Bradgate House (16th century) It was lived in by the Grey family for the next 220 years. It is believed that the house was the birthplace of Lady Jane Grey, later Queen, ruling for a mere 9 days before being overthrown by Mary I. Jane was executed in 1553 and when her father was executed the following year the estate passed to the crown. Local history claims that groundskeepers marked the occasion of Jane's execution by pollarding the estate's oak trees in a symbolic beheading. Examples of pollarded oaks can still be seen in the park. In 1563 the family regained favour, and the
Bradgate, Iowa on Avery's Hill. The first settlement just east of present Bradgate (Section 8) was named Willow Glen with no record of why this name was chosen. However, when the town was platted, the name was changed to Bradgate. Several theories are given as to why this name was chosen but the one accepted by most is that Bradgate was named after Bradgate Park at Newtown Linford, six miles northwest of Leicester in Leicestershire County, England. Likewise, just as Leicestershire County is located just west of Rutland County in England, the town of Bradgate, Iowa, is similarly located just six miles