three surviving Davenport plays, it has been called an entertaining and extravagant farce....
, The Widow
The Widow (play)
The Widow is a Jacobean stage play first published in 1652, but written decades earlier.On the limited evidence available, the play is usually dated to c. 1615–17, partially on the basis of a "yellow bands" reference to the execution of Mrs...
, The World Tossed at Tennis
The World Tossed at Tennis
The World Tossed at Tennis is a Jacobean era masque composed by Thomas Middleton and William Rowley, first published in 1620. It was likely acted on 4 March 1620 at Denmark House....
and The City Nightcap
The City Nightcap
The City Nightcap, or Crede Quod Habes, et Habes is a Jacobean era stage play, a tragicomedy written by Robert Davenport. It is one of only three dramatic works by Davenport that survive.-Date:...
.
Background
She was born Anne Norton on January 5, 1576, one of ten children to Thomas and Margaret Norton of HinxtonHinxton
Hinxton is a village in South Cambridgeshire, England. It is the home to the Wellcome Trust Genome Campus, which includes the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute and the European Bioinformatics Institute. The 2001 population was 315....
, Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire is a county in England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the northeast, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the west...
. Later, as her reputation came in question, rumours began to spread that she may have been one of the illegitimate children of a disreputable London apothecary
Apothecary
Apothecary is a historical name for a medical professional who formulates and dispenses materia medica to physicians, surgeons and patients — a role now served by a pharmacist and some caregivers....
and astrologer
Astrologer
An astrologer practices one or more forms of astrology. Typically an astrologer draws a horoscope for the time of an event, such as a person's birth, and interprets celestial points and their placements at the time of the event to better understand someone, determine the auspiciousness of an...
named Simon Forman
Simon Forman
Simon Forman was arguably the most popular Elizabethan astrologer, occultist and herbalist active in London during the reigns of Queen Elizabeth I and James I of England. His reputation, however, was severely tarnished after his death when he was implicated in the plot to kill Sir Thomas Overbury...
. Also considered to a be a "beautiful" woman she had married physician
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
, Dr. George Turner, but was then widowed and later became the mistress of Sir Arthur Mainwaring. At some point she had become a "waiting woman" or "companion" of Frances Howard
Frances Carr, Countess of Somerset
Frances Carr, Countess of Somerset was an English noblewoman who was the central figure in a famous scandal and murder during the reign of King James I...
. It seems that at this time that Howard had fallen in love with the king's favourite, Robert Carr
Robert Carr, 1st Earl of Somerset
Robert Carr, 1st Earl of Somerset, , was a politician, and favourite of King James I of England.-Background:Robert Kerr was born in Wrington, Somerset, England the younger son of Sir Thomas Kerr of Ferniehurst, Scotland by his second wife, Janet, sister of Walter Scott of Buccleuch...
and they soon began an exchange of romantic correspondence. Unfortunately for Howard she was married at the time to the Earl of Essex
Robert Devereux, 3rd Earl of Essex
Robert Devereux, 3rd Earl of Essex was an English Parliamentarian and soldier during the first half of the seventeenth century. With the start of the English Civil War in 1642 he became the first Captain-General and Chief Commander of the Parliamentarian army, also known as the Roundheads...
and at his instance was obliged to travel back with him after his return from France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
to his house at Chartley in Staffordshire
Staffordshire
Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
. There she persisted in a stubborn refusal to sleep with her husband thereby hoping no doubt to have the marriage annulled on the grounds on non-consummation. Whilst Carr may have been satisfied with this state of affairs Frances wished to marry him. There was one person who stood in her way, Carr's mentor, Sir Thomas Overbury who disapproved of the match. Fortunately for Howard help was at hand both in her uncle, Sir Henry Howard, 1st Earl of Northampton
Henry Howard, 1st Earl of Northampton
Henry Howard, 1st Earl of Northampton was a significant English aristocrat and courtier. He was suspect as a crypto-Catholic throughout his life, and went through periods of royal disfavour, in which his reputation suffered greatly. He was distinguished for learning, artistic culture and his...
and in friend and ally Mrs Turner.
