Shore

Jane, a mistress of Edward IV. She left her husband, William Shore. She was a woman or remarkable beauty and wit. She exercised unbounded influence over the king and used it for good purposes. She was a favorite with the populace of London. Richard III, noted for ferocity and want of conscience, accused "that witch Shore" of having withered his arm, though it had been shrunken from birth. He endeavored to have her burnt as a witch, but failing, had her convicted of adultery and condemned to sit wrapped only in a white sheet at St. Paul's in the presence of the rabble. Shoreditch, London, appears to have been named for her. She outlived Edward thirty years and died in poverty in a religious house about 1527. In literature she is one of the characters of Shakespeare's play of Richard III. Her good heart and sorrows are the theme of many an English ballad.