The Trial at the Guildhall - 13 November 1553
- thedudleywomen
- Nov 13, 2025
- 9 min read
On 13 November 1553, the trial of five prisoners accused of high treason was held at the City of London's Guildhall; Jane Grey, brothers Ambrose, Guildford and Henry ('Harry') Dudley, and Thomas Cranmer, former Archbishop of Canterbury. Their charges related to the failed coup earlier that summer, when, following the death of Edward VI in July 1553, active attempts were made to place the teenage Jane on the English throne.
Jane and Guildford had been imprisoned within the Tower of London since 19 July 1553, only nine days since her triumphant arrival and subsequent proclamation as queen on 10 July. In the days immediately following the death of her kinsman, Edward VI, Jane's father-in-law John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland and allies from the Privy Council moved forward with plans to implement the late-king's wishes in relation to the succession of the monarchy. In the document My Device for the Succession, Edward had firstly nominated Jane, the eldest daughter of his cousin Frances Brandon, Duchess of Suffolk, to succeed him to the throne. Therefore, Northumberland and the Privy Council quickly worked to proclaim Jane Queen of England, in place of Edward's half-sister Mary. Despite the initial support of the council, a lack of support for a relatively-unknown Jane led to the council defecting to the increasingly-popular Mary, who was herself then proclaimed queen on 19 July (Tallis, 2016).
[See 'The Dudley Women' post: The Death of Edward VI - 06 July 1553]
The Tower, which had traditionally been used as a royal residence, now became the young couple's prison. They were moved out of the royal apartments and separated into different lodgings; Jane was held in comfort in the house of the Gentleman Goaler Nathaniel Partridge, on Tower Green, continuing to be attended to by three gentlewomen and a manservant. Her husband, meanwhile, was held in less-pleasant surroundings, in rooms within the Beauchamp Tower. Over the next two weeks, Guildford was joined by his four brothers - John, Ambrose, Robert and Harry - all of whom had been arrested in various parts of the country and brought back to London, to face justice for their actions in supporting their in-laws cause (Ives, 2011; Paul, 2022). Attempts were made by Mary's new government to avoid a trial, by passing as Bill of Attainder through parliament in September 1553; the bill ordered that Jane, the Dudley brothers and Cranmer, one of Jane's most-stalwart supporters, 'shall suffer death', However, administrative errors in the bill meant that legally the accused's sentences were combined with those previously convicted and attainted of high treason in August 1553, including Northumberland and his eldest son John Dudley, 2nd Earl of Warwick. Therefore, regarding the remaining prisoners, a trial was legally required, the date being settled for mid-November (Ives, 2011).
The chosen location of the trial was the City of London's Guildhall, an early 15th century building, and the centre of the city's administration, including the home of the Mayor of London's office. The large building complex, 'straddling' the parishes of St Michael Bassishaw and St Lawrence Jewry, had possibly been built on the site of a previous smaller Guildhall dating back to the 12th century. The Guildhall had been the site of previous treason trials, including that of the Dudley's own grandfather, Edmund Dudley in 1509, and more recently that of Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey in January 1547, in which Northumberland himself had participated (Barron, 1977; Hutchinson, 2009).
The decision to hold the trial at the Guildhall was a "deliberately demeaning" act, intending to treat Mary's rival as a 'commoner', referring to her throughout proceedings as 'Jane Dudley' (Ives, 2011, p.251). By not permitting her (and her co-accused) the more private setting of Westminster Hall, where her father-in-law's trial had been held only three months prior, Jane was already being subject to shame and degradation before the verdict had been reached. In contrast to the more covert transportation of Northumberland from the Tower by barge, the decision was additionally made for Jane and the other prisoners to walk the mile journey, through the crowded city streets, being on display for all to see. This was the same 'humiliating' journey that had been taken less than a decade before by Surrey, who had also been accused of treason (Hutchinson, 2009; Ives, 2011; Tallis, 2016).
On the morning of Monday 13 November 1553, the five accused prisoners departed the Tower, leaving out of the main gate, the Lion Gate, this being the same gateway used by Jane and Guildford when they entered the Tower in triumph only four months earlier. Leading out the group was Thomas Cranmer, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, who had been removed from his office on Mary's accession and sent to the Tower. Guildford followed behind, dressed in a black velvet suit layered with white satin and then came his wife. Jane was dressed all in black - a furred-black cape covering a black gown, with her head covered by a black French hood. She carried in her hands an open prayer book, another one hanging from her waist. She was accompanied by her two ladies, who had remained with her in the Tower, Mrs Jacob and Elizabeth Tilney, with Ambrose and Harry, the youngest Dudley brother, then only around 16 years old, following at the rear. Accompanied by their escorts, the prisoners marched the mile through the streets of London on foot, escorted by the Constable of the Tower, Sir John Gage, who held responsibility to ensure a safe transfer from the Tower Liberties to the City of London authorities. A guard walked in front of the group, carrying an axe; the axe was turned away from the group, symbolising that they had not yet been convicted or condemned (de Lisle, 2008; Paul, 2022).
