LIVES OF THE ENGLISH MARTYRS
WHO HAVE BEEN DECLARED
VENERABLE
FIRST SERIES OF
LIVES OF THE EiNGLISH MARTYRS.
Edited by DOM BEDE CAMM, O.S.B.
LIVES OF THE ENGLISH MARTYRS DECLARED BLESSED BY POPE LEO XIII.
Vol. I.— martyrs UNDER KING HENRY VIII.
(1535-1545). Vol. II.— martyrs UNDER QUEEN ELIZABETH
(1570-1583).
The writers are the late Fathers Stanton and Keogh of the Oratory, the late Father Morns, S.J., Father John Pollen, S.J., Father George Phillips of Ushaw College, and the Editor.
Crown 8vo. 600 pp. and 690 pp. 7s. 6d. net. each volume.
LONGMANS, GREEN AND CO.
The next volume of the second series, which will complete the reign of Elizabeth, is in preparation.
LIVES OF THE ENGLISH MARTYRS
SECOND SERIES THE MARTYRS DECLARED VENERABLE
VOLUiME I.
1583-1588
EDITED BY
EDWIN H. BURTON, D.D.
J. H. POLLEN, SJ.
LONGMANS, GREEN AND CO.
39 PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON
NEW YORK, BOMBAY AND CALCUTTA
1914
laibll ©bstat.
5mprfmatuc.
INNOCENTIUS APAP, S.T.M., O.P., Censor deputatus.
EDM. CAN. SURMONT, Vic. gen.
Westmonasterii, die y Augusti, 1913.
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
PAGE
INTRODUCTION ix
§ I. The Martyr-list x
§ II. The Development of the Penal Laws . . . xi § III. The Martyrs of 1583-1584, and the "Bloody Ques- tion " xvi
§ IV. The Martyrs of 1585-1587 and the General Pardon . xxi
§ V. The Martyrs of 1588 . . . . . . xxiv
§ VI. Authorities xxix
The Decree for the Venerables xxxii
Abbreviations xxxix
LIVES OF THE MARTYRS.
I. Ven. John Slade. Winchester, 30 October, 1583 i
II. Ven. John Body. Andover, 2 November, 1583 8
III. Ven. William Carter. Tyburn, 11 January, 1584 22
IV. Ven. George Haydock. Tyburn, 12 February, 1584 34 V. Ven. James Fenn. Tyburn, 12 February, 1584 52
VI. Ven. Thomas Hemerford. ,, 12 February, 1584 71
VII. Ven. John Nutter. Tyburn, 12 February, 1584 76
VIII. Ven. John Mundyn. Tyburn, 12 February, 1584 92
IX. Ven. James Bell. Lancaster, 20 April, 1584 107
X. Ven. John Finch. Lancaster, 20 April, 1584 114
XI. Ven. Richard White. Wrexham, 15 October, 1584 127
XII. Ven. Thomas Altield and Ven. Thomas Webley.
Tyburn, 6 July, 1585 145
XIII. Ven. Hugh Taylor. York, 26 November, 1585 164
XIV. Ven. Marmaduke Bowes. York, 27 November, 1585 166 XV. Ven. Edward Stransham. Tyburn, 21 January, 1586 171
XVI. Ven. Nicholas Woodfen. Tyburn, 21 January, J586 183
V
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGE
Ven. Margaret Clitherow. York, 26 March, 1586 188 Ven. Richard Sergeant and Ven. William Thomson.
Tyburn, 20 April, 15S6 200 Ven. Robert Anderton and Ven, William Marsden.
Isle of Wight, 25 April, 1586 202
York, 3 June, 1586 211
York, 8 August, 1586 217
XVII. XVIII.
XIX.
XX.
XXI.
XXII.
XXIII.
XXIV.
XXV.
XXVI.
XXVII.
XXVIII.
XXIX.
XXX.
XXXI.
XXXII.
XXXIII.
XXXIV.
XXXV.
XXXVI.
XXXVII.
XXXVIII.
XXXIX.
XL.
XLI.
XLII.
XLIII.
XLIV.
XLV.
Ven. Francis Ingleby. Ven. John Finglow. Ven. John Sandys. Ven. John Lowe. Ven. John Adams. Ven. Robert Dibdale. Ven. Robert Bickerdike. Ven. Richard Langley. Ven. Thomas Pilchard. Ven. Edmund Sykes. Ven. Stephen Rowsham. Ven. John Hambly. Ven. Robert Sutton. Ven. George Douglas. Ven. Alexander Crow.
Gloucester, 11 August, 1586
Tyburn, 8 October, 15^6
Tyburn, 8 October, 1586
Tyburn, 8 October, 1586
York (? Autumn), 1586
York, I December, 1586
Dorchester, 21 March, 1587
York, 23 March, 1587
Gloucester {? Easter), 1587
Sahsbury (? Easter), 1587
Stafford, 27 July, 1587
York, 9 September, 1587
York, 30 November, 1587
Ven. Robert Ludlam, and
Derby, 24 July, 1588
Ven. Nicholas Garlick
Ven. Richard Sympson. Ven. William Dean.
Mile End Green, 28 August, 1588 Ven. Henry Webley. ,, 28 August, 1588
Ven. William Gunter. Shoreditch, 28 August, 1588 Ven. Robert Morton.
Lincoln's Inn Fields, 28 August, 1588 Ven. Hugh Moore. „ 28 August, 1588
Ven. Thomas Holford. Clerkenwell, 28 August, 1588 Ven. James Claxton and Ven. Thomas Felton.
Near Brentford, 28 August, 1588 Ven. Richard Leigh. Tyburn, 30 August, 1588
Ven. Edward Shelley. Tyburn, 30 August, 1588
Ven. Richard Martin. Tyburn, 30 August, 1588 422
220 223 229 234 251 259 265 274 279 288 301 313 323
330
351 360 366
372 384 387
399 408 419
TABLE OF CONTENTS
XLVI. Ven. Richard Flower. Tyburn, 30 August, 1588
XLVII. Ven. John Roche and Ven. Margaret Ward.
Tyburn, 30 August, 1588
XLVIII. Ven. William Way, alias Flower.
Kingston-on-Thames, 23 September, or i October, 1588
XLIX. Ven. Robert Wilcox. Canterbury, i October, 1588
L. Ven. Edward Campion. Canterbury, i October, 1588
.LI. Ven. Christopher Buxton. „ i October, 1588
LII. Ven. Robert Widmerpool. ,, i October, 1588
LIII. Ven. Ralph Crockett. Chichester, i October, 1588
LIV. Ven. Edward James. Chichester, i October, 1588
LV. Ven. John Robinson. Ipswich, i October, 1588
LVI. Ven. John Hewett, alias Weldon.
Mile End Green, 5 October, 1588
LVII. Ven. William Hartley. Holloway, 5 October, 1588
LVIII. Ven. Robert Sutton. Clerkenwell, 5 October, 1588
LIX. Ven. Richard Williams. {In reality John Harrison.)
Tyburn, 5 October, 1588 LX. Ven. Edward Burden.
York, 31 October, or 29 November, 1588
LXI. Ven. William Lampley. Gloucester, 1588
PAGE
425
430
439 447^
&)
461 469
473 490
498
508 522 531
537
543 550
INDICES.
I. Index of Names 553
II. Analytical Index 576
WRITERS IN THIS VOLUME.
E. H. B. The Rev. Edwin H. Burton, Introduction, Nos. IX.,
D.D. XXI., XXIII., XXVI.,
XXVII., XLVIII.
J. C. The Rev. James Clayton . Nos. XXXVIII., XLI„LV.,
LVIII., LX., LXI.
H. E. D. The late Rev. Henry E.Dunn Nos. XXXVI., XXXVII.,
LVI., LVII., LIX.
F. P. H. The Rev. Francis P. Hogan, Nos. LIIL, LIV.
B.A.
E. K. The Rev. Edward King, S.J. No. XXXV.
F. K. McC. The Rev. F. Kerr McClement, Nos. XLII., XLIX., L.,
M.A. LI., LII.
J. H. P. The Rev. John H. Pollen, S.J. Introduction, Nos. III.,
XXV.
A. R. Miss Antoinette Roberts . No. XVII.
F. E. R. The Rev. Francis E. Ross . No. XXXII.
W. R. The Rev. William Reany . Nos. XLIII.,XLIV.,XLV.,
XLVL, XLVII.
J. B. W. John Bannerman Waine- Nos. I., II., IV., V., VI.,
Wright, M.A. VII., VIII., X., XL,
XII., XIIL, XIV., XV.,
XVI.,XVIII.,XIX.,XX.,
XXII., XXIV.
J. L. W. The Rev. Joseph L. Whit- Nos. XXVIII. , XXIX., field, M.A. XXX., XXXL, XXXIIL,
XXXIV.
R. J. J. W. The Rev. Reginald J. J. Watt Nos. XXXIX., XL.
INTRODUCTION.
The previous series of these volumes under the editorship of Dom Bede Camm, O.S.B., dealt with the lives of the martyrs who were beatified by Pope Leo XIII in 1886 and 1895, and they carried the story down to the middle of the year 1583. This book, taking up the narrative at that point, covers the lives of the sixty-eight martyrs who suffered between the years 1583 and 1588. A fourth volume, already in preparation, will complete the story of the Venerable servants of God who suffered under Elizabeth and whose cause of beatification is still before the Holy See.
Many writers have contributed to this volume, and though limits of space have greatly restricted the accounts of some of the lives, it will be found that they have been treated with a fullness and complete- ness not hitherto possible. Many fresh sources have become available during the past decade, such as the papers from the Public Record Office and other docu- ments published by the Catholic Record Society, and the Acts of the Privy Council edited by Mr. Dasent. Though the writers of the lives have been numerous, they have aimed at a certain similarity of treatment, so that it is hoped that in spite of the unavoidable divergencies of style, which may be traced, the volume
INTRODUCTION
will not be found lacking in underlying unity. Neces- sarily there has been some repetition, for the rffain lines of one martyr's story cannot but resemble those of all the others, and a martyr frequently lived, suffered, and died in company with other martyrs.
§ I. THE MARTYR LIST.
We may now point out some general topics and certain broad characteristics which are seen to apply to a whole group of martyrs when studied together, but which are apt to escape notice in the life of any single one of them. Something must therefore be said, first of the martyr-list, next of the gradual de- velopment of the penal code itself, and then of the various groups into which these martyrs naturally fall.
The list of martyrs is the traditional one, that namely which is found in the decree of 9 December, 1886, by which these martyrs and others (in all 261) were declared " Venerable ". The decree itself is for that reason printed after the Introduction, and some necessary consequences of following it may be noted at once. For instance — no account whatever is given of many other sufferers whom a general history of the persecution would have commemorated without fail, as those who died in prison, or distinguished themselves as confessors, or missionaries. We are only occupying ourselves with one section of English Catholic History.
The list of martyrs given in the decree is followed closely, but not slavishly. Occasionally we have adopted a better reading for a name, or slightly altered the sequence of names, in order to keep to the chrono-
INTRODUCTION
logical order ; but substantially the list is the same as it has been for three centuries, the same which now has ecclesiastical sanction.
This conservatism has led to one rather curious result. Richard Williams, a little-known martyr, who figures under No. LIX, really suffered three years later, as our more complete historical apparatus enables us to say without hesitation. But tradition- ally he figures under the date 1588, and this too has its significance, for another still less known hero really suffered at that time, though by some accident his name has entirely fallen out of our martyrologies, and Williams has been given his place. Whilst we give the biography of the latter, in its traditional order, we also say what we can about the layman, John Harrison, who really belonged to that date.
As to the value and significance of the title " Vener- able," it may be said in brief, that it is the lowest of such titles. It affirms that a prima facie case has been established for proceeding to the beatification, which would be the next step. But no definite ap- probation of the martyr is given. The honour might be recalled. No promise of proceeding further is implied. It is unlikely that further progress will be made about such little-known martyrs as Richard Williams just mentioned.
§ II. THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE PENAL LAWS. The Introduction to the previous volume of the Lives of the English Martyrs, described the change in the character of the persecution which was brought about by the Act of 1581 (23 Eliz. c. i). The period dealt with in this volume (1583-1588) saw a still more
INTRODUCTION
wide-reaching development of repressive measures. This was the Act of 1585, entitled '' An Act against Jesuits, Seminary Priests, and other such like dis- obedient persons " (commonly called the law of 27 Elizabeth), an enactment, the practical effect of which was to outlaw the whole of the secular and regular clergy for two hundred years, though, through force of circumstances then existing, it did not at first ap- pear to involve results quite so drastic. When the Act was passed there was still in England a con- siderable number of priests to whom it was not intended to apply, and this fact must not be lost sight of. In studying the course of the persecution it must be remembered that all priests did not stand upon the same legal footing. All the priests who had been ordained before Elizabeth came to the throne remained throughout their lives subject only to the same statutes as the laity, though there were some special provisions in their regard. The same would possibly have held of priests ordained in England after 1558, had any ordinations taken place. But the imprisonment and exile of all the Catholic bishops stopped all further ordination, so that this class of priest was confined to those ordained during the reign of Mary, and hence known as *' Old priests " and now often referred to as " Marian priests ".
Such priests were only liable to a charge of high treason for five classes of offences : — (After 1563)
I. Maintaining the authority of the Pope after
having been previously convicted of the
same.
INTRODUCTION
2. Refusing the Oath of Supremacy for the second
time. (After 1571)
3. Procuring, using or receiving any bull or form
of reconciliation. (After 1581)
4. Absolving or reconciling anyone to the Church.
5. Being absolved or reconciled to the Church. These priests were not affected by the Act of 1585
against Jesuits and Seminary priests, so that even after that date it was quite open to them to live in England without any risk of a prosecution for high treason, except under the above five heads.^
But the Jesuits and all " Seminary priests " (a term which was interpreted to include all English priests ordained beyond the seas) were on a different footing. For by the Act of 1585, which was retrospective, their very presence in England was declared to be high treason. Thus after that date the statuses of the two classes of priests were very different. To support a charge of high treason against the first class it wa.s necessary to prove an overt act of treason at common law ; or one of the five offences which the statutes of 1563, 1571 and 1581 declared to be high treason. Whereas any priest belonging to the second class could be condemned for high treason on the simple fact of his priesthood, apart from any act. This comes out clearly in the case of Venerable
1 The lives of two Marian priests, James Bell (No. IX) and Richard Williams (No. LIX), are given in this volume.
INTRODUCTION
Robert Anderton and Venerable William Marsden, who were among the first victims of the statute.
Thus this Act of 1585 marked a definite change in the character of the persecution, and from that date onwards, " priest-hunting " became one of the salient features in the oppression under which Catholics laboured. Lay Catholics were also aifected by this statute, for by it persons receiving or relieving a priest knowing him to be such were guilty of felony, besides incurring various penalties for other offences. The distinction between high treason and felony explains why most of the lay martyrs were hanged only, and escaped the horrible addition of being cut down alive, bowelled and quartered.
The chief political excuse for the passing of this cruel Act was the assassination of the Prince of Orange, 10 July, 1584. We cannot condemn too strongly this political crime, of which the King of Spain was a prime mover.^ It led to a new outburst of war in Holland, and to those depredations of English pirates on the colonies and merchandise of Spain which brought about the sailing of the Armada. It also led in England to the formation of enormous Associations for Elizabeth's safety, in which whole counties joined with admirable enthusiasm. Un- fortunately Puritan intolerance played at least as great a part in these effusions of highly wrought feelings, as did loyalty to the Sovereign ; and the Parliament which met under such circumstances
1 He excused himself on the plea that the Prince of Orange was born his subject, that he could not reach him by law, and might therefore do so by assassination.
INTRODUCTION
gave its sanction to the barbarous code, which we must now describe.^
Its chief provisions may thus be summarized : —
§ i. The preamble.
§ ii. All Jesuit and Seminary priest then in Eng- land to depart within forty days.^
§ iii. No Jesuit or Seminary priest, ordained by the pretended authority of the See of Rome, " to come into, be, or remain in any part of this realm or any other her Highness' dominions, after the end of the same fort}^ days, other than in such special cases and upon such special occasions only, and for such time only as is expressed in this Act ; and if he do, that then every such oifence shall be taken and adjudged to be high treason ; and every person so offending shall for his offence be adjudged a traitor and shall suffer, lose, and forfeit, as in case of High Treason.
§ iv. Any person receiving or relieving such priest shall be guilty of felony,
§ V. All persons (not priests, deacons, or ecclesiasti- cal persons) now being in any College or Seminary abroad shall return within 6 months, and within 2 days of their return take the Oath of Supremacy. Failing to do this they are guilty of high treason.
§ vi. All persons sending relief to priests, etc., in Seminaries shall incur the penalties of a Premunire.
§ vii. All who send their children across the seas, except by Her Majesty's licence, to forfeit for each offence ;f 100.
§ ix. This Act shall not apply to any priest who shall return to England and take the Oath of Su- premacy and submit himself to the Queen.
§ xii. Sick priests to be allowed to remain on
^ A justification of the Act from a Protestant point of view will be found at p. 484.
^ For the deportations of priests — see the lives of Hartley, Dean, Nutter, etc
INTRODUCTION
certain conditions till they recover. But this period is not to exceed 6 months.
§ xiii. Any person who knows of the presence of a priest within the realm, and who does not report the same to the magistrate within 12 days, shall be im- prisoned at the Queen's pleasure and fined.
§ xvi. Persons submitting are not to come within 10 miles of the Queen for 10 years after their submis- sion.
It will be seen that the great majority of the martyrs were priests. It was the object of the Government to put down Catholicism by depriving the faithful of the Mass and sacraments on the one hand, and by forcing them to attend Protestant worship on the other. Catholic lay folk were im- prisoned by the score for refusing to go to the Anglican service, but they could not be put to death for this. The laymen and women who were martyred were put to death either for alleged high treason or for assist- ing or harbouring priests. In the period treated in this volume, 1583-1588, it will be found that the lay martyrs of 1583 and 1584 were condemned for alleged high treason. There were five of them, so that they very nearly equalled in number the six priests who suffered in those years. But from 1585 onwards not only is the proportion of lay martyrs to priests much less — being seventeen to forty — but these seventeen lay martyrs were almost all executed on the express charge of harbouring and assisting priests.
§ III. THE MARTYRS OF 1 583-1 584 AND THE "BLOODY QUESTION."
From what has been already said it follows that the martyrs of 1583 and 1584 were on the same legal
INTRODUCTION
footing as those whose lives have been described in the second volume of the previous series and which differed from the status of their successors. In the case of each of these eleven martyrs the conviction was for high treason, the overt act alleged being sometimes the denial of the Queen's spiritual supremacy, some- times participation in an alleged plot at Rheims, similar to that for which Campion had already suf- fered, sometimes the distribution of Allen's books, which were asserted to be treasonable, and the like.
In order to make the Catholic position appear con- fessedly treasonable, inquiry was made, in the cases of the Venerable James Bell and the Venerable John Finch : " Whose part wouldst thou take, if the Pope, or any other by his authority, should make war against the Queen . . . and other such bloody ques- tions ".^ Similarly of John Mundyn were asked " those bloody questions, which are as it were a sacred formula, never addressed but to victims already destined to death," and Haydock was in like manner asked ''cut-throat questions".^
I. These questions were, in the first place, irrelevant, unfair, adapted to excite prejudice, not commanded or sanctioned by any statute. The martyrs were tried for certain alleged offences, as being priests, hearing Mass, etc. These questions had nothing to do with the fact before the court, and were only calculated to irritate. The martyrs had no connexions with
^ C.R.S. V. p. 86. See also the Introduction to vol. ii. of the preceding series, and the Analytical hidex below, under Martyrdom^ § 14. '-^ See below, pp. 44 and 97.
b
INTRODUCTION
foreign armies or preparations for war : No such war had in fact been waged, nor would it be.
2. The questions involve the utterly inadmissible claim that it is permissible to judge a man's interior intentions, and to condemn him to death for them. Thus Thomas Bowyer the Protestant advocate — after assuming that *' it was not to be doubted " that " the deprivation of the queen from her regal authority and life," was "their intent and purpose," — goes on to say, ''intent in treason were sufficient to prove the party guilty, though the act were not executed, because it would be too late to punish the offence after the act executed " (below, p. 482). The oppression that would ensue from the consistent en- forcement of these principles would be unendurable.
3. These were questions which it was morally im- possible for a Catholic to answer so as to satisfy his persecutors, for they involved postulates, which both sides were sure to take in different senses.
The persecutors believed, and acted on the belief, that they might use force ; that they might excite revolution against Catholic governments abroad, and might also tyrannize over Catholics at home.
Catholics could not of course admit such principles, or answer with satisfaction to Protestants, questions based upon them. So much so indeed that we might have imagined that, when pressed, they would not have been able to resist proclaiming the opposite principle, viz. that Catholic governments (say Spain) might retaliate on England for the injuries inflicted, and that the English Catholics at home might accept foreign aid in order to liberate themselves from un-
INTRODUCTION
endurable tyranny. In point of fact however such impoHtic answers were always avoided. In those days of absolutism men were well versed in avoiding offence of that sort.
4. Nevertheless, as we read such answers as were given by Anderton and Marsden (pp. 208, 209), we cannot help perceiving a certaiti want of force in their pleadings which may strike us as odd. Though it was no wonder that the lambs should fail to satisfy the wolves, the appeal to the public, Protestant though that public was, seems perhaps less cogent than it might have been. If we pursue the subject we shall find that this guardedness proceeded from our fore- fathers' profound respect for the Holy See, which made them unwilling to own that the Pope's authority in temporals was less than it had been in mediaeval times, the traditions of which times still had such strong influence over them.
Not long since, the Church's law and discipline had held universally, as well as her doctrine. The Pope was by consequence then the supreme arbiter, not only in matters of faith, but also in temporal affairs, and even in those of Kings and Princes, for questions and complaints of every sort were referred to his tribunal.^ True, there had always been stark
1 Turning again to Thomas Bowyer, we find him describing the fifth Council of Lateran (where this headship was proclaimed) as not only traitorous {i.e. contrary to the Elizabethan code of law), but also antichristian {i.e. contrary to the Divine Right of Kings). One of the Justices however demurred to allowing a general council to be styled antichristian. This word was therefore deleted, but traitorous remained {below ^ p. 486, note).
b*
INTRODUCTION
and ambitious rulers, who acted on regalist or Galli- can theories, and minimized the authority of papal laws. But still the system continued, until the Refor- mation, by splitting Christendom into opposing camps, put an end to the universal acceptance of canon law. Then, with the passing of Church law as a universal system, passed away also the mediaeval idea of the Pope with authority everywhere, as head of that system, to enforce canon law even in tem- poral matters, and even on temporal rulers.
Though we now see this transformation clearly, the religious-minded men of that time were slow to perceive that the change which had taken place was permanent; and full as they were of gratitude and loyalty to the Holy See, they showed themselves more unwilling than we nowadays might have expected to admit that the Pope's authority in temporals had declined. They could not easily grant the possibility of siding against him in a war in which he used " his authority " ^ (that is the authority conceded to him in mediaeval times of taking action to enforce his own sentences), though Protestants would inevitably take the antipapal side under such circumstances. So in this way again, the *' bloody question " was an in- evitable source of misunderstanding.
5. The martyrs could not be charged with any civil or criminal offence, nor with any short-coming in civic duty. None of the martyrs (as will be seen
^ The report of Slade's words, p. 3, it will be remembered, is at least in appearance, Protestant. The strong statement, " no authority in temporals, etc.," which we meet on p. 7 may be affected by this.
INTRODUCTION
from the Analytical Index, sections 12, 14, etc.), denied the Queen's temporal sovereignty, many pro- claimed it in moving terms. None affirmed the Bull of Excommunication to be in force. The case against them therefore (except from the point of view of the extreme fanatic) was very weak. The Englishman is habitually reluctant to shed blood, especially in cases where the offence is not clear. The " bloody question " was employed to overcome that reluctance. Brought in after the sufferer was already entangled in the fatal meshes of the persecuting code, it tended to produce the impression that the sufferer was really guilty of more than that for which he had been con- demned. The coup de grace would then be given with a sanctimonious affectation of righteousness. This hypocritical device was one of the most detest- able features of the persecution.^
§ IV. THE MARTYRS OF 1 585-1 587, AND THE GENERAL PARDON.
After the statute of 1585 the trials of the martyrs were greatly simplified. There was no need to rake up evidence of treasonable views or attempts. It was enough for the prosecution to show that a man was
1 The fullest and most authoritative statement of contemporary English Catholic opinion in face of " the bloody question," is that given by Cardinal Allen, in his True, Sincere and Modest Defence of English Catholics^ against [Lord Burghley's] Execu- tion of Justice in England^ 1584 (this book is more generally accessible in the Latin translation prefixed as preface to Bridg- water's Concertatio) — see especially chapter iv. and pp. 29, 62, 70, etc.
INTRODUCTION
a 861111031^' priest, or a Jesuit ordained by Bishops in union with the Pope, and by that very fact he stood condemned of high treason. It sufficed to prove that any one had aided and harboured a priest and he could be convicted of felony. Accordingly during these three years twenty-one priests and five lay people suffered under this statute. The stringent application of this law is shown in a striking way in the case of Venerable William Marsden and Venerable Robert Anderton already referred to. They were on their way to England when they were shipwrecked and cast on the Isle of Wight. Here they were brought before a kindly country magistrate who, commiserating their misfortune, tried to provide them with a loophole for escape. " I suppose, gentlemen," he said, " you came out of France not with a design of coming into England, but of going to Scotland, and that you were driven into England by a storm against your will. Tell me, is not this the truth ? " To which they answered, '' God forbid, my Lord, that we should tell a lie in this matter. . . . The truth is we are both priests." To which the magistrate could only reply: " Then may the Lord have mercy on you, for by the law you are dead men". There could be no better illustration of the constructive treason with which all these martyrs were charged, and for which they suffered. In no single instance was there even any serious attempt to connect them with any of the plots, which from time to time were devised on the Continent, and in particular with that of Babington, which took place at this time. They died simply because the government had determined to crush out Catholicity
INTRODUCTION
by preventing any priests from entering the country. The matter was stated in all its bald truth by a Justice of the Peace named Fleetwood, who when he heard that Blessed Laurence Johnson had arrived and was labouring in the neighbourhood, exclaimed from the bench : " Nay then, we strive in vain. We hoped these old Papistical priests dying, all Papistry should have died and ended with them. But this new brood will never be rooted out. It is impossible ever to be rid of them or to extirpate this Papistical faith out of the land." ^
An event took place in the Parliament of 1587 (29 Elizabeth) which needs mention here. Its last act was a *' General Pardon of all offences, not ex- pressly excepted, committed before 30 September, 1586".^ Of those exceptions we shall hear so often later on, that we might be inclined to think that the pardon was intended to excite hopes only in order to dash them again. This would be a mistake. The age was a rough one, and had crude methods of showing clemency, by deportation, by allowing "the plea of clergy," and the like ; but they were well in- tended, and these "general pardons," which were frequently granted, suited the temper of the time- The Act, which was " to be construed in the sense most beneficial to the subject" (§ iv.), enumerates a very large number of petty and greater crimes and offences, in §§ i. to v., but these are followed by a still
^ Worthington, A Relation of Sixtene Martyrs ( 1 60 1 ). 2 The Act is printed in full in Statutes of the Reahn, 18 19, iv. ii. pp. 7()yy. It received royal assent, 23 March, 1587.
INTRODUCTION
longer list, §§ vi. to xiv., of exceptions to the pardon. In general it may be said that all smaller breaches of civil and municipal law were forgiven : but great, re- peated, and especially political crimes were excepted. Under the same exception were to fall all those im- prisoned by members of the Privy Council, and all those who found themselves in certain great prisons, as the Marshalsea, the Tower, etc. Now as most, if not all, Catholic prisoners were comprised in one or other of these classes, they ended by getting no benefit from the Act.
§ V. THE MARTYRS OF 1588.
This group of martyrs far exceeds in number those who suffered in any other year, and the long list of executions which took place after the defeat of the Spanish Armada coincided with a time of popular excitement and ministerial triumph.
In what spirit was all this blood shed ? In one way there was never a 'massacre more calmly and coldly planned. It was left almost entirely in the hands of the lawyers. The notes of the Solicitor- General remain, which show that he totted up his victims with absolute sang-froid, and distributed them, some here some there, noting beforehand the evidence against them, as well as the verdict and sentence which should be given. Nothing in one sense could be more brutally unfeeling. Nevertheless the pre- dominant motive was certainly political excitement, and Lord Burghley, the political primum agens, has supervised the paper of the law-officer, and has left upon it important directions,
INTRODUCTION
Now it was part of his clever but unprincipled policy to force Protestantism upon the country by laws of great stringency, which, however, he ad- ministered, so far as possible, with reserve, in order to win the reputation of clemency. When, however, his policy required it, he struck without mercy. On this occasion he wanted to show the Catholic powers how utterly powerless the English Catholics were to help them — so Catholic priests should be slain in large numbers in the most public manner, in the chief streets of the capital, and in the towns and havens of the surrounding counties. The Catholics popu- larly attributed their sufferings to the detested Earl of Leicester, and no doubt he would have been on the side of cruelty in the Privy Council. But no State papers, yet published, show that 'he was in truth the originator of the massacre, nor is it probable that his responsibility outweighed Lord Burghley's on this occasion.
What makes Burghley's responsibility so heavy, is that he himself was all the time convinced that the Catholics in England were as a fact perfectly loyal to Elizabeth during the crisis. This is shown by a political pamphlet which he wrote at this time, in the character of a Catholic, to show that the Spaniards had no chance of finding support in England. His authorship is beyond question, for two, in some parts even three, drafts of it are preserved among the Lansdowne MSS. in the British Museum. (MS. vol. 103, n. 55. It has been reprinted in the Harleian Tracts, etc.) It is entitled, A Letter sent out of England to Don Bernardino de Mendoza, and is said to have
INTRODUCTION
been found in the Chamber of Richard Leigh, a Seminary Priest lately executed, that is the Venerable martyr whose life is told below. The contents are thus briefly set forth in Mr. Gillow's Bibliographical Dic- tionary (under Richard Leigh) : " The writer deplores the misery which the Armada has brought on English Catholics, expresses his dislike of the Pope's bull against Elizabeth, and of the English books sent into England in explanation of it,^ and speaks of the aversion of the English Catholics to reformation by force ".
The pamphlet is written with so much detail, and such affectation of sincerity, that it has been constantly taken for a genuine Catholic work, though, when one knows the author's real sentiments, one can dis- tinguish his cant Catholicism easily enough by the little hits back in defence of " the bloody question,'' in praise of Elizabeth's marvellous clemency, and the like. We find therefore that Lord Burghley on the one hand genuinely wished it to be believed that the Catholics of England were perfectly harmless, nay loyal to the government of the land ; and on the other that he does not hesitate to slaughter Catholic
1 This bull was again a fraud, though not an intentional one, of Lord Burghley 's. No such bull had been issued, no such books sent to England, though he believed they had. The ex- planation is that the bull had been prepared, and a short com- mentary or " book " about it printed. One of Walsingham's spies had stolen a copy of this, and sent it to England, and upon it Lord Burghley based his statement. The matter will come up for discussion again in the next volume, as the alleged bull came prominently into the trial of the Venerable Philip Howard, Earl of Arundel.
INTRODUCTION
priests, to malign them as traitors, to feed the Calvin- istic hatred of the ancient faith by every device in his power, to foster the idea that " their religion was but a cloak to cover their treasons " (p. 485).
There can be no question that Lord Burghley, whatever his motives, was telling the truth, when he said that the Catholics of England were against Spain during the Armada crisis. It is conceivable that there were individuals who desired religious liberty at the cost of foreign invasion. There were some such abroad among the exiles, for they naturally viewed the Spaniards with kindlier eyes. We have not, however, so far any instance of the existence of such sentiments at home ; on the contrary several statements in the Spanish State papers show that the co-operation of the English Catholics was not to be counted upon.
Thus, though it might seem that Elizabeth's govern- ment must have had a large excuse politically for this slaughter at a moment of great excitement. Lord Burghley's hypocritical paper shows they were perfectly aware all the time that the danger from Catholics was nil. When we look into the details of the several martyrdoms we find them equally in- defensible.
For many months before the Armada appeared no Catholics had been put to death, but in the light of the advice given by the Crown lawyers to the Privy Council,^ it is clear that the Government were con- templating measures of unusual severity. Five days after the Armada appeared three priests were put to
INTRODUCTION
death at Derby, and as soon as the defeat of the Armada was known the Government determined on wholesale executions.
On 14 August orders were issued that the keepers of all the London prisons should make a return of all recusants in custody, and commissioners were ap- pointed to examine them all. The examination was concluded by the 20th and the results placed before Serjeant Puckering, one of the Crown lawyers, and afterwards Lord Keeper of the great seal. He then drew up a list, still preserved,^ in which he began by setting down on the first page of his paper all the names in a certain topographical order, distributing them over as wide an area as he could in order that as many places as possible might witness the exe- cutions of the Popish Priests. London with Middle- sex obtained the lion's share, partly because many had been arrested, or at least imprisoned and examined there, partly because London was the home of Protest- ant bigotry and would greatly enjoy the spectacle.
Against each name a note was added in French law terms explaining briefly the position of each one, as " guilty and confesses " or " does not answer : guilty ". And one reads " recants and relents and therefore pardoned ".
When the list was complete it was submitted to Lord Burghley who added with his own hand the word "treason" or "felony" to each name. Puckering then wrote susp. against all marked as " guilty". It is not at first sight clear whether it was added after the legal trial and execution in the sense of siispensus
^Published in C.R.S. v. pp. 154 s^g.
INTRODUCTION
fuit, ^' he was hanged," or whether it was set down before the trial, meaning suspendatur, ''let him be hanged ". Examination of the lists, however, sup- ports the latter view, for the contraction susp. is added to the name of Clifton who was not hanged but died in prison, and it is not written against the name of Weldon who did eventually suffer on the gallows.
Altogether six priests and eight of the laity were executed in or near London within three days, 28-30 August. Twelve more, nine priests and three lay- men, suffered about the beginning of October, and others before the end of the year. With regard to those who suffered outside London, Puckering rewrote his notes, having then more evidence before him. Altogether thirty-one martyrs were put to death during this single year.
§ VI. AUTHORITIES.
Fallowing the precedent set in the volumes of the earlier series a note has been appended to each life, or footnotes have been supplied, from which the special references to each martyr may be obtained. The general sources as detailed in Volume II. pp. xxix-xli, continue to be of service, though some of them fail us during this period. Thus Bridgewater's Concertatio EcclesicB AnglicancB which amplified and continued Cardinal Allen's Briefe Historie of Twelve reverend Priests, gives no information after 1585. The additions made by Bishop Yepez to the Spanish edition, which he published in 1599, though useful, are not thorough or systematic, and many of these martyrs were un- known to him.
INTRODUCTION
A further addition to our contemporary sources, made since the pubHcation of the Lives of the Beati, is the issue of Unpublished Documents relating to the English Martyrs, forming Volume V of the pubHca- tions of the CathoHc Record Society. The Prisons Lists, pubHshed in Volumes II and III of the same series, also throw new light on many of the martyrs. The .publications of the Oxford Historical Society again afford information as to the University careers of the many Oxford men among, them.
The list of more recent works on the subject re- mains much as it is detailed in Volume II. Dom Bede Camm's Forgotten Shrines, published in 1910, is useful for Venerable Francis Ingleby, but otherwise does not give many new details about these particular martyrs, though it is rich in information as to the relics of the English martyrs generally. Much of Mr. Wainewright's useful research work which has appeared in the Downside Review, A mplef or th Journal and elsewhere has been utilized by him in these pages, and special thanks are due to the Catholic Truth Society for leave to reprint in a somewhat abridged and occasionally revised form his pamphlets on the earlier of these martyrs, which originally appeared in that Society's Biographical Series.
Help for this volume has been received from so many sources that the editors find themselves quite unable to thank all by name. They cannot however conclude without very gratefully acknowledging their special obligations to the contributors, and that not only for the diligence and care they have devoted to their work, but also for their readiness to make those
INTRODUCTION
sacrifices cheerfully without which no composite work like the present can be achieved. To Father P. Ryan, S.J., for his great pains in reading the proofs, a particular acknowledgment is also due. Attention is directed to the analytical heading " Martyrdoms " in the index, which will be found of great assistance in appreciating the general spirit of the Martyrs, and in learning the many lessons contained in their lives.
EDWIN H. BURTON.
JOHN H. POLLEN, SJ.
P.S. — While this work was passing through the press, Dr. Burton was unable, owing to many other occupations, to give all that time and care to revision and correction which a work like this required. It has been my privilege and pleasure to succeed him here. But the credit for the editor's work up till then — especially, that is, during those early stages which are proverbially the hardest — is entirely his.
J. H. P., S.J.
APPENDIX.
Decree of the Sacred Congregation of Rites, for the Introduc- tion of the Cause of Beatification, or Declaration of Martyrdom, of two hundred and sixty-one Venerable Servants of God, who were put to death in England for the Faiih.
In the persecution which raged so fiercely in England during the sixteenth century and afterwards against the Catholic Faith and the divinely instituted Primacy of the Roman Pontiff, very many of the faithful of every rank, after enduring mockery and stripes, bonds and imprisonment, and suffering many kinds of cruel torture, courageously laid down their lives for religion. By their death the enemies of Catholicity thought to tear up the Catholic Church by its roots, in the country which in past ages was deservedly called an Island of Saints. But the blood of the slain, who from the moment of their glorious deaths were everywhere held to be true Martyrs of Christ, became the seed of new offspring in the Church, which has there day by day wonderfully grown.
The times were adverse to the drawing up of the formalities required for the process of these glorious Martyrs, and to the introduction of their cause in the Sacred Congregation of Rites, though it was greatly desired, not only in England, but also by the faithful throughout the Catholic world. But now, since the restoration of the Catholic Hier- archy in England, what was so earnestly looked for has in our day been happily accomplished. The Catholic Bishops have been able to col- lect together the ancient records ; and by authority of the Ordinary, to institute in the ecclesiastical Court of Westminster the formal Process as to the Martyrdom, the Cause of Martyrdom, and the signs or miracles of three hundred and five Servants of God who were put to death for the Catholic Faith. •
The acts of this Process, supported by authentic documents, were laid before the Apostolic See, and were immediately followed by a Petition of the Bishops, and of many other distinguished ecclesiastics and laymen of the whole of England.
Our Holy Father Leo XIII was pleased to entrust the examination
xxxii
APPENDIX xxxiii
of this matter to a special Commission, consisting of several Car- dinals of the Holy Roman Church, and officials of the Congregation of Sacred Rites, with directions that the said examination should be pre- ceded by a disquisition, to be drawn up by the Right Reverend Pro- moter of the Holy Faith ; and a dispensation was also granted in respect to the Introduction of the Cause before the lapse often years required by the decrees, from the day of presenting the Ordinary Process in the Sacred Congregation, and in respect also to its intro- duction before the written documents had been revised.
Afterwards, in a special Congregation, assembled in the Vatican on the day below named, the undersigned Cardinal Dominic Bartolini, Prefect of the said Sacred Congregation, who had charge of the Cause, proposed the following question : —
" Whether the Commission is to be signed for the Introduction of the
Cause, in the matter and to the effect under consideration.^^ Then the Most Reverend Fathers, and the official prelates, after hearing the written and oral report of the aforesaid Promoter of the Holy Faith, and after the matter had been fully discussed, decided : — " That the Commission is to he signed, if it shall please His Holiness, in respect of two hundred and sixty-one, namely : — [1537] Anthony Brookby, of the Order of St. Francis, [i.] [1538] Thomas Belchiam and Thomas Cort, of the Order of St.
Francis. [2.] [1539] Griffith Clark, priest ; N. Waire, of the Order of St. Francis ; ^ Adrian Fortescue and Thomas Dinglev, Knights of St. John of Jerusalem ; John Travers, priest, of the Order of Hermits of St. Augustine; ^John Beche, Abbot of Colchester; ^ Hugh Faringdon, Abbot of Reading; ^Richard Whiting, Abbot of Glastonbury ; ^ Roger James and ^ John Thorn, monks of Glas- tonbury; ^William Onion and ^ John Rugg, of the Order of St. Benedict. [12.] [-1540] Edmund Brindholm, priest ; Clement Philpot, layman. [2.] [1541] David Gunston, Knight of St. John of Jerusalem, [i.] [1544] John Ireland, priest ; Thomas Ashby, layman. [2.] [1583] John Slade and John Bodey, laymen. [2.] [1584] George Haydock, James Fenn, Thomas Hemerford, John Nutter and John Munden, priests ; William Carter, layman ; James Bell, priest ; John Finch and Richard White, laymen.
[g.J
[1585] Thomas Alfield, priest; Thomas Webley, layman ; Hugh Taylor, priest; Marmaduke Bowes, layman. [4.]
^ Now beatified by decree of 13 May, 1895.
c
APPENDIX
[1586] Edward Strancham and Nicholas Woodfen, priests; Mar- garet Clithero, of the laity; Richard Sergeant {alias Lee), William Thomson, Robert Anderton, William Mars- den, Francis Ingolby, John Finglow, John Sandys, John Lowe, John Adams and Richard Dibdale, priests ; Robert BicKERDiKE and Richard Langley, laymen, [15.]
[1587] Thomas Pilchard, Edmund Sykes, Robert Sutton, Stephen Rowscham, John Hambley, George Douglas and Alexander Crow, priests. [7.]
[1588] Nicholas Garlick, Robert Ludlam, Richard Sympson and William Dean, priests ; Henry Webley, layman ; William GuNTER and Robert Morton, priests ; Hugh More, layman ; Thomas Holford and James Claxton, priests ; Thomas Fel- TON, of the Order of Minims; Richard Leigh, priest; Edward Shelley, Richard Martin, Richard Flower, John Roch and Margaret Ward, of the laity ; William Way {alias Wigges), Robert Wilcox, Edward Campion and Christopher Buxton, priests ; Robert Wildmerpool, layman ; Rodolph Crochet, Edward James, John Robinson and William Hartley, priests; Robert Sutton, layman; Richard Williams, John Hewett {alias Weldon) and Edward Burden, priests; William Lampley [layman]. [31.]
[1589] John Amias, Robert Dalby, George Nichols and Richard Yaxley, priests; Thomas Belson and Humphrey Prichard, laymen ; William Spenser, priest ; Robert Hardesty, layman. [8.]
[1590] Christopher Bales (or Bayles), priest ; Nicholas Horner and Alexander Blake, laymen ; Miles Gerard, Francis Dickenson, Edward Jones, Anthony Middleton, Edmund Duke, Richard Hill, John Hog and Richard Holliday, priests. [11.]
[1591] Robert Thorpe, priest; Thomas Watkinson, layman; Mom- ford Scott, George Beesley and Roger Dickenson, priests ; Rodolph Milner, William Pike and Laurence Humphrey, lay- men; Edmund Genings, priest; Swithin Wells, layman; Eustace White and Polydore Plasden, priests ; Brian Lacy, John Mason and Sydney Hodgson, laymen. [15.]
[1592] William Patenson and Thomas Pormort, priests ; Robert [Roger] Ashton, layman. [3.]
[1593] Edward Waterson, priest ; James Bird, layman ; Anthony Page, Joseph Lampton and William Davies, priests. [5.]
[1594] John Speed, layman ; William Harrington, priest ; John Cornelius, of the Society of Jesus; Thomas Bosgrave, John
APPENDIX
Carey and Patrick Salmon, laymen ; John Boste and John
Ingram, priests ; George Swallowell, layman ; Edward
OsBALDESTON, priest, [ic] [1595J Robert Southwell, of the Society of Jesus; Alexander
Rawlins, priest; Henry Walpole, of the Society of Jesus;
William Freeman, priest ; Philip Howard, Earl of Arundel.
[5.] [1596] George Errington, William Knicht, William Gibson and
Henry Abbot, laymen. [4.] [1597] William Andleby, priest; Thomas Warcop and Edward
Fulthorp, laymen. [3.] [1598] John Britton, layman ; Peter Snow, priest; Rodolph Grim-
ston, layman ; John Buckley (or Jones), of the Order of St.
Francis, Christopher Robinson and Richard Horner, priests.
[6.] [1599] John Lion and James Dowdall, laymen. [2.] [1600] Christopher Wharton, priest ; John Rigby, layman ;
Thomas Sprott, Thomas Hunt, Robert Nutter, Edward
Thwing, and Thomas Palasor, priests ; John Norton and
John Talbot, laymen. [9.] [1601] John Pibush, priest; Mark Barkworth, of the Order of St-
Benedict; Roger Filcock, of the Society of Jesus Anne Line,
of the laity; Thurstan Hunt and Robert Middleton,
priests; Nicholas Tichborne and Thomas Hackshot, laymen.
[8.] [1602] James Harrison, priest ; Anthony Bates and James Ducket,
laymen ; Thomas Tichborne and Robert Watkinson, priests ;
Francis Page, of the Society of Jesus. [6.] [1603] William Richardson, priest, [i.] [1604] John Sugar, priest; Robert Grissold and Laurence
Baily, laymen. [3.] [1605] Thomas Welbourne, John Fulthering and William
Brown, laymen. [3.] [1606] Nicholas Owen, Edward Oldcorne and Rodolph Ashley,
of the Society of Jesus. [3.] [1607] Robert Drury, priest, [i.] [1608] Matthew Flathers, priest ; George Gervase, of the Order
of St. Benedict; Thomas Garnet, of the Society of Jesus. [3.] [1610] Roger Cadwallador, George Napier and Thomas Somers,
priests ; William Scot [sic] and John Roberts, of the Order
of St. Benedic\ [5.] [1612] Richard Newport and John Almond, priests. [2.]
APPENDIX
[1616] Thomas Atkinson and John Thulis, priests; Roger Wrenno, layman; Thomas Maxfield and Thomas Tunstal, priests. [5.]
[1618J William Southerne, priest, [i.]
[1628] Edmund Arrowsmith, of the Society of Jesus; Richard Herst, layman. [2,]
[1641] William Ward, priest ; Edward Barlow, of the Order of St. Benedict, [2.]
[1642] Thomas Reynolds, priest ; Bartholomew Roe, of the Order of St. Benedict ; John Lockwood, Edmund Catherick, Edward Morgan and Hugh Green, priests; Thomas Bullaker, of the Order of St. Francis ; Thomas Holland, of the Society of Jesus. [8.]
[1643] Henry Heath and Arthur Bell, of the Order of St. Francis. [2.]
[1644] [Robert] Price, layman; John Ducket, priest; Rodolfh Corby, of the Society of Jesus. [3.]
[1645] Henry Morse and Brian Cansfield, of the Society of Jesus; John Goodman, priest. [3.]
[1646] Philip Powel, of the Order of St. Benedict ; Edward Bamber, priest ; John Woodcock, of the Order of St. Francis ; Thomas Whitaker, priest. [4.]
[1651] Peter Wright, of the Society of Jesus, [i.]
[1654] John Southworth, priest, [i.]
[1678] Edward Coleman, layman ; Edward Mico and Thomas Bedingfield, of the Society of Jesus. [3.]
[1679] William Ireland, of the Society of Jesus; John Grove, layman ; Thomas Pickering, of the Order of St. Benedict ; Thomas Whitbread, William Harcourt, John Fenwick, John Green (or Gavan), Anthony Turner and Francis Nevill, of the Society of Jesus; Richard Langhorne, layman ; William Plessington, priest ; Philip Evans, of the Society of Jesus; John Lloyd and Nicholas Postgate, priests ; Charles Mahony, John Wall and Francis Levison, of the Order of St. Francis; John Kemble, priest; David Lewis {alias Charles Baker), of the Society of Jesus. [19.]
[1680] Thomas Thwing, priest; William Howard, Viscount Stafford.
[2.]
[1681] Oliver Plunket, Archbishop of Armagh, [i.] "
As to the other forty-four the decision was : " Delayed^ and further proofs must he given.''''
The ^th day of December, 1886.
APPENDIX
The undersigned Secretary having then made a faithful and accurate report of all that precedes to our Holy Father Pope Leo XIII, His Holiness, ratifying the decision of the Sacred Congregation^ vouchsafed to sign the Commission for the Introduction of the Cause with his own hand, on the ninth day of the same month and year.
D. Cardinal Bartolini, L. ►f' S. Prefect of the Congregation of Sacred Rites.
Laurence Salvati, Secretary.
ABBREVIATIONS.
To avoid constant repetition in the lists of authorities appended to the lives, the following abbreviations have been employed.
A. E. M. = Acts of English Martyrs, 1578- 1642. By the Rev. J. H. Pollen, S.J. (London, Burns & Gates, i8gi.)
Bridgewater, Concertatio = Concertatio Ecclesice Catholicce in Anglia. (Treves, 1588.)
Challoner = Memoirs of Missionary Priests as well secular as regU' lar ; and of other Catholics of both sexes, that have suffered death in England on religions accounts, from the year of Our Lord 1577 to 1648. By Bishop Challoner. (First edition, 1741-2. Latest edition, London, 1878.)
C. R. S. = The publications of the Catholic Record Society. The most frequently quoted volume is the fifth : Unpublished Documents relating to the English Martyrs, 1584-1603. Collected and edited by John Hungerfbrd Pollen, S.J. (London, igo8.)
Douay Diaries = The First and Second Diaries of the English Col- lege, Douay, and an Appendix of Unpublished Documents. Edited by Fathers of the Congregation of the London Oratory. With an Historical Introduction by Thomas Francis Knox, D.D. (London, Da\'id Nutt, 1878.)
Gillow, Bibl. Diet. Eng. Cath. = A Literary and Biographical His- tory ; or Bibliographical Dictionary of the English Catholics, from the breach ivith Rome in 1534, to the present time. Five vols. By Joseph Gillow. (London, Burns & Gates, no date.)
Morris, Troubles — The Troubles of our Catholic Forefathers related ^ by themselves. Edited by John Morris, priest of the Society of Jesus. (London, Burns & Gates, first series, 1872 ; second series, 1875 ; third series, 1877.)
Yepes, Hist. Part. = Historia Particular de la persecucion de Ingla-
terra, y de los martirios mas insignes que en ella na avido,
desde el ano del Senor, 1570. Recogida por el Padre Fray Diego
Yepes, confessor del Rey Don Felipe II, Gbispo de Tara9ona, en
. Madrid, aiio 1599.
I.
VENERABLE JOHN SLADE.
LAYMAN.
Winchester, 30 October, 1583.
On 6 May, 1626, Benjamin Norton, vicar for Kent, Surrey, Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire, wrote to Dr. Richard Smith, Bishop of Chalcedon : —
** Of Mr. J. Slade I yett knowe noe more but that I knewe the man well & he was reputed then to bee a dorsett shire man, of whome I knowe noe more butt thatt hee was a most constant mortified man, &c." {C.R.S. V. 395).
He was probably a relative to that John Slade, late of Manston, Dorset, gent, (of whom the Recusancy Roll, 37 Eliz., 1594-5, records that he was fined ;£*ioo for non-attendance at church for five months) ; and he is described in the account of his martyrdom cited later as a schoolmaster. Beyond this, we know no more of him before his arrest than Benjamin Norton did.
Father William Warford, S.J., speaks of him as having been " expelled from New College, Oxford, by Home the pseudo-bishop " of Winchester ; but he was certainly not on the foundation of that college.
LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
and it is very improbable that one who had afterwards to teach for his living would have gone to Oxford as a gentleman-commoner.
Bishop Challoner says that he was " for some time a student in the canon and civil law in the university of Douay and a convictor of the English College in that city " : but no evidence is forthcoming that any Slade matriculated at the University of Douay, and the " Sladus " without a Christian name who figures in the Douay Diaries is most probably the William Slade of Lichfield diocese who afterwards became a priest.
On 14 June, 1582, the Privy Council sent " A letter unto Sir John Horsie, Knight, and George Trenchard, Esquiar, for the apprehending and sending up of one Slade, a verie daungerous Papist lurking within that county of Dorset, and all suche superstitious orna- mentes and tromperie as they can by diligent search find out, together with the said Slade " (Dasent, xiii. 446). He was soon after arrested and committed to Winchester Jail. Some incidents of his imprison- ment there and double trial will be found in the ac- count of his fellow-prisoner and fellow-martyr John Body. An account of his death is extant in a book printed in London by Richard Jones, in 1583, of which there is a copy, mainly in Black Letter, in the British Museum. It lacks the title-page but is other- wise apparently perfect. It seems to be more trust- worthy than the account in Westminster Archives printed by Father J. H. Pollen, S.J., in his Acts of English Martyrs, pp. 57 sqq. (For example, the book ^ives *' Fr^uncis Cotton" in^te^d of the W^^''
VENERABLE JOHN SLADE
minster Archives' unknown " Francis Coke " among the gentlemen present at the executions.) It has, therefore, been transcribed here. Father Pollen justly says : " It may be noted that though the Martyrs are described throughout as traitors, the report is in other respects not unsympathetic. May it not be that while written by a Catholic, this half-transparent device was adopted in order to allow of its publication in England ? The initials would suit Robert Barnes, who was condemned in 1598 to be hanged for felony because he had harboured the Martyr John Jones, alias Buckley, O.S.F." Robert Barnes was not executed, but remained in prison till the accession of James I.
The missing title-page may be taken to be the same in the main as that given by Father Pollen, loc. cit.
The book as it stands begins as follows : —
To the worshipfull & his very good freend Maister H.S.
Wheras your worship (at my last being with you) desired mee to let you haue knowledge of the manner of the ende and confessions of BODY and SLADE, two notorious Traitours : I haue, according to my promise, sent you the true Discourse thereof : For, I being present thereat (as you knowe) vpon some especial occasions, haue set down so neere as memorie would serue mee, the certaintie therof, which you maye be bolde to declare to your Frends for a very trueth ; nottwithstanding the sundry flying tales rumored abroade by the Papists according to their accustomed manner, as theif affection serueth them,
LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
I haue sent you the trueth, and nothing but the trueth, and therof you may assuredly perswade your selfe. Thus with the continuall desire of your welfare, with all yours, I commit you to the heauvenly protection.
From Winchester, by your Freend to use.
R. B.
These Gentlemen and Justices of Peace, were pre- sent at these Executions.
M. Robert White, Highe Sherife of the Shiere.
S. William Kingsmell, Knight.
M. John Fisher, Justice of Peace.
M. William Saint-John, Justice of peace.
M. Thomas West, Sonne to the Lorde Delaware.
M. Frauncis Cotton, Justice of peace.
M. William Wright, Justice of peace.
M. Beniamin Touchbourne, Justice of peace.
Beside many other Gentlemen of countenance and credit.
The Execution and Confession of John Slade, an obstinate and notorious Traitour, who was drawen hanged, and quartered for highe treason against her Maiestie, at Winchester, on Wednesday, the xxx day of Octob. 1583. On Wednesdaye, beeing the 30, of October, John Slade, sometime a Scholemaister, was drawen upon a Hurdell from the prison in Winchester, to the market place where the execution was ap- pointed ; and being come to the aforesaid place, and taken off the Hurdell, he came and kneeled downe by the gallowes, making a crosse with his hande uppon one of the poastes therof, and kissed it, using silent Prayers in latine to him selfe. Afterward, being come
VENERABLE '^OliN SLADE 5
upon the ladder, he beganne in this maner. I am come hither this day to suffer death for my faith, what faith ? no rare faith, but euen the faith that hath, continued from all posterities: Wherupon Sir William Kingsmell, knight, spake to him as thus : Slade, doe not thus delude the People with plausible speeches, you are come hither to suffer death for high treason against her Maiestie, you have ben lawfully and sufficiently convicted therof, and therfore you are brought to endure y^ punishment that Law hath assigned you. You have denyed her maiestie to haue any supremacie ouer the Church of Christ in England, both in causes Ecclesiasticall andtemporall, which fact is high treason : and therfore you .are worthy to suffer death, in that you will not giue her maiestie her dutie and your allegiaunce. Oh Sir William (quoth he) I will giue her maiestie as mutche as euer hath beene giuen to any Prince in this Realme, & wil shew her as much dutie, as he that is her most obedient Subject. That do you not (answered Sir William Kingsmell) for you rob her of her Ecclesi- astical and temporal gouernement, which all Princes hath enjoyed, and you traiterously take from her : therefore how do you giue her as much as any Prince hath had, and howe doe you showe your selfe a sub- iect, in this unnaturall dealing, to preferre a forraine gouernement, before your owne lawfull Queen.
Sir (sayd Slade) the supremacie hath & doth belong to the Pope by right, euen as from Peter, & the Pope hath receiued it by diuin prouidence : therefore we must not giue those thinges belonging to god, to any other then him alone : and because I wil not do
LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
otherwise, I may saye with the three children in the firie Ouen, and the first of the Widowes seuen Sonnes, in the Maccabees. Parati sumus mori, magis quam patrias Dei leges praeuaricari. Then M. Robert White (high Sherife of the Shiere) sayd to him, that he shewed himself very undutifuU to her Maiestie : and therfore willed him to aske her forgiuenes : O Maister Sherif (quoth hee) you knowe if Paule and Peter would haue obeyed their Princes, they had not suffered death. At these words M. Doctor Bennet, one of the Chaplains to the right honorable the Lord Treasourer, came to him and sayd : Slade, do not abuse the people thus, with these wordes : Paule & Peter were put to death for religion, they were com- maunded not to preach in the name of Jesus, are you commaunded any such thing : Oh Sir (answered Slade) I would wish you to behaue your self after ye manner of a Trewant, whose nature is to forget, and so would I have you forget your wicked life and begin a new. Slade (said M. Bennet) I come as one that wisheth well to thy soule, thou art now at y^ pits brink, consider how highly thou offendest God, and likewise howe thou hast transgressed against her Maiestie : I desire thee in the bowelles of Christ, be not so wilfull, loose not that so lightly which he hath bought with his most pretious blood. And if my wordes may not preuaile with thee, yet for ye love of thine owne soule, forsake this damnable opinion, let not that unworthie Priest be preferred before thine own natural Princesse, who is the lawful supreme head of the church, next under Christ. Thou knowest how he hath depriued her of her gouernement by his
VENERABLE JOHN SLADE
excommunication, and wilt thou be so wicked as leane to him and forsake her? Sir (answered Slade) you are very busie in words, if the Pope hath done so, I think he hath done no more than he may, and than he ought to do, for I wil acknowledge no other head of the church, but only the Pope, and her Maiestie hath no authoritie in temporall causes (likewise) but only what hee shall thinke good to allow her. At these words, the people cried, away with the Traitour, hang him, hang him. Maister Sherife willed him againe to ask her Maiestie forgiuenes. Why should I aske her forgiuenes (quoth hee) wherein have I offended her ? Then M. Bennet desired him to com- mend his soule to God, and desire the people to praye for him, but he sayd, they and hee were not of one faith & therefore they should not praye for him, & I desire al blessed people (quoth he) to pray for me, and all the Saintes and blessed Companie of Heauen. So after he had staied so long as it pleased himself and had mumbled a many latine praiers silently to himself, he was cast beside the ladder, and afterward was cut downe and quartered, according to his Judge- ment.
Finis.
J. B. W.
II.
VENERABLE JOHN BODY.
LAYMAN. Andovery 2 November, 1583.^
John Body was born in 1549 ^^ Wells, where his father, according to Bishop Challoner, was a wealthy merchant, and had served the office of Mayor. At the age of twelve he was sent to Winchester College. The roll for the year 1562 was a long one containing twenty-six names, among which are found those of John Bustard, Giles Gallop, Anthony Twichener and Gratian Brunell, of whom the former two suffered exile, and the latter two imprisonment, for the Catholic faith. In due course John Body proceeded to New College, Oxford, where he became *' true and perpetual Fellow " in 1568. On 16 January, 1575-6, the Visitor of the College, Dr. Home, the Protestant Bishop of Winchester (whose nephew, the Wykehamist, Adam Home, then a Fellow, was to die three years later at the English College, Douay), opened his visitation by his commissaries (themselves both Wykehamists),
1 This account is reprinted with some additions and omissions from the writer's pamphlet Two English Martyrs, published by the Catholic Truth Society.
VENERABLE yoHN BODY
John Kingsmill and Thomas Bilson, M.A., his future successor. Nothing much was done by them, though in the course of their inquiries we find that John Body was accused of the heinous offence of keeping dogs in College. On the following i February he took the degree of M.A. In June following the visitation was resumed by Dr. Home in person, who seems to have behaved in a most truculent and doubt- fully legal manner. In the event seven Fellows were deprived, including John Body. He was, no doubt, in reality deprived for his Catholic sympathies, what- ever the nominal reason may have been ; for, on i May in the next year, 1577, he arrived at the English College, Douay, to study civil law, in company with John Rasyn, or Raison, formerly a Cantor in Wells Cathedral.^ Both of them were convictors for some time at the College, and both matriculated at the University of Douay, though it does not appear that either took any degree.
On 27 August, 1577, John Body went to Amiens to visit the relics of St. John the Baptist there, re- turning to Douay two days later ; and on 27 February, 1577-8, he set out for England with Mr. Rasyn.
Wood states that when beyond the seas " he took
^ His name is also spelt Reason and Rayson. He was born in Kirton, Lincolnshire, though sometimes described as "of Westminster, yeoman ". Committed to the Clink for religion, 16 October, 1582, he was in Newgate from 18 to 24 January, 1582-3, whence he was again transferred to the Clink. He was still in prison somewhere in London in 1588, and we find him in the Gatehouse 6 July, 1602 {C.R.S. ii. 226, 227, 229, 230, 284, 288).
LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
upon himself priestly orders," but this is a mistake. He returned to England a layman. It is not quite certain that he was not married, for the following entry in the Acts of the Privy Council (Dasent, xiii. loi), though it may refer to his mother, would seem, primd facie, to allude to his wife. It is dated 24 June, 1581, and runs as follows : '* This daye Marie Bodye, wyfe of John Bodie in the countye of Somersett, entred into bond in C^^ with two suerties to observe the generall condicions appointed for the recusantes, and so was uppon her humble sute to the Lordes enlarged ".1 On his return to England, before his arrest, he, like his fellow-martyr, John Slade, was a schoolmaster, it would appear in Hampshire, and had under his care Benjamin Norton, above mentioned p. i), and probably also Anthony Norton, and possibly Henry Tichborne, and his own brother Gilbert.2
He was apprehended, probably in or before 1580, as it would seem at the house of Mr. Henry Shelley of Maplederham, near Petersfield, Hampshire.^
The precise date of his commitment to prison is unknown. From 5 September, 1581, to 28 April,
^ Mary Body had apparently conformed by the following 27 November, ibid. p. 265.
^Benjamin Norton says {C.R.S. v. 395) : "Of Mr. J. Boddie I can saye that he was my scolemaster a yeere or to beefore his Apprehension at Mr. Archdeacon Shellye his fathers howse, where he was taken & Committed by S'". Richard Norton, & by reason of this former acquaintance his good mother Comminge to see her sonne, came to my mothers howse from Wells in Summersett shire, wheare shee lived & as I thinke her sonne was borne ".
VENERABLE JOHN BODY
1582, he was fettered with iron shackles and again later on. On 11 January, 1582-3, a search was made by Sir Richard Norton, William Wright, and Thomas Fleming in the chambers in Winchester Jail then occupied by lay recusants (Mr. Richard W^arnford, of the City of Winchester, a senior contemporary of Body at Winchester and New College, Mr. Howard, Mr. Slade, Mr. Body, Mr. Travers and Mercy Deane), which resulted in the discovery of an altar-stone, a missal, a rosary, a cope, a set of mass-vestments, a pair of large wax candles, and a quantity of books. At that time Body and Slade shared one chamber in which were found copies of the following works : ^ A lien, of Purgatory ; ^ A Christian Exercise ; ^ A Treatise of the Church ; * and Smyth, of the Mass. ^
They had been tried at Winchester and condemned to death before 24 April, 1583, on which date the Rev. George Birkett, a Seminary priest and native of Durham, wrote a Latin letter from London to Dr. Allen (printed Records Eng. Cath. vol. i. p. 353), from which I translate a passage, as follows : " Body
1 P.R.O., S.P. Dom. Eliz. clviii. 19.
'-* A Defense and Declaration of the Catholike Churches Doc- trine touching Purgatory and Prayers for the Soules Departed. By William Allen, Maister of Arte and Student in Divinitie. Antverpiae, 1 565, 8vo.
^ Father Parsons' The First Book of Christian Exercise, appertayning to resolution, etc. [Rouen], 1582, i2mo.
^ Probably A Treatise of Schisme ... By Gregorie Martin, Licentiate in Divinitie. Duaci, apud Johannem Foul- erum, 1578, i6mo.
^ Probably Dr. Richard Smith's A defence of the sacrifice of the Masse, London, i Feb. 1546-7.
12 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
and Slade, most valiant soldiers of Christ, have been condemned to death at Winchester; but have not yet undergone their sentence. Before the judgement- seat they pleaded the cause of the Catholic Religion with such prudent answers and so much fervour of soul, that they have drawn back the greater part of the County of Hampshire from the churches of the heretics. Before this, indeed, many gentlefolk in that district were Catholics ; but now not only the majority of the gentlefolk, but even the very rustics, fly to join us from all sides."
There was, apparently, some flaw in this trial, and the two heroes were again indicted at another sessions, held at Andover on ig August (S.P. Dom. Eliz. clxii. 8), on the same indictment, and again condemned. The following Stonyhurst document is quoted by Father Pollen, S.J. {A.E.M. 51-52): "John Body and John Slade were arraigned at the Assizes holden at Andover upon the Supremacy. Among the rest were present Dr. Humphrey, who used persuasions to convert them, and vouched a place out of Eusebius, that Constantine the Great did call the Nicene Council upon his own authority, as he says, whereby he concluded that the Emperor s authority was above the Pope's ; and urged upon the place in this sort : Constantinus vocavit concilium. Mr. Body answered : * Indeed Constantinus vocavit con- cilium, sed ex sententia sacerdotis,' and that these were the words of the author, whereof the one said yea, and the other nay. * Will you pawn your considera- tion thereon,' said the Doctor. 'Yea, and my life and all that I am worth,' said Mr. Body, ' if you will
VENERABLE JOHN BODY 13
pawn your credit/ and so demurred upon that issue. The book that night was sent for. Next day when judgement was to be given, the judge according to the course asked : ' How sayest thou, Body, what canst thou say for thyself why thou shouldst not have judgement to die ? ' Slade answered, ' What ! is the matter come thereto ? Where is Mr. Doctor ? ' and Mr. Body drew out the book from under his cloak and opened it, and pointed to the place where the words were as he had said. One of the judges plucked a pamphlet out of his bosom which the Doctor had left with them [i.e., the judges] and cast it unto them [i.e.. Body and Slade], for the Doctor had gone away overnight. ..."
The Dr. Humphrey above mentioned was the then Dean of Winchester, Laurence Humphrey, D.D. It appears that the discussion begun at Andover was continued at Winchester about a fortnight after the second trial, Dr. Humphrey receiving the assistance of the Warden of Winchester College, Dr. Thomas Bilson (already mentioned) in presenting the Pro- testant case, " att which tyme the saide Deane and Warden did vrge the saide Boddy to shewe what he had collected or could advouche for the mayntenaunce of his said erronious opynion. Wherevppon the saide Boddye didd pull a paper out of his bozam with notes collected out of the Storye of Ewsebius towch- inge a counsell helden att Nece in the tyme of the Emperor Constantine " {C.R.S. v. 50). This paper or a fair copy of it or a similar paper handed to the High Sheriff at his execution, is still preserved in the Record Office, and as it has been printed in
LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
full by Father Pollen it is unnecessary to give an abstract of it.
"About September, 1583, Body wrote a letter to some friends at Rheims, a copy of a part of which is preserved at Stonyhurst. This seems to have been made for transmission to Rome and is endorsed by Dr. Barrett : A part of a letter written by Mr. John Bodey out of Prison, to Mr. D. Elie and Mr. Reynolds, a little before his martyrdom, in the behalf of his Brother [Gilbert] now at Rheims" (A.E.M. 54). Gilbert Body arrived at Rheims 11 October, 1583, with Mr. John Trevethan ^ and probably was the bearer of the letter. He left 25 February, 1585-6, with Anthony Norton. The persons to whom it was addressed are Humphrey Ely, LL.D., whose acquaint- ance Mr. Body probably made at Douay, and' William Rainolds, with whom he had been six years at New College. The part that has been preserved runs as follows : —
'* I hope it shall not hinder him in this point, that he was taken with a blessed Martyr, Mr. Briant ^ in London, lying in one chamber together, for whose sake he was piteously scourged in Bridewell and afterwards imprisoned in one of the Counters. Since which time, being then enlarged upon bond of ap- pearance at a call within a limited time, which long ago is expired and he never called, he hath kept him- self secret, not daring to come into the view of the
^ The Ven. John Hambley's a/i'as was Tregwethan. '^Blessed Alexander Briant vv^s arrested 28 April, i^Sj (^Dz'cf, Nat. Btog, vi, 309),
VENERABLE yOHN BODY 15
world for fear of another apprehension ; and now he hopeth to be there where he may live in some quiet- ness of serving God without fear. I beseech you, therefore, and either of you, even for charity sake, and for the love of God that he may have your lawful furtherance either by your letters or as you shall think good. As for my own part, here I live twice condemned, which perhaps may seem strange unto you, and not once dead. I have not wanted, I thank God, anything necessary for me except the full service of God [i.e. Mass] for the space of these three years, and somewhat more,since I was first imprisoned. I am now cunning, I thank God, in wearing of iron shackles, and can take heed of interfering. I have been now twice clogged with them. The first time was from the 5th of September, 1581, as well night as day, until the 28th of April next following ; at which time my keeper (not the first, for he is deceased, but another), was grievously reprehended for showing such favour, and commanded to lay irons upon me and Mr. Slade again, with straight charge to keep us one from the other, and to see that no access might be to us. But we consider that iron for this cause borne on earth shall surmount gold and precious stones in Heaven. That is our mark, that is our desire. In the mean season we are threatened daily, and do look still when the hurdle shall be brought to the door. I beseech you, for God's sake, that we want not the good prayers of you all for our strength, our joy, and our perseverance unto the end. And thus with my commendations to yourselves and others which know mQ, J cgrnmit us ^11 to the grace ^nd rnercy of th§
i6 . LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
Blessed Trinity. From our school of patience, the i6th Sept., 1583.
" Yours, as you know,
"John Bodey." About this time Sister Elizabeth Sander, O.SS.S., a sister of Dr. Nicholas Sander, was in free custody in Winchester Jail and under orders from the Mother Abbess and Father Confessor of her convent to rejoin the community at Rouen as soon as possible. This she eventually did, and from Rouen wTote a long letter to Sir Francis Englefield at Madrid, describing her many sufferings and adventures in England. The original has perished ; but a translation in Spanish has been printed by Bishop Yepes in his Historia Particular de la Persecucion de Inglaterra, 1599, pp. 724-37. This has been retranslated by Dom Adam Hamilton, O.S.B., in The Poor Sotds' Friend (vols. i. and ii., published at Chudleigh, 1893-6). At this time, as it would appear from her letter, she was under parole not to escape ; but being desirous of rejoining her community, as she was bidden to do, she consulted the four or five of the most learned and experienced priests who were her fellow-prisoners as to whether she might lawfully escape should occasion offer. They answered in the negative. Dissatisfied with this reply, she laid the case before our martyrs and their companions. ''These gentlemen," she writes, ''were of the same opinion as the priests, that I should not take to flight, on account of the scandal that might follow, but they thought I might procure my liberty in another way, to wit by money, and they took up the matter warmly, offering a considerable
VENERABLE yOHN BODY 17
sum in hopes that by this means I might be set free." But the sister of Dr. Sander was too valuable a prisoner for her liberation to be purchased.
Father William Warford, S.J., who perhaps was related to Richard Warnford, and certainly knew our martyrs personally, writes of them thus : —
*' In Winchester gaol they distinguished them- selves by their edifying lives and zeal for souls. On this account, Cowper, the Superintendent, brought about their deaths which they underwent with admirable constancy."
But as Thomas Cowper did not succeed Dr. Watson till 1584, *' he could not," as Bishop Challoner points out, "have prosecuted them in 1583, at least, not in quality of bishop of Winchester ".
To resume Father Warford's account : " Facilities for escaping were oftentimes aiforded them, even by the keepers themselves,^ of whom one or two were converted by them to the Catholic Faith. One of these two. Body, I think, as trustworthy Catholics relate, saw in a dream the night before his death, two bulls attacking him very furiously, but without at all hurting him, at which he was much astonished. The next day two hangmen came down from London to execute him, and, as they walked on either side of him, he chanced to ask their names, and as they one after the other answered that they were called Bull, he, at once remembering his dream, said : * Blessed be God ; you are then those two bulls who gave me such trouble last night in my dream, and yet did me
^ This was also the case with Sister Elizabeth Sander as her letter shows.
2
i8 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
no harm'. He then joyfully composed himself for death."
One of these Bulls was "the hangman of New- gate," **that fury of hell and butchery knave," and is mentioned as the executioner of B.B. John Felton and John Payne and of Ven. Anthony Middleton.
The copy of the book in the British Museum from which Slade's martyrdom has already been transcribed thus narrates that of Body : —
" The Execution and Confession of another Notori- ous Traitour named John Bodye (somtime a maister of Arte in Oxeforde) who was likewise (for high treason against her Maiestie) drawen, hanged, and quartered, at Andouer, on Saturday the 2 of Nouember 1583.
"John Body, a Master of Art (somtime in Oxford, a companion to this Slade),^ was caried from Win- chester to Andouer, a towne ten miles from Win- chester, where the Assizes were holden, & where they were condemned. There was he, on the Saturday following, drawen on a Hurdell to ye place of execu- tion, and beeing layd on the Hurdell he spake thus : O sweete Bed, the happiest Bed that ever man laye in, thou art welcome to me. Then, taken from the Hurdell, he spake to maister Sherife as concerning a disputation which had passed betweene him & Doctor Humfrey about Constantine th'emperour & he had written in a sheet of paper certaine articles in answere to Doctor Humfrey, which he wold haue read before ye people, but, because ye time was short, he could not read them, but gaue them to M. high Sherife, that
1 1 think this is a mistake and should read " a Master of Art somtime in Oxford (a companion to this Slade) ".
VENERABLE JOHN BODY 19
Doctor Humfrey might see them. When ye hang- man put the halter about his neck, he sayde : Oh blessed Chaine, the sweetest Chaine and richest that euer came about any mans neck, and so, kissing it, he suffered the hangman to put it about his neck. There was also present Maister Bennet, who laboured very godly and earnestly to disswade him from his evil opinion, but all was in vaine, he was so obstinat and wilfuU, Hee likewise appealed upon his faith, which (he said) was the cause of his death : but Sir William Kingsmel tould him he died for high treason against her Maiestie whereof he had been sufficiently con- victed. Indeede (quoth he) I haue been sufficiently convicted for I haue been condemned twice, & you may make the hearing of a blessed Masse treason, or the saying of an Aue Maria treason ; you may make what you will treason ; but I haue committed no treason, although, indeede, I suffer the punishment due to treason.
"Why, (quod M. high Sherife), you know ye Pope hath excommunicated her Maiestie & you forsake her & cleaue to him : what say you to this : you denie her her speciall ^ authoritie and wil not ac- knowledge her as your lawful Queene. Yes, (quod he), in those causes that pertain unto her I ac- knowledge her my lawful Souereigne & Queene : but for ye speciall ^ cause I will abyde a thousand deaths before I consent to it : & if the Pope haue done well, let him aunswere it ; if he haue done ill,
1 " Speciall " should almost certainly read " spiritual " as Father Pollen emends his MS. {Acts of English Marly rs^ p. 64).
LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
let him likewise answere it. I acknowledge her my lawfull Queene in all temporall causes and none other. You shall do wel then, said S. William Kings- mell, to satisfie the people in the cause of your death, because (otherwise) they may be deluded by your faire speeches. You shall understand, (quoth he), good people all, yt I suffer death for not graunting her M. to be supreme head of Christes Church in Englande, which I may not and will not graunt.
" Well then, quoth Maister Sherife, ask her maiestie forgiueness, & then desire the People to praye for you. In troth, quoth he, I must needs aske her Maiestie forgiuenes, for I haue offended her many wayes, as in using unlawfull games, excesse of apparel, and other offences to her lawes ; but in this matter you shall pardon me. And, (for the People), because they & I are different in religion, I wil not haue them praye for me. But I pray God long to preserue her Maiestie in tranquillity ouer you, euen Queene Elizabeth, your Queene and mine, and I desire you to obey none other. At length, saying, Jesu, Jesu, esto mihi Jesu, three times hee was put beside the ladder, and quartered according to his judgment. " Finis."
According to a Douay MS., quoted by Bishop Chal- loner, John Body's mother, " hearing afterwards of her son's happy death, made a great feast upon that occasion, to which she invited her neighbours, re- joicing at his death as his marriage, by which his soul was happily and eternally espoused to the Lamb".
J. B. W.
VENERABLE JOHN BODY
Authorities. — Oxford College Histories; New College, pp. 133 sqq. Wood, Fasti Oxonienses. Dasent, xiii. loi. Kirby, Winchester Scholars. Father Warford's Relation of Martyrs^ A.E.M. 55 sqq., and as in text. On the tract, The several Executions and Confessions of John Slade and John Bodye, see also Maitland, Index of English Books in the Library at Lam- beth, p. 102 ; Herbert, ii. 1044 ; Loundes (1863), p. 2412.
III.
VENERABLE WILLIAM CARTER.
LAYMAN. Tyburn^ ii January, 1584.
William Carter, printer and bookseller, would never in the ordinary course have found a biographer. What has lifted the man to well-deserved fame, is the prolonged persecution that gave so much character and merit to his life, and the martyrdom which has thrown back such an honourable lustre on the whole of his career.
By birth a Londoner, his father, John Carter, apprenticed him in 1563 to John Cawood the Elder, the Queen's printer, for the term of ten years. Cawood was a Catholic, as well as a famous printer, and under him Carter was likely to become not only a good craftsman, but also to remain true to his faith. The next thing we hear about him is, that he entered the service of Dr. Harpsfield, as an amanuensis, that he had assisted in his publications, and that he had endeavoured to preserve or publish other writings after his master's death in 1575. This was alleged against him as a crime, at his trial, and
we may well admit it, as no mean praise.
22,
VENERABLE WILLIAM CARTER 23
Dr. Nicholas Harpsfield of Winchester and New College, Oxford, had been Professor of Greek at the University. He was a staunch Catholic, who had been compelled to fly under Edward VI, while under Mary he became Archdeacon of Canterbury. He was a writer of some note and though the difficulties of the times prevented his publishing much, several of his manuscripts were preserved, and some have been printed since. It is thus possible that our martyr was connected with Harpsfield's interesting Dialogi Sex, written against the Magdeburg Cen- turiators and against John Foxe. It was printed at Antwerp, the first edition bearing date 1566, the second, by Plantin, was in 1573. What is certain is, that Carter preserved a copy of Harpsfield's Historia Anglicana Ecclesiastica, which was eventually found in Carter's house by the pursuivants, and prob- ably several other books of value which we can no longer trace.
These few facts do not tell us much about our martyr, but enough to indicate something of his steady devotion to the propaganda of Catholic books. It may very probably be that his service to Dr. Harpsfield was undertaken with a view to obtaining Catholic education for himself, at the same time that he copied for his master. When on his trial he defended himself with the intelligence of a man who knew how to think, as well as how to print.
Dr. Harpsfield was a prisoner in the Fleet during the time Carter served him, so that even when young, our martyr knew what it cost to profess Catholicism in those days. After the Doctor's death, probably in
24 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
prison, i8 December, 1575, we find Carter following in his master's steps. We have the dates of some of his imprisonments. He was committed to the Poultry Counter, 23 September, 1578, and delivered out on bond after a month. Next year, 1579, he was committed to the Gatehouse in December, and Bishop Aylmer then stated that he had been " divers times " in prison before, for printing '' lewd [Aylmer's word for Catholic] pamphlets". On this occasion his press was seized for the second time, as well as various books. One of these books was a manuscript copy of Francois de Belleforest entitled ''L' Inno- cence de la tres illustre, tres chaste et debonnaire Princesse Madame Marie, Reyne d'Escosse, etc." (originally printed in 1572), and it was found, said Aylmer, hidden under Carter's pillow. It is char- acteristic of Carter's accusers, that he is held personally responsible for the unfavourable reflec- tions, which were made by Belleforest years before on the English Government, for its treatment of the Scottish Queen. It does not, however, seem that Carter was tried or sentenced for having had or copied these books, as the note against him in the lists of prisoners is merely "for not conforming him- self in matters of religion ".
Whilst he was in confinement, however, evidence came to hand, connecting him with the printing and publication of a book by Gregory Martin, called A Treatise of Schism, written in 1578 in order to keep Catholics from going to Protestant service. If Carter's defence at his trial in January, 1584, was accurately reported, he admitted in January, 1581,
VENERABLE WILLIAM CARTER 25
that he had printed and published that excellent book ; but though he was afterwards to die for having done so, the Government had not at that time discovered any extraordinary mischief in the work, and Carter was released after remaining in confine- ment for six months more.
In May, 1581, the Government had resolved that the prisons must be cleared, and many of the prisoners were released, though under hard conditions. These however were offered to Carter, and accepted by him on 14 June. By them he undertook " not to depart the realm, but to continue within three miles of his house in Hart Street, St. Olave's, until he conforms unto orders for religion, and comes unto divine service established by act of Parliament. . . . Also, he shall not admit the access of any Jesuit, massing priest or seminary priest, or recusant, or keep any Catholic servant or partner." He had also to provide for the observance of these conditions, besides one surety, a bond of 100 marks (;^66), a very large sum for a tradesman in those days, and it was eventually forfeited.
Carter's last period of freedom lasted for a year. He seems to have printed no more, the danger was too great. But he traded in books, of which he evidently had good store.
In July, 1582, however, on what suspicion is not known, his house was again searched, this time by the brutal Topcliffe assisted by the pursuivants Payne and Morris, and they found vestments, crosses, chalices and other unmistakable proofs of Catholi- cism, With these wer^ seized a copy of Campion's
26 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
Disputations in the Tower, written by some Catholic. which the Catholics intended to have published as we see from the colophon of Vallenger's tract about Campion's death. This MS. is now in the British Museum (Harleian, 422) and bears a signed note by Carter himself, the only specimen of his signature we possess, that he had received it from *' Whiting of Lancashire". At the same time iHarpsfield's Treatise of the Divorce, will also have been taken by Topcliffe, asi appears from the note in the extant copies.^
Carter was carried off to court, examined, and sent to the Tower, and at this most critical juncture his cause was fatally injured by the rascality of one of Walsingham's spies, who is only known to us under the initials P. H. W. He was evidently a gentleman, probably of an old Catholic family (Father Morris believed him to be one of the Tich- burnes), who was freely received by Catholics all over the country, and who had known Carter for twenty years. He met Carter's wife Jane, distracted by grief, and it did not need much finesse on his part to get out her story. She was going to court to try and obtain the intercession of Lord Lumley, who was a Catholic, though in practice not very regular. The Mass-furniture which had been seized was, said Mrs. Carter, really his, and had been left by some of my Lord's gentlemen. P. H. W. posted the news off to Walsingham, adding that it showed Carter was
^ Nicholas Harpsfield, Treatise of the Pretended Divorce, ed. Pocock (Camden Soc. 1878), p. 4. On Carter's books see also hi$ mother Agnes Carter's letter, C.R.S. y. 39.
VENERABLE WILLIAM CARTER 27
trusted and employed by Catholics of the highest class, and that the secrets and confidences reposed in him, should be " ripped to the bottom ". The poor victim was thereupon racked with barbarous severity, but would not betray anyone : " Though nearly killed," wrote a fellow-prisoner, *' nothing could be drawn from him but the name of Jesus ".
Nevertheless "the end was not yet". He was kept lingering on in the Tower for eighteen months. His wife died, his family were in great want, but the martyr's courage did not fail. We do not know why he was eventually tried and executed. But at the beginning of 1584 the blood-lust was getting very fierce, and some one, perhaps Norton, suggested an extraordinary interpretation to be put upon Gregory Martin's book, which Carter confessed he had printed some years before.
The prisoner was accordingly removed to Newgate, passing by his house on Tower Hill as he went (unless sent by water) and on 10 January, 1584, he was brought up for trial at the Justice Hall. On the bench were Anderson, Lord Chief Justice of Common Pleas, Chief Baron Shutte, Dr, Aylmer, Bishop of London, and the Recorder Fleetwood. The charge preferred was that the Book of Schism, which he had printed, exhorted Englishwomen to follow the ex- ample of Judith, and to cut off Elizabeth's head, as Judith had cut off that of Holofernes. To this Carter pleaded Not Guilty.
The case for the prosecution was opened by Thomas Norton, a London lawyer, who had had a long ex- perience in examining Catholic prisoners, sometimes
28 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
under torture. He was a fierce Puritan and a strong advocate in Parliament of repressive measures against the Catholics. Beginning with a digression over the excommunication of Elizabeth by Pope Pius V, he then treated of the plots imputed to other Catholics, thanking God that Elizabeth had escaped all the conspiracies laid against her. And so in time he came to the main point, to understand which we must turn to Gregory Martin's book itself.
The second chapter of The Treatise of Schism con- tained arguments against going to heretical services, taken from the zeal of the Patriarchs and Israelites of old against being contaminated by the idolatrous rites of the heathens, who lived around them. After mentioning other Old Testament heroes, the author came to Judith, and he wrote, not very lucidly per- haps, but intelligibly enough, and in accordance with the taste of the day, which loved the introduction of historical allusions : —
" Judith followeth, whose godly and constant wis- dom, if our Catholic gentlewomen would follow, they might destroy Holofernes, the master heretic, and amaze all his retinue and never defile their religion by communicating with them in any small point. She came to please Holofernes, but yet in her religion she would not yield so much as to eat of his meats, but brought her own with her, and told him plainly, that being in his house she must serve her Lord and God, still desiring for that purpose liberty to go in and out of the gate, ' I may not eat of that thou com- mandest me lest I incur God's displeasure ' " (Sig. D. ii.).
VENERABLE WILLIAM CARTER 29
From this Norton quoted the first sentence : " Judith followeth, whose godly and constant wisdom, if our Catholic gentlewomen would follow, they might de- stroy Holofernes, the master heretic ". The words ** master heretic " must, he said, mean Elizabeth, and the exhortation to the Catholic gentlewomen must mean that they were to assassinate her. The only alternative sense was, that by Holofernes was under- stood, not Elizabeth, but the demon of schism. Yet who had ever heard of the devil's head being cut off? Such shifts were too transparent. It followed then that Carter was guilty of a direct incitement to murder the Queen.
Carter began his defence, protesting that he had never suspected any such construction. He pointed out that Judith was praised not solely for having cut off the head of Holofernes, but also for her courageous abstention from all contaminating intercourse with the Assyrians, whether in eating or praying, and that this abstention of hers had been the secret of her victory. Surely it was evident that in a book written to induce Catholics to abstain from heretical service, this part of the example was that to which attention was drawn. The context pointed to the same conclu- sion. The stories of Jeroboam, of Elias, of Eliseus, of Osee, of Amos, and that of Tobias being touched upon only in so far as they concerned abstention from idolatrous service. Again, the terms of the descrip- tion of Holofernes plainly showed that Elizabeth could not have been intended ; Holofernes being no sovereign, but a general, and Judith being not his subject, but his foe. Then it is said, that Judith
30 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
would '' amaze all his retinue," i.e. that of Holofernes. " But who can help seeing that the assassination of the Queen would scandalize honest men more than rogues."
Norton made a short speech in answer, and then Dr. Aylmer, Bishop of London, hypocritically assert- ing that he did not aim at Carter's death, declared that the prisoner " had always been involved in con- spiracies ". '* In my position of Commissioner in Ecclesiastical Courts I have every year, for the last seven, come to the knowledge of at least twenty crimes of his similar to this." He then related many incidents, of Carter's life as a Catholic, and concluded by denouncing him hotly to the jury.
Carter now tried to speak again, but was interrupted by the Attorney-General, who was also on the Bench, with the remark that the book was written by a traitor (Dr. Gregory Martin), approved by a traitor (Dr. afterwards Cardinal Allen) and addressed to traitors (the English Catholics). Again Carter tried to answer, but the Recorder interjected, that he had heard of devils casting themselves into the sea but never of their having been beheaded.
After they had spoken the martyr saw clearly that his case was, from a human point of view, hopeless. He could but say, " Well, God have mercy on me, I see what the end will be ".
In strong contrast with the martyr's resignation was the peevish impatience of the Court. The Chief Baron, the Master of the Rolls, and Chief Justice Anderson, successively urged his guilt. Upon con- cluding. Carter, called upon to say what he could in
VENERABLE WILLIAM CARTER 31
his defence, only answered : *' My Lord, your speech was rather a sentence than a summing up, and has, it seems, quickened the Jury's desire to condemn me. I accept whatever decision God permits them to arrive at. The day is nigh, when we shall all appear before His tribunal to give an account of this action as of all others." " Come, come, my good man," broke in the Recorder, " you are not here to preach," and with that the jury were dismissed to find their verdict. The interval was spent by Carter in con- fessing his sins to a priest, who stood also at the bar, awaiting a similar fate. After a quarter of an hour the jury returned with a verdict of guilty. Sentence, as in cases of high treason, was pronounced, and it was put into execution the following day.
Though the last scene in this tragedy is not re- corded in detail, we may easily reconstruct its main features from the story of other martyrs. He went cheerfully to his death and was hanged, and then cruelly disembowelled on 11 January, 1584 (N.S.).
Besides the glory due to his heroic confession of the faith, and martyr's death, Carter comes before us as most honourably distinguished by his devotion to the dissemination of Catholic books. Some he copied with his own hand. He printed others, and he continued to do so, even after his first press was seized. His courage and constancy in printing came out on the trial, though the Latin report of it, which has come down to us, is somewhat obscure in its details. The press, it seems, was extremely small, showing that there was great danger of discovery ; and he could only get enough type to print a page or
32 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
SO at a time, so that much perseverance was needed before the book could be finished. Neither imprison- ment nor fine can keep him from his work, which he felt was a duty to God. He always returns to it, yet he does not run the risk of actually printing, after he is sure that the danger is too great. His reliability is amply proved by Dr. Harpsfield giving him his books to print, or to keep ; while Lord Lumley's gentlemen trust him with the perilous task of guarding vest- ments, chalices, and the like, and however much tortured he will betray no names.
J. H. P., SJ.
Authorities. — The chief authority is Bridgewater, Concer- tatio, ed. 1588 (ff. 127-133), repeated by Yepez. The Catholic Record Society prints the Prison lists and Tower bills, i. 60, 65 ; iii. 15, and other pieces ; iv. 74 ; v. 8, 30, 39; Strype, Annals^ ii. 588. See also Allen, Ad Persecutores Anglos in the Concer- tatio, ff. 295-6 ; Wood, A thence Oxonienses (under Harpsfield and Martin) ; Challoner ; Stow's Annals ; Timperley, Encyclopedia of Literary and Typographical Anecdote ; Ames, Typographical Antiquities ; Bibliographical Society's Dictionary of Printers and Booksellers^ 1557-1640 ; Lingard, History of England^ vi. note P. Short accounts will also be found in D.N.B. (where, however, the point of the indictment is missed), and Gillow's Bidl. Diet. Eng. Cath.
Further Note on the Book for which Carter Died.
The passage quoted in the indictment proves conclusively that the volume was Gregory Martin's tract, A Treatise of Schisme showing that all Catholics ought in anywise to abstain altogether from heretical Conventicles^ viz. their Prayers^ Sermons^ dr*c. (Duaci apud Joannem Foulerum, 1578), and not Father Persons tract, published under the name of Howlet in 1580, Reasons why Catholiques refuse to go to Churche, which has the running title
VENERABLE WILLIAM CARTER
33
of A Treatise of Schism. This has misled A. h. Wood (under Persons), Gillow and others.
As to the date of Carter's edition: It cannot be 1580 (as Gillow, Wood, etc.), for he was in prison all that year, and only freed in June, 1581. In his defence, f. i2,od (but this, of course, was not revised by the speaker), he speaks of " three full years " {totum trienniurn) having passed since he confessed to having printed it. This would take us back to January, 1581, when he was in the Gatehouse, having been there since December, 1579 ; and the print must have been done before that. This is sup- ported by his strong denial (f. 132 «, b\ of having "printed them again since my imprisonment, or that I then had a press ".
No difference in the editions of Martin's Treatise of Schism has yet been noted by bibliographists. All seem to be marked — apud Joannem Foulerum, 1578. The copies which I have ex- amined, at Stonyhurst and the British Museum, are identical, and not on the very small frame described by Norton, Concertatio, f. 130. The paper mark is a mullet of six points over two circles in pale. This I think is a foreign mark, and therefore that these copies do come from Antwerp. Carter's edition pre- sumably reproduced the old date and printer's name and re- printed Fowler's copy, page by page. But he probably used English pot paper — and a very small frame, so that the signatures should be different from Fowler's, who numbers A to L. It would be extremely interesting to identify a copy from Carter's press.
It may also be mentioned that Belleforest's book in defence of Mary Stuart was put together from an earlier recension, to which Dr. Harpsfield contributed. This was in 1 569 and the Doctor was then, it seems, out of the Tower (Murdin, State Papers, 1759, PP- 29, 122). Carter, as Harpsfield's amanuensis, may therefore have had something to do with the preliminaries to Belleforest's work. He may also have had something to do with the second edition of the Dialogi sex, Louvain, 1573, as he signed a petition at that place and date, now in the Vatican (6405, f 154).
IV. VENERABLE GEORGE HAYDOCK.
SECULAR PRIEST.i
Tyburn, 12 February, 1584.
Evan Haydock, of Cottam Hall, Preston, Lancashire, by his wife Helen, daughter of William Westby, of Mowbreck Hall, had at least three sons, and one only daughter. His wife died in November, 1558, on the day that the news of Queen Mary's death reached Cottam. She had been ill for some time previously. It is said that she "raised herself with one arm, and, pointing to the motto under the Hay- dock arms embroidered on the arras at the foot of the bed, slowly pronounced the words, Tristitia vestra vertetur in gaudium, and suddenly clasping the baby at her side, she fell a corpse into her husband's arms ".^ His eldest son William married Bridget,
^ This account is reprinted from the writer's pamphlet, Ven. George Haydock, published by the Catholic Truth Society.
^ Among the names of Lancashire recusants remaining at liberty in 1592 are those of "William Haddock, of Cottam, gent.," and " Evans Hadock, of Cottam, gent." (" Cal. Cecil MSS." iv. 265-6), The latter is probably a second son, others wise unknown,
34
VENERABLE GEORGE HAYDOCK 35
half-sister of Thomas Hoghton, of Hoghton Tower, and the only child of Sir Richard Hoghton's third marriage (to Elizabeth, daughter of John Gregson, or Normanton, of Yorkshire). He lived to a great age, and was still paying his fines for recusancy in 1625-6.
The only daughter, Aloysia, was imprisoned in Salford Jail in 1584, and died in consequence of the ill-treatment she received there.
The second or third son, Richard, became an eminent doctor of divinity, and died at Rome in 1605.
The youngest son, George, the future martyr, is described as aged twenty-two on 23 April, 1579, ^^^ as aged twenty-eight on 12 February, 1583-4 ; and so was probably born in 1556.
Evan Haydock himself went to Douay in 1573 with his son Richard, and both matriculated at the University there. Having been ordained priest, he left for the mission on 21 November, 1575. He passed through Douay on the following 6 February, on his way to Arras, and probably on this occasion brought his son George with him. In 1581 he be- came procurator for Douay College in England. He died on All Saints' Day in that year at Mowbreck Hall, in consequence of the shock he received, it is said, when on the point of beginning a midnight Mass. The story goes that on the stroke of twelve, as he stood vested for Mass at the foot of the altar, he had a vision of the head of his son George, drip- ping with blood, rising above the altar, and seemed to bear the familiar words of the family motto issuing
3^
36 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
from its gory lips. This is a very odd story ; for, though reported appearances at or after death are comparatively common, George was not martyred till two years, two months, and twelve days after- wards. " Even yet the country people say that on the eve of All Hallows ' the gory head ' still appears over the altar in the old chapel at Mow- breck Hall." Dr. Richard Haydock claimed his father's body, and buried it under the chapel at Cottam Hall.
