Elizabeth Hardwick (better known to history as 'Bess of Hardwick') was born in the 1520s (estimated dates range from 1520-21 to 1527).

On This Day (07 Aug)  in 1574, Robert Dudley, also known as ‘Robin Sheffield’, was born - the ‘illegitimate’ son of Robert Dudley.

Jane Grey, eldest daughter of Henry Grey, Marques of Dorset and later Duke of Suffolk and his wife Frances Brandon.

On This day (19 Jul) in 1553, the Lady Mary was proclaimed Mary I, Queen of England, 9 days after her kinswoman Lady Jane Grey had been.

Anne Askew's name has long been associated with martyrdom in Henry VIII's Protestant England. However, her early years were not necessarily indicative of a woman who would grow up to be at the forefront of rebellion and heresy in the religiously turbulent 1540s.