The Holy Maid of Kent Elizabeth Barton (1506?pril 20, 1534) was known as both The Nun of Kent and The Holy Maid of London/Kent. She is best known for being executed for prophesying that if Henry VIII would marry Anne Boleyn against the wishes of the Pope, he would die within six months. Elizabeth Barton was born in 1506 at Aldington, Kent, England. She had epilepsy and was subject to nervous disorders as a child. While still a teenager she was hired as a servant in the house of Thomas Cobb, who was the steward of an estate owned by William Warham, Archbishop of Canterbury. In 1525 Barton became ill and developed religious mania. She fell into ecstatic trances that lasted for days at a time, during which she raved with "marvelous holiness in rebuke of sin and vice." On recovering from her illness Barton continued to have trances during which she prophesied and made political statements. Richard Masters, the local parish priest, heard of the visions and reported them to Archbishop Warham. She quickly became a local celebrity, so much so that in 1526 the Archbishop sent two monks to inquire into her case.