George Haydock says he was at Douay four years ; and so either he came there with his father and brother in 1573 (in which case he would seem to have been there nearly five years), or else his father brought him there on St. Dorothy's Day, 1575-6, as suggested above (in which case he was there a little over three years in all probability). At any rate, the first notice of him in the Douay Diaries is his readmission to the College in June, 1577, prob- ably after a short visit to England. In 1578, having finished his course in grammar, he was sent to Rome to join the new English College there, and begin the study of dialectic or logic. In February, 1579, ^^ ^^^ his brother were among those who petitioned Gio- vanni Moroni, the Cardinal Bishop of Ostia and Velletri, and Protector of England, that the College should be put under the control of the Society of Jesus. This petition was granted, and on 23 April, 1579, Monsignor Cesare Speciani, a Milanese, Secre- tary of the Sacred Congregation of Bishops, after- wards Bishop successively of Novara and Cremona acting for the Cardinal-Protector (who died i De-
VEM^RABLk GEORGE HAVDOCK 37
cember, 1580, aged seventy-two), together with the Jesuit Provincial, Father Giovanni Cola, SJ^, and the famous theologian (afterwards Cardinal) Robert Bel- larmine, S.J., solemnly administered to each of the forty-eight students then in residence (Richard and George Haydock being among the number), an oath that they would lead the lives of ecclesiastics and go to labour in England whensoever their superiors should send them there. At Rome George was ordained deacon, but in the summer of 1581, having ''made " his logic and philosophy, and having already em- barked on his theology, he visited the Seven Churches of Rome ^ (probably in the company of the President of the College, Father Alfonso Agazario, S.J., the Earl of Westmorland, and others), and took a chill, which developed into a fever, and left him almost at death's door. " From this illness," says the writer in the Concertatio Ecclesice, ** he recovered, it is true, but only thenceforward to waste slowly but continuously away, and to become less and less capable of pursuing his accustomed studies."
He was probably never very strong (Father Hart, in a letter from the Tower, dated 15 November, 1582, describes him as *' corpore pusillo et statura exigua "), so, as he was unable to recover his strength, the doctors recommended him to try a cooler climate, and it was arranged he should go to Rheims. Ac- cordingly early in September, 1581, he left Rome in
^ St. Peter on the Vatican ; St. Paul outside the walls ; St. Sebastian outside the walls ; St. John Lateran ; the Holy Cross in Jerusalem ; St. Lawrence outside the walls ; and St. Mary Major.
38 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
the company of three priests, William Bishop,^ William Smith, and Humphrey Maxfield, and one student, Isaac Higgins. Before starting, they went to kiss the feet of Pope Gregory XIII, who received them most graciously, and supplied them, as his own " alumni," with funds for their journey. They seem to have gone from Rome to Ancona, where they took ship for Venice. On the voyage George Haydock was seasick and " threw up a great quantity of fecu- lent clotted blood," as the Concertatio tells us, and this he regarded as " cutting to the roots of his disease ". We are not told how he crossed the Alps, whether by the Brenner, the Spliigen, or the St. Gothard, but we know that " the air in the regions north of the Alps" especially suited him, and com- pleted his convalescence.
The journey cannot have taken very long, for he arrived at Rheims on 2 November. There he heard of his father's death, and on 28 November wrote to Father Agazario a letter (printed C.R.S. v. 21), which asks for prayers for his soul. He was ordained priest at Rheims, 21 December, 1581, and left for the English Mission, Tuesday, 16 January, 1581-2. He landed at London after nightfall, and having sought in vain for a lodging in Holborn, apparently found one in the neighbourhood of St. Paul's Churchyard. The next day he went to see Mr. John Towneley, of Towneley Hall, Lancashire, then in prison in the Gatehouse, and his cousin,^ Mr. WilHam Hesketh,
^ Afterwards Bishop of Chalcedon. See Did. Nat. Biog. v. 96. ^ Concertatio. William Hesketh, whose mother was a Westby, married Cardinal Allen's sister Elizabeth.
VENERABLE GEORGE HAYDOCK 39
of Poulton, Lancashire, then in prison in the Fleet. Shortly afterwards he paid a third visit, which was the immediate cause of his arrest. One Hawkinson, a native of the same part of Lancashire, had been of assistance to him by counsel and service when he was purposing to set out for Flanders (i.e. probably in 1577). He had been at that time a Catholic, and even at this very moment his sister Elizabeth was in Salford Jail as a recusant. Nothing could be more natural, then, than that George Haydock should visit him as an old friend, partly to thank him for the ser- vices he had rendered, and partly to tell him all that had happened since they last met. In the meantime, however, Hawkinson had apostatized, and so he ar- ranged with two pursuivants, Norton and Sledd, that they should arrest the priest as he left Hawkinson's house. This they accordingly did, either on Sunday, 4 February, or on Tuesday, 6 February, 1581-2.^ On his arrest, they took him into St. Paul's, and sum- moned a Protestant minister to argue with him, tell- ing him that if he would renounce the Pope they would set him free. On his refusal they took him " to the house at which he was accustomed to take his meals," where they found another priest, Mr. Arthur Pitts, at dinner, and with him a law-student, Mr. William Jenneson. Sledd (who had been a ser- vant to Dr. Nicholas Morton when the latter resided at the English College, Rome), recognized Pitts, and arrested both him and Jenneson. Thereupon all
^ The Tower Bills state that he was committed to the Tower on the Si\i{C.R.S. iii. 12); on the other hand, the Concertatio says he was arrested on the 6th.
4d LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
three were taken to appear before Sir John Popham, the Attorney-General. They had to wait nearly an hour before Popham arrived, and the interval was taken up by a keen disputation on religion between the two priests and a number of law-students of the Temple, who gathered round as the news of the cap- ture spread. On this occasion George Haydock showed great zeal in the profession of his faith, and rare modesty in the way in which he deferred to Mr. Pitts as his senior in years and superior in learning. On Popham's arrival Haydock was subjected to an examination, some account of which he himself drew up. It survives in a document of Father Grene's, now in Jesuit archives abroad (printed C.R.S, v. 57), and in a Latin translation in the Concertatio. In printing the document of Father Grene, Father Pollen has supplied in square brackets some of the passages omitted by Father Grene and some variant readings. He has omitted nothing of the smallest importance, except that Haydock, in the Concer- tatio, calls William Hesketh his cousin, as has been pointed out above.
When their examination was finished all three prisoners were taken to the Gatehouse, where Jenne- son remained until he was discharged on 5 or 10 September following. The two priests, however, were brought before the Lord High Treasurer, Cecil, in the Star Chamber, and by him committed to the Tower.
At his arrest George Haydock had £y in gold about him. Of this he gave two angels (i.e. £1) to Norris in St. Paul's, on the understanding that he would be
VENERABLE GEORGE HAYDOCK
set free. When he was committed to the Gatehouse he gave Norris a noble (i.e. 6s. 8d.) as his fee. He thus retained £5 13s. 4d. when he was sent from the Star Chamber to the Tower. "Thither he was brought with a great parade of escort and much noise, as is the custom, that people from all sides should come to look on him, as his country's common foe : but the saint departed from the presence of the council rejoicing, and in face and bearing, showed such gladness and joyousness that the faithless who gazed on him wending his way made much ado, being filled with malice at the spectacle of the unshaken con- stancy of the good priest's soul. Among the scoffers was Sir William George, knight, then in command of the gate-warders and garrison, who when he saw Christ's eager martyr drawing nigh to the Tower, turned to fury, and incontinently pointed him out to the watch and the other gate-warders that surrounded him, exclaiming * Look at the trickster, how proudly and arrogantly he struts ! ' "
While the escort was being got ready and the pro- cession formed, Norris, who was aware of the sum of money still in the prisoner's possession, having caught a glimpse of it when his blackmail was being paid, slipped round to Sir Owen Hopton, then Lieutenant of the Tower, and claimed it as due to him, hoping thus to get a percentage, at any rate, of the spoils. Accordingly on his arrival at the Tower the first thing that Haydock had to do was to give up all the money he had to the Lieutenant, on the pretence that it was due to Norris, and of the total sum of ;^5 13s. 4d. only £1 was eventually restored to him.
42 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
How Hopton and Norris shared the £^ 13s. 4d. we do not know. The author of the Hfe in the Con- certatio is convinced that the former got the lion's share ; but if Norris merely got the jackal's 13s. 4d., he would have had no cause to complain, as he would have netted £2 as against Hopton's £^.
For a year and three months, i.e. until May, 1583, George Haydock was kept in a narrow cell in an out- of-the-way part of the Tower, and access to him was for the most part strictly forbidden. On one occasion, however, a priest managed to obtain admission to his cell by a ruse, and gave him Holy Communion. On another occasion, as the Annals of the English College at Rome record, ** a Protestant minister came to dispute with him, and finding, after a lengthy discussion, that he made no way, asked him in a fit of rage whether or not the Queen was the head of the English Church. * By what authority,' replied the priest, ' do you ask me this question ? It must be remembered that, as this question involves danger of goods and life, none may put it unless under war- rant from the Crown.' The minister answered, * Were you a true servant of Christ, you would surely not inquire as to my authority, but would make open profession of your belief before everybody '. ' Do you, heretic as you are,' replied the priest, * reproach me with cowardice in the cause of God ? I believe that the Queen neither is, nor can be, the head of the English Church.' The minister asked, ' Who then ? ' ' The Roman Pontiff,' replied the other. ' Traitor ! ' exclaimed the minister ; * you dare to say as much, because there are no fit witnesses to convict you of
VENERABLE GEORGE HAYDOCK 43
your saying.' ' Not so,' rejoined the priest, * but to make confession of my faith.' ' If so,' said the minister, ' put down in writing what you have said just now.' ' But,' said the priest, * I have neither ink nor paper, yet will I gratify you to the best of my power,' and taking a piece of charcoal he wrote as follows on the door of his cell : * Gregory XIII is head of the English and of the Universal Church, to whom the whole world must be subject if it would be saved '. He thus confounded the minister, and so impressed his gaoler that he was less opposed than heretofore to the Catholic religion."
The Concertatio does not mention the visit of the minister, but probably alludes to the same incident in these words : " When he was in solitary confine- ment and no one could approach him, it gave him pleasure to write or scratch on the walls the name and insignia of the Roman Pontiff. On one occasion when he had drawn them in a conspicuous place on the wall, and had written below ' Gregory XIII, on earth supreme head of the whole Catholic Church,' the warder told him to rub it out, but he refused, saying that for this truth he would gladly shed his blood."
Soon after his imprisonment he had a recurrence of the malarial fever which he had contracted at Rome, ** and such was the force of the pricking pains, which he often felt all over his body, but especially in the chest, the abdomen, the left shoulder, and the hip-joint, that the intensity of the pain would make him sweat for a whole hour afterwards ".
About May, 1583, George Haydock was removed
44 LIVES OF English martyrs
to less strict confinement in the Tower, and was able to administer the Sacraments of the Church to his fellow-prisoners. The charge for his keep made in the Tower Bills does not, however, vary, but through- out his imprisonment is put at £4 13s. 4d. a week for his own diet, etc., 5s. a week for his keeper, and 4s. a week for fuel and candle.
Early in January, 1583-4, the authorities thought it good to subject the priests then in prison to a preliminary examination, with a view of selecting some among their number for execution in the im- mediate future. Accordingly on the i8th Haydock and other priests from the Tower were brought to the Guildhall to appear before the Recorder of London, Sir William Fleetwood. The order in which they should appear was not settled by the Recorder, and Haydock volunteered to be the first. Fleetwood, whose family, as Mr. Gillow has pointed out, had good reason to detest any relative of the Allen family, on the principle proprium humani ingenii odisse quern laeseris, '' received him in his customary froward manner with torrents of abuse, and uttered many taunts unworthy of repetition here. In his replies he [Haydock] showed that he attached little weight to the disordered motions of a troubled brain. Fleetwood, regarding this as an insult, became white- hot with rage, and raised his fist to strike the prisoner, who exclaimed, ' Use your right, for I will gladly suffer anything for the Catholic faith '. Seeing his constancy they determined to make away with him, and promptly put the cut-throat questions : what he thought of the Pope and what of the Queen ; what
VENERABLE GEORGE HAYDOCK 45
authority should, in his opinion, be granted to the one and what to the other? To these Christ's holy martyr fearlessly replied, in set phrases, that the Roman Pontiff had full and complete power to govern Christ's universal Church on earth, that the Queen was incompetent to hold this priestly dignity and authority, and that that holy office could not in any case be executed by a woman. Next, wishing to increase the odium and prejudice against him (at any rate in the breasts of the rulers of the world of this darkness), they pressed him with question after question, until at last they induced him (much against his will, as he afterwards candidly confessed), to say that the Queen was a heretic and in danger of eternal damnation, unless she repented."
On leaving the court, he returned to the room where the other priests were waiting their turn to be examined, and close to the door found " his spiritual father, a learned, grave, and venerable man," to whom with clear voice and tranquil mien he said, "Come, father, be of good cheer; it is all over ".^ Later on, when all the priests had been examined, and were on their way back to the Tower, George Haydock expressed his joy that they had been examined as to the prerogatives of the successor of St. Peter, on the very day that the festival of the Chair of St. Peter at Rome was being kept through- out the whole Catholic Church. To understand this statement, we must remember that Paul IV, in a
1 As we shall see later, George Haydock, on the eve of his martyrdom, gave his breviary to Richard Creagh, Archbishop of Armagh. It is not, therefore, unlikely th^t the Archbishop w^^ his confessor,
46 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
Bull of the year 1558, complained that although the feast of St. Peter's Chair at Rome was celebrated in France and Spain, it was forgotten in Rome it- self, although the feast of his chair at Antioch was kept in Rome. Accordingly he ordered that the feast of St. Peter's Church in Rome should be observed on January 1 8th. George Haydock often said, we are told by the writer in the Concertatio, that if he had been given his choice as to the article of Catholic doctrine for which he should die, he would have selected the dogma of the supremacy of the Apostolic see.
On 5 February, 1583-4, he was indicted, with James Fenn and seven other priests, for having conspired against the Queen at Rheims, 23 Septem- ber, 1581, and for agreeing to come to England on I October, and for setting out for England on I November. The absurdity of the accusation has been pointed out by Father Pollen. On the next day he and Fenn and three fellow-martyrs, whose in- dictments were equally erroneous, were brought before the Queen's Bench at Westminster. George Haydock had long ago chosen St. Dorothy as his patron, and was accustomed to commend himself and his actions day by day to her guidance. He therefore regarded it as of so happy an augury that he should be brought to the bar on her day, " that he made a note of it in the calendar of his breviary, which, on the eve of his departure from the prison of his body and soul, he presented to the venerable Archbishop of Armagh, then also a prisoner of Jesus Christ", On his appearance at the bar, George
VENERABLE GEORGE HAYDOCK 47
Haydock, though not, so far as we know, a member of the Society of Jesus, "was in Jesuit's weed". " So grave a man," says an eye-witness, "as ever I sett my eyes upon, he wore a coate of black very low and upon the same a cloke of black downe almost to the grounde. He had in his hand a black staff and upon his head a velvet coyfe, and there upon a broade seemly black felt." He pleaded Not Guilty. The next day the jury found all the five priests Guilty, and they were sentenced to death ; but, whereas the other four were committed in shackles to the " pit " in the Tower, George Haydock, prob- ably because his health was such that it was thought he was unlikely to outlive the rigours of that pesti- lential dungeon, went back to his old quarters.
In the course of the week a rumour spread that the Queen had changed her mind and reprieved the prisoners. George Haydock heard of it from some friends, who came to congratulate him. He, how- ever, was bitterly disappointed, until his confessor knowing " his deep thirst for martyrdom, bade him be of good cheer, for that there was no surer sign that his life would shortly be taken than that such reports should be circulated," and pointed out that a precisely similar rumour had spread just before Blessed John Shert and his companions had been put to death. It was, he said, a very common ruse of the Government to throw dust into the eyes of the people and induce them to believe that the Queen was inherently gentle and averse from bloodshed, and that the cruel and barbarous executions which so fre- quently took place w§re contrary to her personal wishes,
48 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
On 10 February, a precept was addressed to the Lieutenant of the Tower to hand over the bodies of the five priests for execution on the 12th.
On the 12th, " Wednesday, being the last day of the Terme," George Haydock offered the Holy Sacri- fice very early in the morning, and later the " five priests were drawn from the Tower to Tyborne upon hurdles. The first that was brought into the cart under the gibbet was Mr. Haddock, a man of com- plexion fayre, of countenance milde, and in professing of his faith passing stoute." He mounted the cart with great alacrity, and " so standing, put as it were a colophon to the prayers on which he had been intent all the way by saying aloud " the last verse of Te lucis ante terminum. John Spencer, one of the sheriffs, and certain ministers then bade Haydock confess his treason " and ask the Queen forgivenesse. Whereupon Mr. Haddock, calling God to witnesse, protested upon his soule that he was not guilty of the treason, and therefore would not aske the Queen forgivenesse : and further sayd, ' I take her for my lawful Queen, I have seyd this morning these many paternosters for her, and I pray God she may raigne long Queene. If I had her in the wildernesse I would not for all the world putt a pinn towards her with intent to hurt her.' Then seyd the Sherif Spenser, * There is since thy arrainment worse matter found against thee ' [by Munday the spy]. Whereunto answered Mr. Haddock, ' You have found nothing since ; and soe belyke I was wrongly arrained '. Then Antony Munday was brought in, who uttered these speeches, ' Upon a time you ^nd I with another
VENERABLE GEORGE HAYDOCK - - 149
f
whose name I have forgotten, walking together at Rome, the other wished the harts ^ of 3 of the nobility being of her counsell. Whereupon you sayd, Mr. Haddock, ' To make up a masse,^ I would we had the hart of the Queen '. Then sayd Spenser and other of his officers, ' Away with the villaine traytor '. But Mr. Haddock, moved ^ with these foresaid talke and speeches sayd as followeth : ' I am presently to give an account [of all that I have done during life before the tribunal of God] ; and as before God I shal answer, I never spake nor intended such thing. And, Munday, if thou didst heare me speak any such thing, how chanced it thou camest not to the barre to give this in against me upon thy othe ? ' ' Why,' sayd Munday, ' I never heard of your arraignement.' Then said Spenser, ' Didst not thou call the Queen here- tick ? ' * I confesse,' sayd Haddock, ' I did.' Where- upon Spenser together with the ministers and other of his officers used the aforesaid speeches of treason, traytor, and villaine. Mr. Haddock sayd secretly a hymne in latin, and that within my hearing, for I stood under the gibbet. A minister being on the cart with him requested him to pray in English that the people might pray with him. Where upon Mr. Haddock put the minister away with his hand, say-
1 Concertatio reads heads for harts, and head for hart in the next line.
^ " Mass " is here a gaming term, meaning a mass of money, a pool, a sweepstake. The Concertatio translates by " tessera " probably meaning " a square sum," though this meaning is neither classical nor recognized by Du Cange.
^ Concertatio reads unmoved.
4
50 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
ing, * Away, away, I wil have nothing to doe with thee '. But he requested all Catholics to pray with him and for his country. Where upon sayd one of the standers-by, ' Here be noe Catholicks ' : * Yes,' sayd another, ' we be all Catholics '. Then sayd Mr. Haddock, ' I mean Catholicks of the Catholick Roman Church, and I pray God that my bloud may increase the Catholick faith in England ' : whereunto sayd Spenser : ' The Catholic faith, the devil's faith. Away with the traytor ! Drive away the carte ! ' And so Mr. Haddock ended his life, as constantly as could be required.
"When the cart was dryven away, this Spenser presently commanded the rope to be cut, but not- withstanding the officer strock at the rope sundry times before he felldowne; and the reporte of them that stoode by the block was that at what time the tor- menter was in puUing out his bowells, Mr. Haddock was in life. By his own confession he was 28 yeares of age."
" One of his relatives, probably William Hesketh," says Mr. Gillow, " obtained possession of the martyr's head, which was preserved by the family in the chapel at Cottam until the estate passed into other hands. The skull, which was taken to Mawdesley at that time, and is still there in the possession of the Finch family, is generally said to be that of this martyr, but, from its older appearance, the late Bishop Goss formed the opinion that it was the skull of the martyr's relative, the monk of Whalley, known to have been preserved at Cottam."
J. B. W.
VENERABLE GEORGE H^YDOCK 51
Authorities.— Z^//^r 0/ Dr. Ely to Father Gibbons^ C.R.S. V. 141. About George Hay dock and his companions^ ibid. 61. Father Warford's Relation., A.E.M. Douay Diaries. Foley, Diary of Eng. Coll.., Rome., vi. Diarium Turris. Persons, Domesticall Difficulties., C.R.S. ii. 13 1-4. Father Harfs Letter from the Tower., C.R.S. iv. 74. Prison Lists., C.R.S. ii. 220, 225, 228, 230, and Tower Bills ^ ibid. iii. 12, 15. Bridgewater, Concertatio. Challoner. G)S\.ovi., Hay dock Papers., ii--},^.
4*
V.
VENERABLE JAMES FENN.
SECULAR PRIEST.
Tyburn^ 12 February, 1584.
James Fenn was born in or about the year 1540, at the village of Montacute, near Yeovil, in Somerset- shire. His elder brothers, John and Robert, had both been choristers of Wells Cathedral, and subse- quently scholars of Winchester College, and Fellows of New College, Oxford, and it was doubtless their influence that obtained for their young brother the post of chorister at the latter College. As such he made his first public appearance on Easter Day, 25 March, 1554, in New College Chapel. On that occasion his singing made a great impression on the Fellows of the College, and especially on Dr. Nicholas Sander, then Professor of Canon Law in the University, and in due time they used their good offices to have him accepted as a student in one of the other Oxford Colleges, as he was not eligible to a New College scholarship, because he had not been at Winchester. Eventually, on 31 July, 1554, they obtained his admission as a member of the College of Corpus Christi, where he endeared himself to all
52
VENERABLE JAMES FENN 53
by his gentleness and good-humour. On 26 Novem- ber, 1558, he became a Scholar or Probationary Fellow of the College, and in June or July of the following year he had qualified for the degree of Bachelor of Arts ; but on presenting himself to take it, " wearing the hood of a bachelor, as the custom is," he was required by the Vice-Chancellor ^ to take the oath of supremacy, whereupon he threw off his hood and left the dais, *' declaring he would never be guilty of obtaining any temporal honour at the price of his eternal salvation". But, "to press the oath of supremacy very vigorously would have meant to turn out practically all the Heads of Colleges and the majority of the Fellows ".^ So later on in the year the Privy Council directed that for a time subscrip- tion to the oath should not be required from candidates for degrees or others in the University of Oxford. The suspension of the local operation of an Act of Parliament naturally was not of long duration, but in the brief interval James Fenn obtained his degree on 22 November, 1559.
A year afterwards, in November, 1560, the oath having been again tendered and declined, he was expelled from the College and deprived of his degree. Thereupon he withdrew to Gloucester Hall, now Worcester College. At this time Sir Thomas White, the founder of St. John's College, having just pur- chased it, had leased it to William Stock, a Fellow
^ John Warner, M.D., Warden of All Souls, Archdeacon of Cleveland, afterwards rewarded for his conformity by the Deanery of Winchester.
"^ Gee's The Elizabethan Clergy^ p. 131.
54 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
of St. John's, for a term of twenty years. Stock was a " Church Papist," and was succeeded in 1563 by another '* Church Papist," WilHam Palmer, who held the office of Principal for a little over a year, when Stock came back and remained Principal to the end of 1573. It is not known how long James Fenn remained there, but probably not more than three or four years. When there he acted as tutor to several youths, and among them to two sons of a Protestant Somersetshire squire, who, in ignorance of the pre- vailing tone at Gloucester Hall, had sent his two elder boys to be educated there. When their studies were completed, or during some vacation, James Fenn accompanied them home, and their father on that occasion engaged him as tutor to his younger sons. Fenn influenced the latter in a Catholic direction so long as they remained his pupils, and as one by one they became old enough to go up to Oxford, he ac- companied them thither and put them in touch with the Catholics in residence there. Apparently, the father had at first no idea of the Catholic char- acter of the tutor whom he had engaged, and, in fact, never discovered it till the youngest of his sons had gone to Oxford. Then the eldest threw off the mask and was promptly disinherited. He, we are told, was imprisoned for years for his faith. Another son went abroad and was received into the Society of Jesus, in which he died some years before the account of our martyr given in the Concertatio was written about the year 1586, and at that time the other sons were all Catholics living in out-of-the-way places, in per^ petual fear of arrest and imprisonment,
VENERABLE JAMES FENN 55
One of them met Robert Fenn in London the day after James's martyrdom, of which he had been an eye-witness, and told him all about it, and the great effect it had had in confirming him in the Catholic Faith.
While he was still tutor in Somersetshire, James married and had two children : Frances, who saw her father dragged to his death and received his last blessing, and John, who was probably abroad at the time, for from 13 April to 6 May, 1582, he was the guest of the English College at Rheims. We do not know the after history of either of them.
In the meantime his father had moved to Wells, having, as it would seem, made over his house at Montacute to his son on the occasion of his marriage, though James did not think fit to occupy it until the youngest of his charges should have been prepared for Oxford. On one occasion, when on a visit to the old man at Wells, James was arrested by the order of Gilbert Berkeley, the Protestant bishop, a former Augustinian Canon Regular, and the oath of supre- macy was tendered to him for the third time. The prelate, on his refusing it, was anxious to keep him in prison till the Assizes came on, in order to secure his conviction under the Statute 5 Eliz. cap. i. Under this Act a first conviction for refusing to take the oath was punishable as a prcemunire, a second as high treason. However, some friendly-disposed per- sons pointed out to the bishop that he had been some- what high-handed in tendering the oath when no occasion had arisen for exacting it, and persuaded him to let the prisoner go.
56 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
On relinquishing his post as tutor, James took his wife and children to his house at Montacute, which is described as " a farm, not in the most populous part of the village, but just outside, at the foot of the hill in a somewhat retired and unfrequented spot," hoping that as it was out of the way they might escape molestation there. However, the Vicar of Montacute, one Thomas Morley, noticing that ''he did not go to Church and the Lord's Supper (so- called) on the appointed days ^ with the people," threatened to cause proceedings to be taken against him under the Act of Uniformity. In the circum- stances a prudent and God-fearing relative, who had been staying with him,^ persuaded him to leave his wife and family and go into hiding. Accordingly he wandered about from place to place without fixed abode for two months, at the end of which he heard of the sudden death of his wife. Thereupon he secretly returned home and lived in concealment at Montacute, first in his own house and then in that of a friend. Such a life could not last long, and so " having arranged for his children and household affairs," though how we are not told, he again left the neighbourhood, and this time went to a friend who had "shared his scholastic studies" at Oxford, and was " gentle in his birth and illustrious in his
1 By the visitation articles of Archbishop Grindal, people were required to communicate on Ash Wednesday, one of the two Sundays before Easter, Whit-Sunday, and Christmas.
2 Possibly Giles Fenn, gentleman, of Strimshaw, Norfolk, a recusant, who was afterwards in prison in the Fleet (P.R.O., S,P. Doni. Eliz. cxc. 41 ; C.R.S. ii. 266}.
VENERABLE JAMES FENN 57
religion ". This was William Phelips or Phelps, of Somersetshire, who went to Corpus Christi just a year before James had become a chorister at New College, and having been elected a Probationary Fellow on 16 April, 1557, took the degree of M.A. in 1561-62. There can, I think, be little doubt that he was a younger brother of Thomas Phelips, Esq., of Montacute House, the father of the well-known Sir Edward Phelips.^ He received our martyr with great honour, but could not keep him more than a few days. One day, as the latter '* walked abroad a little space to take the pleasant air, or, it may be, to meditate, it chanced that about the same time a man of great name and authority in that county rode forth on horseback for diversion with some servants in attendance, and, catching sight of the blessed man not far off, asked his men if yonder were not James Fenn, the perverter of his relative's young sons from their country's laws to the papistical superstition ; and when they repHed that he was indeed the man, he incontinently, as if stung by a gadfly, dashed up to him at a gallop, beat him severely with his riding- crop, and overwhelmed him with cartloads of abuse ". This assault, we are told, was this gentleman's way of being revenged for the defeat in a theological argument which he had sustained at the hands of one of James Fenn's quondam pupils.
After this horse-whipping James thought it inad- visable to remain in the neighbourhood, and perhaps his host was not very anxious to retain him.
So he betook himself to Sir Nicholas Poyntz, of
1 Dt'a. Nat. Biog. xiv. 143.
58 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
Iron Acton, Gloucestershire, one of the eleven Knights of the Bath created on the occasion of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth. Though he was '' a Catholic, great-hearted and held in high esteem by all classes," he does not seem ever to have got into serious trouble with the Government. About the time of James Fenn's martyrdom he was in difficulties " for certain unreverend speeches against the Queen, the Council, and all the ladies and gentlemen of the Court," ^ but two years later he was still one of the Justices of the Peace for Gloucestershire.^ We can hardly avoid the conclusion that he must have been guilty of outward conformity, at least to some degree. Sir Nicholas was a rich man with extensive pro- perties, and appointed James Fenn to be his agent for the major part of them. " In the business he showed himself so upright and just that he gained both the confidence of his master and the gratitude alike of the tenants of the various farms and of the domestic servants, as Sir Nicholas himself afterwards frankly testified in the presence of our martyr's brother Robert, above mentioned,^ with whom he used frequently and gladly to converse about him, nor could refrain from tears whenever he recalled the holy man's fidelity, love, and gentleness towards himself, and his own harsh words, ill-temper, and,
^Cal. S.P. Dom. 1581-90, p. 147. ^ /did. p. 259.
^ These conversations probably took place before James's martyrdom. Sir Nicholas died in 1585. Robert came on the mission in April, 1583, was in London the day after the glorious 12 February, 1584, was imprisoned in the Marshalsea on 16 February, 1584, was ejciled 1586, and died in Paris 1587.
VENERABLE JAMES FENN 59
as he explained it, villainy, in return." For Sir Nicholas *' kindly and liberal as he was by nature and generous or rather lavish in his benevolence to all men," had an ungovernable temper and an ex- ceedingly rough tongue ; and in his talks with Robert was never tired of praising the unruffled patience with which his steward had taken his abuse. One day he had ordered him to do something or other, " and noticed that he walked slowly, as was his wont, and made no haste, whereupon he flew into a rage, and as though frantic, threatened him in great displeasure with a scythe which he happened to have in his hand. * Mend your pace, you gallows- bird,* he cried, ' or I will mow your sluggardly ankles with this scythe ! ' Whereupon he turned, and with great modesty, * Noble sir,' quoth he, * by the eternal God I pray you to wait patiently, for you shall see, if God will, that with all this slow pace, I will yet finish your business betimes, and wholly according to your desire.' " This soft answer made Sir Nicholas heartily ashamed of himself, and indeed reduced him to tears, as he used to relate. ^' Moreover he used frequently to say with great feeling that all the time that James was in his house . . . his whole life and conversation were one continuous uninterrupted sermon," which greatly edified not only the whole family but all the guests who came to the house. Among the latter was a very wise and virtuous priest, who was a frequent visitor to Iron Acton. This in all probability was John Colleton, who, having been sent by his father to Oxford, crossed the sea to Douay, and having been ordained priest, returned to England
6o LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
in June, 1576, and went to his house at Milverton, in Somersetshire, when he had the happiness of re- conciling his father Edmund and his sister Alice to the Church. Whoever it was, this priest was greatly- impressed by the judiciousness and prudence, the modesty and zeal for God's glory, shown by Sir Nicholas's steward, and thought that such qualities should have a wider scope for their exercise. He therefore advised him to seek ordination abroad. Acting on this advice, James Fenn arrived at the English College at Rheims on 5 June, 1579. There he remained for a little over eleven months, winning universal respect, affection, and admiration by his devoutness, obedience, and unselfishness, and above all, by the delicacy and sensitiveness of his conscience. He was ordained sub-deacon at Chalons-sur-Marne, on Saturday, 27 February, deacon at Rheims, on Saturday, 19 March, and priest at Chalons, on Holy Saturday, 2 April, 1580 ; all these orders being con- ferred by the Bishop of Chalons, Monsignor Cosme Clausse' de Marchaumont. He said his first Mass on Low Monday, 11 April, and left for England on 10 May in the same year.
On landing, he thought he could do no better than go back to Somersetshire, where, owing to the ab- sence of priests, Protestantism had been making great headway. On getting to work, James Fenn " brought very many to the knowledge of Catholic truth, though they dared not embrace or profess it," and induced some, *' and those the leading men in the county," to be reconciled to the Church.
For a year Fenn worked unmolested, and then
VENERABLE JAMES FENN 6i
came the news that Father Campion had been taken on Monday, 17 July, 1581, at Lyford, and with him the two resident priests of Lyford, Ford and Colleton, six gentlemen, and two yeomen. The six gentlemen included two well-known Somersetshire recusants, James Keynes, gentleman, of Compton Pauncefort (son-in-law to William Stourton, Esq., of Silvage, near Ilminster), and his brother Humphrey. It was probably a result of the excitement which this arrest caused in Somersetshire that not long afterwards James Fenn was arrested on the highroad at Brimp- ton, close to the house of one Giles Bernard, '* a Catholic and a man of civic rank, who also suffered much because he (Fenn) was found near his house, which was not far from that of the Sydenhams". ^ He was not known to be a priest, but even for a layman " saying what he thought in matters of religion " was in those days a serious crime. For this crime the justices ordered him *' to be taken forthwith to Ilchester, thrown into the filthy gaol there, in which felons are confined, and loaded with iron fetters ". One day he was brought out thence in his chains, and set in a public place for the people to mock at. They, however, were so greatly im- pressed by his patient and tranquil bearing that they declined to take their parts in the programme ; and, whereas for a long time past complete apathy as to religious matters had characterized the towns- people of Ilchester and the peasants of the neigh-
'^ Acts of the English Martyrs^ p. 252. The house alluded to is Brimpton House.
62 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
bourhood, the spectacle of a quiet and inoffensive man in fetters for plain speaking on religious matters gave rise to an acrimonious discussion, in which both sides showed considerable heat.
In these circumstances the justices wrote to the Privy Council for directions, and were told to send their prisoner up to London at once. This they did ; and on arrival he was brought before Sir Francis Walsingham, who abused him roundly and sent him to the Marshalsea. This was probably before 20 September, 1581.
On 16 November Campion, with six other priests and a civilian, were condemned for plotting against the Queen, — an accusation which was manifestly absurd ; and on the next day the other seven were condemned on the same charge. At this time a priest named Nicholson (probably to be identified with the priest Richard Norris of Milverton, Somer- set) was committed to the Marshalsea ; and other priests were committed shortly afterwards, e.g., William Bishop and Thomas Crowther. James Fenn, then, was not the only priest in that prison, but he held a unique position, inasmuch as he was the only priest there not known to be such. He therefore en- joyed far greater freedom from surveillance, and ac- cess to him was allowed as freely as to the ordinary prisoners. Thus he had special opportunities, denied to them, of confirming Catholics in their faith and making converts among Protestants. Outside Catho- lics made him the channel of their alms-deeds, and often pressed personal gifts upon him, but he would not accept the latter unless they could assure him
VENERABLE JAMES FENN 63
that they were making similar provision for the other prisoners, " and not content with so doing, every three months, after paying the ordinary prison expenses payable by those in 'free custody* to the governor and warders, he at once distributed the residue among the other prisoners ".
So he lived for two whole years, known to the Catholics as a priest and dispensing the Sacraments to them when he could, but among the Protestants regarded just as a simple Catholic layman willing, so far as in him lay, to help them in material as well as spiritual ways. He had a special corner in his heart for such of his fellow-prisoners as were convicted of piracy or some other atrocious crime, and did every- thing in his power to save them from eternal loss. The case of one such is described to us. This un- happy man had been convicted of piracy and sentenced to death, and "had abandoned all hope not only of life but of salvation ". James Fenn, on the eve of his execution, expounded to him the inexhaustible mercy of God, and " bade him take as his example and patron the thief who was lifted up on the cross with Christ our Saviour," and consider how short was the prayer with which he asked for pardon and how sweet the answer by which he was forgiven, and told him that the Catholic Church could remit all sins, however many or monstrous, if only there was sincere sorrow for them and a firm resolve not to offend God again. " Finally he expounded to him a few of the chief heads of Catholic doctrine, so far as the shortness of time and the perils of his position would admit." The pirate was convinced, and early
64 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
next day made a good confession, was reconciled to the Church, and given the Holy Viaticum. Later on in the day he was " urged to communicate in Calvinistic manner," but flatly declined. Whereupon they alternately threatened to rack him if he con- tinued obstinate and to reprieve him if he would con- sent to abjure the Catholic religion. Finally he was brought to the gallows and asked to pray with the crowd that surrounded him. He again refused, and professed his belief in the Catholic faith and his gratitude to Divine providence for having brought him in prison to the knowledge of it. " With these words the catechumen of one night was turned off the ladder and strangled in the noose, to pass as confessor and martyr to the triumph of one day, but that a day most bright and beautiful, to which no nightfall shall ever put an end."
It is a remarkable fact, proved by the prison records of the time, that priests known to be such yet contrived to say Mass in prison.^ It is not, therefore, surprising to hear that James Fenn found oppor- tunities of offering the Holy Sacrifice both before he was known to be a priest and afterwards. One of the prisoners, a staunch Catholic of illustrious birth (pos- sibly Edward Gage, of Bentley), after assisting on a holiday at James Fenn's Mass, told a priest who was a great friend of the latter (probably Richard Norris) that though he had assisted at many Masses said by many priests of great reputation for sanctity, he had never been sensible of such contrition and exaltation as he then experienced.
1 See for instance C.I^,S. ii. 225.
VENERABLE JAMES FENN 65
For nearly a year before his martyrdom James Fenn, having a premonition of his impending fate, began to prepare for it by withdrawing from social intercourse and leading the life of a hermit so far as his profession as a priest and the brotherly love which he bore his fellow-captives permitted him to do so. In the second half of 1583 he was recognized as a priest, possibly on information given by the spy, Thomas Dodwell, and was in consequence committed to stricter custody, and compelled to enter into controversy with Pro- testant ministers. At this time he occupied one chamber with three other priests — William Hartley, Samuel Conyers, and one Fletcher (i.e. probably William Tedder) — in which they managed to say frequent Masses, though they were obliged to use a tin chalice, all their silver chalices having been taken away from them.^
Soon afterwards the Privy Council thought it would be advisable to put some more priests to death with a view of intimidating the others ; and, as a prelim- inary, ordered that the now stock questions as to the Bull of St. Pius V should be put to them.
Fenn, when asked which side he would take if the Pope should make war on the Queen, begged his examiners not to press the question, but to be content with his declaration that he was a good subject and obedient citizen. As, however, they insisted on a de- finite answer, he expressed his views in the most un- equivocal terms, well knowing that by so doing he was signing his death-warrant. '*The Pope," he said,
^ Foley, Records Eng. Prov., S./., vi. 725.
5
66 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
" can deprive the Queen of England, and any other Christian prince who resists the authority of the ApostoHc See in the government of the Church, of all right to rule, and if he do so, it is my duty to hear the Church and to obey her decree."
After such a declaration his ultimate conviction was regarded, both by himself and every one else, as cer- tain. On his return to prison he was received with great enthusiasm by the other Catholic prisoners, who crowded round him to ask for his blessing and his prayers, and to consult him about their doubts and difficulties. Shortly afterwards, about 19 Jan- uary, 1583-84, the Council issued injunctions that all the priests were to be put into solitary confinement, and that no one was to have access to any of them.
On Wednesday, 5 February, James Fenn, George Haydock, Arthur Pitts, William Warmington, Richard Slacke, William Hartley, Richard Norris, William Deane, and William Bishop were indicted for having at Rheims, in Champagne, on 20 September, of the 23rd of Elizabeth (1581), and in other places, and on other days before and after, conspired, etc., to deprive the Queen and bring her to death, to raise sedition, to cause slaughter and rebellion, to subvert the govern- ment of the kingdom and the sincere religion of God established in the same ; (2) And also treated together of ways and means ; (3) And afterwards on i October they agreed to come to England ; (4) And afterwards on I November they left Rheims for the aforesaid pur- poses.^ As Father Pollen points out, in reality Fenn
^ C.R.S. V. 54. Stow mistakenly says that they were in- dicted for having been ordained abroad by the authority of the
VENERABLE yAMES FENN 67
left for England 10 May, 1580 ; Haydock, 16 January, 1582 ; Pitts, 22 April, 1581 ; Warmington, 30 January, 1581 ; Slacke, 21 April, 1581 ; Hartley, 16 June, 1580 ; Norris, 3 August, 1579; Deane, 25 January, 1582; Bishop, 28 December, 1581.1 On Thursday Fenn and Haydock appeared at the Queen's Bench, West- minster, under the custody of George Carey, Knight Marshal, and Owen Hopton, Knight, Lieutenant of the Tower, respectively, and pleaded Not Guilty. On Friday they were found guilty. On the same day John Mundyn, John Nutter, and Thomas Hemerford were found guilty on similar indictments. When Fenn was asked what he had to say why sentence of death should not be passed on him, he pointed out that he had never seen Haydock till they met the day before in the dock, and that on 20 September, 1 581, he was in England, and in prison, and, as he thought, in the Marshalsea. He added that he had never conspired the Queen's death with any one, and would do her no harm, even to gain the whole realm. On sentence being passed " the priests soung Te Deum and such like godly verses ".^ It was obviously a gross travesty of justice. Even Lord Burghley him- self is said to have remarked that ''the affair of James Fenn was very ill-managed " ; not indeed that he allowed any scruples about justice to in- terfere with his dealing with Catholics, but he did
Pope, but this did not become high treason till 1585 {^y Eliz. c. 2). The Concertatio EcdesicB makes the indictment allege conspiracy at Rome as well as Rheims, following the document printed C.R.S. v. 57-62.
^ Op. cit, p. 51. ''Op. cit., p. 60.
5*
68 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
not like the impression which the trial made on the public.
Another Protestant, high in Royal favour, was present in court when James Fenn was condemned, and afterwards told his brother Robert that he would not have been one of the jurymen who brought in the verdict of Guilty for a thousand pounds.
From the Queen's Bench, Fenn, Hemerford and Nutter, were taken to the Tower, and thrown, laden with fetters, into ''the pit," a subterranean cave, twenty feet deep, entirely without light. Mundyn was not consigned to the " pit," perhaps because there was not room for more than three. Hay- dock, too, probably because his health was so bad that they were afraid he might cheat the gallows, was taken back to his old cell in the Tower, where he was able to say Mass on the day appointed for the execu- tion of all five, Wednesday, 12 February. Till then Fenn and his two companions remained in the pit. In the Tower he received a visit from the Attorney- General, Sir John Popham, and from an old school- fellow, now a Professor of Law, who endeavoured to make him save his life by taking the oath of su- premacy. However, though he was willing to re- cognize the Queen's authority in things temporal, he maintained that ecclesiastical matters were the Pope's province, and his alone, and so was left to his fate.
On the morning of the 12th, when he was already laid on the hurdle at Tower Gate, he looked up, and recognized his little daughter, Frances, standing in the crowd. She was weeping bitterly, but he kept his habitual calm and peaceful expression, as, lifting
VENERABLE JAMES FENN 69
his pinioned hands so far as possible, he gave her his blessing, and so was drawn away.
On coming to Tyburn he prayed a little at the foot of the gallows. One of the sheriffs, John Spencer, then bade him confess his treason and ask the Queen's forgiveness, whereupon he asserted his innocence of the crime, and said he had never wished to harm the Queen by so much as a pin-prick. One who was present at the martyrdom wrote : ^ *' Mr. Fenn was the third that suffered, being bidd to doe as before, answered as his fellows did & sayd, ' I am condemned for that I with Mr. Haddock at Rheims did conspire, & at which time Mr. Haddock was a student at Rome and I a prisoner in the Marshalsea, or at the lest I am sure that I was in England, but to my remembrance I was a prisoner in the Marshal- sea. Therefore, good people, judge you whether I am guilty of this fact or noe.' A minister called Hene avouched a place of St. Paul, whereunto Mr. Fenn said : ' I am not to be taught my duty by you '. The rest of his speeches were to the same effect as his fellows' were. Before the cart was driven away, he was stripped of all his apparell saving his shirt only ; and presently after the cart was driven away his shirt was pulled off his back, so that he hung stark naked, whereat the people muttered greatly and the other sherif, called Masham, sayd to the officers, ' You play the knaves. They be men. Let them be used like men,' and alwaies commanded that they should hang until they were dead. Notwithstanding
^C.R.S. V. 62.
70 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
the other sherif commanded that they should be cut down presently, and soe was Mr. Fenn, but his companions following him were permitted to hang longer."
He was disembowelled before he had become in- sensible. His quarters were hung up above the four chief gates of the City, and his head exposed to view on a long pole on London Bridge.
Father William Warford, S.J., calls him " a man of much virtue and learning, with a great disesteem of himself," and adds that " it was remarked of him that he had so great a dislike of fine clothes, that, even when they were required for a disguise, he could not be persuaded to wear them ".
J. B. W.
Authorities. — Concertatio EcclesicE Anglicana. The bio- graphy of James Fenn was written, or at least inspired, by John Fenn, M.A., B.C.L., and was evidently composed before the death of Robert Fenn in 1587. It is cited above in quotation marks, without further comment. Catholic Record Society^ vol. V. No. xix. Indictment of James Fenn and others ; No. xxi. Writs Concerning Trial and Executions of George Haydock and others ; No. xxii. About George Haydock and his Com- panions. Acts of English Martyrs ; Warford 's Relation^ p. 252. A fuller edition of the life here printed will be found among the biographies published by the Catholic Truth Society.
VI. VENERABLE THOMAS HEMERFORD.
SECULAR PRIEST.
Tyburn, 12 February, 1584.
Before 20 June, 1587, Dr. Humphrey Ely had sent to Father John Gibbons, SJ., " the life of Mr. Emerford, priest," to be included in the Concertatio EcclesicE, but it appears to have been intercepted, and very little is known about this martyr. All authorities, however, are agreed that he came from Dorset.
Henry Hemerford, of Folke, Dorset, had a son Robert, who died 2 Edw. VI (Weaver, Visitations of Somerset, 114).
William Hemerford, B.D., minister of Folke, died there 4 October, 1583 (Hutchins, Dorset, iv. 181). He is probably the William Hemerford of Stoke who married Margaret, fifth daughter of Thomas Copleston of Luckcombe, Somerset (Vivian, Visita- tions of Devon, 224). It is not improbable that our martyr was a son of this Protestant minister. How- ever this may be, he was born in Dorsetshire about i553» ^^^ became a scholar of St. John's College, Oxford. Thence he removed, probably on religious
71
72 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
grounds, to Hart Hall, from which he took the degree of B.C.L., 30 June, 1575. There he ''held a dispu- tation with Isaac [i.e. Israel] Glisson of Bristol, a student of the same Hall as his opponent". Israel Glisson matriculated from Hart Hall in 1572 and supplicated B.C.L. in 1573 and obtained the degree 30 October, 1591, being at that time a member of St. John's College.
On leaving Oxford he probably entered his name at one of the Inns of Court, but we have no knowledge of his doings for the next five years. He arrived at the English College at Rheims on g June, 1580, and left again on the 23rd of the same month. Shortly afterwards he returned, and set out thence on 4 August for Rome.-^ He was admitted to the English College at Rome on g October, 1580, and took the College oath oh the following 16 May. Of his career at the College we know little ; but Mr. Edmund Thornell who took the oath the same day and lived with him in the College for two years, and who died at Rome in 1617, often told Father William Warford, S.J., that he was so careful in regard to chastity that, as often as any troublesome carnal thought occurred to him, he at once retired to some secret place and gave himself a discipline until, warned by his confessor, he was obliged to treat himself less rigorously. He was a short man with a dark beard, severe of look, but of a sweet disposition, and very pleasant and ex- emplary in conversation. He was ordained priest in March, 1582-3, by Thomas Goldwell, the exiled Bishop
^ Douay Diaries, pp. 168, 196, ^iZ-
VENERABLE THOMAS HEMERFORD 73
of St. Asaph, and soon afterwards received in fare- well audience by Pope Gregory XI 11/ who granted him various special faculties, one of which was that of imparting the Apostolic blessing and a plenary in- dulgence to anyone whom he might receive into the Church. He left Rome in April, arrived at Rheims on 9 June, 1583, and left for England on the 25th of the same month. He landed in Hampshire, and very soon after landing " was obliged to stay in a certain village, whilst the smith put on a shoe upon one of his horse's feet. In the meantime a malicious heretic, passing by and considering the man, affirmed that he was the priest that had preached in the barn, and upon this account presently apprehended him. So Mr. Hemerford in a moment lost both his horse and his liberty." ^ He was probably imprisoned at Winchester for a time and then brought up to the Marshalsea. On Wednesday, 5 February, 1584, he was indicted for having conspired on 30 April, 1582, at Rome, the death of the Queen, etc., and on the same day having consulted with John Mundyn as to ways and means, and for having agreed to come to Eng- land, 31 May, 1583, and having left Rome for the purpose on 30 June. In truth, as we have seen, he left Rome in April, 1583. On Thursday, 6 February, 1583-4, he was brought to the bar of the Court of Queen's Bench in Westminster Hall by Sir George Carey, the Knight Marshal of the Queen's Marshalsea,
^ One account wrongly dates this audience September, 1 582. Foley, Records Eng. Prov., S./., vi. 80.
- Rev. Henry Holland, S.T.L., in the Appendix to Bishop Challoner's first volume.
74 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
and committed to Sir Owen Hopton, Lieutenant of the Tower, and pleaded Not Guilty. On Friday the jury brought in a verdict of Guilty, and he received sentence of death. He was thereupon taken back to the Tower and with his venerable fellow-martyrs, James Fenn and John Nutter, laden with iron fetters and cast into the underground dungeon known as " the pit," where he remained till the day of his execution. On 12 February, Thomas Hemerford, together with George Haydock, John Mundyn, and the two other priests above mentioned, was drawn to Tyburn. An eye-witness thus describes his death : — ^
"After Mr. Haddock was taken to the block Mr. Hemerford was brought unto the cart ; he was very milde, and sometime a scholler of St. John's College in Oxford. Spenser ^ bad him confesse and aske for- givenesse as before : but he protested innocency as Mr. Haddock had done ; yet sayd ' Where in I have offended her, I ask her forgivenesse, but in this fact of treason alleaged against me, I never offended '. Then sayd a minister, master of art of St. John's College of Oxford, ' You and I ware of old acquaint- ance in Oxford, by which I request you to pray openly and in English, that the people may pray with you '. Then said Mr. Hemerford, * I understand Latin well enough, and am not to be taught of you. I request only Catholicks to pray with me.' Where upon answered the minister, ' I acknowledge that in Oxford you were always by farre my better. Yet many
^ C.R.S. V. 6 1, 62.
^ John Spencer, one of the Sheriffs, as to whom see Dicf. Nat. Biog. liii. 357.
VENERABLE THOMAS HEMERFORD 75
times it pleaseth God, that the learned should be taught by the simple.'
"One Risse, termed a Doctor of Divinity, asked Mr. Hemerford whither he would hold with the Pope or the Queen, in case the Pope should send an army into England. Whereunto Mr. Hemerford answered, That in case they were sent in respect of the Pope's own person, then he would holde with the Queen ; but if it were sent to suppresse heresy or to restore the land to the catholick faith, then he would hold with the Pope. His speech was short being not permitted to speak much, and in substance the rest of his speech, not here sett down verbatim, was to the same effect that Mr. [Haddock's] was. He was cutt downe half dead : when the tormentor did cutt off his membres, he did cry ' Oh ! A ! ' — I heard myself standing under the gibbet."
Father Warford too adds his testimony, that, " being mutilated in the usual manner while still alive, he was seized with such an agony of pain that the vehemence of his cries was much noted ".
J. B. W.
Authorities.— Z^//^r^Z>r. Ely to Father Gibbons, C.R.S. V. 141. About George Hay dock and his Companions, ibid. 61. Father Warford's Relation of the Martyrs, A.E.M. 253. Douay Diaries, 168, 196, 333. Wood, A thence Oxonienses. Indictment and Judgment, C.R.S. v. 55. Diarium Turris. Foley, Diary of the English College, Rome, vi. 90, 165. Challoner, Henry Holland^ s Relation, Appendix. Bridgewater, Concertatio, 156. Historia del glorioso jnarti?-io di diciotto Sacerdoti, 208-16. Yepez, Hist. Part. 522.
VII. VENERABLE JOHN NUTTER.
SECULAR PRIEST.i
Tyburn^ 12 February, 1584.
According to Mr. Gillow, our martyr ''was born at Reedley Hallows, a vaccary in Pendle Forest, in the chapelr}^ of Burnley, and parish of Whalley, co. Lancaster," where "the Nutters seem to have been a family of some position ".^ This may be the case, but all I can personally ascertain is that he was of Burnley.^ His brother Robert, afterwards, like himself, a martyr for the faith,'* and his friend, the seminary priest, Robert Woodroffe,^ were educated at a school at Blackburn kept by the Catholic school- master Mr. Yates,^ and it is probable that our martyr
^ Reprinted with some alterations from the writer's pamphlet. Venerable John Ntt/fer, published by the Catholic Truth Society.
"^ Bibl. Diet. Eng. Caih. v. 201.
=* C.R.S. V. 38.
^ Ibid. 203.
^ For an account of Robert Woodroflfe see the pamphlet above referred to, p. i, note 3.
"P.R.O., S.P. Dom. Eliz. ccxl. 105 (17). 76
VENERABLE JOHN NUTTER 77
also was educated there. He was afterwards a scholar of St. John's College, Cambridge.^ He arrived at the English College, Rheims, with his brother Robert,'^ on 23 August, 1579. We next find him in the capacity of tutor or pedagogue to a party of eleven young men, who left Rheims on 3 October, 1581, for Verdun, to be instructed by the Jesuits there. He probably returned directly after he had handed them over. He was ordained sub-deacon at Soissons on 10 June, 1582, where Monsignor Charles de Rouci- Sissonne was then bishop ; deacon and priest at Laon
^ C.R.S. V. 62. Bishop Challoner and Mr. Gillow are mistaken in speaking of him as educated at Oxford. Thqir statements are probably based on the fact that Anthony k Wood, commenting on the B.D. degree taken by one of the same name as our martyr on 30 June, 1575 {Fasti^ i. 199) says : " Whether he was the same John Nutter who suffered death at Tyburn, 12 Feb., 1582 \sic\ for being a Roman Catholic priest and denying the queen's supremacy, I know not. — Qucere.''^ It is improbable on the face of it. The man who took the degree had been six- teen years in theology, and was of Brazenose College {Oxford Hist. Soc. xii. 54), and is probably the John Nutter who was ordained acolyte at Chester in June, 1557 (Frere's Marian Reaction, p. 267), and became Canon of Chester in 1566, Rector of Sefton in 1 567, and Rector of Aughton and Babington and Dean of Chester in 1579. He died suddenly as he was at supper at Sefton, 30 March, 1602. He was a very wealthy man, and Queen Elizabeth termed him a " golden ass " (Foster, Alumni Oxonienses).
^ Mr. Gillow {op. cit. v. 203) says that Robert was the younger brother ; but as Robert was ordained priest 21 December, 1581 — i.e. nine months before John — it would seem more likely that he was the elder. The reference to " Nutter, senior," on p. 168 of the Douay Diaries does not help us to solve this question.
78 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
on 22 September, by the bishop Monsignor Valentine Douglas, O.S.B. ; and said his first Mass on i October in the same year. He left Rheims on 24 November for the English Mission in the company of his friends Robert Woodroffe ^ and Samuel Conyers.^ Unless Woodroffe's health had made marvellous improvement in a week, he, at any rate, went in a carriage.^ They went together as far as Rouen, where for some reason or other Conyers stayed behind, while the other two went on to Havre. The rest of the story is told in the second volume of the third edition of the Con- certatio Ecclesice^ from which I have translated it. At Havre, or Newhaven, as the English then called it, " they were obliged to delay, waiting for a prosper- ous wind, for so long a time, that, their provision for the journey being well-nigh exhausted, one at least had perforce to turn back to get money for himself and his companion wherewith they might continue on their way and pay the debts already there con- tracted. So Mr. Nutter took the road alone, and hastened back to Rouen with all speed (it having been first a^eed between the twain that if Mr. Woodroffe should find a good ship and a favouring breeze before his return, he should not let slide the opportunity to pass over).
** Having arrived thither with difficulty, by reason of a fever that had taken him by the way, he found
^ See p. 76, note i.
^ For an account of Samuel Conyers see the life as published by C.T.S., p. 3, note 3: ^ Douay Diaries^ p. 321.
VENERABLE JOHN NUTTER 79
there three other priests,^ intent with equal zeal on setting forth for England. To these he joined him- self, and having in part recovered his strength, which had been almost destroyed by disease and the dis- comforts of the journey, girt him again for the road, and in company of the others returned to Newhaven. There after a few days they went on shipboard, and set sail for Scarborough, in Yorkshire. For two days and nights they enjoyed a favouring gale, and hoped to touch their desired port within one day more, when suddenly a contrary wind arose and blew so hard that they were in danger of being driven among shallows and sandbanks, whereupon they decided to run before the wind, and so were carried to the coast of Suffolk. When they were within sight of land the helm broke, and forced them to abandon even this contrary course, and to bring the ship to land as best they could, and wait till they could repair the de- struction of the rudder by planks roughly joined together. This work in some sort achieved, they again set sail for Yarmouth, as they had aforetime planned. But God disposed otherwise for His servants, and when they were scarce two English miles off the port of Dunwich, Mr. Nutter's malady had increased so grievously that he must at all hazards be brought to land, for he could not walk.
^ This appears to be a mistake, see p. 78. He found his friend Samuel Conyers, above mentioned, and another priest, but the third person, Peter Lawson, seems to have been a layman, though in one prison list he is described as a priest (see C.R.S. ii. 231). He was, no doubt, one of the Lawsons of Brough, Yorks, and a friend of Samuel Conyers.
8o LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
So the ship was left riding at anchor, to be repaired by the sailors, and the sick man was laid in a fishing-boat, and taken by the other priests to the neighbouring township [of Dunwich], and cared for in such an hostelry as the place afforded.
" On the following night about two o'clock news was brought that a pirate vessel had gone ashore off Orford Ness, but that the pirates had fled in divers directions, as was known from the information ^ of a boy who had been captured while trying to escape. On receipt of this news the Town-Bailiffs ^ burst into the inn, accompanied by the Vice-Admiral of the district, and made a careful search among the strangers' possessions, diligently observing both their clothes and their faces, and plying them with questions, if haply by one reply or another they might get some proof that they were of the number of these pirates ; and though there was nought that could have brought them into just suspicion of any crime, they^ were nevertheless committed to the public prison until such time as the Bailiffs might make sure of their honesty, these inhuman wretches oftentimes repeating that they might think them- selves fortunate to have been let off so lightly. Their
^ The original reads " iudicio," which must be emended into " indicio ".
2 " Prastores oppidani." The Bailiffs of Dunwich at this time were William Bulbrooke and Ralph Booltflower, and the date of this arrest would appear to be 15 January, 1582-3 (see P.R.O., S.P. Dom. Eliz. clviii. 16, 17, 18).
^ I.e. Conyers and Lawson ; for Nutter, being too ill to be moved, remained at the inn (see p. 82).
VENERABLE yOHN NUTTER 8i
captors' intent was to keep them in gaol for the nonce, until their goods [on shipboard] had also been examined/ and something certain discovered as to their rank and position ; but the sea all that day- was so rough that the boats which had withdrawn to safe anchorage dared not set forth.
" On the next day, however, early in the morning, the ship on which the priests had come was so vehemently tossed and stricken by the frequent squalls, that at last she broke her cables, and was driven by the force of the storm on to a sandbank, where she rapidly went to pieces and sank, though by the Divine blessing all the crew were saved.
" After a little time, however, at the ebb-tide, when the hull could be approached, men ran to search it, and overhauled it thoroughly, to take possession of any of the goods which were salvable for the use of the township, to which by the law relating to wrecks everything pertained.^ Among the other things on which they laid hands were the books ^ and othei
^ The original reads " explorata nam et mercibus," which must be read " exploratis iam et mercibus ". The goods in question must be the goods which they had confessed to having on their own vessel in order to clear themselves of being pirates.
^ The original runs " ut, si quid esset mercium quod salvari posset, in usum municipii illius occuparetur, ad quos iure naufragii spectabant omnia ". For " quos " we should no doubt read "quod," but this is an inaccurate statement of the law. The township was responsible as trustee.
^ These books were about 500 catechisms (i.e., probably copies of the Li^ge edition of Laurence Vaux's Catechism^ 1583), fif- teen Latin Testaments, thirty Latin Primers, and forty-five Meditations of the Life of Christ {C.jR.S. v. 38).
6
82 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
furniture of the priests. These, however, were arranged and done up in packs like other merchan- dize ; so as not to give the beholder the slightest clue to their contents.
" So the godly men might have sought safety in flight, but for the fact that Mr. Nutter was so sick that he lay at full length on his bed and could not stir a foot.
" But while the priests were discussing the affair, and thinking of procuring a litter or a vehicle, the matter ended thus. One of the servants,^ whom the magistrates ^ had left to keep ward over the ship, lest any of the goods seized should be stolen, himself embezzled a bundle of books, thinking, belike, it contained other goods than those which he after- wards found.
" When, however, he examined his treasure, and found he had played the freebooter with such ill success, he regarded his lack of luck as a wrong done him by the Catholics, and exposed the whole matter to the Bailiffs. They, forthwith rushing to the inn where Mr. Nutter was being entertained, asked him again whence and who he was.
** At first, ignorant of all that had happened, he said that he was apprenticed to a certain citizen of York, but afterwards, when he saw that their counsels had been laid bare, he frankly confessed that he was
^"Ministris." Bishop Challoner and Mr. Gillow take this word to mean Protestant " Ministers," as it does later on in the story, but they are not likely persons to have been set to keep guard over a wreck.
^ " Quaestores."
VENERABLE JOHN NUTTER 83
both a Catholic and a priest. Then the warder of the prison, who was present with the other officers of justice, at once affixed to his foot a vast iron chain with a very heavy wooden block at the end, and returning to the prison bound in like manner Mr. Nutter's companions — Mr. Conyers, a priest, and Lawson, a layman ; for the other two priests, having no money, had been obliged to hasten to their homes directly they came to land. At the conclusion of this matter one of the two Bailiffs^ straightway mounted his horse and sped to London to acquaint the Privy Council of what had chanced. Awaiting his return the sick man had to bear troubles other and far heavier than any caused by his malady, namely, attacks by the parish-ministers (an utterly absurd and despicable class of men) and of others well reputed for their learning, amid the unlearned crowd, who all joined forces to assault the priest of God, some this way and some that way, but all, as is usual among heretics, with the utmost pride and fierceness. All their attacks were so well sustained and repulsed by the Catholic priest, that the ministers afterward, when they came to discuss him among themselves, concluded that the grave dignity of his face and words, and his exact knowledge of the matters proposed to him, would hardly be found except in a Bishop or a Jesuit, and that a man of this importance would not be sent into England unless to work some great ill to his country and fellow-citizens. And though they saw that he was so utterly exhausted, partly by the violence of his
» William Bulbrooke {C.R.S. v. 37). 6*
84 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
sickness and partly by the discomfort of his chains, that he was unable not only to get up but even to turn over on the other side when he was tired, so foreign to all sense of humanity are they who have let Calvin's deadly poison sink into the depths of their hearts, that out of all that crowd of ministers and others not one was found to have pity on his great affliction, and suggest the removal, for the time at least, of that heavy chain and its wooden appendage.
" After ten days the Bailiff returned, bearing the commands of the Council that he and his colleague should see that their captives were brought to London as traitors at the common expense of the town.^ So the blessed confessors were put together into a waggon, and [each] bound to an iron chain by two hobbles, such as are used for horses, and a large crowd of horsemen rode on either side, armed with barbed spears and like weapons, with intent to keep the bound prisoners from escaping, to strike terror on all whom they might pass on the way, and to show by the silent threat of arms that utterly lost and execrable were the captives, and that great was the wreck and ruin they had plotted against the realm. The malice and harshness used throughout the whole journey towards the servants of Christ was such as would have disgraced a savage tribe. For whenever it was possible to proceed along a level
^ The costs of the baiHff in bringing /our prisoners to Rich- mond and returning to Dunvvich amounted to^i8 {C.J^.S. v. 37), It is not known who the fourth prisoner was.
VENERABLE JOHN NUTTER 85
road, their inhuman captors preferred to urge the waggon by steep and stony paths, that they might be the more shaken and tossed about by the wheels and feel more heavily and often the weight of the fetters that oppressed them. This caused the rest the greatest discomfort, but for Nutter in his violent sickness it was utterly unbearable. The piteous wailings and constant groans that the greatness of his pain called forth might have melted the most hostile of hearts, and so his comrades asked their escort, that as it appeared he was at the point to die, they would pay him at least the kind service of taking the smoother roads when they were equally short. This request not only moved no pity, but was received with laughter and jeers. ' Well we know that ye are priests,' they cried, ' and priests all the virtues beseem, but especially patience : so ye must exercise the same in every way.' So when their patience had been exercised after this sort for four days partly by the roughness and badness of the roads, but much more by the roughness and badness of their captors' hearts, at last they won to London, and were brought to the Tower. Thereto they were not yet admitted, inasmuch as the Lieutenant of the Tower had no command to that effect from the Council. That night, then, they remained in charge of the Bailiffs' men, and the next day were taken to Richmond to appear before Walsingham, who was then at Court. He examined them all, but Nutter first, who replied in a few words (for he was so weak that he could scarce stand or even speak) that he was a Catholic priest, and was thereupon sentenced to
86 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
be lodged, together with his companions, in the prison called the Marshalsea.^
" While he was in prison he was shortly restored to health by the favour^ of God and the kind offices of some Catholics ; and there he remained a whole year, which he spent in the diligent exercise of all the virtues. If we may mention one, however, as his special glory, it was his marvellous kindness to all who came to consult him about their doubts. On the other hand, towards such heretics as he found to be contumacious and obstinate he bore himself right gallantly and showed a burning zeal for the Catholic Faith. He caused many to return to the unity of the Church Catholic, and gave diligent heed to their proper instruction. So vigorous and unwearied was he in his work among souls, that though sometimes he seemed to have wasted much time and to have no fruit of his labour, he neither lost hope nor gave over the task begun, but rather persevered and continued his pious prayers and exhortations, till, God giving His blessing, the sky yielded rain, and the earth her fruit.
" For one of these the holy man felt an especial depth of affection, and neglected nought whereby he might promote the salvation of his friend's soul, and yet made no progress in this quarter during his own lifetime ; but afterward drew him so strongly by the spectacle of his death, that he became a new man
^ They were committed to the Marshalsea, i February, 1 582-3, where Peter Lawson died in September, 1586, aged forty-eight.
2 The original reads "numero," which must be a mistake for " munere ''.
VENERABLE JOHN NUTTER 87
and heartily desired to live in that Church for which he had seen God's holy priest die with such con- stancy.
" Furthermore, Christ's blessed priest was entirely removed from all inclination to revenge, and readily forgot the direst wrongs done to him. Nay, if any man harmed him, he would gladly repay him by some kindness if he could. This he gloriously showed in the case of those Bailiffs whose ill-treat- ment of him was yet fresh in his memory. For in a suit instigated by certain of the servants of the Marshal, to whose custody the captives had now been entrusted, these men were brought before the Court for wrongful detainer of certain clothes be- longing to Mr. Conyers, and the case was like to go against them.^ They therefore humbly begged those Catholics whom they had but late so savagely treated, to put an end to the case and not allow the said ser- vants to prosecute it.
*' To this request Mr. Conyers was unwilling to accede unless he were paid his taxed costs in the matter; but the godly Nutter besought his fellow- prisoner for his enemies, saying, * Let us give an ex- ample of Christian charity by yielding somewhat of our rights, rather than supply an occasion for calumny by seeking that to which we are in justice entitled '.
" Moreover, if he saw vices in any, he rebuked them freely, and that in such downright and outspoken
^ The Bailiffs were obliged to restore to any owner, who made good his claim within a year and a day, either his actual pro- perty salved, or if it was *of a perishable nature the money re- sulting from the sale thereof.
88 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
terms (though always with great personal humility) that his fellower-prisoners called him John Plain.
" He was allotted ^ a garret at the very top of the house right under the roof, very bare and uncom- fortable ; but the good man preferred it to all others because it was quiet, and on that account convenient for prayer and meditation.
" He kept his body under not only by fastings and watchings, but by the frequent discipline of the scourge, a fact concealed very carefully, but dis- covered a little before his death by one to whose friendship he had trusted too implicitly.
" It chanced one day that a certain priest was to be bound in chains, and the warders were engaged in fixing them on his hands and feet, when the man of God heard thereof, and with holy rashness rushed in, and seizing the shackles kissed them with great veneration. This pious act aroused the amused con- tempt of the warders, who asked him if he would fain kiss the iron manacles also, wherewith the priest's hands were to be bound ; whereto he replied that this he would gladly do, forthwith kissing the same with equal zeal, saying that holy bodies ever impart some sanctity even to the very fetters and garments which they touch.
" Thus, having well laid the foundation of the mansion that should be his in the heavens, and be- ing now nigh unto the time foreordained of God for his blessed consummation, the holy man was again brought before the examiners, who asked him many questions on many different points, as is the custom,
^ The original reads "sorditus," which is clearly "sortitus ".
VENERABLE yOHN NUTTER 89
to all of which he replied with great constancy and fearlessness. Then they put that question which is generally propounded last, a weapon of most certain death, to wit, what would he do if the Roman Pontiff were to raise an army against England ; to which the prudent priest replied he would act as became an honest and Catholic priest. When pressed to say what in his opinion an honest priest should do in such a state of affairs, he repeated his previous answer in nearly the same words, and could not be led to say anything further. Whereupon they were enraged, and said he had a most treasonable mind, and must be treated as a traitor and a public enemy.
" On the next day the priest, through Way, the governor of the prison, approached Popham, the Queen's Majesty's attorney-general, and promised him to set out everything at length and in good faith, if he would in like faith promise to deliver what he should write into the Queen's proper hands. The offer being taken in the same spirit in which it was made, the priest wrote something, and gave it, care- fully sealed, to the governor, and the governor to the attorney-general. What was therein written we have never yet been able to learn, but it may be con- jectured that he thereby declared that the intent wherewith he and his companions came into Eng- land was not to disturb the public peace (as the foes of peace and truth have held), but to bring about and confirm the peace of God in the hearts of men, not to bring death on the Queen or on any of the nobles of the realm, but to call to undying life all who would hear the words of life and salvation.
go LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
*' That this and more to a like purport were written by him with full Christian liberty, his own words to his friends hinted, and the sequel openly showed. For on the delivery of the letter the first reply he received was that he must appear in Westminster Hall before the Court of Queen's Bench. And there he and other priests were accused of treason, and sentence of death was pronounced against them.^
" Wherefore, a few days after, five priests at one time were dragged from the Tower of London to Tyburn, and were there hanged, and disembowelled while yet alive, ^ and quartered, and thus gave glorious testimony to Catholic truth.
''And in this holy conflict the venerable Nutter fought in the fourth place. Such in all that long journey was his eagerness to begin the fray, that his spiritual sons who flocked from all sides to see their father battling for the cause of the Catholic Church were wonderfully cheered by the peacefulness of his brow ; such, when the conflict began, was his valour and greatness, that 'twas easy to see no mere man was fighting, it was God fighting in man ; and such now are his glory and splendour as he triumphs in heaven, that no man nor yet angel can tell of them. So to the King of Ages, immortal and invisible, the only God, be honour and glory, world without end. Amen."
J. B. W.
^ As to the indictment and trial see the account of Ven. John Mundyn, below, pp. loo, loi.
^ An eye-witness reports that Nutter and Mundyn were allowed to hang longer than the rest.
VENERABLE JOHN NUTTER 91
Authorities.— Examina^wn of John Nutter^ C.R.S. v. 38. About George Haydock and Companions^ ibid. p. 62. Bridge- water, ConcertatiOy 156*. Yepez, Hist. Part. 522-9. Challoner, i. I 51-6. Y7 006.^ At h. Oxon. Diarium Turris.
VIII. VENERABLE JOHN MUNDYN.
SECULAR PRIEST.
Tyburn, 12 February, 1584.
John Mundyn, born in the Manor of Coltley in the parish of South Maperton, Dorset, entered Winchester College in 1555, then aged twelve.^ He proceeded in due course to New College, Oxford, where he became a Fellow in 1562. When the Visitor's Commissary, George Acworth, Doctor of Laws, visited the College on 20 September, 1566, and tendered to all on the Foundation the oath of canonical obedience to the Visitor, Home, the Protestant Bishop of Winchester, Mr. Mundyn refused, and was suspended. He was eventually deprived for not having communicated since the accession of Elizabeth.^ His history for the next fourteen years is almost a blank, but it ap- pears that he went down to his native county and employed himself as a schoolmaster. There he made the acquaintance of one John Chapman, who (having taken his M.A. degree at Oxford in 1567 and become Rector of Wheathall, Somerset, in 1571) was Vicar
^ Kirby, Winchester Scholars, p. 132. ^ New College {Oxford College Histories), pp. 1 17-19. 92
VENERABLE JOHN MUNDYN 93
of Little Cheney, Dorset, from 1572 to 1574, and Rector of Langton Herring, Dorset, 1573 to 1579. In the latter year he left his living secretly, and went to Rheims, where he was ordained priest, and sent on the Mission in 1581. In August, 1583, he was in prison at Winchester, and on the 8th of that month the Bishop wrote to Walsingham, enclosing his examination, in which this passage is relevant : *' Item, thys ex- aminate allso sayeth that he was acquaynted with one Mondayne, who was Schole-mayster of Dorchester, and of diverse other places in that Countie, and sayeth that he was accompted a Papist, and was in trowble for Religion during the tyme of hys being there. And being examined where thys Mondayne was att thys present, sayeth that he cannot tell, neyther had he any Conference wth hym ".^
In 1580 an entry occurs in the Diary of the Eng- lish College at Douay, then temporarily at Rheims, of which the following is a translation : " On the gth of October, John Mundyn arrived from England. He was formerly a Fellow of New College, Oxford,^ and is now a student of civil law. At Dover, before he was allowed to get down from his horse, a tipstaff came up and took him to the mayor's house. The mayor, learning that he purposed to pass beyond the seas, let him know that this might by no means be with his good will, unless he should first openly pro- claim the Pope to be a sorry knave. This he refused to do, and had in consequence to undergo a searching
1 C.R.S. V. 32.
'-' Marginal note : " Dedicated to Blessed Mary the Virgin and founded by Bishop William Wykeham of blessed memory ' .
94 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
examination and scrutiny : for they despoiled him of all his clothes down to his shirt, and would have stripped off that also, had he not at first offered valiant resistance. At length they espied a purse hung to a clasp about his neck, in which was money to the value of forty-six French crowns, and forty shillings beside. Then at the sight, as though they had found the expected booty, they desisted from the scrutiny. He left his money with them, and has come to us." Soon, however, further sums must have been transmitted to him, for when he left the College on 12 August, 1581, he took with him a letter to Father Alphonso Agazzario, S.J., the head of the English College, Rome, in the course of which Dr. Allen writes : " He is a man utterly Catholic and honest, and is setting out to Rome mainly out of devotion. He is not unfitted for the priesthood : but up to the present he has not asked for it, and we have not urged him much, because he has not lived at the expense of the College." He appears to have pre- sented the letter, to have entered the English College at Rome, 18 October, 158 1, and to have lived there for sufficient time to be regarded as an alumnus : ^ but he must have left it before being ordained priest, as in his answers to Walsingham, hereinafter quoted, he states that though a priest, he was not of the Seminary. On 13 June, 1582, he was back at Rheims already a priest ; and on the following 6 August,^ he
1 Foley, /Records Eng. Prov., S./., vi. 1 1 1, 146.
^ Mr. Gillow's warning {Bibliog. Did. v, p. 142), that he is not to be confounded with John Munden, of Wells Diocese, is very necessary.
VENERABLE JOHN MUNDYN 95
left for the English Mission. It appears from Bishop Rennet's MS., xviii. 25, that he there used the name of George Coryat. One of this name (whose life is given in Did. Nat. Biog. xii. 258) was two years junior to Mundyn at Winchester, but became Scholar and Fellow of New College in the same years with him, viz., 1560 and 1562.
The following is a translation of the account of his arrest and death given in the Concertatio Ecclesice Anglicance, 1589-94 edition, part ii. pp. 140 sqq. : —
"■ In the year from the Virgin-Birth 1583, towards the end of the month of February, Mr. John Mundyn, a priest, on his way from Winchester ^ to London, met on Hounslow Heath one Hammon, a lawyer,^ with others in his company. Now Mundyn was known to Hammon, and already so close before his sight that there was no opportunity of retreat or flight. So, as the matter admitted not of counsel nor of consultation, he did under the deplorable cir- cumstances what first came into his mind. Lightly wrapping his cloak about his head, he set spurs to his horse, and galloped forward at full speed : then, drawing near to Hammon, saluted him in a low voice, and so was passing on his way. ' What, Mundyn ! ' quoth the lawyer. * The same,' replied the priest. ' Glad am I,' quoth Hammon, * that thou hast met me. Whence comest ? ' ' From Winchester,'
^ Henry Holland, author of Uma Aurea^ cited in the Ap- pendix to Challoner's first volume, says " Windsor ".
"^ Possibly William Hammon, who entered Winchester College in 1 561, aged eleven, from St. Dunstan within Temple Bar, London (see Kirby, oj). cit. p. 137).
96 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
said he. Then Hammon : ' And with whom didst thou lodge at Winchester ? ' 'I used a pubHc hostelry,' said the priest. ' Certes, Mundyn,' quoth Hammon, 'it must be thy business to go back with me.' ' By no means,' saith the other, ' if thou show me not first by what authority thou dost this thing. I know indeed that thou boldest a magistracy in the county of Dorset, but here hast no jurisdiction. As there I recognize a keeper of public peace, here I see only a private citizen.' * So be it,' quoth Hammon ; * thou shalt well perceive that I lack not authority to apprehend thee even here.' And so, having no means of resisting nor yet of escaping so great a multi- tude of men, he was taken and brought back as far as Staines, the magistrate of which town wrote at once to Wolley, the Latin Secretary, who, on the next day, caused him to be brought before Walsingham, the Secretary of State.
*' Walsingham, therefore, put many questions to the priest, as is customary — (now, at his examina- tion were present Lord Grey and many others) — in what place he received holy orders ? whether he was of a Seminary ? who had sent him back to Eng- land ? who had paid the expenses of his return ? To all of which he replied : That he had received sacred orders at Rome ; that he was not of a Seminary ; that he had returned to England of his own free will, and that concerning money for the future, he had scarce considered the question. Then Walsingham with a great outburst of words — such was ever the wont of the raging chief magistrate, of his own accord and without occasion given — inveighed against
VENERABLE JOHN MUNDYN 97
the Seminarists, and against a certain book, being the New Testament, translated word for word into English, which said book had lately been completed by them in accordance with a prescript of the Council of Trent, and vehemently accused them of want of skill both in history and in foreign tongues.
" The good priest, despairing of his ability to quell this whirlwind of language, kept prudent silence, fearing also, (as he afterwards ingenuously con- fessed,) not death, but that awful torture of the rack, harsher than all forms of death. Then the Secretary, taking his silence ill, proceeded to those bloody questions, which are, as it were, a sacred formula never addressed but to victims already destmed to death.
" In the first place, he asked what he thought of Nicholas Sander, his famous landing in Ireland ? ' I know nought of his coming thither,' he replied,
* and so 'tis not clear to my mind, whether he did well or ill. Let himself answer to it.'
" Then the Secretary : ' If the Pope,' quoth he,
* or some other prince should invade this kingdom, what wouldst thou do, or what in thine opinion should a good citizen do ? And what thinkest thou of this matter, whether the Pope can deprive the Queen of all right to the throne ? ' To this Mundyn ": ' I beseech thee,' quoth he, ' most noble lord, an it please thee, force not these questions upon me. No theologian am I : only the civil law have I studied awhile, and so being but little versed in these matters, I know not at all what reply I should give.'
" Walsingham then asked him of the Queen, 7
gS LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
whether he held her to be the true Queen of Eng^- land, and when Mundyn answered * yea,' he asked him again whether he held her as true Queen of Eng- land both de jure and de facto ? 'I understand not sufficiently,' said Mundyn, ' what these terms may mean.'
" * What, accursed traitor ! ' cried Walsingham, * dost refuse to answer me this ? ' And therewith he suddenly dealt his face so violent a blow with his fist, that the poor man lost his wits and stood all astonished, reeling to and fro, nor could for a time remember where he was, and afterwards for many days complained that he heard on both sides with greater difficulty than was his wont. Then, coming to himself, he felt such consolation of divine power, such courage and such strength, that, quite forget- ting all the sorrow and sadness of his former ills, he became wholly glad and cheerful, and desired nothing so much as that he might suffer somewhat for the manifestation of Christ's glory.
*' Having thus carried off the prize in the first con- flict, the Secretary, on pleasure bent, hurled against him many taunts and revilings utterly unworthy of a chief magistrate, and then summoned an official who performed a messenger's functions, called a pursui- vant, and bade him conduct the priest to the Tower of London, and to take his horse with all its trap- pings as a reward for his pains. ^
^ The Tower Bills in the Record Office give 12 February, 1583, as the date of his committal {C./^.S. iii. 14, 15). The Diarium Turns says that he was taken to the Tower on i^ February and loaded with iron fetters for twenty days.
VENERABLE JOHN MUNDYN 99
" Having come thither, the holy man was thrown into that small prison-house called Broad Arrow Tower. There he was at once laden with iron fetters, and for some time spent his nights on the bare stone floor. Being brought forth thence pub- licly on a day, he was taken to Popham to be examined of him anew : and in that place many things were said against him, but this in chief, that in his own country he had led an unclean life, and therefor was ill-esteemed among his neigh- bours.
" This charge owed what likelihood it had simply to the words of msn whom none would believe on their oaths. Natheless Mundyn, returned to his prison, was so sore afflicted thereat that signs of unwonted sadness marked his face : which, when one of his fellow-prisoners, himself a priest, noted, he asked what had rendered him full of thought and sadness beyond his use. Then Mundyn told him all that had happened in order, and how beside the other crimes, which rested on no foundation at all, they had falsely charged him with incontinence, and how he bore this ill, for the charge being noised abroad among the people, a great blot of shame would result not to himself alone but also to all his fellow-captives lawfully contending for the faith, and so to the most chaste and pure cause of the Catholic religion." The other priest, being more ad- vanced in years and more experienced in life, and, as Mundyn's confessor, well aware that he was a good servant of Christ, free from all this kind of guilt, was able by reasoning and examples to console
7*
LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
him, and after giving a summary of the confessor's arguments the account continues : —
"With these words and others to the like purport the pious confessor so freed Mr. Mundyn's soul from all the scruple that he had felt (lest he had brought shame on Catholics) that thereafter he enjoyed a wonderful calmness of spirit and easily despised whatever treacherous men said against him ".
Father Pollen has abstracted the record of the trial of John Mundyn and John Nutter as follows : — ^
" Indictment, found on Wednesday (Feb. 5) next after the eve of the Purification B.V.M., at Queen's Bench, Westminster, viz. that John Mundyn, William Tedder, John Nutter and Samuel Conyers, all late of London, clerics, on the 20th of July, 24 Elizabeth (1582), at Rheims in Champaigne and in other places, and on other days before and after, conspired, etc., to deprive the Queen and to bring her to death, to raise sedition, to cause slaughter and rebellion, to subvert the government of the Kingdom, and the sincere religion of God established in the same ; (2) and also treated together of ways and means ; (3) and afterwards on i August, 24 Eliz., they agreed to come to England ; (4) and afterwards on i Octo- ber they left Rheims for the aforesaid purposes.
** Precept to the Sheriff to bring them up -for trial.
" Thursday next after the eve of the Purification
^ C./^.S. V. 51. As Father Pollen observes: "Mundyn, Tedder, Nutter and Conyers are said to have left on the ist of October ; they did in fact depart on the 6th of August, the 13th of November, ^nd the tWQ last together on the 24th of November, J 582",
VENERABLE JOHN MUNDYN
(Feb. 6). Mundyn appears at Queen's Bench, West- minster, under the custody of Sir Owen Hopton, Lieutenant of the Tower, and Nutter under that of George Carey, Knight Marshal of the Queen's Mar- shalsea, into whose custody they had previously been committed. They are demanded statim and severally how they will be tried, and severally answer that they are Not Guilty.
'' The Jury come on Friday after the eve of the Purification (Feb. 7), and the same day is given to John Nutter and John Mundyn aforesaid.
** On which day the Jury say upon their oaths that they are Guilty, and that they have no goods or chattels.
"The Queen's Serjeant prays for sentence.
" The Court, having seen and understood all, in the presence of the Queen's Serjeant and Attorney give sentence as usual for high treason.
''Executed."
So little did any one believe that they had really conspired against the Queen that Stow says they were condemned for having been ordained beyond the sea by the Pope's authority, oblivious of the fact that the statute 27 Eliz. c. 2 was not passed at this time.
To resume the narrative of the Concertatio : —
"On the 6th of February [1583-4], Mr. Mundyn was brought to trial and condemned to death, to- gether with some others, for having conspired against the life of the Queen (as 'twas pretended) both at Rome and at Rheims.
" When he heard the sentence of death, then with
I02 , LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
a very joyous and calm countenance he recited with those others that were to share his holy martyrdom, that great hymn of SS. Ambrose and Augustine, Te Deum laudamus, Te Dominum confitemur : for at once he felt so great and so unwonted a cheerfulness of spirit, that, as if he had already laid aside the heavy burden of the body, he could not but testify, in face and voice and the whole carriage of his person, the joy that was poured out through the inner man.
" From that time onward he showed no sign of sadness, but to his last breath remained wholly joy- ous and merry. For, presently after the sentence was passed, when he was being led back to prison, not far from Westminster Hall he met his sister's son, and some others, eager abettors of his cause, now utterly cast down at his afflicted fortunes : he saw also many, on this side and on that, who could not content themselves with the disaster of a shame- ful death which he was soon to undergo, but must needs rail at him and mock him. But the blessed martyr, truly following in the footsteps of Jesus Christ, passed on through the midst of them, and neither was moved by the mourning of his friends to relax aught of his priestly dignity, nor seemed ever to lend an ear to the mad cries of his foes ; being all full of joy and all, as it were, drunk with a foretaste of the wine of the banquet at which he was soon to be a guest. To his nephew and friends, however, he spoke a few words, so instinct with the unction of consolation received from on high, that they who came weeping returned to their families cheered, in such wondrous wise that others, who shared in their
VENERABLE JOHN MUNDYN 103
grief, became in their turn partakers with them of the divine consolation.
'* Then, when he had come near to the Tower, many of those who had remained at home and had not been present at the Courts, when they saw him transported beyond the rest with unaccustomed joy, both themselves rejoiced greatly, and congratulated their friend in such wise as they could, thinking it certain that by the sentence of the judges he had been set free. So little could men, in whom flesh and blood were yet strong, comprehend his triumph, the triumph of one already dead.
" The day before he suffered, about eventide, (at which time, as the shadows deepen, the thought of impending evils is wont to deepen too, especially when men are lonely and lack all human comfort,) the good father mentioned above anxiously ap- proached the blessed man to console a son whom he expected to find utterly bowed down beneath the weight of evil, and to strengthen him by his pious exhortations to face the struggle that awaited him. But when he came to him he found no sign at all either of sorrow or of fear ; but rather so saturated was he with the sweetness of interior consolation, that he needed not such exterior fomentation as words could supply. Thus the father who came at eve a consoler, went away next morning greatly consoled himself, lamenting but one thing that he was not to be a comrade to his son on his sacred way and in his last agony.
** On the next day, the 13th ^ of February, which
^ Stow and other authorities, correctly it would seem, say the 12th.
104 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
was to be the blessed man's first day of life and last of death, he came forth from his chamber in the morning to be led to the place of execution/ and as he paused a little on the way waiting for the other four priests who were to share his martyrdom, an old woman, who was present, addressing the priest, could not restrain herself from crying aloud, * O that mine were the happiness that my soul might be where thy soul will be in a few hours' space ! ' Whereat tears came into the eyes of the man of God, betraying the tenderness of his heart. And now the other prisoners had arrived, and one by one they were delivered by the governor of the Tower, as the custom is, into the custody of the sheriff of the county, that punishment might be taken of them according to the sentence of the judges. Then the official executioner in the sheriffs train at once asked which of them was Mundyn, and when he answered, * I am he,' * Miscreant,' quoth he, * I will treat thee as thou deservest ' ; and having made many railing accusations against him, and chiefly that he was the corrupter of high-born youths, and especially of those that had been entrusted to his teaching, (whom cer- tainly he had brought from the filthy conventicles of heretics to the Catholic Church, the holy and im- maculate Bride of Christ,) he bound his sacred hands together with the utmost barbarity, and laid him bound on a hurdle and drew him along the ground to the gallows. There, after he had seen the other priests bravely striving for the Catholic Faith and gaining at length the victory, last of all he himself
^ Tyburn.
VENERABLE yOHN MUNDYN 105
began the fight, having them in turn spectators of his conflict and faithful witnesses in heaven : and when, fighting with equal constancy and faith he had overcome the gibbet and the noose, the knife and the axe, and all the machinery of barbaric cruelty and butchery, and when the testimony of his noble deed had been received by earth and heaven, he passed away to a perpetual triumph, wherein they too have a share, in Jesus Christ the King and the Rewarder of Martyrs to whom be all honour and glory. Amen."
The frontispiece of the fifth volume of the Catholic Record Society is a facsimile of a letter written by John Mundyn '' the next night before his Martyrdom to his cousin Duche," probably the venerable martyr Edward Duke.
As printed literatim by Father Pollen,^ it runs as follows : —
" Cosyn Duche, I am now warnid to prepare against to morrow to go to dye, and yit I hope in Jesus Christ to live to for ever, & having almost for- gotten you and others my frindes, was like to have passid you in sylence. But I pray you make my humble commendations first and espicially to my good Mr, and my onely patrone, M^ Hyde,^ secondly to that good Dr : M^ Farnam ^ the sweetest man in
^ C.R.S. V. xvi.
"Dr. Thomas Hyde, his old head-master at Winchester, as to whom see D.N.B. xxviii. 401.
^ Robert Farnham (who entered Winchester College from Drempton, Dorset, aged twelve, in 1550, became Fellow of New College, 1555, and B.C.L. in 1561, and was deprived in 1562), resided in Paris in 1580.
106 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
Christendome to live with all, thirdly and so lastly to Mr President/ M^ Bayly,^ M^ Rainolds,^ and all other my good frindes desiering them all most hartely to pray for me, and if I dyd ever offend any of them that they will forgive me & so I comitt you to God, desiering that we may have to geather a ioyfull re- surrection, with my harty comedations byddinge you fare well for ever in this worlde
*' Your loving frynd and cosyn,
** lOHN MUNDYN."
To this Dr. Richard Barrett, Vice-President of the College at Rheims, has added the note, *' This letter was wrytten the next night before his martyrdome ".
J. B. W.
Authorities. — Examination of John Chapman, C.R.S. v. 31. Bridgewater, Concertatio, 140 sqq. Diary of English College, Rome, Foley, vi. iii. 146. Douay Diaries, 172, 189. Henry Holland's Relation, Challoner, Appendix. Indictment, C.R.S. V. 51. Diarium Turris. Challoner, i. 156-60. Yepez, Hist. Part. 492-7.
^Dr. Allen (D.N.B. i. 314).
2 Dr. Thomas Bayley {D.N.B. ii. 432).
-William Rainolds {D.N.B. xlvii. 182).
IX. VENERABLE JAMES BELL.
SECULAR PRIEST.
Lancaster^ 20 April, 1584.
A SPECIAL interest attaches to this martyr inasmuch as he is one of the very few Marian priests who were executed for the faith, though many suffered im- prisonment.
He was born at Warrington in Lancashire about 1520 and completed his studies at Oxford. If, as is most probable, he was a member of the University no record of his academic career has been preserved. The particulars given by Foster, Alumni Oxonienses, 1500-17 14 (i. 103) apply to James Bell, a Protestant Prebendary of Wells who died in 1596. (See also D.N.B. ii. 164). He was ordained priest in Queen Mary's reign, but when the change of religion came under Elizabeth he unhappily had not the courage to become a confessor of the faith, but continued for more than twenty years to act as an Anglican minister in different parts of England. It is a singular fact, having regard to the great dearth of clergymen, that he never obtained a benefice ; and one may hope that he still retained some scruples of
107
io8 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
conscience, which prevented him from accepting even a nominal cure of souls. This is confirmed by the statement in the early account of his con- version, apprehension and martyrdom, where he is described as '* being in part a Catholic, and not minded to serve at any parish church or other place of greater charge ". At the age of sixty, having no other means of subsistence and being in failing health he returned to his native county of Lanca- shire, where he tried to obtain the chaplaincy of a certain chapel without the cure of souls. There for a very small stipend he would only be required to read the English service, and thus would be able to secure a poor living for his old age. To obtain this post he applied to the wife of the gentleman who had the nomination to the readership. She was a Catholic, and knowing him to be a priest, she earnestly exhorted him to abandon his project and return to the Church. " She put him in mind that he was made priest to say Mass and to minister the sacraments after the Catholic use and manner in the unity of the Catholic Church." At first her exhor- tations had little effect, but he soon fell ill and had leisure on his sick-bed to reflect on his friend's advice. She visited him in his sickness and continued her persuasions with such effect that at length he re- solved to abandon his schismatical life and to re- sume his ministry as a Catholic priest. Within a few hours of this resolution the lady brought to him a priest who reconciled him to the Church. On his recovery he proved the truth of his conversion by devoting himself to several months of severe penance.
VENERABLE JAMES BELL 109
He again set himself to learn the recitation of the Office and the forgotten ceremonies of the Mass, and after some months he yv^as allowed once more to offer the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.
During the years 1582 and 1583 he acted as a missionary priest, devoting himself with zeal to labour among the poorer classes of Catholics. At length, as he was traveUing on foot from one CathoHc house to another, he had occasion to inquire his way to a certain town. Unfortunately the wayfarer whom he asked happened to be a spy, and suspecting the old man to be a priest he asked him whence he came and whither he was going. On the martyr's refusal to tell him, the spy asked him what he was, and received the straightforward reply that he was a priest. Immediately arresting him the spy carried him before a Justice of the Peace, to whom Mr. Bell repeated his confession, adding that very lately he had received authority to hear confessions and to absolve, and that the same authority came from the Pope. When required to attend the Protestant church he utterly refused, lamenting bitterly that for so many years he had said or heard their schis- matical service. Accordingly he was sent to Man- chester where he was imprisoned. His arrest took place in January, 1584 (N.S.), and his name occurs in the list of five priests who were brought before the ecclesiastical commissioners in January and February of that year. While in prison he was frequently examined as to his own reconciliation and that of others, the supremacy of the Pope and the spiritual claims of the Queen, the bull of excornrnunication
LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
and similar points. His answers have not been re- corded, but he was so resolute that he was sent to the Lancaster General Sessions to be tried at the Lent assizes. He was taken there on horseback, his arms being pinioned and his legs bound under the horse. On arrival at Lancaster he was again examined before two justices named Huddleston and Parker. On Wednesday, i8 April, 1584, he was in- dicted and arraigned with Venerable John Finch, a layman, and two other priests, Thomas Williamson and Richard Hatton.
