There have only been a few known attempted escapes from the Tower of London, but only one involved a rendezvous between a flirtatious woman and her jailer. Alice (Wolfe) Tankerville was very familiar with the Tower due to her frequent visits with her husband to finally ending up as a prisoner herself. She was a smart woman who learned how to make friends behind bars, which brought her so close to successfully escaping in the dark of the night… but of course, if it were successful, then we wouldn’t have this story. This Tudor-era love triangle between Alice Tankerville, John Wolfe, and John Bawd makes for the perfect Valentine’s day execution story. 

Support the show