Edward Bocking was associated with Braintree, Essex. Father Bocking was a controversial monk during the reign of King Henry VIII. He attended Oxford where he received B.D. in 1513 and a D.D. in 1518. He served as the Warden of Canterbury for a period of time. Bocking became a monk in 1526. He served as the spiritual director for Sister Elizabeth Barton, a controversial English visionary. Bocking, Barton, and four others were hanged and beheaded for treason at Tyburn on April 21, 1534.