When the four prisoners were brought to the bar they were charged with affirming the Pope to be head of the Catholic Church and that part of the Church which is in England. As Mr. Bell was deaf he did not hear all that was said to him, so, as he did not always reply, the Judge and others thought that his constancy was failing. Accordingly, on the following day, after examining John Finch, they called him to the bar and tried to terrify him into submission. Standing among thieves and murderers he heard unmoved their description of the manner of death in store for him. Finally they asked him whether he had been reconciled or not. He admitted the fact. " Oh, that is High Treason." "It is nothing else than the Holy Sacrament of Penance," he replied. One of the Judges asked : " Hast thou authority to reconcile?" "I have authority," he answered, " to absolve from sins." "What, canst thou forgive sins?" "Aye, that I can, to him that will confess his sins and be truly penitent for them." This provoked the merriment of the Court, whereon the
VENERABLE JAMES BELL
martyr said : " Why, I forgive not sins by mine own power, but because I am a priest and so have authority to absolve from sins". And then, con- tinues the account of the trial, "they laughed and scorned as though the good old man had answered absurdly, and would not suffer him to declare his authority more at large ".
The Judge then asked him whether the Queen were supreme governor in all causes in England, as well ecclesiastical as temporal. "No," he replied, *' for she hath not to judge in spiritual causes and matters of faith ; but the Pope is to deal in those matters, and under him bishops and priests." Then came the fateful question : " Whose part wouldst thou take, if the Pope or any other by his authority should make wars against the Queen ? " " We ought," said the martyr, " to take part with the Church of God for the CathoHc religion." This was enough and the Judge called the other two priests whose answers were equally staunch, but who seem to have made some reservation as to temporal authority, for the Judge drew a distinction between them and Finch and Bell. " You are rank traitors too, and do deserve to be hanged as well as the rest ; for you deny the one half of her Majesty's right, but these other traitors do deny her all." The jury brought in a verdict of guilty against all four, but the Judge again distinguished between them in his sentence, for whereas he sentenced James Bell and John Finch to death, he sentenced the others to loss of goods and perpetual imprisonment as in the case of pr^munire, fgr denying for the first time the Queen's authority
LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
in causes spiritual. Owing to his deafness Mr. Bell did not understand which sentence applied to him, but one of the sheriff's men repeated his doom, whereon the martyr thanked God very cheerfully, and turning to the Judge said : " I beseech you, my Lord, for the love of God, add also to your former sentence that my lips may be pared and my fingers' ends cut off, wherewith I have heretofore sworn and subscribed to heretical articles and injunctions, both against my conscience and the truth ".
The executions were fixed for the following day and the two martyrs spent the night together in prayer and meditation and endeavours to convert the other condemned prisoners to the Catholic faith. The priest heard his companion's confession and so they prepared to meet their death. When morning dawned our martyr blessed God and thanked Him, saying : " O blessed day, O the fairest day that ever I saw in my life ". When a minister there present ad- dressed him he asked him not to trouble him, " for I will not believe thee, nor hear thee, but against my will".
When he was taken off the hurdle at the place of execution, they made him look at Ven. John Finch who was being quartered. As the martyr looked on the sight he exclaimed : " Oh, why do I tarry so long behind my sweet brother ; let me make haste after him. This is a most happy day." And so he began his prayers, interceding both for all Catholics and for the conversion of all others.
These two martyrs were the first of those who
suffered at Lancaster,
E. H. B,
VENERABLE JAMES BELL 113
Authorities. — There is practically but one source of in- formation, though it exists in different forms. This is the ac- count of the Martyr's Conversion, Apprehension and Martyr- dom printed four years after his death in the Concertatio, and written probably by an eye-witness of the trial. English trans- lations with slight variations exist, (i.) Westminster Archives, iii. 364, and (ii.) Stonyhurst MSS., Anglia, i. No. 20. These have been printed in Catholic Record Society, vol. v. pp. 74 sqq. The account in Yepez is a Spanish translation of the same. Chal- loner's account is an abbreviation of the Concertatio ; Diet. Nat. Biog. ; Bibl. Diet. Eng. Cath.
X.
VENERABLE JOHN FINCH.
LAYMAN.
Lancaster, 20 April, 1584.
The chief authorities for the life of this martyr are the Stonyhurst MS. printed by Father Pollen in his English Martyrs, 1584- 1603 (C.R.S. v. 78-88), and the account in Bridgewater's Concertatio, which clearly have a common origin. Where they differ, the Stony- hurst MS. can be shown to be the more correct. Space does not permit more than a summary of these twin authorities, with the necessary additions from other sources.
Born about 1548 in the parish of Eccleston, in Lancashire, John Finch is said to have had " honest and wealthy" parents, but is himself variously de- scribed as a yeoman and a husbandman.^ At the age of twenty he went up to London, where some cousins of his were students at the Inner Temple,^
^ Foley Records, Eng. Prov., S.J., ii. (London, 1875), ^3^> 138.
''Their name was not Finch. The only Finch who was a member of the Inner Temple about this time was Richard Finch of Faversham, Kent, admitted as a student there in 1555 {Students
114
VENERABLE JOHN FINCH 115
who he hoped would find him some congenial employ*- ment ; but after a year there, he returned home, and married a virtuous young woman, who had a farm of her own. Not many years afterwards he was recon- ciled to the Church, and thereafter, not content with frequent confessions and communions, and assistance at Mass and catechism, he made it his special care to guide priests from one Catholic house to another, and to "persuade the meaner and simpler sort in the necessary points and articles of the Catholic religion ". His arrest was eventually effected about Christmas, 1580, by means of a pretended Catholic, who had married a discarded mistress of the Earl of Derby. This man persuaded Finch that it would be desirable to bring two or more Catholic priests into the neigh- bourhood, '' to church some wives, to hear confessions, to say Mass, to preach, and to confer with some (as he falsely pretended) which were desirous to be Catholics and to be reconciled " ; but, as it was so important a festival, all Catholic priests were fully occupied in other places, and Finch could only get one, Mr. George Ostliffe or Ostcliffe,^ at the time.
admitted to the Inner Temple^ 1 547-1660 (London, 1877) P« 25, who in 1568 had, doubtless, long been called to the bar. He was probably second son to Ralph Finch of Kingsdown, Kent (^HaH. Soc. Pub. xlii. 1 5).
^ Of York diocese {Douay Diaries (London, 1878), 9), or- dained subdeacon at Rheims, 14 March, 1579 {ibid. 151). He said his first Mass, i May, 1579 {ibid. 153), and was sent on the mission, 27 February following {Jibid. 261, 291). In June, 1586, he is said to have been five years in prison for the faith {ibid. 211). He, and another priest, John Lowe, were exiled from
8*
ii6 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
Later on he hoped to bring Bl. Lawrence Richardson, vere Johnson, and others, if there should be any need of them. The traitor thought one certain priest better than a problematical two or three. So his wife sent her glove, a preconcerted signal, to the Earl of Derby, who immediately rode down with a few retainers, and before daybreak arrested both the priest and Finch.
Immediately after this arrest, the authorities spread a rumour that Finch himself was the betrayer of the priest, and also that he had divulged the names of many local Catholics whom he had seen at sermons or Mass. To give an appearance of probability to this calumny, which did not meet with much accept- ance either from Catholics or from Protestants, they would not send him to any prison, but kept him in the Earl's house, in such a manner that no Catholic or suspected person could have access to him, '* and thus daily they raised and fathered new slanders upon him ; for whatsoever they could learn by any other means or probably conjecture of the Catholics* doings, they would give out still that John Finch had be- wrayed and revealed the same ".
All the time that he was in the Earl's house, the authorities tried every means to shake his steadfast- ness. " Sometimes they would set him in the stocks, otherwhiles threaten him with torments, often charge him with treasons. Then they would put him in mind of the lack and misery his wife and family should
Lancaster Castle in 1585 {tdz'd. 13). He arrived at the English College at Rheims 14 August, 1586 {th'd. 212), and left 25 July, 1587 {tdtd. 216).
VENERABLE JOHN FINCH 117
sustain through his constancy." At other times they tried to bribe him with promises of great rewards and preferment, if he would disclose all he knew, or even if he would go to church, or, at least, if he would not deny their assertion, if they said that he had pro- mised to go to church. The Earl himself frequently tried his prisoner both by threats and blandishments ; but Finch held firm. It was, he said, with him a matter of conscience. " The Pope's Holiness is head of the whole Church of God throughout the world, and it is impossible for any woman or layman to be head of any part thereof in spiritual causes." Where- upon the Earl " up with his fist, and gave the poor man a great blow upon the face, adding thereto many rough and opprobrious words," all of which Finch took most patiently.
As he continued obdurate, he was removed, prob- ably after about a year's imprisonment in the Earl's house, to the New Fleet at Salford, where there were many other Catholic prisoners, and of which Robert Worsley was the keeper.
On 28 February, 1581-2, the Overseers of Salford Jail wrote to the Council that it was unlikely that any of the recusants there imprisoned would be brought to conformity unless a preacher were to be appointed for that purpose, and on the following 11 April they state that they had appointed one to read at their meal times a chapter of the Bible, but that some of the said recusants, especially John Finch and Thurstan Arrowsmith, both described as '' hus- bandmen," had very contemptuously disturbed the reader. On the following 13 May they report that
ii8 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
Finch, Arrowsmith, and John Burgh, schoolmaster, had not only obstinately refused to hear the chapter appointed to be read at their meal times, but had also abstained from coming to meals at all, till one of the recusants themselves, by name Ralph Worsley, gentleman, had agreed to read the chapter, after which all the recusants had attended, and they con- clude by repeating their request for a preacher to be appointed. The same request is reiterated in a letter dated 13 October, 1582 (C.R.S. v. 23-25). We know however that the reason for Finch's attendance at meals was not the fact that the chapter was read by Ralph Worsley, but that he had been advised by one of the priests who were imprisoned with him that he might safely do so, since his intention was merely to take his meals, and not to hear heresy either read or taught, especially as he protested that he abhorred all false translations of Scripture, and detested all heretical doctrine whatsoever. Eventually the Scrip- ture reading was discontinued, and it does not appear that a special preacher was ever appointed.
Finch was still in the Fleet in September, 1583, and on i October in that year various witnesses de- posed that during the preceding month Finch had said : (i) " That he was a papist and would stand to it and never deny the same ; " (2) *' That Campion died for religion and not for treason, and that he loved him better than any man in the world ; " (3) " That one that was executed at York, a priest, not naming the man, was executed for Religion, and might have had his life, if he would have forsaken his religion," and (4) " If we had the upper hand of them, as they have
VENERABLE JOHN FINCH iig
of US, they should die every one of them ". Finch refused to be put on his oath or to make any deposi- tion, but did not " deny any witnesses ".
Shortly after this date, as he was unable any longer to bear the heavy charges of the Fleet, he was moved to the House of Rogues, or House of Correc- tion. From this prison " they drew him to the church with such fury and barbarous cruelty as though they had drawn a beast to the slaughter, haling him by the heels through the streets upon the stones in such sort that his head was very sore wounded, and all the stones besprinkled with his blood " ; after which " they thrust him into a deep, dark, cold, and stinking dungeon, which was in the midst of a bridge," where "they pinched him with extreme hunger, feeding him on fishdays with sodden beans only, and upon other days with small pieces of beasts' livers, and they would be sure to give little enough of both". At last, on 12 November, 1583, he was brought before the Bishop of Chester and two others at Manchester College, whom he petitioned to send him back to the House of Correction ; but, on his refusing to answer questions as to the Queen and the Church except by professing that he believed as the Catholic Church taught on these as on other matters, he was sent back to his dungeon. At a later interview he appears to have consented to go to church, and, in point of fact, he did go to the parish church of Manchester on 27 November for morning prayer. The next day, as the Bishop relates, very early in the morning he asked permission of his keeper to "go to an house of office standing by
I20 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
the river side, into the which after he was entered he shut the door, and there stripped himself stark naked (his keeper walking to and fro by the door) whose back being turned he rushed out of the door very violently and leaped down a high rock into the river saying, * Yesjterday I damned my soul, and to-day I will destroy my body,' but by hue and cry and concourse of good neighbours he was saved from that danger". His biographer, however, doubts whether suicide was his intention, and thinks it more probable that he acted as he did as a penance, ** for that, being in the water, he stood still upon his feet, the greatest part of his body being in the water, but his head dry and not once touched with any water at all, and there he continued still without moving, until they drove him out with stones, using no other means or violence to get him out ".
After this he was sent back to the dungeon on the bridge and treated with even greater harshness than before ; but was so filled with spiritual consolation that he thirsted every day more and more for martyr- dom, and often prayed fervently that he might be made worthy to follow in the footsteps of James Lay- burne, who had been put to death in the same county, 22 March, 1582-3.^ " Especially upon Passion Sun- day, which was the next day before the sessions began^ when he had heard that three priests 2 were
' C.R.S. V. 66 ; Acts of English Martyrs (London, 1891), 212-21.
''James Bell, the martyr, with Thomas Williamson and Richard Hatton. These last were taken 17 January, 1582-3,
VENERABLE yOHN FINCH
sent to Lancaster, there to be arraigned for religion, ... he lamented much that he was left behind," and " besought his keeper to move his suit, that he might go to Lancaster to the Assize," whereupon he was immediately brought before the Bishop of Chester. On being asked what he thought of the Bull of St. Pius V, Finch answered roundly that if Pius V had excommunicated the Queen, she was indeed excom- municated, and that justly too, as he thought. So upon the Monday morning he was set upon an un- saddled horse, with his arms pinioned, and his legs tied under the horse's belly, and was thus taken to Preston, twenty or twenty-four miles off, where he was lodged for the night in a cold, loathsome, and stinking prison called the Kidcote, recently so be- fouled by filthy prisoners that he had to spend the whole night standing and without sleep. Thence early next morning he was taken in the same manner to Lancaster, another twenty miles on, and was there thrust into solitary confinement in a narrow cell. Within two hours of his arrival, before he had taken either sleep or food, he was brought before Randall Huddlestone, and Brian Parker, Justices of the Peace, and Commissioners for Causes Ecclesiastical, and begged them for delay before they should question him on the ground that he was too tired to answer properly. This request was not granted. " Then he desired that he might have the articles (whereunto he should answer) in writing, and to be allowed pen
and indicted 22 and 23 January for high treason for extoUing the Pope's authority, and condemned in ^240 for twelve months' ab^ sence from church, see Foley, o^, cit. 135, and p. l|o above,
LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
and paper to write his answers with his own hand ; whereto they willingly granted. And presently that same Tuesday in the evening they gave him the articles, and received his answer; the sum whereof do[th] follow.
'' Articles proposed to John Finch ^ with his Answers.
" I. First, whether he had been beyond the seas at any time, namely in any of the Pope's seminaries of Englishmen. Answer — * I was never beyond the seas.'
" 2. Where he had been and by whom he had been relieved the last six years. Answer — * I have been in prison three years and three months [quarters cancelled ^ of the six ; the rest I was with my mother. And I ought not to reveal such as have bestowed any charity upon me.'
'* 3. What priests know you, and what be their names ; where do they remain, and whither do they resort ? Answer — ' I am not bound, neither is it lawful to answer to this question.'
**4. Have you ever been conversant with seminary priests or with Jesuits ? Answer — * I have been con- versant with some seminary priests, but not with any Jesuits, for which I am sorry.'
*' 5. Are you reconciled ? Answer — ' I trust I am reconciled to God and to His Church.'
" 6. Have you heard Mass; where and how often? Answer — * I have heard Mass, I thank God. I may not tell where, and I cannot tell how often.'
"7. What think you of Pius V's bull of excommuni-
1 The Concertatio follows the erroneous and cancelled reading^.
VENERABLE JOHN FINCH 123
cation of the Queen, and whether is it lawful or no? Answer — * I have heard sometime of that bull ; but I know no certainty thereof, therefore I cannot answer.'
" 8. Do you take Queen Elizabeth that now reigneth to be the lawful queen of this realm or no ? Answer — ' I take her to be, and do profess myself her subject.'
" g. Did the Earls of Northumberland and West- moreland with the rest of their associates in the North take arms and rise lawfully against the prince or no ? Answer — * I know not for what cause they rose, nor what warrant they had ; and therefore I cannot answer. '
" 10. Do you take the Queen to be the head of the Church of England and Ireland or no? Answer —
* The Pope's Holiness is head of the whole Church in earth ; and it is impossible that the Queen or any other woman or layman should be Head of the Church.'
"11. Whose part would you take, if the Pope or any other by his authority should make wars against the Queen for reforming of religion? Answer— -^li it were for religion, then would I take part with the Pope and Catholic Church.'
" 12. Have you been persuaded or have yOu per- suaded any other to forsake their allegiance to the Queen or no .'^ Answer — 'I was never persuaded, nor persuaded any other.'
** 13. Have you reconciled any or no? Answer —
* I am not of that high vocation to minister that sacrament.'
" In the end of his answers he added these
124 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
words : * Whereas I, being a private man, may err in these my answers, I refer myself herein and in all my doings to the judgement of the Catholic Roman Church.
" * By me, John Finch.'
" As soon as he had delivered up these answers he was returned again to prison."
The next day, i8 April, being the Wednesday in Passion Week,^ the three priests and John Finch were arraigned under the Act of Supremacy for having ** advisedly and maliciously affirmed the Pope and Bishop of Rome to have authority and jurisdiction in England, and to be head of the Catholic Church and that a part of that Church is in England ". All admitted that they so believed, but pleaded Not Guilty of high treason. On Thursday all four were brought to the bar again among thieves and murderers ; and first of all John Finch was examined by the judges on the bull of St. Pius V, to whose questions he answered very resolutely that he would follow and obey the Pope in whatsoever he should command or appoint to be done, and that he would take the Pope's part against whomsoever.
On the jury finding him guilty Finch with a smil- ing countenance gave God thanks, and on being sentenced in the form then usual in cases of high treason, he recited the first two verses of Psalm xxxiii., Benedicam Dominum in omni tempore.
After sentence he and his fellow-martyr, Ven. James
^ It should be noted that the date i8 April here is N.S. By O.S. the Wednesday in Passion Week was 8 April,
VENERABLE JOHN FINCH 125
Bell, were removed to a larger prison, where other prisoners under sentence of death were confined : and there he made his confession to the aged priest, and afterwards received visits from his brother and divers others of his kinsfolk and neighbours, who " found him so merry in God and so joyful of the next day's banquet which he expected, that they were all mar- vellously comforted and edified by his rare fortitude ".
All that night was spent by him (with the appro- bation of Father Bell, whose age and infirmities prevented him from acting personally) in exhorting his fellow-prisoners to return to the bosom of the Catholic Church, and do hearty penance for their sins ; and his exhortations were not without effect on some.
** Upon Friday the 20th day of April 1584 the exe- cutioners came at the appointed hour. This blessed man most joyfully bid them welcome, and thanked God for His infinite and innumerable benefits (especi- ally for this death, which now he went to receive) ; exhorted all the people to the Catholic faith and to good life ; and desired a minister, (who was there to persuade him) not to trouble him. * For I am not,' quoth he, ' of your religion, neither will I be for any thing that you can say. God give you grace to amend.' And so used very few words, either upon the hurdle or upon the ladder ; but continually occupied himself in secret prayers and meditation, until by glorious martyrdom his blessed soul forsook the body and was made partaker of the everlasting and unspeakable joys."
J. B. W.
126 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
Authorities.— Mar/:yrdom of John Finch^ C.R.S. v. 78. Douay Diaries. Proceedings against John Finch, C.R.S. v. 44- 46. Reports of Overseers of Sal ford Gaol, C.R.S. v. 23. A.E.M. 212-221. Bridgewater, Concertatio. See also state- ment at the opening of the article.
XI.
VENERABLE RICHARD WHITE vere GWYN.
LAYMAN, PROTO-MARTYR OF WALES.
Wrexham, 15 October, 1584.
Richard Gwyn was born at Llanidloes, Mont- gomeryshire, about 1537, and belonged to an old family long settled there. At the age of twenty he went to Oxford, "where he made no great abode," and thence removed to St. John's College, Cambridge, ** where he lived by the charity of the College," and chiefly of Dr. George Bullock, the then Master.^ When Dr. Bullock was deprived in 1559, Gwyn, who had taken the name White while at the University, as being the English equivalent of his name, was compelled by need and poverty " to become a teacher before he could perfectly lay the foundation to be a learner," 2 and soon after (apparently in 1562) quitted Cambridge, and set himself up as a schoolmaster, first at Overton in Flintshire, then at Wrexham,
^ As to whom see Diet. Nat. Biog.
^ The Messrs. Cooper in AthencE Cantabrigienses, i. 494, are therefore in error in saying that " he was educated at Christ's College, proceeding B.A. 1574-5 and commencing M. A. 1578".
127
128 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
Denbighshire, then at Gresford, Denbighshire, then at a place called Yswyd, and last of all at Overton again. '* During this while he so profited by his own private study in knowledge of good literature, that it was wonder to them that knew him before to see in the man so great ripeness from so late a beginning. He was not unskilful in most of the liberal sciences, and in histories very well seen; but now in his latter time he gave his time wholly to the study of divinity : as for his knowledge in the Welsh tongue, he was inferior to none in his country, whereto he hath left to posterity some precedent in writing, eternal monuments of his wit, zeal, virtue, and learning." The ancient writer is doubtless alluding here to the five carols and the Funeral Ode discovered and identified by Mr. John Hobson Matthews, translated by Mr. David Lloyd Thomas, and printed by Father Pollen, English Martyrs, 1584-1603 (C.R.S. v.), 90-9. A little before his returning to Overton the second time he married a young girl named Catharine, a native of the place, by whom he had six children, three of whom survived him. It was at Overton that his abstention from the Protestant communion began to be noticed, and pressure was brought to bear on him by Dr. William Downham,^ Bishop of Chester, and his officers. " In the end, after some troubles, he yielded to their desires, although greatly against his stomach, by the earnest persuasion of a gentleman (Roger Puleston), who had him then, and hath now a great part of that country at command ; and lo, by the providence of God, he was no sooner
^ As to whom see Dic^. Nat. Biog.
VENERABLE RICHARD WHITE 129
come out of the church but a fearful company of crows and kites so persecuted him to his home that they put him in great fear of his life, the conceit whereof made him also sick in body as he was already in soul diseased ; in the which sickness he resolved himself (if God would spare him life) to become a Catholic, the which good purpose, afterward having recovered his health, he performed accordingly," being reconciled at the first coming of the Seminary Priests to Wales. Shortly after he removed from Overton to Erbistock, where he continued to teach in an old barn, until he was obliged to leave the neigh- bourhood to avoid arrest. Early in 1579 he returned to Wrexham, when Hugh Soulley the Vicar, himself a priest who had conformed and married, arrested him on a Wednesday night. He, however, managed to escape before daybreak, and remained at large for a year and a half. In July, 1580, as he was going into Wrexham one afternoon to take a message for a priest, he met a mercer named David Edwards, who, although he had no power to arrest him under the law as it then stood, ordered him to stop. On White refusing, Edwards attacked him with a dagger. White then gave his assailant a blow on the head with his staff, which brought him to the ground. Thinking he had killed the man. White was stupe- fied and stood still, until Edwards gave signs of life, when he betook himself to flight : but Edwards, whose recovery was very rapid, pursued him, shout- ing "Stop thief! stop thief!" Some of Edwards's servants were cutting hay in a field close b}^ and running up surrounded White and took him to the
9
I30 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
mercer's house where both his legs were loaded with heavy bolts. Afterwards he was conveyed to the Black Chamber (Siambrddu) where he lay on the cold ground two days and two nights. Thence he was brought before Robert Puleston, Justice of the Peace, who after examination sent him to Ruthin Jail, ordering him to be very straitly guarded as being vehemently suspected of high treason. Accord- ingly for the first three months he wore strong hand- bolts on his arms, and a huge pair of bolts on both heels, which were so placed that he could not lie on his side, but, whenever he would sleep, must needs lie on his back or his belly. After three months the Michaelmas assizes came on, at which White was offered a pardon if he would go to church ; but he refused, and was sent back to prison. This time the jailer, understanding that he had merely a prisoner for religion to deal with, remitted some part of his former rigour towards him. Two stories are told of this period. The one is that John Salusbury, of Rug near Corwen, a secret Catholic, happening to pass by Ruthin Jail in the company of Dr. Gabriel Goodman,^ Dean of Westminster, saw White standing in the doorway, and called out to him " O, White, White, thou art an unprofitable member of the common- wealth !" and returned home sick, and was never seen abroad after this word, until he came to be buried.
The other story is that Ithel Thelwall, M.A., son of Simon Thelwall, who afterwards sentenced our
^ As to whom see D/a. Nat. Biog.
VENERABLE RICHARD WHITE 131
martyr to death, on beginning his assize sermon was suddenly struck dumb in the pulpit.
Towards Christmas, 1580, the prisoners at Ruthin were all removed to Wrexham, where a new jailer received White with a great pair of shackles, which he was compelled to wear both day and night all the year following. At the next assizes, which were held at Wrexham in May, 1581, the judge. Sir George Bromley, Chief Justice of Chester, ordered White to be carried to church by force. This was accordingly done, six of the sheriff's men taking him upon their shoulders, heels upwards. They then carried him " in procession-wise " round the font, and laid him down under the pulpit, where a preacher named Thomas Jones was waiting for him, but White '' so stirred his legs that with the noise of his irons the preacher's voice could not be heard". On this Sir George ordered him to be set in the stocks in the market- place, where he remained from ten a.m. to eight p.m. '* vexed all the time with a rabble of ministers". Among them was a man with a red nose, who wished to dispute concerning the keys of the Church, and asserted that the keys were given to him no less than to Peter. "There is this difference," said White, answering a fool according to his folly, " namely that whereas Peter received the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven, the keys you received were obviously those of the beer-cellar."
At eight o'clock he was released from the stocks, and limped back to jail, followed by the jeering laughter of David Edwards. In the meantime an indictment was drawn up, charging White with
9*
132 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
brawling during divine service, and a packed jury was empanelled. Then White was brought into court, but when James Garm, the clerk of assize, began to read the indictment such a sudden dimness fell upon his eyes, that he had to hand it to another clerk to read. Sir George asked him what was the matter, and Garm answered : '* I do not know what has happened to my eyes, but I cannot see," where- unto Sir George replied : "Speak softly, lest the Papists make a miracle of that ". In the end White was fined a hundred marks.
The next assizes were held at Denbigh in Septem- ber, and on this occasion Sir George Bromley caused him to be indicted in seven score pounds for not com- ing to church, upon the penal statute of ;£"2o a month, then lately enacted. On being asked what he had towards the discharge of this double fine, viz. loo marks for coming to church, and 200 marks for not coming, White replied, " Sixpence," which answer threw Sir George into such a rage that he ordered that White's legs should in future be laden with two pairs of irons. It was at these assizes that John Hughes and Robert Morris were first committed to the same prison as White. They had formerly been imprisoned and had worn irons at the command of the Council of the Marches, but had been liberated by the President, Sir Henry Sidney,^ on bail of i^ioo and £40 respectively.
The next assizes were held at Wrexham in the spring of 1582, and on Friday in the assize-week at about four p.m. all three prisoners were ordered into 1 As to whom see Di'cf. Nat. Biog.
VENERABLE RICHARD WHITE 133
court, where instead of being put on their trial they were expected to listen to the discourse of a Zwin- glian minister, the illegitimate son of a priest. Their complaint to the judges proving vain, ''they turned their speech to the preacher, the one in Latin, the other in English, and the third in Welsh, so fast that the magistrates were not a little offended at them ". At these assizes complaint was made against the sheriff, Edward Hughes of the Holt, that he relieved the Papist prisoners, and four overseers were ap- pointed, of whom the Vicar of Wrexham, Sir Hugh SouUey, and David Edwards were two, in order to see that no one had access to the prisoners except their wives, and that no relief was given them. David Edwards continued his persecution of White. On one occasion when White was standing at the jail door in his irons and holding his infant child in his arms, Edwards crossed the road and overthrew him backwards on the stones, leaving the print of his nails in his face, and endangering the infant's life. On another occasion Edwards caused his wife and daughter to depose before Jevan Lloyd of Yale that White had been seen two flight-shots from the jail, though the jailer Coytmor disproved it to their faces, affirming that one Jevan Lewis was the man, and not White.
The next assizes, Michaelmas, 1582, took place at Holt, Denbighshire, and all three prisoners were in- dicted for high treason on the perjured evidence of Lewis Gronow, of Miriadock, Denbighshire, and Robert Clarke, minister of Wrexham, who must have
134 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
been acting as curate to Hugh SouUey ; but it would seem that the prosecution broke down. At these assizes John Edwards of Chirk, who had been a great benefactor to these prisoners, renounced his faith, and shortly afterwards suffered a terrible death. The Christmas following, the new sheriff, Jevan Lloyd of Yale, relieved the four overseers of their office, and loaded all three prisoners with heavy irons.
At the assizes in May, 1583, order was taken for their removal to the Council of the Marches, before whom two prisoners from Flint Jail were taken at the same time, Mr. John Bennet ^ a priest, and Harry Pugh a layman. All five were tortured in November following at Bewdley and Bridgenorth, being " laid in the manacles (a kind of torture at the Council, not much inferior to the rack at the Tower of London) ".
On 27 November, 1583, about seven or eight in the morning, White was examined by Richard Atkyns, Attorney-General, in Atkyns's own house, touching his reconciliation, his having confessed to Mr. Bennet his opinion of the Bull of Pope Pius V and other matters. On the question of the Bull, White said, " Notwith- standing that Bull, (the which I never saw), I believe and confirm that she is our lawful Queen ". From nine o'clock till dinner time White was being tortured, and " bestowed all the time of his torments in con- tinual prayer, by craving of God for his tormentors mercy and forgiveness, and for himself safe deliver- ance from their malice by the merits of Christ Jesus His passion ; and this he did with a loud voice.
^ As to whom see Foley, Records of the English Province^ SJ., iv. 497, vii. 49.
VENERABLE RICHARD WHITE 135
" But the persecutors seemed to be tormented with his words, as if they had been possessed ; for they never ceased running in and out all the while, mut- tering one to another he knew not what. Then he fell to pray in silence, and so continued until dinner- time without any answer to their demands ; whereat the pitiful men . . . took him down, and so left him to remain with his manacles until their coming again. Immediately after dinner came Sir George Bromley, Henry Townsend, Fabian Phillips, William Leighton of the Plashe, and Simon Thelwall, Councillors of the Marches, Thomas Evans, deputy-solicitor, Thomas Sherer,^ Keeper of the Judicial Seal of Montgomery, etc., and Examiner before the Council of the Marches, and others. After a brief examination the Councillors departed, and then Sherer administered further in- terrogatories, ending with a threat of further torture, but though White remained in the same place with his manacles two long hours after, expecting when he should be laid in them again, God protected him from any further cruelty at that time."
Soon afterwards White, Hughes, and Morris, were sent back to prison at Wrexham : but the spring assizes, 1584, were allowed to pass without any steps being taken against them.
Eventually they were arraigned at Wrexham on Friday, 9 October,^ and the feast of St. Denis, 1584, before Sir George Bromley, Chief Justice of Chester; Simon Thelwall, Deputy Justice; Piers
^See Cal. S.P. Dom., 1581-90, at p. 655. ^The Concertatio wrongly says the nth, which was neither a Friday nor St. Denis's Day.
136 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
Owen, Sheriff of the Shire; Dr. EUis[? Price, LL.D.l, Roger Puleston, Jevan Lloyd of Yale the deputy of the Earl of Leicester, and Owen Brereton, with others, assistants.
On coming into court White crossed himself, for which he was mocked and derided by a young man named Francis Bromley, a relative of the Chief Justice. On their indictment being read to them it showed that they were accused of high treason under the Act of Supremacy, i Eliz. c. i, and the " statute of persuasion," i.e. presumably 23 Eliz. c. i. On being asked how they would be tried. White an- swered : " We will be tried by you, who are the justices of the bench; for you are wise and learned, and better able to discern the equity of our cause than the simple men of our own country, altogether unacquainted with such matters ". No doubt, his object was to save the jury from the guilt of his blood, but no notice was taken of his request, as was inevitable, and a jury was empanelled. Lewis Gronow " deposed that the said three prisoners were in hand with him on a Sunday in July, an. Dom. 1582, to be- come a Papist ; secondly that he had heard them also to acknowledge the Bishop of Rome to be supreme head of the Church ; thirdly, that he heard Richard White in plain terms to affirm the Pope now living to have the same authority which Christ gave unto Peter".
Edward Erles " deposed that he heard White re- hearse certain rhymes of his own making against mar- ried priests and ministers ; secondly that he called the Bible a babble ; thirdly that he termed Justice Bromley
VENERABLE RICHARD WHITE 137
listus y fram : ^ and fourth that he defended the Pope's authority ".
Howell David, John Hughes's cousin, who had managed to secure his property, probably by inform- ing against him, deposed against White " that he heard him complain of this world ; and, secondly, affirm that it would not last long ; thirdly, that he hoped to see a better world ; and, fourthly, that he confessed the Pope's supremacy ". David also gave evidence against Hughes, but there is no record of any evidence being offered against Morris.
The prisoners objected that Lewis Gronow had been on the pillory for perjury by the procurement of Mr. Tudor Probert ; Hughes also asserted that Gronow and Erles had received sixteen shillings each for their false witness, and the narrator corroborates this and says that this money was given them by Jevan Lloyd of Yale, the year he was Sheriff.
After this Thelwall asked various questions with a view of showing the jury that all three prisoners were obstinate Papists, and then " roved over the insurrection in the north, the excommunica- tion of Pius V, Story and Felton, Dr. Saunders's coming into Ireland, Campion and his fellows, Arden and Sommerfield, Francis Throckmorton ; aggravat- ing the prisoners to be of one religion with the persons before named and recited ". At this point all the prisoners protested their innocence.
Then Sir George Bromley '* appointed the pro-
^ The [ ? ] justice. The word " fram " is not to be found in any Welsh dictionary the present writer has been able to con- sult. It is probably a misreading of the MS.
138 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
notary to read the commission from the privy council, to the which had subscribed Sir Thomas Bromley, lord chancellor ; Sir Harry Sydney, lord president of the Marches ; Sir Francis Walsingham, the Queen's Principal Secretary; Sir James Croft, and others. In the end, being ready to dismiss the jury, both judges gave them a new charge again, terrifying the simple men with the sight of the com- mission from the higher powers. So the jury de- parted to the church, where they remained all the night following with their keeper, saving that two of them, about an hour after their coming, were sent for to confer with the judges, to know of them, whom they should acquit, and whom they should find guilty, as it is reported. The next day after, being Saturday, about eight of the clock in the morning, they returned with their verdict." White and Hughes were found guilty, and Morris was acquitted to his great sorrow. White exclaimed '' Non audent aliter dicere propter metum ludaeorum ". Whereupon in the absence of Sir George Bromley, Thelwall announced that Hughes was reprieved, and proceeded to sentence White to be put to death on the following Thursday, the 15th. ^ As the awful sentence was being pronounced on him. White did not change countenance, but when it was ended, said : " What is all this ? Is it any more than one death?" Last of all, Mrs. White and Mrs. Hughes appeared, each carrying a baby. Thelwall besought them not to follow the ways of their dis- obedient husbands ; but Mrs. White replied : *' If
1 The Co7icertatio wrongly says he was executed on the 1 7th.
VENERABLE RICHARD WHITE 139
you lack blood, you may take my life as well as my husband's ; and if you will give the witnesses a little bribe, you may call them ; they will bear evidence against me as well as they did against him ". Both women were thereupon sent to jail, but shortly after- wards released on bail. '*
The English narrative gives many examples of the cheerful pleasantries with which White delighted all who heard him from the first moment of his coming to the bar down to the moment when the executioner was putting the rope round his neck. They show the man to have been as merry in his martrydom as was B. Thomas More ; but space does not permit of their being set out here. One of them turns on a play of words in Welsh, another is in dog Latin ; and, sooth to say, they do not seem very witty to a modern reader. One example must suffice. The witness Gronow being very deaf, and the Judge hav- ing to raise his voice in speaking to him, White re- marked that " he should better hear than any in that assembly, having so many holes in his ears".
On Tuesday, 13 October, *' a gentleman in the sheriff's name offered to discharge him of all his troubles, if he would acknowledge the Queen supreme head of the Church within her own dominions ; but the man, being constant, refused to purchase his own liberty so dear ".
" The Wednesday following he had provided two
dozen of silk points,^ the which he blessed and kissed
one after another, appointing his wife to bestow the
one dozen (which was of colour white, answerable to
^ I.e. laces.
I40 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
his name) upon twelve priests, and the other dozen upon twelve gentlemen to whom he was greatly be- holden. Then he bended a single penny and blessed etc. to be delivered [to] his ghostly father, to whom he was beholden himself; lastly, he caused his garters to be given [to] two priests of his familiar acquaint- ance ; and the day before he had sent his signet or seal of brass off his finger to a gentleman his very familiar friend."
On Thursday, the day of execution, his wife saw David Edwards pass the jail and cried out, " God be a righteous judge between thee and me " ; but White " rebuked her, saying that, if they did not forgive now freely, all their labours would be lost".
About ten o'clock White " hearing a great noise in the backside of the gaol, demanded what it was ; and being told that the gaoler's wife made lamentation for him, he turned to his wife and said, ' I pray thee, Catherine, go and comfort her'. Coming down the stairs to the common gaol, he found the house full of people weeping and lamenting, among whom were divers children, on whose heads one after another laying his hands, he prayed God to bless them ; then beholding a number without the gaol, attending opportunity to bid him farewell, he reached them his hands out of the window, and so took his leave of them all ; the like he did also with many in the gaol ; and whereas one of them a gentleman who had form- erly been his scholar, made great lamentations, he comforted him in these words ; ' Weep not for me, for I do but pay the rent before the rent-day '. Last of all, he bestowed five shillings in small pieces of
VENERABLE RICHARD WHITE 141
silver to the poor at the prison-door, the which money a Catholic had sent him to be distributed with his own hands. At his passing to the execution, he gave his wife eleven shillings and his beads, the which was in effect all the wealth he left her."
When the sheriff. Piers Owen, came in to tell him to prepare for death White kissed his wife and Mrs. Hughes, and " blessed his little infant (who was not above one month old) making a cross on his fore- head". Then Hughes and Morris asked leave to be present at the execution, but this was refused. So all four knelt to receive his blessing. " The martyr, pointing with his hand unto them, desired God to stand with them ; and so went toward the sledde which was provided for him instead of a hurdle, say- ing * In the name of Jesus,' as he went out of the prison-door." When he came to the sledde, he crossed himself and then his arms were tied behind his back ; but all the way to the place of execution *' he said the rosary, using the end of a string wherewith he held up his irons instead of beads ". As soon as he was laid on the hurdle a sudden sharp shower came on, which lasted until his body and soul were parted. Arrived at the gallows he turned to the people and said : " God is merciful to us ; behold the elements shed tears for our sins ". Then he climbed the ladder. Next the executioner, who was no other than Coytmor, his friendly jailer, on whom the odious task had been laid because he had let the prisoners out of jail on parole after their return from the Council, knelt to ask forgiveness, and White said : ** I do forgive thee before God, and I wish thee no more harm than I
142 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
wish my own heart ". Then Owen Brereton asked him if he would have a priest, and White answered : '* Yea, with all my heart, but I will have no minister". Then the Sheriff questioned him whether he repented of his treasons and asked the Queen's forgiveness ; and White replied : " I never committed any treasons against her more than your father or grandfather have done, unless it be a treason to fast and to pray ". Last of all the Vicar of Wrexham asked if he acknowledged the Queen's supremacy over the Church, and White said that he acknowledged her to be lawful Queen of England. Then the Vicar asked why he had not said so at his trial, and White re- joined : " The question was not asked me ; but I told the council at another time that I was her poor subject, and that I prayed for her majesty. Mine examinations are to be seen, and my hand to the same ; search the records, and you shall find this to be true. Moreover, that I offered to go out of the realm to pleasure them, or into rocks and deserts, yea, if it were possible, under the ground, to use my conscience in the least offensive manner I might, or into what place soever it would please my prince to send me; but nothing will serve." After that White expressed his forgiveness of David Edwards and Mrs. Edwards, and desired the prayers of all present, especially of Catholics, and protested that he died a Catholic, and was guiltless of treason. Then the sheriff told the hangman to proceed, and the people fell on their knees to pray for him : but he was al- lowed to go on for some time speaking to the people, exhorting them to reconcile themselves to the
VENERABLE RICHARD WHITE. 143
Catholic Church. Then the hangman asked pardon a second time, and the martyr, taking him by the hand kissed it, saying: '' I do forgive thee with all my heart ; God and our Blessed Lady and St. Michael forgive thee ; it is all one to me that thou do this deed as another". When the executioner would put the rope round his neck, he smiled, advising him to leave the occupation, for it was but simple ; again he smiled when he tried to cover his face with a cloth and could not, without the help of the hangman. Just before the ladder was turned White said : " I have been a jesting fellow, and if I have offended any that way, or by my songs, I beseech them for God's sake to forgive me ". Then as he was saying Deus propitius esto mihi peccatori, the ladder was turned, and he hung for some time knocking his breast with both hands till he became insensible. Meanwhile the hangman leaned against his shackles, for he was hung in them, hoping to put him out of pain. When at last the rope was cut, he appeared to be dead ; but revived on the hurdle. The hangman had no experience of executions for treason and terribly bungled his business. The martyr retained his con- sciousness till the moment when his head was severed from his body, his last words being " Jesus, have mercy upon me ! "
Within seven months of the execution Gronow confessed to having been bribed to give his evidence. The writer of the English narrative says that Sir George Bromley shortly afterwards became an idiot, that Thelwall soon perished, as did the greater part of the jury, that David Edwards next Lent died a
144 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
fearful death, and that the crier of the court, Christo- pherson, ** became a fool and a momme " : and sees in all these events the finger of Providence. White's head and one of his quarters were set up on Denbigh Castle, and the other three quarters were disposed of to Wrexham, Ruthin and Holt.
J. B. W.
Authorities. — The chief authorities for the biography of this martyr are the EngHsh contemporary account printed in T/ie Rambler^ New Series, iii. (London, i860), at pp. 223-48 and 366- 88, which is followed in the Diet. Nat. Biog.^ and the Latin con- temporary account in the Concertatio EcclesicB (Treves, 1588), 172-203, which is followed by Bishop Challoner and also in Dodd's Church History^ and in Athence Cantabrigienses. The English account is the more detailed and circumstantial ; and is generally followed here. As to the dates of his trial and martyr- dom it is correct, while the Latin account is in error. For The Carols of Richard White, see C.R.S. 90-99. C. W. Bar- raud, S.J., Richard Wynn (White), Welsh Martyr (C.T.S.).
XII. VENERABLE THOMAS ALFIELD,
SECULAR PRIEST,
AND
VENERABLE THOMAS WEBLEY,
LAYMAN.
Tyburn, 6 July, 1585.
Thomas Alfield, or Aufield/ was probably born in the city of Gloucester, where his father, Robert (who had formerly been a scholar of Eton College and subsequently usher there) was master of the College school. He so far followed in his father's footsteps that in 1568 he became a scholar of Eton, and afterwards in due course proceeded to a Fellowship at King's College, Cambridge, and took the degree of Master of Arts, but, misliking the established religion, he went abroad, and on 8 September, 1576, arrived at the English College at Douay. He left in November, suspecting danger and returned to England.
A year later, on 20 November, 1577, he was one of
1 For a somewhat fuller account of this martyr see the writer's article " Notes on Two English Martyrs " in the Downside Re- view, March, 1909, vol. xxviii. No. 82.
145 10
146 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
the three recusants residing in Holy Trinity parish at Gloucester, and his ''worth" is recorded as *' nothing ". He was probably living in his father's house together with his younger brother, Robert, afterwards the very unsatisfactory servant of Father Persons. On i8 September, 1580, Thomas returned to the English College, then at Rheims, in the company of his relative, Thomas Evans, a goldsmith, and Nicholas Smith, a Jesuit novice. On 15 Decem- ber, 1580, he went to Soissons to be ordained sub- deacon, returning to Rheims on the 13th. On the following 21 February he was ordained deacon, presumably at Rheims ; on 4 March, the Saturday following Laetare Sunday, he was ordained priest at Ch^lons-sur-Marne, and he said his first Mass on the 13th. On 29 March, 1581, he set out for the mission in the company of the ill-fated John Ballard and of the future martyr, John Adams. One of the first-fruits of his labours was the reconciliation of the future martyr William Deane, who arrived at Rheims from Douay on 9 July, 1581.
Within a few months Thomas Alfield was arrested and committed to the Tower. On 29 April, 1582, the Privy Council addressed " a letter to Mr. Lieutenant of the Tower, Mr. Thomas Randolph, Mr. Doctor Hamonde and Mr. Owen of Lincoln's Inn, requiring them to repair unto the Tower, there to examine one Thomas Alfield, a Seminary Priest, apprehended and committed thither, who, as it is supposed, is able to discover many matters touching the practices and proceedings of the Jesuits and Seminary Priests within the Realm ; they shall receive certain interro-
VV. THOMAS ALFIELD AND THOMAS WEBLEY 147
gatories for the examining of him from Mr. Attorney, and in case he shall not willingly discover such matters as they shall find him able to declare in this behalf, that then they put him to the rack, and by the torture thereof draw from him such things as he shall be able to say etc. "
On II June, 1582, Dr. Allen writes to Father Agazzario: ''After the question or torture of the priest Alfield, which took place on May i, nothing new occurred. He acted with great constancy, gloriously professing the Catholic faith, and confess- ing nothing of the other matters of which they examined him." ^ Between that date, however, and 13 September, being threatened with further racking, he yielded to some extent and was released *' upon bonds". On 13 September, Dr. Allen writes to the same correspondent : —
" Alfield, who is a brother of that discontented servant of Mr. Gilbert, has lapsed to some extent for fear of the torture, and having gone once or twice to the heretical church has been set free ". On his release he went back to his father's house in Gloucester where he remained till about Christmas, 1582, when he removed to the house of John Paunce- foot of Hasfield, three miles from Gloucester.^ On 29 March, 1583, Dr. Allen wrote to Father Agazzario :
^ Letters and Memorials of Cardinal Allen, p. 144.
^ This gentleman was a recusant and in October, 1585, he is described as a fugitive (Cal. S.P. Dom. 1581-90, p. 278), and Dorothy his wife was imprisoned in Newgate for her religion. While in exile John Pauncefoot published a work, The Firm Foundation of Catholic Religion (Antwerp, 1 590).
10 *
148 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
" A priest, moreover, Thomas Alfield, who himself also wavered a little for fear of tortures and death is on his way to us ".^ He had arrived at Rheims and been received again into the bosom of the Church before April,^ and had probably before that date returned to Mr. Pauncefoot's house. About the be- ginning of Michaelmas term he was with Mr. and Mrs. Pauncefoot at the house of his brother-in-law, John Mynors, in Aldersgate Street, London, '' being the next house unto the sign of the cock at Long Lane end ".^ The martyr was still there when John Mynors returned to Gloucester, 21 December, 1583, taking with him a letter from Thomas Alfield which proved the cause of his arrest.
It is probably about this time that Thomas Alfield was approached by John Davis, afterwards Sir John Davis, the great explorer, after whom the Davis Strait between Baffin Land and Greenland is named. He professed himself a convert, and pretended to be disgusted at the piratical role forced on him by Queen Elizabeth's Government.! Accordingly he asked Thomas Alfield to introduce him to Dr. Allen, promising, as an earnest of his good faith, to sub- scribe a large sum towards the Rheims Seminary, if Dr. Allen would inform the Pope that he, Davis, was willing to fill the ships supplied to him by the English Government to be used in piracy against Spain, with Catholic sailors, who would serve the Pope or the King of Spain against the Turk or other
^Letters, etc., p. 186 ; C.R.S. iv. 81.
^ Douay Diaries, p. 325.
^P.R.O., S.P. Dom. Eliz. clxvii. 28 (i).
VV. THOMAS ALFIELD AND THOMAS WEBLEY 149
It is possible that Davis may have been in earnest, and that his subsequent conduct was due to the failure of his scheme to supply him with im- mediate cash ; but it is more probable that his plot was to compromise the Catholic powers. At any rate, Thomas Alfield took him seriously and arranged to meet him at Rouen, and thence to conduct him to Rheims and introduce him to Dr. Allen. This he did ; and Allen, too, was convinced of Davis's good faith, and on 20 March, 1583-4, sent Thomas Alfield, disguised as a layman, with a copy of a declaration by Davis and a letter from Allen himself, to the then Apostolic Nuncio in France, Monsignor Girolamo Ragazzoni, Bishop of Bergamo. He, on 2 April, re- ferred the matter to the Papal Secretary of State, Car- dinal Ptolomeo Galli, usually alluded to as the Car- dinal of Como. The Pope, while it seems he admitted Davis's offer as made in good faith, declined his ser- vices by a letter dated 23 April, and suggested that the offer should be made to the King of Spain.^ On the failure of all these negotiations in September, 1584, Thomas Alfield returned to England, carrying with him five or six hundred copies of Dr. Allen's A True, Sincere, and Modest Defence of the English Catholiques, published at Ingolstadt, the presentation copy of which to the Pope was sent from Paris on 11 September, 1584.^ This was an answer to Lord Burghley's Execution of Justice in England, published on 17 December, 1583. He also took with him at
^C.R.S. V. 107 ; Letters, etc., p. 226. '^ Ibid. pp. 228, 422, 423. ^ Ibid. pp. 239, 240, 424.
150 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
least one copy of William Rainolds's A Refutation of sundry Reprehensions . , . hy which M. Whitaker la- boureth to deface the late English translation, etc., pub- lished at Paris in 1583. The indictment on which he was condemned charged him with causing William Allen's book to be published and set forth on 10 September in the parish of All Saints, Bread Street, in the City of London. From London he would seem to have gone to Oxford before Michaelmas, in order to see William Rainolds's brother Edmund (a Master of Arts, who had formerly been a Fellow of Corpus Christi College, but had been ejected for his Catholic sympathies in 1568, and had retired to Gloucester Hall, where he was now a tutor), and to present him from his brother with the two books. From Oxford he went on to Gloucester and probably stopped at Hasfield as before.
As, owing to John Mynors's confession, Alfield's familiarity with the Pauncefoots of Hasfield was well-known in Gloucester, it is probable that he was arrested there. At any rate he was again in the Tower of London before 25 March, 1584.^ A docu- ment in the archives of the English College at Rome says that Henry (which is clearly a mistake for Thomas) Alfield was betrayed by his own father.'-^ Father Persons, writing of Robert Alfield the younger, says ^ " he became the betrayer also of his own brother, who had done so much for him, and caused him to be apprehended and put to death ". We know as a
1 C.R.S. iii. 19. '^ Douay Diaries, p. 292
VV. THOMAS ALFIELD AND THOMAS WEBLEY 151
fact that Father Persons is right in calling Robert Alfield the younger an apostate, because in 1587-8 he was one of the two persons entrusted with the duty of " carryinge xij Semynary Preistes from London to the goale of Wysbeche ".^ Still there is no direct evidence to corroborate the statements that the be- trayer of Thomas Alfield was his father or brother. On the other hand, we have the testimony of Richard Young, one of the Justices who tried Thomas Alfield, that it was Sir John Davis. On 15 March, 1593-4, he wrote to Sir Robert Cecil : ^ "In that matter of Allfield I do knowe especially that his [Davis's] diligence, travaile, and fidelitie was very greate, and by his industrie and paynes hee was taken and the intelligence geven by him. . . . He allso tooke Allfield's bookes in the west countrey, which were very seditious and evill, and sent them up unto mee."
Perhaps the two Robert Alfields had pressure brought on them by Davis to lend their aid in the unholy work. In the Tower Thomas Alfield is said to have undergone grievous torture, and that this is probable is evident by the various interrogatories drawn up to be put to him.
First of all there is a set of " articles " dated 30 March, 1585, *'tobe mynstred unto Tho. Aufelde and Roe," which dealt with the great political questions of the time. This Roe is practically unknown. In the Tower Bills for Midsummer, 1585, and Michael- mas, 1585, he is called Christopher, and from the
^ Dasent, op. cit. xvi. 4. "^ C.R.S. v. 244.
152 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
latter Bill it would seem that he was liberated or died on 4 August, 1585.^ In the endorsement of these "articles" and also in the Calendar, he is called Thomas.^ If Alfield was racked to make him answer these articles, it was clearly lost labour, for in his letter to the Nuncio in France, dated 20 March, 1583-4, above mentioned. Dr. Allen, while stating that Alfield was " in the conduct of affairs diligent, dexterous and painstaking," adds " but he should know nothing of the great business," i.e. the pro- posed invasion of England.
Another set of " articles to be ministred to Alfield " exists, drawn up in the bad handwriting of Sir John Popham, afterwards Lord Chief Justice, but now Attorney-General.^ They are undated and consist of twenty-one queries, all of which, except the first and third, have to do with the interpretation to be put on certain expressions in Dr. Allen's writings. For an example we may take the tenth : " What ys the untowardly accident that hath happened wh. Allyn wryteth of". The first and third deal with the then whereabouts of Dr. Christopher Bagshaw,* and a priest named Cloudesley.^ These interrogatories also led to nothing ; but there can be no doubt that
1 C./^.S. iii. 19, 20. ^Idid. v. 107, 108.
3 P.R.O., S.P. Dom. Eliz. clxxix. 61. ^ D.N.B. ii. 400.
5 Peter Cloudesley, described erroneously as a scholar of New College, Oxford, and probably a querister there, was ordained sub-deacon at Oxford, February, 1553 {^x^x^\ Marian Reaction^ p. 257), and became a priest a year or two later. He died a prisoner in York Castle {^Northern Genealogist^ vi. 34).
VV. THOMAS ALFIELD AND THOMAS WEBLEY 153
Alfield was put to the torture in the hope of getting an answer to them as well as to the others.
Eventually it was decided to proceed against Thomas Alfield under the statute 23 Eliz. c. 2, s. 4, which made publication of any book against the Queen felony punishable with death.
Accordingly on 14 June, 1585, Thomas Alfield, together with two other priests, William Wigges and Leonard Hyde, both of whom were to be tried under the same statute, was transferred to Newgate there to await his trial at the Old Bailey. He was in- dicted on Monday, 5 July ; and the indictment has been printed with an excellent introduction by Father Pollen, S.J.i
The indictment first recites the section and then goes on : " And since this notwithstanding one William Aleyn Professor of Theology desiring to bring the said Lady the Queen our Sovereign Lady into hatred and malevolence among all her subjects, and so far as in him lay to bring it to pass that all the subjects of the same Lady the Queen should deem that the said Lady the Queen was an heretic and fallen from the true Christian faith, and that she was an apostate Prince, hath advisedly and with a malicious intent against the said Lady the Queen caused a certain book to be printed in parts beyond the sea, containing very many false seditious and slanderous matters to the defamation of the said Lady the Queen that now is, and to the encouraging of insurrection and Rebellion within this Realm of England and to the subversion of the true and sincere
'C.R.S. V. 1 12-7.
154 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
religion ^ of God rightly and duly established in the said Realm ".
After this preamble the indictment goes on to set forth four extracts from the True Sincere and Modest Defence of English Catholiques, the first two of which, as Father Pollen has no difficulty in showing, bear a much more moderate meaning when read in their contexts than they do in the indictment, where the contexts have been dishonestly curtailed or sup- pressed, and the other two are merely frivolously made ad captandum vulgus. The indictment finally states : '* Nevertheless one Thomas Alfield lately of London clerk disregarding the aforesaid statute did feloniously as a felon of the said Lady the Queen that now is, on the tenth day of September in the 26th year of the reign of the said Lady the Queen that now is, in London, to wit in the parish of All Saints in Bread Street in the Ward of Bread Street London advisedly and with malicious intent against the said Lady the Queen that now is cause to be published and set forth to divers subjects of the said Lady the Queen the aforesaid book of the aforesaid William Allen containing the aforesaid false seditious and slanderous matter set forth above in English and very many other things to the defamation of the said Lady the Queen that now is and to the encourage- ment of insurrection and Rebellion within this realm of England against the form of the aforesaid statute in in that case provided and against the peace of the said Lady the Queen that now is, her crown and dignity ".
^ It is noticeable that the Statute contains no mention of religion.
VV. THOMAS ALFIELD AND THOMAS WEBLEY 155
A report of Alfield's trial has also been printed by Fr. Pollen.^ It is from an obviously hostile pen, and runs as follows : —
"The effect of the substance of the matter that was done and spoken at the Arraignment of Thomas Allfeild a Jesuit^ Priest, at Newgate upon Monday the vth of July, 1585. First, he and his fellows ^ were brought from Newgate and placed at the bar; my Lord Mayor, my Lord Buckhurst, the Master of the Rolls, My Lord Anderson, Mr. Sackforth, Sir Rowland Hayward, Mr. Owen, Mr. Younge, and the Recorder,^ set down upon the Bench.
" Mr. Town Clerk read the commission of Oyer & determiner. After this a Substantial Jury^ of the best Commoners to the number of twenty, or there abouts, were sworn to enquire, &c.
** Then the Recorder gave that special Charge that belongeth to that Commission. After that done the inquest of Inquiry^ went up into the Council Chamber at the Sessions hall, in which place Mr. Attorney and Mr. Solicitor did read unto the inquest, the three several Indictments. There the offenders, upon good evidence given, were indicted, and Billa vera was set upon every one of them. The inquest was returned to the Court ; and being called by name, they presented the Bills to the Court.
*' The Town Clerk received them and delivered them to the Recorder and he opened them and showed them
1 C.R.S. V. 1 17-20. 2 There is no evidence of this.
3 Wigges and Hyde. •» William Fleetwood.
^ I.e. the Grand Jury.
156 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
to the rest of the Justices how they were found. And there upon the Town Clerk was willed to call them to the bar, and so to arraign them, who began first with Allfeilde.
" The indictment read, he was demanded whether he was guilty of the matter contained in that Indict- ment. To the which he would make no answer and prayed that he might be heard speak; and thereupon he used a certain frivolous speech, containing no matter, the effect whereof was that the cause in ques- tion was such that the same ought to be tried before learned men in divinity and not before laymen. After,, with much ado, he pleaded not guilty; and being asked how he would be tried, and also being told that he ought to be tried by God and the Country, he made a long stay, and said that it was no reason that twelve ignorant men should try a matter of Re- ligion, but that it ought to be tried by learned men. And then it was told him that a matter in fact was laid to his charge viz. for bringing into the Realm and uttering of a certain slanderous and lewd book against her Majesty and the Realm, devised by one Doctor Allen.
"To the which Alfield answered and said expressly that the same book was a loyal book, ^ a lawful book,
1 Father Pollen writes {C.R.S. v. 112): "The book was as Alfield protested 'a loyal book,' tending powerfully to induce the English Catholics to remain attached to Elizabeth in spite of all the cruelties they had to endure. Loyalty to her was always a characteristic of the Catholics in England ; and also of the exiles abroad, except when some unusual strain prevented their keeping in touch with their kinsmen at home." However this may be,
VV. THOMAS ALFIELD AND THOMAS WEBLEY 157
a good and true book, and that the same was printed in Paris under the King's Privilege there ; and was allowed for a good and lawful book throughout all the universities in Christendom beyond the seas, and that it touched nothing but matters of Religion. And being asked whether it were a matter of Religion that the Pope had authority to deprive the Queen of England. And he answered that in generalty it was a matter of Religion that the Pope had authority ' to deprive any king, if he saw cause ' ; for that the Pope was a Regal King and Prince, and that he might take arms in hand as well as other kings might do. It was answered him that the Court sat, not to try matters of Religion, but a matter de facto^ that whether he brought the said slanderous books into the Realm and whether he had dispersed them. To the which he answered that he had brought live or six hundred of the same books into the Realm and that he had dispersed them, as he saw occasion ; and further he affirmed expressly that the book was a good book and lawful, and declared, as he had before done, how the same was allowed, &c.
*' And after he was urged to put himself upon his trial, and was put in remembrance what the punish- ment of the law was, if Judgment were given against him de peine fort et dureJ^ And thereupon it was
Allen, no doubt, was " carrying loyalty to Elizabeth to a length which the foreign Catholics, that is, the majority of Europe, thought if anything too advanced " (p. 1 14).
^ As has been pointed out above, the statement of the In- dictment gratuitously imported the question of religion.
^ This was the punishment for refusing to plead. Ven. Mar- garet Clitherow suffered under this sentence, 25 March, 1586.
158 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
asked him how he would be tried, and he answered by God and the Country. And he was told by the Court that upon the Evidence ^iven he should be heard at large. And then was a Jury of very suffici- ent Commoners called, and he was especially warned by the Town Clerk to take his Challenges unto them as they should come to the book to be sworn. The Jury being sworn, the Indictment was read ; the which contained divers false, lewd, and slanderous words, not only to Treason, but most manifest and shameful slanders against her Majesty. Yet did Alfield not stick to say that * it touched not the Queen any more than it did the French king or Spanish king'.^ He travailed very much to make the Commissioners to believe that they understood not the slanderous book ; adding this withal, the same book was especially devised and written by Dr. Allen, to answer him ^ who had written the book of Justice of England, and not to slander the Queen. And after much speech used and many repetitions, all to one effect, by Alfield, there was delivered to the Jury one of the books, to compare the words of the Indictment with the book and the Examinations. And they finding them to agree, and hearing him so stoutly to justify the same to be a loyal book, they returned after a competent time, and being called by name and the prisoner being called to the bar, they were asked first of Alfield, whether he were guilty of
^ This was Allen's own contention. See Father Pollen, C.R.S, V. 113.
^ Lord Burghley.
VV. THOMAS ALFIELD AND THOMAS WEBLEY 159
the offence that was contained in the Indictment, the Foreman said Guilty, &c.
"And after being asked what he could say v/hy Judgment of death should not be given against him, he answered that the Offence was pardoned. The pardon was read ; and it was told him that his offence was excepted out of the pardon.
" And then did the Recorder call him forth and re- cited the effect of the Indictment, and how that he was found guilty. And told him that he wondered that his father in King Henry's days being an usher of Eton and of a good Religion and had brought up many learned divines and other that served the Queen in temporal causes, where of hundreds the Recorder himself was one of the meanest. And that the same prisoner passed through the same College, and so to the King's College, being both of the Queen's high- ness' foundation ^ and now had he so unnaturally and beastly behaved himself that he was become the first that ever was arraigned of felony ^ of any that ever passed those Colleges by the space of these fifty years and more. And then said the Recorder : ' Ye
^ The Recorder was, indeed, " one of the meanest " of Etonians, if he did not know that Elizabeth had nothing to do with the founding of these Colleges (founded 1440 and 1441 by that saintly Catholic King, Henry VI).
^ This is very likely ; but, on the other hand, there is a pos- sibility that B. John Haile, LL.B., a Fellow of King's //al/y Cambridge, successively Rector of Cranford and Vicar of Isle- worth, whose name is also written Hale and Hall, was the Etonian of 1485. But he was convicted of treason just over fifty years before this trial.
i6o LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
know that Christ paid tribute to Caesar and com- manded that Caesar should be obeyed, and that each man should yield to Caesar his duties. And that St. Paul, in the end of the Acts, was accused for Religion by the Jews, and it was told him that he should be sent to Jerusalem to be tried before the Priest there. And he answered that he stood before the Tribunal or Judgment-seat of Caesar, and there he ought to be tried.' And so he appealed to Caesar, where his cause was heard, and he dismissed. ' Here,* quoth the Recorder, *ye see that Christ commanded that Caesar should be obeyed ; he said not, deposed. And St. Paul did appeal to Caesar, and not to Peter ; be- cause he took Caesar to be his lawful king. And all men know that Caesar was not of the faith of Christ, nor yet did he believe as St. Paul did.' And after a few words more he gave Judgment and commanded the Sheriffs to do execution.
" This Alfield appeared to have no skill at all either in the old or new Testament ; there appeared no manner of learning in him ; ^ he was bold, stout, and arrogant. He behaved himself more arrogantly than any that the Commissioners had heard or seen in their times. His words were such against her majesty that all the people fell into a murmur. He never used one word of reverence towards her high- ness. And at his passage to execution, the people oifered to pray with him, and he refused their offer,
^ This, if true, cuts both ways, for he was educated by Pro- testants at Eton and King's College, and had taken the degree of M.A.
VV. THOMAS ALFIELD AND THOMAS WEBLEY i6i
and said that, if there were any Catholics there, he would be glad to have their Assistance."
No account of the indictments of Wigges and Hyde has been published, but as they remained in New- gate for a considerable time afterwards, and then were imprisoned at Wisbech, they must have been acquitted.
Stowe, in his Annales under the year 1585, writes : " The fift of July Thomas Alfield, a seminarie priest, and Thomas Welley, diar, were arraygned at the ses- sions hall in the Old baily, found guiltie, condemned, and had judgement, as felons, to be hanged ; ^ for publishing of books containing false, seditious, and slaunderous matter, to the defamation of our Sove- raygne lady the Queene ; these were on the next morrow executed at Tyborne accordingly".
This is the first mention we have to make in our narrative of Thomas Alfield's fellow-martyr, whose name was not Welley, as Stowe states, but Webley.
As he was a dyer, he was probably related to John Webley, dyer. Mayor of Gloucester, 1583-4, the president of the tribunal that examined John Mynors ; and if this is so he was certainly near in blood to the future martyr, Henry Webley, who was born in Gloucester. It may not be amiss to recall that among the Catholics who were captured at Lyford with B. Edmund Campion, was one William Webley, a yeoman. This last may be the William Webley described as " of Brockworth in Glocester City igno- bills" whose daughter Joane was married to John Vele,
1 Not being convicted of treason^ they were hanged until they were d^ad, ai^d were not quartered.
n
i62 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
of Longford, Gloucestershire ; ^ and our martyr may be the Thomas Webley of Gloucester who married Alice, daughter of John Bower in the parish of Berkeley, Gloucestershire.^ Some Webleys were armigeri, for on an eighteenth-century tomb we find their arms as follows : 2 " Or, a bend between three mullets pierced sable ".
In the draft of a letter to the Lords of the Council concerning the Catholic prisoners, dated i8 March, 1584-5,* " Ralfe Emmerson, Edward Shelley, and Thomas Weblie dispersers of traitorous books" are mentioned among those "unworthy to live under her Maiesties protection " who had been examined twice or thrice and having proved steadfast had been consigned to close prison.
Probably Thomas Webley was already in Newgate at the date of the document above referred to. As the eye-witness of Alfield's trial above cited only speaks of three indictments, it may be conjectured that Webley's indictment was an afterthought following on the acquittal of Hyde and Wigges. The prosecu- tion may have thought that only one conviction under the Statute was insufficient, and they could not with- out delay proceed against the other *' dispersers of traitorous books," as Shelley was in the Clink,^ and Emerson in the Poultry Counter.^
Father Persons in his additions to Edward Rish- ton's Fourth Book. of Dr.' Sander's Anglican Schism ^ made when the bobk was passing through the press,
^ I/arl. Soc. xxi. 172. ' - '^ Ibid. 27.
3 Rudder's Gloucestershire, p. 765. ^ C.R.S. v. 105.
" C.R.S. ii. 235. ^U ... ; - V - « C.R.S. ii. 249.
VV. THOMAS ALFIELD AND THOMAS WEB LEY 163
says that Webley was executed for distributing copies of Dr. Allen's work above mentioned, and adds that both Alfield and Webley had their lives offered to them " at the place of execution, if they would re- nounce the Pope and agree with the Queen. That they refused to do, and, therefore, clearly died a martyr's death. It is thus that these men answer our books — by hanging us." ^
J. B. W.
Authorities.— ^^/<?r/ of Alfield' s Trial, C.R.S, v. 117. Douay Diaries, 169, no, i it,, passim. Cardinal Allen, 144, 183, 186, passim. Articles for Alfield, C.R.S. v. 106. Ex- amination of Reynolds, C.R.S. v. 108. Richard Young to Sir Robert Cecil, C.R.S. v. 244. Indictment of Alfield, ibid. 112. Catalogue of Martyrs, ibid. 289. Report of Council, ibid. 105. Harwood, Alumni Etonenses, 149, 182. Fosbrooke, City of Gloucester, 116, ^m^lA^x, Gloucestershire, 170. Dasent, Acts of the Privy Council, N.S. xiii. 400. Bridgewater, Concertatio, 203. Yepez, Hist. Part. 593-4. Challoner, i. 168-9. Transac- tions of the Bristol and Gloucestershire ArchcBological Society, V. 234, 235.
^ See Lewis's edition of Sander, p. 335.
XIII. VENERABLE HUGH TAYLOR.
SECULAR PRIEST.
• York, 26 November, 1585.
Concerning this martyr practically nothing is known. He was born in Durham, arrived at the English Col- lege, Rheims, 2 May, 1582, and, having been ordained priest, was sent on the mission 27 March, 1585. He was " taken by the Lord Ewers, when he searched a Catholic man's house". He was condemned at the jail-delivery, which took place at York Castle, 24 November, 1585, by the Commissioners of the North, Lord Evers being in the chair as vice-president, and other members of the Court being Laurence Meares, Ralph Huddlestone, and Henry Cheeke. He was the first priest to suffer under the provisions of the statute 27 Eliz. c. 2, recently passed, which made it treason to be made a priest and come into the realm. He was hanged, drawn, and quartered at York, Fri- day, 26 November, 1585.
Among Father Grene's collections (Collectanea E) the following note about this martyr is found : —
" At York, Mr. Taylor, having received sentence pf death with a layman on a Thursday and on th^
1^4
VENERABLE HUGH TAYLOR 165
following day, Friday, having said Mass and his office; ' How happy,' said he, ' should I be, if on this day, on which Christ died for me, I might encounter death for Him '. Scarcely had he said this when the officer unexpectedly came to lead him off to execution, and leaving the layman for Saturday (the usual day for executions) put him immediately to death."
J. B. W.
Authorities. — Douay Diaries^ passim. Morris, Troubles^ iii. 84. A.E.M. 326-7. Bridgewater, Concertatio^ 203^. Yepez, Hist. Part. 594. Challoner.
XIV. VENERABLE MARMADUKE BOWES.
LAYMAN.
York, 27 November^ 1585.
Father Morris has printed three contemporary accounts of this martyr, which were not at the dis- posal of Bishop Challoner. The earliest appears to have been written before 3 June, 1586, and occurs in the Rev. John Mush's Life of Margaret Clitherow} The second, which is probably from the same pen, was written before Christmas, 1586.^ The third is from the pen of Grace, heiress of William Birnand, Recorder of York in 1573, and widow of Sir Ralph Babthorpe of Babthorpe. After losing her husband in 1617, she became a nun at St. Monica's Augustinian Convent at Louvain in 1621.^ Her account is short, and was written after she had become a nun, and when her memory was not so good as it had been ; but she entirely supports the earlier relations.
According to Bishop Challoner our martyr was of
1 Morris, Troubles^ etc.^ iii. 358, 365-8, 438-9.
2 Op. cit. iii. 83-5.
^ Op. cit. i. passim^ and Hamilton, Chronicle of St. Monica's at Louvain, passim.
166
VENERABLE MARMADUKE BOWES 167
Angram Grange, near Appleton in Cleveland. It is, however, remarkable that if so, we find no mention of him in the will of Christopher Bowes of Angram Grange, which was proved on 30 September, 1568.^ All that Mr. Mush says of his social position is that he was " an honest substantial gentleman or yeoman, I know not whether, wonderfully beloved and well- spoken of among his neighbours ".
He was a married man, with children, and his wife was still living. Although through fear of losing all his possessions he was an occasional conformist — (Lady Babthorpe bluntly calls him " a poor schis- matic ") — he had always felt in his heart that the Catholic Faith was true, and had entertained priests, and introduced into his house a Catholic tutor for his children. According to Mr. Mush's first account this tutor was arrested about Michaelmas, 1585 ; but ac- cording to the second account, which is probably, as we have said, from the same source,^ " he was appre- hended travelling in the Bishopric, as I remember, by John Barnes, brother to the false bishop, about Whitsunday," 1585. It seems likely that the latter
^ Foster, Visitation of Yorkshire in 161 2 (privately printed 1875), 497. Leonard Brackenbury, mentioned below, whose evidence was probably given about 1626 (Pollen, English Martyrs^ 1^84.-160^^ London, C.R.S.^ 1908, 393), says he was born at Ellerbert, i.e. Ellerbeck in the parish of Osmotherley, North Riding. If so, he was probably a grandson of Christopher Bowes, and son of William Bowes of Ellerbeck by Mary d. of James Conyers of Ellerbeck, but his name does not occur in the pedigree of 1612.
^ The similarity in style of the first and second accounts is strong internal evidence.
i68 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
date is the correct one. Eventually by cruel usage, threats, and bribery, the tutor was induced to abjure his faith, and give evidence against such Catholics as he knew. On his accusation, our martyr and his wife were sent for to York for having harboured priests, but after a short imprisonment were released on bond until the next jail-delivery. The case against Mrs. Bowes was apparently dropped ; but her hus- band duly appeared and was promptly condemned on the sole evidence of the tutor, which as Mr. Mush frequently remarks, could be bought for sixpence. Before his death he was absolved from the guilt of schism, probably by his fellow-martyr Hugh Taylor, *' the which he boldly confessed with great alacrity of mind ". He was hanged as a felon at York on Saturday, 27 November, 1585, being the first layman to suffer under the new statute, which made it felony to harbour a priest.
Bishop Challoner, on the authority of a Mr. Leonard Brackenbury, a Yorkshire attorney, suggests that Bowes suffered merely for having given Taylor a cup of beer at his door ; ^ but though this story is
1 His evidence, now in the Westminster Archives, vol. iv., runs as follows : —
" De Marmaduco Bowes ex relatione Leonardi Brakenbury Attornaei in Yorkshire.
" Marmaduke Bowes, gent, born at Ellerbert in Yorkshire, lay- man, and married, was suddenly apprehended, condemn'd and executed for giving a cup of bear at his dore to a Priest upon the accusation of one Martin Harrison, the Earle of Huntingdon being President, and Laurence Meares, one of the Council being Judge."
VENERABLE MARMADUKE BOWES 169
told by Lady Babthorpe, she does not remember that it applied to Bowes. All she can remember of the layman is that he had an apostate priest as his brother ; and this would not seem to be true of our martyr.
Another story told by Bishop Challoner, on the authority of a manuscript of Mr. John Ingleby, coun- sellor-at-law,^ is that Bowes on hearing of the sudden arrest of Taylor dashed off to York in the hope of giving evidence on his behalf, but was himself there- upon " immediately apprehended, tried, and con- demned ". This, however, in so far as it conflicts with our authorities may be rejected as later legend. '* Some say he was hanged in his boots and spurs," concludes the good Bishop : and here he is backed by the recollections of Lady Babthorpe. She writes : '* Upon his schoolmaster's accusation to the Council at York, this Mr. Bowes was sent for to an- swer this complaint made against him ; after which answer he was suffered to go home and to appear again at the assizes, which he did, thinking himself secure ; but at his coming he was presently indicted,
^ A John Ingleby, son of John Ingleby of Rudby, Yorks, was admitted to Gray's Inn, 8 February, 1602-3. Another John Ingleby, son of Thomas Ingleby of Lawkland, in the parish of Clapham, Yorks, was admitted to the Inner Temple in 161 1 and died in 1648. This is no doubt the same John Ingleby of Lawk- land, Esq., who was admitted to Gray's Inn 29 January, 1622-3 (Foster, Gray^s Inn Admission Register^ i^2i-i88g, London, privately printed, 1889, PP- io4) 1^9 '■> Students Admitted to the Inner Temple, 1^47-1660, London, 1877, p. 200). Probably the evidence was given by John Ingleby of Lawkland, as this family are known to have been staunch Catholics.
t7o LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
condemned and hanged, and, as it was reported, in his boots and spurs as he came to town. He died very wiHingly, and professed his faith, with great repentance that he had lived in schism."
J. B. W.
Authorities.— Morris, Troubles, passim. A.E.M. 158, 1603. Catalogue of Martyrs, C.R.S. v. 191. Bridge water, Concertatio, 203*. Yepez, Hist. Part. 594. Challoner, i. 169.
XV.
VENERABLE EDWARD STRANSHAM.
SECULAR PRIEST.
Tyburn, 2\ January, 1586.
Edward Stransham was born in 1557^ "at Oxford of good honest Catholic parents, in the parish of St. Mary Magdalen, near the north gate which is called Bocardo, and educated in the College of St. John the Baptist where he was made Bachelor . . . of Arts ".^ This was on 29 February, 1575-6.^ He was thus in the College during the Presidency of Toby Mathew, afterwards Archbishop of York. The name Strans- ham which is not mentioned in Bardsley's Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, is now exceedingly uncommon, though there is one Stransom in the current Post Office Directory for London. In the sixteenth century it was commoner. There were three other Stranshams at Oxford about this time ; Robert and Francis of All Souls, and Lawrence of Christ Church.^ There were Stranshams also at Canterbury, Faversham, and elsewhere in Kent.
^ Clark, Register of the University of Oxford, ii. 69. ^^.iS'.J/. 254.
^ Foster, Alumni Oxonienses ; Clark, op. cit. iii. 58. 171
172 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
The Douay Diaries mention three others of this name : Thomas, elder brother of our martyr, of whom more hereafter ; John, in the service of Moyle Kemp, Esq., third son of Sir Thomas Kemp, of Wye, Kent ; and George Stransham alias Potter, of the diocese of Canterbury, ordained priest in 1585,^ who was probably John's brother. The name is probably de- rived from Stransham, a village in Worcestershire, the birthplace of Samuel Butler, author of Hudibras. Edward Stransham remained at St. John's for a year after taking his degree, and then, persuaded by a letter from a stranger to him, one Henry Browne,^ he determined to cross the sea, and went to Dover, where he chanced to meet two other Englishmen, who were going over. One of these was named Richard Nayler: the surname of the other is not given, but his Christian name was Nicholas. It is probable that this was Stransham's future fellow- martyr Nicholas Wheeler, who had dropped his real surname, and had not yet fixed on another.
They arrived at the English College at Douay, 18 April, 1577, and Stransham paid a visit to Cambrai 14 to 16 August, 1577, in the company of the future martyr Blessed Luke Kirby. When the College was removed to Rheims in April, 1578, he went with the rest, but on 14 October following returned to England, with a priest named William Slade, afterwards a
^ Possibly George Potter of Oxford, B.A. of Merton College, Oxford, in 1584.
^ He was a friend of William Slade, hereinafter mentioned, and was in the service of Dr. Allen at Douay and Rheims till he died at Fimes, 4 July, 1582.
VENERABLE EDWARD STRANSHAM 173
Jesuit, whose acquaintance he had made in his Ox- ford days, when Slade had been at Gloucester Hall. He arrived back at Rheims, 8 June, 1579, *' having re- covered from the illness which had been the cause of his journey to England," bringing with him four students, Richard Ingham, John Middlemore, Thomas Lyster and William Cowling, of whom all except Middlemore went on to the English College at Rome and became priests, Lyster eventually becoming a Jesuit.
Edward Stransham received the first tonsure, minor orders, and the subdiaconate in September, 1579, at Laon, probably from the then diocesan Monsignor Jean de Bours. He was ordained deacon by the Bishop of Chalons-sur-Marne, Monsignor Cosme Clausse de Marchaumont, '' at the altar of Cardinal de Guise," the then Archbishop, in Rheims Cathedral, 19 March, 1579-80, and priest at Soissons, by the bishop of the diocese, Monsignor Charles de Rouci- Sissonne, in December, 1580. He said his first Mass on the feast of St. John the Evangelist, 27 December, 1580, but at this time he was so ill that it was not thought advisable to send him on the mission. How- ever, as he got no better, but remained " sick of a continual flux," it was considered that his native air might do him good, and he received Dr. Allen's per- mission to go to England. In according it Dr. Allen " willed him to do the best he could there " consider- ing the state of his health, and to that end "gave him authority to hear confessions . . . and to absolve and reconcile to the Catholic Church," but "other commissign," says our martyr, " he hd.6, none ", As,
174 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
however, Father Pollen points out,^ *' we know now that he was also the bearer of a letter, which was of some interest and importance, though its import was not new. He brought over from Paris the votum or opinion of Father (afterwards Cardinal) Toledo, on the illicitness of attending the Protestant church in obedience to the laws of 23 Elizabeth which had lately been passed. This opinion is printed in Father Henry More's Historia Provinciae Anglicanae (1660), p. 66, and there bears date 14 June, 1581. Father H. Garnet in his Treatise of Christian Renunciation (a very rare booklet of which the only known copies seem to be at Cambridge and Oscott), says at p. 159, that * Mr. Edward Stansham, now a Saincte in Heaven,' brought over this paper to England. It may be that Stransham was not actually acquainted with the purport of the letters, which he presumably delivered to some older priest. In any case ... it is easy to see why he should have answered as he did . . . for . . . Toledo's letter only confirmed the ordinary teaching of the missionaries."
He left Rheims 30 June, 1581, with eight or nine crowns in his pocket as journey money, in the com- pany of his fellow-martyr, Nicholas Woodfen {verc Wheeler), already mentioned, and two other priests, James Taylor and William Morecott, the former of whom became chaplain to Edward Habington of Hindlip,^ the conspirator, and having been imprisoned successively in the Gatehouse, in Wisbech Castle, and in Worcestershire, was finally banished.
1 C.R.S. V. 121, 122.
^ As to whom see Diet. Nat. Biog. xxiii. 414.
VENERABLE EDWARD STRANSHAM 175
They, or at any rate Stransham, *' took shipping at Dieppe in an Enghsh ship and landed in a little haven called Newhaven besides Lewes in Sussex "} This is probably one of the earliest references by this name to the place which was formerly called Meech- ing.2 Father Warford says that during Stransham's sojourn at Rheims " being gifted by nature with a good wit and the faculties necessary for preaching, he made much progress in that art, and was greatly famed for his sermons when he returned to England," where he " attached himself to Father Gaspar Hey- wood,^ with whom he lived on very intimate terms ". He seems to have laboured for the most part in Oxford. In the early summer of 1583 he " took shipping at Rye," *' landed at Dieppe, went thence to Rouen, and from thence to Paris, thence to Rheims,"^ where he arrived 22 July, 1583.^ He brought with him John Atkins, Fellow of Trinity College 1574, M.A. 1577, once chaplain to Francis, second Earl of Bedford, K.G. ; Richart Blount, B.A., from Balliol College in 1582, and Fellow of Trinity College for three months, afterwards a Jesuit ; ^ John Oven, born 1560 at Godstow, Oxfordshire, B.A. 1580, Fellow of Trinity 1580, ordained priest at Rheims, sent on the Mission 2 October, 1584, exiled 15 Sep-
^C.R.S. V. 123.
"^ Lewis in his Topographical Dictionary of England^ iii. 392, says : " its present appellation was probably given to it about 1713"!
^ As to whom see Diet. Nat. Biog. xxvi. 329.
* C.R.S. V. 124. ^ Douay Diaries., p. 197.
^ Diet. Nat. Biog. \. 2^2.
176 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
tember, 1585, condemned to death in 1590, but saved his life in this world by conforming ; Walter Oven, brother of the above, aged fifteen, also of Trinity, afterwards ordained deacon in France and priest in Spain ; William Morgan of Salisbury diocese, also of Trinity; Edmund Cecil of Merton College, a native of Bristol ; Charles Persall of St. Mary Hall ; Nicholas Prankish or Frankize afterwards a priest ; Edward Thwing, the venerable martyr ; and Edward Cole, afterwards a priest. On 14 August there fol- lowed John Cecil, Fellow of Trinity 1572, M.A. 1579-80, who afterwards turned out badly, ^ and Roger Lancaster, Fellow of Corpus Christi 1566, M.A. 1572, B.C.L. 1575, son of John Lancaster of Mil- verton, Somerset, afterwards a priest.^ Most if not all of these were the fruits of our martyr's labours at Oxford. From Rheims Stransham returned to Paris in the autumn of 1583, and was there about a year and a half. It is to this period that the following remarks of Father Warford apply : —
'' The Martyr was wont to say that he would like to go to Italy (though in fact he never went) for many reasons; ranking, next after his desire to visit the tombs of the Apostles, a wish to see the place and examine with his own eyes the rails, whence Theo-
^ Diet. Nat. Biog. Supp. i. 403. C.R.S. xiii. 2, etc.
"- He died at the English College, Douay, 20 August, 1 598, " the most perfect contemner of this world of all whom I had ever known since childhood," as the Rev. John Jackson, the then diarist records. See Burton an4 Williams, Douay Diaries (C^.5. X.), 3, 318,
VENERABLE EDWARD STRANSHAM 177
dosius was turned away by Blessed Ambrose.^ In the writings of that holy Doctor he took great delight, and loved especially his greatness of mind, a greatness which was seen renewed in Stransham while with- standing with his life the Queen of England. Writ- ing to him afterwards, I gave him a description of Milan and its Cathedral, with which he was so charmed, that, writing to me about it, he confessed that nothing had ever given him so much pleasure, and that he esteemed it a great favour. These, his last letters, are still in my possession in England.
" He was at that time sick unto death in Paris with a slow fever and consumption, insomuch that he took nothing but asses' milk, yet he was preserved to give God greater glory, and to receive the crown of martyrdom."
At this very time an informer had been telling the English Ambassador at Paris that '' Edward Tran. som priest, called by the name of ffraunces Willec ys harbred by Mathew Wallen gent and student in lyons inn : which Traunsom goeth in a sheep's coUered gowne, and every nighte lieth in the cham- ber of the said mathew Wallen within the inn " and that an absolute pardon from the Pope for '' mr. Throgmorton now prisoner in the Tower to be conveyed by Edward Transoom preste, called by the name of Ffraunces Wyllece " was to be brought to England by Thomas Parsons, who was to start from
1 This he could not have done, for every trace of the " basilica nova intramurana " of Milan, where this took place, was obliter- ated nearly two centuries before, when the new Duomo was begun in 1386.
12
lyB LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
Paris 7-17 June, 1584. Probably the spy was here confusing our martyr with his elder brother Thomas ordained priest 1578, whom Father Warford describes as " a priest now [i.e. about 1596] labouring in the vineyard, a worthy and unassuming man ".
This false testimony of the informer led to our martyr being interrogated, 17 July, 1585, as to his knowledge of the Throckmortons on which occasion he confessed " that Francis Throckmorton ^ he knew here in England by sight, Thomas Throckmorton ^ he hath known in Paris, and also Thomas Morgan ^ he hath known in Paris since his last going over".
He recovered his health in Paris to some extent, and early in June, 1585, went to Rouen. Three weeks later he went on to Dieppe, where he took ship on 3-13 or 4-14 July. He landed on some un- inhabited part of the coast of Sussex, giving the Dieppe fishermen three or four crowns for his passage over, and the first day travelled thirty-five miles to " Coppinges-court " in Sussex (i.e. probably the manor of Cocking, then in possession of Lord Montagu) where he lay that night. The next night he spent at Farnborough in an alehouse ; and the next day came to London, having traversed the whole distance on foot. There he stopped in an alehouse for two or three nights, and on Saturday, 13 July, "he came to Mr. fferres house beyond Bishop gate to Mrs. iferres, whom he had seen twice or thrice at his last
^ The conspirator, as to whom see Diet. Nat. Biog. Ivi. 329. ^ His brother.
=' Queen Mary's agent in Paris, as to whom see Diet. Nat. Biog. xxxix. 31 and Notes and Queries^ loth S. ix. 183.
VENERABLE EDWARD STRANSHAM 179
being in England ". " He asked in the Street the way to Mrs. fferres house because he knew it not . . . and Mrs. Ferres ... he did never see ". He was arrested the very next day, Sunday, 14 July, 1585, as he was saying Mass, through the instrumentality of the infamous spy Thomas Rogers, alias Nicholas Berden, sometime servant to Mr. George Gilbert. This wretch, though he was arrested with Stransham, was, as Father Pollen says, " allowed next month to go out on bail and to leave the country. He kept, however, in his hands various things belonging to the Martyr, which he made use of in Paris in order to worm himself into the confidences of the Catholics there. ' I have delivered the token of Transam alias Barber to Thomas Fitzherbert,' ^ so runs Berden's report of 11 August, 1585, 'who upon sight thereof has received me into his company most willingly, and has given me credit with all the Papists of Paris ' (Record Office, Dom. Eliz. Add. xxix. n. 38). Thus there seems good reason for believing that not only was our Martyr betrayed by this rascal, but that the scoundrel made one villainy a stepping-stone to others of even greater importance. For Berden's object in Paris was to foment the dis- content among Mary Stuart's friends, which in fact did soon after culminate in the Babington plot."
As Stransham cannot have been more than six days in London before he was arrested, it is clear that some of the following passages from Father Warford's account of him, which prima facie would seem to re-
^ As to whom see Z>zV/. Nal. Biog. xix. 172.
i8o LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
late to this year, really refer to an earlier sojourn in England. According to Father Warford, after 1583 ** he returned to England, and laboured strenuously, chiefly in London and among the upper class. At length, through the frequency and openness of his visits to the prisons, in order to console and assist the Catholics, he was apprehended in London and brought to trial. He defended himself with such applause, so ingeniously and eloquently, against the insidious questions of the pleader and the Judges, that even the heretics admired him. He generally wore a hair-shirt, and though he frequently suffered from ill- health, he was ever unwilling to be without this pro- vocative of piety and chastity, but kept it with him and resumed it as soon as he was well again. He often escaped in a wonderful manner, having great presence of mind. I heard once from himself that returning to the house of a Catholic, where he mostly lodged, he found it surrounded by the Queen's officers, who had come to take him, and when he found that he could not fly without being seen, he feigned to be going in another direction, but being confused and not noticing the way, he fell into a deep swamp, and having extricated himself with difficulty, he was compelled by that band of persecutors to return and give an account of himself. Having his breviary with him, he wrapped it in a small handkerchief, in order that it might not betray him, and gave it to one of the simplest standing by the door to hold. God so disposing, the man returned it to him with- out any suspicion, and by his cautious answers and presence of mind he safely evaded the examination of
VENERABLE EDWARD STRANSHAM i8i
the Justice at the head of the searching party. He had more than one such escape afterwards.
** He was very zealous in gaining souls, discreet in daily life, most exact in speech, and more than com- monly learned. He was tall and dark, slightly but becomingly bearded, his head small, and very emaci- ated in person." Later on Father Warford says : " He used to say his office with great attention and re- verence. Thus, once in England, where frequently there was no convenience for saying it otherwise, a certain priest, a friend of his, said it lying in bed, whereupon he was severely scolded by Stransam, who said that such a fault was not to be tolerated in a priest. Strict, however, as he was in finding fault, he was also full of tact."
He was examined 17 July, 1585, and a note of his examination has survived, and is now printed in the fifth volume of the Catholic Record Society to which frequent reference has been made above. On the following 19 January he was indicted (under the name of Edward Barber) with Nicholas Woodfen at the Old Bailey under 23 Eliz. c. 2, for having been made priest abroad and coming into the realm. Both were found guilty and two days later on St. Agnes' Day " glorified God by a most precious death and confession " at Tyburn, their bowels being ** plucked out while they were yet alive ".^ "Some good Catholics," says Father Warford, '* relate that
1 Dr. Challoner purports to quote the above from Rishton, i.e. Father Persons' addition to Dr. Sander's Be origine ac Progressu Schismatis Anglicani ; the passage is not to be found in Lewis's translation,
i82 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
once when Father John Cornelius [martyred 4 July, 1594] was exorcising a possessed person, the devil, seeming to rejoice in the death of such a man, said (and his word turned out to be true) : ' You, too, shall shortly follow Stransam. Oh, how sweet his bowels smelt when they were burning at Tyburn. Ah what a scent it was ! ' "
The venerable martyr William Freeman who suffered 13 August, 1595, used to *' tell with great affection of the martyrdom of Mr. Edward Streansham, Prieste, which yf it were not the first motyve, yet a great confirmacion undoubtedly yt was unto hym in the Catholique faith, as by his taulke might well appeare ".
J. B. W.
Authorities. — A.E.M. 254. Examination of Ed. Stran- sham^ C.R.S. v. 120. Douay Diaries, 118, 12^, passim. War- ford's Relation, A.E.M. 257. Henry Hollands Relation, Challoner Appendix. Trials of S trans ham, etc., C.R.S. v. 129. Martyrdom of William Freeman, ibid. 346. PenkevePs Relation, A.E.M. 284. Challoner, i. 176-7. Yepez, Hist. Part. Bridge- water, Concertatio, 204, s.v. " Transamus ".
XVI.
VENERABLE NICHOLAS WOODFEN vere WHEELER.
SECULAR PRIEST.
Tyburn^ 2 1 January^ 1 5 86.
As we owe nearly all that is known of this martyr to "an ancient missioner his schoolfellow " and "inti- mate acquaintance " named Davis, it may not be amiss to make a short preliminary inquiry as to the latter's identity.
He was born in Herefordshire, as he tells us (in his account of the Ven. Thomas Holford, printed by Dr. Challoner), and is almost certainly to be identi- fied with (i) the Richard Davis alias Foster alias Winkfield who was in the Wood Street Counter in 1586, and is said to have been " the principal person that received Campion, Persons & Edmondes,^ & con- ducted them throughe England & the Corrupter of Will ffytton his mother in lawe & all there ffamylle, w* d)rverse others"; (2) the priest named Wink- field who was about forty years of age in 1591 ; (3) the priest named Davis who was in Herefordshire in 1605, and (4) the old blind priest named Davis
1 I.e. William Weston, S.J. 183
i84 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
" lodging about Holborne Conduit " in 1623. As both he and our martyr (who is described as " a young man" when he came to Rheims in December, 1579) were probably born about 1550, he is to be dis- tinguished from the Richard Davis of Llandaff diocese mentioned in the Douay Diaries, who in 1580 is there- in described as " an old man " and '* venerable " and was doubtless a priest of Queen Mary's reign.
Mr. Davis, whose narrative was probably compiled in 1626, tells us that our martyr's real name was Nicholas Wheeler, that he was born at Leominster, and educated with him at the Grammar School there, where he was considered one of the best scholars. After leaving school they lost touch with each other, and never met till after our martyr's ordination as priest. So we do not know what he did after leaving school. Probably he acted as private tutor in vari- ous Catholic families. For a short period he acted as ** servant and assistant " to the Ven. Swithin Wells, when he kept a " school " (as we are in- formed by Father Stanney, S.J., who for the last five years of Wells's life acted as his confessor) at Monk- ton Farleigh on the Somersetshire border of Wilt- shire about 1575. As we have seen above, Nicholas Wheeler probably arrived at Douay 18 April, 1577, and when he came to Rheims, 27 December, 1579, he is described as of the diocese of London.
We have no means of guessing why on going to Rheims he assumed the very unusual name of Woodfen.^
^ A Woodfin resides at Chester at the present day according to the Post Ojfice Directory.
VENERABLE NICHOLAS WOODFEN 185
It does not seem to have ever been a Hereford- shire name. On the other hand, the name of Devereux, which our martyr subsequently took on the mission is the family name of Viscount Hereford, Premier Viscount of England, and was the name of the Royal favourite, the Earl of Essex, and so natur- ally would suggest itself to a Herefordshire man.
Nicholas Woodfen, as he elected to be called, was ordained deacon at Chalons-sur-Marne on Saturday, 4 March, and priest three weeks later, 25 March, 1581, in St. Mary's, Rheims, by the Bishop of Chalons- sur-Marne, Monsignor Cosme Clausse de Marchau- mont. He had probably received minor orders and the sub-diaconate at Douay. He said his first Mass on 5 April, 1581, and left for the mission with Edward Stransham, 30 June, 1581.
Mr. Davis says : *' Coming to London, after his return, he was driven to great necessity ; and learn- ing that I was entertained by Sir Thomas Tresham's lady,^ who lived in Tuttle-street ^ in Westminster (Sir Thomas Tresham, her husband, being prisoner for his religion at Hogsdon, or Hoxton, beyond London), he came to an inn thereby, and sent me a letter".
As Sir Thomas Tresham, knight, of Rushton, Northants, was in the Fleet 22 March, 1582-3, hav- ing been committed there the previous 18 August,^ this letter would therefore seem to have been written before or after this imprisonment.
