The daughter of George Acworth and Margaret Wilberforce, Joan married William Bulmer at a young age.
The marriage was short lived, however, as she left his house to enter into the service of Agnes Tilney, the Dowager Duchess of Norfolk.
While in service to the duchess, Bulmer became acquainted with Katherine Howard, who would go on to become the fifth wife of King Henry VIII.
[2] When Katherine was arrested, Bulmer was called upon to testify against the Queen and detail the aspects of her early life.
She subsequently went on to marry Edward Waldegrave and resided at Lawford Hall in Essex.