Agnes Hungerford, Lady Hungerford


Agnes Hungerford, Lady Hungerford was a murderer and the second wife of Sir Edward Hungerford. When he died in 1522, Agnes was charged and convicted of the murder of her first husband, John Cotell. She was hanged at Tyburn in 1523.

Biography

Agnes was the widow of John Cotell who was the steward of Sir Edward Hungerford. Agnes had strangled her first husband at Farleigh Castle on 26 July 1518, with the aid of William Mathewe and William Inges, yeomen of Heytesbury, Wiltshire. She married Sir Edward after her first husband's body was burned in the kitchens. Her second husband may have been involved in the murder or he protected his wife from arrest during his lifetime.
Her second husband's died on 24 January 1522 and Agnes was the sole executrix of his will. Proceedings were then taken against Agnes and her accomplices for the murder of her first husband. She and Mathewe were then convicted and hanged at Tyburn on 20 February 1523; she seems to have been buried in the Grey Friars' Church in London. After she died her family would miss her out of documents such as genealogies due to her notoriety.