Eleanor Bull | |
|---|---|
| Born | Eleanor Whitney c.1550 |
| Died | 1596 (aged 45–46) |
| Spouse | Richard Bull (1571-1590, his death) |
Eleanor Bull (c. 1550 – 1596) was an English woman, known for owning the establishment in whichChristopher Marlowe, the Elizabethan playwright and poet, was killed in 1593.
Eleanor (or Elinor) Whitney was daughter of James Whitney and Sybil, née Parry, ofClifford, Herefordshire; she was, according toCharles Nicholl, "a woman of substance, well-born and well-connected" rather than the "shabby old ale-house keeper" of some depictions.[1] Eleanor was a niece ofBlanche Parry, a companion of QueenElizabeth I. Blanche gave Eleanor a legacy of £100 in her will in 1589.[2][3]
The Whitney family, from a junior branch of which Eleanor's father came, were "an ancient border-country family" with a castle atWhitney-on-Wye inHerefordshire.[4] They can be traced back to the thirteenth century, and "provided generations of county knights, MPs and sheriffs"; a generation prior, James Whitney (son of James Whitney of Whitney and Pen-cwm andBlanche Milborne, who raisedElizabeth I andEdward VI; Blanche's sister, Alice, was mother of Sybil and Blanche Parry) had been Server of the Chamber toHenry VIII.[1][5][6]
Eleanor married Richard Bull October 14, 1571 atSt Mary-le-Bow, London. He held the post of sub-bailiff at Sayes Court and worked for the Clerk of the Green Cloth. He died in 1590.[1][7] After her husband's death, she stayed at their house on Deptford Strand,Deptford, which was inKent, but is now within London. The house became a form of hotel or "rooming house in which meals were served".[citation needed] Her normal clientele included supervisors or inspectors at the dockyards, exporters of quality goods, and merchants involved in imports from Russia and the Baltic ports."[7]
She died in Deptford and was buried on March 19, 1596.
Eleanor is known because it was at her house in whichChristopher Marlowe was killed by stabbing during a quarrel withIngram Frizer. Also present wereNicholas Skeres andRobert Poley. All had spent most of the day at Bull's house, apparently engaged in conversation, eating and drinking. At the inquest it was stated that the quarrel was over the bill (known as "the reckoning") for the day's events.Leslie Hotson, who first identified the documents relating to the inquest described Bull's house as a "tavern", leading to accounts of her as a kind ofMistress Quickly of Deptford "who is always ready to let a room for some disreputable purpose".[8]
Authority control databases: National |
|---|