George Zouche, Esq., of Codnor

Biography

The story goes that around the time Anne Boleyn became queen, Anne Gainsford married George Zouche, who then became a gentleman pensioner to the king. Later, as Anne Zouche, Anne was obliged to testify against Queen Anne. George Zouche is Sir George Zouche of Codnor (c.1494-1557) but there is a great deal of confusion created by online genealogies. Some have George Zouche married to Anne Gainsford well before 1528 and taking a second wife in 1526. Others date their children’s births from 1523-1535 and have George remarry in 1536. Mary S. Lovell in her biography of Bess of Hardwick (Bess was raised in Lady Zouche's household at Codnor Castle) says that Anne Gainsford was a lady in waiting to both Anne Boleyn and Jane Seymour before her marriage. This would place their marriage in 1536 or later. However, S. T. Bindoff, ed, in The History of Parliament: The House of Commons 1509-1558, in the entry for John Zouche (August 27, 1534-June 19, 1586), states that he was the first son of George and Anne. The correct chronology appears to be that Anne and George married c.1533. Their first child was John, but after that matters are once again confused, with Anne listed as the mother of seven additional children (including William, George, Lucy, Anne, Margaret, and Francis), and George's second wife, Helena Lane (d.1560) credited with eleven more. Anne had died by July 16, 1548, when George made his will. In it he names his wife Ellen, three sons and four daughters. According to a family tree drawn in 1550 and showing all eleven children of the second marriage, the Eleanor and Bridget mentioned in the will belong to Helena, thus moving the date Anne died even earlier.

from A Who's Who of Tudor Women text ©2008-15 Kathy Lynn Emerson (all rights reserved)

• http://www.kateemersonhistoricals.com/TudorWomenG.htm
• https://archive.org/stream/visitationscoun00britgoog#page/n120/mode...
• http://freepages.rootsweb.com/~hwbradley/genealogy/aqwg2984.htm#75067