Following their arrival to the Guildhall complex, he accused made their way through the front porch, and into the Great Hall, a place of both administration and celebration. The largest room within the Guildhall, the hall had been built in the style of Westminster Hall, measuring 153ft x 48ft, with 5 foot thick stone walls, likely finished with a tall-pitched wooden roof. The space was lit by two large windows, filled with coloured glass, at the west and east ends of the hall, under which sat raised daises; day-to-day court sessions, including those headed by the Lord Mayor of London, were heard on these platforms. However, when occasion called for it, the size and accessibility made it the ideal location for public treason trials; it has been estimated that over a thousand spectators crammed themselves into the hall that morning, eager to observe the accused and upcoming legal procedures. As in the style of trials held at Westminster, it is likely that a canopy was erected on one of the dias, under which sat a bench furnished with cushions and carpets (Barron, 1977; Tallis, 2016).
This trial was presided over by Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk, having himself been released from the Tower and restored to the Privy Council on Mary coming into power in July 1553. Quickly, he assumed the role of Lord High Steward, one of the most senior government positions, overseeing the treason trials in August 1553, the condemned including Northumberland and eldest son Warwick., and organising Mary's coronation. Norfolk was joined in the Great Hall that morning by thirteen other leading members of the Privy Council and royal court, including his son-in-law Edward Stanley, 3rd Earl of Derby and his brother-in-law Henry Radclyffe, 2nd Earl of Surrey, in addition to the Lord Mayor of London Thomas White, and the queen's Lord Chief Justice Sir Richard Morgan. Reflective of Mary's own religious beliefs, all judges present were either Catholic or held sympathies to the 'old religion', a blow against not only the devout-Reformist Jane, but also against Cranmer, who had played a central role in the Protestant Reformation in England, including the annulment of Mary's parents, Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon, Despite this, Mary had instructed Morgan to ensure that the accused had access to a fair trial; that witnesses were able to speak freely, without fear of intimidation or reprisal, and that that the law be administered without prejudice, as 'justice is an excellent virtue" (Weir, 1996; Hutchinson, 2011; Tallis, 2016).
After opening proceedings with a Catholic liturgy, the trial heard how "Jane Dudley, wife of the same Guildford Dudley" had attempted to 'deprive' and 'destroy' Mary by her actions, and that by entering the Tower of London on 10 July and taking possession of it "falsely and treacherously...forcibly held it", with Guildford accused of supporting and enabling this behaviour, by "‘falsely and treacherously helping, aiding, abetting and assisting the said Jane, against his due diligence, and against the peace of the Queen, her crown and dignity’" (Tallis, 2016, p.225). Despite Jane's protestations that she had felt pressured and 'manipulated' by others, including her father-in-law Northumberland, into accepting the English throne, against her better judgement, the court were presented with evidence of her signing her name 'Jane the Quene', thereby arguing her guilt, and the additional charge of 'signing various writings' (Ives, 2011; Paul, 2022).
The trial also heard evidence against the three Dudley brothers in their support of their in-law's treason, revisiting the actions of Northumberland and his sons in "falsely and treacherously prepared and ordained a cruel war against the said Queen" (Paul, 2022, p.241). Cranmer was also condemned for his support in enabling Jane to seize control of the Tower: he had been one of the party who welcomed her on her arrival on 10 July, helped her 'seize' control of the Tower, and had proclaimed her Queen of England. Cranmer was also accused of arranging for armed forces, led by Northumberland, to be sent to Cambridge in an attempt to gather support and arrest the-then absent Mary. There were additional accusations of heresy laid at the former Protestant Archbishop: in that he had encouraged heresy and had himself written heretical works (Tallis, 2016; Paul, 2022).
Whilst Cranmer had initially denied the charges of heresy and treason, thereby leading to a jury being called, he later pleaded 'guilty as charged'. The other accused also pleaded guilty to the charges put to them, admitting their actions earlier that summer. Jane in particular admitted and accepted her guilt; however, due to her claims of 'manipulation', she made subsequent requests to be pardoned. These pleas fell on deaf ears however, as after only a short deliberation, all were found guilty of high treason, and as was the punishment, sentenced to death. The men were given the traditional sentences for those convicted of treason - to be dragged through the streets of London to the gallows at Tyburn, where they would be subject to hanging, drawing, quartering and beheading, their body parts subsequently placed at various locations, at the queen's pleasure. For Jane, as the only woman convicted, her punishment differed; the court ordered that she would be taken to Tower Hill, and her execution carried out by either beheading or being burned on the stake, advising that the final decision would lie with the queen. It was said that Jane remained 'calm and composed' throughout the trial, but following the verdict, showed little emotion in the courtroom or on her return journey to the Tower (de Lisle, 2008; Tallis, 2016; Paul, 2022).
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