^ Muriel, daughter of Sir Robert Throckmorton of Coughton, see Diet. Nat. Biog. Ivii. 205. 2 I.e. Tothill Street. * Dasent's Acts of Privy Council., xiii. 176.
i86 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
To resume Mr. Davis's narrative : " I came unto him ; who declared unto me, the tears standing in his eyes, that he had neither money to buy him any meat, nor scarce any clothes upon his back. I pitied his case, comforted him, and gave him such money as I had then present ; and afterwards ac- quainted him with catholics in London : and by the help of Mr. Francis Brown, the old lord Montague's brother, I got him apparel, and furnished him in such sort, as he took a chamber in Fleet-street, near the Conduit, at one Burton, a haberdasher's house, ^ and did much good among the gentlemen of the inns of court, and went in a gown as one of them ; where he went by the name of Woodfen. But Norris, the pursuivant, ferreted him out and forced him from thence. After that, he came to Hogsdon to me ; where the next day after his coming he fell into the like danger : for the house was beset and searched by two pursuivants ; who, to be the more sure of their prey, brought with them the owner, or landlord, of the house ; who finding a certain door closed up told Sir Thomas of it ; who said it was true, that because his serving men lay in that chamber, and his son in the next chamber, to the end that his men should not have access to his son, he barred up that door; wherein, indeed, the secret place was devised, which saved us both at that time : but, as our Saviour said, nondum venit hora mea, so his hour was not yet
^ In February, 1583-4, a State Paper mentions that " Burton, dwelling at the sign of the Bishop in Fleet Street, keepeth in his house Woodfrey [Woodfen] a traitorous Papist " (Foley, Records SJ., vi. 721).
VENERABLE NICHOLAS WOOD FEN 187
come." At last on the third attempt he was arrested and committed to Newgate. He was indicted as Nicholas Devorax alias Woodfen at the Old Bailey, ig January, 1585-6, under the same statute, 27 Eliz. c. 2, as Edward Stransham, and as we have seen both suffered at the same place on the same day.
J. B. W.
.Authorities. — Douay Diaries^ 9, 26, passim. Benjamin Norton to Bishop of Chalcedon^ C.R.S. v. 392. Two Exams, of Swithin Wells ^ ibid. 131, Trial of Nicholas Woodfen^ C.R.S. V. 129. Prison Lists^ C.R.S. ii. 250, 252, 255, 274, 275. Foley, Records., \. 381, iv. 370. Challoner, vol. i. 177-8 and Appendix. DodweWs Intelligence ., cited by Simpson, Rambler., N.S., vii. 422 (June, 1857). Yepez, Hist. Part. Dasent, Acts of Privy Council., xiii, 176.
XVII.
VENERABLE MARGARET CLITHEROW.
GENTLEWOMAN.
York, 26 March, 1586.
Among the noble band of " valiant women " who now enjoy the fulfilment of the promise that is at- tained through pain, none are nearer to our hearts than those women of our own country, who so gladly suffered loss and death, in order to help in keeping the faith alive in England. Of these the Venerable Margaret Clitherow was the most heroic. Her life was spent in the service of God and her one longing was for the return of her country to His worship in the Catholic Church. Can we doubt that her suffer- ings and death have won for her prayers a ** power and passion to deliver hearts from the prison-house " of heresy? »
The Yen. Margaret Clitherow was born at York circa 1550-6. Her father was Thomas Midleton, a wax-chandler living in Davygate, who was elected one of the city sheriffs in 1564-5. He died in May, 1567, leaving Margaret the house in Davygate, a silver goblet and six silver spoons. His widow mar-
188
VENERABLE MARGARET CUT HERO W i8g
ried in September of the same year Henry Mayes, afterwards Lord Mayor of York.
After her father's death Margaret continued to live with her mother and stepfather until her marriage in 1571 to John Clitherow, a butcher by trade, living in Great Manger Gate. Up to that time she had at- tended only Protestant services, but in 1574, "two or three years at the most after her marriage, when she first heard of the Catholic Faith and Church (for before she frequented the heretical service, not suspecting there had been any other way to serve God), she became as desirous to learn the Christian duty in truth and sincerity, as she had learned be- fore to serve the world vainly ; and, after a little consideration . . . she carefully employed herself to know plainly the same, and to become a lively member of the Church, wherein this faith had been taught and preached. Even at the first, she fully resolved rather to forsake husband, life and all, than to return again to her damnable state ; and this gracious desire she then more speedily accomplished (not without contradiction of her worldly friends), than at any time after she could peaceably enjoy the same." ^
John Clitherow, while himself remaining a Pro- testant, seems to have placed no obstacles in the way of his wife's conversion, but to have allowed her both then and afterwards absolute freedom in the exercise of her religion and in the Catholic education of their children. His own brothers were both Catho- lics, William being a priest, and Thomas a draper, afterwards a prisoner for the faith in York Castle.
^ John Mush, Lt/e of Margaret Clitherow^ p. 368.
igo LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
When Margaret had been a Catholic for about two years, the Lord Mayor and City Council sent a re- turn to the Court of Ecclesiastical Commission of all " who, neglecting their duties to God and the Queen's Majesty, will in nowise come to their parish churches to hear the divine service of Almighty God, accord- ing to His laws and the laws of this realm " (6 June, Eliz. i8, 1576. Edm. Richardson, Mayor).
In the list under the heading of " Christ's Parish " appears " Uxor Johis. Clithero ".
The list was answered by orders in the Queen's name to examine those who refused to attend their parish church, and an account of the examinations was sent to the Council of the North in November, 1576. Under the heading of " Monkewarde" we find the following : —
Christ's Margaret Clitherow (in prisona, in rnarg.).
Parish wife of John Clitherow, butcher, cometh not to the Church, for what cause we can- not learn, for she is now great with child, and could not come before us.
The same John sayeth he is worth in clear goods £6, and so we think.
The marginal note shows that Margaret was already in prison for her faith, and her confessor, John Mush, from whose life of her the greater part of our information is gathered, tells us that "she hath been ... for her . . . constancy in the Catholic faith, divers times separated from her husband and children, cast into prison, sometimes by the space of two years together, and sometimes by more. . . . The prison she accounted a most happy and profit-
VENERABLE MARGARET CLITHEROW 191
able school, where . . . she sucked honey out of the poison of her enemies. They persecuted her and she thereby learned patience ; they shut her up into close prison and she thereby learned to forget and despise the world ; they separated her from house, children and husband, and she thereby became familiar with God ; they sought to terrify her and she thereby in- creased in the most glorious constancy and fortitude, insomuch that her greatest joy was to be assaulted by them."
In the intervals of her imprisonment, when living quietly in her husband's house, Margaret continued to practise the lessons learnt in confinement and endeavoured in all things to lead a life of most perfect virtue. " In (the) tranquillity of a humble spirit she lived in exceeding joy. Her external actions dis- covered the true humility of her heart, for there was nothing to be done in the house so base that she would not be most ready to do or take in hand her- self, and the baser the office should be, the more un- willing would she be the maidens should do it, but rather keep it as a necessary exercise in store for herself of her own humility."
Her love of God was shown " in a hearty sorrow and humble repentance " of all her faults — -especially those of a youth spent in schism — and in a constant purpose never willingly to offend Him even in the smallest matter, "... in all her actions it evidently appeared that she loved Him whom she continually served, and joyfully served Him whom she loved above all things ".
Her love of God overflowed in active love and care
192 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
for her neighbour. Kind and helpful to all, ^lie provided to the utmost of her power for those of the "household of faith"; instructing the young or unlearned in the doctrines of the true religion ; secretly helping Catholic prisoners, and providing for the bodily and spiritual needs of those yet at liberty.
After the execution in 1582 of the earlier York martyrs, Margaret's veneration for those holy priests wsis shown by the pilgrimages she made to the place of their death. These expeditions had to be under- taken secretly and at night for fear of spies. The York Tyburn was some half-mile distant from the city, across Ousebridge and through Micklegate Bar. Father Mush writes that it was Margaret's custom to walk there barefoot and to pray and meditate on her knees under the gallows "where she earnestly wished (if it were God's will) for the same Catholic cause to end her life ". While thus venerating the martyrs she was no less eager to serve the living priests. They were always welcome in her home and she prepared a small room adjoining the house where they could stay unseen by her neighbours. When the times were too dangerous to allow this room to be used, she prepared another at some distance to which it was more difficult for her personally to have access. She cheerfully endured this deprivation, saying : *' Though I cannot come as I desire, yet it doth me good and much comforteth me that I know I have you here, and that God is in any way served by my means ".
When the penal laws against priests and all who
VENERABLE MARGARET CLITHEROW 193
aided them were more strictly enforced, Margaret abated nothing of the fervour of her welcome to God's ministers, but said : " By God's grace all priests shall be more welcome to me than ever they were, and I will do what I can to set forward God's Catholic service ". Her confessor reminded her that per- severance in that resolution might well bring her to the gallows. '' God's will be done," said she, " but I am far unworthy of that honour."
Her spiritual life has been briefly portrayed by her confessor. Every morning, on rising, she spent at least an hour and a half in prayer. Then, whenever possible, she heard Mass, approaching the Sacraments of Penance and Holy Eucharist twice a week. Her great delight was to kneel where she could look upon the Blessed Sacrament, and, when she could do so without being remarked, she would choose a seat in a corner behind the rest of the worshippers. During the day while about her business she endeavoured to keep her mind continually fixed on God, and to have the actual as well as the habitual intention of doing all to His honour and glory. About four o'clock if her duties permitted, she would pray for an hour with her children ; and at eight or nine o'clock having obtained her confessor's blessing, she spent another hour in prayer before retiring to rest. On Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays she ate no meat and took only one meal ; while on Fridays she fasted on bread and water and used a discipline whenever leave was given her.
Margaret had been living at liberty, though under surveillance, for 5il?0ut eighteen months, when on
J3
94 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
10 March, 1586, her husband was summoned to appear before the Councillors. On his being called before them for the second time on the afternoon of the same day, Margaret, expecting that the house •would be searched, removed a priest, who had just arrived, into the lower hiding-place. The Sheriffs with their officers arrived soon after. Mr. Stapleton, tutor to the children, managed to escape, and in their rage at this the searchers took Margaret with her children and servants away with them. Among the servants was a small Flemish boy of about twelve years of age ; the pursuivants threatened him with a rod and so terrified him that he showed them the priest's hiding-place. There they found vestments and other articles for the service of the Church, all of which they removed to the Guildhall.
Margaret and her husband were placed in separate prisons in York Castle, only once being allowed to see each other in the presence of the jailers at what proved to be their last meeting on earth. On 12 March, Anne Tesh was imprisoned with Margaret on the testimony of the Flemish boy. The two spent the time until Monday, 14 March, in prayer and abstinence with so much joy that Margaret said several times : " Sister, we are so merry together that,* unless we be parted, I fear we shall lose (the merit) of our imprisonment ".
After dinner on the 14th she was taken to the Common Hall before the judges Clinch and Rhodes and several of the Council. They asked her if she were guilty or not of having harboured priests, traitors to
VENERABLE MARGARET CLITHEROW 195
the Queen and to the laws, and of having heard Mass. She answered that she was guilty of no offence against the Queen, and being well aware that there was no evidence against her but the unsupported word of the Flemish boy, she steadily refused, to plead, lest at her trial her friends and children should be forced to give evidence and her death lie at their door. The Court adjourned that evening without pronouncing sentence, and Margaret was taken to a house on Ousebridge belonging to John Trewe, " where she was shut up in a close parlour". On the way from the Hall to her new prison she gave alms to the crowds who thronged the streets to see her pass.
Next morning she was taken back to the Common Hall and again refused to plead. When the Judge threatened her with the extreme law provided for such cases, the Protestant preacher Wigginton solemnly warned him that he ought not " either by God's laws or man's, to judge her to die upon the slender witness of a boy '\ Clinch then made a fresh appeal to Margaret, but finding her immovable yielded her to the impatience of the Council and pronounced sentence upon her for refusing to stand trial. He said : —
'* If you will not put yourself to the country, this must be your judgment :
" You must return from whence you came, and there in the lowest part of the prison, be stripped naked, laid down, your back upon the ground, and as much weight laid on you as you are able to bear, and so continue three days without meat or drink, except a little barley bread and puddle water, and the third
13"
196 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
day be pressed to death, your hands and feet bound to posts, and a sharp stone under your back ".
The martyr prayed for the Judge who condemned her, saying: *' If this judgment be according to your own conscience, I pray God send you better judg- ment before Him. I thank God heartily for this " ; and on his pressing her to reconsider her decision she answered : " God be thanked, all that He shall send me shall be welcome ; I am not worthy of so good a death as this : I have deserved death for mine offences towards God, but not for anything that I am accused of".
She was then pinioned by the Sheriff's officers and led back to the prison, passing through the streets with such a cheerful countenance that some said : ** It must needs be that she received comfort from the Holy Ghost ".
When he heard of her condemnation her husband " fared like a man out of his wits," and cried : " Alas ! will they kill my wife ? Let them take all I have and save her, for she is the best wife in all England and the best Catholic." He was released on the Sunday, 20 March, and told to absent himself for five days.
In the meantime Puritan ministers and other here- tics were troubling the peace of Margaret's prison by arguments against the Church and by imploring her to save herself and conform to the Statutes. Four women also visited her by the Judge's order to find out whether she was expecting again to become a mother, but to these she returned no direct reply.
At last Clinch consented to the execution, only
VENERABLE MARGARET CLITHEROW 197
Stipulating that it should not be carried out before the following Friday, 25 March. Each day still brought visitors who endeavoured to shake her con- stancy, among them her step-father, Henry Mayes, then Lord Mayor. When he found he could not move her, he asked her to give* him her daughter Anne, which she refused, because " that she was loth her child should be infected with his heresy ".
On Tuesday she was told that Friday was fixed for her execution. She sent word to her friends to pray for her perseverance, and she *' kneeling down and praying a little, the fear and horror of death presently departed ". From that time she took no food at all until her death. She was sharing a room with a man named Yoward and his wife, and the woman related that on the night of Thursday to Friday Margaret asked if some one would sit up with her, " not for fear of death, for that is my comfort, but the flesh is frail ". As no one could be procured Mrs. Yoward sat up with her till midnight, when Margaret, putting on the long linen robe she had made to suffer in, prayed kneeling for three hours, and then rested till six o'clock.
At eight o'clock the Sheriffs came to conduct her to the Tolbooth on the opposite side of the street. She walked bare-foot, carrying the linen habit. Ar- rived at the place of execution, she knelt down and prayed for the Catholic Church, the Pope, all in charge of souls, and all Christian Princes, *' especi- ally for Elizabeth, Queen of England, that God turn her to the CathoHc faith, and that after this mortal life she may receive the blessed joys of heaven ".
igS LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
Sheriff Fawcet wished her to confess that she died for treason. ** No, no, Mr. Sheriff," she answered, *' I die for the love of my Lord Jesu." Then the women helped her to remove her clothes and put on the linen robe. She laid herself on the ground and they placed a handkerchief on her face, the door was laid upon her and her hands were tied to two posts. After a few more questions answered by the martyr with meek firmness, weights were laid upon the door, and after fifteen minutes of intense agony her soul passed " with marvellous triumph into the peaceable city of God, there to receive a worthy crown of end- less immortality and joy". The last words she was heard to speak were : '* Jesu ! Jesu ! Jesu ! have mercy on me ! "
The body was left in the press from her death at nine o'clock until three that afternoon. The same evening it was flung into a filthy hole near the city walls. After six weeks a Catholic searched and found it " whole without any putrefaction ".^ He with others took it a long journey on horseback, *' to a place where it rested six days unembowelled, before necessary preservatives could be gotten "} After this it was buried as " pure and uncorrupted as though the blessed soul had departed from the body the day before ".
We have no knowledge of the place of burial of the Blessed Martyr, but a hand evidently cut off at the time of interment, is preserved at the Bar Con- vent, York. The flesh still remains, though brown
^ Ancient Editor's Note-book.
- A Yorkshire Recusant's Relation.
VENERABLE MARGARET CLITHEROW 199
with age, and the fingers are contracted as if by pain.
Margaret's daughter Anne, after suffering imprison- ment in York for adhering to the CathoHc Faith, found means to escape from England, and became a nun in St. Ursula's Convent, Louvain. Her son Henry, whom she had sent to Douay without his father's knowledge in 1585, became a priest, as also did his brother William.
Well may we ask the Venerable Margaret, in the words addressed to her by her confessor after her martyrdom, to obtain for us grace from Our Lord " that (we) may honour Him by imitation of thy happy life, and by any death, which He will give (us), to be partaker with thee and all holy saints of His kingdom, to whom be all glory and honour, now and for ever. Amen."
A. R.
Authorities. — The chief authority for this martyr is the life written by her confessor, John Mush, of which three MSS. are extant, (i) Middleton MS., printed by Father Morris in Troubles, iii., (2) York Bar MS., published under editorship of W. Nicholson in 1849, and (3) Oscott MS.' The best recent life is by J. B. Milburn, A Martyr of Old York (Bums and Gates, 1900). See also Challoner, Bridgewater, and Yepez.
Relics.— (i) Hand, preserved at the Bar Convent, York. (2) Hair, in the possession of the Archbishop of Westminster.
XVIII. VENERABLE RICHARD SERGEANT
AND
VENERABLE WILLIAM THOMSON.
SECULAR PRIESTS.
Tyburn, 20 April, 1586.
Richard Sergeant, of the diocese of Gloucester, possibly a member of the family of that name settled at Stone, Gloucestershire, took the degree of Bachelor of Arts in the University of Oxford, 20 February, 1570-1,^ and arrived at the English College at Rheims, 25 July, 1 58 1. He was ordained subdeacon, appar- ently at Rheims, 14 April, 1582, deacon at Soissons,
9 or 10 June, 1582, and priest at Laon, 7 April, 1583, said his first Mass 21 April, and left for England,
10 September, 1583. Nothing is known of the place of his labours or of his arrest.
His fellow-martyr, William Thomson, was born at Blackburn, in Lancashire. He arrived at the English College at Rheims, 28 May, 1583, and was ordained priest in the chapel of the Holy Cross in Rheims Cathedral by the Cardinal Archbishop, Louis de Guise. He laboured chiefly in London, where he is reported to have been entertained by Sir John Arun-
1 Boase, Register of the University of Oxford, i. (Oxford, 1885), 281.
VV. R. SERGEANT AND W. THOMSON 201
dell of Lanherne, who at that time was confined to a house which he had rented at Ely Place, Holborn. As to the time and place of his arrest there is some doubt. Father Morris says that he was taken at the house of Robert Bellamy of Harrow-on-the-Hill, on 30 June, 1585, or 30 January, 1585-6. It would seem, however, that he was taken at the house of Roger Lyne, the husband of Ven. Anne Lyne, in Bishopsgate Street Without, while saying Mass. Roger Lyne, and William Higham, Mrs. Lyne's brother, both at the time under nineteen years of age, were assisting at his Mass and were arrested. The former is said to have been committed to the Wood Street Counter, 3 February, 1583, which must be a mistake for 1585-6. The latter is said to have been committed to the same prison, 30 July, 1585. Both were still there 14 June, 1586, being then '' in execu- tion for 100 marks apiece ".
In the sessions of oyer and terminer held at the Justice Hall, in the Old Bailey, 18 April, 1586, William Thompson alias Blackburn, and Richard Lea alias Long (i.e. Sergeant) were condemned for treason under 27 Eliz. c. 2, merely for being priests and coming into this realm.
Both were hanged, bowelled, and quartered at Tyburn two days later.
J. B. W.
Authorities. — Douay Diaries. Trials of Nicholas Wood- fen^ etc.^ C.R.S. V. 129. Prison Lists. C.R.S. ii. 247-50, 255, 271. Morris, Troubles^ \\. Notes and Queries^ nth Series, iii. 491. Challoner, i. 179.
XIX. VENERABLE ROBERT ANDERTON
AND
VENERABLE WILLIAM MARSDEN.
SECULAR PRIESTS.
Isle of Wight, 25 April, 1586.
Both these martyrs were Lancashire men. Mr. Gillow is of opinion that the former was a son of Hugh Anderton of Euxton Hall by his second wife, Alice, daughter of Alexander Standish of Standish Hall,^ and that the latter was born in the parish of Chipping, and was a son of a recusant yeoman of Thornley named Richard Marsden.^ Father Warford says they were friends from early youth till death, and thinks that both were at Oxford together. " I knew Anderton intimately at St. Mary Hall," he writes, " and Marsden, unless my memory deceives me, was at Brasenose." ^ However, there is no record of the matriculation of any Marsden at Oxford in the sixteenth century, and the only Robert Anderton whose matriculation there is recorded about this
^ C.R.S. Pub. vi. 234, correcting by implication Bibl. Diet. Eng. Cath. i. 41.
2 Bibl Diet. Eng. Cath. iv. 464. "" Pollen, A.E.M. 67.
VV. R. ANDERfON AND W. MARSDEN 203
time, is one of this name of Brasenose College, who matriculated 20 July, 1578, aged eighteen. He in- deed is of Lancashire, but is described as of plebeian origin,^ whereas, according to Father Warford, our martyr " was sprung from the distinguished family of the name, though his parents were not wealthy ". However, probably Father Warford's memory did deceive him, and Anderton was at Brasenose, while Marsden was at St. Mary Hall.
The two future martyrs went to Douay together, where they were received into the Church by " a Jesuit, called Father Columbine," ^ i.e. doubtless Father John Columb, or Cullam, B.A., S.J.,^ and they arrived, together with six companions at the English College, Rheims, on 10 July, 1580. Both received minor orders in Rheims Cathedral, 25 March, 1581, at the hands of Monsignor Cosme Clausse de Marchaumont, Bishop of Chalons-sur- Marne. Anderton was ordained subdeacon, 24 Sep- tember, 1584, and priest, 31 March, 1584-5, in Rheims Cathedral by Cardinal de Guise ; but even before he was admitted to major orders he was regarded as an excellentipreacher, and in April, 1583, he was selected
^Brasenose College Register {Oy.. Hist. Soc. 1910), 53. The words " plebei filius " may also mean no more than that the student paid the lower fees of a plebeian ; see O.H.S. II. i. xxv.
2 Pollen, op. ciL 76.
^He entered Winchester College in 1558 from Farway, Devon, and was Fellow of New College, Oxford, from 1 564 to 1 57 1 (Kirby, Winchester Scholars^ 135). He joined the Society in 1 572 at Louvain, and died at Douay in 1 582 (Foley, Rec. Eng. Prov., SJ.).
204 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
out of the whole college to deliver an oration, still extant in the Westminster Archives, in the presence of the chief authorities of Rheims, ecclesiastical and civil. '* Anderton taught me Hebrew," writes Father Warford, " and afterwards went through the Psalms of David with me privately, pretending that he would like me in return to teach him Greek, lest I the elder should be ashamed to learn of him without remunera- tion. He taught extremely well, and quickly, and was very proficient in the sacred language, chiefly on account of his intimacy with Gregory Martin, and William Reynold, both well skilled in that tongue. He took great pains in helping the latter while he was writing his books, especially against Whitaker. He was skilful in controversies, and not deficient in scholastic learning." Of his method in the pulpit. Father Warford records that " he was somewhat disposed \o blush on account of a certain virginal modesty, but in other respects he was very calm in preaching both in voice and manner".
William Marsden was ordained subdeacon in Dec- ember, 1584, and deacon 16 March, 1584-5. It is not recorded when he was ordained priest. Though not so brilliant as Anderton, he appears to have made his mark in the College. " When it was deter- mined," writes Father Warford, '* to establish a junior school for those who were not fit for theology, these two were chosen as examples and patterns of virtue, to be prefects over the boys. This office they discharged for a long time, until God called them both (for they were never divided either in affection or occupation) to set out for England." This they
VV. R, ANDERTON AND W. MARSDEN 205
did, in the company of another young priest, William Yeomans, on 4 February, 1585-6.
We do not know where they parted from Yeomans, nor from what port they set sail, nor whither they were bound. All that we are told is that soon after they left the French coast a storm arose, and, that in answer to their prayers, their ship came safe to harbour somewhere in the Isle of Wight.
They were at once arrested, and brought before a local justice of the peace, to whom it would appear that they acknowledged their priesthood, and by whom they were committed to Winchester Jail to be tried at the Lent Assizes then imminent. They were indicted under 27 Eliz. c. 2, a recent Act, for being priests and coming into the realm, before the Chief Justice of the Common Pleas, Sir Edmund Anderson and another Judge of Assize. According to Father Warford, Cowper, the Bishop of Winchester, took a prominent part in the trial, in the course of which " he taunted the priests with the foulness of Pope Joan, and dilated on that fable with many words ". To this Anderton replied that, even if the story were true, instead of being " only the foul fabrication of heretics long since exploded," it did not lie in Cow- per's mouth " to propound so absurd a contumely ". Cowper asked why. " Because," said Anderton, '* the basis of your faith, the citadel of your religion, is this, that you profess a woman to be Head of your Church. Surely whether we call her Pope Joan or Pope Eliza- beth matters little. With what face then, can you object that to us as an infamy, which is your special glory ? How taunt the Roman See with that which
206 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
you proudly regard as the bulwark of your religion ? " To this the Bishop could make no reply.
Bishop Challoner states that in the course of their trial the martyrs pleaded that they ''had not re- mained in the kingdom before their commitment the number of days mentioned in the statute ". He must be referring to section lo which provides that the Act is not to extend to any priest submitting himself and taking the Oath of Supremacy within three days of coming into the realm. He also states that they pleaded that they had been *' cast upon shore against their will ". Mr. Gillow, however, says that it was one of the Judges who suggested that plea, saying that no doubt they were bound for Scotland, and that the priests refused to plead a lie, saying that they intended to come to England to exercise there their priestly functions and reconcile souls to God and the Church. There is no doubt that they signified their recognition of the Queen's supremacy in civil causes ; and it was afterwards stated, though the martyrs denied it, that they promised *' that they would at all times adventure their lives in defence of her Majesty and her realm against the Pope . . . and that they would not meddle or persuade with any in matter of religion, but only keep their own consciences to themselves". In the event the jury found the prisoners guilty, and indetd it would seem they could not have done otherwise in view of the provisions of the Statute. Father Warford says that Sir Edmund "would not pronounce the capital sentence"; but that would seem to be an error. They doubtless *' had sentence to die," as Bishop Challoner states;
VV. R. ANDERTON AND W. MARSDEN 207
but the execution of the sentence was delayed, until the will of the Privy Council became known, and the Judges wrote to the Council pointing out the con- formity of the prisoners to the Queen in civil causes. In consequence the Council by letter, dated 10 March, ordered that they should be sent up to London to the Marshalsea.^ They arrived there before 16 March, on which day the Council sent a letter to Ralph Rokeby, the Master of St. Katherine's, and to John Hammond, LL.D., Chancellor of the Diocese of Lon- don, and M.P. for Rye, to examine the prisoners, '* concerning their obedience and subject-like duty to her Majesty and the Estate, and if they find that they remain constant in the faithful protestations that they did use before the Justices of the Assizes at the time of their arraignment, to cause them to set down the same in writing, and subscribe there- unto, that thereupon her Majesty may be moved to extend mercy unto them, &c." Father Warford writes that Cowper " prevailed by his importunity on the exceedingly timid Judge, that these priests should accompany him to London ; and this was done at his cost". He adds that "the old man set oif for London to his great inconvenience and cost, obtained an interview with the Queen, and told her the whole story ; from her he obtained licence for their execu- tion, and then carried the Martyrs, bound hand and foot as before, back to the Isle of Wight ".
Although, as we have seen, and shall see, this account is not literally accurate, it may well be that
^ Dasent, Ac^s of the Privy Council^ xiv. 26. Pollen, op. cit. 74. They were removed to London at the public expense.
2o8 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
it was Cowper's influence at Court that made the examination in London take on a different complexion from the trial at Winchester. Probably both the Judges of Assize were in favour of clemency. Cer- tainly the inquisitors in London were for a rigorous application of the new law. Anderton was asked " whether he did acknowledge her Majesty to be lawful Queen, notwithstanding any sentence, which the Pope either had given, or could give, against her, and whether he meant that it was his duty, and the duties of all her Majesty's subjects, to withstand the Pope, not only if his invasion were for temporal respects, as to make conquest of the realm, but also if he would attempt such invasion by force to reduce the realm to his obedience by colour of religion ". To this Anderton answered that he " required to be respited until such cases should happen," adding that in the meantime he might become a Protest- ant, and so become of other opinion than he was then of.
" William Marsden, to the same questions before propounded to Anderton, answered that he acknow- ledged her Majesty to be lawful Queen of this realm, and of other her dominions ; and that he took him- self bound to obey her Majesty, so far as his obedience impeached not his duties to God and to the Church (meaning the Church of Rome) : requiring that he might not be asked his opinion any further, until such case of sentence given by the Pope should happen : and further saith, that in case the Pope would send any forces into the realm, to reduce the same to the Catholic Religion (meaning Popery), he would then
VV. R. ANDERTON AND W. MARSDEN 209
do the duty of a priest, that is, he would pray that right might take place."
Both priests also denied that they had ever promised not to proselytize, and to " keep their own conscience to themselves," but on the contrary asserted that their one object in coming into the realm was to reconcile their fellow-countrymen to the Church.
Even so, there was no haste towards the now in- evitable execution, and it was not till 10 April that the Council wrote to Sir George Carey, Captain or Governor of the Isle of Wight, ordering him to confer with the Under-sheriff of Hampshire as where the execution was to be carried out. It was to be either at the place of their landing or in some other fit place or places. Sir George was informed that the prisoners would be in the custody of the Sheriff of Hampshire at Winchester by 21 April. At the same time the Sheriff was ordered to see that the *' Declara- tion " which is printed by Father Pollen (pp. 75-80) should be openly read and published at the time of their execution, and that copies thereof should be fixed in public places that the people might know first why they had been reprieved, and secondly why they had been executed. On 17 April the Council furnished Thomas Tailour, servant of the Knight Marshal, with a " placard " for aid and assistance in conveying of the two priests to Winchester. He set out with "three of his fellows . . . and a guide," and on his return received £g for ''horsecheer, diets, watches, and other charges".
They were executed " on some high ground in 14
LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
sight of the moaning sea," probably on the site of their landing, on 25 April, 1586. They were offered their lives if they would recant, but in vain. They " underwent the extreme penalty, being hanged, disembowelled, and mangled ".
*' Anderton," writes Father Warford, *' was of moderate height, but somewhat less than Marsden ; the latter had always a pale complexion. Anderton had a more manly countenance, but had evidently suffered from sickness when a child. Both had black eyes, beards slight, which would have been brown when fully grown. Both of them were most unas- suming, but full of life and spirits, and they were re- markable for their piety and zeal for sacred things."
J. B. W.
Authorities.— Watford's Reminiscences^ A.E.M. 65-75. Benjamin Norton to Bishop of Chalcedony C.R.S. v. 393-8. Douay Diaries. Declaration of the Queen, A.E.M. 75-82. Dasent, Acts of the Privy Council, xiv. 26, etc. Brasenose College Register (Ox. Hist. Soc), 53. Gillow, Challoner, etc.
XX.
VENERABLE FRANCIS INGLEBY.
SECULAR PRIEST. York, 3 June, 1586.
Born in or about 1551/ Francis Ingleby was the fourth son of Sir William Ingleby, knight, of Ripley, Yorkshire, treasurer of Berwick-upon-Tweed, by Anne, daughter of Sir Williani Mallory, knight, of Studley.^ He became a scholar of Brasenose College, Oxford, about 1562, and was admitted a student at the Inner Temple in 1577.^ He was afterwards called to the bar. Father Warford says that he saw him in 1583 (the date must be wrong) "when he had made a good start in his profession, and heard him commenting with great discretion but very fluently, on the frauds practised by the Earl of Leicester in perverting the laws of the country ".* He arrived at the English College at Rheims, 18
^ According to the newly discovered portrait at Ripley (as to which, see p. 215), he would have been bom in 1557, but there seems to be an error, because he went to Oxford about 1562, when he must have been much older than five.
"^ Harleian Soc. Publ. xvi. 172.
^Brasenose College Register (Oxford, 1909), 32. Students Admitted to the Inner Temple (London, 1877), 84.
^Pollen, A.E.M. 258.
an 14 *
212 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
August, 1582, and lived there at his own expense, studying scholastic theology, and at the same time cases of conscience. He was ordained subdeacon at Laon on Saturday, 28 May, deacon at Rheims on Saturday, 24 September, and priest at Laon on Satur- day, 24 December, 1583, celebrating his first Mass on Christmas Day, and left for the English mission on Thursday, 5 April, 1584. His short missionary career seems to have been spent in Yorkshire, where, Father Warford says, " he was most highly esteemed by all Catholics on account of his great zeal for souls, and especially for his remarkable prudence ".
The manner of his arrest, which took place in the spring of 1586, is thus given by Father Warford.
" On a certain day he left York on foot and in the dress of a poor man without a cloak, and was courteously accompanied beyond the gates by a cer- tain Catholic of that city. The gentleman, though intending to return at once, stayed for a few moments' conversation with the priest on an open spot, which, unknown to the priest, was overlooked by the windows of the Bishop's Palace. It happened that two chap- lains of the pseudo-bishop, idly talking there, espied them, and noticed that the Catholic as he was taking leave, frequently uncovered to Ingleby, and showed him, while saying good-bye, greater marks of respect than were fitting towards a common person meanly dressed. They ran therefore and made inquiries, and finding he was a priest they apprehended him."
Another contemporary writer, on the other hand, says,^ that our martyr was going to, not from, York,
^ Pollen, o/f. cit. 304.
VENERABLE FRANCIS INGLEBY 213
when " a Catholic gentleman, by name Mr. Lassie/ met him in a place called Bishopfields, and kneeling down craved his blessing, which being espied by one of the President's men, he was taken and brought to the Council ".
This writer goes on : " They said unto him they marvelled, that he being a gentleman of so great calling would abase himself to be a priest. He answered that he made more account of his priest- hood than of all other titles whatsoever. Brought unto the Castle, he had a pair of fetters laid upon his legs at the prison door. The Catholic prisoners craved his blessing. With smiling countenance he said, ' I fear me I shall be overproud of my new boots,' meaning his fetters. In the time of his im- prisonment a minister came in to him for to dis- pute, &c."
Another contemporary writer, who is probably the priest John Mush, writes as follows ^ : — " After Whit- sunday next following Sir Thomas Fairfax, vice-presi- dent, [Henry] Cheeke,^ Hurlstone [i.e. Ralph Huddle- stone], and the rest, arraigned Mr. Francis Ingleby, condemned and murdered him as a traitor, because he was a priest of Rheims. With him they used much guileful dealing, that they might entangle him with an oath to disclose in what Catholic men's
^ I.e. doubtless, as Father Pollen suggests, a relative of Blessed William Lacy.
^ Morris, Troubles^ iii. 87, 88.
^ " Cheek, one of the Council of York, having derided Mr. Francis Ingleby for making a cross at the bar, within a few hours broke his neck down a pair of stairs " (Pollen, op. cit. 322).
214 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
houses he had been harboured, but they could not deceive him. When he was about to speak anything, they stopped him with railing and blasphemies, over- thwarting him in every word, and interrupting him by one frivolous question upon another, that before he had answered two words to one matter, they came upon him with another, insomuch that many noted how they would not suffer him to make a perfect end of any one sentence ; which barbarous dealing is a special point of their policy, for they cannot abide that the people should hear us speak any word, either in defence or manifestation of our Catholic cause, or of their sacrilegious tyranny, wherewith they no less fraudulently undo the whole country, than they unjustly oppress us."
" Being arraigned, and refusing to take the oaths &c., [he] said, ' I will give unto the Queen subjection so far forth as she hath protection '. Being adjudged to die, he spoke these words, Credo videre bona Domini in terra viveniium. Coming forth from the place of judgment again to the Castle, the Catholics looking forth of their windows craved his blessing. Privily he gave them it, saying, ' Oh sweet judgment '. After his condemnation he showed such tokens of inward joy that the keeper, named Mr. Meverell, said that he took no small pleasure to behold his sweet and joyful conversation ; for his joy was such that his keeper, a very earnest Puritan, could not abstain from tears." ^
On the appointed day he was taken over the Ouse- bridge to the place of execution, where '*he bore
^ Pollen, o^. cit. 305.
VENERABLE FRANCIS INGLE BY 215
himself most constantly and bravely, and left all good Catholics sore afflicted at his loss ". "At his martyrdom one Humphrey Mountain, who would have taken some of his flesh or blood, was carried to the Castle." Ingleby and Mush were among the priests whom Ven. Margaret Clitherow was accused of having entertained. Father Warford gives the following account of him : " He was a short man, but well made, and seemed a man of thirty-five years of age, or thereabouts. He was of a light com- plexion, wore a chestnut beard, and had a slight cast in his eyes. In mind he was quick and piercing, ready and facile in speech, of aspect grave and austere, and earnest and assiduous in action."
J. B. W.
Relics. — I. Right hand. It is preserved at the Franciscan Convent, Taunton. It was brought to that community at Brussels by his three nieces, Elizabeth, Marie and Grace, who were professed in that community in 1624. II. A finger of a hard leather glove. This is at Archbishop's House, West- minster, and is labelled " this is forefinger of the left handed Gloufe of Mr. Francis Ingelby, Martir, martired at Yorke ".
Portrait. — A small panel painting at the martyr's old home, Ripley Castle, now in the possession of Sir Henry Ingilby. It has been reproduced by Don Bede Camm, O.S.B., in Forgotten Shrines (London, 19 10), and shows the martyr in three-quarter length, turned to the right, but his eyes are gazing in the opposite direction. His hair is long and he has a slight moustache and chin tuft. He wears a lace collar and cuffs. The inscriptionjis, " 1585, ^TATIS SViE 28 " ; therefore it must have been painted after his return from Rheims : but see p. 211, n. i.
Authorities. — Warford'' s Recollections ^ A.E.M. 249.
2i6 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
Douay Diaries^ 1 90, passim. Selections from Stony hurst MSS, , A.E.M. 304. Morris, Troubles^ iii. 308, 411-19. Harleian Society Publ. xvi. 172. Brasenose College Register^ 32. Students Admitted to the Inner Temple^ 84. Camm, Forgotten Shrines, Challoner.
XXI.
VENERABLE JOHN FINGLOW.
SECULAR PRIEST.
York, 8 August, 1586.
So little is known of this venerable martyr that un- fortunately he remains little more than a name to us. He was born at Barneby, near Howden, a little to the north of the Humber in the East Riding of Yorkshire. He was educated at Cambridge, though no particulars of his university career are known, and in 1580 went to Rheims to study for the priesthood. He arrived there in company with Christopher Ingram on 9 February, 1580. A year later, on 21 February, he was ordained deacon, and though his ordination to the diaconate is not recorded in the College diary it must have taken place very soon ; for on 25 March he was ordained priest in company with thirteen others, in- cluding several future martyrs, in the Church of Our Lady at Rheims. The ordaining prelate was Mon- signor Cosme Clausse de Marchaumont, Bishop of Chalons-sur-Marne. The first Masses of the new priests were spread over several days, and John Finglow — or Finglie, as he is called in the Diary — took his turn on 3 April, together with two other
217
2i8 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
martyrs, Blessed Everard Hanse and Ven. John Amias. On 24 April he left Rheims for England in company with Blessed Everard Hanse, and two other priests, Henry Clinch and Thomas Freeman. Of his five years' work in England we only know that it lay " in the northern parts of England," and that at length he was arrested and imprisoned in St. Peter's Prison, York. The only incident recorded of his imprisonment is connected with the heroic confessor of Christ, Frances Webster, who died in prison for the faith on 29 June, 1585, so that John Finglow must have been captured and imprisoned considerably more than a year before his martyrdom. In Father Grene's Collectanea F, there is an account of this young Catholic lady, in which we read : " When a priest of God was put into a low prison under her, into a deep and darksome dungeon, this blessed maiden found the means to open a grate, and to let in some light unto him into darkness. But, O God ! how lightsome and how joyful a heart had he, when he considered her purity, when he heard her comfort- able speeches proceeding from a chosen vessel of the Holy Ghost, when he felt also her true charity. For she obtained him a gown for the clothing of his body in the day, and to stand him instead of a bed in the night. And when she was examined for this work of mercy, she boldly answered that she had given it, and that if it were to give, she would give it, and show any work of mercy to the anointed of God." That this priest was John Finglow is attested both by a note in the margin and by the account of the prisoner in Ousebridge Kidcote, whose recollections have been
VENERABLE JOHN FIN GLOW 219
printed by Father Morris, and who there records the same incident.
No details of the martyr's trial and execution have been preserved, but Bishop Challoner cites Molanus to the effect that " he suffered with that generous courage, which seems to have been natural to the seminarists from the very beginning, and with an ardent zeal for the confirmation of religion ".
E. H. B.
Authorities.— Challoner ;Z>^2^«/Z>/<3r?>j; Morris, Troubles, iii. ; and Foley's Records, vol. iii. This martyr's name though given by Wilson, is omitted from Dr. Worthington's catalogues of 1608 and 16 14.
XXII. VENERABLE JOHN SANDYS.
SECULAR PRIEST.
Gloucester, ii August, 1586.
John Sandys, of the diocese of Chester, arrived at the English College at Rheims 4 June, 1583, was ordained priest 31 March, 1583-4, in the chapel of St. Cross in Rheims Cathedral by the Cardinal Arch- bishop Louis de Guise, and was sent on the English mission 2 October, 1584.
An account of his martyrdom written at the end of 1594 c>r the beginning of 1595 has come down to us, and is as follows : —
" When they had condemned him [no doubt under 27 Eliz. c. 2], they could find none for any money to murder him ; they could hire no knife or other in- strument in all the town to mangle him. At last they found a most base companion, who yet was ashamed to be seen in that bloody action, for he blacked and disfigured his face, and got an old rusty knife, full of teeth like a sickle, with which he killed him. The holy Martyr had requested the High Sheriff (who was Paul Tracy of Stanway) to suffer him to hang until he died. He then granted the
220
VENERABLE JOHN SANDYS
request, yet caused him to be cut down as soon as he was cast off the ladder. The holy man was nothing past himself, but said, ' Oh, Mr. Sheriff, you have not kept your promise'. Unto which Mr. Tracy replied not, but commanded his men to pull down the traitor, the hangman to bowel him, and himself laid first hands on him. The hangman did his bloody office, the holy Martyr ever catching his ragged knife in his bare hands, thereby to save him- self, but it was ever pulled out most forcibly, where- with they cut and mangled his sacred hands most pitifully. When he had pulled from him his bowels, the blessed saint cried ever with St. Stephen, ' Lord, forgive my persecutors,' and so fell asleep in the Lord."
The same writer tells us that even '* the very common sort of people cried out upon the officers," and that this was the reason why Ven. Stephen Rowsham, who suffered at the same place in 1587, was allowed to hang until he was dead.
In the MS. published by Father John Morris under the title An Ancient Editor s Note Book (Troubles, Series iii.) there is a paragraph which really re- lates to this martyr though it is attributed to Vener- able John Holford, of whom it could not possibly be true.
The following is the narrative as given by Father Grene : —
'' 1587. Mr. Holford, a priest apprehended in Gloucestershire, was there arraigned, condemned and executed for coming into the Realm. The man that was the cause of his apprehension, after his condem-
LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
nation came into the prison, and on his knees, with tears, asked him forgiveness. He continued most zealously in doing his function, having offered the most Divine sacrifice and made a very fervent and forcible exhortation to many Catholics there present in secret, for their perseverance in the Catholic faith, as he was at his nine hour [saying None] or there- abouts, word was brought him that the executioners staid for him at the prison gate, he desiring their patience a little, ended his service, blessed and kissed the company, and so departed to his martyrdom, wherein he abode such inhuman cruel butchery that the adversary preachers exclaimed in their sermons against it." The date of the martyrdom was ap- parently on II (but some have said 2) August, 1586.
J. B. W.
Authorities. — Douay Diaries^ passim. Relation of Divers Persecutions^ A.E.M. lyi. Morris, 7V^«<5/^j (Series iii.). Oliver, Collections. Simpson, Rambler^ N.S. x. 327 (Nov., 1858). Challoner.
XXIII. VENERABLE JOHN LOWE.
SECULAR PRIEST.
Tyburn^ 8 October, 1586.
In investigating the life of this martyr great care is needed to distinguish him from his namesake, John Lowe of Lancashire, who was ordained priest at Rheims in 1579, went on the mission in the same year, was afterwards imprisoned in Lancaster Castle for two years, and being exiled went to Rheims ; where he lived from June to December, 1586, thus returning to England about two months after our martyr's death.
John Lowe, the martyr, was a Londoner, born in or about 1553. On reaching manhood he took Angli- can orders and acted as a minister, but was converted and went to Douay to study for the priesthood. The Diary calls him simply " Mr. Lowe," and it is not easy to determine whether it is the martyr who is intended. The entries in question are as follows : —
" 1576, February. In this month Mr. Lowe left us for the college of Anchin.
" 1576, April 16. Mr. Lowe, who not long before had crossed from England to us, returned thither.
" 1576, June I. Mr. Lowe * nobihs ' who formerly 223
224 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
stayed at the College of Anchin returning from Eng- land was admitted to our community.
" 1576, October i. Five of our men, Mr. Gower * nobilis,' Mr. Bell, Mr. Aske, Mr. Mouche [? Mush], and Mr. Lowe set out for Rome."
If this is the martyr then he would seem to have left England late in 1575 or early in 1576, and to have stayed successively for short periods at the College of Douay and at Anchin ; then after two months in England to have returned again to Douay for four months before leaving for Rome on i October, 1576. But he was not admitted to the English College, Rome, till 19 November, 1581, so that four years still remain unaccounted for in order to connect these entries indubitably with our martyr. This however may be done through a memoir written at the Abbey of Anchin, near Douay, in December, 1586, by the " Grand Prieur," Francois de Bar.^ Referring to the recent persecutions, he says : —
" Last October there suffered in London, for the sake of the Catholic faith only. Master John Lowe, a man of distinction, who, while in exile, was in my employment here at Anchin, then at Cambray, then at Douay, a very faithful and strenuous servant. Afterwards he devoted himself to study, first at Douay, then at Rome. Returning to England, &c., &c., he was finally crowned with martyrdom."
Admitted to the English College, Rome, at the age of twenty-eight, he took the College oath with several others on 15 April, 1582. He was ordained
iDouai, Bibliotheque^ MS. cod. 811, Continuatio Chronici Genebrardi, autog. p. 63.
VENERABLE yOHN LOWE 225
almost immediately, receiving the subdiaconate and diaconate in August, and the priesthood in September. He was ordained (after making the Spiritual Exercises) by Bishop Goldwell of St. Asaph, the survivor of the old English Hierarchy. He then spent a full year continuing his studies ; till in September, 1583, he was ready for the mission. From the Records of the Society of Jesus we learn that before setting out for England he had an audience of Pope Gregory XIII, together with John Mush, John Cornelius, and Christopher Hodgson, his brother-priests and fellow-travellers. " Before setting out they kissed the foot of His Holi- ness, who received them most graciously, and supplied the funds needed for their journey. He granted them the same faculties as the priests sent out in April had obtained, and further gave them permission in case there should be danger in carrying a breviary to re- cite in its stead certain psalms or other prayers they might happen to know by heart."
On his way back to England he stopped at the English College, then at Rheims, but resumed his journey shortly before Christmas, 1583. On 28 Dec- ember, Dr. Barrett wrote to Father Agazzario, S.J., that the martyr had left eight days previously, well in body and even stronger in soul against all dangers.
His work as a priest lay in London, and he was one of those whose names are connected with the exorcisms which were being practised just at this time by a small number of priests including the Ven. Robert Dibdale, in whose biography sufficient parti- culars of this subject will be narrated.
From a spy's report of March, 1585, we learn that 15
226 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
John Lowe used frequently to resort to the house of Mr. Tremayne in Clerkenwell, but he was not captured till II May, 1586, when he was committed to the Clink, by the Archbishop of Canterbury. A certificate as to the prisoners, dated 12 June, 1586, states that he had not yet been examined. In a prison list dated September, 1586, he is bracketed with four other priests^ as a ** practiser," that is an exorcist. For the exorcisms had caused such wade interest, result- ing in numerous reconciliations to the Church, that the Government took notice of the matter. We get a few glimpses of the prison life of this martyr in the narrative of the unhappy priest Anthony Tyrrell, who alternately apostatized and repented for many years, and who accuses himself of being guilty of the blood of John Adams, John Lowe, and Robert Dibdale. When in the hands of the Government he gave them all the information in his power, and it was really in his capacity of spy that he was sent, ostensibly a prisoner, to the Clink on 17 September, 1586. There he made special efforts to entrap the saintly Jesuit, Father William Weston, then passing as Mr. Ed- monds; and as John Lowe had come under the spiritual influence of that brave confessor of Christ, Anthony Tyrrell paid him special attention. He soon found that John Lowe suspected him of treachery, and in order to lull his suspicions made a hypocritical and sacrilegious confession to him, and further to deceive Catholics the unhappy man celebrated Mass on the following day, as he confesses in an account written
^ Father Edmonds (i.e. William Weston, S.J.), Ven. John Adams, Parry ah'as Morgan, and Ven. Edward James,
VENERABLE JOHN LOWE 227
during one of his brief fits of repentance. His other attempts against Father Edmonds and Mr. Lowe are thus described by himself: ''I observed that the chief dealer with Father Edmonds was a good priest named Mr. Lowe, and how that Mr. Lowe did write him many letters, as occasion served, about his neces- sary business, and received answers, which things I perverted always in evil part to Justice Young, re- porting what posting of letters there was to and fro, which no doubt but imported greatly the State ; and so I think verily they did import the state of the whole house, how the poor prisoners might find money to pay for their commons, to get relief to pre- serve themselves from famine, hunger and cold : other state matters I protest I knew none, to be treated by them. I would, besides that, be always prying in Mr. Lowe his chamber, among his papers, to pick out what I could find that might concern Father Edmond's overthrow."
A little later he confesses his darker guilt : " Within few days after these former proceedings was the time come that there should be a sessions at Newgate, at which time commonly they miss not to bring some good man or other to his trial, and Justice Young . . . would be informed of me what man I thought in the Clink to be most dangerous ; and then before Almighty God and the world I accuse myself of im- peaching Mr. Lowe especially, and, as I think, Mr. Adams, as two of the greatest meddlers and the one of them to have been before a banished man,^ and
^ Ven. John Adams had returned from his banishment of the previous I year.
15*
228 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
consequently to be more obnoxious to the law, and the other to be one that did much hurt both abroad and within the house, what resolute Papists they both were, . . . with such other invectives as were very likely to speed them ". There follows a long passage addressed to the three martyrs, " blessed Dibdale, Lowe and Adams," bewailing his treachery, testi- fying to their innocence and beseeching their prayers. It is eloquent, and would be touching if we had not known of the writer's subsequent falls. Unfortu- nately he tells us nothing further, and we have no account of the trial or execution of this martyr. He suffered at Tyburn on 8 October, 1586, with Ven. John Adams and Ven. Robert Dibdale. Frangois de Bar, cited above, adds that the mart3^r had been '* be- trayed and charged by a rascal, whom he had saved from the gallows when in Rome ".
E. H. B.
Authorities.— Z>/«rj/ of English College^ Rome^ Foley, Records^ vi. Douay Diaries. Prison Lists, C.R.S. ii. 246, 252. Morris, Troubles, iii. Challoner. Simpson, Rambler, N.S. viii. 4 1 4. Relation of the Penkevels, A.E.M. 285. Law, T. G., Nine- teenth Century, No. ccv., March, 1894, pp. 397-411. See also references under Ven. Robert Dibdale.
XXIV. VENERABLE JOHN ADAMS.
SECULAR PRIEST.
Tyburn, 8 October, 1586.
John Adams is said by Bishop Challoner to have been born at Martinstown in Dorsetshire, and a Catalogue of Martyrs of 1594 also calls him a Dorset- shire man, as does Benjamin Norton, one of the seven vicars of Dr. Richard Smith, Vicar Apostolic of England, and Bishop of Chalcedon, who also men- tions a brother of his, *' a laye man, who suffered for justice," possibly the " Robert Adyn of dorster in Com. Dorset. Gent.," a recusant in the Marshalsea in 1582, who may be the same as the recusant '* Roger Adyn" who had "ben beyond seas," committed by the High Commissioner to the Clink in 1593, and still there at the end of 1595. Probably both these may be identified with Roger Aden of Dorchester, who became a scholar of Winchester College in 1544 (aged thirteen) and was a Fellow of New College, Ox- ford, 1549-50. In this case Roger Adyn would be sixty-four in 1595. The Douay Diaries say that John Adams was a scholar in the University of Oxford and belonged to Gloucester diocese. One of this
229
230 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
name compounded for the first-fruits of the Rectory of Sidington St. Mary, Gloucestershire, on 12 March, 1562-3.^ However, when the priest John Chapman,^ who had arrived at Rheims with John Adams on 7 December, 1579, was examined on 7 August, 1582, he said that John Adams went with him to London in 1579 " and that this Adams was beneficed allso in Dorsetshr at a place called Martens-towne " — i.e. Winterbourne St. Martin. Perhaps when he vacated the Rectory of Sidington St. Mary in 1571 he ob- tained the living of Winterbourne St. Martin.
John Adams was ordained subdeacon at Chalons- sur-Marne, 31 March, 1580, by the bishop of that diocese, Monsignor Cosme Clausse de Marchaumont, and deacon and priest at Soissons in May and De- cember that same year, probably by the diocesan, Monsignor Charles de Rouci-Sissonne. He was sent on the mission 29 March, 1581, but returned to Rheims, and was again sent to England 18 June, 1583. He was committed to the Marshalsea 7 March, 1583-4, whence he was almost certainly banished, with thirty-one other priests (including John Chap- man) and two laymen, on 15 September, 1585. On landing at Boulogne on the 19th they signed the fol- lowing certificate : —
" Whereas upon your honors' commission, directed
* He vacated the living before 28 June, 1571, when one John Baron compounded for the first-fruits. See Composition Books, 1 536-1660, Series iii. in the Record Office.
^ M.A. Oxon, 1 567, Vicar of Little Cheney, Dorset, Rector of Langton Herring, Dorset, 1573-9, and Rector of Wheathall, Somerset, in 1571.
VENERABLE S^OtiN ADAM3 23!
unto Anthonie Hall, and Thomas Stockar, for the transporting of us whose names are under written, into the coasts of Normandie, who accordinglie tooke us into a barke called the Marie Martine of Colchester, on the south side of the Thames, right over against that part of saint Katharine's next to London Bridge, the fifteenth day of September, 1585, according to the computation of England : our will is to testify unto your good honors, that they the said Anthonie Hall and Thomas Stockar have generallie so well used us in all respects, that we can not but acknowledge our selves much behold- ing (as much as in them lay) to so courteous and loving officers. Nevertheless comming along the sea, and meeting with hir maiesties admerall in the downes, who promising that we should not be dis- turbed in our course into the province of Normandie, according to your honors' said commission, we had not from him departed two leagues, when as a Flush- inger with his people suddenlie entred upon us, being peaceblie stowed under the hatches, and in our quiet rest, with their swords drawne, their calleivers ^ and their matches fired in their hands to our great terror and discomfort, the most of us being verie sore sea sicke, expecting at that instant nothing but either the vigorous dint of sword or bullet of calleiver. Howbeit parlie being had by our said commissioners with them, they departed, after which time we con- sidering the generall danger on the seas, besought with one consent your honors' commissioners to set us on land at Calice : but they in no wise yeelding
M.e. Culverins or Matchlocks.
232 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
thereunto, at last by reason of our importunitie in such danger and weaknesse, yielded to set us on shore at Bulloigne, partlie by reason of the feare we were then put in, and partlie for that we feared after- ward more unreasonable measure : but speciallie the greatest number of us so sore sicke, that verie tedious unto us it seemed to beare so long and dangerous a passage. In witnes whereof to this our certificat we have all subscribed our names the nineteenth of Sep- tember, 1585. W. [Giblet] : R. Fen: Io. Nele : Christopher Small, &c." ^
John Adams arrived at Rheims 14 November, 1585, but returned at once to England, and was sent to the Clink ig December, 1585, by *' the W[orshipful] Mr. [Ralph] Rookbye ". He was " examyned at the Guildhalle in London before Mr. Yonge and others **. According to the statement of Henry Holland, printed in the Appendix to Challoner's Missionary Priests, he was arrested at Winchester, stepping into the street from his house, and was accused, though falsely, of having preached in a barn in London.
" Other particulars," the present writer can say with Bishop Challoner, *' I have not found, only Molanus signifies, that his constancy was proof against the arti- fices and promises, by which many sought to divert him from his generous resolution of laying down his life for his faith. Multorum elusis artibus qui con- st antiam de more catholicorum variis promissis mollire conantur.
^ Holinshed's Chronicle^ iv. 621. But no more names are there quoted. For a dissertation on the thirty-two priests then exiled, see Downside Review^ 191O) PP- 167-77.
VENERABLE yoHN ADAMS 233
"He was condemned barely for being a priest, and was executed at Tyburn, October 8, 1586."
J. B. W.
Authorities.— Cafa/o^ue of Martyrs, C.R.S. v. 288-93. Benjamin Norton to Bishop of Chalcedon, ibid. 398. Examin- ations of John Chapman, ibid. yz. Douay Diaries, passim. Henry Holland's Relation, Challoner Appendix. Kirby, Win- chester Scholars, p. 125.
XXV.
VENERABLE ROBERT DIBDALE.
SECULAR PRIEST.
Tyburn, 8 October, i 5 86.
So little was known of this martyr's early life, that even his Christian name was in doubt, some lists calling him Robert, others Richard. The latter was used by Bishop Challoner and has been adopted in the decree of 4 December, 1886, introducing the cause of the martyrs. However, it is now clear, on the martyr's own evidence, that his name was Robert, and that Richard Dibdale was his brother. He was born in the diocese of Worcester, and while still young he went to Rheims to study for the priest- hood.
A letter addressed to his parents, and dated 4 June, [1580] gives us all the information that we have as to his family. From it we gather that they were both still alive and both Catholics, for he sends a gilt crucifix and medal to his father and a rosary to his mother. He recommends to them Blessed Thomas Cottam, who was the bearer of the letter, of whom he adds : " I cannot sufficiently commend unto you his loving kindness showed and bestowed upon me ".
234
VENERABLE ROBERT DIBDALE 235
He also mentions his sisters Joan and Agnes and his brother Richard, also his "brother John Pace," who was presumably the husband of one of his sisters.^
Incidentally from the Douay Diaries we learn that before going to Rheims he visited Rome, for the Diary recording his arrival on 29 December, 1579, says : " There arrived from Rome two young men whose names are Debdail and Kestell, and both are studying theology". In the following year he re- turned to England for some cause unknown to us, leaving Rheims in company with Edward Pole, a newly ordained priest, on 22 June, 1580. The com- piler of the Roman list of missionary priests^ includes him, under this date, though he was not ordained priest till four years later, but omits him from his real place in the list, which would be on 2 August, 1584. While in England he fell into the hands of the persecutors, and was imprisoned. News of his capture reached the College in December, but no particulars are given. From the official lists of prisoners in the Record Office, however, we learn that Edward Pole was taken at Dover coming over from beyond the seas, and doubtless the martyr was with him as we find them together as prisoners in the Gatehouse. While in prison his father helped him, and among the State papers (Dom. Eliz. clx. 65) there is a note : "Sent to Robert Dubdeale from his father the third daye of November a letter and two cheeses, a loaf of bread and five shillings in money, brought by William Grenway the carrier ". At length
^ The letter has been printed in full, C.R.S. v. 18-19. ^ Douay Diaries, 259 sgg^.
236 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
he was discharged by the Lord Treasurer on lo Sep- tember, 1582, having been a prisoner for over two years.
We do not know how soon he was enabled to go back to Rheims, as the Diary is silent as to his re- turn, and the next entry relating to him is one dated two years later. This records his ordination to the priesthood at Rheims on 31 March, 1584. On 2 Au- gust in the same year he returned to England with Richard Sherwood, another newly ordained priest.
A year after he had returned, Dibdale is found acting as chaplain to Mr. Edmund Peckham, who then held the manor of Denham in Buckinghamshire, belonging to his father. Sir George Peckham. This chaplaincy involved him in a remarkable series of alleged exorcisms ; proceedings so unusual that a few words of introduction seem necessary.
The episode forms part of a very wide movement, which greatly troubled all countries affected by Protestantism. The witch persecution of the six- teenth century was in fact largely a by-product of the Reformation ; of little influence in purely Catholic countries like Italy, Ireland and Spain, but seriously disturbing not only Protestants, but also Catholics in Germany, France, England and Scotland. This should make us on the one hand cautious against making comparisons to the disparagement of either religious party, but on the other also attentive to the light thrown on our epidemic of exorcisms by the attitude of the whole of Europe towards witchcraft. Robert Dibdale would not have exorcised as freely as he did, if public opinion had not been ready to go
VENERABLE ROBERT DIBDALE 237
much further still. Even in peaceable England more than a score of poor women were hanged for witch- craft in the years that immediately preceded or followed Dibdale's exorcisms.
Another point to be noticed from the first is that though we must perforce speak of diabolic posses- sion, energumens, etc., we do not (in the present writer's opinion) have any cases of true possession, nor even of mesmerism, or thought-reading, or spiritualism properly so called in the alleged exor- cisms of 1585, 1586.
None of the phenomena we meet with here, pos- tulate for their explanation supernatural or preter- natural agencies, or thought-reading, or any subtle spiritualistic power. The most that is required is the ordinary working of " suggestion " by strong minds upon those who are hysterical, yielding, sus- ceptible and infirm of principle.
The exorcisms appear to have begun in the spring of 1585 with the alleged cure of one William Mar- wood by Father Edmund Weston, S.J., and the next case was that of William Trayford, servant to Edmund Peckham, Dibdale's patron, so we may be sure that he had something to do with it. Later in the year the family moved from Filmer to Denham, and from this period we know a good deal about Robert Dibdale's doings, but unfortunately through very hostile witnesses, Samuel Harsnet and others, as will be explained later. We must first piece to- gether the story as well as we can.
There was at Denham a kitchen-maid, by name Sarah Williams, about sixteen or seventeen years of
238 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
age, shy and nervous, simple and superstitious, who had hardly outgrown the fairy tales she learnt when a child. She was on the whole a good girl, but she had her weaknesses. She was not steadfast about principles, nor particularly careful about the truth. She afterwards confessed that '* she very often told those things that were untrue, when she perceived how she could please". Moreover she "always framed herself to use such words as would content the priests " ; and she would not correct inaccurate stories told about her "for fear of offence". She was therefore not a heroine ; but we may well believe that her failings were due to childish weakness, rather than to serious malice.
When she came to Denham she was a Protestant, but like most country folk of those days, with very little firmness of belief. In a fortnight Dibdale had reconciled her. He was evidently a kind-hearted and high-principled man, but simple to a degree that was positively dangerous, and quite obsessed with the idea of obsession, and the same idea was prob- ably also fixed in the minds of Sarah's master and mistress. The latter, by birth Dorothy Gerard, sister of Father John Gerard, S.J., had been teaching Sarah how to make the sign of the cross, which the girl's rustic wit had made her slow to learn. This especially, when taken together with a tendency to faint (a weakness which passed away as time wore on), seemed to the chaplain to show that she certainly ought to be exorcised. The fainting, it should be said, was probably mistaken for hysteria or catalepsy, then called " mother," which was believed to be diabolic.
VENERABLE ROBERT DIBDALE 239
Exorcism was no laughing matter. The ener- gumen, amid long prayers, was bound hand and foot with towels to a chair, and given a nauseous mixture of oil, rue and sack to drink, which produced nausea, retching, moans, and faintness ; and, horrible as it may seem to us, these symptoms were regarded as having a mystic meaning. The devil, it was supposed, was loosening his hold on the body, and being driven from one part to another, by the power of' the exorcist. If the energumen kept quiet and made no sign, flicking, beating, pricking might be employed. Burning brimstone might be held under the nostrils, which naturally produced contortions, screams and fainting-fits, after which the patient might be con- fined to bed for several days.
As to the ultra-Spartan severity of these ordeals, we must not suppose that they were employed at the whim or fancy of the exorcist, but according to some precedent or code. The probability is that the pre- cedents were largely French. There were some notable exorcisms held in the Cathedral of Soissons in 1582, at the very period when the English students from Rheims used to go there for ordination. More- over both Sarah and her sister declare that it was ordinary for the priests to talk about those who were possessed beyond the seas. It does not, on the other hand, appear that these proceedings can be called liturgical, for the Rituale Romanum, and Alberto di Capello's Liber Sacerdotalis prescribe no other se- verities but protracted prayer.
Another point to bear in mind is that these exor- cists worked from a charitable motive, and with
240 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
great risk to themselves. Believing that the ailments of the patient were due to diabolic malice, they were also of opinion that priests alone (in ordinary course) could give them relief,^ and this they endeavoured to bestow, in spite of the grave danger to themselves. They were always living in fear of arrest, imprison- ment and death, and the cries of the energumen were liable to excite the whole neighbourhood, and to create a priori a feeling of anger, and a desire to punish the person who had occasioned the cries.
Another excuse for the exorcists was the consider- able number of good priests, who for a time supported them. There was Father Weston, superior of the Jesuits in England, and Father Cornelius, afterwards a martyr. In all there were some twelve or fourteen who gave the movement support for a time. They were chiefly young men recently come from abroad, while the older priests seem to have kept aloof, and after a time to have set themselves against it. The reaction against the movement, of which more later, seems in fact to have begun with them. We now return to Mr. Dibdale.
When Sarah had been temporarily incapacitated for housework by the excitement of the first exor- cisms, it was only natural that her sister, Frideswide, Friswood, or Fid, who had been born on the estate, and lived with her parents close by, should be called in to do her work. Good Father Dibdale went down to see her in the laundry, but while they were talking, she slipped on the wet floor, fell and hurt her hip. For an enthusiast like Father Dibdale there could
^J. Morris, Troubles of our Catholic Forefathers ^\\, \oo.
VENERABLE ROBERT DIBDALE . 241
be but one explanation of this mishap. She too must be possessed. So she was rapidly instructed, received, and then (November, 1585) exorcised like her sister, with much the same results. But she was even more untruthful than Sarah, and her romances were much less excusable.
Ere long they were joined by two more companions in misfortune. Annie Smith, a young woman possibly of good birth, it would seem, was in some way con- nected with Mrs. Peckham. Her sister, Mrs. Plater, finding that she was suffering from fainting fits and other supposed symptoms of " mother " (hysteria), arranged for her to go to Denham, " in attendance," as the phrase ran, on Mrs. Peckham. It is im- portant to note that she was sent by her relatives in hopes of being cured by the treatment. She arrived at Christmas, 1585, and it was two months before she had an attack of "mother". She was then exorcised by Cornelius, Dibdale being absent for the time. Annie Smith was not a very responsive sub- ject, and she was less often experimented with than the other two.
Richard Mainy, the fourth sufferer, was a descen- dant of Sir Walter de Manny, the General of Edward III, and the founder of the London Charterhouse. His mother too, Anne, daughter of Sir Reginald Scot, now " Widdow Mainy," was a staunch Catholic, often in trouble for her faith. But her son shows badly in all our records of him. He had been at the Rheims Seminary and had left it, as also the order of Minims, which he had joined for a while. Then he had returned and taken the oath of supremacy, which
16
242 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
must have given great pain to his mother and elder brother John, who had married Mr. Peckham's sister. Richard now began to have the symptoms of "mother," and, as in the case of Annie Smith, his relatives, clearly excellent people, thought the best thing would be for him too to go to Denham and get exorcised.
He turned out, however, to be a very undesirable inmate. He soon got tired of being worried by the exorcists ; and pretended to have visions, knowledge of the future, etc. But while posing before the priests as a saint, he pressed Fid to elope with him, and as- sured Sarah he could absolve as well as any priest. The management of his case, however, rested rather with Father Weston than with Dibdale. Sarah even- tually summoned up courage to speak about him to the latter, and he answered, " he was sorry he had ever had anything to do with him ".
After Sarah began " always to frame herself to use such words as would content the priests," the seances at Denham became remarkable for alleged spiritual manifestations. Sometimes she saw light coming from the pyx, sometimes she could not see the Blessed Sacrament at all. She could tell relics by the touch; she named the various imps that were supposed to have passed into her, and several of these names became known abroad through Harsnet, from whom they were borrowed by Shakespeare, and thus some of them are still familiar, as Flibberdigibbet, Wilkin, Smolkin, Halberdidaunce, Purre, Hob, and Puffe.
At Christmas time Robert Dibdale took Sarah to
VENERABLE ROBERT DIBDALE 243
the house of Lord Vaux, who was then living at Hackney, and she was there exorcised several times, and an account of what happened was committed to writing. Then they returned to Denham, and the exorcisms continued all through the spring. Numbers came, and many Protestants were so impressed that they asked for instruction, and were received into the Church. The mediums were not feared or hated like witches, but regarded almost as saints. Father Dib- dale had collected £^0 (a large sum for those days) to provide Sarah with a dowry in a convent ; and if he had been left a few weeks more of liberty, he would have taken her over to try her vocation.
After Easter, however, a reaction seemed to be be- ginning. The older priests began, as we have seen, to speak against the new-fangled practices, the almost open dishonesty of Mainy caused " murmurings," the very popularity of the stances began to make the exorcists fear the Government, and finally at Whit- suntide the energumens themselves refused to be exorcised any more. They were sent away from Denham, and Dibdale went with them to find new places in Catholic families in London.
Their departure was none too soon. Since Christ- mas the Government had to some extent held its hand, because it was maturing the Babington Plot. Now the time had come to strike. The Catholic houses all round London were harried without mercy. Never had so many priests been seized as then. Denham Hall had been raided in June, and Father Dryland, the temporary chaplain, been seized together with Alexander Rawlins, and Mr. Swithin Wells, both of
16*
244 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
whom were subsequently martyred. If Mr. Edmund Peckham was not imprisoned, it would have been because he was on his death-bed. On 8 July, the family vault at Denham was opened to receive his body, and with him was buried the exorcism move- ment. Even if exorcists and energumens should turn up again (though in fact they did not), it was hardly likely that another gentleman would be found willing to turn his house into a sort of hospital for them, as Edmund Peckham had done. In point of fact, how- ever, the energumens and exorcists as well fell into the persecutors' hands. Except Cornelius, all the priests who had been prominent in the movement, Weston, Dibdale, Thompson, Stamp, Tyrrell, Thulis, etc., were now captured, as also the three maids.
Some kept their nerve, some lost heart. The worst failure was Anthony Tyrrell. He had formerly been one of the most enthusiastic for the movement, and had kept a record of the alleged wonders. Now he was overcome by uncontrollable alarm lest he should be thought an accomplice of Ballard's, with whom he had been acquainted. He began to accuse his old friends with hysterical vehemence, and in particular he turned against Dibdale, insomuch that in his next spell of repentance (he made four complete double changes backwards and forwards) Tyrrell says that he ''verily thought [Dibdale's] innocent blood to have been shed through my most wicked and malicious means".
It seems that Justice Young consulted him about Dibdale and his exorcisms, and that he had accused him of being ''the first author" of them; decrying
VENERABLE ROBERT DIBDALE 245
them as witchcraft and sorcery. It also happened that Fid and Annie Smith were arrested at the same moment, and being examined, differences were noted in their respective accounts of the exorcisms ; no wonder with such hysterical subjects !
Dibdale was eventually brought to trial at the sessions of Newgate, with John Adams and John Lowe, " being condemned for treason," says Stow, "in being made priest by the authority of the Bishop of Rome ".^ But during the trial the chief discussion turned on the exorcisms. Annie Smith was brought into court to depose that the blade of a knife had not been taken from her cheek, as had been affirmed. This she seems to have done,^ though she had not yet herself given up the faith, as she afterwards did. Tyrrell describes himself as being all the while terri- fied, lest God Himself, '* when the wenches were brought in, should have openly shown some wonderful accident for my further condemnation. How much, I say, did I fear lest Thou wouldst have permitted the devils to have shown themselves in the face of the
^Stow, Chronicle, ed. 163 1, p. 731. This shows that Tyrrell's words, that Dibdale was condemned " for conjuration ^^ {Troubles, ii. 416), must not be taken literally, but broadly. The death for conjuration moreover would have been hanging without quartering.
'^ It is clear that there was hysterical deception somewhere in this case ; but it seems impossible to tell now who was excus- able, who not. Tyrrell strongly affirms, " I was present myself and did see " the somewhat similar case of a needle coming from the cheek of Fid {Troubles, ii. 329). This may have been run in, to test whether she could feel. The knife may have been used to open the mouth, and keep down the tongue, while relics were being introduced.
246 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
world ... for the confusion of the enemy." ^ But Providence followed its ordinary silent course. Vio- lence triumphed : the martyrs were condemned, and on 8 October Dibdale was hanged, drawn and quartered for high treason with his companions. The harassing about the exorcisms went on till the end, but in an insensate way, that teaches us very little. " He was charged by Topcliffe of conjuration and that he did those things by delusion of the devil." Hereupon Mr. Dibdale " protested that he did it by virtue of the name of Jesus," and steadfast in his confession of "the merits and the power of Christ," he passed through the terrible ordeal with firm and unshaken courage.^
" Happy, and thrice happy are you, Blessed Dib- dale, Lowe and Adams!" wrote Tyrrell later on. " What treasons hav^ you committed, but only for serving God according to your function, for saying of Masses, for reconciling of sinners to Almighty God, and by doing other like actions most laudable and necessary to salvation. Pray for* me since now you triumph in heaven ; I pray you, pray for me and pardon me the grievous offences I have done to you." 3
The exorcism movement came to an end as we have seen with the persecution that followed the Babington Plot. About 1598, however, a record of the exorcisms at Denham, from October, 1585 to Jan- uary, 1586, was seized by Topcliffe in the house of one Mr. Barnes, a Catholic gentleman, of whom more
^Morris, Troubles^ ii. 415.
"^ Acts of English ^Martyrs ^ p. 285, ^ Troubles^ ii. 417.
VENERABLE ROBERT DIBDALE 247
will be heard in later lives. Dr. Bancroft, Protestant Bishop of London, perceived that this book might be made use of to harass the Catholics still further. So a commission was appointed to call up and examine those who had been exorcised, and Samuel Harsnet, his chaplain, afterwards Archbishop of York, was to prepare a book on the subject. In this he was aided by Fid Williams, who had now become a woman of ill fame.^ She gave a very malicious account of her dealings with the priests at Denham, and she even *'ferretted out" her sister Sarah, who had not previously given up her faith, though she now, under examination, said a good deal against those she had formerly honoured. Anthony Tyrrell gave yet another version of the story he had told so fre- quently from opposite points of view, and Richard Mainy and Annie Smith also deposed against the exorcists.
Thus arose Harsnet's Declaration of Egregious, Popish Impostures (London, 1603), a book full of caus- tic wit and strong denunciation, but inspired by hatred, and punctuated by blood-lust, shown by phrases like et tamen vivunt. The most valuable part is the confessions of the maids, though as might be expected, these too are full of bitter animus, and re- present Dibdale's exorcisms in the worst light.
The life-work of this venerable martyr is so unlike that of the majority of his companions, that it seems to need some special consideration. It has already been shown that his career cannot be understood,^
^ Fid will reappear in this3part in the life of the Ven. William Harrington.
248 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
unless considered in its connexion with the witch- movement, which was agitating Northern Europe ; and also that when thus regarded Dibdale's methods seem humane, moderate and reasonable, by contrast with the barbarous cruelties and the insensate blood- shed that were going on around him at no great dis- tance of time and place. It would not be fair to judge him by modern standards, to blame him for not being able to diagnose, as we now can, the varying symptoms of hysteria ; though if the process were licit, it would of course go against the priest at every turn. As it is, there seems no reason whatsoever to doubt his good faith, and excellent intention of afford- ing, at the risk of life, relief, which he as priest alone could give, as he imagined. A sufficient number of priests sided with him to afford him the excuse of " common error " ; and this excuse is strengthened if we remember that when another body of priests be- gan to pronounce against him, he began to lay aside the practice. Still we must not go to the extreme of inferring that he was prudent, even according to the standards of that day. In employing so many fancy forms of excantation, he certainly went beyond the prescriptions of the Roman, and I think also of the Sarum rite. The free admission of the public to the exorcisms can hardly be excused, and the carrying of the girls from place to place for exorcism must be strongly condemned. Finally, though Dibdale is no- where suspected of deceit, it is not yet clear how he can be free from all blame for not unmasking the hallucinations which went on around him for so long. They were in many cases half-conscious hallu-
VENERABLE ROBERT DIB DALE 249
cinations which the patient recognized as such, as soon as the exorcisms were over.
In spite of all this, however, and in spite of all Harsnet's long and malicious indictment, nothing has yet been produced that can seriously injure the martyr's reputation. Dibdale never failed in his priestly duties, he never lapsed into those extremes of anger and scolding on the one side, or of self-in- dulgence on the other, to which excitable people are prone. He appears to have been always kind, laborious, regular and self-sacrificing. Zeal for the faith is his constant, his dominant motive, and it was for his faith, not for his exorcisms, that he died. It was, perhaps, inevitable, considering the circum- stances of the time, that there should have been an outbreak of witch-mania somewhere in the history of the English martyrs ; and we may well thank Providence that the episode, when it came, was as short and innocuous as it was.
J. H. P.
Authorities. — Davies, S^ort Relation concerning Mr. Richard Dibdale^ MS. in Westminster Archives^ iv. i., printed in Challoner. Relation of the Penkevels, printed in Pollen, Acts of English MaHyrs^ p. 285. Dibdale is also mentioned in all the Catalogues (Chalcedon quotes the Newgate Register) and by Stow (ed. 1631), p. 741. A ballad, now lost, was written On the Death of the Three Traitors^ and licensed 10 November, 1 586 ; J. Payne Collier, Registers of the Stationers^ Company^ Shakespeare Soc, 1849, ii. 221. Morris, Troubles of Our Catholic Fore- fathers^ 1872, vol. ii.
For the exorcisms the chief materials are found in S. Hars- Xi^X^Declcircttion of Egregious Popish Impostures^ London, 1603.
250 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
See also TAe Month, May, 191 1, where the subject is discussed more fully. T. G. Law, " Devil Hunting in Elizabethan England," Nineteenth Century, March, 1894. Scot, R., Discoverie of Witchcraft, 1584 (ed. Nicholson, 1886).
For the history of Denham and of the Peckhams, see R. H. L. Lathbury, History of Denham, Bucks, 1904 ; Diet. Nat. Biog., sub. Peckham, Sir George ; R. B. Merriman, " Some Notes on the Treatment of the English Catholics in the Reign of Elizabeth" (in American Hist. Rev., Boston, April, 1908).
XXVI. VENERABLE ROBERT BICKERDIKE.
LAYMAN.
York, Summer or Autumn, 1586.
Very little is known of this venerable martyr, and no details of his life have been preserved, except that he was born at Low Hall, in the parish of Farnham, near Knaresborough, Yorkshire, and that at the time of his arrest he was resident at York where he had been an apprentice. In 1604 there were several Bickerdikes of Farnham returned as Catholic recu- sants. " Anne, the wife of Edward Bickerdike, tailor," is described as having been a recusant for six years, " Jane, wife of Edward Bickerdike, gentleman," has been a recusant for twelve years, and " Elizabeth Bickerdike, spinster, remaining with her brother Edward Bickerdike of Farneham," for two years. Another Elizabeth Bickerdike, also a recusant, was an inmate of the house of " Walter Knaresborough of Ferimsby, yeoman ".^ But it is not known how these persons were connected with Robert Bicker-
^ See Peacock, Yorkshire Catholics, 1604, p. 50, where the martyr's execution is post-dated thirty years. See also Foley, Records, iii. 764, for other Yorkshire Catholics of the same name.
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252 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
dike. Dom Bede Camm, O.S.B., in Forgotten Shrines says : " There are still Catholic Bickerdykes in the West Riding who claim relationship with this brave chivalrous young martyr ".
When Bishop Challoner wrote his account of this martyr he had before him only one source of informa- tion, but other accounts have been preserved, and, putting these together, we can now obtain a fuller story than has hitherto been possible. To begin with, we learn that he had been arrested and tried a year before the two trials of which Bishop Challoner speaks. This we learn from the Oscott MS., pub- lished by Father John Morris, S.J., as^ Yorkshire Recusant's Relation, and it is corroborated by the MS. written about 1594 by William Hutton, a prisoner in Ouscbridge Kidcote.^ By combining these two narra- tives we can form some idea of the course of events. According to the first, Robert Bickerdike was first ap- prehended for being in company with a priest, and William Hutton adds the information that this was Ven. John Boste. The Yorkshire Recusant's Re- lation continues : '' This young man had many malicious merchants of York his enemies, for he had served as 'prentice there and was known to be Catho- licly affected. Amongst which was one Brooke, and Andrew Trewe, two as malicious as ignorant Puritans. By the means and envious procurement of these and their complices, he was at his first taking arraigned in the Common Hall in York, and indicted for aid- ing the priest, because they were seen to drink to- gether, and the heretics surmised that this young
* Both these sources are printed in Troubles^ iii.
VENERABLE ROBERT BICKERDIKE 253
man had paid for the pot of ale, which they thought was matter sufficient to hang him." WilHam Hutton says that he was '' committed to the Counter of Ouse- bridge where he remained a year ; then called at the assizes to the Common Hall before the Judges — for there they sit on Monday for the city gaol — to answer his indictment, was cleared by a jury, having no evident proof and discharged ". In this indictment which failed there was a second count, thus described by the Yorkshire Recusant: "Also he was then in- dicted for saying to an heretical 'prentice, which with vehement fury railed against him and the Catholics, calling them traitors, that he might now say his pleasure, for the sap is, quoth he, with Catholics in the root of the tree, but it may perhaps ascend up- wards towards Michaelmas, and then he would use no such railing words ; meaning only hereby (as him- self said) that in this prosperous time with heretics they might say and do what they listed, but if God should send a Catholic time, heretics' tongues would be stabled".^ William Hutton, however, refers this count in the indictment to the final trial. At any rate we have the martyr's own authority for saying that this first acquittal took place just a year before his last trial. Therefore it was in the summer of
1585.
Though both accounts speak of his being com- mitted again to prison this probably refers to a year later, for he was certainly at liberty in June, 1586, when he saw Ven. Francis Ingleby going to execu-
^ Stopped.
254 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
tion and spoke words which led to his own re-arrest. The incident is thus described by William Hutton : " When Sir Francis Ingleby, priest, was to come over Ousebridge on a hurdle to execution, Robert Bickerdyke, going over the way to the Tolbooth, the minister's wife in the street, in his way, said to her sister who was with her : ' Let us go into the Tol- booth and we shall see the traitorly thief come over on the hurdle'. * No, no thief,' quoth he: 'as true as thou art,* and no more words but these, which was supposed was the cause of his death, her husband and father being in such credit with the ministry." According to this account, the father of the minister's wife sought his death on this account, and had him committed to Ousebridge Jail. Then they "framed a new indictment against him upon certain words he should speak in a figurative manner to a merchant man in the city, which he applied to the Spaniards coming in. I have forgotten what the words were, but in this manner I remember. It was about Michaelmas and he said * Well, now the sap is in the root, but in the spring of the year it will begin to spring up again,' and upon these words he framed his indictment and caused him on Thursday after to be sent for to the Castle and there to answer this matter before the judges." Clearly we have here a confused variant of the former incident, but it is quite possible that the same words were used to fur- nish ground for a new indictment. Certainly some things were alleged against him which had been dis- posed of at the 1585 trial ; for the Yorkshire Recusant, speaking of the Lammas assizes of 1586, says : "At
VENERABLE ROBERT BICKERDIKE 255
this time, therefore, Clinche and Rhodes, sitting as judges on the bench, asked. him of the former points. He answered that he had been cleared of them by a jury in that place a year before. Then they asked him whose part he would take if the Pope should invade the realm. He said he could not tell before what he would do in time to come. * But ' quoth he * I will do as it shall please God to put me in mind ' ; for which words they railed and called him traitor and thereupon indicted him. The jury perceiving this apparent injury and malice in both the wicked judges, and also in the merchants, which, for want of true crime, or trespass already committed by the young man, would so impudently by their deceitful and bloody demand entangle him with some offensive matter, cleared him of all, and upon their oaths and consciences gave their verdict for his innocency say- ing ' Not guilty,' at which thing they all stormed and said he should not escape them so. And Birkhead, the Queen's Attorney, said he would frame a new indict- ment against him, whereupon they removed him to the Castle, (for until that time he was prisoner on the bridge)."
William Hutton says : " The sheriffs of the city hearing of this [unless it refers to his first arrest] came to his chamber searching what he had, taking a gold ring off his finger, his money, and his apparel, and then sent him to the Castle ".
The re-trial is thus described by the Yorkshire Re- cusant : ** Being arraigned again in the Castle and indicted upon the same articles whereof he was ac- quitted before, Rhodes said to the jury, * This traitor
256 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
had too favourable and too scrupulous a jury in the town, but I trust,' quoth he, * you will look otherwise to him, being the Queen's enemy and a notorious traitor '. Upon which daily, earnest pursuit by Rhodes and Birkhead the jury forthwith found him guilty of high treason. When he was about to speak any- thing Rhodes and Birkhead made outcries against him, saying, ' Behold how treason bloweth forth of his mouth, hear not the traitor, away with the traitor ; * and yet all the country well perceived that his words had no resemblance of treason, or could justly be any offence to Queen or subject.*' Apparently the judge felt rather keenly on the subject, for a little later the same account says : '' All the country was amazed to see this young man so unjustly made away, and some gentlemen being in company with Rhodes before he departed from Yorkshire, asked him whether the young man's answer that * he would do in time to come as it should please God to put in his mind,' was treason by any statute and law or no. Which demand Rhodes took in great dudgeon and said, * You do us no less injury than the traitor did at the bar when he asked us the same question. We are not sent hither to scan and dispute the statutes, but to give judgment against offenders.' "
A third account of his trial and condemnation is that which was used by Dr. Challoner. It was found at Douay by Alban Butler in a MS. which he tran- scribed for the Bishop about 1740, and which he de- scribed as " in a good hand but imperfect, and without beginning or end ". It was written by the Rev. Ralph Fisher, priest. Probably it was one of the accounts
VENERABLE ROBERT BICKERDIKE 257
which were collected in or about 1626 at the direction of Bishop Richard Smith.^
" Robert Bickerdike, gentleman, was born in Yorkshire near to the town of Knaresborough, but his dwelling was in the city of York. Who being brought before the magistrate there for matter of conscience and religion was examined among other things, if the Pope or his agent, the King of Spain, should invade England, whether he would take the Queen's part or the Pope's. To this Mr. Bickerdike did make answer, if any such thing came to pass he would then do as God should put him in mind. Upon this answer he was first arraigned, at the London HalP of the city, of treason. But the jurors, being men of conscience, found him not guilty. Where- upon the judge, being grieved that he was freed by the jury, caused him to be removed from the gaol or prison of the city to the Castle, and there again in- dicted him of the aforesaid treason : and by a new jury he was found guilty of treason. And the Judge, whose name was Roades [Rhodes] gave sentence that he should be hanged, drawn and quartered ; and so constantly he suffered according to the same sentence, which was for that he would do as God should put him in mind."
There is great divergence as to the date of his martyrdom. The anonymous martyrology of 1608 (identified by Father Pollen as the first recension of Dr. Worthington's catalogue), says it took place in
1 See C.R.S. v. p. 393.
^ This would seem to be a copyist's error for Common Hall. But Alban Butler's MS. certainly reads London Hall,
'7
258 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
August, 1585. Dodd follows this, adding the 5th of the month as the precise date, and this has been adopted by Mr. Gillow (Bibl. Diet. Ens^. Cath.). But it is certainly erroneous, because Ven. Francis Ingleby was not executed till 3 June, 1586, and as we have seen Ven. Robert Bickerdike was only arrested on that date. Probably the 1608 catalogue was led into this error by inadvertently grouping our martyr with Ven. Hugh Taylor and Ven. Marmaduke Bowes.
The 1614 edition of Dr. Worthington's catalogue gives 8 October, 1586, as the date. But this is late, seeing that the martyr was sentenced at the Lammas assizes. Moreover the fact that three London mar- tyrdoms did take place on that day suggests that there may have been some confusion. Bishop Challoner in giving this date adds " one manuscript says July 23 ". This is a much more probable date, and most likely the MS. referred to was that which has been published by Father John Morris, S.J.,^ as An Ancient Editor's Note Book, in which this date is given. But in default of more precise knowledge nothing definite can be stated.
E. H. B.
Authorities. —A Yorkshire Recusant's Relation, Oscott MS., published in Troubles, Series iii. (London, 1877) ; William Mutton's relation published in the same volume, under the title Notes by a Prisoner in Ousebridge Kidcote. Ralph Fisher's relation, printed by Bishop Challoner. Foley, Records, iii. 764. Camm, Forgotten Shrines. Challoner. Bridgewater, Concer- tatio.
^ Troubles, Series iii. p. 40.
XXVII. VENERABLE RICHARD LANGLEY.
LAYMAN.
York, I December, 1586.
This martyr was the representative of a Yorkshire family of good standing, who had for some genera- tions been settled at Rathorpe Hall, Dalton, in the West Riding. The martyr was the eldest son of Richard Langley of Rathorpe Hall and Joan Beau- mont of Mirfield, and he had a younger brother Thomas who lived at Meltonby. Bishop Challoner states that he was born at Grimthorpe in Yorkshire. Both brothers married and had children. Richard married Agnes, daughter of Richard Hansby of Malton, by whom he had a son, Christopher, and four daughters, Isabel, Margaret, Catherine and Agnes.
No particulars of hi§ early life have been recorded, but the few genealogical details preserved in the heraldic visitation show that he must have been born during the latter years of Henry VIII, for his son Christopher was born in 1565. So he had lived through all the changes of religion, and he was an elderly man when he won the martyr's crown. The valuable source which has been printed by Father
259 17 *
26o LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
Morris under the title A . Yorkshire Recusant's Rela- tion ^ speaks of him as *' a gentleman well in years, who had lived in the country with very great love and worshipful credit, a man of approved honesty, wisdom and sobriety, and well qualified in all virtues ". Another MS. now preserved at Stonyhurst^ says of him, " Richard Langley, a man of great soul and remarkable piety, spent all his estate in succouring priests. He built a very well hidden house under- ground, which was a great place of refuge for priests during the persecution."
This would account for the Yorkshire Recusant's statement, which otherwise would be somewhat puzzling, that he had two houses, one distant a mile from the other. The secret was betrayed by a false Catholic ; and the Earl of Huntingdon, then Lord President of the North, a ruthless persecutor, often referred to simply as "the tyrant," sent a band of justices and ministers to search the houses on 27 October, 1586, the Eve of SS. Simon and Jude.^ These were accompanied by a large band of soldiers. Mr. Langley was taken together with two priests, John Mush, the biographer of Margaret Clitherow, and Mr. Johnson. All three were carried before the Lord President at York, who railed at them " in his furious and heretical arrogance awhile " and then committed them to York Castle.
^ Morris, Troubles, iii. 65 sqg.
"" A.E.M. 305-6.
^ Another account summarized by Father Grene says it was about 21 September. The fact that this date ajso was an Apostle's fe^st probably caused the confusion,
VENERABLE RICHARD LANGLEY 261
Of his trial we only have two short accounts in the two relations already cited. They both agree in sub- stance, and we may here quote the longer of the two, that of the Yorkshire Recusant : —
" The heretics much abused this gentleman at the bar with railing and uncourteous speeches. At his first coming into the hall to be arraigned, he knelt down and asked Mr. Crowe, the priest, his blessing. He said that he would never repent that he had har- boured priests, and that they were the messengers of God, but rather was sorry that he had not harboured more and oftener than he had done ; also that he thanked God that he might die for so good a cause. He would not make suit to the tyrant nor the Privy Council for his life in this cause, which sentence grieved the tyrant and his complices exceedingly, insomuch that they altered the jury, which was first impanelled of his honest neighbours, fearing these would deal favourably and justly, and instead of them appointed such as they knew would work their desire to murder him, as they did."
He was condemned to death with the two priests, but that very night, they being confined in another part of the prison, were enabled to make their escape with a third priest, Bernard Patenson.
Probably their escape accelerated Ven. Richard Langley's martyrdom, for though the Lord President had promised his brother Thomas Langley that he should be reprieved till the Lent Assizes he now sent orders that he was to be executed without dela}^
In Father Grene's account we read : ** Mr. Langley was of such pleasant manners that he won the friend-
262 LtV^S OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
ship of the gaoler, who in spite of his being a malicious heretic could scarcely refrain from tears when he was led out to execution. He was, moreover, of good family and fortune, yet he despised all these things and declared before the judges that if he had greater riches and a hundred lives, he would willingly spend them all in that cause. . . . During the whole time of his imprisonment he was so merry that many wondered at him, for he had always been shy at home, yet when brought out for execution he showed such alacrity of mind as to go to the scaffold even before the sheriff, as if he were a bridegroom going to his nuptials."
His martyrdom took place on i December, 1586, and as he had been convicted of harbouring priests, and not of high treason, he suffered by hanging, and so escaped the terrible pains of quartering.
His friends begged to be allowed to give his re- mains honourable burial, but this was not allowed, and "permission was even refused for his corpse to be wrapped in the linen shroud he had prepared, and after his body had been thrown into the pit, the bodies of ten thieves were cast in over him ".
A document in the Record Office, printed by Father Pollen, S.J. {C.R.S. v. 134), shows that his estates were confiscated by the Government. His daughter Isabel and his son-in-law William Foster, her hus- band, fled from their house after his arrest. When after a time they ventured to return, Isabel Foster's charity led her to visit the Catholic prisoners in York. She was arrested as she was coming out of the prison and was carried before Hutton, the Dean
VENERABLE RICHARD LANGLEV 263
of York, who, on her refusal to attend the Protestant services, committed her to York Castle. She was at the time with child, and soon fell ill with ague through the close confinement and foulness of the, prison. The rest is told by the writer who is known- to us as '* The Prisoner in Ousebridge Kidcote ". After recounting how patiently and joyfully she suf- fered, desiring God to forgive those who sought her trouble, he tells how she was consoled by the appear- ance of her martyred father : " Before her death, she was heard to call upon her father, desiring him either to stay with her, or to let her go with him : at which one of the standers-by said, ' I am here, what would you have me to do ? ' She said, * I speak not to you ; it is my own father ; do you not see him there by you ? ' The next day she died, to the great comfort of the beholders, December 3rd, 1587, and was buried among the rest under the Castle wall."
The martyr's only son Christopher settled at Mil- lington and married Ursula, daughter of John Rud- ston of Hayton, by whom he had a son whom he called Richard after his father, and who was still living in 1612.
E. H. B.
Authorities.— ^>/^^//^;?i- from Stony hurst MSS., A.EM. 305. Collectanea^ ibid. lid. Morris, Troubles^ iii. 94. Lands and Leases of Richard Langley^ C.R.S. v. 134. Challoner, Visitations of Yorkshire^ see next page.
264
LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
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XXVIII. VENERABLE THOMAS PILCHARD.
SECULAR PRIEST.
Dorchester^ 21 March, 1587.
