Fan Casting William Brereton (courtier) in House on Haunted Hill

On 17 May, William Brereton, George Boleyn, Viscount Rochford, Henry Norris, Sir Francis Weston and Mark Smeaton, were led from the Tower to a scaffold on Tower Hill.[15] George Constantyne, an eyewitness to their executions, recorded their last words.[16] Brereton's words as he faced the executioner's axe, "The cause whereof I die, judge not. But if you judge, judge the best,"[16] may be interpreted as a cautious declaration of his innocence which would avoid the forfeiture of his estates. An indication of his wife's continued trust in her husband is provided by her bequest to her son nine years later: "one bracelet of gold, the which was the last token his father sent me."[11][17]