😳 On this day ~ 5th April 1532 😳

😳  On this day ~ 5th April 1532 😳

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😳 The Death By Boiling Of Richard Roose 😳

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😳  Richard Roose was a cook to the Bishop of Rochester John Fisher, during the reign of King Henry VIII.

On the 18th of February 1531, Roose cooked a large meal for Fisher, for around sixteen guests 

Not long after the meal, they became severely ill.

Unfortunately, two died - a man named Curen and  widow Alice Tryppt.

😳 It was claimed that the soup they had all been served by Roose, had been poisoned.

The only person not made ill by the soup was Fisher himself, who had chosen not to eat - for some unknown reason.....

😳 The poisoning at Bishop Fisher’s residence had dire consequences for Roose.

He was put on the rack and tortured until he admitted that he had poisoned the soup.

He claimed it had been a mere prank, meant to make the diners ill and 'evacuate their bowels', nothing more.

😳 King Henry VIII, however, was having none of it.

Two people had died because of Roose's 'prank' and the king wanted to ensure that his punishment was as  severe as possible.

King Henry was unwilling to settle for a manslaughter or murder charge.

He wanted something more.....

😳 The only crime worse than murder was treason.

The problem was, Roose hadn't committed treason.

To get round this, King Henry had two of his councilors write a bill that expanded the definition of treason.

The bill essentially added eleven new crimes under the charge of 'treason'.

😳 Murder by poisoning, no matter the status of the victim, was from that point onwards treated as high treason.

The punishment?

Death by boiling.

Anyone found guilty, was to be boiled alive!

😳 Why was King Henry going to so much trouble to punish Roose?

Many people suspected Henry had paid Roose to poison the food.

It was well known Henry was no longer a fan of Bishop Fisher, and people suspected that Henry wanted him dead.

Basically, Henry’s harsh treatment of Roose was simply an effort to get rid of him, before Roose could confess.

😳 Others believed it was Anne Boleyn’s family who wanted Fisher dead.

Anne's family paid Roose to poison Fisher, because he

was a staunch supporter of Katharine of Aragon....

Henry’s harsh treatment of Roose was to protect Anne Boleyn and her family, from any confession Roose might make.

😳 Finally, it was also well known that Henry was incredibly paranoid about poisoning in general.

Despite the fact poisonings in England at the time were incredibly rare, Henry had a phobia of being poisoned.

😳 Roose was quickly found guilty of treason.

Roose didn’t receive a trial, he was simply served an attainder that stated he was guilty.

His sentence was carried out in Smithfields, on 5th April 1532.

Roose was tied up in chains, gibbeted and then lowered in and out of the boiling water until he was dead.

It was a brutal, drawn-out death that many spectators found uncomfortable to watch.

It took approximately two hours......