Sir John Bassett

Sir John Basset of Umberleigh in Devon and Tehidy in Cornwall, was a courtier in the reign of Henry VIII. He was married to Honor Grenville and had children including John, James, Elizabeth, Katherine and, most famously, Anne, who attracted the interest of Henry VIII.

Sir John died while his children were young. His wife re-married, to Arthur Plantagenet, 1st Viscount Lisle, who was the illegitimate son of King Edward IV. He had bee given no titles during the reign of his father, half-brother Edward V or uncle Richard III, but was created a viscount by Henry VIII, his nephew. John Bassett's children were moved to Calais, then an English enclave which is now a part of France. Lord Lisle was the governor of Calais, and the children were sent to France to be educated.

Lord and Lady Lisle were apparently very happy and very much in love. Honor was a forceful woman, who wrote many letters to friends at court, ensuring that they were kept well-informed. These letters are preserved today as the Lisle Letters and give an interesting account of the developments during the reign of Henry VIII.

Honor finally succeeded in getting one of her young daughters appointed as a maid-of-honour to Queen Jane Seymour in 1537. She was asked to send two of her daughters - Anne and Katherine - to court, where the Queen would pick the most suitable. Anne, who became known at court for her beauty and respectability, was selected. Her first appearance as maid-of-honour was at Jane Seymour's funeral. It was over two years before another queen arrived, but Anne spent a lot of time at court and received expensive presents from the King. She went on to serve queens Anne of Cleves, Catherine Howard and Katherine Parr. Her sister, Katherine, and her mother eventually joined her at court, despite Lord Lisle's arrest for treason in 1540.

In 1542, the Imperial ambassador, Chapuys, reported that on the eve of Catherine Howard's execution, Henry seemed besotted with Anne, and that she was a possible sixth wife. This possibility may have been ruined by Anne's own family. Her sister, Elizabeth, favoured the King re-marrying her mistress, Anne of Cleves, and made comments that this seemed to be what God wanted. She also said, "What a man is our king? How many wives will he have?" This was reported to the King and she was brought in to be questioned - under the treason laws her remarks could have warranted the death penalty.

The Bassett family continued to serve at the courts of Henry VIII's children.