Thomas Pilchard, or Pilcher, came of yeoman stock of the County of Sussex. He was born at Battle in 1557, and appears to have been some relative of one Thomas Parker, a saddler of that town. At the age of eighteen he entered the University of Oxford, and matriculated from Balliol College, 1575. He was a student of some brilliance, and was in turn scholar (1575) and fellow (1576) of his college. He suppli- cated for his bachelor's degree on 12 May, 1576, and was admitted on 28 May ; three years later he pro- ceeded to the Mastership of Arts. Balliol College, which had given Father Persons and Ven. Alexander Briant to the Church in 1573, was still the abode of men who kept their respect for the old religion, and it was there that Mr. Pilchard was led to the truth, and to realize the danger to his soul of his position. He became reconciled to the Church, abandoned every worldly prospect of fame and advancement, and set out for Rheims. He reached the College on 20 November, 1581, bringing with him from Oxford one
265
266 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
George Nicols. His singular modesty and candour, his habitual recollection and unaffected piety were a source of great edification to all at the College, and his zeal for souls showed itself in his efforts to induce other Oxford men to follow in his wake, ** looking daily for Bagshaw, as he did report to one Caesar". He was ordained subdeacon at Soissons on lo June, 1582, received the diaconate at Laon on 22 Sep- tember of the same year, and was made priest also at Laon on 5 March, 1583. He offered his first Mass on 14 March, and set out for the English Mission on 4 May following. The scene of his labours was the West of England, and of their character his contem- porary Father William Warford, S.J., bears this testi- mony : " He laboured so commendably that I know no priest in all the West of England that equalled his virtues ; and truly his memory is still in benediction there. By his unwearied zeal he gained many souls to God ; he was constantly employed in preaching the Divine word and administering the Sacraments, yet his zeal was tempered with the most engaging sweetness and affability, and he was justly regarded as the oracle of that province." While in another account we are told that he was remarkable in the seminary for his candour, and sparing talk, but above all for his piety and devotion in saying Mass. These virtues stood him in good stead in his work as a missionary. *' Whether at home, on a journey or in prison he was always at work and never excused himself from preaching and administering the sacraments."
And so on every side he obtained recognition as a true apostle. The '' home " from which he set forth
VENERABLE TMOMAS PtLCltARD 267
on his missionary journeys was at Winchester, where as the spy Thomas Dodwell relates in February, 1583-4, "The Lady West entertaineth Pilcher a//as Foster ". Another spy tells Walsingham that he was often in London. During the course of 1585 the Government found it convenient to ease the conges- tion in the prisons by sending some who were prisoners for religion into exile. More than seventy priests were thus shipped beyond the seas, of whom twenty-four at one time or other during the year reached the college at Rheims, there to abide a favourable opportunity of returning to their labours. It was not merely the zeal for the mission that made these confessors eager to be back, but also lest their absence should be attributed to some compromise made with the Government. Mr. Pilchard was one of whose who underwent this exile, and who found a refuge at Rheims. No record is yet known as to how and when he fell into the enemy's hands, nor of the date of his banishment or arrival at Rheims. But on 20 January, 1586, he left the College for Eng- land to take up again his active work for souls, and with the certainty of martyrdom, if he should again fall into the hands of the ruling party. He returned to the field of his former labours, and for almost a year continued his apostolic work with undiminished fruit. Then while on a visit to London in the com- pany of his constant friend John Jessop, upon some missionary business, he was recognized in Fleet Street by one who had known him very well at Oxford (probably the spy Dodwell), and. apprehended.
We have an account of Mr. Pilchard's personality
268 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
from the pen of one who knew him well, Father William Warford, S.J. He describes him as being of modest and sedate countenance, with a small beard about his mouth and chin, and a decided squint, though his eyes were nevertheless not without charm. He was somewhat above middle height ; a man of most gentle disposition, and of equable temperament ; more than moderately learned ; and a remarkable example of priestly life. It was by reason of the de- fect in his eyesight that the spy knew him, and so gave him into the hands of the officers. His com- panion Mr. Jessop might have escaped, but was be- trayed by his grief at the fate of Mr. Pilchard. John Jessop was everywhere Mr. Pilchard's most faithful companion, and his right-hand man in the helping of souls. He was a man of good business capacity and experience, when, to the great wonder of his friends, he placed himself entirely in Mr. Pilchard's hands to aid his missionary labours. They were now conveyed back to Dorset, riding on horseback with their hands tied behind them, and were imprisoned at Dorchester. The fortnight that elapsed between Mr. Pilchard's arrival in that prison and his trial and martyrdom was a period of unceasing labour, which was richly crowned by God, for during those days he reconciled no less than thirty persons to the Church. His exer- cises of self-discipline were not lessened by reason of his captivity ; he did not abandon his practice of sleeping on the ground because of his fetters, but re- signed his bed to one or other of his fellow-captives. Such acts of kindness won their esteem, at the same time as the example of his earnestness and self-sur-
VENERABLE THOMAS PILCHARD 269
render was moving their wills, so that the very thieves were attracted and converted by his meekness. His jailer also was won to show him such kindness as lay in his power, but this becoming known to the authorities it was thought prudent to commit him to another keeper. But the discretion and presence of mind of the martyr and his firmness of purpose sur- mounted their strategy, and means of access to him was found for his friends. Then flocked to his prison from all that country, Catholics and those who were solicitous about their souls. All were helped, all consoled, no one left him without receiving a lesson in some virtue or other. Thus he was enabled when in prison to bring more to God than when he had been free, and the good odour of his life and fragrance of his conversation spreading abroad, he was freely sought by his friends and other Catholics. He was brought to trial at the Lent Assize and condemned for treason, on the score of his priesthood and his exercise of it within the Queen's dominions. After receiving sentence he was immediately hurried off to execution. He was so cruelly drawn upon the hurdle that he was almost dead when he came to the place assigned. The penalty of treason was rarely paid in that part of the country, and there was some difficulty in finding any one to carry out the sentence, but ulti- mately a butcher was induced to undertake it for a con- siderable sum of money.
The martyr was scarcely hung up when the rope either broke or was severed, and the holy man stood erect on his feet under the gallows. The hired executioner shrank from his task, until, compelled
270 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
thereto by the sheriff's men, he rushed at the martyr and driving his knife bhndly into the belly of the priest, again shrank back horror-stricken, amidst the groans and outcry of the spectators. Mr. Pilchard, who was fully conscious, turned his head towards the Sheriff and meekly asked : " Is this then your justice, Mr. Sheriff? " On his saying this, the executioner, summoning courage, seized him, threw him on his back, and then proceeded to the work of disem- bowelling. When he was tearing open his belly the pain caused the martyr to bring his hand to the wound, and the unskilled executioner cut it all over in his frenzy. Then Mr. Pilchard raised himself a little and with his own hands cast forth his bowels, crying at the same time " Miserere mei ". Thus he passed to his crown. It was noted by the Catholics of that county that all those who were accessory to this judicial murder fell into some remarkable calam- ity or came to an untimely end. The Sheriff, who was then rich and powerful, fell into great misfortunes and died miserably within two years. The chief keeper of his prison going into his garden somewhat late saw one coming towards him like Mr. Pilchard, and being astonished asked him what he did there. " I go in to Mr. Jessop," was the answer, *' and pre- sently I will return to you." The keeper went in and sickened unto death. He refused the ministra- tion of the schismatics and said openly that the devils were striving for him and that they would presently carry him away ; but that he saw Mr. Pilchard with a cross standing betwixt them and him. His butcher and the greater part of the jury
VENERABLE THOMAS PILCHARD 271
died violent deaths very soon afterwards. The martyr's quarters were fixed, according to custom, upon the town walls, but there was a visitation of such terrible storms and such horrible lightnings over Dorchester and the surrounding country until they were removed, that when Father John Cornelius was condemned for the same cause, the leading men of the town came to the judges and begged that his quarters might not be fixed on the walls, " because it was known for certain that tempests had of late years occurred on account of the exposure of Mr. Pil- chard's body, causing great loss to many, and especi- ally destructive to the harvest ".
The remains of the martyr were buried in the open fields near the place of his execution. His friend, Mr. Jessop, did not long survive him, but overwhelmed by grief at his loss, he fell a victim to the foulness of his prison and died shortly afterwards in Dorchester Jail. His dying wish was that he might not be buried in the graveyard, but " proxime ad corpus D. Pilchardi in agris in loco supplicii," and this was ac- cordingly done, but, by night, so as not to attract notice. Others to whom Mr. Pilchard had ministered during life, were consoled by him after his death. An old priest, a fellow-prisoner, was suddenly awak- ened from sleep, and saw his chamber full of light and a thing like a fish (pilchard), bigger than a man, from which the light proceeded. Another prisoner, a woman great with child and near her time, was suddenly awakened one night. She told her husband that she had seen Mr. Pilchard, who told her she must come to him, and that night she died in child-
272 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
birth . Some four years afterwards Venerable William Pike, by trade a carpenter, was put on his trial for having spoken in favour of the Catholic religion. He confessed his faith freely, and when offered his life and family if he would recant, replied that it did not become a son of Mr. Pilchard to abjure his re- ligion. '' Did that traitor, then, pervert you ? " asked the judge. " That holy priest of God and true martyr of Christ taught me the truth of the Catholic Faith," he replied. Until he died, Mr, Pilchard's name was constantly on his lips, and he recalled with heartfelt words the martyr's memory. To the question what gave him such strength in his resolution, his answer was, " Nothing but the smell of a pilchard ". And so he followed his spiritual father to heaven by the path of the martyrs. With Mr. Pilchard were put to death some of his fellow-prisoners whom he had converted to the faith. One of these, a young man of great bodily strength, was a notorious robber. He had been re- conciled to the Church the night before, and had made an excellent confession of his sins, and on the scaffold he fearlessly professed himself a Catholic. Thomas Pilchard glorified God by martyrdom on 21 March, 1587.
J. L. W.
Authorities. — Warford's/?^/«//^;?(StonyhurstMSS. ColL M)y translation printed in (i) Pollen, A.E.M. 261-8 ; (2) Foley, Records SJ.^ iii. 428-9 ; (3) Oliver's Collections. Intelligence of Seminary Priests with their Receivers^ by Thomas Dodwell, P.R.O. Dom. Eliz. vol. 168, nos. -i^-i,^ 34, 35, printed in Foley, Records SJ.^ vol. vi. pp. 719-27. Spy Wylkox to Walsingham, Seminary Priests, Their Receivers and Lodgings in London^ 23
VENERABLE THOMAS PILCHARD 273
April, 1586, P.R.O. Dom. Eliz. 188, 37, printed in Morris, Troubles^ ii. p. 157. Relation by an English Priest^ A.E.M. 320. Presumptions of the Unsoundness of Balliol College in Religion^ 1581, P.R.O. Dom. Eliz. 146, 10, printed in Douay Diaries^ p. 363. Letter of Walter Stokes to Dr. Humphry Ely, dated 10 May (1587) with an enclosure "True Intelligence". Brit. Mus. MSS. Lansdowne, vol. 96, printed by Pollen in C.R.S. V. 142, 143. Catalogue of the Martyrs (1587-94), Stonyhurst MSS. Anglia 7, 26, printed in C.R.S. v. 288-9. Benjamin Norton to Dr. Richard Smith, Bishop of Chalced on, 6 May, 1626. Relations Concerning the Martyrs^ printed in C.R.S. v. 394. Challoner. Reg. Oxon. II. ii. 66 ; iii. 6. Douay Diaries.
IS
XXIX.
VENERABLE EDMUND SYKES.
SECULAR PRIEST.
York, 23 March, 1587.
Edmund Sykes was a Yorkshireman, born in the neighbourhood of Leeds. He received his early education in the schools of his native county, and then according to Father Christopher Grene's MS. F, proceeded to Oxford, though his name does not appear in the Registers of that University.
The first mention of him in the Douay Diaries is under date 22 January, 1580, as follows, *' redierunt ex Anglia Sikes et Hargraves cumque illis adduxerunt Fletcherum quendam juvenem," from which it would seem that his entry at the college was made at some earlier date. This inference is strengthened by the fact that on 28 May following he was ordained sub- deacon at Soissons : and he was made deacon on 17 December of the same year. On 21 February, 1581, he received the priesthood. His first Mass was offered in St. Stephen's Church at Rheims on 2 March, and he set out for the English Mission on 5 June, having as his companion Venerable John Amias, who was also to seal his ministry with his blood. The field of his labours was his own county,
274
VENERABLE EDMUND SYKES 275
where for over three years he travelled about from place to place, living as a poor pilgrim, and both by his teaching, and still more by the example of his life, was enabled to strengthen the faith of the wavering, to regain many that were lapsed, and to bring the consolations of religion to all. He appears to have made Leeds the centre from which his zeal radiated through the surrounding country, and it was in that town that he was captured. The austerity of his life, and his unsparing labours caused him to succumb to an extreme ague, and during his sickness he was apprehended by Arthur Webster, an apostate to whose mother he had ministered. This venerable woman and her daughter Frances were both con- fessors of the faith and both died in York Castle in the summer of 1585. Mr. Sykes was brought before the Council of the North, and committed to the Ousebridge Kidcote. The horrors of that prison unbalanced his reason, and in a moment of weakness he consented to attend the schismatical service, but he straightway recovered himself, and was committed again to the prison, where he remained in close confinement for nearly six months. He was then again brought before the Council, and sentenced to banishment. With ten others he was transferred on 23 August, 1585, to the Castle of Kingston-upon-Hull, and within a week placed on shipboard and sent beyond the seas. He probably went to the College at Rheims to abide a favourable opportunity of return to the Lord's vineyard, and meanwhile he paid a visit to Rome "upon some occasion that happened whilst he was prisoner".
18 *
276 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
He was at this time considering the desirability of becoming a religious. His weakness of purpose in York Castle was ever before his mind, and made him mistrustful of self, and he turned towards the re- ligious life for the support he needed and the oppor- tunity of atoning for his fall by a life of discipline. It was to learn God's will on this matter, and to atone for any scandal he had given by yielding to the heretics, that he made his pilgrimage to Rome. And God's will was manifested to him, for it is re- corded that whilst at prayer in a certain church *' he had a revelation which foreshadowed unto him that he should return into England, and there receive his crown ". He had come to Rome in doubt, and with heaviness of heart ; he left it in great joy, and hastened to his conflict. While there he was enter- tained at the English Hospice for nine days (15-24 April), and on setting forth he received an alms of two crowns. He reached Rheims on 10 June, but only tarried for a very brief rest, leaving the College on the i6th, eager for the harvest and his reward. He had not long to wait. He returned to York- shire, and came to Wath, in the neighbourhood of Tanfeld, to his brother's house. This brother betrayed him, and he was apprehended, and taken to York. The Council sent him close prisoner to York Castle, where he was subjected to great hardship, in the hope of weakening his purpose.
He had ever been a man of great abstinence and austerity of life, and by reason of his former weak- ness he was now more exact than ever in self- discipline. It had been his custom to scourge himself
VENERABLE EDMUND SYKES 277
every week on Wednesday and Friday, and this practice he maintained in prison even after his con- demnation. A fellov^-priest, to whom he revealed the great loathing of this mortification he now experienced, advised him not to punish his body any more, since it was so soon to be glorified. He was most regular in prayer, and gave long hours to watch- ing. While in his most strait and very troublesome prison he used each day to prostrate himself half an hour upon the cold ground, and besides his breviary, he used to recite the whole psalter weekly, and many other prayers and devotions.
Thus by prayer and by the experience of suffering, he acquired the virtue of patience and learned to die. While he was awaiting his trial, he experienced great temptations to lapse into his former fault and re- nounce his religion, and his fellow-prisoners heard him disputing and contending with one whom he re- buked and rejected with contempt. They afterwards learned from him that the devil had been there to trouble and molest him ; but by prayer and mortifi- cation he obtained the grace to repel him.
He was brought to trial at the Lent assizes and placed among the felons at the bar. The charge was high treason in having been made priest beyond the seas, and come to England, and further in having re- turned to England after his banishment. He ad- mitted his priesthood, but absolutely denied that he was a traitor. The judge threw in his face his former conduct when he had consented to go to the church, and afterwards refused, but he replied : *' It was the infirmity of sickness which caused me to go to your
278 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
service, and not for any liking I had of it ; the which I have repented, and now detest to do it. Neither did I wholly that which was required, or like of your doing, wherefore I was kept in prison, and so ban- ished."
He was found guilty and condemned to the usual penalty, whereat he rejoiced greatly and thanked God. Being led back to the Castle, he was placed in a special prison, and carefully guarded that night, that none of the other prisoners might be able to ap- proach him, and no priest absolve him. The next day, being 23 March, 1587, he was laid on the hurdle in the Castle yard, and dragged thence, amid the as- saults and insults of the heretics, to the Tyburn, where the sentence was carried out. He was hanged, bowelled, and quartered, and thus passed to the crown that he had learned at the Confession of the Apostle was awaiting him.
J. L. W.
Authorities. — Father Christopher Grene, S.J., Collectanea F, printed in Foley, Records S./., vol. iii. p. 736 ff. ; cp. p. 249 (the account of the Websters) ; Collectanea E summarized, printed in Pollen, A.E.M. p. 328 ; Aticient Editor's Note Book^ printed by Morris, Troubles^ vol. iii. p. 40 ; Wm. Mutton's Notes in Ousebridge Kidcote, printed in same vol., p. 3 1 2 ; Extract from Housebooks of York City (dated 23 Aug., 1585), printed in same vol., p. 272. Challoner. Douay Diaries. Pilgrim Book of the English College., Rome., printed in Foley, Records S.J.., vol. vi. p. 559.
XXX.
VENERABLE STEPHEN ROWSHAM.
SECULAR PRIEST.
Gloucester^ about Easter, 1587.
The Ven. Stephen Rowsham (also Rouse) was a native of Oxfordshire and a member of Oxford Uni- versity, where he is found as a commoner of Oriel College in 1572. He was a man of deeply religious temperament, one to whose mind the supernatural order was very vividly present at all times. Follow- ing this bent, he took orders in the State religion, and was minister at St. Mary's, the University Church, about the year 1578. But his mind did not find rest in that ofBce ; he was drawn towards the old reli- gion, but experienced much doubt as to whether he should find peace in following that inclination. It is narrated that while he was still in schism at Oxford, his future crown of martyrdom was shown him most gloriously yet without precision, in this manner. A magnificent display of meteoric activity was at that time attracting attention, and one night Rowsham went out in company with others to view the spec- tacle. Suddenly he saw over his head and very near to him a crown very bright and resplendent, and he
279
28o LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
pointed it out to his companions. Vague though the portent was at the time, his noble death lends it the deepest significance. Divine grace was working with him at this time, and in its strength he was able to overcome his doubts, and sacrifice his prospects. He delivered himself unreservedly into the hands of God, resigned his benefice, sought reconciliation with the Church, and set out for Rheims. On landing in France he experienced an access of consolation, and as it were of certainty that his sacrifice had been ac- cepted and that he was doing God's will ; so that he was led to cast himself upon his knees, and with great earnestness return thanks to God, and offer himself unreservedly to His Divine Majesty. Then he told his companions that now, provided he might live as a good Catholic, he cared not if henceforth he had to earn his bread at the plough tail. He reached Rheims on 23 April, 1581, was made deacon at Soissons on 23 September following, and on Michaelmas Day re- ceived the priesthood in the same cathedral. The seven months following his ordination he spent at Rheims. One day, shortly after his ordination, as he was saying Mass in St. Stephen's Church in that city, a large spider fell from the roof into the chalice as he uncovered it to adore the Precious Blood. This caused him much repugnance and some fear, and in his simplicity he was at a loss what to do. But his piety and devotion to the Blessed Sacrament dictated his course, and he made up his mind to risk death rather than expose the Precious Blood to any disre- spect. Having silently invoked the divine assistance, and comniended hirnself to the mercy of Christ, he
VENERABLE STEPHEN ROWSHAM 281
swallowed the spider together with the Precious Blood. So far was he from suffering any ill thereby, that as he afterwards related his faith in the most Holy Sacrament was henceforth wonderfully confirmed, and he affirmed that his repugnance was on that occasion turned into the greatest relish.
On 30 April, 1582, he set out for England, having as his companion Ven. Robert Ludlam, also a martyr. In England, he at once fell into the hands of the per- secutors, the malformation of his body exposing him to ready recognition. He is described by Father William Warford, S.J., who knew him well, as a man of handsome and manly face with a chestnut brown beard, and a clear, sweet voice. He was small of stature, with one shoulder higher than the other, and a certain twist in the neck (though not a very ugly one, adds Father Warford). This it was that betrayed him, and he was committed to the Tower on 19 May, 1582. Writing from Rheims on 11 June, Dr. Allen tells Father Agazzario in Rome " D. Barns nobilis quidam . . . captus fuit cum quodam bono sacerdote alumno hujus collegii, et sunt ambo in Turri". Allen does not name the "good priest," who would have been unknown to Agazzario, but we learn from the Diarium Turris that the reference is to Stephen Rowsham. He now looked forward to a speedy conflict unto death, and hoped to be united in suffering with his familiar acquaintance, Mr. Thomas Ford, Mr. John Shert and Mr. Robert Johnson, who were martyred in London on 28 May, 1582, but his work was not yet done. He was to endure imprisonment and torture for more than three
282 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
years, and then to be banished beyond the seas. During his confinement God favoured his servant with many consolations. One day, when he much desired to celebrate Mass, all things necessary thereto were conveyed to him, he not knowing how, or by whom. It is also recorded that at the very hour in which his above-mentioned acquaintance were glori- fying God at Tyburn, Mr. Rowsham perceived in his dungeon a most sweet and pleasant light, and felt at the same time three gentle strokes on his right hand ; thus did he feel what pains their martyrdom had been to them, and with what joy they were re- warded. At another time when he was daily ex- pecting to be called to trial, and to be sentenced to the same death as theirs, he had an indication from heaven that his time was not yet come, but thaf^he was to say many Masses more before his death. On 14 August, he was placed in the dungeon known as Little Ease, and in that cell he was cribbed for eigh- teen months and thirteen days.^ In this long period of wearing and wearying confinement, his strength was sustained by divine visitations. God the Father and Christ our Saviour full often appeared to him, and so did our Blessed Lady, with words he would not utter, and glorious souls of saints, sometimes remain- ing many hours with him, and leaving behind them the fragrance of their presence. On one occasion for the space of a day and a half he seemed to be already in heaven, the joys he experienced were so great and
^ Thus the Dia?ium Turris ; the actual time would appear to have been two days short of eighteen months (14 August, 1582, till 12 February, 1584),
VENERABLE STEPHEN ROWSHAM 283
SO strange. Something of the happiness in which he was enabled to endure his narrow cell is shown in the following letter which was found upon Thomas Pounde, a noted confessor of the Faith, who had been a fellow-prisoner in the Tower. It was sent by four Justices of the Peace for Surrey to Secretary Walsingham on i September, 1586, and is assigned by R. Simpson {Rambler, 1857) to Stephen Rowsham.
" Sub cruce labor 0 " Good Sir — As I am verye glade to heare that youe were plunged oute of the ponds and pitts of infinite perills when youe were freed from the tragicall Towers, whence rather was expected your marterdome than youre enlargement : so hearing yt youe were relegatus in insulam and confined to a place of perpetuall imprisonment never to be sene or harde of of youre lovinge frends dwringe the tymes of persecutyon : I asswre youe even Gladius doloris per- transivit animam meam quod talent amicum amiserim, cujus amicitia tarn jucundissima olim perfrui solebam. Howbeit nowe latly, havinge Teceyved youre goulden cordiall coumforte, and made partaker w^^ my aflicted frende of youre country's prouysye [prowess] et tibi gratulor et mihi gaudeo et habetur et referetur a me {cum potero) tibi gratia semper. And forasmuch as, being acquainted w^h your zealous, godly constancy, I have known your disposition to be delighted rather w^^ authentical antiquities than w^h newfangled novelties, I send for your New Year's gift an oulde booke of Contemplative Centiloquies, in w^h are comprysed a swete delectable himme made of the Cros, w^h a dole-
284 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
ful songe of the nitingall toutchinge Christ's Passion, wch you will putt pen to paper to give it a new Inglish liverye. Utere^ fruere^ lege, relege, perlege, content' plando meditare, et meditando contemplare, et {quam graphice poteris) in Nostram Ideomam [sic] traducite, sic semper honos nomenque tuum sine fine manehunt. Thus beinge merye with my sorrowes, when I wryte to youe, beseechinge oure Lorde to bles youe w^^ all benedictyons temperall and eternall, I ende. Vive^ vale ; superes longos Nestoris annos. Tuus pro arbitratu tuo
" Stephanus Captivus."
On 12 February, 1583-4, Stephen Rowsham was released from the Little Ease and, in company with Mr. Godsalf, another seminary priest, was sent from the Tower to the Marshalsea. There he was de- tained until the early autumn of 1585, when in pur- suance of the Government's changed policy, he was placed on shipboard and sent beyond the seas, to return at the immediate peril of his life. He reached Rheims on 8 October, 'but his ardent zeal for the salvation of souls, which in his banishment became greater every day, and his desire to glorify God by martyrdom, made him eager to be back in England. When they were in the Tower, Father John Hart had written 15 November, 1582, to Dr. Allen, of Rowsham and some other prisoners, *' all of us by the grace of God are in the Faith, and there is not one of us who is not resolved to hold the Faith, and fight against heresy, though it were necessary to shed his blood for bis religion ". That fight and that death now, in
VENERABLE STEPHEN ROWSHAM 285
the inactivity of exile, called more insistently than ever upon the ready will of Mr. Rowsham. He set out from Rheims on 7 February, 1586, to return to England. For how long, and with what success he was able to exercise his ministry, we do not know, but it was in the midst of his labours that he was apprehended in Gloucestershire in the house of a widow named Strange, and he was lodged in Glou- cester Jail. Brought to the bar, he was arraigned for being made priest beyond the seas, returning to England, and making it his business there to recon- cile the Queen's subjects to the Catholic Church. All this he freely confessed ; but so far from acknow- ledging any guilt, much less any treason in his acts, he openly protested that if he had many lives he would most willingly lay them all down for so good a cause. Standing among the common felons, in the very presence of his judges and of the public there as- sembled, he discoursed with his fellow-prisoners, and was able to gain several of them to God, some of whom died with him, while others who were acquitted and subsequently released, continued fervent and stead- fast Catholics. The great joy he showed on hearing his sentence, which was passed in the usual form for high treason, was noted and admired by the whole assembly. As he was taken back to prison, there to await the carrying out of his sentence, a number of apprentices and other youths of Gloucester spitefully pelted him from a dunghill, and all bewrayed his face and clothes.
The days that remained to him were a time of ceaseless activity up to the very last. He was able
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to offer the Holy Sacrifice daily, and it happened that he was in the midst of his Mass when the Sheriff's officers came to summon him to death. They were told that he was not yet ready, and begged to have a little patience, to which they agreed. All present were confessed and received Holy Communion at his hands. When Mass was over, he said Vespers, and then blessed and embraced every one in turn. Then he went forth to his executioners, himself cheer- ful, but all his company much lamenting his leaving them. Before he came to the hurdle, one of the underkeepers said to him : *' O Mr. Rowsham, if I were in the like danger as you are, and might avoid it as easily as you may by going to church, surely I would soon yield to that". The happy priest an- swered : *' I pray thee be contented, good friend ; within this hour I shall conquer the world, the flesh and the devil ". He was so laid on the hurdle that one of his legs draggled on the ground as he was drawn, and being urged by a schismatic woman to draw it up, he replied, " No, all is too little for Christ's sake," and so came to the place of torment. Arrived there, he was quite unnerved, though not shaken in his constancy, by the fear that they would treat him as they had done the Venerable John Sandys, who was cut down while still alive, and completely recovered conscious- ness before they proceeded to disembowel and quarter him. But that outrage was spared him, by reason of the outcry it had raised among the people, voiced by the schismatic dean and preachers. He was therefore allowed to hang until he was dead, and the rest of the sentence was carried out upon his body. The day of
VENERABLE STEPHEN ROWSHAM 287
his death is not known, but it was earlier than 10 May, 1587/ and would seem to have been some time after 11 August, 1586, the day on which the Venerable John Sandys glorified God ; there is a tradition that it was during March, 1587.
J. L. W.
Authorities.— Father Christopher Grene's Collectanea M, printed in Pollen, A.E.M. pp. 332-4 ; Foley, Records S./., iv. 340-1 ; Oliver, Collections^ p. 10 1 sq. Morris, Troubles^ iii. Father William IVarforcTs Recollections (Stonyhurst MSS. M\ printed in Pollen, A.E.M. pp. 260-1. Foley, Records S./., iv. 581. Diarium Turris. Prison Lists, P.R.O. Dom. Eliz. 159, 36 ; 169, 24 ; 170, II ; 180, 64, printed in C.R.S. vol. ii. Douay Diaries. Reg. Oxon. II. iii. 40. Challoner. Simpson, Ratnbler (1857), viii. 102. The letter of Stephanus Captivus might also be from Thomas Stevens, a special friend of Pounde, see Foley, Records., iii. 614.
^ Letter of Walter Stokes on that date to Dr. Ely : Lansdowne MSS. (Brit. Mus.) vol. 96, printed in C.R.S. v. 142.
XXXI. VENERABLE JOHN HAMBLY.
SECULAR PRIEST.
Salisbury^ about Easter^ 1587.
The Venerable John Hambly may well be regarded as one of the weak things of this world which, as St. Paul says, it is God's way to choose that those that are strong may be put to confusion. And we may also see in him a fulfilment of Our Lord's promise of the great reward in store for those who are faithful in few things. As a young man, following the lead- ing of conscience, he abjured the State religion in which he had been nurtured, and sought salvation in the Church. The step entailed the loss of much that the natural man treasures. Worldly prospects, relatives and friends, his father's house and native place, all these were surrendered for the Kingdom of Heaven. And yet he was a man who readily shrank from pain. He was not made of the stuff out of which this world fashions its heroes. Moral suffer- ing he might endure, but the approach of physical pain made him play the coward and forsake his resolutions. But he knew his character and recognized his weak- ness ; therefore when his conscience led him to abstain
288
VENERABLE JOHN HAMBLY 289
from the State worship, he left the county where he was known, and made for London, because he was afraid of the penalties recusancy would bring upon him, were it known. Three years later, now a seminary priest, he falls into the hands of the justices; the dread of a barbarous death overpowers him, and he is willing to promise apostasy if only he may avoid the torment. He escapes from prison, but is again taken. And now his cowardice drags him still lower : he will not merely apostatize, but even turn traitor if only his skin may be safe. He does not refrain from bringing upon others those very torments from which he is shrinking, so long as his own body may be spared. And so he betrays every- thing. He narrates to the justices his whole life since his conversion ; where he has been, what he has done, whom he has met. He mentions and ac- curately describes the places where he has heard and said Mass ; tells who were present, with such descrip- tions of their persons and other indications as may lead to their ready identification ; states who pro- cured the Mass to be said, what provision was made for its celebration, how many communicants there were, and what the oifertory amounted to. He names upwards of fifteen priests then in England, besides fourteen engaged at Rheims, and others whom he saw at the College. He describes the method of reception at Rheims, the various occupations there, the number of students, of whom he names several, the mode of their maintenance, and gives the names of the College staff and their various duties. He also tells of the Jesuit schools at Verdun, Mussoponte
J9
2go LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
[Pont-a-Musson] and Eu. He indicates the inns where he and other priests have made their abode ; and also the places where Catholics meet for inter- course. He discloses those whom he had reconciled, those to whom he had ministered, and the houses where he had been entertained. He betrays those who had contributed to his support, giving their names, and the amount of their offerings. Such was the depth to which his pusillanimity dragged him ; and yet after, and in spite of all, he laid down his life for the Faith. But it needed what appears a manifest intervention from Almighty God to secure him the requisite fortitude. ** Not that we are suffi- cient to think anything of ourselves, as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is from God." The courage of the martyrs is always a special grace, though this character is not discerned with the same ease in all cases. The Venerable John Hambly is an instance where it is the more manifest. We may believe that Almighty God was not unmindful of the sacrifices of his youth, and of the means his humility led him then to adopt in order to safeguard his frailty ; but that in token of- that fidelity, in his hour of greatest need He came to His servant's aid, and bestowed upon him a grace, the right use of which was to set him over many things, and bring him to the joy of his Lord. And if before strengthening him, it was God's plan to subject him to the degradation and humiliation of his treachery, is not that God's way of dealing with those on whom He bestows singular graces, so that from the weakness of the creature the power of God may be manifest, that he who glorieth
VENERABLE yOHN HAMBLY 291
may glory in the Lord, and that from our knowledge and recognition of the inadequacy of the material from which His martyr was made, God may be glorified the more.
John Hambly was a native of the parish of St. Mabyn, about six miles from Bodmin, in Cornwall. His boyhood was unsettled and perhaps restless ; he tells that he studied Latin at various schools in his native county, with intervals during which he lived at home. We have no indication of the date of his birth — it would seem to have been not later than 1560 — nor of his mode of life before the year 1582. In that year his fellow-townsman and friend Nicholas Baldwin, who had previously been a scholar of Exeter College, Oxford, and was a Papist, often talked with him on the religious question. Baldwin placed in his hands several books dealing with the current controversy, among them being Father Persons's Brief Discours contayning certayne Reasons why Catho- liques refuse to goe to Church (1580). This book influenced him greatly; and coupled with his con- ferences with Baldwin led him to determine to follow his natural inclination towards the old religion. Ac- cordingly about Christmas, 1582, he ceased to attend the worship bylaw established. Fearing the penalty entailed by absence from Church, he decided to leave the county where he was known, and journeyed to London, where he took up his abode at the '* Sun and Seven Stars," in Smithfield, until May, 1583. Soon after his coming to London he was reconciled to the Church by Mr. Fortescue, a seminary priest, in a chamber over the gate at the sign of the **«Red Lion "
19 *
292 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
in Holborn, where the said Fortescue, and another seminary priest, Mr. David Tomson, vere Kemp, made their abode. During his stay in London he consorted freely with Catholics, visiting the prisoners in the Marshalsea, where he heard two Masses, the one during Lent, said by Mr. Richard Norris, and the other at Easter, said either by Mr. John Tibbitt, or by Mr. William Warmington.
At the beginning of May he left London for Rheims. With Richard Norris and four others he sailed from Rye in Sussex to Dieppe, which port was reached on 4 May, thence they made their way to Rouen where they met three Lancashire men, Mr. Godeson, William Tomson, and James Nightingale, who were also mak- ing for Rheims. With these three, Richard Norris and Mr. Hambly joined company and journeyed to Paris where they remained for two or three days, and thence they made their way to Rheims, where " they made it known to Dr. Allen that they came over for their conscience, and so were received into the College ". The entry in the College Diary is ** 28 May, 1583, ex Anglia venerunt Gilbertus Gerarde, Gulielmus Tomson, Jacobus Nightingale, D. Thomas Browne, Hugo Aspenwall, Joannes Thules, Gilbertus Gerard [sic], [blank] Hambly". Hambly remained two years at Rheims, during which time '' he studied the cases of conscience which Mr. Doctor Webbe did read, and the cases of controversies " under Dr. Barrett. He received the tonsure and minor orders on the day before Laetare Sunday, 31 March, 1584, in the Chapel of the Holy Rood of the Cathedral of Rheims at the hands of the Cardinal de Guise ;
VENERABLE JOHN HAMBLY 293
was made subdeacon by the Bishop of " Traysalpina as he thinketh," ^ deacon by the Cardinal de Guise at Rouen, and priest by the Bishop of Laon in his Cathedral on 22 September, 1584. He was sent on the mission from Rheims on 6 April, 1585, " by the license and appointment of Dr. Allen, to convert those that are in error, and to save souls ; to whom he did affirm to do his uttermost endeavour to convert those in England which were not of the Romish Re- ligion ". From Dr. Webbe he received four pounds or thereabout for his journey, which he made disguised as a serving man, and in the company of two other priests, Mr. Maurice Williams, and Mr. James Cleyton. They crossed the sea in a foreign bottom ; Mr. Cley- ton was landed at Newcastle, while Hambly and Williams disembarked on the sands about thirty miles beyond Ipswich. Thence they journeyed to London and both took up their abode at the " Blue Boar " in Holborn ; but a fortnight later Hambly removed to the " Red Lion," also in Holborn. He sought out and placed himself at the disposal of Father John Cor- nelius, the martyr, and had from him twenty shillings towards his maintenance. Father Cornelius sent him to say Mass on Easter Day (11 April, O.S.) "in a chamber near the [south-west] corner of Grays Inn Court," at which Mass there were present nine or ten gentlemen of the Inns of Court, of whom six or seven communicated at his hands. After Mass he made holy water and holy bread. He also reconciled one
^Thus his statement in his examination; according to the Douay Diary he received the subdiaconate at the same time as the tonsure and minor orders.
294 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
Mr. Good, a young lawyer, whom he afterwards met by appointment on two or three occasions in Gray's Inn Fields, and who was also present at the second Mass which he said in London. This was towards the end of April, and was said in a house in Fleet Street near the great Conduit ; four or five were present, and there were one or two communicants. In May he left London where he had been for about five weeks ** and was directed by one Nicolas Blewett, a Cornishman, to one Andrew Munday who dwelleth at a farm of one Mr. Watkins in Bemester [Bea- minster] in Dorsetshire, where he hath made his most common abode ever since, where he hath said since his first coming thither an viii or ix masses, and was helped to say the said Masses by one William Barnett, dwelling at Coltley in Maxton [Manston ?] parish in Dorsetshire and being a weaver by his occupation ". The Masses were all " said in the said Munday's own chamber," Munday and Barnett were present at them all, and at one of them " two other gentlemen whose names he knoweth not ". Between Christmas and Candlemas, 1586 (N.S.) he said one Mass at Mr- Whitell's house in Corscombe parish within a mile of the said Munday's. He reconciled at the Three Crowns Inn, at Bridgewater, ** where they lay all night together," Mr. James Pippyn, to whose house within a mile of Bridgewater he also resorted.
Some time after Easter (3 April), 1586, he rode to Chard to meet Mr. Fulford, son of Sir John Fulford, at one of the inns. They spent the night together, and in the morning set out for Beaminster, having with them a gentlewoman to whom he was to marry
VENERABLE JOHN HAMBLY 295
Mr. Fulford at a Mass the next morning in Munday's house. On their way, however, they were detected, and apprehended at Crewkerne, Mr. Hambly being recognized and denounced by a gentleman's servant who had once been his fellow-lodger. They were " all brought before Mr. Attorney by whom after ex- amination had, this examinate [Hambly] was com- mitted to the Common Gaol of Ilchester, and the said Mr. Fulford and the gentlewoman were let go, who departed back again into Devonshire ". Hambly was put on his trial at the assizes at Taunton, and *' condemned for being a seminary priest, and had his judgement thereupon," i.e. was sentenced to the full penalty of the law. But he was not steadfast, and by " submission and promise of reconcilement to her Majesty's laws," procured a reprieve. From his action both on this occasion and subsequently it does not appear that he was at any time really weak in his faith or ready to abandon it ; it was his lack of courage sufficient for undergoing the dreadful penalties the law prescribed that led him now and again to make terms with the State party. His scheme appears to have been to obtain time ; he probably hoped that his sentence would then after a time be changed into one of banishment (as was occurring at that time in many instances), or that otherwise he would secure an opportunity of effecting his escape : in any case he would avoid the dread penalty of death. It was a dangerous course indeed, and one which subsequently led him farther than he could have wished, but it was one that it was very natural for any but a strong man to grasp at. That
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the court party distrusted his sincerity is indicated from the phrase of the Bishop of Salisbury and Giles Estcourt in their letter to the Council, " as he beareth us in hand " ; and further they do not favour accom- modating him in the scheme but leave " him and his deserts " to the Council's honourable consideration. And when ultimately he witnessed unto death, it needed something like Divine intervention to secure him the courage needful that his acts should not deny the faith that was in him.
On this occasion, then, he promised to submit, and by that means secured a reprieve and the hope of an easier imprisonment. An opportunity present- ing itself, he broke prison and came to the house of the Widow Browne at Knoyle. The pretext that he subsequently gave for escaping was that he could not obtain the less rigorous imprisonment, ''twopence a day more and a bed, as it was allowed and appointed," that had been promised. On the eve of the Assump- tion search was made in the houses of recusants and other suspected Catholics for priests and papists as- sembled to keep the feast. Mr. Hambly was taken at Knoyle, about fifteen miles west of Salisbury. He was examined on the Thursday following (i8 August) by John Piers the State Bishop of Salisbury and Giles Estcourt, a Justice of the Peace for Wiltshire. In his deposition on that occasion he betrayed most of his Catholic acquaintance, and gave a full account of his manner of life and activities since his conversion. It is from that confession that the details hitherto recorded have been culled. He showed himself " con- tent (so he may obtain mercy of her majesty and
VENERABLE JOHN HAMBLY 297
pardon for his life) to forsake the Pope, come to the church, and willingly follow her Majesty's proceed- ings ". But as has been seen, the Bishop and the Justice mistrusted his professions, and suggested in no obscure language that the law should be allowed to take its course. Accordingly he was kept in prison until the assizes. Father Warford tells us that his imprisonment was one of great hardship ; and that though certain Catholics living in the neighbourhood might have relieved him, they did not do so. We now know that his treachery was responsible for this, and that it is not to be attributed merely to " some letters he had written to a lapsed Catholic which were found on him, and on account of which Popham took occasion to harass the latter ". He was put on his trial at the next assizes held at Salisbury. The assizes were held in booths in the open, and the prisoners before their trial and after their sentence were herded together under the custody of constables. At his arraignment the Judge, Baron Gent, urged Hambly to conform, and such was his pusillanim- ity that he promised to yield in those things that were required. He was then set down again with the other prisoners. And now the incident occurred which from a coward enabled him to become a martyr. '* Whilst other business was proceeded with, and the priest was standing between the constables like the rest of the condemned, there came up to him a cer- tain unknown man, who, after placing some letters in his hand, at once withdrew. No one preventing him (which in itself was a kind of miracle), Mr. Hambly read and re-read them until at length he
298 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
broke into tears, and gave signs of being strongly moved. Then he wsls asked by the officials of the Court what had happened, what those letters were, who had brought them, and the like ; he, however, excused himself, and gave no answer." The next morning, when asked by the Judges as usual for the second and last time, whether he would adhere to his promised conformity (this is their word for recanting), he announced very promptly and resolutely in open court his deep sense of shame for his weakness, and bitterly lamented that the solicitations of his lord- ship, and the terror of impending death, had for a time shaken his resolution ; but that now the most excruciating torments would prove most acceptable to him. The Judge getting angry and demanding the cause of this sudden change, he answered that there was no new cause beyond that which held him in fetters ; that he grieved from the bottom of his heart for having so basely yielded to the Judge's threats and blandishments : henceforth let them not expect any more such weakness. Then the Judge threatened him with a most cruel death, to which he answered that he would accept it most gratefully. To this determination he adhered with great con- stancy. Sentence was pronounced and the next day he was crowned with martyrdom.
Simpson places the date of his passion as *' about Easter, 1587 ". In that year Easter Day was kept in England on 16 April (O.S.). A letter written at Rouen on 10 May (N.S.) [30 April O.S.] by Walter Stokes and sent to Dr. Humphrey Ely bears the news : " Our countrymen say that Mr. Pylcher was
VENERABLE JOHN HAMBLY 299
executed of late, as I have said before, Mr. Hambden at Salisbury," etc., whence it would appear that he was arraigned at the Lent Assizes in 1587 at Salisbury, and suffered in that city as Father Warford says, on the day after his condemnation.
In a Catalogue of the martyrs for the j'ears 1587- 94 preserved at Stonyhurst and attributed to Father John Gerard, S.J., this record is found : ** Another priest [suffered] about that time in Somerset, removed from Salisbury, who first had yealded of freiltie and afterwards muche repented him (and was comforted in prison by Mr. Pilchard then alsoe prisoner) and stoud to it manfully, inveighinge rr^uche against his former fault". The reference is probably to Mr. Hambly whose case it accurately describes,^ on the supposition that the place of his passion (Salisbury) and that of his arrest (Crewkerne, in Somerset) have been transposed by an error of the compiler, an error which the similarity of the words Somerset and Salis- bury would render very easy. This record may also supply the clue to the reason why some authorities have placed the scene of Mr. Hambly's martyrdom in Somersetshire at Chard. The letter above quoted seems conclusive that he suffered at Salisbury in the Lent of 1587.
Father Warford adds : '* Although it is certain that these letters restored him to a right mind, yet to this day it is not known who wrote or brought them, although diligent search has been made in the matter.
^ It is difficult however to understand the reference to the Venerable Thomas Pilchard. Did those letters come from him ?
300 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
Hence many not without reason believe that they were brought by his Guardian Angel."
J. L. W.
Authorities. — His examination taken on i8 August, 1586, and preserved in P.R.O. Dom. Eliz. 192, 46, with the covering letter, in C.J^.S. vii. 167-73, partially printed in Foley, Records SJ.^ vol. iii. p. 441, cp. vol. iv. p. 698, and summarized by Simp- son in Rambler, vol. x. N.S. p. 325. Father William Warford, S.J., in Collectanea M, printed in Foley, and A.E.M. pp. 268-70, C.R.S. vol. V. pp. 140-3, 289. Oliver, Collections, p. 318. Douay Diaries. Challoner (ed. 1877), p. 131.
XXXII. VENERABLE ROBERT SUTTON.
SECULAR PRIEST.
Stafford, 27 July, 1587.
The few details we have of the early years of this martyr have been preserved by Father Grene in the following words: ''Robert Sutton, priest, born in Burton-on-Trent, his father a carpenter. He was brought up in learning in the said Burton, till he came to the age of fifteen or sixteen years ; then he was sent to Oxford, and first chosen scholar of Christ- church, after proceeded Bachelor and Master of Arts. He read logic, philosophy, Greek and Hebrew lec- tures in the college. He continued in the college eleven or twelve years, was parson of Lutterworth, in Leicestershire, six years."
As the Douay Diary gives the date of his conver- sion as 1577, we may conclude from the above ac- count that Robert was born between 1543 and 1545, i.e. at the close of the reign of Henry VIII. He had three younger brothers, William, Abraham and John, all of whom, like Robert, were converted to the old faith. It was while Robert was " Usurper of the office of parish priest at Lutterworth, where
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formerly the impious heretic WyckHff had held that office " (Fr. Gerard) that his younger brother William was converted and went to study at Douay, 1573. In accordance with Allen's plan, whereby so many converts had been drawn from Oxford to Douay, William wrote frequently to his brother warning him of the duty of abjuring heresy. This we gather from the Douay Diary, which says under the heading March, 1577, '* 23 die venerunt hue ex anglia Rober- tus Suttonus et frater ejus Abrahamus. Hi variis haereticorum, ac mundi laqueis irretiti, tandem per summam Dei largitatem, crebro hinc per literas suorum de hac re scrip interpellati, se ab illis vinculis expediverunt."
And the vague " suorum " of the Diary is supple- mented by the statement of Father Gerard, who says : " Mr. Robert was converted to the true faith, and at the same time to a sound and holy mind by his younger brother, Mr. William Sutton, a learned and pious man ".
We have two accounts of his leaving Lutterworth, the first, brief and quaint, is taken from the Catalogue of Martyrs preserved at Stonyhurst ; '' This man, being minister at Lutterworth in Lecstershire, be- fore his goinge over he first tould all his parishe owt of the pulpit that he had taught them falce doctrine, and willed them to embrace the Catholicke Faith, which then himself ment to followe, and presently made his iorney". This dramatic incident is more fully and vividly related by Father Gerard : " In order the better to satisfy God and his parishioners, before quitting a place he had held so many years unjustly,
VENERABLE ROBERT SUTTON 303
he brought them all together to speak to them. He began by showing great sorrow, and begging their pardons for having been so long not only a blind guide, but one who had led them into pitfalls and noxious errors. Then he declared that there was no hope of salvation outside the Roman Church. Hav- ing uttered these words he came down from the pul- pit, threw off his gown (being otherwise booted and girt for the journey), and with another younger brother whom he had brought up in his house, mounted their horses, which a trusty servant had ready outside the churchyard, and rode to London, whence they immediately crossed to Belgium, to study at the English College."
The younger brother here mentioned was Abraham, as we learn from the passage in the Douay Diary already quoted. The Diary gives the following dates of their progress through the course : 24 March, 1577, the day after their arrival, they were received into the Church : '' Deinceps non in haereticorum sta- tionibus, sed in S. matris suae Ecclesiae castris usque ad vitae finem militare, per Dei gratiam proposuerunt. 24 Martii ad nostra communia sunt admissi." On 19 September of the same year they both went to Cam- bray to receive the subdiaconate. In December they received the diaconate. On 24 February, 1578, it is recorded that they returned from Cambray after their ordination to the priesthood, less than a year after they had entered the college.
On 7 March they said their first Masses, and on 19 March they started back to England. Thus far the Douay Diary, Their brother William, who had pre-
304 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
ceded them to Douay, and had a brilliant career, was ordained on 6 April of the same year, 1578, and sent on the mission, where he became tutor to John Gerard, who writes in his autobiography : " As for Greek we were at the same time placed under the tuition of a good and pious priest, William Sutton by name, to whom this occupation served as an oc- casion for dwelling in our house unmolested. He afterwards entered the Society (1582), and was drowned on the coast of Spain (at Alicant, 1590), whither superiors had called him."
Of Robert's ministry very few details are preserved. We know from Father Grene that both he and his brother Abraham were arrested, imprisoned and ban- ished together in 1585. And Father Gerard says he knew Robert in England ** labouring strenuously and holily in the Lord's vineyard," and he adds that Robert was finally apprehended ** in the house of a CathoHc relative of mine, with whom he had spent no short time in the chief town of that county ". From which we conclude that Stafford was the place of his ministry as well as of his martyrdom. But Father Gerard was wrong probably in saying that he was taken " in the house " of a relative of his ; for the Stonyhurst MS. (Acts of English Martyrs, p. 323) says : " Robert Sutton, priest, martyred at Stafford, being taken as he visited the gentlemen prisoners, John Wolsey, Esq., William Maxfield Esquire, Edward Sprat, Francis Thornbery and his elder brother, gentle- men, condemned for that they received Mr. Sutton into the prison ".
Father Grene (Troubles of Our Catholic Forefathers^
VENERABLE ROBERT SUTTON 305
Series iii. p. 8) adds that these gentlemen were con- demned " because Mr. Sutton, a priest, and they were together in a chamber and the door shut ".
A confirmation and the addition of an important detail are given by the diary of Thomas Worswick, who, against the date 1587, says: 'VThis year Mr. Bailiff took a seminary priest called Sutton saying of Mass in the town (Stafford), and there was taken with him Erasmus Worsley, Esq., Wm. Maccles- field, Esq., Anthony Compton, Gent., Wm. Mynoures, one Mr. Sprott, and two other called Thornbury, who were all arraigned at the next assizes and con- demned of treason ". It may be mentioned here that the lay gentlemen were not executed.
Robert was brought first before the Sheriff, Sir Walter Aston, whose treatment of the prisoner was extremely harsh. Father Grene tells us : " He writ his examination as pleased himself, and when he read it to the said Mr. Robert, he utterly denied it to be his confession. Then he (Sir Walter) struck him with his staff to the ground, and committed him to the gaol, where he stayed but a while, for the assizes were at hand, when he was arraigned."
Both during his imprisonment and at his trial the martyr gave evidence of the excellence of his educa- tion at Oxford and Douay, and of that enthusiastic loyalty to the Catholic Faith, to which he had given such spirited testimony on his departure from Lutter- worth. Worswick's Diary says : " The priest was a very Reverend learned man, and at his arraignment disputed very stoutly and learnedly ". Father Grene adds : " Bishop Overton came hither and disputed
20
3o6 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
with him of many things, but of what matter I can- not learn, but in the end, by every man's saying, he put the Bishop to silence. He was condemned. Many lamented that so learned a man, as indeed he was, should suffer." Of the charge of which he was convicted Father Gerard says : " When in the course of the year, the judges came there according to custom, he was arraigned, convicted, and condemned as guilty of high treason, for having, as a priest of the Roman Church, presumed to come to England contrary to the laws, etc." This makes it as plain as we could desire that he was a martyr for the Faith and the supremacy of the Pope.
There is considerable evidence for the behef that the night before he suffered the martyr was favoured with supernatural comfort. The Catalogue of Martyrs preserved at Stonyhurst, written in an illiterate hand, speaks of this event thus : ** Of this man it is con- stantly reported that he was seen by his keepers to praie in the midst of a light, within the prison, the night before he suffered ". Father Grene gives further details : " He had some conflicts, and them very great, as I am certified, with thinking of death, but truly the prisoners there do assure themselves he had some special comfort in prison the night before he suffered, for in the morning, being ready to go to- wards execution, he turned him towards his fellow- prisoners, giving them his blessing, then said these words : * God comfort you all, for I am comforted,' and so went most cheerfully and boldly towards his end". Father Gerard is still more explicit : " In the night preceding his passion he was heard by some
VENERABLE ROBERT SUTTON 307
Catholic prisoners in conversation with others ; but they, knowing that he was in strict solitary confine- ment, and fearing lest some^attempt might be made against him secretly, descended to the door of his cell and found it securely shut, but looking through a window, they saw him enveloped in light and pray- ing. Next morning the Catholics waited at the door of the prison to see the Martyr go forth, and to com- mend themselves to his prayers ; on seeing them the good Father commended himself to theirs, that God would be pleased to grant him constancy and per- severance to the end, * from Whom,' he said, ' I have this night received greater consolation than I de- served *."
Father Gerard's account of the actual martyrdom is very summary : " He was drawn, as usual, to the place of execution, and hanged. When he was half dead, the rope was cut, and he fell to the ground. His head was cut off, his body divided into four parts to be hung up in various places." But in estimating the value of this piece of evidence it has to be borne in mind that the whole of Father Gerard's account is designed to lead up to the description and history of a most precious relic of the martyr, given to him by Father Abraham Sutton; and' in his narrative of the execution he is evidently hurrying along to the story of this relic. There would seem then to be no reason for surprise that he should not mention the following facts supplied by Worswick and Father Grene. The Diary, which we here reproduce as in the original, says : ** He onely was executed that was hanged and quartered. And it was done in a most
20 *
3o8 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
villainous Butcherley manner by one Moseley, who with his axe cutt of his head (while he had yet sence, and was readye to stand upp) through his mouth." This seems to mean that the blow fell upon the martyr's mouth instead of the neck. This very horrible detail quite tallies with Father Gerard's summary account, and the remark that the martyr was cut down while he still had sense and was ready to stand up prepares us to accept the interesting de- tails added by Father Grene : " When he came to the place he desired he might speak, but they would not permit him. Then he took his handkerchief out of his pocket, lapped it together, made a fine discourse of the candle we receive in baptism and in the hour of death, and in remembrance of what he said, he held up the handkerchief in token he lived and died in the light of the Catholic Faith. He was put off the ladder and cut down very lively, for he stood upon his feet, was taken by great violence, dis- membered, spoke these words, * O ! thou bloody butcher ! God forgive thee ! ' So calling upon Jesus and Mary, he was martyred. This happened in the year of our Lord 1588, July 27." The Douay Diary gives the date of the martyrdom as 1587 (p. 290), and Bishop Challoner accepted this as the correct date. The Stonyhurst MS., however, gives 1588. It is be- lieved that he suffered at a spot called Gallows' Flat, in the parish of Castlechurch, near Silkmoor, on the estate of Lord Stafford.
God Who is wonderful in His saints even during their earthly life manifests His glory still more after their death by the honour rendered by the faithful to
VENERABLE ROBERT SUTTON 309
their relics, and by the power of the martyrs' inter- cession. This disposition of Divine Providence is illustrated in a remarkable manner in the case of this martyr. Father Gerard has preserved for us not only a most precious relic, but also two valuable descriptions of the circumstances of its preservation. The first occurs in his autobiography : "At this time I had given me some very fine relics, which my friends set for me very richly. . . . The third con- tains the forefinger of the martyr, Father Robert Sutton, brother of him whom I mentioned in the first chapter (i.e. William). By a wonderful provi- dence of God, this finger, along with the thumb, was kept from decay, though the whole arm had been set up to be eaten by the birds of heaven. It was taken away secretly by the Catholics after it had been there a year, and was found quite bare. The only parts that were covered with skin and flesh were the thumb and finger, which had been anointed at his ordination with the holy oil, and made still more holy by the touch of the Blessed Sacrament. So his brother, another pious priest (i.e. Abraham) kept the thumb himself and gave the finger to me." In the note-book which Father Grene copied. Father Gerard speaks more fully of this relic : " After the lapse of a whole year, the Catholics, wishing to have some relics from the holy body of the martyr, carried off one night by a pious theft a shoulder and arm. All the flesh was consumed, torn, and eaten by the birds, except the thumb and forefinger, which were found whole and uninjured, and clothed with flesh ; so that on these, which had been anointed with holy
3IO LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
oil and sanctified by contact with the most holy body of Christ, a special honour above the other fingers was conferred, even in this world, before the day of the Resurrection, when the whole body will shine like the sun in the sight of the Father.
" His brother, Mr. Abraham Sutton (whom Robert had left at Douay), and who is now also a priest, showed me both these fingers, thus wonderfully pre- served, and gave me the forefinger. I have kept it deposited in a silver and glass reliquary with great reverence, with a paper on which the above account is briefly set down. Our Fathers in England have the reliquary with its sacred treasure, unless, per- chance, by the iniquity of the times, it have been made the spoil of the heretics."
Fortunately the fears of Father Gerard have proved unfounded, for there is among the treasures of Stony- hurst a small gilt upright cylindrical reliquary, of sixteenth century work, and doubtless the same which Father Gerard had made, and in it the relic with which is enclosed a paper in Father Gerard's hand- writing, older than the account we have just quoted, and giving the brief account to which he referred: " Pollex Dni. Roberti Suttoni Sacerdotis, qui Staf- fordiae vinctus, nocte ante passionem in carcere magna luce circumfusus orare visus est. Partes autem corporis, postquam volatilibus coeli per annum expositae fuissent, a Catholicis sublatae, hoc pollice et indice intactis, coeteris ad ossa usque consumptis, inventae sunt." Father Gerard in later years made the mistake of supposing it was the forefinger instead of the thumb.
VENERABLE ROBERT SUTTON 311
By a curious chance, another relic of the martyr has come to light in our own time. Sutton Place, in the parish of Woking, four miles from Guildford, was the residence of a Catholic family named Weston (Francis Weston, gentleman of the privy chamber of Henry VIII, was involved in the fate of Anne Boleyn and beheaded on Tower Hill). The family became extinct in 1782. In 1850 there was found hidden in the old chapel of the house behind the sanctuary a box of relics, which for some' years re- mained in private hands, and was then given to the Rev. A. Hinsley, D.D., who in the presence of Abbot Gasquet opened the box. Therein they found a por- tion of the skull of St. William of York, a part of the skull of Blessed Cuthbert Mayne, and a rib bone about 12 inches long with a label attached to it with the inscription, " R. Sutton, Staffordiae ". This in- scription was declared by Abbot Gasquet to be in sixteenth or seventeenth century writing. The relic remains in the sacristy of St. Edmund's Church, Sutton Park.
F. E. R.
Authorities. — (i) Father Grene's MS. Book, Col. F, Foley's Records, vol. iii. p. 231SS. Father Christopher Grene, S.J., was bom in 1629, educated at Li^ge and the English College, Rome, ordained priest in 1653, and sent on the English mission the following year. In 1658 he entered the Society and lived chiefly in Italy. From 1692 till his death in 1697 he was Confessor at the English College. He was devoted to the cause of transcribing records of the Martyrs, arfd he has thus done more than any other man to save the records of their sufferings from perishing, and to transmit to posterity materials for the history of the times of perse-
312 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
cution in England. Also Col. E (at Oscott) published in Troubles of Our Catholic Forefathers^ Series iii., Father Morris, S J. (2) In the Life of Father John Gerard., SJ., an autobiography, there are several references to our martyr. Moreover, there is an important account in his handwriting in a note-book copied out and annotated by Father Grene at the English College in 1689, and published by Father Pollen in Acts of the English Martyrs^ p. 323. " Father John Gerard, ahas Tomson, wrote the above A.D. 1630, the 27th April. The above is from the autograph." — Note by Father Grene. (3) The MS. Diary of Thomas Wors- wick, No. 369, in the Salt Library at Stafford gives some interest- ing particulars of the arrest and martyrdom. (4) A Topographical and Historical Description of the Parish of Tixall in the County of Stafford., by Sir Thomas Clifford, gives the history of the Astons. (5) Catalogue of the Martyrs., Stonyhurst MS., Catholic Records., vol. v. p. 291. (6) Acts of English Martyrs., p. 323. Stonyhurst MS. Varia. (7) Douay Diaries.
XXXIII. VENERABLE GEORGE DOUGLAS.
SECULAR PRIEST.
York, 9 September, 1587.
This martyr's name is found in Wilson's Catalogue, the appendix to his English Martyrologe, published at St. Omer's in 1608, and is included in nearly all subsequent lists of the martyrs. What is known for certain concerning him is found in the Collectanea of Father Christopher Grene, S.J., who tells that he suffered at York on g September, 1587. The sub- stance of what Father Grene had ascertained is as follows.
At Ripon George Douglas fell into a discussion in which he asserted that the offspring of priests are illegitimate, and denied that the State bishops were real bishops. For this he was denounced, examined and imprisoned for about the space of a year. He was put in the stocks and then kept in irons in a dark dungeon. After a time the Justice who was warden of the prison showed him mercy, and while detaining him in free custody allowed him his liberty and made him tutor to his sons. He now communi- cated with the schismatics, even to the extent of
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attending the State church : this may possibly furnish the explanation of his keeper's benignity. But he evidently did not go to the length required by those in power, since at the end of a year he was removed to York Castle where he was put in the Low House among the felons. There he suffered much, and in consequence of the foulness of the place contracted a fever. But his body's infirmity proved his soul's strength, and he repented of his former unfaithfulness, and after a time was reconciled to the Church. After he had been about a year in the Castle he was brought before the Judges on the charge of the " seditious " and " treasonable " words he had uttered two years before. " Being examined whether he acknowledged the Queen to be Supreme Head of the Anglican Church, he most freely denied it, and proved his point with such authorities and arguments, that for that cause alone he was convicted of high treason." He was taken back to prison and there remained '* a long time, in which space he twice offered to make an ex- hortation to the prisoners, and began very orderly and learnedly to preach and open the Catholic faith unto them for their souls' health. But Mr. Mevarell [the jailer] hearing him, commanded him in the Queen's Majesty's name to stay. He not regarding his words, proceeded until the gaoler caused him to be thrust down into the Low House, and gave the prisoners charge not to hear him any more."
He proved a redoubtable antagonist to the ministers and preachers who were sent to him and the other prisoners, and so manifestly got the better of them that they retired in confusion. It was thought that
VENERABLE GEORGE DOUGLAS 315
on this account the time of his death was hastened. *' Being brought to the place of execution the under sherriff, then Mr. Snell, caused him to put off all his clothes at the stage foot to his shirt, and willed the topman to go up, and gave him a great knife, saying, ' Cut the rope with this when I shall bid thee '. A gentleman standing by, beholding Mr. Douglas, said ' Fie, Mr. Sheriff, it is a shame to see a man stand so naked,' — for his shirt was very short — * it is against humanity. He is a man, as we are, and therefore what need of this ? ' * Tush,' quoth the sheriff, ' it shall be so.' Then he willed him to go up the ladder, which meekly he did, for he was so obedient and tractable that he did everything he was commanded. Commending himself unto God, he was cast off the ladder, and the sheriff commanded to cut the rope. The topman not being hasty, one of the bailiffs with his halbert burst the rope asunder, and the martyr fell on his back, and quickly sat up. Then came two butcherly slaves, the one took hold of his feet, and the other of the rope, and so strangling him, and trailing him to the fire, ripped him. He offered to put his hand to the place, and to rise up, but was held down for all his struggling. His tongue was heard to go. Thus cruelly this holy martyr died, and was executed for the profession of the Catholic faith, September 9, 1587." He is described as "a learned man, sharp in speech ; a stout champion, who handled Catholic controversy with much force. Marvellous stout, and zealous to suffer anything for Christ's sake."
Thus far Father Grene, who also tells us that Sir
3i6 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
George Douglas was '* ' an old ' priest, a Scotchman born, and one (as I have heard) that went over the sea with Dr. Harding " and was " a student with him and other divers years ".
There are also at the Record Office two examina- tions of George Douglas, priest and Scotsman, to which Father Pollen has called attention. The one was taken at Baggrave, eight and a half miles from Leicester on 5 January, 1570-1, the other at Wing in Rutland on 13 August, 1584. Both are evidently con- cerned with the same person, whom Father Pollen considers to be most probably identical with our martyr. It will be useful first to set out the informa- tion we obtain from these examinations, and then to add some remarks upon the question of identity of the examinate with the martyr.
George Douglas was of the house of Douglas of Bongedward now Bonjedburgh, of which family the Earl of Angus was the head. He was born in Edin- burgh somewhere about 1540, his father John Douglas being a burgess of that city. Archibald Douglas, "the Parson of Glasgow," was his kins- man and coeval ; they were companions as scholars under John Douglas, sometime Archbishop of St. Andrews.^
From the earlier examination we learn that George
1 1 John Douglas, an ex-Carmelite friar who was Chaplain to the Earl of Argyll in 1558, was "inaugurated" Archbishop of St. Andrews, 10 February, 1572, and died 31 July, 1574. He was a " tulchan bishop " (i.e. only nominally a bishop) and was the first Protestant to occupy that see {vtWe Gordon's Scotichronicon^ pp. 814-821).
VENERABLE GEORGE DOUGLAS 317
Douglas ''was sometime a 'graye Freer' in Edin- borough ".^ About the year 1556 he betook himself to France where he tarried six years, and was main- tained upon the exhibition (or pension) of ttie Queen of Scots as long as he tarried there. He was mean- time made priest at Notre Dame '' by the testimonial of the Queen of Scots ".
** When the wars [of religion] began he came to Scotland [about 1562 or 1563], and there he tarried one year, and then came to England, by the Earl of Bedford's passport." Here he became a ''school- master," as the phrase then went, that is he lived in a family and taught the sons. In this way he lived five years with Mr. Hunt at North Luffenham, in Rutlandshire, teaching his sons and those of Mr. Dasset, and Mr. Wymark (about 1564 to 1569). Then he went " to Mr. John Fletcher dwelling at Stoke in Nottinghamshire and there continued for one year and taught children, and thence to Quern- don to Mr. Bartholomew Wollock, and there con- tinued half a year". His subjects, we learn, were Latin, Philosophy and Arithmetic. After this, he " kept a school " at Prestwold in Leicestershire, at which place he was arrested.
The occasion of this was a visit from Mr. Thomas Seton, who passing by Loughborough, in the company of a Frenchman, told his fellow Scot that it would gladden the Queen, his mistress, if he would write to her, " that she might know that he was in England ".
^ Is not this an error for " white friar," his tutor having been a Carmelite ? For the Friars Observant, vide W. Moir Bryce, T/ie Scottish Grey Friars^ Edinburgh, 1909, 262-286.
3i8 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
This he did, and his Latin letter, which is not signed, is still preserved. The letter is little more than an expression of his gratitude to Mary *' because you nourished me in the bountiful academy of Paris," and of sympathetic consolation in her trials, '* with the assistance of the divine grace, your sorrow will be turned into joy ". But the letter was seized and brought to Francis Cave, a Justice, in whose judg- ment its writer " seemeth to myselyke the usage of the quene's majestic towardes the quene of Scottes, & also of our relligion used here in Inglond con- trary to the honour of the quene's majestic & the laws of her realm ". He accordingly examined Douglas, and sent the examination with the letter up to London to the Earl of Huntingdon, Lord Lieutenant of Leicestershire, with the suggestion that if he " confer with Mr. Secretary or some other of the Council, & peruse his letters, I think you will find that he deserves punishment ". Meanwhile Cave detained Douglas in the jail.
What course events took we do not know, but thirteen years later (August, 1584), Douglas was again arrested (at Glaston in Rutland), examined and the examination sent up to London. This time '* being demanded whether he were Priest or no, he answered that sithence his going out of Rutland about ten years past [i.e. circa 1574] he was made Priest at Parys at Notredames Church ".
About three months later he betook himself into Flanders, and resuming his occupation, kept school in divers places there, reading philosophy and arith- metic. In the summer of 1584 he designed to return to
VENERABLE GEORGE DOUGLAS 319
his own country and set sail in July from Antwerp to Flushing. He was prevented making the direct cross- ing from Flushing through fear of the Spaniards lying off Gravelines and Dunkirk, and compelled to make for Calais. On that voyage he was robbed by pirates who overhauled the ship. The same night that he reached Calais he sailed for Dover, where he obtained from the Mayor a passport to go into Scotland either by land or sea. Choosing the overland route, he came to Gravesend, where Gilbert Ruyle, a fellow country- man, gave him a doublet to repair his loss. But during the night a boy who shared his chamber went off with the doublet and in it the passport which the Mayor of Dover had given him. His anxiety now was to secure another passport, and with this intent, to secure some one to warrant him, he came to London and strove to persuade Mr. Monkaster, a schoolmaster, to pretend he was his usher and so ob- tain him a passport, but without success. Thence he travelled to Oxford and tried one Dr. Humphrey, and also sent a Scot named Sadler living in that city to the Vice-Chancellor, but both schemes proved un- availing. From Oxford he came by Northampton into Rutland where he hoped that some of his former acquaintance would come to his aid. He was stopped at Glaston, and because he had no passport, and no papers were found upon him, he was examined at Wing by the High Sheriff and four Justices on 13 August, and detained until Walsingham's pleasure concerning him should be known. His request was that he might receive a passport. He admitted his priesthood, but there was nothing to show that he
320 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
had exercised it in England and he was making for Scotland. As to what course events now took we have no information.
We must now consider the question whether this George Douglas was the martyr.
In favour of that identification must be alleged in the first place the name. This by itself would prove little since the surname is that of one of the Scottish clans, many members of which doubtless had the Christian name George. But taken in conjunction with the fact that there is identity of profession, each being described as a schoolmaster or tutor, and that each is a priest, the probability that they are the same individual becomes more marked. The time also admits of this inference. George Douglas has come from the Low Countries, landed at Dover, and is making his way towards Scotland. He is arrested at Glaston in Rutland in August, 1584. At his examination the Justices are clearly well disposed towards him, as one already honourably known to them. He probably obtained his release after a time, and pursued his journey. The Venerable George Douglas is taken in the neighbourhood of Ripon in Yorkshire in the early summer of 1585. These points of contact appear sufficiently close to warrant -our attempting some explanation of the divergencies, and identifying the examinate George Douglas as the Venerable George Douglas, priest and martyr.
The chief difficulty is contained in the fact that Father Grene had heard that Venerable George Douglas " went over the sea with Dr. Harding and was a student with him and others divers years".
VENERABLE GEORGE DOUGLAS 321
Now Dr. Harding was deprived of the office of treasurer of Salisbury Cathedral at the very begin- ning of Elizabeth's reign, and his successor installed in January, 1559. He then retired to Louvain, where he died in 1572. It is possible that he was in England for a short time in 1568, but this is doubt- ful. On the other hand, from his confessions it appears that George Douglas was in France during the years 1556-62, and was acting as a tutor in England in the years 1564-71, during which years the Justices also bear testimony to his presence in their midst. That Father Grene may himself have been doubtful of the martyr's association with Dr. Hard- ing is a possible inference from his insertion of the words *' as I have heard " in its regard.
The other difficulties do not directly affect the identification, but serve to make us cautious in ac- cepting those portions of the examinations which are uncorroborated. A comparison of the two ex- aminations shows that the time of his ordination (i.e. not before 1574) given in the second cannot be accurate, as he had in 1571 acknowledged that he had been made priest in Paris between 1556 and 1562. But herein we have a point of contact with information furnished by Father Grene, that Vener- able George Douglas was an "old priest". This term, an " old priest," seems to have for him a definite and technical meaning, viz., one that was made priest under the old regime, before the founding of the seminaries in foreign parts. The priests of whom record is made in Collectanea F are either " old priest " or. ** seminary priest," and in one case, that of Sir
31
322 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
Richard Bowes, an " old priest " is stated to have been one of the Marian clergy. If George Douglas was ordained between 1556 and 1562 he may well have been considered by Father Grene an " old " priest.
Exception may also be possibly taken to the various " canny " ruses adopted by this examinate in order to secure a passport, and as far as transpires from the examination the sole object of Douglas was to return into Scotland. There is no suggestion of any mis- sionary endeavour on his part ; we hear of his priest- hood only incidentally.
On the other hand, the fact of his connexion with John Douglas the ''tulchan " Archbishop would give particular point to that " denying the false bishops to be really bishops " which Father Grene has re- corded.
J. L. W.
Authorities.— Father Grene's Collectanea E {Oscott MSS.), published by Pollen, A.E.M. 2,'2.7 ; Collectanea F^ published by Foley, Records SJ. iii. 72>?>'i Examinations of George Douglas in P.R.O., published by Boyd, Scottish Calendar {i()0'^\ iii. 461 ; and by Pollen, C.R.S. v. 88 ; Challoner.
XXXIV.
VENERABLE ALEXANDER CROW.
SECULAR PRIEST.
York, 30 November, 1587.
Alexander Crow was born of humble parents at South Duffield or Golden in Yorkshire ^ about the year 1551. For some years he worked as a shoe- maker in York, until an opportunity was afforded him of following his trade in the College at Rheims in 1581. He arrived at the College on 30 April, and was found a thorough and willing servant, who won the esteem of all. Dr. Humphrey Ely in his Certain Briefe Notes says of him : '* How say you to one (whom since I have heard to be martyred) that was first a cobbler, then a porter, after that under-cook in the Seminary, and at last by his extreme diligence got as much learning as was sufficient for a priest and finally such favour at God's hands to be a martyr? " Divine grace, working through the spirit of the Col- lege, led him to desire to work for the salvation of his country in the priestly state, and, as he had
^ This statement is made on the authority of Eleanor Ellison, widow, " who knew the martyr ". It is found in the MS. collec- tions formed by Challoner for his book and now at Oscott.
323 21 *
324 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
proved himself earnest, patient and humble he was permitted to begin his studies. His zeal bore fruit and his good purpose persisting, he received the sub- diaconate at Laon on the Vigil of Pentecost, i8 May, 1583, and was ordained priest in the same city on Ember Saturday, 21 December following. He was sent to the mission on 27 February, 1584, and went to his native county. There he laboured strenuously in gathering together the sheep of Christ that had been scattered in those difficult times, to the great edification of all that knew him. For eighteen months he was able to escape the vigilance of his enemies, and then, in the midst of his labours, he fell into their hands. He was taken at South DufBeld (Drif- field) whither he had come to baptize the child of one Cecily Garnet, and was imprisoned in York Castle, where he was kept in double fetters amongst the felons, and suffered much ill-treatment. At the November assizes he was arraigned. The Judges mocked and contemned him, and strove by lies and slanders to deprive him of the esteem of the people and make him odious to them. They railed at him, as was customary, and were particularly moved to wrath by observing that he had had his tonsure freshly shaved for the trial, and on this point their anger was extended to his jailer also. He was condemned as guilty of treason because of his priesthood and sentenced to the usual penalties : " whereupon he began to be exceedingly comforted and to show so great a joy in the very court, that all present took notice of it : and returning to the prison (where he was lodged with another Catholic) he could not con-
VENERABLE ALEXANDER CROW 325
tain himself all that day so great was the satisfaction he conceived at the thought that he was to die the next morning. When night came and the hour for going to bed he told the other Catholic to take his rest, But I (said he) for this one night which remains to me of life, am willing to watch in prayer with Christ our Saviour. And when the other Catho- lic insisted that either the father should come to bed also, or should admit him to bear him company in his watching, he would not consent but bid him go to bed, and leave him alone. The Catholic then went to bed and the father lighted a taper that was there, and setting it upon a stool, began to enter upon a very quiet prayer as his companion took notice, who remained awake to see what passed. After an hour of silent prayer, the father began to speak (as if he was holding a colloquy of words with our Saviour) and by little and little to come into a heat so that his voice became changed like a man that is disturbed. At length, getting up he went to the bed on which his companion lay, and touching him with his hand, asked him if he were asleep ; and his companion answered. No. The Priest begged that he would recommend him to the best of his power to our Lord, for he had sore need. Then he returned to his place and began in the same manner to be troubled as before, giving signs in his exterior, of being in great anguish, and out of himself, till he put out with his own hand (like a man in anger) the taper which was burning by him : with all this his trouble did not cease, but he still continued, as it were, in conflict and agony, sometimes speaking low
326 LIVES OF EyOLISH MARTYRS
and begging succour from our Lord and the saints ; at other times raising his voice as one angry and enraged ; and this lasted for the space of half an hour after the quenching of the light ; and the poor gentle- man in bed was not a little terrified at seeing and hearing what passed, and persevered in prayer, beg- ging our Lord, in the best way he was able, to deliver him from this affliction, for he plainly perceived that he was in a conflict.
'' At length he saw him coming towards the bed, and reciting with much joy the Psalm Laudate Dominum de coelis, etc. ; * Praise ye the Lord in the heavens etc.,' and continuing it to the end as one inebriated with an abundance of consolations, he broke out into other praises of our Lord God admir- ing his unspeakable mercies and his divine sweetness to the children of men. He set himself down on the bed by his companion, since for many days he could not lift his feet from the ground for the great weight of the bolts and chains and remained as one asleep for the space of a quarter of an hour. Then at length he broke out again into the praises of God, and asked his companion if he had not been frightened. The gentleman answered, Yes ; and asked him the cause of that great noise, and of those changes which he had displayed that night. The priest replied that though as to his own part it would signify little to relate it ; yet, as it might be of some comfort to the Catholics to know what had passed, he would tell him the whole matter.
" After a while, said he, that I had been in quiet prayer, my flesh began to creep upon me, and my hair
VENERABLE ALEXANDER CROW 337
to stand on end, and I perceived myself quite changed, and on a sudden I saw before my eyes a most ugly monster which began to terrify me, and when I least looked for it assaulted me with these words : Thou thinkest to-morrow to be a martyr and to go straight to heaven, but I assure thee it will not be so, for I know thou art condemned to hell, and the sentence is passed against thee in God's tribunal, which cannot be re- called. And to-morrow though thou shalt be drawn to the gallows, thou shalt not be executed, but they will keep thee two years longer in prison with these bolts and chains which thou hast on, and will give thee only two morsels of black bread and a little water every day, and thou shalt be abhorred by all, and shalt lead the most miserable life that ever man led upon earth ; therefore that thou mayest be de- livered from so great sufferings it will be better for thee at present to put an end to thy life by a knife or a halter, and not to wait for to-morrow. And though I shook him off, said the Father, many times, answer- ing what God put in my mind, he never left off im- portuning me, and whatever way I turned my eyes, he placed himself always before me, giving me in- tolerable trouble with his horrid figure. And when I extinguished the light, it was that I might no longer see so frightful a sight, but he still continued terrify- ing and molesting me very much, and the conflict went on still increasing, till our merciful Lord, taking pity on my weakness, sent me succour from heaven. And this was, that at the time when I found myself in the greatest straits, I saw a great light come in at the door with two persons, who, as I believe, were
328 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
our Lady and St. John the Evangelist, who by their presence gave me unspeakable comfort ; and then the monster that had troubled me began to draw back and tremble. And one of them said to him, Begone from hence, thou cursed creature, thou hast no part in this servant of Christ who will shed his blood to- morrow for his Lord, and will enter into His joy. Immediately the monster disappeared, and they like- wise, leaving me so full of consolation that I cannot express it. Upon this I came with great joy of heart and canticles of praise in my mouth and sat down here m the manner that you saw, not being sensible whether I was on the ground or in bed, in heaven or on earth. This one thing I beg of you for Christ's sake, that you do not speak one word of this to any one till you see my race finished, and till I am delivered of the burden of the flesh. Having said this, they both glorified God, and so continued till the morning, discoursing together with great satis- faction of heavenly things.
" But the impudent enemy was not content with having failed in this first attempt, but returned again to persecute this soldier of Christ, who being now upon the ladder at the gallows in pro- found prayer, before the hangman had put the rope about his neck, the devil, envying the happiness with which God rewarded this servant, and the consolation that He gave him in prayer, flung him down off the ladder. But yet he received no manner of hurt though the fall was very high and with great violence, as it appeared to the bystanders. This gave occasion to the heretics that were there to
VENERABLE ALEXANDER CROW 329
cry out that the Papist was in despair and that he wanted to kill himself. But the Father mounted the ladder again and told them with great serenity of countenance and of heart, smiling, It is not as you think, my brethren, that I had a mind to kill myself, but it was the enemy who wanted to rob me of this glorious death, out of envy flung me off the ladder, and this is not the first time he has sought to deprive me of the crown which God gives me, who has per- mitted him to do what he has done in your presence that you might know how little he is able to do : for howmuch soever he has sought it, he has not been able to do me any hurt either in soul or body, neither can he do any hurt to the servants of God more than their Lord is pleased to permit for their greater good. And upon this occasion speaking more at large and with greater liberty to the people, he delivered many things of edification, exhorting them to the Catholic Faith. And passing through the usual course of the ordinary butchery, he gloriously finished his career, and went to enjoy his God for ever." The day of his passion was 30 November, 1587.
J. L. W.
Authorities.— ^^//^^^ Warford, Collect. M, A.E.M. 270-1. Challoner quoting Champney and Yepez ; Douay Diaries; Morris, Troubles, iii. 92-4.
XXXV.
VENERABLE NICHOLAS GARLICK,
VENERABLE ROBERT LUDLAM,
AND
VENERABLE RICHARD SYMPSON.
SECULAR PRIESTS.
Derby, 2d, July, 1588.
Of the material at our disposal for the biographies of these three martyrs, that pertaining to Nicholas Garlick is by far the most abundant ; we may therefore make his life-story the framework of the following narratives.
Nicholas Garlick's parents were evidently well-to- do people, for the father held the honourable and much- coveted post of Forester of the High Peak, as had his father and grandfather before him. His mother's maiden name has perished along with the Dinting Registers, but we are enabled to ascertain indirectly the date of the martyr's birth from the Registrum Oxoniense,^ as in or about 1555. This was towards the close of Queen Mary's reign, and consequently
^ " Garlick Nicholas ; Derby, plebei filius, aet. 20," J^e^. Oxon. II. ii. 59^ lo January, 1574-5. See above, p. 203.
330
VV. N. GARLICK, R. LUDLAM, AND R. SYMPSON 331
the child's earliest recollections must have been bound up with the relentless war against all that was religious or Catholic. The boy went to school at Mellor, a few miles from his home at Dinting, where he received the first elements of his educa- tion. He seems to have been a clever lad, and soon outran the slender teaching-power of a little village school. But his love of learning and culture had attracted the attention of his pastor, who kindly put at the boy's disposal the few books which he possessed. His progress soon fitted him for Oxford, where he matriculated at Gloucester Hall, now Wor- cester College, on 10 January, 1574-5. The length of Garlick's stay at the University is unrecorded, it may have been only half a year. At any rate, he did not take his degree ; for quite apart from the absence of his name from the Registers, so staunch a Catholic would never have conformed to the de- mands of the now Protestant University.
It must have been about this time that an incident occurred which brings out into bold relief the depth of the future martyr's attachment to the Faith, even to the loss of worldly goods. The family, we have said, though of yeoman stock, was in possession of considerable landed wealth,^ and Mr. Garlick, jealous of his heritage, preferred to throw aside his religion rather than forego it. However, at his son's earnest entreaty, a reconciliation was effected ; but it did not endure long, and the unhappy man soon drifted
^ It would be easy to multiply references to donations by the Garlicks to various charities in this part of Derbyshire. See Recard of Public Charities^ vol. xvii.
332 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
back into conformity. Again did Nicholas persuade him to rise, telling him with Spartan earnestness that he had prayed God to strike him lame to prevent his frequenting the Protestant assemblies. This really took place ; for when the execution of the laws against recusants became more stringent, the old man became so decrepit that he was unable to walk without assistance. He frequently asserted that his son had prayed too well.^
On his return from Oxford, though his stay had been but brief, Garlick was declared "well seen in poetry, rhetoric, and philosophy," and was immediately appointed to a mastership at the Free Grammar School of Tideswell in his native county. Father Grene, who relates this, says that he ''kept school," but, if this means that he was head master, we must suppose that he succeeded a certain John Cooke in this capacity, and that his name has not been re- corded.^ The statutes also provided that the four lowest forms should be taught by the elder pupils, but we may suppose that one of Garlick's attain- ments would hardly have accepted such a post. We prefer to surmise that there is a lacuna in Mr. Fletcher's list at this point.
As is well known, most of the grammar schools throughout the country were established to provide for the people an education of which they had been deprived by the wholesale destruction of monastic
^ Stonyhurst MSS.^ Father Grene's Collectanea N^ ii. 44.
^ Guide to Tideswell^ by J. M. J. Fletcher. The salary of the head master was £\o '^t.x annum {Report of Public Charities^ vol. xvii. p. 266).
VV. N. GARLICK, R. LUDLAM, AND R. SYMPSON 333
schools and seats of learning. That at Tideswell owed its foundation in 1560 to the famous Robert Pursglove. In 1538 he became Suffragan Bishop of Hull,^ and two years later was nominated Prior of Gisburne in Cleveland.^ But Pursglove was a friend of Thomas Cromwell, and by the latter's influence at court, on the suppression of the house in 1540, he was rewarded with a pension of ;f 200 a year. On this he lived in comparative peace during the two succeeding reigns. But in 1559 the Second Act of Supremacy was tendered to the clergy, and to his credit be it told, the Bishop chose to stand' deprived of his See with well-nigh the whole hierarchy, rather than renounce his spiritual allegiance. Previous to his deprivation Bishop Pursglove had obtained letters patent from Elizabeth (18 November, 1559) for the establishment of a Free Grammar School at Tides- well, which he dedicated, together with a similar foundation at Gisburne, to the ''Child Jesus ".^ It was here that Garlick on leaving Oxford at the age of twenty commenced his career as master, and for the greater part of six years worked under the im- mediate personal guidance of Robert Pursglove him- self. That worthy died in 1579. There is a romantic tradition connected with Garlick's abode at Tideswell which is told rather rhetorically by the author of The Old Nails of Derbyshire.
^ Wright, Suppression of the Monasteries^ Camden Society, p. 117.
''See J. M. J. Fletcher, in Derbyshire Archeol. Soc, 19 10.
^ Report of Public Charities^ supra^ for the text of the Statutes.
334 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
" But to him the appointment was more than life, and why? Years before as a boy, as he lay under the banks of the Etherow one lovely summer's after- noon, there passed by the retinue of Richard Stafford of Eylam, lord of Tideswell. The lad saw not the prancing steeds and gorgeous livery ; it was the exquisite face of a child who rode her horse so stately. That face he set up in his heart as a deity to bow down to, to worship ; and now as the schoolmaster of Tideswell, he was to have this one idea paramount to all others, — to be near her, where he could see her, to admire, to adore ! But the haughty descendant of Nigel de Stafford could never mate with the son of a yeoman. Gradually, when he became settled at Tideswell, and year followed year, all the bitterness of his hopeless affection came upon him, and one evening as he wandered through Monksdale,^ he entered the old oratory there, of which there were a few sitones remaining, and before the desecrated altars vowed to put aside the passions of his heart and devote himself wholely to the service of God." ^ That this vow was no passing whim of highly-strung emotions, the subsequent events of his life will clearly show.
Meanwhile Garlick discharged for seven years his duties as master at Tideswell, " with great love, credit and no small profit to his scholars," ^ whom he re-
^ This was an establishment belonging to the monks of Lenton, and was used by them for the collection of tithes for the district.
2 T^e Old Halls of Derbyshire^ vol. i. p. 185.
* Father Grene, and Dr. Bagshaw's MS. quoted by Challoner, ;. p. III.
VV. N. GARLICK, R. LUDLAM, AND R. SYMPSON 335
garded as if they had been his own children. Of these Dr. Robert Bagshaw, O.S.B. (pb. 1633), Ven. Christopher Buxton (ob, 1588), and one other took Holy Orders at Rheims and elsewhere ; Buxton indeed was destined for a martyr's crown within a few months of the triumph of his young master.
After Nicholas Garlick's vow amid the ruins of Monksdale oratory, he could not rest till he had fulfilled the desire of his heart. Friends there were who favoured his design ; and in June, 1581, he was safely across the Channel, and happy within the walls of the Seminary at Rheims.^ In little less than a year, 8 March, 1582, Garlick received Deacon's Orders at Laon, and a fortnight later was ordained priest at Rheims together with seven others, on the Saturday before LcBtare Sunday which that year fell on 18 March. After saying his first Mass on 6 April, he remained at the College till the January of the following year, when, in company with Mr. William Elton, who subsequently became a Jesuit, he set sail for England.
And here it is difficult to chronicle in any detail the movements of Mr. Garlick. Secrecy was, of course, of the utmost importance ; and in fact it is to the Government spies that we are indebted for the scraps of information that it has been possible to gather. This much at any rate seems certain. He was known to be in England in February, 1583,^ a month after his landing. In the following year we
^ The dates connected with the martyr's life abroad are from the Douay Diaries.
^ P.R.O. Dom. Eliz. vol. i83,in. 37.
336 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
hear of him in Stafiford at the house of a certain Waterton. The spy who supplies this piece of in- formation reports of GarHck as saying : ** I think that e'er long all things will be of the old order ; for the whole country here is Catholic and very desirous of priests ". He was soon captured, where and how we know not, and lodged in one of the London jails.^ It soon became evident that these were getting hope- lessly overcrowded, and all manner of bribery was resorted to, some even being offered bishoprics, if they would forswear their religion. All this having failed, the authorities made selections from the vari- ous London prisons of the recusants, who were to be shipped off to France.
It is impossible to say in which ship it was that Mr. Garlick sailed ; here is the account of the journey of Father Jasper Haywood, S.J., and his companions, and there is some probability that he was among the number. After endless and vexatious delays the exiles were at last assembled on the Tower Wharf. Instead, however, of regarding their exile as a favour, they vehemently protested, in the person of Father Haywood, that they were innocent men who were being punished with exile, and that so far from consenting to leave the Catholics whom they were bound to serve, they would gladly give their life- blood for them ; they valued their country and their countrymen's souls above their own lives. This
^ Historical students will not need to be warned against ac- cepting as history the charming romance which appeared in the Month for July, 191 1. The incident there imagined is supposed to have taken place at this point in the martyr's career.
VV. N. GARLICK, R. LUDLAM, AND R. SYMPSON 337
utterance was left unheeded, so too was their demand to see the Queen's warrant forjtheir expulsion, and the ship at length started down the Thames amid the salutations of many friends, who had been allowed to see them depart. They were bound for Boulogne, and after two days at sea they made a fresh demand to see the warrant for their transportation. This time it vvas granted them ; but what was their indig- nation when it was found to recite that, by their own and others' confessions, they had been proved guilty of seditions and conspiracies against the Queen and State, and furthermore that by her Majesty's supreme clemency the sentence had been commuted from death to exile ! So far from this being a true state- ment, many had not been put upon their trial, and one of them, Mr. John Collington, had been acquitted when tried with Edmund Campion. Father Hay- wood was again their spokesman, but of course the officers answered that they had nothing to do but to obey orders. These protests, says Father Morris,^ were necessary, lest it should be thought that they were of their own accord withdrawing from difficulty and danger.
Naturally enough after landing on French soil Mr. Garlick turned his steps towards his Alma Mater at Rheims. He had some thoughts of going to Rome, but his doubts were soon overcome ; and two days after reaching the seminary, he again set out for England iOn 19 October, 1585, in company with Mr. John Harrison, who died within the year from the
^ Morris, Troubles of Our Catholic Forefathers^ Series ii. p. 70.
22
338 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
ill-usage of prison life. Details are equally wanting for this second period of missionary work. The spies soon marked him down in Hants and Dorset. He is styled the " Demonite," ^ which seems to show that he was practising the dangerous part of exorcist. '^ Later he was found to be in London, and then once more back in Derbyshire. Here he placed himself under the protecting roof of the Fitzherberts of Padley Hall, in the High Peak Hundred. No less staunch than B. Thomas More had been to the religion of their ancestors, they were withal as loyal to their country. In spite of the penal exactions which drained his purse, and might have embittered his spirit, the old squire actually volunteered to supply double the con- tribution demanded of his estate on the approach of the Spanish Armada. With such a spirit ruling in the leading house in Hathersage, it is not surprising to find that the place remained a stronghold of Catholicity ; indeed there has been no time in which Mass has not been celebrated in some secret corner of that wild and scattered district.
To-day little remains of Padley Hall except the chapel in which Mr. Garlick and one of his associates in martyrdom were found. The building, which is now used as a barn, contains few features that would attract the architect. For us, one of the two buttress- like chimneys has intense interest. It was Garlick's last hiding-place. On 29 January, 1587, George Talbot, sixth Earl of Shrewsbury, once the jailer
^P.R.O. Mary Queen of Scots, vol. 19, n. 103, 15 September, 1586.
"^ Months May, 191 1.
VV. N. GARLICK, R. LUDLAM, AND R. SYMPSON 339
of M y Queen of Scots and now Lord Lieutenant of the county, wrote commanding that a search should be made for all seminarists and other papists residing or lurking in the Hundred of the High Peak.^ There was also a special mandate out for the arrest of John Fitzherbert of Padley, well known for his zeal in sheltering Catholic priests. Columbel was the magistrate charged with its execution, and he reached Padley early on Candlemas Day. But their hunt was unsuccessful, for their quarry lay hid in the chimney. Unfortunately there was a Judas in the plot. Topcliife, the most notorious priest hunter of his day, had woven his toils round the foolish heart of Thomas Fitzherbert, the heir to Padley Hall. It was whispered to him that, if he would only betray his father and uncle, he might secure for himself the whole family estate which was forfeit to the Crown from recusancy.^ The bait was readily taken ; and on 12 July, one of the two resident priests while praying in the garden noticed the approach of a cavalcade consisting of the Earl of Shrewsbury, fur- nished with accurate information by the traitor, the Sheriff, Mr. Basset of Blare, and the Magistrates Columbel and Manners. The alarm was at once given and the two priests fled to concealment. Mr. Fitzherbert, for whom the pursuivants were chiefly in quest, was taken ; but his son, adding sacrilege to treachery, made known the hiding-place of the mis-
^ Talbot MSS. quoted in Old Halls of Derbyshire. ^See Bede Camm, "The Tragedy of the Fitzherberts," in Forgotten Shrines^ pp. 43, etc.
22 *
340 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
sioners. They were soon dragged from their con- cealment, mounted and pinioned, and led away with their generous benefactor by the jubilant officials, well pleased with their morning's work. Sad indeed must have been that journey for poor Mr. Fitzherbert as he rode beneath the gateway of his hall. Lining the roads as he passed were the tenants and coun- try-folk by whom he had been for years looked up to and respected ; and now, like a common felon he was being dragged over those fifty weary miles of road which lay between Hathersage and Derby, to commence an imprisonment here and in the Fleet, the bonds of which would be loosened only in death.
With one of his companions we are already familiar, the other. Father Robert Ludlam, is still a stranger. We are not acquainted with the year of his birth, but he is known to have been born at Radborne, a village a few miles from Derby, his parents being tenants of the De la Pole family. He received his early education at a local Grammar School, pro- ceeding thence to Oxford where he remained two or three years. ^ On leaving the University in 1575, or thereabouts, he became a tutor in a gentleman's family ; this in all probability was Germain de la Pole's of Rathborne Hall, whose eldest son was born in 1567.^ And here we meet with the first positive
^ This is Father Grene's statement (Foley, iii. 228), but no word is to be found in the Registers. The Douay Diaries speak of him as entering from Oxford on the same day as others from Cambridge.
2 Gillow, Diet, iv. 344.
i
VV. N. GARLICK, R. LUDLAM, AND R. SYMPSON 341
date in the martyr's career, 23 November, 1580,^ the day he entered the English College at Rheims, a candidate for the priesthood on the English mission. In the following March he received the subdiaconate, in May the diaconate, and the priesthood at Soissons on 21 September, 1581. Thus it will be seen that for the first half of his last year at College, Ludlam was a fellow-student with Nicholas Garlick. As was customary his first Mass was delayed till 5 Octqber — did Garlick serve ? — and after a much greater and perhaps vexatious delay he received orders to pro- ceed to England on 30 April, 1582.
Of his six years' work in this country, chiefly among the Derbyshire Catholics, we have hardly a word from friend or foe. He was a man of gentle disposition, of whom one of his acquaintance writes, " that for his modesty, good life and zeal to win souls to God he was beloved of all that love the Catholic Church ".^ With these scraps of information previous to Mr. Ludlam's apprehension we must be content.
