Mary Honywood

Background

Honywood was born in Lenham in Kent in 1527.

Career

She lived to have 114 grandchildren and, in total, 367 descendants in her lifetime. Honywood was recorded because she had over 360 descendants whom she saw in her lifetime. In her lifetime they had 228 great grandchildren and they had nine great great grandchildren.

Honywood died at the age of 93.

She sustained the Marian martyrs and wrote letters to John Bradford who died for his beliefs in 1555. Honywood"s compassion meant that she attended his execution to ensure that his death was quick.

Honywood died in Marks Hall, Essex in 1620. There is a plaque in Markshall church which records her pious life.

The Msarkshall church was demolished in 1933, but Mary"s monument was moved to the church in Coggeshall.

Her grandson Michael Honywood built the Wren Library at Lincoln Cathedral. There are several other portraits although one showing her with a venetian glass was lost in the 19th century. According to the story Honywood said to John Foxe when she said that she would have a long life that, "‘as well might you have said … that if I should throw this glass against the wall, I might believe it would not break to pieces".

She then threw the glass, but it failed to break.

Achievements

• She achieved this by having sixteen children herself who in turn had 114 grandchildren.