Joan Leche

Joan Leche
Bornc. 1450
DiedMarch 1530 (aged 79–80)
Spouse(s)Thomas Bodley
Thomas Bradbury
IssueJames Bodley
John Bodley
Denise Bodley
Elizabeth Bodley
FatherDenis Leche
MotherElizabeth (surname unknown)

Joan Leche (c. 1450 – March 1530), benefactress, was the wife successively of Thomas Bodley, and of Thomas Bradbury, Lord Mayor of London in 1509. She founded a chantry in London, and a grammar school in Saffron Walden, Essex. Her great-grandson, Sir John Leveson (1555–1615), was instrumental in putting down the Essex rebellion of 8 February 1601, and her great-grandson William Leveson (d. 1621) acted as trustee for the original shareholders of the Globe Theatre.