On reaching Derby, the three captives rode amid the scoffs and jeers of the populace through the gloomy portals of the county jail. It was indeed a loath- some place. Completed early in 1566, it remained from the outset a discredit to the shire ; and even in those evil days for prisoners, was notorious for its foulness and the frequent visitations of jail fever. Its site was in the corn-market, over an open brook which at that time was nothing but an uncovered
^ This and subsequent dates from the Douay Diaries. ^ Father Grene, quoting Bagshaw's narrative.
342 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
drain. " A vile archway admitted the horse-pas- senger," we are told *' a viler still the foot "} Top- cliffe, whom none would have deemed over-sensitive in regard to the housing of his victims, speaks of ''that foul hole Derby gaol that always stank and bred corruption in the prisoners ". A modern author ^ refers to the jail as erected '' in a river and exposed to damp and filth as if they meant to drown the cul- prit before hanging him ".
In this delectable lodging Garlick and Ludlam met a third secular priest, Richard Sympson by name, who had been remanded from the last assizes under suspicion of wavering. He was born in Yorkshire ; Dr. Bagshaw's MS. account says of good parent stock, the Bishop of Chalcedon's Catalogue adding that he was of Wells, near Ripon. He seems to have been brought up as a Protestant, for he was a scholar of Gloucester Hall, Oxford,^ where he completed his studies, and after some years became a minister. How long he was thus engaged we do not know, but " after knowledge of the absurdity and falsehood of his religion," he became a Catholic, and on this ac- count suffered a long and severe imprisonment in York. It would seem that during this period of in- carceration he obtained his vocation to the priest- hood ; at any rate he was admitted to Douay College on 19 May, 1577. Opposite this date in the Diaries
^ Glover, History of Derbyshire. J. C. Cox, Three Centuries of Derbyshire Annals., vol. i. p. 266, vol. ii. p. i. ^J. Pendleton, History of Derbyshire.^ p. 8, ^ So says Father Grene, though the Registers are silent.
VV. N. GARLICK, R. LUDLAM, AND R. SYMPSON 343
is a marginal note of some interest ^ of which one would like to be better informed. Evidently some Catholic in England, possibly a prisoner at York, had heard a voice from heaven predicting a speedy martyrdom. News in some vague way had already reached Douay, but Sympson was able to bring them definite infor- mation on the matter. The next three months were devoted to college routine, and early in August he went to Brussels to receive Holy Orders, and re- turned to Douay on the 20th of the month ; leaving for England on 17 September, 1577. The fact that there was another Richard Sympson, a contemporary of our martyr at Douay, renders the chronicle at this period very confused. The latter was a native of Lan- cashire, and was ordained a few days after his name- sake entered the Seminary. We are on safer ground with Dr. Challoner -^ who recounts that " he used much preaching in defence of the Catholic faith, to win souls ".^ Of his movements in these works of z al we are as usual in the dark, but from contemporary histories we may gather that he must have been in constant danger even from the day of his arrival at
^ " Ex hujus relatione certissime cognovimus de voce ilia coelitus facta cuidam simplici Catholico mox responsuro de fide etc.," p. 121.
^ Challoner, i. p. 207, and Foley, iii. 43.
3 Vol. i. p. 207. In 1 581, Mr. Wm. Skillicome, J.P., of Frees Hall, Kirkham, sheltered a Mr. Sympson at his house. Later the same gentleman is found lodging at Salesbury Hall, the property of the Talbot family (C/?.5. iv, 182). But who can identify these names with either of the two priests mentioned in the text ?
344 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
Douay. For some months past the Seminarists had been insulted in the streets, and even during the short stay of Sympson at the College, all were warned not to appear in public more than was necessary, re- ports being rife that they were all to be massacred. In England he seems to have adopted the alias of Hygate,^ and thereby escaped detection till 1585, when he was first lodged in the Clink and afterwards sent into banishment.^ But his return to the vine- yard was as speedy as that of Nicholas Garlick. This second period of liberty may have lasted about two years, when one day while travelling from Lanca- shire to Derby he fell in with a man who simulated Catholicity so well that Mr. Sympson, off his guard, disclosed his priesthood. The traitor accordingly had him apprehended at the next town and committed to Derby jail.^
At the next assizes, the Lent sessions of 1588, he was tried and condemned for being a priest " made by the authority and rites of the Roman Church ".* Details of this first trial are not forthcoming,^ but we are obliged to convict Mr. Sympson of some weakness at this period. Either he consented to attend a Pro- testant service or at least held out hopes that he might do so, whichever it was, the defection was not
^ P.R.O. Dom. Eliz. 203, no. 20.
' Challoner, i. 207 ; Morris, Troubles^ ii. 421, 473.
^ Grene in Foley, iii. 229.
^ Extract from Mr. Broughton's writings.
^ Acts of the Privy Council^ New Series, vol. xv. p. 333. Two letters referring to Mr. Sympson's capture, in which the Justices of Assize speak of his " lewde and obstinate behaviour ".
VV. N. GARLICK, R. LUDLAM, AND R. SYMPSON 345
final, for he was merely remanded to the following assizes, and not released, as he would have been had the fall been complete. Happily for him Garlick and Ludlam were cast into the same cell, and by holy exhortation brought him to such contrition for his weakness that for the short remainder of his life he ceased not to punish himself with fastings, haircloth, and w'atchings. This open recantation caused him to be treated in jail with great severity.
After a fortnight's captivity the three priests and Mr. Fitzherbert were arraigned before the courts, the former for coming into the realm and seducing her Majesty's subjects, the latter for harbouring them. This was denied by Garlick who, " being very bold, answered for all throughout the trial ". He said : —
" I have not come to seduce, but to induce men into the Catholic faith ; for this end have I come into the country, and for this will I work as long as Hive".
The Judge then went on : " How would you be tried?"
" By God and the Bench," was the reply.
" It is not for me to try any," said the Judge.
" I am loath," replied the martyr, " that my blood should be required of twelve poor men."
" What ! they are honest, and do you call them beggars ? " retorted his Lordship in defence of his panel of jurymen.
" I speak not to their disgrace ; but we are all beggars of God, or at least ought to be."
There was more wrangling between the bench and the dock, and finally judgment was pronouhced,
346 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
which, of course, took the usual form. All four were sentenced to death, the priests for being or- dained by authority of the Holy See, and coming into the country, and Fitzherbert for having given them shelter. It so happened that Mr. Thomas Eyre had married Mr. Fitzherbert's daughter, Jane, and he was able to redeem his father-in-law's life by selling one of the manors on his estate and paying to the Queen £10,000 ; yet even now the old squire was not liber- ated. He was sent to London to be lodged in the Fleet Prison, where he died in great destitution on 9 November, 1590.
" I thought," said Garlick, as the three left the dock, " that Cain would never be satisfied till he had the blood of his brother Abel."
Execution was not long delayed. On the day fol- lowing, 24 July, the three priests were stretched upon hurdles, and drawn by horses through the filthy gate- way up to the place of execution, where an unpre- cedented throng had assembled. Garlick was in a joyous mood; he was met by an old acquaintance who told that they had " shot oft together".
"True," said he, " but I am now to shoot such a shot as I never shot in all my life."
When they reached the scaffold, Mr. Sympson, as senior prisoner, was ordered to mount first. Garlick, however, anxious for the constancy of his friend and wishing to give him an example, hastened to the ladder which he embraced and kissed. Then, because the fire was not yet ready, he addressed the spec- tators in a cheerful voice, and ended his impressive spee(!h by suddenly casting among the crowd a
VV. N. GARLICK, R. LUDLAM, AND R. SYMPSON 347
number of loose papers written in prison, which he declared would show what he affirmed. It is said in an ancient manuscript account of the martyrdom ^ that every one into whose hands these papers fell was subsequently reconciled to the Church. Even- tually he was turned oif the ladder.
This action seems to have been somewhat prema- ture on the part of the executioners. It was done to prevent the martyr gaining further hold upon the people. As his doublet had not been removed, the hanging had little or no effect, so much so that when he was cut down and disembowelled he retained the full use of his faculties, and even spoke to the execu- tioner and the populace while the butchery was being enacted.
Mr. Ludlam, who had witnessed this scene with calmness and joy, now stepped forward,^ and spoke eloquently on the cardinal points of Catholic doctrine, the marks of the Church especially, and concluded by tracing out the course of England's sad apostasy. After a few minutes' pause, he broke out into a pathetic lament at the dearly purchased choice of his countrymen, and closed his last sermon on earth with a fervid exhortation to repentance. He prayed for England, the bystanders, all enemies, and with
^Dr. Bagshaw's MS., quoted by Challoner, p. 185.
^ In the poem which follows it would appear that Sympson was second to die. But the lines " Garlick did the ladder kiss, and Sympson after hie," refer not to the order of executions, but to the incident on page 346, in which Garlick hastened after Sympson, etc.
348 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
the words Venite benedicti Dei upon his lips — as though, said the bystanders, he was gazing on a vision of Angels — he passed- from the ladder to his Maker. Mr. Sympson followed with equal fortitude ; deeply bewailing his previous fall. When the people saw his hair-shirt, they somewhat inconsequently cried out, ^' A devil, a devil ! " but it was explained to them that he wore this in penance for his fall.
Two contemporary poems may here be given which, though devoid of any literary merit, are in- dicative of the profound impression made upon those who witnessed this triple martyrdom. The first is from the Eyre MSS. at Ushaw: —
These valiant men thus died for God's great cause, Tears follow after them, and loud applause From the surrounding crowd, which homeward go With downcast looks, and hearts all drenched with woe.
The next is in a lighter strain, and describes the martyrdom. It is an old ballad handed down for generations by the Catholics of Derbyshire : —
When Garlick did the ladder kiss. And Sympson after hie, Methought that then St. Andrew was Desirous for to die.
When Ludlam looked on smilingly, And joyful did remain. It seemed St. Stev'n was standing by For to be stoned again.
And what if Sympson seemed to yield, For doubt or dread to die, He rose again and won the field, And died most constantly.
VV. N. GARLICK, R. LUDLAM, AND R. SYMPSON 349
His watchings, fastings, shirt of hair, His speech, his death and all. Do record give, do witness bear He wailed his former fall.
The heads and quarters of the three martyrs were set up in different places in and about Derby ; and so great was the impression produced in the district that many conversions resulted. Some Catholic gen- tlemen, including Dr. Bagshaw, to whose manuscript narrative we owe so much, came by night fully armed, and removed a portion of these relics. Tradition says that the head of Mr. Garlick was ultimately buried in the churchyard of Tideswell after its re- moval from Derby old bridge.
There is a prophecy attributed to him which states that there will ever be at least one Catholic repre- sentative of the family. Whether this has been the case for the three hundred odd years since Mr. Gar- lick's death we do not know. Tradition'says that it has. Be this as it may, there is one remarkable in- stance in later days of the conversion of one who roundly asserted that she, at any rate, would not be party to the verification of this prediction.
The names of Garlick and Ludlam are kept green in the districts where they worked and died. A pilgrimage is made every year on 12 July to Padley Chapel. In outward appearance the now deserted shrine has changed but little since the fateful 12 July when the two missionary priests said their last Mass at its altar. Its adaptation to a hay-loft has been so slight as to leave undisturbed the angel corbels of the roof, the muUioned windows above the altar, the
350 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
chimneys already referred to, and the piscina in the southern wall. Perhaps some day the Mass at Hathersage Catholic Church, which ushers in the day of pilgrimage, will be transferred to the now desecrated shrine.
E. K.
Authorities. — Grene, Collectanea F^ printed in Foley, Re^ cords, iii. 224. Douay Diaries. Bagshaw^s MS., quoted by Challoner, i. 3, 185.
XXXVI. VENERABLE WILLIAM DEAN.
SECULAR PRIEST.
Mile End Green, 28 August, 1588.
There is irony in the fact that our first knowledge of William Dean, of his origin and place of birth, comes from The Accusations of Topcliffe,^ who about this time, to judge from the prison lists, was one of the busiest men in London. On his word we have the fact that William Dean was born " in Lynton of Craven," in the County of Yorkshire. His father had served " old Richard Norton the Rebel," and so William Dean himself came into touch with this good old Catholic family. As son of a rebel, and the servant of a rebel of some standing, life held out little promise to him during the reign of Elizabeth.
The times had dealt hardly with old Sir Richard Norton and his servant Dean, but he came of a fighting stock well worn to the fortunes of war, and there was also a memorable tradition attaching to his family. Ballads tell us that under the Percies many great lords had fought, displaying their family scutcheons, but —
1 CJ^.S. V. p. 26. 351
352 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
The Nortons ancyent had the cross And the five wounds Our Lord did bear.
It was so now ; and the old man was bearing it in a sacred cause. Old Sir Richard Norton was wandering in Spain and Italy, receiving a pension from the King of Spain, and his sons were exiles with him.
The next item with which Topcliffe favours us is, " That this William Dean dissimulated as a protes- tant and became a minister and served at the cure of Munkefriston in the county York — where many of the parish still continue recusants ".
The turn of affairs which drove " old Norton the rebel " abroad, about the year 1570, must have seriously affected the fortunes of old Mr. Dean and his son. What happened to the father is not re- corded, but there is good reason to believe that Topcliffe is right in asserting that William Dean apostatized and became a minister. This phase in his career receives confirmation from a stray illusion in the Relation of the Penkevels, a reliable source, as it needs no stretch of imagination to trace the account to William Dean himself; in intercourse with the Penkevels he may have mentioned this past history.^ Speaking of an event later in his life the account says : " The names of the priests I re- member were, first Mr. Deane who had been some- time a minister".
^ The writer, Peter Penkevel, never saw Topcliflfe's account, an official document, but the fact mentioned was probably well known to any who had interest in William Dean.
VENERABLE WILLIAM DEAN 353
The next statement is interesting, but not quite true. " He fled of late to Rheames intending to serve his old master Norton the Rebel." The truth is, that in the year 1581 William Dean was recon- ciled by a seminary priest, and future martyr, Thomas Alfield. The latter had left Rheims for the English Mission on 29 March, 1581. Among his first acts must have been this reconciling of William Dean, and of his own apostate brother, Robert. That Dean had crossed with the intention of serving " his old master Norton the Rebel " is not quite accurate, but it may be accounted for by the fact that this tedious but useful reiteration of the names of Norton and Dean coupled together gave the prisoner special value in the eyes of the Government ; his interests were bound up with those of " old Norton," still an object of hatred to those at home.
In 1581 William Dean went abroad to serve that Master Whom " old Norton " was also serving, and prepared for the priesthood at Rheims.
We know from the Douay Diaries what happened abroad ; matters in which Topcliffe was not so well informed. On 9 July, 1581, he came to Rheims from Douay, and on 21 September he set out with several others to Soissons and took the subdiaconate ; the tonsure and Minor Orders are not noted. He re- ceived the priesthood on 21 December, in the same year with several others, some of whom were to share imprisonment with him later. At length, on g January, 1582, the Diary records his first Mass, and about a fortnight later he set out alone for the English Mission.
23
354 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
His first missionary labour was abruptly shortened ; for only some six or seven Masses were charged against him after his landing in London, and he was probably being tracked the whole time, as on 21 February he was arrested and lodged in Newgate. In the course of the same month Topcliffe wrote his accusations, a piece of research to which we are already greatly in- debted. It continues: " He persuaded the Q.'s sub- jects before he went over, not to come to Church or to receive the communion " ; if this is so, then William Dean's missionary labours commenced before his ordination to the priesthood.
'* He persuaded the Q.'s subjects that the Pope of Rome was supreme head and governor of the Church of England and not her Majesty. And further that England ought to pay tribute to Rome." — Crudely stated.
" He did wish the Q. Majesty's death Traitorously — but he will not confess so much." — The simplicity of the latter statement proves the dishonesty of the former.
" He did send letters of abominable persuasion from Religion to Popery which were intercepted going Northwards." These " letters of abominable persuasion " are lost ; they were probably meant for his former parishioners. While labouring for souls in London, Dean had evidently tried to undo the work of the past.
" He is now within this month returned a seminary priest from Rheames." — True.
" He had conference with George Norton rebel, son of oH Norton ye rebel, at Rheames,"— His com-
VENERABLE WILLIAM DEAN 355
. •—
nexion with the Norton family is not to turn to Dean's advantage. The meeting is probably a fact, George Norton was at this time wandering in Flanders.
Then comes the painful part of the document. William Dean had faltered under torture.
** He has said 6 or 7 masses since coming over in London. The most of them at one Mistress Alford's house within Salisbury Court, where he lodged most, and before herself and sometime one Rodgers who lodged at Mrs. Alford's.
" One mass at My Lady Ffrogmortons near Thames Street where the lady was and 6 other gentlemen.
" One mass at Fleet Street, xii. persons present at least.
" One mass at Mrs. Thymolby's lodging before her.
** He did hear Mrs. Thymolby's Priest say mass.
" He reconciled a servant of Mrs. Alford's."
We learn the painful sequel to this confession in a letter of Recorder Fleetwood to Lord Burghley, dated 14 April, 1582.
*' Mrs. Rodgers, Mrs. Alford, and Mr. Rogers, and Hyde were arraigned for hearing mass at Shrovetide in the House of Francis Alford of Salisbury Court. The Seminary Priest was one Deane. This Deane and the said Hyde (Hyde was reconciled by Deane) did give evidence, and for that cause Mr. Secretary's pleasure was that they should be spared."
From this time on for the next three years William Dean was left alone with his thoughts, being occasion- ally moved from prison to prison. In the May of
23 1^
356 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
1582 there was a plan afoot, of which he was probably unaware, of sending him to the North to suffer amongst his own folk with Thomas Alfield, who had recon- ciled him. Witnesses were actually got together to effect this purpose, but it may be that Alfield faltered — at all events William Dean was left in prison.
We can trace the places of Dean's imprisonments, roughly, for the years that followed. In the February and March of 1583 William Deyos, keeper of New- gate, gives his name in a list endorsed " Prisoners for Religion," with the added remark, " committed on suspicion of Treason ".
By 8 April, 1584, we find his name given with nine others as confined in the Clink prison, ''for religion — not conforming themselves to her majesty's laws ". This list includes Edward Shelley, a layman, who was afterwards executed for helping Dean. The change of prisons was probably consequent on his indictment at the Queen's Bench, Westminster, with William Hartley and others in the February of that year, " on the Wednesday next after the morrow of the Purification," as Father Persons gives it. A verdict of high treason was brought in, and sentence passed accordingly. Dean lingered on in prison.
The panic occasioned by the assassination of the Prince of Orange abroad in the July of the same year gave colour to a new turn of affairs. The Statute known as 27th Elizabeth was passed — in defence of the Queen's Majesty it was supposed. It is said that Elizabeth personally urged on the decree of banish- ment which resulted. The work of emptying the prisons was general. York and Hull contributed their
VENERABLE WILLtAM DEaN 357
exiles. William Dean met some twenty brother priests on the Tower Wharf, and a few friends were allowed to see them off.
They landed at Newhaven in Normandy, in the early months of 1585, and several of the exiles found their way to Rheims. Dean remained in his old college, offering his services at the disposal of the president, until the following November. The Diaries record his departure on the 21st of that month, 1585. " Dominus Dean, presbyter, departed return- ing to England, after being sent into exile a short time ago."
His missionary labours were somewhat longer this time, in all probability, though little is known of them, but he was again arrested, probably in the winter of 1587-1588, for his name is given in contemporary records as confined in the Gatehouse Prison in the March of 1588.
Meanwhile, the Armada came and went, and in August the Courts were busy again. On 14 August a letter was issued to the inquisitors, Topcliffe being one, ordering them to secure the prison lists from the keepers, and to examine them : " But especially to inquire which of them are Jesuits or Priests, and either have not departed out of the realm or have re- turned again thither". Under the latter, of course, William Dean was included. The inquisition was finished by 20 August, and the results handed to Serjeant Puckering, and by him to Lord Burghley.
William Dean was at first set down to be exe- cuted for Middlesex, but this was scratched out, and his name added under those for London.
358 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
We learn from the Relation of Peter Penkevel that Dean was condemned with some thirteen others. " The year that the Armada compassed England about, at St. Bartholomewtide, there were fourteen priests and laymen at one Sessions at Newgate ar- raigned. . . . The names of the priests that I re- member were first Mr. Deane, who had been some time a minister." In the report of the Session held from 26-28 August, before Sir George Bond, the Lord Mayor, and others, Dean's name is set down with that of Henry Webley, a layman, as executed for London.
On 26 August Edward Shelley, a gentleman of Lon- don, was condemned to death, " for receiving, aiding and comforting of one William Deane," who was to precede him in martyrdom by two days.
From the letters of Father Robert Southwell we learn that he was not dragged on a hurdle nor dis- membered, but was conveyed in a cart, together with Henry Webley, to Mile End Green, and there hanged. His execution was attended with considerable bru- tality. He desired earnestly to speak to the people while on the way to execution, but shouts were raised and he could not be heard. Under the gibbet itself he made a second attempt " as he sat in the cart, but was sore hurt by an officer with a bill upon his head," and was, moreover, gagged so violently with a cloth that he was half suifocated when he put his head into the noose. These are the facts of William Dean's passing from exile, the Douay Diaries tell the story simply, — '' ab exilio ad martyrium rediit ".
H. E. D.
VENERABLE WILLIAM DEAN 359
Authorities. — The nucleus of this life may be found in Topcliffe's document {Cath. Rec. Soc. v. 26). He claims to have his evidence at first hand, as he tells us in his own eccentric spelling — '' Emong other theis parti cularytees bee confessed by theis persons hereunder named. Wm. Deane, a feugetyve seameanary preest, in prison in Neugait." This short history gives all that is known of the martyr's early years, touches his college life abroad, and becomes detailed again after his return as a priest. Some account of the history of the Nortons of that day, and later, may be gleaned from the lists of Yorkshire Cath- olics, 1604 (pp. 41, 44, 74), edited by E. Peacock, F.S.A. The life abroad is supplemented mainly by reference to the Douay Diaries. Other materials : the Catalogues, esp. C.R,S. reprint of Gerard's Cat. of Martyrs, 1587-94. Historia Particular de la Persecucion (Diego de Yepes), p. 160. Stow, Annals (161 5), p. 749. Relation of Peter Penkevel. Notes and Quer- ies^ vi. Series v. 163. Downside Review (March, 1909). Chal- loner, 209. Morris, Troubles of Our Cath. Forefathers^ ii. 72, 156-7. Pollen, Acts of Eng. Martyrs^ 296. Gillow, ii. 36. Diet, of Nat. Biography. C.R.S. Publications^ ii. and v., re- print of Documents on the Subject and Prison Lists. Foley, S.J., Records of Eng. Province^ Series ii.-iv., also Series ix.-xi.
XXXVII. VENERABLE HENRY WEBLEY.
LAYMAN.
Mile End Green, 28 August, 1588.
The ports of England in 1586, the year with which this martyr's story opens, were under careful obser- vation. The watchers were not merely of the Govern- ment's recognized officials but included that class of worthies who were content to be its cat's-paws, while the time served, for a purely business consideration. Under this double scrutiny all vessels left these ports for other shores, hence that Catholic offender was extremely clever who escaped Elizabeth's penalties and gained exile in safety.
It happened in the month of April during the year 1586 that a certain ship lay in the haven of Chi- chester in readiness to sail for France. She had on board five passengers whose sole desire was to reach a Catholic shore, and one of them was a layman named Henry Webley.
But the watchers found her out. And the gloomy
sequel is told in a document dated 25 April, 1586.
The names of Henry Webley and his four companions
are written in with the note : —
360
VENERABLE HENRY WEBLEY 361
'* Taken in Chichester Haven, a ship board going over, and sent to the Marshalsea by Mr. Secretary ".
They had been examined by the Mayor of Chichester we are told later on, " and so sent to the right honour- able lords of her Majesty's Council and by their honours committed and since not examined ".
We can now leave Henry Webley in the London Prison, where he remained for two years, to inquire into the causes that had brought him there, and the reasons for his summary seizure on board ship in Chichester harbour.
One record refers to him almost familiarly, it would seem, as " Harry Webley " and adds that he was born in Gloucester. The Webleys of Gloucester were plain folk enough at this time to all appearances, though by the eighteenth century some of the bearers of that name are found to be armigeri. The arms have been found on a tomb and given " Or, a bend between three mullets pierced sable ". But plain folk as they were in the sixteenth century they seem to have found their way into the annals of those times.
There is a John Webley, though no good Catholic we fear, described as a dyer, and holding the position of Mayor of Gloucester, 1583-4. This first among many brethren may represent the incipient stages of the future greatness of the name, afterwards to find fit expression in a coat of arms. However, he is engaged when we meet him in making examina- tion of John Mynors, who was a prisoner for the Catholic religion. It is probable that there was a blood-relationship between Henry Webley and this man, without supposing any close kinship.
362 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
Then there is Thomas Webley also described as a dyer, but having the further distinction of being bracketed with Edward Shelley as " a disperser of traitorous books". He was tried with Thomas Al- field in 1585, and both of them suffered martyrdom. Here again no direct relationship can be traced to Henry Webley. Finally amongst that little group of Catholics taken at Lyford in company with Ed- mund Campion there is another bearer of this name, one William Webley, a yeoman.
But to return to the fortunes of Henry Webley, suffering for the faith in his turn. It is probable that he had gone up to London from Gloucester, before he made that final journey from Chichester and returned to its prisons. Dr. Challoner says of him that he had aided and assisted William Dean, and thus he brings Webley to London ; for, as far as we know, William Dean's short spell of mission-work had been wholly confined to that city. His second capture and imprisonment may have started the hunt for Webley, who had aided and assisted him, and was to pay the penalty for these good offices.
But whatever the circumstances that had brought him from London to Chichester, Henry Webley was certainly a fugitive when we first met him on board a ship in Chichester Haven leaving this country for France. What his plans and destination were to have been after his landing there, is a question which suggests many possibilities, when we reflect how the College at Rheims stood open to exiles ; but that landing was never made, and we return to Henry Webley, prisoner for religion in the Marshalsea.
VENERABLE HENRY WEBLEY 363
t
He is next noticed in the prison lists for June, 1586, with his four companions, and the note is given — "Taken in Chichester Harbour going over into France ". Once again mention is made of him in an interesting manner in the July of the same year. Nicholas Berden, a spy, a very fair example of his class, addressed some papers to Sir Francis Walsingham, Secretary of State, endorsed '* Informa- tion concerning all priests in London prisons ". Two items are sufficient for our purpose. First he gives a list of five laymen, and the respectful remark " Gentlemen of wealth," and adds, " meet for Wis- bech ". Then the second, a list of seven others, Webley making one, classified as " Poor fools but very knaves " ; and yet another inspiration is pre- served to us, " neither wealthy nor wise but all very arrant ". Yet we must be grateful to Nicholas if only for this, that he has told us that Henry Webley was too poor to pay his way to some lesser comforts while within prison walls.
From now on, till the Armada Year, Webley was left in prison, receiving the treatment generally ac- corded to prisoners classified as stated above, until he came under the notice of the inquisitors appointed for the work of 13-20 August of 1588. Their duty was to make out a report of persons liable to be exe- cuted, and to deliver it to Serjeant Puckering, who also did some important work on it, and passed it on to higher powers. In it the name of Henry Webley appears surrounded by abbreviations, and under the heading " Persons reconciled," " Felony ".
The entry reads : " susp. Henry Webley, cul. re-
364 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
fuse pdon " : " take Q. part " was also added, but afterwards cancelled. " Susp." is taken to refer to the hanging, and may have been added, quite con- sistently, either before or after the event ! The rest, " culpable, refuse pardon," simply shows that for con- venience' sake, and to ensure brevity, the verdict was given before the trial.^ The words " take Q. part " may refer to some wavering on Webley's part — but it is scanty evidence, and is unsupported.
The sequel to all this is to be found in another document which reads " Sessions of oyer and ter- miner and gaol delivery holden at Justice Hall, Old Bayley the 26-29 August 1588 " — before Sir George Bond, Lord Mayor, and others.
** There were executed for London" — "Henry Webley," etc.
These were the trials and executions of Bartholo- mewtide, of which Peter Penkevel speaks in the Relation which he gives of the sufferings of his time.
" The laymen that then suffered," he writes, " for the most part were condemned because they said they had confessed their sins to a priest. The names of the priests I remember were, first Mr. Deane, who had been sometime a minister." Henry Webley must be numbered amongst these laymen, and con- fession was probably one of his crimes. It is said that he was put to death for aiding and assisting William Dean, and a similar statement is made of Edward Shelley, who suffered two days later " for
^ Every one will remember a similar note by Thomas Crumwell on Richard Whiting, last Abbot of Glastonbury — " To be tried at Glaston and also to be executed there ".
VENERABLE HENRY WEB LEY 365
receiving, aiding and comforting " the same venerable martyr.
This connexion with Dean may be the reason why Webley is found with him in the same cart on the way to execution at Mile End. The martyrdom took place on 28 August and was carried out in a violent and brutal manner. Dean's attempts to speak were cruelly silenced by sheer rough treatment, and it is hardly likely that Webley fared more gently. The victims do not seem to have been quartered. Webley was thirty years of age when he died, as we learn from An Ancient Editor s Notebook : —
" Edmund Shelley, [evidently the Shelley mentioned above,] Hugh Moore, and Henry Webley, aged thirty, laymen for their conscience were hanged. H . W. [evi- dently the last named] at Mile End Green, Aug. 28."
This is the story of Henry Webley, briefly told, and of the journey he made, instead of that which he contemplated, when he was "taken in Chichester Haven going over into France in April 1586".
H. E. D.
Authorities. — Challoner's Missionary Priests^ i. 211. C.R.S. vols. ii. pp. 242-51, and v., Catalogue of Martyrs^ 10, 289, Massacre of 1588, 154-9. Morris, Troubles^ etc.. Series iii. Yepez, Hist. Part. 610. PenkeveVs Relation^ A.E.M. 283-97. Foley, Records.
XXXVIII. VENERABLE WILLIAM GUNTER.
SECULAR PRIEST.
The Theatre^ Shoreditch^ London^ 28 August, 1588.
In reading the lives of the English martyrs, it is fre- quently very difficult to realize v^hat manner of men they were, until we chance to light upon a few of the words spoken at their trial, or on the scaffold, which have been treasured up by those of the faithful who were present at the execution. Perhaps this is no- where better illustrated than in the case of the Venerable WilHam Gunter, who just at the end re- veals himself to us by a few simple words as a man of the greatest humility and courage.
His early years were spent in the quiet little town of Raglan, in Monmouthshire, which was his birth- place. About the year 1583, feeling called to the priesthood, he determined to become a missionary priest, and for that purpose entered the English Seminary then at Rheims. It is not difficult to realize how strong must have been the vocation of those who were willing, if needful, to drink to the dregs the cup of Christ's passion, that they might partake
36^
VENERABLE WILLIAM GUNTER 367
in His glorious priesthood, and share with Him the hardships of His apostolate.
It is probable that he began his seminary course on 16 July, 1583, on which date we find his name first recorded in the Douay Diaries. Two months later, on 23 September, he received the tonsure and four minor orders. It was the custom at Douay to raise the seminarist to the clerical state, shortly after he had entered the seminary, but to postpone the sacred orders till his course was nearly completed. It was therefore not till three years had passed away that the Venerable William Gunter was ordained sub- deacon — on 18 September, 1586, while he received the diaconate shortly after, probably on 19 December following. Within three months he was ordained priest on 14 March, 1587. He was soon to share in the persecution which our Lord had foretold would happen to His disciples : '* If they have persecuted Me, they will also persecute you ". With two com- panions he left Rheims for England on 23 July, 1587.
London became the scene of his missionary labours, particularly that district through which the present Farringdon Street now runs, at least we can presume as much, because it was in this neighbourhood that the priest was arrested. Working quietly and unosten- tatiously, he remained unmolested for the greater part of a year. Few priests, however, who remained in London could escape for any length of time the vigilance of the pursuivants, whose keenness as priest- catchers had recently been stimulated by a fresh edict of the Government directed against Catholics. In 1585 an Act had been passed by which it was made
368 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
treasonable for any priest or religious person, who had been ordained or -professed by authority from the See of Rome, to remain in the country at all or even to come into it. Thus it was that within a year the Venerable William Gunter fell into the hands of these spies of the Government. The report of his arrest is found in an enclosure to a letter addressed to a certain Mr. Francis Craddocke from the Privy Council, and dated 12 September, 1588. From this we learn that William Gunter, priest, was arrested on 30 June, 1588, for remaining traitorously in the Parish of St. Sepulchre in the Ward of Farringdon.
On his arrest, he was imprisoned in Newgate, there to await his trial. His imprisonment was of short duration, for the Government were at this time medi- tating an attack on the Catholics as a counter-move to the invasion of the Armada. The campaign of persecution opened with a general examination of all religious prisoners then in bonds, which was carried out by order of the Privy Council. These proceedings lasted six days, from 14 to 20 August. The report of the individual examinations was then handed over to Mr. John Puckering, Serjeant- at-Law, who, as Crown Advocate, was gathering up the evidence upon which the prisoners were to be in- dicted. In one of these documents the name of our martyr appears charged with treason, and in the margin a note in abbreviated legal phrase is attached, from which we gather that, at his examination, he had confessed himself guilty of the charges brought against him, i.e. of remaining in the realm as a priest. The annotations in these lists, also in Puckering's
VENERABLE WILLIAM GUNTER 369
handwriting, are meant for his conduct of the case. On the left-hand side of the names a very significant abbreviation occurs in a number of cases, among them being that of WilHam Gunter. It is the mono- syllable " sus," an abbreviation of the word "sus- pendatur " — "let him be hanged," and this before trial !
Very soon after these examinations had been com- pleted the prisoners were brought up for their trial. On 26 August our martyr was brought to the bar at Justice Hall in the Old Bailey during the sessions of Oyer, Terminer and Gaol delivery held for the city of London and for the county of Middlesex, which continued for three days. The sessions were held before Sir George Bond, Lord Mayor and others, and it was therefore before him that the martyr was arraigned. Upon being asked by the Commissioners as to whether he had reconciled any since he came into England, he, with great resolution and courage, answered that he had, and would do the same again if he could. Knowing full well what the verdict of the jury would be, he asked the Judge that he might have judgment without jury, being unwilling, no doubt, that they should have the guilt of his con- demnation upon their souls. This request was readily granted, and he was condemned to be executed for the double crime of remaining as a priest in the realm and for reconciling his countrymen to the faith.
The trial of the martyr reveals to us the true nobility of his character ; his courage in facing the sentence of the Judge ; his zeal for souls, his reso- lute testimony of his priesthood, and his profound
24
37C LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
charity towards those who were about to declare him guilty.
His execution was appointed to take place at ** The Theatre," Shoreditch/ a place of great popular re- sort. The Mayor and Aldermen of London having suppressed in 1580 all the theatres attached to inns in Gracechurch Street, Lombard Street, Ludgate Hill and elsewhere within the boundaries of the City, there existed at this time only three playhouses, one in Blackfriars and two, " The Theatre " and " The Curtain," in Shoreditch, all three lying safely out- side the City limits. From Bishopsgate a nearly continuous street extended out of the City as far as Shoreditch Church. '' The Theatre," outside which a new gallows had been erected, was probably situ- ated at some little distance from the church. On either side of this street was a wide extent of fields and gardens, and hence the spot was adapted in every way for the melancholy spectacle of an execution.
On 28 August, 1588, the Venerable William Gunter made his last journey along the streets of London, which formerly he had traversed in disguise, but along which he was now being carried — his priestly char- acter obvious to all.
Arrived at the gallows, the martyr was not allowed to address the multitudes as was usual on such occasions, but the scene enacted could do more tq touch the hearts of the bystanders than words would ever effect, and thus his very silence spoke for him.
^ According to Yepez the scene of his martyrdom was Lin- coln's Inn Fields, but this is contradicted by the unanimous evidence of all the other authorities.
VENERABLE WILLIAM GUNTER 371
All those who had been condemned at the Newgate Sessions for their religion, were spared the barbarous penalty of being bowelled and quartered, and when the martyr at the gallows was informed of this act of clemency on the part of the Crown, he, with wonder- ful humility and sweetness, replied : " It is fit that it should be so ; for I am not worthy to suffer so much as my brethren ". These few words reveal the true sanctity of the man, who regarded it as the greatest honour to endure the cruellest and most violent death for Christ's sake, and who grieved that he was not worthy to suffer so much.
He was hanged without further ado, and this penalty he endured with great joy and constancy, and as he hung, several of the crowd whose hearts were only hardened by such a sight, sung in chorus, " This man for the Pope, is hanged with a rope ".
J. c.
Authorities.— Dodd's Church History^ vol. ii. Challoner's Memoirs of Missionary Priests. Penkevel's Relation, A.E.M. 287. Morris' Troubles, Series iii. C.R.S. vol. v. Stowe's Annals. Yepez, Hist. Part. Gillow's Bibliographical Diction- ary of English Catholics. Catalogue of Martyrs, C.R.S. v. 10, 289 ; Massacre of 1588, ibid. 154-9 ; Orders of Privy Council, ibid. 163-4.
24 *
XXXIX.
VENERABLE ROBERT MORTON.
SECULAR PRIEST.
LincolrCs Inn Fields^ 28 August, 1588.
Towards the end of the reign of Henry VIII, in 1547, Robert Morton was born in the Httle Yorkshire town of Bawtry. He was the son of Robert Morton, Esquire, and Anne his second wife ; the family was, on both sides, well connected, his mother being the daughter of John Norton of Norton Conyers,^ and connected, by a former marriage, with the Plump- tons of Plumpton. Though the family appears to have been a large one, only the names of three of Robert's brothers, Anthony, Daniel, and Samson, have come down to us.
Considerable influence appears to have been ex- ercised over the youth of our martyr by his uncle the Rev. Nicholas Morton, D.D., who in 1586 came to Rome with him, and there died, and it is to the memory of this uncle that Robert Morton had erected the memorial tablet still to be seen in the Chapel of the EngHsh College. The inscription on the tablet is as follows : —
^ Gillow says that Robert Morton's mother was the daughter of William Radcliffe of Rilston in Craven, but from information communicated by the late Mr. W. Morton, we gather that the above is probably the correct name (cf. C.R.S. vol. v.).
372
VENERABLE ROBERT MORTON 373
D.O.M.
R. D. NICHOLAO . MORTONO . PRO . ANGLO .
SACR^ . THEOLOGI^ . DOCTORI . CLARO . QVI .
AMICIS . CHARS , CiETERISQUE . BONIS . OIB . PRO . FIDE •
CATHOLICA . IN . PATRIA . AMISSIS . A^ .
EXILII . SUI . XXV . ^TATIS . VERO . LXVI . ROM^E .
MORTUUS . E . A.D. MDLXXXVII . D. XXVII . M. lA.
SEPELIRIQUE . VOLUIT . EODEM . TUMULO . C. R.
D. SETONIO . CUM . QUO . EADE . RELIGIOIS" .
CAUSA . EX . ANGLIA . AUFUGIT . ROMAMQUE . SIMUL .
VENIT . ROBERTUS . MORTONUS . NEPOS . AMATISSIMO .
PATRUO . POSUIT.
Of the early life of our martyr we know practically nothing, but it was probably spent in his good Catholic home, sheltered from the religious troubles which swept over the whole country during the reigns of Edward VI, Mary, and Elizabeth.
From an entry in the Douay Diaries for 1573 we learn that he began the study of theology in the College about that date, when he would be about twenty-six years of age. He did not remain there long, however, as, for some reason, probably on account of his father's death which took place some time be- tween 24 July, 1574, ^^^ 20 January, 1575,^ his studies were interrupted. We cannot, however, be sure of the reason, as there is no mention in the Diaries of the date of his leaving the College. During his stay at Rheims he must have studied a considerable amount
1 We gather the approximate date of his father's death from the facts that his will was made on 24 July, 1574, and proved on 20 January, 1575.
374 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
of theology, for from what we know of his later life he did very little more before he was ordained priest.
From this time, at Rheims, we completely lose sight of our martyr until 1586, when on g December he came to Rome. It is during his stay in Rome that Father Warford knew him, and to Father War- ford we are indebted for the only extant description of the martyr. He writes : ** He was prudent of action, a good height, his hair and beard inclining to red, his face somewhat inflamed owing to the heat of his liver". When he came to Rome, he was accom- panied, as has been mentioned, by his uncle. Dr. Nicholas Morton, and on their arrival they stayed the usual period of eleven days at the English College. After that, Robert seems to have become a ''con- victor" (or one who pays the full pension), but as his uncle was in failing health, and . died on 27 January of the following year, it is improbable that he entered upon his studies in earnest before that date.
He did not confine himself to acquiring a knowledge of theology during his short sojourn in the Eternal City, for while studying, as Father Warford says, " Cases of Conscience," he also devoted some portion of his time to learning the Italian language, and had in his possession an Italian edition of the Catechism of the Council of Trent, which, though it cannot now be found, he presented to the College, writing on the flyleaf, as says Father Christopher Grene, *' Collegio Anglorum Ex dono Roberti Mortoni ".
In the Diary of the English College, Rome, we read, that on 5 April, 1587, Morton in company with
VENERABLE ROBERT MORTON 375
John Gerard (afterwards SJ.), became an " alumnus " of the College, and took the College oath on the same day. John Gerard seems to have been on very in- timate terms with our martyr, so much so, that he was able to borrow £^2 from him while they were together at College. This money, on Gerard's return to England in 1588, Morton being already dead, he, Gerard, endeavoured without success to repay to Morton's relatives, and when he could not find any, bestowed it upon the Catholic poor. But from this we cannot conclude that all Robert's brothers had died sine prole. They might have been alive, though it might have been impossible for a missionary priest, who of necessity had to spend much of his time in hiding, to find them.
During April of 1587 Morton must have received the tonsure and all the orders, up to and inclusive of the diaconate in Rome, for before the end of the month, we find him, though a deacon, at the head of a party of six, four of whom were priests, setting out from Rome for Rheims.^ The reason for his being at the head of the party may have been any of several : he was probably considerably older than any of the others, being then about forty years of age ; or again he might have been given the position on account of his prudence, or wealth, for there seems little doubt that he was in a better financial position than any of the others.
^ The names of the members of the party were, D. Robertus Mortonus, D. Jacobus Bowlande, D. Robertus Gray, D. Christo- ferus Buxton, D. Petrus Fletcher, and Mr. Gulielmus Owen, the last named being still a student (cf. Douay Diaries).
376 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
The journey was made during the height of the religious wars — '' La guerre des trois Henris," which had been going on since 1585, and the difficulties caused by these wars, in addition to the ordinary hardships of such a journey, are well illustrated in the following letter written by Morton from Rheims to Father William Holt, Rector of the English Col- lege, Rome.
" Jesus Maria
" Reverend Father my duety remembered, be- setching you not to be offended with me, that I did not write from Bononia or Milan for in truthe the heates and travel did so troble both my sight and distemper my hole bodye, that I was not able to sett hand nor pen to any paper for any nede, the which at this present (thanked be God) is something recovered, although the werinesse of our long & laborious, & in the last end, viz. in France, most dangerous iorney, be not as yet clean out of my bones. We arrived all six (prased be God) safelye at Rhemes upon Corpus Christies Eve, havynge, by reason of the extreme dearthe both in Italy, Germany and France, spent all our money, althoughe everye one did what he could to spare, neverthelesse the charges came most commonly to eyght Julyos ^ and a crowne a day horse & man besydes extraordenarye expenses to guides to passe the dangers of montagnes & heretikes, whitch verye hardlye we escaped, being thre severall tymes in manyfest perill. I lent in our iorney unto F. Gray two crownes & a half, be-
^ An Italian coin named after Pope Julius II, and worth about sixpence.
VENERABLE ROBERT MORTON 377
sydes the six crownes, which I took up at Placence in your name, who havynge soulde his horse for 27 crownes hath repayed me. I lent allso unto William Owen six crownes in Goolde who for sparinge did often ride all the day fastinge without his diner, not eatinge anythinge until nyghte, who hath not repayed me, but referred me over unto Mr. Baylye to be payed upon youre head. Sir, hast of my iorney caused me, at my departure from Rome, to forgett to pay the paynter, which colored the letters upon my uncle's monument (on whose soule God have mercy) whome I praye you to discharge, & I will repaye it here to whom it shall please youe. Thus referringe to write more at large by the nexte post, not forgetting my deuty to Mr. Presedent ^ (whome I besetch to remember me with his letter), to Father Parsons, father Gibbons, father Confes- sarious, father Minister, wishing health & obedi- ence to all the rest of the colledge, & in especially [sic] to them of the congregation,'-^ to whose prayers I most earnestly commend my selfe. I committ you to the tuition of Jesu, from Rhemes the 30 of Maye 1587, Your Reverence his to command
" Robert Morton. " Father Gray hath him humblye commended unto youe, Mr. Presedent, Father Parsons, and others
^ Mr. President is Dr. Allen who had been summoned to Rome in September, 1585, but had not yet resigned his presi- dency at Rheims.
^ The " congregation " was the Sodality of Our Lady, the earliest of such associations in an English college of which we have record (cf. C.I^.S. v.).
378 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
above named, who within three dayes is to depart to Paris, because heare can be no orders given that I may be prest before the next Quatuor tempora.
" For lightness of carriage I write in a single leafe, in such place & paper as I coulde gett."
Addressed — "All Molto R^o padre il padre Gulielmo [Holto] Rettore del Collegio Inglesi A Roma ".
Robert Morton stayed at Rheims from 27 May, 1587, until 2 July of the same year, when, having been ordained priest, he left the College en route for England, but it is during these few weeks spent at Rheims, that we get an insight into the character of our martyr from the letters which he wrote to Father Holt, which cannot fail to stamp him in our minds as one worthy to be numbered amongst the martyrs who by shedding their blood did so much towards restoring to this country the title of an ** island of saints ". In the letter already quoted we can see the martyr's anxiety to receive priest's orders in order that he may go and minister to his unfor- tunate fellow-countrymen. In the next letter we see how joyful he was at having, almost unexpectedly, been raised to the dignity of the priesthood on 14 June, 1587, by the Cardinal de Vaudemont, who con- ducted the Ordination instead of the Cardinal of Guise, in the Chapel of S. Remy at Rheims, and also we see how firm was his intention of getting to England as soon as possible.
He writes : —
"Jesus Maria
" Reverend Father, Albeit I signified in my last letter that I was out of hope for taking of Orders
VENERABLE ROBERT MORTON 379
before Michelmas next, havynge not Mr. Presedent's letter to any for my help therein, neverthelesse good Mr. Baylye givinge credit unto me that Mr. Prese- dent would write in that behalfe, at my request moved the good Cardinall of Vademont (who by licence of the Cardenall of Guise) gave Orders here at Rhemes, at which tyme allso I was like to have been reiected because I hadd nott my letters of Orders from Rome, if youre letter had not ben, which you write to Mr. Baylye, whearin you named me a deacon, which eased me of a great mortification, seynge father Gray was gone & the rest, except father Peter,^ who could witness of my orders takinge in Rome. Now there- fore seynge it hath plesed Almighty God to helpe me throughe the pickes ^ and called me to the order of presthoode, presumynge of your accostomed charytie & Mr. Presidente's that I may have the same auctoritye in absolvynge, reconsilinge, and exercis- inge all other sacraments to God his honor, and to the comfort of afflicted soules whitch other prests have that venture ther lyfes aboute the same end. I mean (God willinge) to make all sped convenient towards England, according to my determination when I departed from youe, the whitch if I chance to alter I will (according to my dewty) certefye youe thearof. Thus with my humble commendations to yourself, Mr. Presedent, father Confessarious, father Prefect, father Minister, I seace to troble youe.
^ I.e. Father Peter Fletcher.
^ " Throughe the pickes," i.e. " to pass the pikes " or " to run the gauntlet " ; cf. Murray's Dictionary.
38o LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
** From Rhemes this 17 of June, 1587. Yours to comande,
** Robert Morton."
Addressed — "All Molto R^o padre il pre Gulielmo Holto della Compania del ss^^o nome di Giesu et Rettore del Collegio Inglese. A Roma."
Morton wrote another letter dated the same as the above, in which we see the charity of our martyr, who, in spite of his own great joy at his ordination, and rapidly approaching mission, did not neglect to use his influence to obtain for a fellow-countryman, Roland Jenks,^ or as he calls him Chinckes, a posi- tion which would enable the unfortunate man to end his days in comparative respectability. The letter runs as follows : —
" Reverend Father, I had forgotten in my letter to request your favorable charytie towards one Chinckes a pore banished man who was some time a ritch bookbynder in Oxforde, & lost his earse beinge sett on the pillarye for the Catholyke cause, & not onlye theyme butt also all his goodes, who is desirous to serve in the colledge with youe at Rome as porter, and to bynd bookes or dictates to helpe him towardes somethinge that he live thoughe porelye, seinge all thinges are heare so deare that he is not able to live havynge no stock to sett up a great shoppe, &
^ Roland Jenks was a Catholic bookbinder of Oxford, who, for selling Catholic books, was sentenced to have his ears cut off, at the Oxford Assizes, 5 July, 1577 ; and after the execution of the sentence, jail-fever broke out, carrying off Lord Chief Baron Bell and many others. Jenks arrived in Rome 12 November, 1587. But he afterwards appears to have found work in Flanders.
VENERABLE ROBERT MORTON 381
havynge made harde shifte heare to rubbe owt this deare tyme. Thus besetchinge youe to lett him know youre mynde by youre letter to Mr. Bayley I committ youe to the tuition of Jesus. Rhemes this 17 of June, 1587.
"Youres to Commande, " Robert Morton.'*
Addressed — " All Molto R^o padre il pre Gulielmo Holto Rettore del Collegio Inglese, In Rome A Roma ".
The last of our martyr's letters is written from Paris, through which city he passed on his way to England, and is dated 20 July, 1587. We gather from it that he again found himself in difficulties on account of not having any letters of recommendation. But at the end he speaks of a way by which he can get into England.
" Reverend Father, although I had lately written to your Rev. as touching all my affaires — notwith- standing having received yours of last of June — haveing written divers since by divers posts since my coming either thither [Rheims] or to Paris, from whence I am, God willing, to depart shortely towards England, the course you appointed me, alone without Father Gray, who as I writ before went from me & is gone into England in a ship of Newcastle — F. Tyrius ^ for want of letters in my behalfe will doe nothing for me, alledging that he hath command- ment from Scotland not to send any priests thither until it be known what will be done in the Parliament
^ Father Tyrie, a learned Scotch Jesuit, who occupied the Chairs of Philosophy and Divinity in Paris about this time.
382 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
there, the which beginneth this present day. Never- theless he has sent for F. James & F. Peter ^ who had your letters to him & hath asked me divers times if I had any letters from your Rev to him. But God hath provided on a suddaine by a way not thought of which I hope will serve — I have bin something troubled in my eyes with three or four dayes hete after a long whett. Thus with my humble commendations — 20 July, 1587.
" Yours during life,
" Robert Morton."
The dashes signify Father Grene's omissions in the transcript.
Of the way Morton got into England we know nothing, all we do know is that soon after his arrival he was apprehended ; and the next definite date we have is August of the following year (1588) when his name appears in Burghley's list of priests to be exe- cuted.
It was on 26 August that he received sentence at the Sessions *' oyer and terminer" held in the Justice Hall at the Old Bailey for the City of London and the County of Middlesex, before the Lord Mayor, Sir George Bond, and others.
He was condemned by Statute 27th of Elizabeth, which reads : '* No Jesuit seminary priest or other such priest deacon or religious or Ecclesiastical per- son whatsoever born within the realm or any other of its then actual dominions and ordained or professed by authority derived from the See of Rome shall come into, be, or remain in this realm or other the then
^ Fathers James Bowlande and Peter Fletcher.
VENERABLE ROBERT MORTON 383
actual dominions aforesaid under pain of High Trea- son unless licensed under section 12. i."
He was consequently, on 28 August, 1588, when in the forty-second year of his age, drawn from Newgate to a new gallows erected at Lincoln's Inn Fields, opposite the place where, later, for many years stood the Catholic Church of SS. Anselm and Cecilia. Here he was hanged (not bowelled or quartered). With him suffered Hugh Moore, a layman : both, says Ribadeneira, behaved with admirable patience and constancy, yea with joy and pleasure.
They were not allowed to address the people from the gallows, lest the words of those who so cheerfully gave up their lives, should stir up among the people a reaction in favour of the old religion.
It is here worthy of mention that a certain layman Richard Martin, of whose life and martyrdom an ac- count appears later in this book, was executed on 30 August for having been in the company of Robert Morton and paying sixpence for his supper.
R. J. J. W.
Authorities. — Catalogue of Martyrs^ C.R.S. v. 10, 289-90 ; Four Letters of Robert Morton^ ibid. v. 135-9; Massacre of 1588^ ibid.v. 154-9. Warford's Relation^ A. EM. 271. Pen- kevel's Relation^ 283-97. Gillow, Bibl. Diet. Eng. Cath. Chal- loner. Douay Diaries. Diary of the English College^ Rome. Foley, Records, vi. D odd's English History., etc., etc.
XL. VENERABLE HUGH MOORE.
LAYMAN.
Lincoliis Inn Fields^ 28 August, 1588.
Of the short life of Hugh Moore very little is known. The date of his birth is uncertain, but authorities estimate his age, at the time of his exe- cution, to have been about twenty-five.
As we know the date of his martyrdom, 28 August, 1588, by working back we can fix the date of his birth at somewhere about 1563, and this date fits in very well with the few facts we can gather about his life.
He was born at Grantham in Lincolnshire and was the son of a well-to-do gentleman, who was how- ever a very bigoted Protestant, and consequently Hugh was brought up amongst Protestants and re- ceived a Protestant education.
We read in Foster's Alumni Oxonienses that at the age of about eighteen, about 1581, he entered Broad- gates Hall, Oxford, and there matriculated; but he cannot have stayed long at the University, for in 1583 he went to Gray's Inn, where he studied for the Bar. It would appear that it was at this period of his life that he first came under Catholic influence ; be this
384
VENERABLE HUGH MOORE 385
as it may, he was received into the Catholic Church by Fr. Thomas Stephenson, later S.J., in either 1584 or 1585. As soon as his father heard of this, as he considered, shameful act of his son, he disinherited him, and from this time forward sprang up an enmity between father and son, an enmity which termin- ated in the father taking active proceedings against Hugh and being to a great extent instrumental in obtaining his conviction and execution a few years later.
Upon his conversion Hugh felt himself called to the priesthood, and in June, 1585,^ he entered the English College then at Rheims. He appears from the Douay Diaries to have remained at the College for about two years, during which time there is no mention of his doings — the next entry concerning him being on 11 May, 1587, when his health having broken down he had to return to England in order to recuperate.
However, by being reconciled to the Catholic Church and going abroad to a Catholic Seminary he had rendered himself amenable to law,^ and upon his arrival in England, or very soon afterwards, he was taken into custody. As the law then stood, he could
1 In the Douay Diaries the date of his arrival at the College is given as 20 June, 1585, but this date is erased and " Circa hoc tempus " substituted in Dr. Worthington's handwriting.
"^ By 27 Eliz. c. 2, s. 5. " Same penalty (i.e. that of High Treason) on all laymen educated in any Jesuit college or semin- ary beyond the seas who shall not return to this realm, and there take the Oath of Supremacy within six months after royal pro- clamation made in the city of London,"
?5
386 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
have obtained his release and pardon by appearing in a Protestant church ; but as in these circumstances such an act would have been a sign of apostasy, he refused, and consequently, after a long imprisonment, he was brought up for trial at the Sessions *' oyer and terminer" held before Sir George Bond at the Old Bailey on 26 August, 1588 ; concerning which sessions we read : — ^
" Hugo Moore nuper de Gray's Inn in comitatu Middlesex generosus^ was condemned and executed for being reconciled to the See of Rome by one Thomas Stevenson a Jesuyte ".
On 28 August, with the Venerable Robert Morton, he was drawn from Newgate to a specially erected gallows at Lincoln's Inn Fields ; where they suffered with great fortitude.
R. J. J. W.
Authorities.— Cafalo^ue of Martyrs^ C.R.S. v. 10-289. Record of the Trial of More ^ ibid. 158. Massacre of 1588 ibid. 150. Walpole to Persons., A.E.M. 323. Penkevel's i?^/«/z^;^, ibid. 283. Morris, Troubles. Challoner. Gillow, Bibl. Diet. Eng. Cath. Douay Diaries. Foster, Alu7nni Oxonienses. Foley, Records. Dodd's English History. Ribadeneira, Appendix to Sander.
1 Cf. Sir John Puckering's papers, British Museum, Harleian MSS.
^ The designation " generosus " or its English equivalent " gent " is worth noting as in Father Persons' Relacion de Algunos Martyrios (Madrid, 1590 ; British Museum) the desig- nation has been run into the name which thus reads Morgent, and this accounts for our martyr appearing in so many martyr- ologies as H. Morgan.
XLI.
VENERABLE THOMAS HOLFORD {alias ACTON or BUDE).
SECULAR PRIEST.
Clerkenwell, 28 August, 1588.
Few of the missionary priests who came from abroad to England during the stormy days of persecution under Elizabeth had such marvellous escapes from capture as the Venerable Thomas Holford.
A very brief biography of the martyr has been written by his friend Mr. Davis or Wingfield, a priest, who was the means of bringing him into the Church, but so complete is it, that it is only neces- sary to supplement it by a few details which may serve to make the narrative a little clearer.
** Mr. Thomas Holford (whom Stow calleth Acton) was born in Cheshire, but in what place I know not, the Bishop of Chalcedon's catalogue says it was at Aston, his father being a minister."
From other sources we learn that he was born about the year 1541, and that his birthplace — Aston, was in the parish of Acton, which name the martyr took as an alias in after life. It is probable that he was a member of the family seated at Holford, or one
387 25 *
LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
of its offshoots. Then follows the story of his con- version.
" I [Mr. Davis] knew him in Herefordshire, where he was schoolmaster to Sir James Scudamore, of Holm Lacy, that now is, and his two brethren, Mr. Harry and John. After my first coming over into England, going into Hereford city, where I was born, to see my parents, I did send for him and so dealt with him gratia Dei cooperante with the help of God's grace, that before I knew anything of it, he was gone to Rheims to the English College, then residing there, where he received Holy Orders, and was re- turned again within the space of two years."
Mr. Holford's conversion took place about the year 1579. He arrived at the EngHsh College at Rheims, on 18 August, 1582. At Laon, on 3 March, 1583, he received the subdiaconate, and on 7 April he returned there to be ordained deacon and priest. Three weeks later, on 21 April, he celebrated his first Mass, it being the custom in those days to defer the celebra- tion of a first Mass till some time after the ordination. It was on 4 May, 1583, that he left Rheims for the English Mission. To continue the narrative : —
" Meeting with him again some four years after, I acquainted him where I lay myself ; where, to his welcome, at his first coming, the house was searched on All Souls Day, when Mr. Bavin was making a ser- mon. The pursuivants were Newall and Worseley ; but we all three escaped."
This, the martyr's first adventure, occurred in all probability in the year 1583 — " some four years after " (i.e. his conversion). The house where Mr. Davis
VENERABLE THOMAS HOLFORD 389
lay in hiding was the seat of Richard Bellamy, Esquire, of Uxenden Manor, Harrow-on-the-Hill, one of the most famous refuges for priests in the south of England.
" After that he fell into a second danger in the time of the search for Babington and his company (of which tragedy Sir Francis Walsingham was the chief actor and contriver, as I gathered by Mr. Babington himself, who was with me the night before he was apprehended), and after he, Mr. Holford, had escaped two or three watches, he came to me ; and the next day, the house where I remained was searched, and we both escaped by a secret place which was made at the foot of the stairs where we lay, going into a barn."
The Babington conspiracy took place in the year 1586, and in Topcliffe's famous '' Exceptions " ^ against some of the Catholic laity, we find an exag- gerated account of this incident, in his attack on Robert Bellamy : —
*' No. 6. And Howlforde and Wingfilde [? Davis] were sent to Babington and Barnwell — the traitors — into the wood from Bellamy's house,^ when Babing- ton's treason was in hand."
To this attack Richard Bellamy replied : —
" The said Bellamy at the apprehension of Babing- ton and Barnwell, was called before Sir Edward Harbert, Knight, Mr. Barnes and Mr. Paine, and found clear concerning this article ".
^ Exceptions to a petition in favour of the Catholics, presented to Lord Keeper Puckering. ^At Uxenden.
390 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
Mr. Davis calls this the '' second " danger, through which the martyr passed, and then proceeds to relate his arrest in Cheshire. From contemporary evidence,^ however, we learn that the capture in Cheshire pre- ceded the escape just related because it took place not later than 1585 while the Babington conspiracy was discovered in 1586. Mr. Davis continues : —
" Which troubles being passed, Mr. Holford, the next year after, went into his own country, which was Cheshire, hoping to gain some of his friends there into the Catholic Church ; but there he was apprehended, and imprisoned in the castle of West Chester [i.e. Chester] ".
He was arrested at Nantwich, some time before 18 May, 1585, as we learn from a letter written by William Chadderton, the Protestant Bishop of Chester, to the Earl of Derby — one of the Privy Councillors, concerning : —
" (i) The obstinacy of Holford, a seminary priest.
" (ii) The necessity of renuing ye Ecclesiastical Commission."
After some preliminary compliments, and a brief remark on the recent promotion of Charles Lord Howard to the command of the fleet, he continues : —
" The Commissyon was never more needfull, for the country is full of semynares and the people are bolde and contemptuous. Of late, Mr. Sherif and Mr. Lyversage, being at the Nant Wyche, appre- hended one Holforde, a semynary, and examyed hym, but he wolde not confesse any matter of importance, notwithstandynge because he was suspycious, they
^ The examination of the martyr in Cheshire.
VENERABLE THOMAS HOLFORD 391
sent him to Chester, where I examyned hym, with the assystaunce of all the Justyces of peace present at this last Quarter Sessyons (for I durst not deale by Commissyon) and he confessed hymself to have been made priest in Fraunce, and to have come over purposely to perswade her majestie's subjects to the Catholyque faythe of the Churche of Rome, saying that he will not departe the Realme, but that either Tyburne or Boughton ^ shall have his Carcase, nether will he be perswaded by any meanes to the contrarye, whereupon we have committed him as a traytor to close prison etc. If your Lordship thinke good, you may advertise my Lords of hym, for he knowethe much, but will nether take othe, nor utter any thynge. I send yf Lordship Inclosed his examination and de- scription and so for this tyme with most humble Commendacions commyt your Lordship to the Al- mighty, Who longe kepe y"^ Lordship with much healthe and honor in his feare an her maiestie's most gracyous favor
'' Chester, this 23rd of May 1585 yJ" Lordship's most bounden assured and faythefull poore frend, always to commaund to my death.
" W. Cestren :
" Truly Mr. Sherif and Mr. Lyversage deserve great commendacion for there servyce.
[Enclosure]
" May i8th, 27th year of Elizabeth's reign, be- fore the Bishop of Chester, Hugh Cholmondley,
^ I.e. he was ready to suffer in London or at Great Boughton, two miles east of Chester.
392 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
Rowland Standley, George Calveley, Knights, and other Justiciaries of the Queen our mistress, appointed to preserve the peace in the County of Cheshire.
[So far in Latin.]
" Thomas Holford of the age of xHiij yeares, being examined &c. . . . answereth that he was made a Canonicall Priest, according to the order of the Church of Rome, viz. of the Catholique Church, at a place called Lahounde [Laon] in France, but by what bishop, he knowethe not. Moreover, the said Hol- ford being examined for what cause he returned over into England &c. answereth, he came over into Eng- land of purpose to perswade the people to the Cath- olique faith of the Church of Rome, and to minister the Sacraments, according to the use thereof, which he hath done now by the space of ij yeares last past, for so long it ys since his last coming into England. Last of all being demaunded whether he would con- forme himself to her Maiestie's Lawes and come to the Church &c. ... he answereth that he will not, for that yt is against his conscience.
"W. C.
" The said Holforde is a tall, blacke, fatte, stronge man ; the crown of his head balde, his beard marque- zated ;i his apparrell was a blacke cloake with Murrey Lace,^ open at the shoulders, a straw coloured fustian doublet, laide on with red Lace, the buttons red, cut and laide under with redd Tafeta ; ash coloured hose, laid on with byllmit lace ^ cut and laide under with
^ I.e. All shaven except the mustachios. ^ I.e. of Mulberry — a dark red colour. ^ I.e. habiliment lace, trimming, etc.
VENERABLE THOMAS HOLFORD 393
blacke Tafeta ; a little blacke hatte, lyned with velvet in the brymmes, a falling band ^ and yellow knitted stocks.
" [Endorsed.] Examination of Tho : Holford, Sem- inary Priest."
To return to Mr. Davis's narrative : — *'. . . and from thence [i.e. Chester Castle] he was sent with two pursuivants (as I take it) to London, who lodging in Holborn at the sign of The Bell or The Exchequer (I do not remember whether) the good man rising about five in the morning, pulled on a yellow stocking upon one of his legs, and had his white boot hose on the other, and walked up and down the chamber. One of his keepers looked up (for they had drunk hard the night before and watched late) and seeing him there, fell to sleep again, which he perceiving went down into the hall. The tapster met him and asked him * What lack you gentleman — a shoeing horn ? ' ' Yea ' said he. The tapster showed him a horn tied to a string, but the tapster being gone Mr. Holforde went out and so down Holborn to the Conduit, where a Catholic gentleman meeting him (but not knowing him) thought he was a madman. Then he turned into the little lane into Gray's Inn-fields, which I think is called Turning lane, where he pulled off his stock- ing and boot hose. What ways he went afterwards — I know not ; but betwixt ten and eleven of the clock at night, he came to me where I lay, about eight
^ A collar of cambric falling on the shoulders, as opposed to a ruff which stood out.
394 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
miles from London.^ He had eaten nothing all that day. His feet were galled with gravel stones, and his legs all scratched with briars and thorns (for he dared not to keep to the highway) so that the blood flowed in some places. The gentleman and mistress of the house, caused a bath with sweet herbs to be made, and their two daughters washed and bathed his legs and feet ; after which he went to bed."
One of these daughters was afterwards thrown into prison for her faith, which trial she endured bravely, until her jailer, taking advantage of her helplessness, violated her honour. The poor girl, overcome with shame, was eventually tempted into marrying her persecutor and into apostasy, much to her parents' sorrow. Her husband, the jailer, then forced her to turn informer, and even to betray her own family, in order to further his own interests. It was he who probably supplied the information concerning this little incident which is to be found in Topcliffe's Ex- ceptions against the name of Richard Bellamy which we have already mentioned.
" No : 5 Howlforde, alias Acton, another semin- ary priest was harboured there (in Bellamy's house) when he fled from the sheriff's men of Cheshire out of the Strand, by the same token, that the maiden ^ in Bellamy's house did pick thorns out of his legs, gotten with running thither through hedges in the night, and. this Howlforde, alias Acton used to play at Tables with Richard Bellamy aforesaid."
In reply to this Mr. Bellamy wrote: *' He (Bel-
* Uxenden Manor, Harrow on the Hill. *^ The apostate daughter.
VENERABLE THOMAS HOLFORD 395
lamy) knoweth not Howlforde, alias Acton, nor of any such, nor never heard of any such man ".^
To proceed with the story as given by Mr. Davis : —
" After his escape he avoided London for a time, but the next [?] year 1588, he came to London to buy him a suit of apparel, at which time going to Mr. Swithin Well's House, near St Andrew's Church in Holborn to serve God (i.e. to say Mass) Hodgkins the pur- suivant espying him as he came forth, dogged him into his tailor's house and there apprehended him. He was executed on August 28th, at Clerkenwell."
Here ends the relation of Mr. Davis, quoted by Bishop Challoner.
The prison to which the martyr was conducted would be Newgate in all probability, since he was arrested in Holborn. Mr. Swithin Wells, from whose house he was followed, was a devout Catholic lay- man, who with his wife was condemned for harbour- ing priests. He was martyred in 1591, while his wife languished in prison till her death in 1602, after having spent ten years in Newgate.
Mr. Holford fell a victim to the outbreak of per- secution which succeeded the Spanish Invasion. After a few months' imprisonment, as we may suppose, he was brought up for examination between 14 and
^ To have confessed Topcliffe's charge true (if it were s.o), would have been to pronounce sentence of death against himself. Mr. Bellamy was not bound to do that. But, even if Mr. Davis's relation be true (as we suppose), it does not follow that Topcliffe's charge is also true, for Mr, Bellamy may have been away at the time. At all events he does not seem to have been further prosecuted on this score.
396 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
20 August by order of the Privy Council, which at this time was carrying out a general examination of all religious prisoners. During this interrogation he confessed that he was a priest, and boldly declared that if to be priest in this land was treason against Her Majesty, he was guilty of such a crime.
He was formally arraigned at the Old Bailey at the Newgate Sessions on either 26 or 27 August, before Sir George Bond, the Lord Mayor, and other justices. His guilt, such as it was, did not require much further examination to ascertain, and he was condemned to death for treasonably coming into the realm as a priest.
He was executed at Clerkenwell on 28 August, 1588, according to nearly all the accounts of the martyrdom.^ The Catholics who were condemned
^ The fact of the execution of the martyr in or near London is amply testified by the following authorities: —
(i.) The account of Mr. Davis — given above, who relates that he was executed at Clerkenwell on 28 August, 1588. (ii.) The Protestant historian Stow, who wrote at the latter end of the sixteenth century or at the beginning of the next, relates that T. Acton was executed at Clerkenwell, having been condemned at Newgate on 26 August, (iii.) The Stonyhurst Catalogue of Martyrs^ from 1587-94, written probably by Father John Gerard, the Jesuit, contains the following : " Thomas Holforde, alias Acton, preest, Chesheshire man, hanged only at Clerkenwell ". (iv.) Yepez, in his Historia del Persecucion written in 1591, says the same.
On the other hand Father Christopher Grene is the only early writer on the martyrs who places the execution at Glou- cester. It is worth while noticing that the Stonyhurst Catalogue corroborates the fact that the martyr was only hanged and not butchered.
VENERABLE THOMAS HOLFORD 397
at these sessions, fourteen in all, including eight lay- men and six priests, escaped the barbarous penalty of being bowelled and quartered, and thus the body of the martyr was not mutilated.
The Venerable Thomas Holford is sometimes classed among the martyrs of Gloucestershire, on the evidence of a relation given by Father Grene in An Ancient Editor s Note Book. But from the account given by Mr. Davis, the connexion with Gloucester- shire is not obvious.
Moreover the date of his martyrdom as given in this relation differs from that given by Mr. Davis, while the details, of it are contradicted elsewhere.-^ We may therefore conclude that Father Grene is writing of a martyr entirely distinct from the Vener- able Thomas Holford, alias Acton, and Mr. J. B. Wainewright has shown that this martyr was the Venerable John Sandys.^ Father Grene also refers to a relic of the martyr, whose death he has just described, in the following terms: "A gentleman in Gloucestershire, very much troubled and molested, long kept in prison, for having the bloody shirt of the blessed martyr, Mr. Holford, wherein he was exe- cuted ". Probably this also should refer to the Venerable John Sandys.
J. c.
Authorities. — Catalogue of Martyrs^ C.R.S. v. 10, 289. Arrest of Holford^ ibid. 108. Massacre of 1588^ ibid. 150.
^ See A.E.M. p. 289, footnote, where reference is made to Grene's Collectanea N, i. n. 6, p. 65. - See above, p. 221.
398 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
Penkevel's Relation^ A.E.M. 287. Dodd's Church History, vol. ii. Challoner. Foley, Records, iii. pp. 337-40. Morris, Troubles, Series ii. pp. 54, 58-60, and iii. 41, 42, 52. Gillow, Bibl. Diet. Eng. Cath. Stow's Annals. Yepez, Hist. Part. Douay Diaries. Oliver, Collections.
XLII. VENERABLE JAMES CLAXTON,
SECULAR PRIEST, AND
VENERABLE THOMAS FELTON
OF THE ORDER OF MINIMS.
Near Brentford, 28 August, 1588.
On Wednesday, 28 August, 1588, there was momen- tarily dissolved on earth, only to be eternally re- formed in Heaven, a friendship of a few hours, or at most two days, intimate however with the intimacy of those who together suffer death for a noble cause. For, at some spot on the road between Brentford and Hounslow died for their faith, Thomas Felton, a Minim, and James Claxton, a priest, who had both on 26 August received sentence of death at Newgate Sessions.
Martyred son ^ of a martyred father, Thomas Fel-
^ The basis of this account is the MS. relation of Felton's sister, preserved in Challoner's Missionary Priests.
^ In a letter possibly by Father Southwell, translated in Yepez, Persecucion, Felton is termed " Sobrino del otre martir Felton ". " Sobrino " even in Spanish of this date cannot mean " son " but rather as in modern Spanish " nephew ". The suggested
399
400 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
ton was born at Bermondsey Abbey, "in the parish of S. Mary Magdalene within a mile of Southwark, London, in Surrey," about the year 1567. He was but three years old when on 8 August, 1570, his father, Blessed John Felton, " a gentleman of approved re- solution and virtue," was hanged on a gallows in St. Paul's Churchyard for nailing to the door of the Ca- thedral the Bull of Excommunication fulminated by Pope St. Pius V against Queen Elizabeth.^ He was thus left to the charge of his mother who had been maid of honour to Queen Mary, one of whose auditors had been her first husband, and playfellow of Eliza- beth, in her childhood, '* for which cause Queen Elizabeth always bare a good affection unto her". ''After the execution of her second husband Mr. Fel- ton, Queen Elizabeth, at her humble suit granted her liberty under her Letters Patent to keep a priest," ^ an inestimable boon to which no doubt Thomas Fel- ton owed his heroic faith.
" After his apprehension, his whole substance, plate and jewels valued at ;£'33,ooo sterling, being forfeited to the Queen, "^ John Felton must have left his widow but poorly provided for, which, no doubt, accounts for the events of his son's childhood. *' Being yet a young youth," we read in a manuscript written by his sister Mrs. Salisbury (whose maiden name was
relationship is isolated and probably a mistranslation, as Father Southwell in another letter {C.R.S. v. 327) says Bl. John Felton was /a/y^^r of Venerable Thomas Felton (Yepez, p. 161). ^ See Lives of the English Martyrs^ vol. ii. pp. 1-13, "^ Grene, Collectanea E^ quoted in Pollen, Acts^ ^ Grene.
VV. THOMAS FELTON AND JAMES CLAXTON 401
Frances Felton), fortunately preserved by Bishop Challoner, " he was taken by the old Lady Lovell to be her page. But not staying there long he was sent over to the English College at Rheims to be brought up in piety and learning." '* In both he profited so much" that on 23 September, 1583, at the age of six- teen, he was tonsured by Cardinal de Guise, Arch- bishop of Rheims. For some reason he is noted in the list of "tonsurati" as being of the diocese of Norwich.
After some time longer (probably at most a year and a few months) at the College, he left, and, with the commendation of Dr. Allen, the President of the English College, became a postulant of the Order of Minims of St. Francis of Paula. He is sometimes less correctly designated " O.S.F." and ''Friar Minor". He shortly after, however, returned to England, " his body not serving well for the strictness of that life," according to his sister's account ; " sent over by his superiors to dispose of his things and make provision for his profession," according to Father Gerard, who wrote about six years after his martyrdom. Attempt- ing to return to France, he was " stayed at the seaside by the officers and after examination sent up to London and committed to the Compter in the Poultry". Here he remained two years ^ until liberated by Court
^ In the Relation of the Penkevels (Pollen, Acts^ p. 286) Peter Penkevel writes : " After I had remained two years at the Coun- ter, Mr. Felton & I were removed unto Newgate & put into the common gaol. After wearing of irons one day for fynes of iron, we were removed where my brother and the rest were in the crown side. ..." This would seem to indicate that Mr. Felton
26
402 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
influence, which his aunt, Mrs. Blount, had with great trouble enlisted. Again attempting to reach Rheims, he was intercepted and committed to Bride- well and once more released '* after some time of durance," this time at the instigation of his former benefactress. Lady Lovell, now herself imprisoned in the Fleet for her religion. Within a few weeks the indomitable youth was back in Bridewell on the same charge.
" In this his imprisonment," recounts his sister, " he was very cruelly treated : For, first he was put into * Little Ease,' where he remained three days and three nights, not being able to stand, lie, or sit, and fed only with bread and water, as both the Keeper's wife and Thomas afterwards told his sister Frances Felton. After this he was put into the mill to grind and was fed no otherwise all the while he laboured in it, than he had been before in * Little Ease,' viz. with bread and water only. Then he was hanged up by the hands, to the end to draw from him, by way of confession, what priests he knew beyond the seas, or in England. Which punishment was so grievous, that therewith the blood sprung forth at his fingers ends. " A letter of Father
was transferred to Newgate from the Compter, but the date of the above is 1 588 (Penkevel was incarcerated in 1 586). As there is no reference in Mrs. Salisbury's MS. to such a transference one may perhaps take Penkevel to mean : " After I had remained two years in the Counter, Mr. Felton from elsewhere (Bridewell) and I from the Counter were transferred to Newgate ". This would harmonize the accounts of Mrs. Salisbury and Penkevel and corroborate Father Southwell (see infra).
VV. THOMAS FELTON AND JAMES CLAXTON 403
Southwell, three days after the martyrdom of Thomas Felton, adds that he was also flogged, and Father Gerard says he was " verie ill used in Bridewell & almost lamed ".
His courage, even after this terrible usage, is at- tested by his sister who tells a tale of a scene in Bridewell chapel which she herself witnessed, for though not at that time a Catholic, she had come to the prison to visit her brother. It happened that '* upon a Sunday, he was violently taken by certain officers and carried betwixt two, fast bound in a chair, into the Chapel at Bridewell to their service. He, having his hands at liberty, stopped his ears with his fingers that he might not hear what the minister said. They then bound down his hands also to the chair, but being set down to the ground, bound in the manner aforesaid, he stamped with his feet, & made that noise with his mouth, shouting and hollowing, and crying oft-times 'Jesus, Jesus,' that nothing the minister said could be heard by any then present at the service."
From Bridewell he was transferred to Newgate,^ " where," says Father Southwell, *' he was thrust into the most darksome dungeon called Limbo and kept there in chains and shackles for 15 weeks ". This was during the period when all England was agog with excitement in regard to the far-famed Armada of Spain, then at sea bound for England. At the end of this time, when the Armada was gone, Thomas Felton, with five priests and seven other
^ See pp. 401, 402, note. 26 *
404 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
laymen, took his stand at the bar in the Bartholomew- tide Sessions at Newgate. One of his fellow-prisoners, now on trial for their lives, was James Claxton, a priest, who was destined to lay down his life for God and His Church on the same scaffold as the young friar.
James Claxton, Clackston, Clarkson or Clarkeson, was a Yorkshire man, who, despite the death penalty incurred by priests in England, betook himself to the English College of Douay (then at Rheims), to study for the priesthood. Of his early life, his family, even of his age and date of entry into the College nothing is known. He persevered so well in his sacred studies as to be ordained deacon, being registered as of the diocese of York, on Holy Saturday, 14 April, 1582, and was elevated to the priesthood at Soissons on g June, saying his first Mass on the 21st of the same month. After thirty-three days of immediate pre- paration for the dangers of his future life he set out for England with Richard Evans, a fellow-priest, on 24 July. From this moment he disappears into an ob- scurity similar to that of his earlier residence in Eng- land. He may have spent two and a half years amid the hazards of missionary toil or he may have been captured soon after his arrival and incarcerated for the whole of this period, we know not. All that is certain is that he was apprehended and imprisoned at some date before 1585 ; for after enduring *' a daily series of sufferings (injuriarum) " he was condemned to perpetual exile in that year. Records tell us nothing of where he spent his exile or how long it
VV. THOMAS FELTON AND JAMES CLAXTON 405
endured, but it is unlikely that the intrepid mission- ary remained long abroad. By August, 1588, he had been once more captured by the persecutors and lodged in the Marshalsea. On the 26th he was brought to trial at Newgate.
About ten days earlier the prisoners had undergone an examination ordered by the Privy Council under date 14 August. In the list of replies in the hand- writing of Serjeant (afterwards Sir John) Puckering figure the names of Felton and Claxton, the former indicted for the " felony " (as appears from an annota- tion by Lord Burghley) of being " reconciled," the latter for the " treason " of his priesthood. The grim abbreviation " sus " or " susp " (= suspendatur), " let him be hanged," prefixed to each name indicates the merely formal nature of the later trial at Newgate. It was a case of —
How in the mom they hang and draw, And sit in judgment after.
The prominent feature of the trial was the putting ol the " bloody question " ^ to the prisoners, a proceed- ing for which there was no warrant in English law. The Armada had just been defeated and the accused were interrogated " whether they would have taken the queen's part, or the Pope's and the Spaniards', if those forces had landed". Felton replied that " he would have taken the part of God and his country ". Claxton's response may be inferred from the cancellation in Puckering's notes of the former examination, of the words "take the Q part," pro- bably an earlier promise retracted upon considera- ^ For the "bloody question " see Introduction, § ii.
4o6 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
tion. Felton was further asked "whether he did acknowledge the Queen to be the supreme Head of the Church of England," to which Felton replied, " That he had read divers chronicles, but never read that God ordained a woman should be supreme Head of the Church ". For this, though but twenty or twenty-one years of age, he received sentence on Tuesday, 27 August, 1588, for the crime of treason. Although at the previous examination he had refused pardon his friends obtained another reprieve after his condemnation. This was brought to him the next afternoon immediately before he set out for the place of execution. He rejected it, probably because, as Bishop Challoner suggests, it contained some clause he could not in conscience accept. In the words of his sister, he chose '* rather to die for God than to live any longer in this world ".
Thomas Felton was taken back from Newgate to Bridewell for his last night on earth. Whether James Claxton accompanied him, remained in New- gate, or returned to the Marshalsea is unknown. If either of the latter, he was transferred the next day to Bridewell, for '' about four of the clock in the after- noon they were carried together from Bridewell on horseback " to some spot variously described as " at Brentford," "near Brentford," or usually ''between Brentford and Hounslow ". The most probable site of their passion was the junction of the Twickenham and Bath roads, now termed " Bush' Corner ". Here they were ''presently" (i.e. immediately) hanged. Their bodies were not, as was usual, disembowelled or quartered.
VV. THOMAS FELTON AND JAMES CLAXTON 407
No details are known of the manner of their death except that Father Southwell tells us " In his sorest distress " Felton " was consoled by the thought that he would close his life by a death like his father's," and that when the time of his reward came '* such an example of modesty and purity did he give that several people were deeply moved by the very sight of him ". That James Claxton was not behind him in this we may well believe.
Thus died the last of the eight martyrs who suffered on this day, 28 August, 1588, for their Faith in Lon- don or its immediate neighbourhood.
F. K. McC.
Authorities. — Southwell to Aquaviva, C.R.S. 321-8. Pen- kevel's Relation^ A.E.M. 287. Douay Diaries^ 199. Catalogue of Martyrs, C.R.S. 289. Catalogue of Martyrs, C.R.S. 288, and 10, 34, 154, 193. Fleetwood, etc., to Privy Council, C.R.S. 151. Mrs. Frances Salisbury s Account in Challoner. Yepez, Hist, Part.
XLIII. VENERABLE RICHARD LEIGH.
SECULAR PRIEST.
Tyburn, 30 August, 1588.
This martyr was descended from a Cambridgeshire family^ and was born in London in or about the year 1561. With Robert Pilkington ^ he entered the English College, which was then at Rheims, on 16 October, 1581.^ His stay was a short one ; for we find that he was sent, 3 September, 1582, with six others^ to the English College at Rome. In a
C.R.S. V. p. 290. Catalogue of Martyrs from 1587-94.
^ Robert Pilkington was ordained priest and sent into England in 1583. He was subsequently exiled.
^ For this and following dates see Douay Diaries, and Foley, Diary and Pilgrim Book of the English College, Rojne.
^ In Dr. Allen's letter Edmund Calverly, a confessor of the faith, is added to the six names found in the Douay Diaries. Among these names are Matthew Kellison, afterwards president of Douay College ; Robert Jones, a distinguished Jesuit, Superior of the Mission in England 1609-15 ; and Richard Saire, evid- ently the same person as Robert Sayers who became a monk at Monte Cassino and was the author of some theological works. See Foley, Diary and Pilgrijn Book of the English College, Rome, also cf. Douay Diaries.
408
VENERABLE RICHARD LEIGH 409
letter^ to Father Agazzario, S.J., the rector, Dr. William Allen, afterwards Cardinal, recommends them as the best students in the college ; and he describes Richard Leigh in particular as nobilis, in- signis ingenii. Richard Leigh and his companions were entertained at the English Hospice, and on 6 November were admitted to the college. Here he continued his theological studies, which he had al- ready commenced at Rheims, being now twenty-one years of age. On the feast of SS. Peter and Paul, 1583, he took the following mission oath then in use : —
*' I do swear upon the Holy Scriptures, that I will ever be ready at the order of the Sovereign Pontiff, or other lawful Superior of this College, to embrace the ecclesiastical life, to take Holy Orders, and to proceed to England for the aid of souls ".
Having received the subdiaconate and the diaconate in 1585, he was raised to the priesthood in February of the following year. A short time elapsed before his return to Rheims, where he arrived 12 June. Four days later he was sent on the English Mission to- gether with Thomas Stanny,^ William Watson, Mar- tin Sherson and Edmund Sykes, who all witnessed to the faith of the Church by suffering imprisonment or martyrdom. In England Richard Leigh assumed
^ Letters and Memorials of Cardinal Allen.
"^ Thomas Stanny entered the Society of Jesus in 1 597. About the year 1603 he was thrown into prison, and in 1606 was sent into banishment with forty-six other priests and Jesuits. For WilHam Watson see under Venerable John Roche and Venerable Mar- garet Ward. Martin Sherson died in bonds, 1587. Edmund Sykes was martyred in the same year.
4IO LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
the name of Garth. Within a few months he fell into the hands of the persecutors : he was betrayed sometime before Christmas, 1586, by the apostate priest Anthony Tyrrell, who was employed by Justice Young to entrap Catholics. Anthony Tyrrell in his Confessions thus describes the incident ^ : —
" And I bewrayed a brother of my own profession, I mean another priest repairing to our lodging called Garth, whom I discovered to Justice Young, and in- formed that he haunted much about the stocks at one Mr. Cadner's, whereupon the house was searched, but the man was not found. ... I discovered both Mr. Garth's and Mr. Greene's going into Kent, and caused a pursuivant to be sent after them. I discovered the places that probably I thought they would be at. I discovered my being at a house not far from Lyon Key, who dwelt there, who did lie there, who fre- quented thither, and of the secret place to hide priests ; but the search I stayed for a time, because I would not be discovered myself.
*' All this I did before Christmas hoHdays, and then at that feast I discovered where I was myself upon Christmas Day, and what else I did know of any importance of any place or persons."
In consequence of his arrest Richard Leigh was sent into banishment ; but he returned within a short time. It would seem that now he adopted another pseudonym, viz. Earth, under which name he is found in the Relation of the Penkevels.
Richard Leigh and a young Catholic named Ralph
^ Morris, Troubles^ ii. p. 439.
VENERABLE RICHARD LEIGH 411
Ashley^ were at Paul's Cross, 31 January, 1588, when a curious scene was enacted. Anthony Tyrrell had again fallen under the influence of the persecutors, who required him to make a public declamation against the Catholic Faith. His conscience, however, gave him no peace ; and he determined instead to make a public abjuration of heresy. But knowing what would ensue, he prepared some copies of his speech that he might cast them among the people. When he began to speak, his purpose soon became apparent ; but before he was pulled down from the pulpit and silenced, he scattered a few copies of his speech among the people. It chanced that one of these copies fell into the hands of Richard Leigh and Ralph Ashley, who, in spite of a prohibition to read or retain these papers, went to a gentleman's chamber of the Middle Temple, and caused divers copies to be struck and spread among Catholics for their comfort throughout the kingdom. ^
Richard Leigh's missionary labours now quickly drew to a close. The exact time and manner of his second arrest is unknown. He was, indeed, moved from his first place of confinement to the Tower for speaking with other prisoners, as the following ex- tract from the prison lists ^ shows: ^* July iiij 1588 Richard Leighe preest prisoner iiij weeks taken in the
^ Presumably the future martyr of this name, who suffered at Worcester, 7 April, 1606.
^Anthony Tyrrell again apostatized after enduring a severe imprisonment. He lived many years as a Protestant minister. But he ended his days in Belgium and died a Catholic.
^ C.R.S. ii. p. 282.
412 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
Tower for speaking w^h prisonners, examined by me (Sir Owen Hopton ?) and Mr. Shelton and afterwards by the Q's Atturney and mee, and his Examinacons remaine wh Mr. Atturney [to ye K. bench — B] ".^ On 26 August he was tried at the Sessions Hall without Newgate and condemned to death, because he was a priest under the Act of 27 Eliz. cap. 2. Father Robert Southwell ^ in a Letter to Father General Claudius Aquaviva describes at length some events^ which occurred at the trial : " Amongst other incidents at the trials, a striking instance of heretical pride was witnessed. Amongst the rest there present was [Aylmer] the pseudo-bishop of London, a man more venerable for age than for conduct, which on every occasion is so peculiarthat he makes himself ridiculous even to the followers of his own sect. This man mak- ing an attack on a lay prisoner on the subject of religion, the latter referred him to the priest for an answer. Richard Leigh took up the argument, and challenged him to public disputation. Thereupon that Pharisee exclaimed * Dost thou set up thyself
^ In the Tower Bills dated Michaelmas, 1 588, are found the demands of Sir Owen Hopton, knight, for the maintenance of prisoners, one of whom was Rychard Leighe. The bill is worded thus : " Rychard Leighe. Item &c., beginninge the seconde of Julye, 1588, and endinge the xxvj'h of August then next foUowinge, beeing viij weekes [rate as last] — viij'» xviijs viij'l." The rate being " xiij^ iiijd the week, for him selfe. One keeper at v^ the week. Fewell and candell at iiij^ the weeke." {C.R.S. iii. pp. 27, 28.)
^ C.R.S. V. p. 326.
^ Also recorded by Bishop Yepez who calls Richard Leigh a learned priest. See Historia Particular^ Book v. ch. i. p. 607,
VENERABLE RICHARD LEIGH 413
against me ? Of a truth thou seemest to act after the fashion of Alexander's dog, which despising bears and vulgar animals of that sort, did not even growl when it saw them, but would at once bark if it caught sight of an elephant, thinking that noble animal was alone deserving of its attention. I am the elephant and thou the puppy. What right hast thou to dis- pute with me, who in extent of reading and depth of intellect surpass even your Dr. Allen ? ' By which words the conceited fellow provoked a laugh not only from our martyrs but from the whole assembly."
Richard Leigh ^ was executed at Tyburn, 30 August, and Venerable Henry Walpole has described the martyrdom in his Relation^ at some length. ''Mr. Richard Lee (Leigh) priest, brought forth of New- gate to be executed with 4 other catholics, who de- manded his benediction, which he gave unto them and likewise unto others that stood about the cart desiring God to make them all partakers. . . . Then being drawn to Tyburn (they all sang their service by the way), after long speech Mr. Lee desired to have respite to make his petitions unto God. Being in his meditations, his colour changed and his legs began to bend, insomuch that it was already thought that his soul had been already in heaven ; whereupon Topcliffe cried out very loud saying, ' Lee, Lee ! '
^ In the list of persons to be executed for London under the heading, "Preests Treason" by the side of Richard Leigh's name are the words, " sus. — ne resp cul " {C.R.S. v. p. 1 54). This probably means " Ne responds [pas], culpable, — suspendatur," Will not answer [the bloody question]. Guilty. Let him be hanged.
^ AcfSf p. 306. Leigh had five, not four, companions in martyrdom.
414 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
divers times, ' it is the devil that doth deceive thee '. The hangman pulHng him by the sleeve, he came to himself, and looking about demanded what the matter was. Then being asked whether that the Queen were Supreme Head of the Church, he answered * No ! ' and the people crying, * Away with him ! ' the carts were drawn away ; and so died he and the four others also not quartered."
In the Harleian Miscellany, 1809, vol. ii., there is found a reprint of " The Copie of a Letter sent out of England to Don Bernadin Mendoza, Ambassador in France for the king of Spain, declaring the State of England, contrary to the opinion of Don Bernadin, and of all his Partisans, Spaniards and others ; found in the Chamber of one Richard Leigh, a Seminary Priest, who was lately executed for high-treason ; With Appendix. Imprinted at London by J. Vaut- rollier, for Richard Field, MDLXXXVIII." This is in reality written by Lord Burghley against the Catholics, as has been explained in the Introduction.
W. R.
Authorities. — The dates of this martyr's life are to be found chiefly in the Douay Diaries, pp. 183, 190, 211 bis, 263; and in Foley's Diary and Pilgrim Book of the English College^ Rome, pp. 125, 156, 157. Letters and Memorials of Cardinal Allen, ^. 158. C.R.S. Miscellanea II. vol. n., Prison Lists, p. 282 ; Miscellanea III, vol. iii.. Tower Bills, pp.27, 28 ; English Martyrs, 1584-1603, vol. v. ; Sir John Puckering's list of Persons to be Executed, p. 1 54 ; Catalogue of Martyrs, I58y-I5g4, p. 290. Letter of Father Robert Southwell, SJ., to Father General Claudio A^uaviva, dsLted 31 August, 1588, pp. 322, 323, 326. Morris, Troubles of our Catholic Forefathers, Series ii.. Fall of
VENERABLE RICHARD LEIGH 415
Anthony Tyrrell^ pp. 439, 487-96. Pollen, Acts of English Martyrs^ Relation of the Penkennels \Penkevels'\ of the Sufferings in England^ is 84-1^ gi, p. 287 ; Relation by the Venerable Father Henry Waipole, pp. 306, 307. Challoner, Memoirs of Mission- ary Priests, 1 74 1, Part I, pp. 219-21. Yepez, Historia Parti- cular de la Persecucion de Inglaterra, 1 599, Book v., chap. i. especially p. 607. Harleian Miscellany, 1809, vol. ii. pp. 60-85. Gillow, Bibliographical Dictionary.
XLIV. VENERABLE EDWARD SHELLEY.
LAYMAN.
Tyburn, 30 August, 1588.
This martyr belonged to the Warminghurst branch of the distinguished Sussex family,^ from which the Shelleys of Castle Goring and Percy Bysshe Shelley, the poet, were also descended. He was probably the youngest son of Edward Shelley of Warminghurst and a grandson of Sir John Shelley of Michelgrove. That the Shelleys were good Catholics is shown by the fact that several members of the family entered religion, five joining the Society of Jesus, four be- coming secular priests, and three as nuns consecrating their virginity to God.^ Unfortunately very little is known about this martyr at all. In 1626 the Bishop of Chalcedon was making inquiries about those who had suffered for the faith, and among others Edward Shelley's nephew, Benjamin Norton, was furnishing
^Berry's Sussex Genealogies, pp. 62-70. C.R.S. v. p. 290. Catalogue of Martyrs from i^SS-i^g^.
"^ In the first diary of Douay College (p. 20) there is mention of a namesake of the martyr being ordained in 1612 with Father Edmund Arrowsmith, S.J.
416
VENERABLE EDWARD SHELLEY 417
information. He wrote to the Bishop : " I have spoken first and written since to Mr. Archdeacon Shelley . . . with all, according to [your] Lordshippes direction, I desired him to enquire after Mr. Thomas Garnett Jesuit and priest a Sussex man, and after my unckle Mr. Richard Shelley whoe marryed my Aunte and was executed abought London " (C.R.S. v. 395). If this, as seems likely, was our martyr, it shows, first that he was a married man, and secondly that, during the forty years which had elapsed, even his relatives had be- come confused as to his Christian name.
