Margaret Cheyne

Margaret Cheyne, later Margaret Bulmer (died 25 May 1537), was a woman burned at the stake for high treason in the aftermath of the Pilgrimage of Grace and Bigod's Rebellion during the reign of Henry VIII of England. Family life According to some reports, Margaret was the illegitimate daughter of Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham. Her first husband was William Cheyne of London. At some point before 1536, Cheyne sold her to Sir John Bulmer of Wilton, and she became his mistress. This relationship seems to have been mutually affectionate, and the couple were married by 1536, after both of their former spouses had reportedly died. Because it had originated in a wife sale, the legality of her second marriage (and therefore her perceived moral character) was disputed when she later stood trial. Margaret and John Bulmer had several children together, including the mining engineer Sir Bevis Bulmer. Role in the uprising John Bulmer joined the Pilgrimage of Grace in 1536, and became one of its leaders. The extent of Margaret's involvement is unclear: Jennifer Gourlay suggests that she probably knew about the rebellion plots, although most of the evidence against her came from only a single source, the priest John Watts.