The Overbury murder
After Northampton had persuaded the king to have Overbury thrown in the Tower of LondonTower of London
Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, separated from the eastern edge of the City of London by the open space...
on trumped up charges, it was now Frances Howard's wish that he be murdered. Although a widow and outwardly respectable, Mrs Turner was in fact an independent businesswoman who ran her own "houses of ill-repute" at Paternoster Row
Paternoster Row
Paternoster Row was a London street in which clergy of the medieval St Paul's Cathedral would walk, chanting the Lord's Prayer . It was devastated by aerial bombardment in The Blitz during World War II. Prior to this destruction the area had been a centre of the London publishing trade , with...
and Hammersmith
Hammersmith
Hammersmith is an urban centre in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in west London, England, in the United Kingdom, approximately five miles west of Charing Cross on the north bank of the River Thames...
, where couples could indulge themselves together in secrecy. She was also running a lucrative monopoly in the supply of a saffron
Saffron
Saffron is a spice derived from the flower of Crocus sativus, commonly known as the saffron crocus. Crocus is a genus in the family Iridaceae. Each saffron crocus grows to and bears up to four flowers, each with three vivid crimson stigmas, which are each the distal end of a carpel...
based starch which provided the yellow colouring to collars and ruffs which was then in vogue. Mrs Turner was therefore well connected with both the court and the less savoury sections of London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
society. She was thus able to put Howard in touch with Forman to provide love potions for Carr and a range of poisons, including arsenic
Arsenic
Arsenic is a chemical element with the symbol As, atomic number 33 and relative atomic mass 74.92. Arsenic occurs in many minerals, usually in conjunction with sulfur and metals, and also as a pure elemental crystal. It was first documented by Albertus Magnus in 1250.Arsenic is a metalloid...
, cantharides. and sublimate of mercury
Mercury (element)
Mercury is a chemical element with the symbol Hg and atomic number 80. It is also known as quicksilver or hydrargyrum...
for Overbury from another apothecary named Franklin. These poisons were then included in a selection of "tarts" and "jellies" which were delivered to gaoler Richard Weston. They were then left with the Lieutenant of the Tower
Constable of the Tower
The Constable of the Tower is the most senior appointment at the Tower of London. In the middle ages a constable was the person in charge of a castle when the owner - the king or a nobleman - was not in residence...
, Sir Gervase Helwys
Gervase Helwys
Sir Gervase Helwys , also known as Jervis Yelwys, was a Lieutenant of the Tower of London found guilty of complicity in the murder of Sir Thomas Overbury and hanged in 1615. The scandal provoked much public and literary conjecture and irreparably tarnished King James I's court with an image of...
, before they were eaten by Overbury who died as a result in September 1613. A few weeks later Howard's marriage was annulled and she was able to marry Carr.
Trial and execution
Two years later, after Overbury's murder came to light, Turner, Helwys and all the other accomplices in the crime were put on trial, the hearings being overseen by Sir Edward Coke, Lord Chief Justice of the King's Bench, and the king's Attorney GeneralAttorney General
In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general, or attorney-general, is the main legal advisor to the government, and in some jurisdictions he or she may also have executive responsibility for law enforcement or responsibility for public prosecutions.The term is used to refer to any person...
, Sir Francis Bacon. With overwhelming evidence mounted against her Turner confessed to her role in the crime. In passing sentence Chief Justice Coke referred to her as "a whore, a bawd, a sorcerer, a witch, a papist
Papist
Papist is a term or an anti-Catholic slur, referring to the Roman Catholic Church, its teachings, practices, or adherents. The term was coined during the English Reformation to denote a person whose loyalties were to the Pope, rather than to the Church of England...
, a felon
Felony
A felony is a serious crime in the common law countries. The term originates from English common law where felonies were originally crimes which involved the confiscation of a convicted person's land and goods; other crimes were called misdemeanors...
and a murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
er". He also ordered her to be hanged in the fashionable starched ruffles she had invented "so that the same might end in shame and detestation." Turner was hanged at Tyburn
Tyburn
Tyburn is a former village just outside the then boundaries of London that was best known as a place of public execution.Tyburn may also refer to:* Tyburn , river and historical water source in London...
on November 15, 1615. Her hangman, not by coincidence, also wore "bands and cuffs of the same colour." Yellow starch then went out of fashion. Turner reportedly left behind three illegitimate children she had with Mainwaring.