The first definite mention we have of him is the record of his arrest and committal to the Clink Prison early in the year 1584 on the charge of dispersing "traiterous books ".^ A copy of the book " my Lord of Leicester's Commonwealth" had also been found in his possession. That he was regarded as a particu- larly zealous Catholic is shown by the report which Topcliffe and others made to the Privy Council on 18 March, 1584. In this document they record that they had recently examined " divers Seminarie priests, recusants and dispersers of traiterous bookes and others of the same kinde". In this report Edward Shelley is picked out with two other laymen and four priests as specially dangerous. To these seven the interrogatory which became known as '' the bloody question" was administered with results which the re- port thus describes : — ^
^CR.S. ii. p. 395, Prison Lists^ also v. p. 105. Topcliflfe's Report on Catholic Prisoners.
^C,P,S. V, p. 105. See also Introduction, § ii,
27
4i8 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
" In which examinacions wee have not dealt with them concerning any point of rehgion whereof to take advantage or to increase the straitenes of their im- prisonment, neither have committed any of them to close prison, but only such as uppon our consciences we knowe unworthy to live under her Maiesties pro- tection. Of which sort are Christopher Tailby and William Bennet priests, Leonard Hide and William Wiggs Seminary Priests, Rafe Emmerson, Edward Shelley and Thomas Weblie dispersers of traiterous books. Eche one of them being so farre from acknow- ledging theire former faultes, that being demaunded whether the Pope had done well in excommunicating her Majesty, in pronouncing her noe lawful Queen, in discharging her Subjects from their obedience to her, in moving them to take armes against her, and thereuppon being offered theire othe, theire answers are, they will not sweare, or els they will not answer, or els they knowe not.
**And being further demaunded whose part they would take, if any Saunders, Erie of Westmerland, or the like, authorised by the pope, should by force assaile her Maiestie or her dominions, they answer that they would take part with the Catholickes, or els when the time cometh, then they will tell us, and most of them denye or refuse to Sweare y* they bee Queene Elizabeth's lawfull or trew subiects. Of all which wee have thought good to certifie your Lordships to th' end that, knowing of our proceedings with them, you maie in your godly wisedomes consider [oppose can- celled] the truth hereof certified under our handes against th' untruth of such libellers and supplica-
VENERABLE EDWARD SHELLEY 419
tioners, who albeit theie speak faier, yet they seeme to Carrie fowle and traiterous harts, and if they hurt not, it is not for want of will to attempt it, but for lacke of force to accomplish it."
In the same year many of the priests who were Edward Shelley's fellow-captives were deported into exile ; but there is nothing to show whether he was set at liberty or not. It may be conjectured that he was ; for when he was brought to trial in 1588, it was on the express charge of harbouring William Dean, one of these priests thus exiled. William Dean, as we know, shortly returned to England, and it seems to have been at this time that he was succoured by Mr. Shelley. There is no evidence of another arrest ; but on 26 August, 1588, he was standing at the bar of the Old Bailey on trial for his life. In Puckering's Notes of the Evidence against those who were to be tried for their religious convictions, the following entr>^ is found : *' Middlesex, Receyver of Preests. susp. Edward Shelley apud East Smithfield." This bears out the statement in Sir John Puckering's papers, " Edward Shelley nuper de London Generosus, was condemned and executed for receiving aiding and comforting of one William Deane a Seminarye Preiste *'.
Therefore Venerable Henry Walpole, who was martyred in 1595, may have been substantially, though not legally, correct, when in his recollections of the Martyrs he stated that Mr. Shelley was " con- demned for keeping of the book called my Lord of Leicester's Commonwealth ".
The original suggestion that the martyr should 27 *
420 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
suffer at East Smithfield was not adhered to, and on 30 August, he was carried to Tyburn with the Vener- able Richard Leigh and four other martyrs, as has already been described. As to his age authorities differ. In Volume E of Father Grene's Collections,'^ his age is given as forty-eight, and he is called Ed- mund Shelley. On the other hand, Venerable Henry Walpole in his Relation describes him at the time of his martyrdom as " a man of 50 or 60 years of age ". Henry Foxwell, who was condemned with Moore and Shelley, recanted and was pardoned. This indicates that our martyrs too might have escaped if they had not been constant in their faith.
W. R.
Authorities. — C.R.S. Miscellanea II, vol. ii.. Prison List, p. 295 ; English Martyrs, i 584-1 60 j, vol. v. ; Report to the Council on Catholic Prisoners and Others, 18 March, 1585, pp. 105, 106 ; Sir John Puckering's list of " Persons to be Executed," p. 154; Record of the Trials of Moore, Shelley and Foxwell, p. 158 ; Letter of Benjamin Norton to the Bishop of Chalce- don, 6 May, 1626, p. 395. Foley, Records of the English Pro- vince, SJ.i Series xii. pp. 784 foil. Pollen, Acts of English Martyrs, Venerable Henry Walpole's Relation, p. 307. Morris, Troubles of Our Catholic Forefathers, Series i. An Ancient Editor's Note Book, p. 39.
^ Morris, Troubles, iii. p. 39 ; An Ancient Editor's Note Book.
VENERABLE EDWARD SHELLEY
421
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XLV. VENERABLE RICHARD MARTIN.
LAYMAN.
Tyburn, 30 August, 1588.
Very little is known of this martyr, who is shrouded in obscurity. The first chronological notice of him appears in the A thence, Oxonienses of Anthony a Wood. In the beginning of his Fasti he explains that they are Academical Annals containing the names of vari- ous distinguished people ; and under the seventh heading come martyrs for the Roman Catholic or Protestant cause, who have been admitted to one or more degrees. In 1583 sixty-seven persons proceeded Master of Arts, among whom was our martyr. The day of his admission to this degree was 12 De- cember, as the following notice shows : " Dec. 12. Richard Martin of Broadgates Hall (now Pembroke College). — He was not the same with Richard Mar- tin, who was afterwards Recorder of London, but another of little, or no, note." From the Catalogue of Martyrs, 1587-1594, ascribed to Father Gerard, S.J., the fact is gleaned that he was a Shropshire man.
Nothing more can be ascertained concerning him, until he fell into the hands of the persecutors. In
422
VENERABLE RICHARD MARTIN 423
Sir John Puckering's list of " Persons to be Exe- cuted " his name appears with Venerable Richard Lloyd and Venerable John Roche in the following entry : " Receavers and Mainteiners of Preests — * Felony.' Susp. i. Richard lloyde — [take the Q part — cancelled.] [2. Richard Marten — not yet piit — cancelled]. 2. Richard M^ten — cul reconcyled. Susp. 3. John Roch — cul. susp." In a certificate from New- gate the words " reprie per mes notes " are found after his name. It would seem, therefore, that Rich- ard Martin had made a confession of being reconciled to the Catholic Church. The author of the above mentioned catalogue of martyrs relates that he was executed only for being in the company of Mr. Robert Morton, priest, and paying sixpence for his supper. There is another story in volume E of Father Grene's Collections, assigning as the cause of his martyrdom relief given to a priest, named Horner, which is repro- duced in the life of the Venerable Richard Flower. He was executed at Tyburn on 30 August, 1588, to- gether with three other laymen, Venerable Richard Flower, Venerable Edward Shelley and Venerable John Roche ; with a priest. Venerable Richard Leigh, and Venerable Margaret Ward, one of the four women who are numbered among the English martyrs.
Ribadeneira,^ in connexion with the martyrdoms, which took place at this time, narrates some stories. As the martyrs were being dragged to execution, a lady exhorted them to endure their torments with patience and constancy. Then throwing herself at ^ Ribadeneira, Appendix Schism. Angl. 1 590, p. 5.
424 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
their feet, she begged for a blessing. Whereupon she was at once seized and thrown into prison. An- other Catholic, full of fervour at the sight of priests and laymen being led to the scaffold, made the sign of the cross. And he, amidst shouting and tumult, was taken away to prison. A still more remarkable story is related. When the rope was to be put on the neck of one of the martyrs, from the ladder he besought the people that, if there were any Catholics present, they would commend him to God. The Catholic bystanders, therefore, secretly prayed for him. One Catholic, however, more zealous than the rest, knelt down in the presence of all and prayed on his behalf, to the great encouragement of the martyr and the confusion of the persecutors, who in their rage led him away to be punished and tortured. The substance of these stories is also to be found in a letter of Father Robert Southwell, S.J., to Father General Claudio Aquaviva, dated 31 August, 1588.
W. R.
Authorities. — Wood's AthencB Oxonienses^ Fasti, vol. i. column 125. C.R.S. English Martyrs^ 1584-1603^ vol. v. p. 290 ; Sir John Puckering's list of " Persons to be Executed," p. 1 54, C.R.S. Southwell to Aquaviva^ v. pp. 324, 327. A Certificate from Newgate sent by Mr. Sebroke to the Lord Keeper^ Sir John Puckering., p. 159. For the stories concerning the martyr- doms, see Ribadeniera, Appendix Schism. Angl. 1590, chap, i. p. 5 ; and the letter of Father Robert Southwell, S.J., to Father General Claudio Aquaviva, in the same volume of the C.R.S. as above cited, pp. 324, 327. Yepez, Historia Particular de la persecucion de Inglaterra, I599> Book V, chap. i. pp. 610, 611.
XLVI.
VENERABLE RICHARD FLOWER (LLOYD).
LAYMAN.
Tyburn^ 30 August^ 1588.
It is from one of the Stonyhurst MSS., published in the fifth volume of the Catholic Record Society, that we derive most of our knowledge concerning Richard Lloyd, who was also called Floyd, Flud, Graye, and also Flower, by which latter name he is styled in the decree of beatification. This MS. is a memorial to Owen Lloyd, a priest, and to his brother, the venerable martyr. While a fuller sketch is drawn of the priest, not a little information is given concerning Venerable Richard Lloyd. The writer of the paper is evidently a kinsman ; for in conclusion he thus invokes the martyr : —
O pride and glory of the Cambrian race Pray for thy people and thy country : Pray for thy mother, and for thy two surviving sisters,
For all thy relatives and dear ones. Pray, too, for the luckless one, thy servant, kinsman, friend. For me, united am I by race to thee on earth, unite me to thee in heaven. Enjoy the kingdom in the skies which is thine for ever, And accept a greeting, such as is given to none on earth.
Farewell. 425
426 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
In another place, speaking of Owen Lloyd, he says : —
Thus by the death of one I am in this world bereaved of three. I mourn the dead, veneration is due to him as to a Father. I mourn my loved one, a companion like to a brother. Oh how that pains me now, which was wont to delight me, The surname taken from him, — our kinship.
Richard Lloyd was younger than Owen Lloyd, who with his mother and two sisters outlived him. Descended from a noble family in Anglesea, Richard was probably born in that isle about the year 1566. Possessed of brilliant talents and endowed with the best natural gifts, he imbibed with ardour the doc- trines of Christianity, which his brother Owen taught him ; and he acquired a considerable knowledge of the wisdom of this world. That he was known as a zealous Catholic as early as the year 1584 is evident from the fact of his being specially mentioned as one of " the chiefest relievers of priests," in " A brief note of such things as have specially to be considered," which is attached to the " Interrogations admin- istered tO' Thomas Dodwell relative to Seminary priests, and his connexion with them before and after his being at Rheims ". The passage in which his name occurs is as follows : ^ " There is in the Marshalsea certain persons whom they call divi- dents, because they divide that equally amongst the priests which is sent, they know from whom this
^ Dom. Eliz. vol. clxviii. n. 35. Foley, Records of the English Province^ SJ. Diary and Pilgrim Book of the English College^ Rome^ p. 727.
VENERABLE RICHARD FLOWER (LLOYD) 427
exhibition cometh, and who are the chiefest relievers of priests, the names of such are Pierpointe, now prisoner in the Tower, Weston, and Graye ". There is only one other instance on record of his being styled Graye. In the enclosure of ^' A certificate from Newgate " he is mentioned as " Richarde Floyde als Graye " along with the other martyrs put to death at Tyburn on 30 August, 1588.
Now it was in this year that Richard Lloyd was arrested in London during the persecution, which was instigated by the Earl of Leicester. The record of the indictment against him is preserved in an enclosure of a letter, containing the orders of the Privy Council for the prosecution of Venerable James Harrison and Thomas Heath. William Horner, a priest, who was ordained in 1579, received aid from and was lavishly entertained by Richard Lloyd in the parish of St. Dunstan in the west, in the ward of Farringdon, then outside London. Father Grene, who died in 1697, in volume E of his Collections has transcribed this account of the event : — ^
"And whereas by statute all that wittingly and willingly shall receive, relieve, aid, or comfort a Seminary priest, are felons, the law is taken so hard in that behalf, as Mr. Martin (Ven. Richard Martin) and Mr. Floyd were indicted, condemned, and exe- cuted for relieving one Mr. Horner, alias Forest, a priest, the one only giving him a quart of wine, the other a supper, notwithstanding that the supposed priest was neither in hold, condemned nor outlawed,
^ Morris, Troubles^ iii. p. 34.
428 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
and so uncertain to the judge and jury whether a priest or no, or whether such a priest as the statute forbids, not conformed, &c. Whereas by law such aiders, and relievers, which are but offenders in a second degree, ought not to be arraigned before the principal in the highest degree has been condemned."
Serjeant, afterwards Sir John, Puckering, entered his name on the list of *' Persons to be Executed," as a receiver and maintainer of priests, with the words added, *' take the Q. part ". This is cancelled, which probably indicates that he at first agreed to the " bloody question " (or seemed to do so), then refused it. He was executed at Tyburn on 30 August, 1588, in about the twenty-second year of his age.
His brother, Owen Lloyd, was a confessor of the faith. Having spent ten years in doing excellent missionary work, he was betrayed and imprisoned in London. After six months' confinement he was ransomed. It would seem that yearning after the martyr, his brother, hastened his end. He fell ill, and, owing to the ingratitude of some unknown persons and the iniquity of the times, he was carried with great risk into a poor man's hut, where he died on 22 March, 1590 (1591?), in about the forty-fifth year of his age.
W. R.
Authorities.— Ci?. 6". English Martyrs^ is 84-1 603, vol. v. pp. 194-8 ; Stony hurst MSS., Anglia, i., n. 39, f. 84 ; Sir John Puckering's list of " Persons to be Executed," p. 154 ; a certificate from Newgate sent by Mr. Sebroke to the Lord Keeper, Sir John Puckering, p. 1 59 ; Orders of Privy Council for the Pro- secution of James Harrison and Thomas Heathy 12 September,
VENERABLE RICHARD FLOWER (LLOYD) 429
1588, p. 164, Record Office, Dom. Eliz. ccxvi. n. 22. Foley, Records of the English Province^ SJ.^ Diary and Pilgrim Book of the English College^ Rome, p. 727, Dom. Eliz. vol. clxviii. n. 35. Morris, Troubles of Our Catholic Forefathers ; An Ancient Editor's Note Book, p. 34-
XLVII. VENERABLE JOHN ROCHE.
LAYMAN.
VENERABLE MARGARET WARD.
GENTLEWOMAN.
Tyburn, 30 August, 1588.
Recent research has added very little to the sub- stance of the history of these martyrs as narrated by Challoner in his Memoirs of Missionary Priests. Nev- ertheless there are two interesting identifications:^ in the first place, the priest whom Challoner calls Richard Watson is none other than William Watson, the author of the Quodlibets, who was executed with another priest named Clarke in 1603 for plotting against King James I ; secondly, the waterman, un- named by Challoner, who exchanged clothes with William Watson, thus enabling him to escape, is the Venerable John Roche.^
^ Pollen, Acfs, Preface.
* The query of T. G. Law in his article on the " Martyrs of the year of the Armada" {Month, January, 1879, P* 7^)? ^s to the possibility of Symons alias Harrison being the same person as John Hoche, may now be answered in the negative.
430
VV. JOHN ROCHE AND MARGARET WARD 431
The story of these two martyrs is centred round William Watson,^ who was a native of the diocese of Durham and an alumnus of the English College of Rheims. In the Douay Diaries there are records of his receiving the Sacrament of Confirmation, the tonsure and four minor orders, the subdiaconate, dia- conate and priesthood. He was sent into England on 16 June, 1586, with Richard Leigh and three other priests. As Richard Leigh fell into the hands of the persecutors before the end of the year, a similar fate happened to William Watson : for he was captured almost immediately and imprisoned in the Marshal- sea. But he was soon released on condition of leaving England within a specified time. Richard Topcliife, however, seized him and cast him into Bridewell Prison. Here,^ being overcome by hard- ships, he consented to go to the Protestant church. But afterwards he repented and by way of reparation declared his fault publicly in the church of Bridewell, whither he had gone previously through human weak- ness. He was again, therefore, thrown into prison and grievous sufferings inflicted upon him. At the end of a month, he was moved to a lodging at the top pf the house, where the enemies of the faith en- deavoured to persuade him to go to church a second time. Meanwhile, no Catholic had visited him, until Margaret Ward made an attempt to do so.
^ Diet. Nat. Biog. and the authorities there quoted, also C.R.S. ii.
"^ See the Historia Particular of Bishop Yepez, Book V, chap, ii., and Challoner's Memoirs of Missionary Priests^ for the abovq facts,
432 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
This courageous woman was born at Congleton in Cheshire of a gentleman's family, and entered the service of Mrs. Whittel,^ a lady of distinction. In the Historia Particular of Bishop Yepez, as quoted by Challoner, the vigilance of the prison authorities and the noble conduct of Margaret Ward are de- scribed as follows : " She (Margaret Ward) was in the service of a lady of the first rank, who then resided at London ; and hearing of the most afflicted condi- tion of Mr. Watson, asked and obtained leave of her lady to go and attempt to visit and relieve him. In order to this, she changed her dress, and taking a basket upon her arm, full of provisions, went to the
Hn Dom. Eliz. vol. ccli. n. 14, date 3 February, 1595, en- dorsed by Lord Keeper Puckering, " Seminaries and their Receyvers," is found the following notice. " Item, At Mr. Whit- all's house neare Ashborne, iiij miles from Awkmonton, lieth one Robert Showell, a Semye priest with a bald heed, havinge one legge bigger than th' other, and at the buttrye doore they goe up a paire of staires straighte to the chamber where they say Masse, and Tanfield useth thither often." Mr. Whit(t)all is also mentioned as a Papist in Lansdowne MSS., Burghley Papers^ 33 Plut. n. 16. The original is endorsed "10 August, 1581. A declaron of certain Papists, &c., writ by G.E. [George Elliot], that is by one that was servant to the Old Ladye Petre."
Another Mr. Whitell is spoken of in Venerable John Hambley's confession, taken 18 August, 1586. This mentions Whitell's house in Corscombe, within a mile of Munday's in Beaminster, Dorset, and at both of these houses he said Mass (see Foley Records^ Series ii. iii. iv. ix. x. xi. xii.). It is not unlikely that one or more of these persons bearing the name of Whittall, Whitall, or Whitell are related to the Mrs. Whittel mentioned above ; but sufficient evidence is not forthcoming to enable us to determine what the exact relations were,
VV. yOHN ROCHE AND MARGARET WARD 433
prison, but could not have leave to come at the priest, till, by the intercession of the jailer's wife, whom Mrs. Ward had found means to make her friend, with much ado she obtained permission to see him from time to time, and bring him necessaries, upon condi- tion, that she should be searched in coming in and going out, that she might carry no letter to him, or from him ; which was so strictly observed for the first month, that they even broke the loaves, or pies, that she brought him, lest any paper should thereby be conveyed to him ; and all the while she was with him, care was taken that some one should stand by to hear all that was said. But at length, beginning to be persuaded that she came out of pure compassion to assist him, they were less strict in searching her basket, and in hearkening to their conversation ; so that he had an opportunity of telling her, that he had found a way by which, if he had a cord long enough for that purpose, he could let himself down from the top of the house, and make his escape.
" Mrs. Ward soon procured a cord, which she brought in her basket under the bread and other eatables."
Mr. George Stoker and Mr. Heath in their Relation ^ thus continue the narrative. " She provided him . . . a man to accompany him, and a boat to convey him, assigning the hour when he should come down ; the time was between 10 and 11 o'clock. When she came afterwards to the boatman he altogether refused, at which she was much grieved, thinking she had utterly cast away the good priest.
1 Pollen, Acts^ pp. 312-13. 28
434 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
" By chance she met with a young man (Venerable John Roche) whom she had not seen in half a year before, who seeing her in that mournful plight de- manded the cause. She denied to tell him ; he more enforcing her, said he would willingly adventure his life to do her any pleasure ; and she said that so he must if he would help her in that respect. To this he accorded with faithful promise, whereupon she told him the whole matter. Then he went and pro- vided another boat, and she came to the place ap- pointed, and so received the priest and went his way.
** At his coming down there fell a stone which awaked all the house, so that they followed him with hue and cry ; and his keeper making haste overtook them at Lambeth Marsh. The priest seeing him come after them said unto the man, * Sure we be undone, for yonder comes my keeper *. Whereupon he re- turned towards him and bade him good morrow ; but the keeper ran away, not knowing him. When he was gone they [changed] clothes, but the man upon his return was taken by the priest's apparel."
There are, indeed, some divergencies in the ac- counts that we possess of the above story of Wil- liam Watson's escape from prison, which took place in August, 1588.^ Bishop Yepez, whom Challoner quotes, says that the time appointed was between two and three o'clock in the morning. Moreover,
^ From the narrative of Bishop Yepez, as quoted by Challoner, the date cannot be fixed precisely. There is mention of eight days twice, consequently the escape may have been effected on 18 August, or 10 August, since it is certain that Margaret Ward and John Roche were tried and condemned on 26 August.
VV. yOHN ROCHE AND MARGARET WARD 435
William Watson is said to have fallen down upon an old shed or penthouse, and it was the noise ensuing which attracted the attention of the jailers and others. Bishop Yepez, as quoted by Challoner, also relates that two watermen rescued the priest, and that one of them (John Roche) concealed him in his house, until he had recovered ; for he was much hurt by the fall and had broken his right leg and right arm. Although William Watson escaped, Margaret Ward and John Roche were to win the crown of martyrdom instead. The rope, by means of which William Watson had obtained his liberty, was seen by the jailer, who convinced that Margaret Ward alone could have brought it to the priest, proceeded to secure her arrest early next day. She was found by the justices and constables, on the point of depart- ing in order to change her lodgings. Thereupon she was arrested, thrown into prison and loaded with irons. Father Robert Southwell, in a letter to Father General Claudio Aquaviva, dated 31 August, 1588,^ further describes her sufferings. " She was flogged and hung up by the wrists, the tips of her toes only touching the ground, for so long a time, that she was crippled and paralysed, but these sufferings greatly strengthened the glorious Martyr for her last struggle." After eight days she was brought to trial at Newgate on 26 August, where she cheerfully admitted that she had furnished the means by which William Wat- son had eluded the persecutors. Threats were em- ployed to induce her to disclose the whereabouts of
1 C.R.S, V. p. 327. 28 *
436 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
the priest ; but they were all in vain. Various reasons are assigned for her condemnation. Vener- able Henry Walpole in his Relation ^ says that she was " condemned for giving of two shillings unto a priest at Bridewell " ; while in the Relation of the Penkevels it is said that **[She was] condemned for bringing a rope to a priest being prisoner in Bride- well, who by that means escaped ". Liberty was offered to her, if she would ask pardon of the Queen's majesty and promise to go to church. In reply, Margaret Ward refused to ask pardon for an offence against the Queen, which she had not committed, and expressed her belief that the Queen herself, if she had the compassion of a woman, would have done as much under similar circumstances. With regard to going to church, she had been convinced for many years that it was not lawful to do so, and she would lay down many lives, if she had them, rather than act against her conscience or do anything against God and His holy religion. John Roche was also tried and condemned at the same sessions.
In conclusion an extract may be given from the postscript of a letter, written by Mr. James Younge, priest, from Douay, g February, 1595. " Margaret Ward, gentlewoman, was hanged at Tyburn, because she brought a rope, enwrapped in a clean shirt, to one Watson, a priest, being in Bridewell prison, out of which he escaped by the help of that rope.
" John Neele (Roche), an Irishman, was also exe- cuted with her at Tyburn. He, in a search, was
^ This and the following documents are found in Acfs of the English Martyrs.
VV. yOHN ROCHE AND MARGARET WARD 437
found in that apparel which the priest had on, when he escaped out of prison. Neele being a servingman, had given the priest his own clothes the better to get away. He was examined what he was, for at the first they thought he had been Watson the priest, but he confessed that he was a Catholic and had holpen the priest to escape, for which he was exe- cuted at Tyburn."
Note. — In a manuscript belonging to St. Mary's College, Oscott, there is to be found an account of the imprisonment and indictments of Mr. Francis Tregian, Esquire, of Volvedon in Cornwall, which is printed in Morris, Troubles, i. References are made to a certain John Neale, who was accused of giving aid to Blessed Cuthbert Mayne. It is un- certain whether this is the same person as John Roche alias Neele, or a seminary priest, who was sent into England in 1580 and afterwards imprisoned in the Marshalsea in 1585 {C.R.S. ii. p. 240).
W. R.
Authorities.— Pollen, Ac/s of English Martyrs, Preface, pp. XX, xxi ; Relation of Martyrs, by Mr. James Younge, priest, written from Douay, February, 1595, pp. 117, 118 ; Relation of the Penkennels [Penkevels] of the Suj^erings in England, 1384- 159^^ p. 286 ; Relation by the Venet able Father Henry Walpole, p. 307 ; Relations of Mr. George Stoker and Mr. Heath concern- ing Martyrs, pp. 312, 313. Yepez, Historia Particular de la persecucion de Inglaterra, 1599, Book V, chap. ii. ; Challoner's Memoirs of Missionary Priests, 1741, Part I, pp. 221-8 ; C.R.S. English Martyrs, 1384-1603, vol. v., Letter of Father Robert Southwell, S.J., to Father General Claudio Aquaviva, pp. 323,
438 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
327; Months January, 1879, "Martyrs of the Year of the Ar- mada," p. 78. For William Watson stt zXso Douay Diaries ; C.R.S. Miscellanea II. vol. ii. Prison Lists, pp. 274, 277 ; Diet. Nat. Biog. and authorities there quoted. For Mr. Whittal, Whitall or Whitell see Foley, Records of the English Province, S.J., Series ii.-iv. p. 587 note, Series ix.-xi. p. 698, Series xii. p. 741. In connexion with the John Neale mentioned in the note, see Morris, Troubles of Our Catholic Forefathers, Series i., Im- prisonment and Indictments of Mr. Francis Tregian, Esquire, pp. 86, 94, 95. A certain priest, John Neale, is mentioned in Douay Diaries, pp. 27, 261, 362 ; and in C.R.S. Miscellanea II. vol. ii. p. 240.
XLVIII.
VENERABLE WILLIAM WAY alias FLOWER (sometimes miscalled WIGGES).
SECULAR PRIEST.
Kingston-on-Thames ^ 23 Sept. (or i Oct.)y 1588.
A CERTAIN amount of confusion and misunderstand- ing has arisen as to the personality of this martyr, which the present writer believes can now be finally cleared up. It will be best to explain the nature of the difficulty before proceeding to detail the life of the martyr.
The discussion involves two, possibly three, per- sons : —
i. William Way, alias Flower, who was ordained priest at Douay in 1586 and martyred at Kingston in 1588.
ii. William Wigges, who was ordained priest at Douay in 1582 and died a prisoner in Wisbech Castle not earlier than 1595.
iii. A second William Wigges, whom Father Morris, S.J., believed to have been martyred at Kingston-on- Thames, I October, 1588, and whom he says was also known as William Way. There is accordingly a double question involved.
439
440 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
(i) Were there two martyrdoms at Kingston, one of William Way, alias Flower, alias Wigges, on 23 September, and another of William Wigges, alias Way, on i October ? and (2) Were there two separate priests called William Wigges, the one a martyr, the other a confessor ?
Father Morris answered both these questions at first in the affirmative ; but in the light of later in- formation, he wrote : — ^
"In this place it may be well to say that the dis- tinction drawn between William Flower, alias Way, and William Wigges, alias Way, as two different martyrs must be withdrawn as untenable. The two dates of martyrdom given, both at Kingston, Septem- ber 23 and October i, 1588, do not quite correspond to the diversities of style, but though we cannot de- cide which of. the two is the true date, the doubt ex- pressed by Bishop Yepez whether Way and Flower were two different persons is set at rest by the entry in the prison lists (P.R.O., Dom. Eliz. ccii. n. 61) : ' William Flower alias Way, seminary, in the Clink '. The diversity of a few days in the date assigned to the martyrdom of Wigges alias Way is insufficient ground for making him out to be another person."
The matter becomes clearer still when we realize the fact that a close study of the contemporary docu- ments fails to reveal a single instance where the priest William Way was ever during his lifetime called Wigges, or where William Wigges was ever called Way. It was not till some years after 1588 that we find the two names combined as " Way alias
^ Acts of the English Martyrs^ p. xx.
VENERABLE WILLIAM WAY 441
Wigges". The conclusion then is that there were two priests, WilHam Way (sometimes erroneously printed May) alias Flower, the martyr, and William Wigges, the confessor.
When did the confusion begin ? The earliest in- stance is Father Ribadeneira's Spanish edition of Sander de Schismate Anglicano, published in 1594, in which he gives two martyrs, " Guillermo Wiges " and '* Guillermo Vero," the latter is probably, as Father Morris has suggested, the latter half of " Flovero " (Flower). Probably Father Ribadeneira was misled by the list published in 1590 by Dr. Barrett, then President of the College at Rheims : " Nomina alum- norum utriusque Seminarii Anglorum Rhemensis et Romani qui ultimo supplicio affecti sunt . . . proximis his 13 annis "} In this list he erroneously inserted the name of William Wigges as '' dead ex squalore carceris 1588 ". This list was translated into Spanish by Padre Juan Lopez Mancano, S.J., at Valladolid in the same year, 1590.
From 1590 onwards, then, William Wigges was appearing in lists as a martyr. In 1599 Bishop Yepez gives Flower (" Elouer ") and Way C' Wayo ") as different martyrs but does not mention Wigges, though in his list of lay martyrs he includes one *' Wigmore ". Therefore by the end of the century the identification of Way and Wigges had not yet taken place.
The first writer to suggest it was Robert Wilson, the priest who in 1608 published his English Mar-
^ Father Pollen, S.J., Unpublished Documents relating to the English Martyrs^ p. 2.
442 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
tyrologe, to which he appended a catalogue of English martyrs, and in this catalogue he writes, " Way (Wigges)," thus for the first time applying the two names to the same person. Dr. Worthington's catalogue, issued in the same year, 1608, has simply " Way,*' though he dates the martyrdom i October, i5^7> a year earlier than the other sources.
Father Grene, S.J., followed Wilson and speaks of the martyr as Waius alias Wiggs, and Dodd gives him under the name Wigges. But Challoner, with his usual caution, refrains from the identification and does not mention Wigges at all, and in this he per- petuated the Douay tradition, for the College lists simply give William Way without any alias.
Thus it appears that there is no authority for sup- posing that William Way was ever known by the alias of Wigges but the unsupported statement of Robert Wilson made twenty years after the martyr's death. 1 Having thus cleared the ground of a sus- picion, which might seriously divide and distract attention, we return to the subject of this memoir.
William Way was born in Devonshire, according to Benjamin Norton, a well-known priest who in
^ Of modern lists of martyrs the only one to identify Way and Wigges is T. G. Law, A Calendar of the English Martyrs (London, 1876). Father Stanton, Menology of England and Wales (London, 1892) ; Canon Fleming, Complete Calendar of the English Saints and Martyrs (London, 1902), and Mr. Dudley Baxter, An English /Calendar (London, 1904), all follow Bishop Challoner and give the martyr as William Way alias Flower, without any reference to Wigges. The Menology of St. Ed- munds Collegey Old Hall {London, 1909), also ignores the alias of Wigges.
VENERABLE WILLIAM WAY 443
1626 was collecting information about the martyrs for Bishop Richard Smith; "Mr. William Way I knew at Rheims and I verily think that he was a Devonshire and probably an Exeter man ". Bishop Challoner, however, states that he was born in Corn- wall, but does not give his authority for the state- ment. Of his early life we know nothing ; but about 1583 he left England for Rheims. By an accidental omission his arrival is not noted in the College diary, and the first entry concerning him is that which re- cords his being tonsured on 31 March, 1584. His name does not occur again for two years, and then his ordination as subdeacon at Laon on 22 March, 1586, is chronicled. After a few days, on 5 April — also at Laon — he received the diaconate, and four months later, on 18 September, he returned to the same place to be ordained priest. The Bishop of Laon at that time was Valentine Douglas, O.S.B., and most pro- bably it was he who ordained the martyr. Having spent nearly three more months in completing his preparation, he left Rheims alone on 9 December and made his way to England.
He was barely six months at liberty before he was arrested at Lambeth, under the name of Flower, but there seems to be some doubt about the date, and one document mentions April, 1586, as the time of his arrest. This date is certainly wrong, as he did not leave Rheims till December of that year. In a paper prepared by Sir John Puckering, who was to prosecute the martyrs of 1588, under the heading " To examine " we read : " Flower, priest in the Clink (or Mr. Young) the Time of his apprehension is Surrey in April '86 ".
444 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
To this entry is added the mysterious abbreviation " p e3^ sub sa mayne de f!l le date," but this is can- celled. In another entry by the same person we find "William Flower a priest pfit." which means ** he confesses it," and then the clause " if time of appre- hension certainly known," but this again is cancelled. A third entry, also by Puckering, under the head, " A note of the evidence as I collected it and wrote it down for and against the persons hereafter named," runs as follows : *' William Flower. Born in Devon- shire. Made a priest in France at Michaelmas Ao xxviii Reginae nunc. He returned into England and was apprehended in Surrey about June, 29 Reginae, after the general pardon. His offence of being in the realm."
Putting these together we may conclude that there was doubt in the minds of the Crown lawyers as to whether the martyr had been arrested before or after the issue of the general pardon. The first idea that he had been apprehended in April, 1586, was corrected after his examination, and the correct date " June, 29 Reginae," that is June, 1587, was substituted.
Various entries in the prison lists between July, 1587 and the summer of 1588 show that he was im- prisoned in the Clink, and that his real name was known, for he is entered as Flower alias Way, in two instances mis-spelt May.
Concerning his trial Venerable Henry Walpole in his relation speaks as follows : " Mr. Way or Flower was brought to Newgate Sessions and there his in- dictment read. He denied to be tried by a temporal judge, wherefore the Bishop of London was sent for;
VENERABLE WILLIAM WAY 445
and the Recorder said that because of his refusal there was a spiritual Judge. Mr. Way asked, * Who made him a bishop ? ' The Recorder said * The Queen, who is Supreme Head of the Church '. He answered that she was not Head of the Church, neither would he acknowledge him for Bishop. Then upon the statute he was condemned, and at Kingston very cruelly martyred, unbowelled alive, and his bowels burnt before his face."
Father John Gerard, S.J., the confessor for the faith, thus speaks of this martyr : ^ " William Waye, priest, was very much given to abstinence and aus- terity. He had such desire of martyrdom that others being sent for to the sessions and not he, he did weep and cry, and was so much grieved that fearing he had offended God he went presently to confes- sion ; but when he himself was sent for, he had so much joy that he seemed past himself."
Another contemporary account found in Father GrenQs Collectanea F^ says: "Mr. William Way, priest, a man much mortified by great abstinence and other austerities, lying ever in prison upon the boards and wearing continually a shirt of hair, so desirous of martyrdom that he would many times cry out, ' Oh, I shall never come to it,' was conveyed from London to Kingston-upon-Thames, where, answering with great constancy, he was drawn, hanged and quartered with severity ".
There is considerable doubt as to the day on which the martyr died. Stow, a good authority on
1 C.R.S. V. 290.
^ Morris, Troubles^ Series ii. 234-5.
446 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
such points, says : " On the 23rd of September a Seminary priest named Flower was hanged, beheaded and quartered at Kingston ". But Father Gerard, Dr. Worthington and Robert Wilson give i October in their 1608 catalogues, and from that time sometimes one date, sometimes the other and sometimes the choice between the two is found.
E. H. B.
Authorities. — Challoner. Douay Diaries. Morris, Troubles^ Series ii. Preface, A.E.M. xx. Benjamin Norton to Bishop of Chalcedony C.R.S. v. 395. Massacre 0/1388, 154. Walpole's Relation, A.E.M. 307. Catalogue of Martyrs, C.R.S. v. 290. Hambley's Confessions^ edited by Simpson, Rambler, N.S. x. 331 (Nov., 1858).
XLIX. VENERABLE ROBERT WILCOX.
SECULAR PRIEST.
Canterbury^ I October^ 1588.
Robert Wilcox, one of the three young priests put to death for the Faith, at Canterbury, on i October, 1588, was born at Westchester (i.e. Chester),^ in or about the year 1558.^ Of his family or childhood nothing is known. At the age of twenty-five he entered the English Seminary at Rheims, arriving there with another future martyr, Edmund Geninges, on 12 August, 1583. On the 23rd of the next month he was tonsured and called to minor orders in the College Chapel by Cardinal de Guise. Among his companions in this ceremony of admission to the service of the Altar, was Christopher Buxton, with whom less than five years later he was to be admitted by a glorious martyrdom to the eternal service of the throne of God. Eighteen months elapsed before, on 16 March, 1585, Wilcox took the irrevocable step of the Subdiaconate,
^ Westchester^ Puckering's notes at examination, C.R.S. v. 161. Chester^ Challoner. Cestrien, Douay Diaries.
^ Age at death, 1588, according to Grene, E, quoted in Morris, Troubles^ iii. 39, was thirty.
447
448 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
a few weeks after which, on the vigil of Passion Sunday, he was raised by Cardinal de Guise to the Diaconate. His priesthood was conferred upon him a fortnight later in the chapel of the Holy Cross, in Rheims Cathedral, the day being Holy Saturday, 20 April, 1585.^ This was the last ordination there at which Cardinal Allen, the founder of the College of martyrs, was present.
Unlike most of the Douay priests, Mr. Wilcox now remained eight months at the College before crossing to England on 7 January, 1586. " He was appre- hended then in Kent," we read in the notes made of his examination shortly before his trial and death, so it seems his missionary labours were short and his time of freedom was spent toiling in the county of his martyrdom. Possibly he was captured upon landing, as were many of the Elizabethan confessors and martyrs. In a letter of Nicholas Berden the noto- rious spy of Walsingham, dated 1586, he is mentioned as one of eight priests in the Marshalsea, " mete for banishment," as opposed to others in Wisbech prison who, the zealous informant suggested, were " mete for the galleys or gallows ".^ The authorities did not take the same view, for two years later, in August, 1588, Serjeant Puckering wrote : " He was committed to the Marshalsee ' then' (i.e. in 1586) by the Privee Counsel's Order, where he ever since remained ". As the reason, he adds, " So his treason after the statute
^Puckering, writing August, 1588, says, "priest iiij years past," which would be 1584. C.R.S. v. 161.
2 Nicholas Berden to Mr. Thomas . . . (name erased) 1586. Foley, Records, S./., i. 478.
VENERABLE ROBERT WILCOX 449
of 27 Reg. (i.e. 1585), not pardoned by the last general pardon, both because all prisoners in the Marshalsea then, and also all persons restrayned by the Council's command, are excepted out of the pardon ".
So for two years, Robert Wilcox languished amid the filth and worse of an Elizabethan prison, the days of monotonous horror differentiated from one another only by the arrivals of other Confessors, some soon to be fellow-martyrs, such as the Venerable Edward Campion and the Venerable Christopher Buxton, sharers in the glory of the Canterbury massacre ; the Venerable Ralph Crockett, the Venerable Edward James and others, who died in various places on the same day, and the Venerable James Claxton who suf- fered near Brentford a month and three days earlier.
The actual date of the trial of Mr. Wilcox is not definitely known, nor the spot where it took place. It is probable, however, that those who were to suffer in London were ** tried " at Newgate, and those sent into the counties received their sentence in the towns where they were executed. Thus the Venerable Robert Wilcox would have been formally tried in the city of Canterbury. A preliminary investigation for the purpose of collecting evidence to be brought for- ward at the trial proper, was made in the Marshalsea on 15 August, 1588, by order of the Privy Council. At this Mr. Wilcox acknowledged his glorious offence against the laws of the Government as is attested by the note, "full pfit" ("profitetur" — *' he confesseth himself guilty "), in the account of the interrogation.^
^Puckering, C.R.S. v, 155. 29
450 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
Towards the end of September he was sent down to Canterbury, no doubt under guard of some of the soldiers who thronged the roads to the coast, England being still, in spite of the defeat of the Armada and the English command of the Channel, threatened to some extent by the presence of the vast forces under the Prince of Parma in the Netherlands. In Canter- bury Robert Wilcox passed his last days preparing for martyrdom in the city of the Apostle in England of the Faith for which he was to die. With him were Christopher Buxton and Edward Campion, fellow-priests, and Robert Widmerpool, a layman, and we now proceed to tell their common story. In it Mr. Wilcox did not always take the lead, ])ut he did at death, telling his companions, with splendid courage, " that he was going to heaven before them and would carry the tidings, that they were coming after".
F. K. McC.
Authorities.— Massacre of I J SSj C.R.S. v. 150-65. Douay Diaries,
L.
VENERABLE EDWARD CAMPION.
SECULAR PRIEST.
Canterbury^ I October^ 1588.
The real surname of the martyr known to us by the alias of " Edward Campion," ^ seems to have been '' Edwards ".^ He came of good family, and was until recently thought to have been of Kentish ex- traction, as Bishop Challoner states. The lately dis- covered notes of his own confession to his judges shortly before his death ^ show him, however, to have been a Shropshire man, born at Ludlow in that county. Except for the year of his birth, about 1552,* nothing is known of his childhood and early education, beyond that he was brought up a Pro- testant. In early manhood he went up to White Hall, " Aula Alba Magna," Oxford — more properly Jesus College, a new foundation which, in 1571, absorbed '* White Hall " but became itself popularly known by that name. Thus the not infrequent statement, that
^ Sometimes Campian. ^ Douay Diaries^ 212.
^ Puckering's examination, C.R.S. vol. v. 160. * jEt. thirty-six at time of death, 1588, according to Grene, E, quoted in Morris, Troubles^ iii. 39.
451 29 ^
452 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
Mr. Edwards was a member of the same College as his namesake, the Blessed Edmund Campion, is in- correct, the latter having been a Fellow of St. John's. Owing to lack of certain knowledge of Mr. Edwards's Christian name it is difficult to obtain particulars of his Oxford days. Among the many '' Edwards " whose names remain to us in the extant College registers,^ only one of Jesus College is found who might conceivably be identified with the martyr, "Francis Edwards pleb." who matriculated 20 Dec- ember, 1577, aged twenty. It must be noted, how- ever, that a record of the second half of the seventeenth century gives Edwards's age at death as thirty-six, which would make him twenty-five or twenty-six in the year 1577. Again, Francis Edwards hailed not from Shropshire but from the adjacent county of Denbigh, which sent many of that name to Oxford during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Francis Edwards has this in favour of the identification that he, like the martyr, never seems to have graduated,^ a fact which militates against identifying the latter with the only other possible entry in the University lists, that of William Edwards (no College mentioned), B.A., 1574. However this be, we know from his own confession that he spent two years at White Hall (or Jesus College), Oxford.
^ Foster's Alumni Oxonienses.
2 Probably this Francis Edwards was the priest of that name who is mentioned in a list of prospective martyrs {C.R.S. v. 155) as " Fraunces Edwards " of Denbigh, and who, after being con- demned and led to execution with Venerable Ralph Crockett and Venerable Edward James, saved his life on the scaffold by re- canting.
VENERABLE EDWARD CAMPION 453
After coming down from Oxford, presumably with- out a degree, he entered the service of Lord Dacre, with whom he remained probably until he left Eng- land for France.^ Nothing is known of him between his leaving Oxford and joining Lord Dacre, so if the interval between the two was short his service was o^ long duration. During this time he abjured Pro- testantism and was reconciled to the Church of God, as he proudly acknowledged at his trial. His con- version may perhaps be somehow connected with his service with Lord Dacre, for Gregory Fiennes, tenth Baron Dacre of the South, had married Anne, daughter of Sir Richard Sackville, whose family had a strong leaning to the ancient faith.
In February, 1586, he set out for France, having conceived the noble intention of becoming a priest, despite the very recent fulminations of Elizabeth's Government against Catholics and particularly priests.^ He arrived at the English Seminary at Rheims on the 22nd of the month. In accordance with the custom of many Douay priests of taking aliases for their greater safety on the English mission, he relinquished the name of Edwards, but instead of becoming known by some name which would render him more obscure, such as his mother's maiden name (the usual practice), he adopted that of Edward Cam- pion. Thus he associated himself with the Blessed Martyr who, prominent as Fellow of St. John's and Proctor of Oxford University, had made himself
^ " La^e servant w^h the L. Dacres of the South," Confession, C.R.S. V. 134. ^27 Eliz. (1585).
454 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
known throughout the length and breadth of Eng- land by his glorious death five years before. For him Mr. Edwards seems to have a respect and ad- miration bordering on rashness, as is shown by his answers at his trial.
Being thirty-four years of age, and a man of superior education, his course of studies was very considerably shortened. The date of his tonsure and admission to minor orders is not mentioned in the College registers, but within seven months of entry, on i8 September, 1586, he left Rheims for Laon, there to receive the first of the major orders, the subdiaco- nate. With '' D. Campian alias dictus Edwards," among the three priests and ten other subdeacons ordained, were, as was usual at these glorious cere- monies of self-sacrifice, several other future martyrs. Three months later Edward Campion was elevated to the diaconate in the College Chapel, on ig Dec- ember, 1586, and within twelve and a half months of his entry into the College was presented for the priest- hood, a fact which speaks volumes for the sanctity and conduct of the convert seminarian who had been unknown to the authorities so short a time before, as appears from the first of the entries in the Douay Diary : " Venit ad nos quidam D. Edwards generosus, qui statim in communas receptus est," to which Dr. Worthington added, " nomine Edouardus Campianus ". The date of Mr. Campion's ordination is not fixed to a day. He appears to have been ordained alone — at least he had no Douay companions — " at the begin- ning of Lent," 1587. The entry in the College re- gister lies between one of 2 March and another of 14
VENERABLE EDWARD CAMPION 455
March, the Eve of Passion Sunday, so unless, as is improbable, the event was not entered until some time had elapsed, it would seem he was promoted to the priesthood during the third or even fourth week in Lent. Perhaps he was sent to some other city for the ceremony which would, no doubt, account for his being alone and the lack of precision in the entered date. There seems to have been some reason for pressing on the ordination of Mr. Campion, as he was not even required to wait until the general ordination held on the Eve of Passion Sunday, which this year fell on 15 March. Furthermore, he left for England on 18 March, 1587, rather sooner after ordination than most of the Douay priests, perhaps because of some unexpected facility offered for entering the country,
Edward Campion remained but a very short time at liberty after his arrival in England, for within about one month of his leaving Rheims he was apprehended at Sittingbourne in Kent. He was examined, and confessed himself a convert and a priest lately of Rheims (both treasonable offences). He added the information that he was a Shropshire man born at Ludlow, that he had been " late servant of the Dac- res of the South," and had been " brought up by y^ space of ij yeres in Whitehall now called Jhesus College in ye University of Oxon ". His fate was sealed by a bold avowal that the religion now pro- fessed in England was heretical, and that the Queen's Majesty was not his head or chief governor in ecclesi- astical causes, but only in temporal.
This examination was made on 22 April. The next
456 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
day he was conveyed by one John Amyas from Sit- tingbourne to the Council at Greenwich, for which service Amyas received a due reward from the Trea- surer of the Chamber. Four days later the Chief Baron, Roger Manwood, writing " from my pore house S. Stevens near Canterbury" sent a note to Sir Francis Walsingham, Principal Secretary to the Queen, saying, " I have thought meet to send him (Campion) up to Newgate in safe Custody to the in- tent that, after you shall have caused him to be further examined and dealt with as you shall see good, he may be at the next Newgate Sessions in London arraignment and receive his desert, or other- wise at your pleasure ". He adds that from a fellow- priest, William Chaddock, captured at Canterbury, he had learned, "This fellow calling himself Campyon is beyond the seas called Edwardes ". William Chad- dock himself was sent up to London shortly after- wards and seems to have been Campion's comrade in suifering, for the names of the two may be traced through the ** prison lists" in the Marshalsea, New- gate, and Wisbech, whence the latter, a priest from the English College, Rome, was eventually exiled after Elizabeth's death.
How long precisely Mr. Campion during the six- teen or seventeen months before his death spent in Newgate and how long in the Marshalsea is not de- finitely known. While in prison a project was set on foot by some who meditated flight. Edward Campion, however, could not be induced to join them, and he replied when approached on the subject : " I would readily consent, if 1 did not hope to suffer martyrdom
VENERABLE EDWARD CAMPION 457
with the rest ". His desire seemed likely to be ful- filled soon ; for, on 14 August, at the time of the Armada excitement, Privy Council issued instructions for the examination of all prisoners. The next day Mr. Campion was interrogated. He maintained the same resolute front he had shown during the questions put him in Kent ; and after supplying the information of his birth, priesthood, and apprehension, added boldly that he wished " he was no worse traitor than Campion that was executed for treason ". He was asked the so-called "bloody question" (for which English law gave no warrant), viz. whether he would assist the Pope's forces or those of the Queen should they come into conflict. The martyr refused to give a direct answer to this, but said he would pray that the ** Catholic Romish" Church might prevail. He appears to have been pressed for an answer to the former question, for Serjeant Puckering gives two sets of answers, the second more detailed than the first. '' If an army come by thapostolic authoritie to deprive her Majestic and to restore Romish re- ligion, he refuseth to tell what part he will take, but will pray that the Cath. Church may prevail so long as he liveth." The outcome of the examination was the decision that as Campion " came into England at Easter (29 Reg^e, i.e. 1587), which his offence ys after the last pardon," and '* was apprehended in Kent, so (is) a traitor triable there ". In the notes in which Puckering a few days afterwards stated the case for the Crown he placed opposite the name of Edward Campion, as one of those to be executed in Kent, the abbreviation "pfit" — profitetur — *' he con-
458 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
fesseth himself guilty ". The martyr was sent down to Canterbury probably towards the end of September and was no doubt " tried " there according to Pucker- ing's directions. Perhaps his judge was Chief Baron Roger Manwood, and it is probable that his com- panions in death, the Venerable Christopher Buxton and the Venerable Robert Wilcox, priests, and the Venerable Robert Widmerpool, layman, were sent- enced with him. In view of Mr. Campion's ad- missions at the two previous examinations and of the Elizabethan policy in regard to Catholic priests, viz., execution and trial rather than trial and execu- tion, the process must have been a formality and the result a foregone conclusion. The sentence, as we can well imagine, was received by the four in that spirit which, as we learn from an ancient chronicle, caused Catholic prisoners when anyone was con- demned to death for the Faith, to meet on the day on which he was to suifer and recite the Litanies and Stabat Mater and with other prayers beseech Almighty God to grant constancy and courage to those about to die. On i October, 1588, the holy man was led through the streets of the city of St. Augustine, and on Oaten Hill,^ merely **for his character and exercising his priestly functions in England, for the supposed treason was hanged, bowelled and quartered with courage and cheerful- ness ".^ His epitaph was written long after : ^ " He was a man both in name and deed like Edmund Campion ". Can one say more ?
F. K. McC.
^ Dom Bede Camm, O.S.B., CatA. Encycl^ under Buxton. 2 Challoner. ^ Qrene, E, quoted, A.E.M. 327.
VENERABLE EDWARD CAMPION 459
Notes. — (a) All the catalogues ^ mention the martyr and his two fellow-priests, but Barrett, Ribadeneira, Worthington I, and Eudaemon give the year of their deaths (incorrectly) as 1587. Raissius says Wilcox suffered in September (see Challoner) and Challoner remarks that Campion died with Wilcox. Challoner also gives the other and correct date, i October, 1588.
{b) Bridgewater terms Campion " Exul et Sacerdos ". The exile must be his stay at Rheims, 1586-7. No other is known.
(c) Stanton in his Menology by evident misprint and probable confusion with Edmund Campion, S.J., adds " S.J. " to Edward Campion's name in the index, though not in the letterpress.
{d) From the Ninth Report of the Hist. MSS. Com. , p. 156 (" Chamberlain's Accounts of Canterbury, 1588, 1589 "), it appears that the head and quarters of one of this group of martyrs were taken, by order of Privy Council, from Canterbury to Dover, to be exposed there. The gallows on Ote, or Oaten Hill, was put up in 1576.
AVTHORITIES.—Douay Diaries^ 212. Massacre of 1588^ C.R.S. V. 150-65. Examination of Ed. Campion^ ibid. 134. C^//.?^/a«^^, Allen, 326. Puckering s Notes^ C.R.S. V. \^\. Cat- alogue of Martyrs^ ibid. 10. Grene, Collectanea E, in Morris, Troubles ^ iii. ; Morris, Troubles^ ii. Foster, Alumni Oxonienses.
^ C.R.S. vol. V. p. 10.
LI.
VENERABLE CHRISTOPHER BUXTON.
SECULAR PRIEST.
Canterbury^ i October^ 1588.
Of the four Canterbury martyrs of 1588, it is of Christopher Buxton, perhaps, that we have the most complete outHne " life ". He was born in Derby- shire, where is not stated, and it has been suggested that the family took its name from the town of Bux- ton.^ With regard to the date of birth, Father Grene's account in Collectanea E, which gives his age at his death as thirty, may be discarded, for the contemporary entry in the register of the English College, Rome, states him to have been twenty-two in 1584, and thus to have been born in 1562. He was at one time a Protestant,
The education of the future martyr was accom- plished at the Grammar School, founded by Bishop Pursglove at Tideswell in the Peak not far from Buxton. After a number of years under the tuition of the Venerable Nicholas Garlick, he followed the example of his master in departing, at the age of
^ Gillow, Bibl. Diet. Eng. Cath. 460
VENERABLE CHRISTOPHER BUXTON 461
nineteen, with two schoolfellows for Rheims to study for the priesthood, arriving there on 8 July, 1581, one month after Mr. Garlick. All four became priests two, Garlick and Buxton, attaining to the glory of martyrdom. Their school and seminary intimacy continued until January, 1583, when Mr. Garlick was ordained and sent on the English Mission, to be banished in 1585 and to win a martyr's crown three years afterwards.
With some forty other students, several of them future martyrs, Christopher Buxton received the Tonsure and Minor Orders in the College Chapel at the hands of Cardinal de Guise on 23 September, 1583. He was classed as of the old Catholic diocese of Lichfield. Six months later he was sent to the English College, Rome, at the age of twenty-two. His name appears in the Pilgrim Book under date 25 April, 1584, as staying eight days, which is of interest as showing him to have been a poor man, eight days' lodging being given free to poor pilgrims and three to more well-to-do travellers, according to the Constitution granted the College by Pope Gregory Xin. This week was but a preliminary to some years' stay. In July he was dispensed from the im- pediment of heresy, having abjured Protestantism, no doubt, when at Tideswell. In December the oath was administered him upon the Holy Scriptures, " to be ready at the order of the Sovereign Pontiff or other lawful Superior of this College to embrace the ecclesiastical life, to take Holy Orders, and to pro- ceed to England for the aid of souls ".
The next we know of Christopher Buxton is that
462 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
he was ordained priest at " Hallowtide," 1586, at the early age of twenty-four. It is probable that the Orders of Subdeacon and Deacon were conferred upon him within the foregoing months of the same year as his name is alBxed to a document, presented to the Authorities in 1586 (but open to signature for several months before the end of 1585)/ without the appellation " Subdeacon," or " Deacon," as in the case of some of his co-signatories. This was the " Petition of 50 Scholars for retaining the Fathers of the Society of Jesus ". Buxton, five other future martyrs, and forty-four other members of 'the College showed themselves on the side of order by formal protest, to the Cardinal Visitor, against the action of some of the students who had demanded the re- moval of the Jesuit Fathers from the direction of the College.
Christopher Buxton remained five months in Rome before setting out for Rheims, in April, 1587, with Mr. Morton, a Deacon, afterwards martyred, three other priests, and a student named Owen. The little band travelled by Bologna, Piacenza, and Milan, arriving almost penniless on Corpus Christi Eve, 27 May. In their journey through Italy, Germany, Lorraine, and France they suffered much from the heat, and ** verye hardlye escaped the dangeres of montaynes and heretikes, being thre severall tymes
^ As is apparent from the dates of leaving Rome of some of the signatories, and from the investigation of dates of ordination to the priesthood of some Deacons, and to the Diaconate of some Subdeacons, who signed with these descriptions affixed to their names. See below, p. 492.
VENERABLE CHRISTOPHER BUXTON 463
in manyfest perill ". ^ Buxton, writing three days after their arrival, explaining to Father Holt, the Rector of the English College, that the reason for " so lavyshinge out of my moneye " was the dearness of "vitules bothe for horses and man," mentions " greate daungers of our lyves, and muche troble in the most parte of our waye, especiallye in Laurene (Lorraine) and Fraunce".^
Although informed by all of the impossibility of obtaining entrance into England, the martyr's mind was bent upon his future work. " I gave answere " (to the College Authorities), he writes, ''that I came from Rome to go in Englande, and therefore, if I could gette in, I would prepare myself to the jour- ney, so sone as we had solde our horse, and so I am amynded and determined within one weeke after the wryting hereof (May 30) to go towardes my countrye, and if I can gette anye hoope to escape by any meanes I will venter in the name of Jesus Christe & our blessed Ladye and all the holye & blessed companye of heaven."^ The wish was father to the deed for, on 9 June, Mr. Buxton reported to Father Holt, that he had stayed but one week at Rheims, had come to Paris on Friday, 5 June, and on the day of writing would set out for Rouen.^ Twenty days later a letter from Rouen begged instructions from Rome. Mr. Buxton while in Paris had been instructed by a Dr. Darbishire that Father Persons in England had
1 Letter of Morton to Father Holt, C.I^.S. v. 137.
2 Letter I of Buxton, 30 May, 1587, C.I^.S. v. 145. 2 Letter I, 30 May, 1587.
* Letter II, 9 June,
464 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
received orders from Rome that the missionaries were not to cross to England until word was received from Father Holt. The martyr expresses his full obedience, but adds that he and his fellow-priests are " verye lothe to staye ".^ Throughout the two months of weary waiting Buxton wrote often to Dr. Darbishire, meanwhile, during three weeks spent at the English School at Eu, in Normandy, pressing forward his preparations. For this purpose he journeyed fre- quently to Dieppe, finally arranging with a Mr. James to be conveyed to London and there intro- duced to priests and Catholics. His fellow-priests had already set off for Scotland '' because of great lybertye which is given unto the Catholickes there of late tyme ". On 7 September, with enthusiasm which might seem strange to the world in one going only to hardship and possible death, the martyr writes expecting every day to go forward, " which I trust will be within towe or thrye dayes ".^
The following day, or the day after, letters arrived from Father Holt repudiating Dr. Darbishire's action. They drew forth a truly Christian reply from Mr. Buxton who, after expressing his sadness at being " iniouriouslye handled with Father Darbishire who forged such things to make me to staye," but for which '' I had bene the fyrst of all my companyons in Englande," adds, '' but consideringe the thinge is past I will not take it muche to hart, but will lett it lyghtlye passe, and now at length with full zeale and couragious myndes most like unto Aeneas, we will
^ Letter III, 29 June, from " Roan ". ^ Letter IV, 7 September.
VENERABLE CHRISTOPHER BUXTON 465
cutt the Surginge Seas and make assault towardes our foes". He requests that, for the protection of others, Father Darbishire be ordered not to stay future missionaries,^ expresses his pleasure at the elevation of Dr. Allen to the Cardinalate, and with this " last farewell " and a postscript with reference to the plans of the Government concerning the exe- cution and banishment of priests then in prison, begging their prayers, signs himself, " Your lovinge childe, never untill deathe to fayle in obedience, Christopher Buxton ".^
Soon after the dispatch of this letter the martyr sailed and succeeded in evading the vigilance of the royal officials at the port. Some anxiety was ex- pressed in Rome in regard to his landing, he, alone of the priests with him at Paris, having failed to report. Little time was allowed for the exercise of his priestly functions, for from the notes of his prison examination we find he was captured in Kent at " Hallowtide, 29 Reg." '' Hallowtide " might include a few weeks prior to i November, or a few weeks after that date ; the twenty-ninth year of Elizabeth's reign closed on 16 November, 1587, so if Christopher Buxton landed within a day or two of his report to Father Holt the maximum limits of freedom would be 16 September to 16 November — two months.
^ Admirable as was the courage and zeal of our martyr, we must in retrospect allow that the older man was the more pru- dent ; as the sequel showed. For Father Darbishire, see D.N.B.^ Foley's Records^ etc.
'^ Letter V, 12 September.
30
466 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
More probably he had at most one month of mis- sionary activity, and so was never able to carry out an intention of saving souls in Derby, his native county.^
Christopher Buxton was sent to the Marshalsea by command of the Privy Council. There he became the fellow-prisoner of the Venerable Edward Campion and the Venerable Robert Wilcox, priests, and pos- sibly ^ of the Venerable Robert Widmerpool, layman, who were to suffer with him later. He had unusual exemption from supervision for an Elizabethan prison, and contrived to write a " Rituale," now pre- served, as his only relic, at Olney, Bucks. On 15 August, 1588, after some twelve months' captivity, the prisoner was examined by order of the Privy Council, that evidence might be obtained for a formal trial. The notes of this remain, in the handwriting of the interrogator, Serjeant (afterwards Sir John) Pucker- ing. After mention of birth, ordination, entry into England and apprehension, follow fateful words, " This man will not take her maj. part against the army nor do anything to hinder his religion ". His name was then placed in the list of those who were to be executed in Kent, with the abbreviation ** pfit " (" profitetur " — he confesseth himself guilty). Under charge of treason Christopher Buxton was taken down to Canterbury within three or four weeks and there he probably went through his " trial ". On 30 September, he dispatched his manuscript Rituale to a
^ See letter of 12 September, C.R.S. v. 149. ^ See below.
VENERABLE CHRISTOPHER BUXTON 467
priest as a last token of friendship, and the next day with Edward Campion, Robert Wilcox, and Robert Widmerpool was led out to die. No doubt as they approached Oaten Hill, the mound where they were to be butchered, the thoughts of the three Douay priests went back to the Te Deums they had sung in the College Chapel at Rheims when news arrived of the martyrdom of a fellow-student, and perhaps they thought how soon would that great hymn soar to heaven in thanksgiving for their triumph.
At the place of execution Christopher Buxton, as the youngest, was called upon to witness the ghastly sufferings of the rest, in the hope that he might be intimidated. Robert Wilcox after a few cheery words of exhortation to his companions set them the heroic example. Edward Campion followed. Robert Widmerpool attempted to address the crowd, by whom he was howled down. He died either immediately before or after Mr. Buxton, who at the last moment was offered his life for conformity to Protestantism, to which he generously gave answer that " he would not purchase corruptible life at such a rate, and if he had a hundred lives he would willingly lay down all in defence of his faith ". The full penalties of treason, hanging, disembowelling, and quartering were in- flicted upon all ; so suffered the four on i October, 1588. Edward Campion was thirty-six years of age, Robert Wilcox thirty, Robert Widmerpool probably two years younger, and the Venerable Christopher Buxton — the youngest of all — but twenty-six.
F. K. McC.
30*
468 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
Authorities. — Massacre of 1^88^ C.R.S. v. 150-65. Diary of Eng. Coll., Rome. Foley, Records^ vi. 117, 165, 548, 555. Douay Diaries, 180. Four Letters of Robert Morton, note, C.R.S. V. 137. Five Letters of Christopher Buxton, ibid. 145-50. Confession, ibid. 161. Grene, Collectanea E, in Morris, Troubles, iii. Dom Bede Camm, Cath. Encyclopcedia, s.v. Buxton.
LII. VENERABLE ROBERT WIDMERPOOL.
LAYMAN.
Canterbury, i October, 1588.
Of the Venerable Robert Widmerpool the little that is known is contained in Bishop Challoner's Memoir. He was of good family and born at Widmerpool in Nottinghamshire.^ The date of his birth and conse- quently his age at death, together with an additional and interesting event of his life, may be obtained if we hazard identifying him with an entry in the lists of alumni of one of the Oxford Colleges. There is a mention in the register of Gloucester Hall, Oxford ^ (later St. John Baptist's Hall under St. John's College, but now Worcester) of the matriculation under date 3 August, 1578, of "' Robert Widmerpool of Notts, pleb., aged 18 ". If this be the martyr he would have been twenty-eight years of age when he suffered, which is not improbable, as his fellow-martyrs were but thirty-six (Campion), thirty (Wilcox), and twenty-
^ There is no Robert Widmerpoole among the Widmer- pools of Widmerpool in the pedigree in the Visitation of Not- tinghamshire, 1569 and 161 4 ; Harleian Society, edited by G. W. Marshall, 1871.
^ Foster's Alumni Oxonienses. 469
470 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
six (Buxton). There were other Widmerpools at Oxford about this time, John Widmerpoole (or Wodmerpole), who graduated B.A. 1554, and M.A. 1558, and Thomas Widmerpool, of Notts, gent., who matriculated at New College in 1581, but it is im- probable that there was more than one man of the uncommon name of Robert Widmerpool of Notts alive at this date. The suggestion is strengthened by the fact that the martyr was evidently a man of superior education, as he became tutor to the sons of Henry Percy, Earl of Northumberland, brother of Blessed Thomas Percy the Martyr, who himself died in the Tower of London, a Confessor for the Faith, in 1585.
If this then be taken for granted, Robert Widmer- pool was born in 1560, and proceeded to Gloucester Hall, Oxford, in 1578. He probably went down be- fore completing his course, as there is no record of his having graduated. At some subsequent date he obtained the tutorship which led to his death, for he was charged, in 1588, with having introduced a priest into the house of the Countess of Northumberland, this being a particular instance cited in support of a general accusation of hospitality to priests.^ How long he was with the family of Percy, whether he took charge of the Earl of Northumberland's children during the latter's lifetime and imprisonment, or after his death in 1585, is unknown. Nor have we any information as to the date of his apprehension, but at some time prior to August, 1588, he was lodged
^ Dodd says Widmerpool was " condemned for denying the Queen's supremacy and being reconciled ".
VENERABLE ROBERT WIDMERPOOL 471
in either the Clink or the Marshalsea.^ Towards the end of September he was sent down to Kent, possibly in company with his three fellow-martyrs of the Marshalsea. If so, the Marshalsea and not the Clink was in all probability his prison, but his name does not appear on the extant lists of some of the prisoners in the former. At Canterbury, then, if not before, he joined the three priests awaiting death under sentence of high treason according to the Act of. 27 Eliz. (1585).
Some account of the bearing of the martyrs dur- ing their passion has been preserved for later genera- tions by Bishop Challoner.^ They were led out to an eminence known as Oaten Hill on i October, 1588. " Mr. Wilcox was the first who was called upon to go up the ladder, which he did with great cheerful- ness ; and when he was up, turning to his companions with a smiling countenance, he bid them be of good heart, telling them ' that he was going to Heaven before them, where he should carry the tidings of their coming after him '. He suffered with great constancy and alacrity, to the great edification of the faithful, and confusion of the persecutors."
*' At the place of execution," says Bishop Challoner of Robert Widmerpool, " he, with great affection, kissed both the ladder and the rope, as the instru- ments of his martyrdom ; and having now the rope
^ See annotation by Fr. Pollen to the Relation of the Penke- vels in his Acts^ p. 286. From this note it seems that Widmer- pool was in the Clink or Marshalsea, but it is not very clear which.
^ Challoner took his account from Douay Diaries and Cata- logues and Champney's MS. History.
472 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
about his neck, began to speak to the people, giving God most hearty thanks, ' for bringing him to so great a glory, as that of dying for his faith and truth, in the same place where the glorious martyr St. Thomas of Canterbury had shed his blood for the honour of His divine Majesty '. Some of the people at these words, cried out, ' Away, away with the traitor ' ; but he, not moved at all with their clamours, looking round him and recommending himself to the prayers of the Catholics, was flung off the ladder ; and so happily exchanged this mortal life for immortality."
The two martyrs like their fellows Christopher Buxton and Edward Campion suffered the full sever- ity of the law, the complete barbarity of the sentence of High Treason, hanging, drawing, and quartering, being carried out upon them.
It is worth noting that four catalogues, Barrett, Ribadeneira, Worthington I, and Eudaemon, give 1587 as the date of the death of Wilcox; all agree as to the year of Widmerpool's passion except Barrett, Ribadeneira, More I and H, Raissius, and of course the Douay Catalogues omit him entirely, as they deal with priests. Yepez divides Widmerpool into three martyrs, Wigmore, Pole, and the tutor to the sons of the Countess of Northumberland. Raissius puts the martyrdom of Wilcox in Sep- tember.
F. K. McC.
PiXSTKOKiTYE.s.—PenkevePs Relation^ A.EM. 286. Gerard's Catalogue of Martyrs^ C.R.S. v. 290, 10. Challoner. Yepez, Hist Part.
LIII. VENERABLE RALPH CROCKETT.
SECULAR PRIEST.
Chichester, i October, 1588.
Ralph Crockett was born in Cheshire at Barton- on-the-Hill in the year 1552.^ He was educated at Christ's College, Cambridge, and remained there three years. For a year he was a schoolmaster at Tibnam Longrow, in Norfolk, and then he proceeded to Oxford, studying at Gloucester Hall under a certain tutor named Reade of St. John's College. At the end of a year he left, probably without taking a degree, and at Ipswich he was again a schoolmaster for five years. About the year 1581 persecution increased on the pretext of Edmund Campion's supposed con- spiracy, and as a Catholic he found it advisable not to be connected with the scholastic profession. So he retired to his native county for about two years. In 1584 his mind was made up and he left England in a French ship which landed him at La Rochelle. Thence he journeyed to Rheims via Paris, and was received without further question by Dr. Allen on his
^ The date 1552 is obtained from Father Christopher Grene's notes on the martyrdoms. Morris, Troubles of our Catholic Forefathers, Series iii., p. 38.
473
474 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
own introduction. Thus he started his course of training for the priesthood in the English College of Douay (then in exile at Rheims), in the summer of 1584. We have no information as to Crockett's status in England : he may have been supported at the college by the benevolent contributions of Catholics and by the funds provided by the Holy See ; or on the other hand he may have been wealthy and quite capable of supporting himself. This is suggested by the fact that, later on, it was proposed to transfer him from the Marshalsea to Wisbech Castle. He never made use of any alias, either because his brave spirit scorned such a thing as a subterfuge, or because, at that date, before Burghley's spies found their way even into the seminary, disguises such as these were unnecessary. He received the subdiacon- ate about Christmas, 1584, and in the following Lent was ordained deacon and priest by Cardinal de Guise. For a year he continued his studies and training, but in Lent, 1586, his health began to fail owing to the fare and the mode of life. Dr. Bayley, the vice-president, acceded to his earnest request to be allowed to leave France and he was thereupon appointed to the English mission. He set out with George Potter for Dieppe, staying a few days in Paris and Rouen. At Dieppe they met two other priests, Bramston and Edward James, of whom the latter was to be Ralph Crockett's companion before judges and upon the scaffold. A certain priest named Hudson ^ negotiated with Daniell, a New-
^ Possibly the priest mentioned in C.R.S. vol. v. p. 194, banished from England in 1585.
VENERABLE RALPH CROCKETT 475
haven shipowner whom he knew, and it was at last arranged that the four priests should be conveyed across the Channel at five crowns per head, payable when land should be sighted. It is quite possible that the shipowner was merely setting a trap for them ; or it may have been without any evil design that, on Saturday, 16 April, 1586, he ran ashore at Littlehampton, a place as carefully watched as any in the kingdom. He warned them to lie in hiding, and went on shore. Two days later he returned with the news that a stricter watch than ever was being kept and that escape was impossible. On Tuesday Mr. Justice Shelley came on board and, discovering the priests, put them under arrest. The result of his examination ^ was that all four were conveyed to London and lodged in the Marshalsea where they awaited a more formal examination which took place on Saturday, 30 April. Ralph Crockett stated that ill-health brought him to England, but that he had intended to exercise his priestly office should occasion arise. Edward James admitted that he had come to fulfil his oath. These admissions were necessary before they could be imprisoned, for, strictly speaking, they had infringed no law. They had not landed but had been taken out of the ship against their will. The law under which they were to suffer — these admissions having been made — runs as follows : " No Jesuit seminary priest or other such priest, deacon or ecclesiastical person whatso- ever, born within the realm or any other of its then actual dominions and ordained or professed by
^ C.J^.S. vol. ii. pp. 242, 243, etc.
476 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
authority derived from the See of Rome shall come into, be or remain in this realm or other the then actual dominions aforesaid under pain of High Treason . . . " ^ Walsingham had therefore suffi- cient for a condemnation whenever he should desire to impress the mob by an execution ; and he reserved his victims in prison — Crockett in the Marshalsea with Potter and Bramston ; James in the Clink.
During these years of confinement they are lost sight of, not only by those to whom they came to minister, but even by their persecutors. We find notes made by the prison authorities which indicate how little was known of the prisoner's offence and the circumstances of his coming thither. Apparently there was some doubt as to whether Ralph Crockett should be detained in prison after 1587. We read in the instructions of Serjeant Puckering against his name : " Not pardoned because prisoner in Marshal- sea. Also committed by Mr. Secretary" — that is, by Sir Francis Walsingham. As to this general pardon of 1587, we read against the name of Edward James, Crockett's companion in martyrdom : " So the offence of being here not pardoned by the generall pardon of 29 Reg^e, because all persons be ther ex- cepted out of the pardon, which the last day of the said parliament were restrained of their liberty by direction from some of the privy Counsel ". And again we read,^ '' But this clause helps them not yf they were at the last day of the same parliament in
^ 27 Eliz. c. 2.
"^ C.R.S. V. 156. For the general pardon, see Introduction § iii.
VENERABLE RALPH CROCKETT ♦ 477
prison in the Tower, the Marshalseye, the Fleet or by the commandment of the Q. or by commandment or direction of any of her Council restrained of liberty. For such persons are generally excepted out of the pardon, albeit they do conform themselves ut sup^a."
We have some informal reports on the Catholic prisoners which the ministers caused to be sent in to them from time to time. Of course it frequently happened that the prison officials gave false or pre- judiced reports through hatred of their prisoner or inability to extract bribes from him, for Burghley and Walsingham were not fastidious in the choice of their trusted underlings. Ralph Crockett in one report ^ is characterized with seven others as " meeter to be banished ". In a list ^ of " prisoners to be dis- posed of, December 1586 " under " Marshalseye " we find : ** Ralphe Crockett, for Wisbeche or such like place". This, as Simpson notes, implies that he had means of his own, for the Government did not keep for an indefinite period prisoners who were quite unable to contribute to their own support.
There are two more landmarks in these prison re- cords which assure us that our martyr was in cap- tivity from the moment of his arrival in England until the day when his glorious death released him. A list of '' Priests and Jesuits in Prison in London, July 20, 1587 " ^ under " Marshalsea " gives nineteen names including " Ralf Crockett ". The other is a ** Note of priests in London, March, 1588," which takes us very near to the day of the martyr's death.
^ C.R.S. ii. 254, by Nicholas Berden. ^ c.lis. ii. 274.
'"^IdM. 277.
478 ♦ LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
Under the Marshalsea entries ^ " Raffe Crockett " is found with fourteen other names.
This is all that records tell us of his prison life. The courage and perseverance with which he bore this long and troublesome confinement we must infer from what we know of his character. It was a sore trial for this brave heart to reflect that his hopes of helping his countrymen were vain : that the time and trouble spent in becoming a priest were apparently wasted.
The immediate cause of so many martyrdoms in 1588 was the revulsion of feeling after the Spanish Armada. Making the most of the popular excitement caused by that event, Elizabeth's bureaucracy de- signed executions in bigoted places, such as London, to serve as popular displays, and in disaifected places to serve as a warning example. Chichester was con- sidered to lie in the latter category, and four names were selected and embodied by Puckering in a list which is preserved in the prison records.'^ Another .list of proposed martyrs gives under Sussex, " Raffe Crockett — Marshalsea ; ifraunces Edwards — Marshal- sea ; Edward James — Clynk ".^
The actual trial and martyrdom is best described by a certain Thomas Bowyer, who was commissioned to conduct the trial, and who makes the most of his opportunity by giving an exhaustive account.^
" The whole order of the arraignment, judgment
^C.R.S. ii. 279. Udid v. 155. ^Idtd v. 159.
^R.O., Dom. Eliz., 217, i., 1588, 30 September,— transcribed by Richard Simpson in TAe Rambler^ N.S., vol. vii. pp. 279-83, April, 1857.
VENERABLE RALPH CROCKETT 479
and execution of Raffe Crockett and Edward James, at the Sessions of Oyer and Determiner, holden at Chichester, in Sussex, on the last day of September, anno 30° Dominae Elizabethae Reg. And of the like condemnation of John Oven and Francis Edwardes at the same time, whose execution notwithstanding respited.
" The Right Hon. the Lord Buckhurst having re- ceived direction from the other the right hon. the lords of her majesty's privy council, with the com- mission of oyer and determiner, and their examina- tions and forms of indictment of a priest, for his being within the realm after the statute made anno 27th of the Queen's reign, and of the indictment for the receiving of such a priest for the proceeding in their arraignments, sent carefully with all speed for Thomas Bowyer, to be with him at Lewes on Mon- day the 23d of September at night, signifying that he had to impart unto him matter of importance touch- ing her majesty's service. At which time the said Thomas Bowyer attending on his lordship and find- ing Mr. Richard Lewknor there also about the same cause, he was willed -by them to provide to give evi- dence against the persons aforenamed, and appointed the Monday last of September for the indictment, and Tuesday ist of October for the arraignment of them. The said Thomas Bowyer, although before that time he had received great discouragement for the executing of his duty in some cases against re- cusants, yet, in respect of his special duty to her majesty, he willingly took on him the charge, and on Monday the last of September, before Sir Thomas
48o LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
Palmer, Knight, Richard Lewknor, Esq., Walter Covert, Esq., Henry Goring, Esq., George Goring, Esq., and John Shyrley, Esq., in commission of oyer and determiner, a special jury of substantial free- holders being charged for the inquiry, viz. Henry Hodgeson, Thomas Murford, William Magewyke, John Pytt, William Westbrooke, Richard Bettes- worth, Edward Grene, John Scarvill, William Aylesse, Thomas Gunwyn, John Blackman, Thomas Bennett, John Slater, John Lancaster, Thomas Mychell, George Grene, John Osburne, William Rumbridger, Nicholas Osburne, John Clarck, John Sawnder, John Watson, and Robert Farneden, the said Thomas Bowyer preferred four several bills of indictment :
" (i) Against Edward James, that he, being born at Beston in the county of Derby, and since the feast of St. John Baptist, in the first year of the queen,^ and before the 28th of April, in the 28th year, was made priest at Rome beyond sea, by authority derived from the see of Rome, the same 28th April was and remained at Little Hampton in Sussex, traitor- ously and as a traitor to our sovereign lady the queen, and contrary to the form of the statute in that case provided.
" (2) Against Raffe Crockett, born at Barton-on- the-Hill, in the county of Chester ; before the 28th day of April anno 28°, made priest at Rheims ; was the said 28th of April at Little Hampton in Sussex, &c.
1 That is, Bowyer had it established that they were not Marian priests. They had committed " High Treason " simply by being seminary priests and by being in England at all.
VENERABLE RALPH CROCKETT 481
" (3) Against John Oven, born at Oxford in the county of Oxford ; before the ist of April anno 29 made priest at Rheims ; was the said ist of April at Battle in Sussex.
" (4) Against Francis Edwardes, born within the realm of England, viz. at Wrexham, in the county of Denbigh, in Wales ; before the last of July in the 27th year made priest at Rheims ; was the same last of July at Chichester in Sussex. (Here is to be noted, that the words of the statute are, ' born within the Realm of England, or any other her highness's do- minions'; and that the statute 27th Henry VHI, c. 26, uniteth Wales to England. So the indictment well, — infra regnum Angliae,)
" The long forenoon being spent about the appear- ance and charge of the jury, the quarter-sessions being also then kept too, in the short afternoon the said Thomas Bowyer attended on the inquest to inform them on the evidence ; and having each of the said prisoners* several examinations ^ taken at the prisons where they were, upon the effect of the sta- tute and common law opened to the inquest, and the perusing of the examinations, the inquest, after a little conference, found the bills, and presented them to the justices; and then forthwith were the said four prisoners brought to the bar, and severally ar- raigned ; each of them pleaded not guilty, and put themselves to trial of the country ; and although the day were very far spent, and the time of trial, by
^ " Examinations " — for instance, those mentioned (or implied) in CR.S, V. 157; ii. 242, 243, 246, 251, 252, 254,255, 274,277, 279.
31
482 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
the Lord Buckhurst's order, appointed to be the Tuesday, to the intent that greater resort from the further parts of the shire might be present at it, yet the justices forthwith that evening proceeded to trial ; the jury charged for the trial were these, — John Mutton, Thomas Betsworth, John Stradlinge, John Bonner, John Duppa, Richard Hobson, Richard Cooke, Thomas East, William Ruffyn, John Turner, Thomas Grene and Richard Haler.
" The order of the evidence was first the opening ; the effect of the statute of 27°, which was, that if any born within the queen's realm of England or her dominions, and made priest since the Nativity of St. John Baptist, in the first year of her reign, should after forty days after the end of the parliament of 270 be and remain within the realm, that the same should be adjudged treason, and they to be condemned as traitors. Then was opened to the jury that the treasons whereof they were to be convicted were in- deed treasons by the common laws of the realm, and that the very same treasons were mentioned in the statute of 250 Edward III., as the adhering to her majesty's enemies, compassing and imagining the de- privation of the queen from her regal authority and life was not to be doubted to be their intent and purpose, which intent in treasons were sufficient to prove the party guilty, though the act were not executed, be- cause it would be too late to punish the offence after the act executed. This intent of theirs by the common law is to be proved by the overt fact, and only for the ease and satisfaction of the country at trial to prove the overt fact this statute was made ; for no man will
VENERABLE RALPH CROCKETT 483
doubt that the Pope is the queen's capital enemy, as one that hath gonei about by his sentence to deprive the queen of her estate, and to absolve her subjects of their fidelity and allegiance ; the authority whereof he hath claimed and established by the Council of La- teran,^ holden a.d. 1213, wherein he showeth himself to be very Antichrist at Rome ; and therefore each of them being natural born subjects to her majesty, and going out of the realm, and there adhering to the Pope, and by or under his authority taking an order of priesthood, and returning to win the queen's sub- jects to their faction, were without any question even by the common law to be adjudged traitors. All which by their own several examinations appeared to be true ; each of which examinations were to each of them and the jury upon each of their trials read, and could not be denied by them ; which proved sufficiently the matters contained in their several indictments, concurring with the effect of the statute. The examiners under whose hands the examinations were showed were John Puckering, serjeant-at-law, Peter Osburne, James Dalton, William Danyell, Nicholas Fuller, Richard Branthwayt, Richard Top- clyff and Richard Young, some to the one, some to the other. Their answer was, that they came only to do their function, which was to win people to the Catholic faith ; and that it was a cruel law to make their religion and the taking of priesthood to be treason, and that the time hath been that priesthood
^The Twelfth CEcumenical Council, held in 121 5, in which fingland was represented.
3?^
484 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
had been reverenced in England. To which it was said, they were far deceived to think that they were in question of any matter of religion ; but their offence was apparent treason, to go about to draw the queen's subjects from their obedience, and thereby to deprive the queen of her estate, with adhering also to the Pope, known to be the queen's mortal enemy. And the statute did no more but to make certain the overt fact, for the ease of the jury that should try the treason by their overt fact. And that they had even at the making of the act some of their own faction that de- fended their cause and spake against the bill, even Apharry,^ that came purposely over to take the queen's life away ; and therefore ^ they had no cause to find fault with the law, or to allege any cruelty therein. And Mr. Lewknor showed them that in the late time of Queen Mary it was made treason to pray for the queen, as by the statute is set down,^ which
^ Dr. Parry, a Welsh adventurer, with some fine gifts, though of dissolute life. He sometimes posed as a Catholic, and alone had the courage to speak against the bill, 17 December, 1584. See Lingard, ffzst Eng. vol. vi. p. 376 ff. See D.N.B. and Months April, 1907.
^ Bowyer's logic is here rather difficult to follow. Apparently his point was, that there could be no safety if papal emissaries were allowed in England. The law of 27 Elizabeth effected this, and made the task of the jury quite simple. It should not there- fore be called cruel.
^ This shows bad faith. The Statute of i and 2 Philip and Mary, cap. ix., ordained that, " if any person pray or desire that God will shorten the Queen's days, or any such malicious prayer, amounting to the same effect, he shall be adjudged a traitor ". How different this was from Lewknor's version needs no other
VENERABLE RALPH CROCKETT 485
could not be any overt fact to declare any intent of treason. The Bishop of Chichester, then also present by reason of the quarter-sessions, did both show how they were deceived and abused in such points of religion as they professed, and that their religion was made but a cloak to cover their treasons ; and dealt most with John Oven, who in his youth was known to the bishop, and had received exhibition of him. The jury thereupon departed ; and after a while, returned and gave their verdict, finding each of them severally guilty : first, John Oven ; second, Raffe Crockett ; third, Francis Edwardes ; and Edward James last. At the giving of the verdict, Guilty, only Raffe Crockett said, 'Non timebo quid mihi facial homo ' ; the rest said little or nothing : whereupon they had, after their judgment, pronounced by Mr. Richard Lewknor according to their deserts, to be drawn, hanged, and quartered. After that, divers ministers offered to confer with them ; but of all other Crockett was most obstinate, both himself refusing of conference and in persuading the others to continue in their obstinacy and lewdness. But yet Oven first yielded to acknowledge the queen to be their and our sovereign, and to take the oath appointed by the statute of anno primo. Whereupon the justices and under-sheriff, knowing the queen's majesty's mercy to surpass all her other virtues, did reprieve him upon hope to obtain his pardon ; notwithstanding Thomas Bowyer moved the justices that he should take the oath publicly in the open sessions, and also freely and
comment than Elizabeth's own, for she left it in force, and it was not repealed till 1863 ! {Statutes in Force^ i. p. 49.)
486 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
from his heart declare openly those articles following, devised then by him for that purpose, and subscribe the same ; which was done at the quarter-sessions the Tuesday morning :
" ' I, John Oven, do utterly renounce and forsake that point of doctrine holden by the Pope and his adherents, as a doctrine ^ traitorous ; whereby he claimeth, as by the Council of Lateran is expressed^ to absolve the subjects of that prince that he shall de- nounce to be an heretic of their fidelity to that prince, and to give the realm or lands of that prince to Catholics (as he calleth them), who should without controversy possess the same.
" * I do also utterly detest and abhor all such (if any there be) as do imagine themselves dispensed withal for feignedly submitting themselves to the obedience of our sovereign lady Queen Elizabeth, until such time as the Pope shall otherwise appoint, or time serve their turn.
** ' I do also promise to be aiding and assisting to all doings whatsoever that shall tend to the safety of her most royal person ; and shall, to the uttermost of my power, during my life, make known all such parties and practices as shall any way tend to the endangering of her most royal person ; whom I pray God long and long to preserve to reign over us.'
"And so was John Oven reprieved, and is with my Lord of Chichester.
" On the same Tuesday, about noon, the other three, Edward James, Raffe Crockett, and Francis
^ In the margin^ " It was devised ' Anti-Christian and traitor- ous ' ; but that was put out by one of the justices ".
VENERABLE RALPH CROCKETT 487
Edwardes, were drawn all on one hurdle towards the place of execution, at Broyle Heath, little more than a quarter of a mile without the north gate of Chichester, divers ministers attending on them. But both James and Crockett, but especially Crockett, refused all con- ference ; and so Crockett was first taken to execution. And before his going up the ladder, he kneeled down to James to have absolution ; and as a minister standing by reported to me, required it in these words, ' Pater, absolve mihi ' ; and so had absolution ; and so had James the like of Crockett. At his first coming up and turning himself on the ladder, he blessed the people with this term, ' As many as were capable of his blessing'; then all, for the most part, crying aloud, that they refused his blessing, and would not be capable of it. Then he spake somewhat in excuse of himself; and that he died for religion, and coming to execute his function of priesthood. But Mr. Walter Covert and Mr. Richard Lewknor, justices present, caused him to stay his proceeding in that speech, saying that it was treason, and not a matter of religion that he was condemned for. Then he offered to pray in Latin ; the people crying out to him, * Pray in English, and they would pray with him '. And so, after a few prayers in Latin to him- self, he was executed according to his desert ; Edward James all that while kneeling alone in his prayers. And then taken to execution, at his first coming and turning himself on the ladder, he said in EngHsh, lifting up his eyes, * Into Thy hands I commit my soul, O Lord ; Thou hast redeemed me, O God of truth ' : which prayer the people liked well, and
LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
commended. But suddenly he turned to his Latin speeches, the people crying out to him to pray in English ; and was very shortly executed, also accord- ing to his deserts.
"All this while of their execution, the ministers there were very busy in conference with Francis Edwardes, who, until Edward James was off from the ladder, would never relent ; but then forthwith he began to yield, to be conformable, and to acknow- ledge the queen's authority ; and so was by the sheriff, with the allowance of Mr. Lewknor and Mr. Covert, stayed from execution : and so now remaineth in the house of Mr. Henry Blackstone, one of the residentiaries of the church of Chichester, and, as I understand, did in the afternoon take the oath of anno primo publicly at the sessions, and declare and subscribe the same articles that John Oven did."
Thus ends the verbose account of this officious magistrate. In it are brought into strong relief the heroism and steadfast character of Ralph Crockett. He stands out the more clearly in contrast to the poor creatures who yielded to their terror and said the words their persecutors put into their mouths. Such a strong and energetic soul was destined by God, we should have thought, to do great and visible work for the salvation of his country. But no ; martyrdom is more than missionary success. Sanguis Marty rum semen ecclesice. " The souls of the just are in the hand of God, and the torment of death shall not touch them."
F. P. H.
VENERABLE RALPH CROCKETT 489
Authorities.— R. Simpson, TAe Rambler^ N.S., vol. vii. pp. 269-94 ; Massacre of 1588^ C.R.S. v. 1 50-60, Catalogue of Marty rs^ ibid. 288-93 '■> Douay Diaries. Morris, Troubles^ iii. Challoner. Gillow, Biog. Diet. Eng. Cath. Stanton, Menology of England and Wales.
Relics. — A quarter was formerly at Douay, where Bishop Challoner saw it. By its size it " was judged to be Mr. Crockett's, he having been a tall man, whereas Mr. James was of low stature ".
LIV. VENERABLE EDWARD JAMES.
SECULAR PRIEST.
Chichester, I October, 1588.
Edward James was born at Beston in Derbyshire about the year 1559, and went to the grammar-school at Derby. In his sixteenth ^ year he entered the university of Oxford and studied for four years under Keble White at St. John's College. To do this he had to conform at least outwardly to the state religion by going to church, but he could not in conscience take the oath of supremacy ; he therefore left Oxford without graduating. Coming to London he fell under the influence of a good Catholic named Bradley, who convinced him of his inconsistency and wavering conduct. The young man was not only converted : he fervently determined to become a priest and to work for the conversion of his country. Bradley forwarded this good purpose by providing him with money amply sufficient for his journey to the con- tinent, and by introducing him to the Blessed William
1 In 1575 he was eighteen according to Foster, Alumni Ox- onienses,! $00-17 14, n. 798 ; but twenty-one in 1 580 according to Foley, S.J., /Records, vi. 143.
490
VENERABLE EDWARD JAMES 491
Fylby/ who was just starting for Douay. Early in October, 1579, they left Dover in an English ship and arrived at Calais. The college had been re- moved from Douay to Rheims in the previous year, so to Rheims they went. But Edward James did not enter the college. He lived in the town with the future martyr Edward Stransham for nine months, during which time, no doubt, he attended lectures and prepared in every way for his future work. On 4 August, 1580, he departed with ten other students to the English College at Rome, was admitted and took the college oath 16 May, 1581. He received the minor orders early in 1581 from Bishop Goldwell (who was in exile for the faith from the see of St. Asaph), and the subdiaconate in November, 1582. At the same ordination he received the diaconate, and in October, 1583, he was ordained priest. Not until September, 1585, did he leave Rome for the English mission. " In September," says the Diary of the English College, '' the Rew. Robert Bennett, Edmund Calverley, Edward James and Christopher Atherton left for the English mission. They were admitted to kiss the feet of his Holiness, who received them most graciously, and made them a present of 200 crowns for their journey. He was further pleased to grant to them the faculties imparted to the last band of missionaries, and to empower them to ad- minister the Sacraments in England, and to absolve
^ Douay Diaries^ Series i. and ii. p. 157. Lives of the Eng- lish Martyrs^ vol. ii. p. 491. Simpson's conjecture that it was John Filbie alias Byforest, is incorrect.
492 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
from all reserved cases and censure, even from those contained in the Bulla Coenae." ^
Edward James arrived at Rheims in November, according to the Douay Diary^ and stayed there a few months. Among the papers of the English College at Rome there is one endorsed : '* Petition of fifty scholars for retaining the Fathers of the Society of Jesus, 1586". One of the signatures is "James Edward, priest," and it is marked with a cross to indicate that he was a martyr. At first sight it seems that the date is too late, or that our martyr cannot be the person in question. But the difficulty of the date is not peculiar to his case : for the three companions who, in 1585, left Rome with him for the English mission, are also to be found on this list dated 1586. *' Bennet, Robert, priest" heads the list, Edmund Calverley signs himself" priest, " and so does Christopher Atherton. There are two alternatives : either they signed in 1585 when the list was still hardly more than a proposal and it was not ready to be presented until the next year, or else the list was not framed at all until 1586 and was then sent to these four priests who had left Rome but a few months before. Against the latter alternative is the fact that Robert Bennet heads the list : for the first name would hardly be that of one absent from the college. Moreover the four names do not come at the end of the list as this hypothesis would lead us to expect, nor do they even occur together. On the whole it appears more probable that they signed at an
^ A Papal sentence of excommunication published against heretics every Maundy Thursday.
I
VENERABLE EDWARD JAMES 493
earlier stage of the movement, perhaps in 1585 just before they left. Then the date of its presentation to the Cardinal Protector would have been appended to the document which had taken some time to com- plete. It is curious that though it is a " Petition of fifty scholars" there are only forty-nine signatures. But there are two names erased.^
On 7 February, 1586, Edward James left Rheims for the English mission accompanied by a priest who called himself Stephen and concealed his surname. He was the Venerable Stephen Rowsham who had been banished the previous year from England and was therefore obliged to use the utmost caution. About five weeks later he met his fellow-martyr Ralph Crockett for the first time at Dieppe, where he and his companion were waiting for a chance to cross the Channel. Arrangements were made, as related in the life of the Venerable Ralph Crockett, and Daniell the shipowner of Newhaven, through malice or incapacity, touched at Littlehampton, a part of the Sussex coast particularly suspected and jealously guarded at that time. Three days elapsed and on 19 April the Sheriff boarded the vessel and arrested the four passengers — Bramston, Potter, Crockett, and James. It is re- corded of the first three that they were examined by Mr. Justice Shelley at Littlehampton prior to their imprisonment in the Marshalsea, and, as was natural,
^ Since the above was written Dr. A. O. Meyer has published the report of the visitation of the English College, Rome, in 1585-6. The above petition was evidently connected with the visitation, and this explains why the signatures were not all made together at one time.— Ed.
494 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
James was examined there also. Walsingham sent him with them to the Marshalsea for a few days. They were committed on 27 April and examined on the 30th, whereas James did not appear before Topcliife until the next day, i May. At any rate we know that from that date until the end of Sep- tember two years later he was confined in the Clink. He seems to have been overlooked for some time by those in charge of him, for we find in the notes of various prison officials and in their reports questions such as these : " Quaere, whither comytted ? and by whom ? Where remained time of Pardon A^ 29 ? " Then marginal notes are entered answering these questions. As time went on the reports became more explicit. Under the heading Sussex, Serjeant Pucker- ing's Instructions say : *' Edward James — Born in Derbishire made preest four years past beyond sea apprehended in April A^ 28 Reginae in Sussex in a ship resting on land and committed by Mr. Secretary ^ and there remained ever since. So the offence of being here not pardoned by the generall pardon of 29 Reg^^ because all persons be ther excepted out of the pardon, which the last day of the said parliament were re-
^ Father Pollen here refers to C.R.S. ii. 246, "where he is said to have been committed to the Clink by Topcliffe, not by Walsing- ham," and therefore concludes that James was included in the pardon. But was he not committed to the Marshalsea (for a few days) by Walsingham, and then to the Clink by Topcliffe who examined him i May ? See C.R.S. v. 1 57 : "... first to the Mar- shalsea by Mr. Secretary " (that is with the other three taken at Littlehampton) "after to the Clink i^ Maii 1586, and there rem- ever since ", For the general pardon, see Introduction, § iii,
VENERABLE EDWARD yAMES 495
strained of their liberty by direction from some of the priuy Counsel." This document bears the date 30 August, 1588, and the heading Sussex indicates that Walsingham had a scheme for executing a num- ber of priests sufficient to terrorize those whom he supposed sympathetic with the Spanish invasion. This was the document that settled the martyr's fate: for trials in those days — especially those that were so carefully planned and prearranged — were always foregone conclusions and merely served to impress an ignorant and servile populace with the majesty and justice of the law which made the Catholic religion a crime.
Father Christopher Grene in his account of martyr- doms {Collectanea E),^ tells us that Edward James was conveyed to Horsham and thence to Chichester. The martyr is here described as " a man very modest and humble, ever contemning death, much given to meditation, and receiving thereby many spiritual consolations ". With this little summary agrees the sketch of our martyr drawn for us in the Stonyhurst MS. : ^ *' Mr. James, a verie mild and virteuouse man much given to meditation, and had in the same so greate consolation that sometymes he could not refraine but express the same by outward signs ". A full account of the trial and martyrdom is given in the life of the Venerable Ralph Crockett. Companions in the vessel that brought them on their work of ministry, they shared the disappointment of being captured without celebrating a mass, administering
1 Morris, Trouifles^ iii. 37, ^ C'./?.^, v. 290,
496 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
a sacrament 6r speaking a word to the flock for whom they were ordained. Separated for two years into different prisons they met again to profess their faith together on the scaffold. Crockett w^as the first to suffer, for Edward James was considered to be of weaker character, and whilst his companion suffered he was *' all that while kneeling alone in his prayers. And then taken to execution, at his first coming and turning himself on the ladder, he said in English, lifting up his eyes, ' Into Thy hands I commit my soul, O Lord ; Thou hast redeemed me, O God of truth '." 1
Thus in death he triumphed over human weak- ness. Richard Simpson ^ says of his character : " He was a man evidently far inferior to Crockett in his physical capacity ; a little person ; naturally some- what timorous, and disposed to reflect with some im- patience on those who, he thought, had brought him into such a scrape, — namely Bradley, who converted him and sent him to Rome, and the authorities who had administered the oath ; yet, after all, his noble will overcame the infirmities of his organization, and he firmly refused to purchase his life by the sacrifice of his faith. But he was not so brave nor so circum- spect as Crockett, who would not mention a single name, nor compromise any Catholic by his confession ; for he divulged the name of a Mr. Fortescue, living about Holborn, to whom he had be^en directed as a * comforter of priests '." But this weakness is wonder-
^ Bowyer's report of the trial and execution. Rambler^ N.S,, vH. p. 283.
2 Rambler, N.S., vii. p. 275,
VENERABLE EDWARD JAMES 497
fully transformed in his martyrdom. He had to bear the torture of seeing his friend cruelly done to death, knowing that he was kept back because he was ex- pected to give way. Yet he both stood firm himself and even kept a strong influence over the wretched man who came to the very brink of death for the faith, and then turned back. " The ministers there," says Bowyer, '' were very busy in conference with Francis Edwardes, who, until Edward James was off from the ladder, would never relent ; but then forth- with he began to yield, to be conformable, and to ac- knowledge the queen's authority." But who shall say that our martyr worked in vain. The confession of faith which he made by his long captivity was potent as an example to his fellow-prisoners, just as the noble sacrifice of his life for the faith is a lesson of consolation to all who know by sad experience the weakness of human nature.
F. P. H.
Authorities. — R. Simpson in The Rambler^ N.S., vol. viii. pp. 269-84. Massacre of J^SS, C.R.S.v. 150-65. Catalogue of Martyrs, ibid. 290 ; Douay Diaries. Foster, Alumni Oxonienses. Morris, Troubles, iii. Challoner. Gillow, Bibl. Diet. Eng. Cath. Stanton, Menology of England and Wales. Diary of Eng. Coll., Rome, Foley, Records, vi. A. O. Meyer, England und die k'atholische kirche unter Elizabeth, Rome, 191 1, pp. 428-54.
32
LV.
VENERABLE JOHN ROBINSON.
SECULAR PRIEST.
Ipswich, I October, 1588.
From the time of St. Lawrence down to our own day there have always been martyrs who could face the most cruel death with a smile on their face and a jest on their lips. This may truly be said of the Venerable John Robinson, an old man at the time of his death, yet one who kept the heart of a child right up to the end.
He was born at Fernsby in the North Riding of Yorkshire, at what date is unknown. He grew up with no thought of the priesthood, for he married and had a son, named Francis, w^ho was born in 1569 and who was worthy in every respect of such a father. Of him we shall speak later.
On the death of his w^ife, feeling called to the priest- hood, he resolved to devote himself to the missionary life and for that purpose entered the English College at Rheims. The date of his arrival there is uncer- tain, but in all probability his seminary course was considerably curtailed on account of his age. The
498
VENERABLE JOHN ROBINSON 499
first mention of his name in the Douay Diaries comes under the date of 15 August, 1584, on which day he returned to Rheims from England whither he had gone, we may suppose, to visit his son who at this time was fifteen years of age. Hence it was some time before 15 August, 1584, that he first entered Rheims.
In April of the following year he received the diaconate and the priesthood ; the diaconate on 6 April — the Vigil of Passion Sunday, and the priest- hood, 20 April — Holy Saturday, in the Cathedral at Rheims. Within two months he set out for the mission accompanied by three companions. It was on 14 June, 1585, that he left the college walls, no doubt with a light heart, rejoicing that now at last he was to labour in the vineyard of the Lord. Before the month was ended, however, he had already begun a long term of imprisonment, which was to terminate only with his execution.
He arrived in England about 16 June, O.S., the feast of Pentecost, according to the report of his ex- amination drawn up about three years later, and which places his arrival in England during Whitsun- tide. According to some accounts it would appear that he was captured in the harbour, coming from Douay, but from the document referred to above, which will be quoted at length hereafter, it would seem that he landed in the South of England first and then shortly after took ship again for the North.
One would naturally expect that on disembarking his thoughts would turn to his son from whom he had now been separated for so long, and as the sphere of
32 *
500 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
his missionary activities would naturally have been the north, we can easily understand why he should proceed thither on his arrival. To escape observation the more easily, he contemplated doing the journey by sea.
The ship in which he sailed — probably from London and bound for Newcastle — put in at a little harbour near Yarmouth Roads or as some say at Laystoke (? Lowestoft), in Suffolk. It was in this harbour that his priesthood was discovered and he was promptly arrested, then by order of the Lord Treasurer and the Privy Council was sent up to London and imprisoned in the Clink. The notice of his committal to the Clink occurs in one of the prison lists dated Mid- summer, 1586.
" The Clink. John Robinsone, a semynarye priest comyted the laste daye of June 1585 by Rt. Hon : the Lord Treasurer of England and others of Her Majestie's most honourable pryvye Counsell, and not since examined."
This prison was in Southwark adjoining the palace of the Bishops of Winchester. It was not very large and perhaps for that reason was more comfortable than most of the rest, since but few could be ad- mitted into it. It was called the CHnk from being the prison of the Clink liberty or Manor of Southwark belonging to the Bishops of Winchester.^
Here the Venerable John Robinson endured over
three years' imprisonment — a period sufficient to test
the most courageous virtue. Such prisoners as he
could never tell at what time they might be called up
1 Foley, Records,
VENERABLE JOHN ROBINSON 501
for trial or to answer with their lives for the temerity which had induced them to incur the penalty of high treason.
The character of our martyr, which underwent such a severe test during these three years, is thus described by Dr. Champney in a few words : " He was a man of extraordinary Christian simplicity and sincerity, in a word, a true Israelite in whom there was no guile ". From Dodd we learn that his age and grave behaviour during his imprisonment in the Clink pur- chased him the name of Father. It was a saying of his that, if he could not dispute for his faith, he could die for it as well as the best.
In December, 1586, it was suggested that Mr. Robinson should be removed from the Clink and sent to Wisbech or such-like place. At this time the Government was trying to clear a number of the prisons in London, so that there might be plenty of prison room for Babington and his companions, whose arrest Sir Francis Walsingham was anticipating. The Clink, however, was not disturbed, probably be- cause it was too small to be of any great service. Thus our martyr remained there, and his . name is continually occurring in the prison lists for the Clink from the years 1585 to 1588. In one of them he is described as an old priest and classed among these " of small wit and honesty " or " of no account ". His very harmlessness probably caused the authorities to leave him unmolested for so long a time. He ap- pears to have been examined sometime after Mid- summer, 1586, for in the report of his final examination, he appears to have just escaped pardon, and to have
502 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
been then restrained again by direction of one of the Privy Council.^
The persecution which broke out after the defeat of the Armada brought the good old man to the scaffold. He was suddenly called up for examination by order of the Privy Council some time between i6 August and 20 August. He confessed himself a priest without any hesitation, but during his examination the manner of his arrest must have come up for discus- sion, and not being satisfied with the legality of it, the commissioners remanded him for further examination.^
^ There was a general pardon offered to religious prisoners in the year 1587. See Introduction, § iii.
^From Father Grene's account one would think that the martyr was captured in the harbour from the ship which carried him from France. He writes as follows : —
" Divers priests taken at or presently on their landing, it not appearing directly that their intention was for England. Not- withstanding they were indicted arraigned condemned and exe- cuted as flat within the compass of the statute ; as four priests at Durham, Mr. Gerard and Mr. Dickinson in Kent, others in the Isle of White and Mr. Robinson at Ipswich, with Divers others." Morris, Troubles^ iii. pp. 33 and 34.
In the examination lists drawn up in August, 1588, and handed in to Serjeant Puckering, we find Mr. Robinson was one of those who had to be examined further, and in one of them certain questions were marked down against his name presumably by Puckering himself. The document is as follows : —
" To ex[amine further]
" 5. John Robinson. Si taken at anker in Yarmouth road go- ing to Newcastle (en verity nere laystoke en Suff). Si c st ven [? ce soit venant] (or being) en le realme. / Si comyt ever since / per qx comyt (per Lj Treasurer) & a quel prison (al clink) / & lou rem. qt pardon 29 Eliz. (en clink),"
VENERABLE JOHN ROBINSON 503
Mr. Robinson having been again cross-examined, the case against him was drawn up by Serjeant Puckering, the Crown Advocate, as follows : —
" A Note of the evidence as I collected it and wrote it down for and against the persons hereafter named : —
" Suffolk.
" John Robinson. He was born in Yorkshire, made priest beyond sea about Easter Anno 27 Reginae, and at Whitsuntide after coming into England to do the office of a priest was put into a little harbour in Suffolk and there apprehended and committed by my L. Treasurer.
" Not pardoned because he was then restrained by direction of one of the Privy Council.'*
This document is said to be in Puckering's hand- writing, and it was draw n up probably a few days be- fore 12 September, on or before which date some of the martyrs were sent into different counties to be arraigned, and receive sentence. The martyrs were generally tried and executed in the counties where they had been captured, so in this case John Robin- son was to be sent down to Suffolk.^
The words in round brackets are interlined^ all afterwards cancelled.
The words in square brackets are suggestions as to interpreta- tion given by Father Pollen. See C.R.S. v. 157.
^ From this document it appears evident that the martyr had landed in England before proceeding North, otherwise his arrest at sea would not have made him guilty under 27 Elizabeth. And though some priests arrested at sea were found guilty, the plea was usually stated in the evidence, and on those occasions at least their lives were spared.
504 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
It is curious to notice that Mr. Robinson was not pardoned because he was " then restrained by direc- tion of one of the Privy Council ". This is explained by the fact that in the year 1587 (see Introduction) there was a general pardon granted for all, except those imprisoned for certain gross crimes, and for prisoners of state, such as those confined in certain important prisons, as the Marshalsea, or by the order of any member of the Privy Council.
It was with an eager heart that the good old priest looked forward to the day of his final sentence and martyrdom. It happened that two of his fellow- prisoners in the Clink were the Venerable William Way and the Venerable Edward James. The former was eventually martyred at Kingston, the latter at Chichester. When these two holy men were sent for to be arraigned he was so overcome with sorrow at not being one of them that he cried out, " Jesu, Jesu, Jesu ! how happy were I, if God would bestow so good a ttirn upon me, as I might now die for this cause," and being left one of the last, suspecting that he should not be sent for, he wept bitterly.
His prayer was not long left unanswered, for shortly after a warrant was sent from the Council ordering his trial and execution. This news so gladdened the old man's heart that he fell down at the feet of the messenger, who brought him the war- rant, and thanked him, giving him all the money he had together with his best gown. The place assigned for his martyrdom was Ipswich in Suffolk, where the sight of his suffering, in the chief town, would crush any lingering hopes of the Catholic succession
VENERABLE JOHN ROBINSON 505
entertained by the " Papists " in that part of the country.
The journey thither from the Clink was a matter of fifty or sixty miles, and the prison officials, having some compassion on him on account of his age, en- deavoured to get him a horse to carry him thither. Some difficulty was experienced in getting one, but when the old man heard of it, he begged them not to trouble, saying, " I need no horse, I will go on foot with as good a will as you ride ". Seeing that he was determined to walk they tried to persuade him to wear boots — which were only used for riding in those days — because the roads were extremely rough. Again he refused and with marvellous good humour replied, '' Nay, these legs had never boots on yet, since they were mine, and now surely they shall per- form the journey without boots, for they shall be well paid for their pains ". With great joy he took his leave of the prison, and set out on foot for his long journey. We may be sure that this journey was more like a triumphal march for him, and his happy spirit and unfailing good humour sustained him along the rough country roads.
Arrived at Ipswich he was quickly arraigned and condemned to be hanged, bowelled, and quartered. We are told that at his trial he answered the judge so resolutely, that the latter remarked to the court, " I think this fellow intended to be hanged," where- upon the old man humorously replied, " For what else did I come hither ? "
He suffered most patiently at Ipswich on i October, 1588, and thus obtained the crown of martyrdom
5o6 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
which he had desired with so great a longing during his wearisome captivity.
The martyr's head was secured as a relic after the execution, and we hear of it being " fetched from Ips- wich with apparent danger out of the midst of the town ". To what place it was taken we cannot dis- cover, and probably it has long since disappeared.
To return to Father Robinson's son — Francis. Imitating his father's heroic virtue, he determined to enter the priesthood and at the age of twenty-three m was admitted to the English College at Rome. This was in 1592. Five years later, in 1597, he was or- dained at Rome, whence he was sent to Rheims for a time and thence to the English Mission. He was not long in England before he was arrested and in 1603 was banished the country with many othersj After his exile he went to Douay, but filled with the true missionary spirit, he could not remain there long.i Almost immediately he returned to England andj made his way to the North, where he remained for many years working among that persecuted yet de-^ voted band of Catholics who kept the faith alive ini those parts, when it had been almost obliterated else- where. In the Durham clergy list for 1632 we findj his name recorded as a seminary priest on the Dur-j ham Mission. How long he lived after this, we can- not tell, but his whole life was modelled on that of] his saintly father, and though he did not win thej martyr's crown, he was nevertheless a true confessor] for the faith.
In the beginning of February, 1590, news arrived at Rheims of the martyrdom of Venerable John Robin-
VENERABLE JOHN ROBINSON 507
son, and his name was added to that noble band of priests who had gone forth from those College walls to seal their testimony with their blood.
J-c.
Authorities. — Dodd, Church Hist. vol. ii. Challoner. Gillow, Bibliographical Dictionary of English Catholics. Douay Diaries. Foley, Records^ Series xii. ; Diary and Pilgrim Book of Eng. Coll.^ Rome. Morris, Troubles., Series ii. and iii. C.R.S. vols. ii. and v.
LVI.
VENERABLE JOHN HEWETT {alias WELDON, alias SAVELL).
SECULAR PRIEST.
Mile End Green, 5 October, 1588.
In the performance of their duty the Lord Mayor, Recorders, and Aldermen of the city of York addressed a certificate to *' the right honourable Earl of Hunting- don, Lord Lieutenant and Lord President in the North Parts " on the last day of January in the year 1593- It concerned the fortunes of English Catholics abroad : they were interested in them, and for this reason. The Penal Law known as 27th Elizabeth enacted the penalty of high treason against all laymen educated in any seminary beyond the seas '* who shall not return to this realm and there take the oath of supremacy within six months after royal proclamation made in the City of London ". It also forbade the education of English children abroad under penalty of ^^'loo. The " Royal Proclamation " had been made some years before, and the inquisition was ferretting out such as had ventured to ignore it. So the docu- ment continues : " Touching the sons or kinsmen of
508
VENERABLE JOHN HEWETT 509
gentlemen and others under their charge or whom they relieve or maintain out of the realm, sent or departed over the seas forth of the said city ". And amongst others it gives this item : *' John Hewett, son of William Hewett, sometime of this city, draper, de- ceased, went over the seas about eight years since to what place we know not, neither where he is remaining nor how or by whom he is relieved ".
The Mayor of York and his brethren in office have here told us what we should not otherwise have known, that John Hewett was the son of William Hewett who had lived for some time as a draper in York ; it remains for us to fill in the rest of his story, but it had ended long before the Mayor drew up his docu- ment in 1593.
John Hewett spent his early years in England, where in all probability he finished his education- One account points to his having been a student of Caius College, Cambridge, but he may possibly be the John Hewett set down amongst the Alumni Oxoni- enses as ''John Hewett (Hewitt or Huit) B.A. 18 Nov. 1569 ". However, he afterwards went to the English College at Rheims, where he is noted in the Diaries as John Huit in 1583, receiving the Tonsure and Minor Orders on 23 September in that year. In the course of the two years which followed he received the subdiaconate and the diaconate, and according to the Diaries was sent into England in 1585, probably in the summer months. He came to his own city of York, and the reason for his journey is not known, as he was still only a deacon, but it is generally conjectured that he was suffering from ill-
5IO LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
health at the time. Whatever was the reason of his going, his reception was uncongenial enough, for his city received him into its prisons. The keeper of re- cognizances in the Castle of Kingston-upon-Hull gave a receipt for ten priests dated 23 August, 1585 ; " John Hewett, a popish subdeacon," was amongst the number and also a priest, John Marshe. The keeper, who signs himselfjohn Beyebeye, was possibly not too well informed as to his prisoner's orders, as there is every reason for supposing his prisoner a deacon ; but John Hewett was in bad hands. The prisons of the Castle and the Blockhouse, both kept by this tyrant, " were wont to be the worst places for extremity showed, in all this north country," says a contempor- ary appreciation of his services. Nor did he improve with the times, for looking ahead we learn that in 1591 '*he carried Stephen Branton from Hull Castle to North Blockhouse ; for that he could not give as much rent as the keeper asked and there kept a long space in a low house by himself". To this very spot John Hewett may have come, for his name is given with that often others as confined " in the low prison " in some " Notes by a Prisoner in Ousebridge Kidcote Their treatment, it would seem, was unusually harsh ; after describing its severity the note ends : " This continued in force for the space of one year and thirty weeks, until they were ashamed at the voice of the people ".
However, John Hewett's stay must have been comparatively short, for he was probably banished in the following September.
The Douay Diaries give seventy-two priests as exiled
VENERABLE JOHN HEWETT 511
in 1585. In January, from the Tower and elsewhere, twenty priests and a layman ; in September from York, twenty-two — John Hewett may be safely in- cluded ; and from London thirty others and two laymen. On 7 November of the same year he re- turned to the College with a priest David Kemp, some years his senior, having been ordained in 1581 ; " there came to us David Kemp, priest, and John Huit, deacon (thus contradicting Keeper Beyebeye), released from York Castle and sent into exile ". John Marsh, a priest who had shared his imprison- ment with him, did not reach the College till 12 December. A manuscript by Father Holtby, S.J., evidently tells this story, he gives ten priests as released from York prisons and sent into exile in this year, including John Marsh, and continues :' " To these add John Hugh [sic] Deacon, who, on being promoted to priestly orders, returned again into England ".
Hewett was ordained, according to the Douay Diaries, before the end of December, though neither date nor place of ordination is given, and set out with Kemp and Marsh (and again the destination is not given), on 7 January, 1586.
The Diary seems expressly to avoid saying that they set out for England ; of others entered under the same date it is said that they departed for Eng- land, of Hewett, Marsh, and Kemp, however, it simply says that they '' departed". They may have departed on some of the other work in which the president of the College employed the exiles instead of sending them again into England. The signifi- cance of this will appear later.
512 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
It is hardly likely that Hewett ever returned to his own city of York ; certainly the officials of that city had no suspicion of it, since, when they reported in 1593, their only knowledge was that he had " gone over" in 1585.
However, the year after he had left the College he is found in England. He was lying in Newgate Prison in 1587, where we get one of our most vivid impressions of him. It happened that a layman and future martyr Nicholas Horner, a tailor, had one of his limbs so badly used by the irons that it had to be amputated ; and he was helped through the ordeal *' by means that a good priest, to wit, Mr. Huit, who j was afterwards a martyr, who did hold his head be- " twixt his hands whilst it was adoing ".
From this time on till we find the next mention of him, which is in the great sessions of 1588, John _ Hewett may have been left in prison, or, if he sue- ^ ceeded in concealing his identity, which is possible since it was his first imprisonment in the South, he may have been banished a second time. However this may be, he was certainly a prisoner again byj the August of 1588. We are told in the Relation byi Peter Penkevel, who was himself a prisoner for re- ligion in the same year, that John Hewett was not included in the number tried at the first session oi Newgate in the St. Bartholomewtide of 1588. " Itj was determined that within a short time after there] should be all priests in Wisbyche and very many; other Catholics arraigned, but the Earl of Lester] dying the same while in extraordinary manner caused i a sudden stop to those proceedings.
VENERABLE yOHN HEWETT 513
" But within two months after, the magistrates returning to their accustomed practice, there were arraigned Mr. Huit and Mr. Hartley, pr. Mr. Huit refused to be tried by jury, for that he was loath, as he told the judges, that those ignorant men that understood not the case should be burthened with his blood ; and referred the matter unto the judges' consciences, and notwithstanding that he proved there openly that they had no just matter against him, and that he, being banished, was from the Low Countries sent into England prisoner by the Earl of Leicester, yet nevertheless they proceeded against him and without a jury condemned him to be hanged and quartered. The next morning he was carried to Mylane Greene [Mile End Green], where he in the cart disputed openly with the preachers, whiles one went to the Court to know the Queen's pleasure con- cerning his quartering, who was found so favourable that she would have him but hanged. In this space he reproved and proved the said minister of many shameful lies, and behaving himself in all respects both discretly and constantly was there martyred." — Thus Peter PenkeveVs Relation.
Here the story of John Hewett ended for the earlier martyrologists. In our own time, however, the story of John Weldon has come to light, which bears an extraordinary likeness to his, though they are not quite identical. We will compare them point by point, and the conclusion we shall reach is, that Weldon is really only an alias for Hewett ; and that the variations are accounted for. by the temperament and point of view of the new witness.
33
514 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
The document which tells the story of Weldon was written and printed in London in the same year, 1588, and is entitled : ^ " A true report of the Indictment, arraignment, conviction, condemnation and execution of John Weldon, and William Hartley and Robert Sutton, who suffered for high Treason in several places about the Citie of London, on Saturday the fifth of October, anno 1588, with the speeches which passed between a learned preacher and them : faithfully col- lected, even to the same words as neere as might be remembered. By one of credit that was present at the time." It is safe to conclude from internal evi- dence that the account was written by one of the "preachers" — and maybe henceforth referred to as the Preacher's Account.
1. Before comparing the facts of this story with those given in that of John Hewett by Peter Penkevel it is well to note first that the name John Weldon, with the corresponding alias " Savell," does not ap- pear in the Seminary Lists abroad, though Weldon was known to be a seminary priest ; nor does he^ appear in official papers until two years before hii death, though he was known by circumstances to b< a banished man.- — So that it is probable that thij trick of taking an alias was used by him more thai once, and that '* John Weldon " concealed his identit from the Government till the day of his death.
2. The document tells us that " John Weldon, priesi
1 It was this document which led to the identification of Hewet and Weldon by Mr. T. G. Law in an article in the Month, i87< vol, 3(vi. series iii. pp. 71-85. The tract itself is at OscoU.
\
VENERABLE JOHN HEWETT 515
was born in Tollerton, in the county of York, some- time student in Caius College, Cambridge " — we only know of John Hewett that he was a Yorkshire man and included under ** sons of kinsmen of gentlemen, and others under their charge of whom they relieve or maintain out of the realm " ; his identity with ''John Hewett (Hewitt or Huit), B.A.," of Oxford, whose college is not given, cannot be taken as more than possible.
3. He " was indicted by the name of John Weldon alias Savell, late of Gray's Inn Lane" — the preacher does not seem certain of the value of the name Weldon as a guide.
This may explain a missing passage in Hewett's life prior to the imprisonment of 1587. After he left the College at Rheims we lost sight of him, did not even know that he came to England of his own free will, till we found him a prisoner in Newgate in 1587. But, if John Weldon be also John Hewett, he entered England under the alias of Weldon or of Savell and became chaplain to a private gentleman. We know from other sources that Weldon alias Savell, described as a young seminary priest, was taken before March, 1587, at the lodging of John Gardener, Esq., of Grove Place, County Buckingham. They had taken cham- bers in Gray's Inn where Gardener disguising Weldon as a serving-man in a black coat " kept him as his servant abroad and his fellow at home ".
By this way John Hewett reached Newgate prison in the year 1587.
4. " He was made priest at Paris by Authority from the Holy See of Rome." Aqcording to the Douay
33*
5i6 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
Diaries, " John Hewett of York " was ordained in 1585, but where we are not told.
5. Weldon took exception at the trial to the jury " as unfit men to try him being mere laymen," John Hewett refused to be tried by the jury " being loath as he told the judges that those ignorant men that understood not the case should be burthened with his blood ".
6. Weldon was condemned in a similar way to Hewett, and Hartley and Sutton with him. *' The next day the fifth of October," all three were con- veyed through the City of London to Mile End, " at which place Weldon was executed ". There he denies all treason and is told that to be made priest in Paris and come into England is treason.
** No, quoth he, I came not willingly into this realm. I was drawn in against my will, and brought in by force."
This statement is corrected by " a learned and godly preacher there present," who says that he came in twice of his own free will and the first time he was simply banished — John Hewett also came as a deacon and was banished. Then he returned to England, the preacher goes on to say, and being taken dis- simulated, promising to remain Protestant, and was given money to defray his expenses. If this charge is true, that John Weldon recanted, it is another in- stance of a fall which had cost the seminary a pang. But the Relation, by Peter Penkevel, says of John Hewett when " he disputed openly with the preachers. ... In this space he reproved and proved the said minister of many shameful lies" — a quotation which
VENERABLE yoHN HEWETT 517
may affect the historical value of his past history as rendered by the preacher. The reported recantation may be a misstatement of his having agreed to the "bloody question," that he would " take the Queen's part " against a papal army, of which below.
7. Then mention is made of the return to which Weldon himself had referred : ''After this thou didst convey thyself into Flanders, meaning (as it was conjectured) to kill the Earl of Leicester, which his honour being advertised of caused thee to be ap- prehended and sent into England". The preacher states this charge somewhat timidly, for it was, of course, never proved.
In Penkevel's account Hewett " being banished was from the Low Countries sent again into England prisoner by the Earl of Leicester ". This does not allow the truth of the preacher's story that he was freed in England and went to the Low Countries from choice.
It may be that Kemp, and Marsh, who it will be remembered left Rheims with John Hewett in 1586 never returned to England as free men, but made their last journey into England with Hewett, now under another name, as prisoners. The Douay Diaries simply said that they departed, and this may have been to work in the Low Countries. Kemp and Marsh are given in lists of August, 1588, as " Priests who will take the Queen's Part " having been taken by the King of Navarre's men. Weldon also appears in these documents with the note "take Queen's part, monastically vowed, deserveth to go over". Which we may perhaps expand thus : " In so far
5i8 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
as he will take the Queen's part against the Pope, he deserves to be sent back whence he came. But he is * monastically vowed,' and that is a further offence against the law of 27 Elizabeth." — We know no details of the order in which Hewett or Weldon had taken vows.
These notes will be points from the defence offered by these men, — that they had not broken the law, they had been banished and had not returned, but had been brought back by force.
This, certainly was the line of defence taken up by Hewett in Penkevel's account and also by Weldon in the preacher's account. And since that plea could not be answered, that they had not broken Elizabeth's Statute 27 — had not oifered to return when once banished, this may account for Weldon not suffering at once.
However, this matter and the death of the Earl of Leicester only delayed the proceedings by little more than a month. John Weldon suffered in the beginning of October instead of the end of August, 1588.
8. One more similarity is found in their final act of martyrdom — John Hewett was only hanged by the Queen's clemency; the preacher's account of John Weldon says nothing of this leniency. In an old list of about 1594 there is indeed found an entry "John Weldon Priest, quartered at Mile End," but there is an added note — '' John Weldon only hanged it is thought, but either by the malice or negligence of the executioner endured a long and painful death, insomuch that the blood burst out of his mouth, nose.
I
VENERABLE yOHN HEWETT 519
ears and eyes : he in the meantime offering to knock his breast and to make the sign of the holy cross ". Father Henry Walpole also relates that he was only hanged.
g. Bishop Challoner following some older lists says that John Hewett was executed at York on 5 Octo- ber, 1588, but it is certain from Penkevel that John Hewett was executed at " Mylane Green " in that year, Hartley and Sutton being drawn in the cart together with him.
10. Yet there is no official record found of the exe- cution of Hewett either at York or London.
According to Champney and Molanus, John Wel- don, "priest of the College of Douay," was executed on 5 October, 1588, at Mile End Green.
The College Diaries do not betray knowledge of ** John Weldon, priest," nor is he found in college lists as a banished man, which he certainly was. Other lists also show confusion. Some have written him "layman " (which he certainly was not), noting his absence from seminary lists and possibly confusing him with John Wildon, layman, who was prosecuted in 1577 and 1578 for having a devout wife ! Other lists again omit either Weldon or Hewett by way of solution to the difficulty.
These reasons make it safe to conclude that John Hewett gave his life for his religion under the alias of "John Weldon," on 5 October, 1588.
Pressed by the preachers to recant on that day he spoke his mind with striking simplicity : " I have (quoth he) done nothing but as a Roman Catholic
520 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
priest ought to do by the direction of our most Holy Father the Pope, being head of the Church, who only hath authority over all persons and all causes ec- clesiastical as both by the Word of God, Councils, Fathers, and all antiquity it hath been and is to be granted ; and in this Roman Catholic religion I will die and willingly shed my blood ".
A Relation of Father Henry Walpole adds a few details to the final scene.
" About Michaelmas, 1589," it reads, but the date should now be 1588, " was Mr. Savell, or Weldon, ex- ecuted at Mile End Green, who always, by the way, desired our Saviour to aid him with grace to persevere. Being brought to the place of execution, Topcliffe said that how the Queen was merciful, * and whereas by his deserts he was condemned to be hanged, drawn and quartered, her pleasure was that he should be but hanged'. He said: 'the less was his merit,' and so he died.
" He hanged very near a quarter of an hour before he died. They would suffer no man to strike him on the breast or pull him down. There was then in the cart Mr. Hartley, priest, and a layman, who desired him by the name of Martyr to pray for him, whereat the people cried out."
In this way the story of John Hewett had been brought to a worthy close long before that day in the year 1593 when the Mayor of York fell to wondering "where he is remaining" and *'how and by whom relieved ".
H. E. D.
VENERABLE JOHN HEWETT 521
Authorities.— Peter Penkevel's Relation (1584-91), A. EM. A true Report of the Indictment^ etc. (London, 1588). (T. G. Law), Months Jan., 1879, pp. 71-85. Relation of Venerable Henry Walpole {is84-g5\ A.E.M. Douay Diaries. Strype. Chal- loner. Massacre of 1^88^ C.R.S. v. i$o-6'^. Gerard^s Catalogue of Martyrs, ibid. 288-93. Sander's Angl. Schism, 331 (ed. Lewis), Morris, Troubles^ ii. Papers and Prison Lists^ C.R.S. ii. and v. Foley, Records^ Series v.-viii. ix. xi.
Note TO p. 515.— J. Venn, Biographical Hist, of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, Jj4g-i8g7 (1897), p. 106, states that neither John Weldon nor John Hewett's name are found on Caius College records. He adds the useful references, Harleian Miscellany, x. 380, and Lansdowne MSS. 982, 105. — Ed.
LVII. VENERABLE WILLIAM HARTLEY.
SECULAR PRIEST.
Near the '' Theatre;' London, 5 October, 1588.
William Hartley, according to the report of an ex- amination in later life, was born at Wyn in Derbyshire in the year 1557, though he is usually referred to as a Nottingham man. He was the son of humble parents. Little is known of the opportunities of his youth, but whatever they were he used them to advantage and matriculated at St John's College, according to the Oxford Register, in his eighteenth year. This was only the beginning of a short career at Oxford of which we learn something from the Recollections of Father Warford, who was contemporary with him at the University. " I knew him at Oxford," he writes, "at St. John's College where he acted as Chaplain, from which post he was removed by Toby Matthew, then president, because he was suspected of Catholicism." William Hartley was born into the world in Cath- olic England under a Catholic sovereign, but hardly one year had passed over his head before it was Protestant England again, and so it came about that William Hartley, as a good Protestant, took the
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VENERABLE WILLIAM HARTLEY 523
chaplaincy of St. John's. Edmund Campion had been resident there a short time previously, but had joined the Society of Jesus two years before Hartley matri- culated, so they could not then have been intimately acquainted. Next there is observable a suspicion of Catholicism about him, which troubled that strange mixture of zeal. and selfishness, Dr. Toby Matthew, afterwards Archbishop of York.
This is all very hazy, but in his next act William Hartley steps out into the light of day. '' Without demur," as his friend tells us, " he straightway betook himself to Rheims," and arrived there in the August of 1579, — the suspicion of Catholicism had developed into a vocation to the priesthood. Considerable learning, which he is believed to have possessed, was not the only qualification which William Hartley took with him to Rheims, for on 20 September, less than a month after his arrival, the Diaries note his return from Laon after receiving the Tonsure, Minor Orders, and Subdiaconate, in which entry he is described as being of the diocese of Lichfield. He received the Diaconate on 20 December, also at Laon. His ordination to the priesthood followed at Chalons, 24 February, 1580.
The Diary notes that he sang his first Mass on the first Saturday in March at the High Altar of the Chapel of St. Stephen. It was not till the following summer, 16 June, that he set out on foot, with Blessed Luke Kirby and Dr. Fox, a layman, bound for the English Mission. A somewhat vague — and where not vague, inaccurate — document, dated in the following year, tells us that " He took ship at Diepe about mid-
524 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
summer last and landed at Hythe (hieth) as he sup- poseth and hath remained in Darbeshire most part of his time or elsewhere" (C.R.S. v. 21).
He had about a year of freedom in England after landing, and for this year of his return there is every reason to believe that Hartley was associated with Persons in superintending a work most dreaded by the Government — the multiplication of controversial books by a Catholic printing press. He moreover circulated in Oxford copies of Campion's Decent Ra- tiones, which goaded worthy Dr. Toby to writing a vehement reply. In a letter dated 28 April, 1581, Father Persons writes, *' While we were together in a house in a wood one night Hartley said to me casually that he had been at Oxford," and he went on to report news that he had received there, which enabled Persons by means of knowledge which he had from other sources to avoid a trap set for him.
The task that had brought William Hartley back to old haunts in Oxford was one of considerable delicacy. The little group of priests, which had gathered in London with Father Persons in the Oc- tober of 1580 to discuss their plans, had directed his labours in this direction. He was told off with one other, a certain Arthur Pitts, to work amongst the converts at the University, and to smooth the rough ways for any of the scholars who might conceive the idea, earlier than he himself had done, of entering a seminary abroad with the thought of taking orders. Only one who had considerable broadness of mind and a large sympathy, the result of personally ex- periencing the difficulties of that position, would be
VENERABLE WILLIAM HARTLEY 525
in any way fitted for this work. He had both. But it was a work that, however quietly carried on, must have attracted attention.
At length Hartley was taken at Dame Stonor's house, Stonor Park, near Henley, with Mr. John Stonor and Stephen Brinkley, the printer of the Decern Rationes, and four journeymen printers with them : the whole party was lodged in the Tower on 13 August, 1581.
The next few years were spent in prison. His ex- amination is recorded, but he had shown himself peculiarly uncommunicative, a statement which re- presents a considerable amount of suffering, and, certainly, the document in question gives evidence of the fact that, in spite of the writer's ingenuity, there had been considerable difficulty in its composition ; witness the following : "... he hath remained in Darbeshier most part of the time or elsewhere, but with whom or any particular place he will not tell, for hurting or accusing his friends who have relieved him". On 23 August, 1581, he was removed to the Marshalsea prison, and his name appears in its lists for the next four years. He was somewhat active for a prisoner, and daily reconciled an}^ recusants who gained access to him, and thus caused no little an- noyance to Aylmer, the Bishop of London. " But this I find amongst them," his lordship complained in a letter sent to Lord Burghley, *' and especially in the Marshalsee, that those wretched Priests which by her majesties leniency live there as it were in a College of Caitifes, do commonly say mass within the prison, and intise the youth of London unto
526 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
them, to my great grief, and as far as I can learn do daily reconcile them. I have been so bold to shut up one Hartley and to lay Irons upon him, till I hear from your lordship what course herein we shall take hereafter." In this way he spent the Christmas of
1583.
In the beginning of February, 1584, Hartley was indicted with others at the Queen's Bench, West- minster, and found guilty of conspiracy. It is curious to note a strange want of accuracy in the evidence. He met his fellow-traitors, the indictment says, on 20 September, 1581 — at which time, as already seen, according to other official documents, he was safely lodged a prisoner in the Marshalsea. However he was not alone in this, as similar facts might be stated of several of the other prisoners. Again, according to the indictment, the conspirators left Rheims in a body : whereas the Diaries describe the missionaries as setting out in twos and threes.
Moreover, in the charge, the plans of Hartley and his fellows included the following items: "To depose the Queen and to bring her to death, to raise sedition and to bring about slaughter and rebellion " : at this point there is excuse for introducing the only word-portrait we have of the conspirator, Hart- ley. " He was," says Father Warford who knew him, " a man of meekest disposition and naturally virtu- ous, modest and grave with a sober peaceful look, a blackish beard, moderate height."
In the event he was found guilty of high treason, and sentence of execution was passed. From the Court of Justice Hartley returned to prison until he finally
VENERABLE WILLIAM HARTLEY 527
came under the decree of banishment in 1585, when he was put on board at the Tower Wharf with a party of twenty on 15 January and shipped to Normandy. He returned to Rheims on landing and placed him- self at the disposal of the president, either for mis- sionary work or some other duties. It may be that he was sent on some special mission to Rome during this time, for Father Warford recollected meeting him there, as he said, '* in the year 1585 or 1586 ".
During this year of exile we have reason to believe that the Government heard of Hartley more than once. Robert Hethfield, a Newcastle merchant under examination, spoke of the exile — '' He knoweth no priest in England but one Hartlie, but he knowxth not where he may be found, for he saw him not, as he saith, since Xmas was a twelvemonth ". Hethfield faltered under torture and was afterwards confronted by another layman, Venerable George Errington, who had been captured before taking ship for France, carrying letters to Catholics, and having on board a young lad to be educated for the priesthood. At- tempts were made to force them to incriminate one another, but Errington remained staunch. Hethfield, less firm, told of a conversation which passed between them at a chance meeting on the road between Gors- forth and Newcastle, "but remembered no speech," so the report runs, " save only this that this examinate asked Errington for one Hartley, a seminary priest, and desired the said Errington to commend him to him when he saw him ". This is the only indication we ha,ve that Hartley in sonie way kept in tough
528 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
with some Catholics of England, probably with the aid of Errington who carried the letters.
Meanwhile the exile abroad had not been idle. ** One of Hartley's achievements," writes Father Warford, " was to rescue from the galleys, to convert and thoroughly instruct Captain Cripps, who is now in the naval service of the King of Spain. Hartley had been the spiritual father of that man's mother." This was a genuine conversion, the name of Captain Cripps being not unknown in other Catholic records of the time. Having started life as an English sailor it is easy to imagine by what fortunes he came to the galleys ; Hartley befriended him in this very real way, and he joined the Spanish navy. Father Warford tells us that Hartley returned to England in the Pontificate of Sixtus V, and he offers us no nearer indication as to date than that. He was taken, of course, soon after landing. His name does not appear in the correspondence for the executions of 1588, but there is evidence to show that he was probably in- cluded amongst those destined to be executed for Middlesex. He is set down in one ancient MS., of about 1594, as " William Hartley, a Nottinghamshire man, coll. S. John in Oxford, preest, hanged at Halliwell".
The fact of his trial and execution is given in a document entitled " A relation of the Penkevels of the Sufferings in England," a good authority, for Peter Penkevel, the writer, had himself suffered imprison- ment for his faith in Newgate the same year. Hartley was not included in the big batch of prisoners condemned at Bartholomewtide of the Armada Year,
VENERABLE WILLIAM HARTLEY 529
but provision was made for him. " It was determined," the account runs, " that within a short time after there should be all priests in Wisbyche and very many other Catholics arraigned, but the Earl of Lester dying the samewhile in extraordinary manner caused a sudden stop to these proceedings. But within two months after, the magistrates returning to their ac- customed practice, there were arraigned Mr. Huit and Mr. Hartley pr."
They were condemned on the ground that, being seminary priests, they had returned to the country after banishment. No time was lost. On the very next morning they were dragged in the cart to " Mylane Green," where Hewett was executed. ** The aforesaid Mr. Hartley, pr," the account continues, " being brought forth in the same cart, was after the despatch of Mr. Huit carried near the Curtain and there hanged." The day was 5 October, as we learn from another story.
Before this remove to the " Theatre," Holloway, Hartley had been forced to witness the hideous " des- patch " of his companion Hewett, by slow strangula- tion. *' He hanged very near a quarter of an hour before he died," says Father Walpole in his record. " They would suffer no man to strike him on the breast or pull him down. There was then in the cart Mr. Hartley, priest, and a layman, who desired him, by the name of Martyre, to pray for him, whereat the people cried out."
One chronicler, Raissius, says that Hartley's mother was present at his execution, and gave thanks that her son had glorified God by such a death.
34
530 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
By the Queen's clemency he was only hanged, and not quartered.
The news reached his old college, and the chroni- cler made a joyful note : " D. Guilielmus Hartleius primo ex incarcerato exul, demum in Angliam reversus martirio coronatur. 1588."
H. E. D.
Authorities. — A True Report of the Indictment^ etc., Lon- don, 1588. Peter Penkevel's Relation; Father Warford's Re- collections^ circ. 1 599 ; Venerable Henry Walpole's Relation^ 1589-95; all three in Pollen, Acts of the English Martyrs.^ Challoner. Douay Diaries. Martyrs of Armada Year^ T. G. Law in Months vol. xvi. (series iii.), 'JT. Morris, Troubles. Simpson, Edmund Campion^ 254. Foster, Alumni Oxonienses. Documents and Prison Lists ^ C.R.S. ii., Reprints. C.R.S. v. Gillow, iii. Foley, Records of Eng. Prov. Series ii.-iv., Series v.-viii., Series x.-xi. ; and vol. vi. p. 559, from which it appears that Hartley visited the English Hospice at Rome, on 1 5 April, 1586, with Sykes and another exile, stayed for nine days, and on leaving received two crowns from the Pope.
LVIII. VENERABLE ROBERT SUTTON.
LAYMAN.
Clerkenwell, 5 October, 1588.
It is a fact worthy of notice that the persecution of the year 1588 claimed as its victims an unusually large number of laymen. We are told that in this year eight laymen were condemned at one sessions held at Newgate, and all suffered martyrdom save one, who was reprieved. Religious hatred had been fanned by the futile invasion of the Armada, and now instead of having the prisons filled to overflowing by con- fessors for the faith, persecutions were taking place all over the country — the scaffolds ran with blood, and still the persecutors searched far and near to pro- vide fresh victims. That such was their intention is evident from the fact that in the cross-examination of religious prisoners the questions were so put that the accused were practically forced to condemn them- selves.
Among this number was the Venerable Robert Sutton who, when on the scaffold, might have saved himself by pronouncing but one word, which, however, he staunchly refused to do, preferring rather to die than place his soul in jeopardy.
531 34 *
532 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
Born at Kegworth, in Leicestershire, a village near Ratcliff, he was brought up in the Protestant religion by parents who perhaps had once been Catholic themselves. By them he was well educated, and eventually sent to one of the Universities, where he took his degree as Master of Arts.
Being of a studious nature, he adopted teaching as his profession, a vocation which at that time was coming more and more into the hands of the laity, since the dissolution of the monasteries.
He journeyed to London and there was appointed as master to a school in Paternoster Row. Such is the information concerning him as given by the Venerable Henry Walpole, S.J. What this school was it is difficult to discover. It is, however, quite possible that the school referred to is the Mercers' School in the Pater Noster Royalty. Flourishing at this time it was one of the four large schools in Lon- don, and in later years it numbered among its students many who afterwards were men of dis- tinction.
For some time he taught there — perhaps for many years — when he happened to meet a certain Mr. Blithe^ — an old priest who seems to have been labouring among the people in the neighbourhood of
1 From a list of priests and recusants committed to the Coumpter in Wood Street, and dated 13 June, 1586, we learn that among the number was a certain Oliver Heywoode, alias Blythe, an old priest, ordained in the reign of Henry VI 11. This is prob- ably the same Mr. Blythe who converted the Venerable Robert Sutton, and we may therefore conclude that this conversion took place at least some time before 13 June, 1586.
I
VENERABLE ROBERT SUTTON 533
Newgate. By him he was received into the Church, knowing well that such an act might cost him his life.
It was not long before it pleased God to make a trial of his faith. The news of his conversion must somehow have leaked out, perhaps he was betrayed, or it is even possible that his scholars may have found it out. He was suddenly arrested and carried off to the Gatehouse Prison, Westminster, ^ after the formal examination usually made upon the arrest of prisoners. Here his constancy was tried by long imprisonment, yet it remained unshaken.
After the defeat of the Armada, a general examina- tion of all religious prisoners was ordered by the Privy Council, which took place between 14 and 20 August, and no doubt the Venerable Robert Sutton was amongst the rest. An account of his examination is given by the author oi An Ancient Editor s Note, book, and from the nature of the questions put it seems quite probable that the general examination of religious prisoners in 1588 is referred to. The narrative is as follows : —
" And whereas reconciliation by express word of the statute is made treason, the law is so hardly constructed, that if any Catholic do by circumstance confess that at any time he hath been confessed to any priest, either seminary or otherwise, he is by and by adjudged in case of treason. So, Robert Sutton, Master of Art, saying that he was con-
1 According to another account it was the Clink or the Marshalsea,
534 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
fessed and absolved by an old priest and by him brought ' in gremium Ecclesiae,' — to which he was drawn by the examiners saying that unless he would confess himself to be reconciled, all his Catholic brethren would cast him out of their society, — was arraigned, condemned etc. ..."
The examinations ordered by the Privy Council were not in the nature of a trial, but rather an en- deavour to get the most telling evidence on which the Crown might prosecute. The actual trial seems in many cases to have been a mere mockery, as the fate of the accused was practically decided after the exam- ination. On the lists of prisoners who had been examined we find significant legal annotations written in brief, which have been interpreted as laying down beforehand to judge and jury both the guilt of the accused, and the sentence to be pronounced. (See Pollen, C.R.S. v. pp. 150-4.)
Hence we may say with some probability that the condemnation of the Venerable Robert Sutton took place a few days before his death, and therefore about the beginning of October.^ At what sessions the holy martyr was condemned we do not know, but on 5 October he was carried from prison — probably the Gatehouse — to the gallows at Clerkenwell.
Arrived at the place of execution, the Sheriif seems to have been filled with pity for him, for he made
^ From the Lz'sfs of Prisoners in and about London and their Guilty dated 30 September, 1588, we find the following entry : " These ipersons are by their own confession guilty of Treason or Fellonye . , . Robert Sutton reconciled ".
VENERABLE ROBERT SUTTON 535
every endeavour to persuade him to recant, if only by saying a single word, but all was of no avail. To the holy man, this must have been perhaps the hardest of all his trials for Christ's sake — to be obliged to reject the kind-hearted though mistaken assistance of one who was doing his utmost to save him. Fortunately for us, we have the actual scene described to us by an eyewitness — a certain Mr. Naylor, whom both Dodd and Challoner quote : —
" I saw [says he] one Mr. Sutton, a layman and a schoolmaster, put to death at Clerkenwell in London ; to whom the Sheriff promised to procure his pardon, if he would but say the word * all ' ; for he would that he should acknowledge the queen to be supreme head in all causes without any restriction ; but he, Mr. Sutton, would acknowledge her to be supreme head in all causes temporal, but for that he would not pronounce the word * all * without any restriction, he was executed. This I heard and saw."
By an act of clemency on the part of the Crown he was not bowelled and quartered. From the account given in An Ancient Editors Note-hooky before referred to, we learn that he was "executed at Clerkenwell, but pardoned of drawing and quartering, only hanged on a gibbet, set up of purpose, as a great malefactor".
Thus the holy martyr passed to his reward — a noble example of Christian simplicity, courage and constancy, and a staunch defender of the spiritual supremacy of the Pope.
J. c.
536 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
Authorities.— Penkevel's Relation, A.E.M, 283-92. Wal- pole's Relation^ ibid. 306-10. Catalogue of Martyrs, C.R.S. v. 12. Gerard's Catalogue of Martyrs^ ibid. 288. Challoner. Morris, Troubles, iii.
LIX. VENERABLE RICHARD WILLIAMS.
SECULAR PRIEST.
Traditionally ascribed to Tyburn^ 5 October^ 1588. In reality it was John Harrison alias Syrnons^ lay- man, who then suffered. The priest died 20 Feb- ruary, 1592.
In this section we pass from sufferers whose suffer- ings are known to us with some certainty and fullness* to the still larger number of those about whom our knowledge is vague and scanty ; and it is good that we should remember the existence of these too little known heroes. We must begin, however, by quoting the earlier martyrologists, and as we discuss their statements the real facts of the case will become clear.
After describing the martyrdom of " John Weldon " which took place on 5 October, 1588, Dr. Challoner adds this note : —
" About this time (some say the same day) Richard Williams, a venerable priest, who had been ordained in England before the change of religion, was also, for religious matters, hanged at Holloway, near London."
With our present documentary evidence the story 537
538 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
of this martyr should be retold as follows : That there was a Richard Williams martyred, who was one of the old Marian priests, is evident enough, and, though not much is known of his earlier career, there are ex- tant several distinct accounts of his martyrdom, which took place, however, not on 5 October, 1588, but on 20 February, 1592. Three of these accounts may be mentioned as being contemporary. That by Father Garnet in his report on martyrs from 1592-3 gives Mr. Williams under 20 February, 1592, with details as to certain incidents in his past life. The second by Father Persons gives a brief story of the martyr- dom two months after the event, which he had re- ceived from an eye-witness. It is evidently that of Richard Williams, though he is referred to as " Wil- liams" simply. The third writer is James Young, priest, who says, " The same year (1592) the Satur- day as I think after the Dom. in Albis Richard Williams priest in Queen Mary's time was executed ". He further adds that Williams " was condemned by Justice Anderson in the Sessions house within the Old Bailey, in London," then *' Hanged, drawn and quar- tered at Tyburn and afterwards his quarters were set up on the gates of the city ".
This Richard Williams had had a chequered career. After Elizabeth's settlement of religion he had acted as a Calvinist minister for some while, and during that time had married. He was known by officials in later days to have been reconciled from the fact that he was found executing the office of priest, which he could not have done without getting a dispensation from the impediment " Bigamia "
VENERABLE RICHARD WILLIAMS 539
which he had incurred by an attempted marriage. For this dispensation he came under the later laws against reconciliation of 1581, and was executed on that charge.
As to the mistaken date, it is suggested that Bishop Challoner was misled by several catalogues (as of Wilson, Chalcedon-More, Worthington II and III) which showed Richard Williams under 1588; where he seems to have taken the place of another martyr Symons, of whom more below. No explana- tion is as yet forthcoming of this error, which goes back to Father John Gerard's catalogue of 1594.
Two of the earliest contemporary catalogues, that of Dr. Richard Barrett and that of Father Pedro de Ribadeneira, which to all practical purposes is the former work brought down to the date 1592, give among their later additions the name of Richard Williams under 1592, while Persons as above stated in his Responsio ad Edictum ElizahethcB Regince gives both Symons and Williams under the correct dates, namely 1588 and 1592, respectively.
The Elizabethan State Papers of 1587 give certain details about a Marian priest named Williams, who may possibly be the same as our martyr, though he here appears as Maurice Williams. A certain Justice Richard Younge, reporting officially, mentions a cer- tain Maurice Williams whom he had committed to the " Clink" prison on 15 June, 1586.
He remarks on four others prisoners and " Morris Williams, an old priest, prisoner in the Clink " ; and adds later, "These are most busy and dangerous
540 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
persons and such as in no wise are worthy of liberty, neither are they within the compass of the last statute and if your honour (Walsingham) think so good Wis- bech were a convenient place for them ".
*' Morris Williams " was not removed to Wisbech, possibly because " His Honour " did not *' think good," or more probably because he did not think at all, and Williams like many others was simply overlooked for the time being.
He is first found in the Clink lists for August and September of 1586 as " Williams ". In the December, still in the Clink, he is recommended as ''fit for Wis- bich or soch like place ". However, he is described as a " priest " simply, and still in the Clink, on 20 July, 1587, with nine others, including James, Flower, and Clarkson. Next we read, " March, 1588, . . . Maurice WiUiams ... in the Clink " — then there is silence.
Who is this Maurice Williams ? We know from the Douay Diaries that there was a Maurice Wil- liams at Rheims in 1583, who was ordained in 1585, and sent on the English Mission on 6 April in that year.
This could not well be Mr. Young's prisoner whom he handed over to the Clink on 15 June, 1586. For he would not answer to the description of " an old priest," having been ordained only a year back and as a seminary priest would certainly have come under the Act of 1585. Maurice Williams of the prison lists is carefully excluded from those bracketted as seminary priests and may therefore have been our martyr.
VENERABLE RICHARD WILLIAMS 541
We have now seen that the martyred priest, who has been declared Venerable, really suffered in 1592, and that as early as 1594 he was erroneously assigned to 1588, where he has taken the name of a still less known martyr. This was John Harrison alias Symons. All we know about him is : i. The Douay Diaries, under 16 July, 1582, mention the visit of one John Harrison, " aged 40, not educated, came from Douay". This is probably our man. 2. In March, 1587, we read in the Prison Lists, "John Harrison, alias Symons, a recusant lately come over from beyond the seas, and hath been at Douay, Arras, Lucar, and the Spaw ".^ 3. In 1592 Father Persons recorded his martyrdom in his Responsio. 4. Peter Penkevel about the same time couples the martyr Sutton with Symons, who was " before greatly suspected and slandered to be a spy". He "suffered at Tyburn, who blessing himself, and kissing the halter, said it was the happiest collar that ever went about his neck".
We do not know how it was that John Harrison lost his definite place in our martyrology. One con- tributing cause will have been the commonness of his name. When there is difficulty in keeping many personalities distinct, those with undistinguished names will be the most liable to get confused. It would be easy to show the many possibilities of mistake in this case. We have to deal with many Harrisons, and in 1586 with another John Harrison, who is there connected with another Robert Sutton.
But even if this mistake had never been made, the
^ C.R.S. ii. 277. Symons is here erroneously printed Lynions.
542 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
difference in regard to their eventual beatification would probably have been small. We can hardly expect that either Harrison or Williams, of whom so little is known, will be finally given that high ecclesiastical honour. But they are commemorated here (though so many other little known sufferers are passed over) because of the Roman Decree, printed above in the Introduction, which gives the traditional Martyr-List in its most authoritative form. The notice comes at this place, and under the name of Williams, for the same reason.
In one sense it is pathetic that heroes, who suffered so much, should remain unknown or nearly so. But there is another side to the question. The glory of the martyrs would not be what we know it is, if our very limited capacities could wholly compass it. The example of these indistinctly known martyrs reminds us that, standing nigh to the few with whom we are now familiar, there is a multitude of glorious ones, quum dinumerare nemo poterit.
H. E. D.
Authorities.— Father Gerard's Cafal. Martyrs^ is8y-g4. C.R.S. V. 289-93. Persons, Responsio ad Edictum Elizabetha RegincB. Relation of James Younge. Douay Diaries. Relation of Penkevels. A.E.M. Challoner. Prison Lists, C.R.S. ii. 268, 272, 277, 279. Foley, Records, i. Garnet's Report on Martyrs. C.R.S. V. 228, 233. Young to Walsingham, in Morris, Troubles, ii. 233. For the less known English martyrs, see the Catholic Encyclopcedia under that title ; also Morris, in Month, April, 1887.
LX. VENERABLE EDWARD BURDEN.
SECULAR PRIEST.
York, 31 October or 2g November, 1588.
As this martyr was born in the County of Durham during the last years of the reign of Henry VIII, his boyhood was passed in an almost ecclesiastical atmosphere, for Durham in former days was a princi- pality, ruled by a bishop, who was supreme lord, to whom appeals were made, while the judges were all subject to him, and in his hands was the power of life and death. So independent was this little principality that it even possessed its own coins, and was com- monly termed not the County of Durham but the Bishopric of Durham. Though much of his power had fallen into the hands of the King, the Bishop of Durham was still in those days a personage whose influence was felt throughout the North.
While being educated there, the martyr's natural quickness of intellect soon asserted itself and in due time he was sent to the University of Oxford, which he entered in 1558. In that year he became a student at Corpus Christi College, and at the end of three years he gained his B.A. together with a fellowship,
543
544 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
1561. In 1566, on ig December, he received the degree of Master of Arts. Challoner, in his brief account of the martyr, makes him an alumnus of Trinity College, Oxford, and does not mention his fellowship. In this it is most probable that the bishop is mistaken, especially as the martyr's connexion with Trinity is not recorded either in the Douay Diaries or in the University lists.
The question naturally arises, was the Venerable Edward Burden a Catholic at this time? If such was the case it is extremely difficult to explain how he could have obtained his degree of M.A. in the year 1566. It is true that the change of religion conse- quent upon the accession of Elizabeth in 1558, and the Act of Parliament passed in the next year which made it criminal to maintain the supremacy of the Pope, were not immediately felt in the University of Oxford and least of all by the undergraduates. As Simpson in his life of Edmund Campion remarks, " the authorities did not want to make Oxford a desert by forcing too many consciences ". However the oath acknowledging the Queen's supremacy, in matters spiritual and temporal, seems to have been enforced at Oxford upon those who wished to take degrees, about the year 1564.^ Seeing that the Venerable Edward Burden took his degree of M.A. in 1566 it is not un- likely that he also took the oath of submission, in which case we can assume that he was not practising as a Catholic at this time, or at least not consistently.
1 Blessed Edmund Campion took the oath in this year, when taking his degree.
VENERABLE EDWARD BURDEN 545
At Oxford, the Venerable Edward Burden was a contemporary with the Blessed Edmund Campion, who came to the University in 1557 and remained there for over twelve years. The one was a fellow at Corpus Christi, the other at St. John's ; and we cannot doubt that our martyr was acquainted with the after- wards famous Jesuit, who is said to have filled Oxford with " Campionists," young men who became his pupils, and were such ardent followers of their master that they imitated not only his phrases but his gait. Neither of them at this time could have imagined that, within thirty years, they would both have followed the royal road of the cross, witnessing in death to the faith which now they held so lightly. Did the per- sonality of Edmund Campion have any influence over our martyr? We cannot say, but Campion's de- parture from Oxford on religious grounds in 1569 must have made a stir throughout the whole Uni- versity where he had spent so many years, and where his name had become famous. For us the years from 1566-83 are a blank in the life of the Venerable Edward Burden, and as he had remained in the University up till 1566, when he received his degree of Master of Arts, it is quite possible that he retained his fellowship at Oxford for many years after. In 1583 however we find him at Rheims studying for the priesthood, at which date he must have been at least in his fortieth year. What was the cause of this sudden resolution ? For all we know to the contrary, his conversion might have taken place a year or two previous to this date, and if so, it might not be diffi- cult to assign a cause. In the year 1581 the country
35
546 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
was roused by the much-talked-of trial and execu- tion of Blessed Edmund Campion. No doubt the news made a deep impression upon the mind of our martyr, to whom the name and fame of Campion were so familiar. If he was still a Protestant at this time, the impression created must have been far deeper, especially on the mind of a man much given to reflection, as the Venerable Edward Burden certait^ly was.
In some cases, such, for instance, as that of the Venerable William Hartley, the loss of fellowship or residence through being suspected of Catholicism decided the ejected scholar to become more faithful to his religion and sometimes led such men to join the ranks of missionary priests. If Burden had re- mained a Catholic during his career at Oxford, the loss of his fellowship on religious grounds might have turned his thoughts to the priesthood.
The first mention of his name occurs in the Douay Diaries under the date 24 June, 1583, on which day he arrived at Rheims, from England. On the follow- ing 24 September, in the Cathedral at Rheims, he received the tonsure, minor orders, and subdiaconate. Being now well over forty, and withal a well-educated man, his course was considerably curtailed. Thus, in the next year, on 31 March he received the priest- hood. His life of study had rendered his health weak, and we know that within a few years he had developed consumption. It is quite probable that this had already set in when he was ordained priest, for instead of going on the mission at once, he re- mained for two more years at Rheims, his health
VENERABLE EDWARD BURDEN 547
perhaps preventing him from proceeding to the mission. During his residence at Rheims he had the privilege of being under the immediate authority of the illustrious Dr. Allen, who still lived there.
At length on 22 May, in the year 1586, Burden was sent into England to work on the mission. York seems to have been the centre of his missionary labours. From a description of him given in Father Christopher Grene's Collectanea, we learn much of his personal character and something of his zeal in per- forming his sacred ministrations during his short missionary career.
" He was a very mild man, and endowed with a wonderful sagacity in dealing with spiritual diseases, especially in confession, and gifted with an admirable prudence in consoling wounded souls. He used to journey on foot, for though slight and infirm, the vigour of his mind overcame his weakness. Wfien he went on an errand of mercy to souls, he seemed rather to fly than to walk."
He seems to have worked on the mission for about one year when he was arrested and imprisoned at York, perhaps at York Castle, where many of the martyrs were detained. There are no official records published concerning the trial of the Venerable Edward Burden and other information is very scanty. In prison he had for his companion the Venerable Robert Dalby who was martyred at York on 16 March, 1589. From a few words which our martyr uttered when Father Robert Dalby was led off for trial, we can gather that he must have been in prison for a considerable time previous to 16 March, 1588. These
35^
548 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
words are given by Father Christopher Grene in the work which we have already mentioned. He writes : *' When Father Dalby was led off to his trial, he [Venerable Edward Burden] complained saying : * Shall I always lie here like a beast while my brother hastens to his reward. Truly I am unworthy of such glory as to suffer for Christ.' He was then ill with consumption, but next day, as he lay sick on his bed, the gaoler came to him and called him to court. The summons so invigorated him that, dressing himself at once, he hastened thither with as much alacrity as if he were not ill, so that the judges found fault with the gaoler for having said he was sick."
He was condemned to death for his priesthood and the holy martyr suffered at York ^ where he was hanged, drawn, and quartered some time during the
*The date of his death is somewhat uncertain though usually given as 29 November, 1588. This is given both by Father Grene and Dr. Challoner in their different accounts. The York Catalogue gives 4 March, 1588, but this is extremely improb- able. Though Challoner used the Douay Diaries in writing his account, an entry is made therein to the following effect : " April 9th, 1589. From England we receive news of that venerable man, Mr. Edward Burden, priest, at one time a fellow of Corpus Christi College, Oxford, who was crowned with martyrdom at York on the very vigil of All Saints, and to those saints, to whom the next day was sacred, he departed A.D. 1588 : and we the English seminarists (agentes) at Rheims rejoice exceedingly at what has befallen him, because he also at one time was an alumnus of this Pontifical seminary at Rheims ". According to this notice, 31 October was the date of the martyr's death, and this in all probability is the most correct, written as it was only about six months after the event.
VENERABLE EDWARD BURDEN 549
last two months of the year 1588, the date usually given being 29 November.
Of the Venerable Edward Burden we might say that within so weak and frail a body burned a zeal for God's glory which so invigorated his soul that at times this vigour was imparted to the body, and a zeal which won for him the reputation of being a saintly priest during life and the title of a venerable martyr in death.
J. c.
Authorities.— Fat/ier/oAn Curry to Persofis^ A.E.M. 133. Grene's Collectanea E^ ibid. 327. Catalogue of Martyrs^ C.R.S. V. 12. Two Catalogues of York Martyrs, ibid. 191. Challoner. Gillow, Bibl. Diet. Eng. Cath. Douay Diaries. Pollen, A.E.M. Morris, Troubles.^ iii.. Simpson, Life of Edmund Campion.
LXI. VENERABLE WILLIAM LAMPLEY.
LAYMAN.
Gloucester, 1588.
Though there are only about five martyrs of Glou- cester whose names have come down to us, yet the per- secution in that district w^as carried out with extreme brutality, due probably to the bigotry of the local magistrates.
Amongst these martyrs we get the name of only one layman, the Venerable William Lampley, a poor hard- working man whose fidelity is conspicuous, because he was a man apparently of little education, yet with an almost apostolic zeal in the cause of religion.
His birthplace is unknown, but it is quite possible that his native city was Gloucester itself, where in after life he carried on his trade of glover. He was so fervent a Catholic that his love for the- faith urged him to become a missionary among his own kith and kin. Poor though he was, and earning his bread per- haps with difficulty, his mind rose above his own toils and troubles, and self-forgetting, sought its happi- ness in satisfying the spiritual and temporal needs of those among whom he lived. His charity towards others was rewarded in one instance with the basest
550
VENERABLE WILLIAM LAMPLEY 551
ingratitude, for the man who was most indebted to him, betrayed him, and was the cause of his condem- nation. At the trial of the martyr, he appeared as the only witness against him, and so devoid of all human feeling was he that, previous to this, he had caused his own wife to be imprisoned for her con- science' sake.
In the account of the martyrs of Gloucester given by the author of An Ancient Editor s Note-book the trial of the martyr is recorded as follows : —
" 1589 [sic]. At the same time [i.e. when the Vener- able Stephen Rowsham was executed at Gloucester^] was arraigned, condemned and executed a poor man by occupation a glover, for persuading some of his kin to the Catholic religion, one only being witness against him that had before imprisoned his own wife for her conscience, and so indebted, as not daring to show his face but that he was only for that time and purpose protected by Judge Manwood, who after he had condemned him, seemed unwilling that he should die and therefore made him that offer, that if he would but say he would go to Church, he should have his pardon."
The holy man refused all compromises, and seeing that his entreaties were of no avail, the judge used every possible means, the persuasions of his kindred and friends and, eventually, on the day appointed for the execution, caused the " passing bell " to toll, thinking that the sound of it would terrify him. The narrative is as follows: —
'* Besides he appointed his friends and kindred the
1 Venerable Stephen Rowsham suffered in 1587.
552 LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
officers and preachers, to persuade with him but to promise so much, which when they could not obtain of him, when he was ready to go to execution, they caused the passing bell to go for him, thinking that with terror thereof he would be moved to grant so much. Again and again at the place of execution they made the same offer but all in vain ; with fervent constancy he most willingly yielded himself to these their torments, and therefore they ended him as butcherly and bloodily as ever they did any."
Though the name of the holy martyr is not men- tioned in this narrative, there can be little doubt that the martyrdom here described is that of the Vener- able William Lampley, because he is the only layman martyred at Gloucester, of whom we have notice. According to Dodd, he was condemned to death for relieving a priest. From what we know of the martyr this, in all probability, is part of the charge on which he was condemned.
Thus died the poor glover, whose exceeding charity and singleness of purpose won for him a crown of imperishable glory.
J. c.
Authorities. — Challoner. Dodd's Church History, Gil- low's Bibl. Diet. Eng. Cath. Foley's Records^ series v.-viii., ix., X., xi. Morris, Troubles. Oliver's Collections. CR.S. v. Catalogue of Martyrs,
I. INDEX OF NAMES.
Acton, Cheshire, 387. Acton, see Holford, Thomas. Acworth, George, 92, 146, 226,
227, 228. Adams, Ven. John, M., 229-233,
245. Aden, Adyn, Robert, 229 ; Roger,
229. Adyn, see Aden. Agazario, Alfonso, S.J., 37,38,94.
147, 225, 281, 409. Alcanning, Wilts, 421.
Alfield (Aufield), Robert, school- master, 145, 151, 159; Robert, apostate, 146, 353, 150, 151.
— Ven. Thomas, M., 145-163,
353, 356. Alford, Francis, 355.
— Mistress, 355. Alicante, Spain, 304.
Allen, Aleyn, William Cardinal, II, 30, 38, 94. 106, 147,
148, 149, 150, 152, 153, 156, 157, 158, 163, 172, 173, 281, 284, 292, 293, 302, 377, 401, 408, 409, 413, 448, 465, 473, 547 ; Elizabeth, 38 ; family, 44.
Alps, the Brenner pass, 38 ; the
Spliigen pass, 38; the St.
Gothard pass, 38. Amias, Amyas, Ven. John, M.,
218, 274, 456. Amiens, 9. Anchin College, 224 ; Abbey of,
near Douay, 224. Ancona, 38. Anderson, Sir Edmund, 205, 206,
208 ; Lord Chief Justice, 27, 30, 155, 538. Anderton, Alice, 202.
— Hugh, 202.
— Ven. Robert, M., 202-10.
— Robert of Lancashire, 202,
203. Andover, near Winchester, 8, 12,
13.
Anglesea, 426.
Angram Grange, near Appleton,
167. Angus, Earl of, see Douglas. Antwerp, 23, 33, 319. Apharry, see Parry. Arden, Edward, 137. Argyll, Earl of, 316. Armada, the, 357, 358, 403, 405,
502, 531. Armagh, Abp. of, see Creagh,
Richard. Arras, 35, 541.
Arrowsmith, Ven. Edmund, S.J., M., 416.
— Thurstan, 117, n8. Arundell, Sir John, 200, 201. Ashborne, 432.
Ashley, Ven. Ralph, M., 410-11.
Aske, John, 224.
Aspenwall, Hugh, 292.
Aston, Sir William, Sheriff, 305.
Aston, Cheshire, 387.
Atherton, Christopher, 491, 492.
Atkins, John, 175.
Atkyns, Richard, Attorney-General,
134. Attorney, Mr., 295. Aufield, see Alfield. Aughton, 77.
553
554
LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
Awkmonton, 432. Aylesse, William, 480. Aylmer, Bp. of London, 24, 27, 30, 412, 525.
B. R. (? Barnes, Robert), 3. Babington, Anthony, 389 ; his
plot, 243, 246, 389, 390, 501. Babington, 77. Babthorpe, Sir Ralph, 166 ; Grace,
Lady, 166, 167, 169. Baffin Land, 148. Baggrave, Leicester, 316. Bagshaw, Christopher, 152 ; of
Oxford, 266; MSS. of, 342,
347> 349 ; Robert, O.S.B.,
335. Bailiff, Mr., 305. Baldwin, Nicholas, 291. Ballard, John, 146. Bancroft, Bp. of London, 247. Bar, Francois de, " Grand
Prieur" of Anchin Abbai,
224, 228. Barber, Edward, als. of Stran-
sham, Ven. Edward, M. Barneby, near Howden, York- shire, 217. Barns, D., 281. Barnes, false bishop, 167 ; John,
167 ; Mr., 246, 389 ; Robert,
3-
Barnett, William, weaver, 294.
Barnwell, Robert, 389.
Baron, John, 230.
Barrett, Richard, Vice-President of Rheims English College, 14, 106, 225, 292, 441, 459, 472.
Barton-on-the-Hill, Cheshire, 473, 480.
Battle, Sussex, 265, 481.
Basset of Blare, Sheriff, 339.
Bath Road, 406.
Bavin, Mr., 388.
Bawtry, Yorks, 372.
Bayley, Baylye, Thomas, Vice- President of Douay College, 106, 377, 379, 381, 474.
Beaminster, Bemester, Dorset- shire, 294, 432.
Beaumont, Joan, 259, 264.
— of Mirfield, 264. Bedford, Earl of, 175, 317.
Bell, Ven, James, M., 107-113,120, 124, 125 ; James, prebendary of Wells, 107 ; Thomas, 224.
Bellamy, Richard, 389, 394, 395 ; daughter of, 394 ; wife of, 394 ; Robert, 2ji, 389.
Bellarmine, Robert, S.J., Cardinal,
37- Belleforest, de, Francois, 24, 33. Bemester, see Beaminster. Bennet, Dr., 6, 7.
— John, 134, 491, 492.
— Master, 19.
— Thomas, 480.
— William, 418. Bentley, 64.
Berden, Nicholas, spy, 179, 363, 448.
Bergamo, Bp. of, see Ragazzoni.
Berkeley, Gilbert, formerly Aug. Canon Regular, now Bp. of Wells, 55.
Berkeley parish, Gloucestershire, 162.
Bermondsey Abbey, Surrey, 400.
Bernard, Giles, 6r.
Berwick-on-Tweed, 211.
Beston, Derby, 480, 490.
Betsworth, Thomas, 482. '
Bettesworth, Richard, 480.
Bewdley, 134.
Beyebeye, John, jailer, 510, 511.
Bickerdyke, Bickerdike, Anne, 251 ; Edward of Farnham, 251 ; Edward, gentleman, 251 ; Edward, tailor, 251 ; Elizabeth, 251 ; Jane, 251 ; Ven. Robert, M., 251-8; of Farnham, 251 ; of West Riding, Yorkshire, 252.
Bilson, Thomas, Warden of Win- chester College, 9, 13.
Birkett, George, 11.
Birkhead, Queen's Attorney, 255, 256.
Birnand, Grace, 166.
— William, Recorder of York,
166.
INDEX OF NAMES
555
Bishop, William, Bp. of Chalce-
don, 38, 62, 66, 67. Bishopfields, 213. Blackburn, als. o/Ven. Thompson,
William. Blackburn, Lanes., 76, 200. Blackman, John, 480. Blackstone, Henry, 488. Blare, 339.
Blewett, Nicholas, 294. Blount, Mrs., 402.
— Richard, S.J., 175.
Blythe (Blithe), als. of Heywoode,
Oliver. Bodmin, Cornwall, 290. Body, Gilbert, 10, 14.
— Bodye, Bodie, Ven. John, M.,
8-21.
— Mother of John, 20.
— Marie, 10. Boleyn, Anne, 311. Bologna, 376, 462.
Bond, Sir George, Lord Mayor of London, 358, 364, 369, 382, 386, 396.
Bonner, John, 482.
Bononia, 376.
Books (mentioned in the story) : Allen (Purgatory), 11 ; De- fence of English Catholics, 149, 154, 156-7. Belle- forest, Innocence de Marie (VEcosse, 24, 33. Burghley, Execution of justice, 149. Campion, Decent Rationes, 524, 525 ; Disputations, 26. Capello, Liber Sacerdotalis, 239 ; Catechism of Trent, 374 ; Executions of S lade and Bodey, 2. Garnet, Renuncia- tion, 174. Harpsfield, Dia- logi Sex, 23 ; Historia An- glicana, 23 ; Treatise of the Divorce, 26. Harsnett, Popish Impostures, 247 ; Leicester's Commonwealth, 417, 419. Martin, Treatise of Schisme, II, 24-33 ; Meditations on Life of Christ, 81. Paunce- foot. Firm Foundation, 147. Persons, Why Catholics re-
fuse to go to Church, 32, 291 Primers, 81. Reynold, Re fetation of Sundry Reprehen sions, 150. Rituale, 239, 466 Smith, Sacrifice of the Mass II ; Testament, 81, 97. Val- lenger, Tract, 26. Vaux, Catechism, 81 ; Weldon, Trial of, etc., 514.
Booltflower, Ralph, 80.
Boste, Ven. John, M., 252.
Boulogne, Bulloigne, 230, 232,
337- Bours, Mgr. Jean de, 173. Bower, Alice, 162; John, 162. Bowes, Christopher, 167. — Ven. Marmaduke, M., 166- 70, 258 ; his children, 167 ; his wife, 167, 168; Mary, 167 ; Richard, 321 ; William, 167. Bowlande, James, 375-82. Bowyer, Thomas, 478, 479, 480,
481, 484, 485, 496. Brackenbury, Leonard, attorney,
167, 168. Bradley, Mr., 490, 496. Bramston, 474, 476, 493. Branthwayt, Richard, 483. Branton, Stephen, 510. Brentford, 399, 406, 449. Brereton, Owen, 136, 142. Briant, Blessed Alexander, M.,
14, 265. Bridgenorth, 134. Bridgewater, John, S.J., 459. Bridgewater, '' Three Crowns
Inn," 294. Brimpton, 61. Brimpton House, 61. Brinkley, Stephen, 525. Bristol, 72, 176. Bromley, Francis, 136.
— Sir George, 131, 132, 135,
136, 137. 138, 143-
— Sir Thomas, 138.
Browne, ? Francis, Lord Mon- tague, 186.
— Henry, 172.
— Mrs., 296.
— Thomas, 292.
556
LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
Brooke, a merchant, 252.
Brough, Yorks, 79.
Brunell, Gratian, 8.
Brussels, 215, 343.
Buckhurst, Lord, Master of the Rolls, 155. 479, 482.
Buckley, als. 0/ Jones, John,
Bude, als. of Hoi ford, Thomas.
Bulbrooke, William, 80, 83.
Bull, "The hangman of New- gate," 17, 18.
Bullock, George, master of St. John's, Cambridge, 127.
Burden, Ven. Edward, M., 543-
549- Burgh, John, 118. Burghley, Lord, 67, 149, 355, 357,
382, 405, 414, 477, 525 ; spies
of, 474. Burnley, Lanes., 76. Burton, haberdasher, 186. Burton-on-Trent, 301. " Bush Corner," Brentford, 406. Bustard, John, 8. Butler, Alban, 256. — Samuel, 172. Buxton, Ven. Christopher, M.,
335, 375, 447, 449, 45°, 458,
460-8, 469, 472. Buxton, 460. Byforest, als. of Filby, John.
Cadner, Mr., 410. Caesar, Mr., 266. Calais, Calice, 231, 319, 491. Calice, see Calais. Calveley, Sir George, 392. Calverly, Edmund, priest and con- fessor, 408, 491, 492. Cambray, 172, 224, 303. Cambridge, 174, 217, 430. Cambridge Colleges: — Caius, 509, 515, 521. Christ's, 473. King's, 145, 159, 160. King's Hall, 159. St. John's, 77, 127. Campion, B. Edmund, M,, S.J., 61, 62, 137, 161, 183, 362, 451, 458, 466, 469, 473, 523, 545-
Campion, Campian, Ven. Edward, M., vere Edwards, 449, 450, 451-9, 466, 467. " Campionists," 545. Canterbury, 171, 172, 447, 449, 450, 451, 456, 458, 460, 466, 469, 471. Archdeacon of, see Harpsfield,
Nicholas. Oaten Hill, 458, 471. St. Stephen's, 456. Carey, Sir George, Knight Marshal,
67, 73, 87, loi, 209. Carter, Agnes, 26.
— Jane, 26, 27.
— John, 22.
— Ven. William, M., 22-33. Castle Goring, 416.
Cave, Francis, Justice, 318. Cawood, John, the Elder, printer,
22. Cecil, Edmund, 176.
— John, 176.
— Sir Robert, 151 ; William,
Lord Burghley, Treasurer,
40. Chadderton, William, Bp. of
Chester, 390, 391. Chaddock, William, 456. Chalcedon, Bp. of, see Bishop
William,
— see Smith, Richard. Challoner, Bp., 73-7. Chalons-sur-Marne, 60, 146, 185,
217, 230, 523. Chalons-sur-Marne, Bp. of, see de
Marchaumont. Champney, Dr., 501. Chapman, John, 92.
— John, 230.
Chard, Somersetshire, 294. Cheeke, Henry, 164, 213. Chester (Westchester), 77, 131, 184, 390, 391, 447.
— Bp. of, 119, 121, see Chadder-
ton.
— Castle, 393.
— Dean of, see Nutter, John. Chester diocese, 220. Chichester, Sussex, 473, 478, 479,
481, 488, 495, 504; Bp. of,
INDEX OF NAMES
557
485, 486 ; Broyle Heath, 487 ; Haven, 360, 361, 362, 363 ; Mayor of, 361.
Chinckes, see Jenks.
Chipping, 202.
Chirk, 134.
Cholmondley, Sir Hugh, 391.
Christopherson, crier of the court, 144.
Clapham parish, Yorks, 169.
Ciarck, John, 480.
Clarke, Robert, Minister of "Wrex- ham, 133.
— WiUiam, 430.
Clarkson, Ven. James, M., see
Claxton. Claxton, Clackston, Clarkson or
Clarkeson, Ven. James, M,,
399-407, 449, 540. Cleveland, 167. Cleveland, Archdeacon of, see
Warner. Cleyton, James, 293. Clinch, Henry, priest, 218.
— Judge, 194, 195, 196, 255. Clitherow, Anne, 197, 199.
— Henry, 199.
— John, 189, 190, 194-6.
— Ven. Margaret, M., 157, 188-
199, 215, 260.
— Thomas, 189.
— William, 189, 199. Cloudesley, Peter, 152. Coke, Francis, 3.
Cola, Giovanni, Provincial, S.J.,
37- Colchester, 231. Cole, Edward, 176. Colleton, Alice, 60 ; Edmund, 60.
— John, 59, 61. Collington, John, 337. Coltley, Manor of, Dorset, 92. Coltley, Maxton, Dorsetshire,
294. Columb, John, S.J., or Cullam,
203. Co'.umbell, Magistrate, 339. Columbine, Father, see Columb or
Cullam, S.J. Como, Cardinal of, see Galli. Compton, Anthony, 305.
Compton Pauncefoot, 61. Congleton, Cheshire, 432. Convent dowry, 243. Conyers, James, 167 ; Mary, 167.
— Samuel, 65, 78, 80, 83, 87, 100. Cooke, John, 332.
— Richard, 482.
Copleston, Margaret, 71 ; Thomas,
71-
Coppinges-court, probably Cock- ing, Sussex, 178.
Cornehus, Ven. John, M., S.J., 225, 240, 241, 244, 271, 293.
Cornwall, 443.
Corscombe, Dorset, 294, 432.
Coryat, George, als. of Ven. John Mundyn, M., 95.
Cottam, B. Thomas, 234.
Cottam Hall, Preston, Lanes., 34, 36, 50.
Cotton, Francis, 2, 4.
Coughton, 185.
Coventry, Bp. of, see Overton.
Covert, Walter, Justice, 480,487-8.
Cowling, William, 173.
Cowper, Thomas, Bp. of Win- chester, 17, 205.
Craddocke, Francis, 368.
Cranford, 159.
Creagh, Richard, Archbishop of Armagh, 45, 46.
Cremona, Bp. of, see Speciani.
Crewkerne, Somerset, 295.
Cripps, Captain, 528.
Crockett, Ven. Ralph, M., 449,
4:32, 473-89, 493, 495, 496. Croft, Sir James, 138. Cromwell, Thomas, 333, 364. Crow, Ven. Alexander, M., 261,
323-9. Crowther, Thomas, 62. Coytmor, jailer and hangman, 133,
141, 142.
Dacre, Anne, Lady, 453.
— Lord, see Fiennes.
Dalbv, Ven. Robert, M., 547,
548. Dalton, James, 483. Daniell, a shipowner, 474, 493.
— William, 483.
558
LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
Darbishire, Fr., S.J., 463-5. Dasset, Mr., 317; his sons, 317. David, Howell, 137. Davis, Sir John, 148, 151.
— Richard, als. of Foster, als.
o/Wingfield, 183.
— Richard of Llandafif, 104. Davis Straits, 148.
Davis, Relation by, 387-90, 393,
395, 396, 397. Dean, Mrs., 351, 352, 353. Deane, Mercy, 11.
— William, 66, 67, 419.
— Ven. William, M., 146, 351-9,
362, 364, 365. Delaware, Lord, 4. *' Demonite," name given to
GarHck, Ven. N., M., 338. Denbigh, 132, 452.
— Castle, 144.
Denham, Bucks, 236, 237, 238-41, 242, 243, 244, 246, 247, 250.
Derby, 330, 340, 341, 344, 466, 490 ; jail, 342, 344 ; old bridge, 349.
Derby, Earl of, 115, 116, 117, 390.
Devereux, als. of Wheeler, Ven. Nicholas, M.
Deyos, William, keeper of New- gate, 356.
Dibdale, Debdall, Agnes, 235.
— Joan, 235.
— Richard, 234, 235.
— Ven. Robert, M., 225, 226,.
228, 234-50. Dickinson, Mr., 502. Dieppe, 175, 178, 292, 464, 474,
523.
Dinting, Derbyshire, 330, 331.
Dodd, historian, 501.
Dodwell, Thomas, Spy, 65, 267- 272, 426.
Dolman, Marmaduke, 264 ; Ur- sula, 264.
Dorchester, 93, 229, 268, 271.
— jail, 271.
Dorster, Dorsetshire, 229. Douay, 14, 35, 59, ii5, 184, 185,
203, 256, 302, 304, 305, 310, 53» 367. 439, 448, 489. 49I:
499, 506, 541-
Douay, English College at, 8, 9, 35, 36, 93, 145, 146, 172, 176, 223,224,342,343, 344,404, 408, 474.
— University, 2, 35. Douglas, Archibald, " Parson of
Glasgow," 316,
— Earl of Angus, 316.
— Ven. George, M., 313-22.
— John, ex-Carmelite and
Archbp. of St. Andrews, 316, 322.
— Mgr. Valentine, O.S.B., Bp.
of Laon, 78, 443.
— of Bongedward, Bonjed-
burgh, 316. Dover, 93, 172, 235, 319, 320, 491.
— Mayor of, 319. Downham, William, Bp. of
Chester, 128. Driffield (South Duffield), 324. Drimpton, Dorset, 105. Dryland, Fr., 243. Duffield, South, or Golden in
Yorkshire, 323. Duke (or Douche), Ven. Edmund,
M., 105. Dunkirk, 319. Dunwich, 79, 80, 84.
— Baihffs of, 80. Duppa, John, 482. Durham, 11, 164, 502, 506.
— Bishopric of, 543.
E. G., i.e. Elliot, George, in- former, 432.
Earswick, 264.
Earth, als. of Leigh, Ven. Rich- ard.
East, Thomas, 482.
East Riding of Yorkshire, 217.
East Smithtield, 419, 420.
Eccleston, Lanes, 114.
Eden, Paul, 421 ; Joan, 421.
Edinburgh, 316, 317; Grey Friars of, 317-
Edmonds, Mr., als. of Weston, William, S.J.
Edwardes, Francis of Wrexham, yielded in terror on scffaold, 488.
INDEX OF NAMES
559
Edwards, David, 129, 131, 133, 140, 142, 143.
— family, 452.
— Francis, 452.
— a/5. o/Gwyn Francis, M.
— John of Chirk, 134.
— Mrs., 142, see Campion,
Edward.
Elie, see Ely.
Elizabeth, Queen, 373 ; policy of her government of, 458, 495. See also Analytical In- dex, §§ 14, 15.
Ellerbeck, Ellerbert, Osmotherley, 167, 168.
Ellerbert, see Ellerbeck.
Ellis {? Price, LL.D.), 136.
Ellison, Eleanor, 323.
Elton, William, S.J., 335.
Ely (Elie), Dr. Humphry, 14, 71, 273, 287, 298, 323.
Emerford, see Hemerford.
Emmerson, Ralph, 162, 418.
England, Cardinal Protector of, see Moroni.
Englefield, Sir Francis, Privy Councillor, 16.
Erbistock, 129.
Erles, Edward, 136.
Errington, Ven. George, M., 527, 528.
Essex, Earl of, 185.
Estcourt, Giles, 296.
Etherow river, 334.
Eton College, 145, 159, 160.
Eu, Normandy, 290, 464.
Eudaemon-johannis, Fr., S.J., 459, 472.
Euxton Hall, Lanes, 202.
Evans, Richard, 404.
— Thomas, 135.
— Thomas Goldsmith, 146. Evers (Ewers), Lord, 164. Ewers, see Evers. Executions, how arranged, xxviii,
478; see also Analytical In- dex, § 15.
Exeter, 443.
Exorcism, 236 ; cures by, 237-43 5 described, 239 ; movement crushed, 244-6.
Exorcists, upheld, 240 ; in danger, 240 ; accused by those exor- cised, 245.
Eylam, 334.
Eyre, Jane, 346 ; Thomas, 346.
Fairfax, Sir Thomas, 213.
Farnam, see Farnham.
Farnborough, 178.
Farneden, Robert, 480. '
Farnham, Farnam, Robert, 105.
Faversham, Kent, 114, 171.
Farway, Devon, 203.
Fawcet, Sheriff, 198.
Felton, Ven. Thomas, Ord. Min., M., 399-407; Frances, 400, 402 ; B. John, M., 18, 137, 400 ; Miss, 399.
Fen, R., 232.
Fenn, Frances, 55, 68.
— Giles, 56.
— Ven. James, M., 46-52, 70, 74.
— James, wife of, 56.
— John, brother of James, 52,
70.
— John, son of James, 55.
— Robert, 52, 55, 58, 59, 68, 70. Ferimsby, 251.
Fernsby, Yorks, 498.
Fferres, Mr., 178 ; Mrs., 178,
179. Ffrogmorton (Throckmorton),
Lady, 355. Ffytton, Will, 183. Field, Richard, 414. Fiennes, Gregory, tenth Lord
Dacre of the South, 453,
455- Filbie, John, als. Bylorest, 491,
see Fylbye. Filmer, 237. Fimes, 172. Finch family, 50. Finch, Ven. John, M., no, 114-
126.
— Ralph, 115.
— Richard, 114. Finglie, see Finglow.
Finglow (or Finglie), Ven. John,
M., 217-9. Fisher, John, justice, 4.
56o
LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
Fisher, Ralph, 256, 258. Fitzherbert, Jane, 346.
— John of Padley, 339, 340,
345, 346-
— Thomas, 179.
— Thomas of Padley, 339. Fitzherberts of Padley Hail, 338. Flanders, 39, 318, 355, 380. Fleming, Thomas, 11. Flemish boy, a, 194, 195. Fleetwood family, 44.
— Sir William, Recorder of
London, 27-30, 44, 155, 159, 160, 355. Fletcher, John, 317.
— J. M. J., 332.
— Peter, 375, 379, 382.
— 274.
— see Tedder, Thomas. FHnt jail, 134.
Flower, vere Lloyd (a/5, of Floyd, Flud, Graye), Ven. Richard, M., 423, 425-9.
— William, als. of Way, see
Way, William. Flud, als. of Flower, Ven. Richard,
M. Flushing, 319. Foley, Brother, S.J., 73. Folke, Dorset, 71. Ford, B. Thomas, M., 61, 281. Fortescue, vere Ballard, 291,
292. Fortescue, Mr., 496. Foster, Isabel, 262, 264 ; William,
262, 264. Foster, als. of Davis, Richard.
— als. of Pilchard. Fowler, John, 32, 33. Fox, 523.
Foxe, John, 23. Foxwell, Henry, 420. Frankish, Frankize, Nicholas, 176. Frankize, see Frankish. Freeman, Thomas, 218.
— WilHam, 182.
Fulford, Mr., 294, 295 ; Sir John,
294. Fuller, Nicholas, 483. Fylbv, B. William, 490-1, see
Filbie.
Gage, Edward, 64.
Galli, Ptolomeo, Cardinal of Como,
and Papal Secretary of State,
149. Gallop, Giles, 8. Gardener, John, 515. Garlick, Mr., Forester of the High
Peak, 330, 331, 332; Mrs.,
330.
— Ven. Nicholas, M., 330-350,
460, 461. Garm, James, 132. Garnet, Cecily, 324 ; child of, 324.
— Father Henry, S.J., and M..
538.
— Ven. Thomas, S.J., M., 417. Garth, als. 0/ Leigh, Ven. Richard. Gasquet, Abbot, 311.
George, Sir William, Kt., 41. Geninges, Ven. Edmund (or Ed- ward), M., 447. Gent, Baron, 297. Gerard, Dorothy, 238.
— John, S.J., 238, 302, 304,
306-12, 375, 401, 403, 445, 502 ; Gilbert, 292.
Gibbons, John, SJ., 71, 377.
Giblet, W., 232.
Gilbert, George, 147, 179.
Gisburne, in Cleveland, Prior of, see Pursglove.
Glasgow, "The Parson of," 316.
Glaston in Rutland, 318, 319, 320.
Glaston, 364.
Glastonljury, Abbot of, see Whit- ing.
Glisson, Isaac [i.e. Israel], 72.
Gloucester, 145-8, 150, 161, 162, 220, 221, 279, 361, 362, 550, 55i> 552; Brockworth, 161; diocese of, 229; Hall, 173; Jail, 285.
Godeson, Mr., 292.
Godsalf, 284.
Godstow, Oxford, 175.
Goldwell, Thomas, exiled Bp. of St. Asaph, 72, 73, 225, 491.
Good, Mr., a lawyer, 294.
Goodman, Gabriel, Dean of West- minster, 130.
Goring, George, 480; Henry, 480.
INDEX OF NAMES
561
Gorsford, or Gosforth, Newcastle-
on-Tyne, 527. Goss, Bp., 50. Gower, 224.
Grantham, Lincolns, 384. Gravelines, 319. Gray, Robert, priest, 375, 377, 379,
381. Graye, als. of Flower, Ven.
Richard, M. Great Boughton, Cheshire, 391. Greene, Mr., 410. Greenland, 148. Greenwich, 456. Gregory XIII, Pope, 38, 73, 225,
461, 491. Gregson, Elizabeth, 35.
— John, 35. Grene, Edward, 480.
— George, 480.
— Thomas, 482. Grenway, William, carrier, 235. Gresford, Dentryshire, 128. Grey, Lord, 96. Grimthorpe, Yorkshire, 259. Grindal, Archbishop of Canterbury ,
56. Gronow, Lewis, 133, 136, 137,
139, X43.
Grove Place, Bucks, 575.
Guildford, 311.
Guise, de, Louis, Cardinal Arch- bishop of Rheims, 173, 200, 203, 220, 292, 378, 379, 401,
447. 461, 474-
Gunter, Ven. William, M., 366-71.
Gunwyn, Thomas, 480.
Gwyn, Catherine, 128 ; children, six, 128 ; Francis, a/5, of Edwards, als. of White, 478, 479, 481, 485, 486, 488, 497 ; Ven. Richard, M., als, of White, 127-44.
Habington, Edward, 174.
Hackney, 243.
Haile, Hale, Hall, B. John, 159.
Hale, see Haile.
Haler, Richard, 482.
Hall, Anthony, 231.
Hall, see Haile.
36
Halliwell, 528.
Hambden, Mr., 299.
Hambley, Ven. John, M., als.
Tregwethan or Trevethan, 14,
288-300. Hammon, William, 95. Hammond, John, Chancellor of
Diocese of London, and M.P.
for Rye, 207. Hamonde, 146.
Hampshire, sheriff of, 209 ; under- sheriff, 209. Hansby, Agnes, 259,264; Richard,
259-264. Hanse, B.John, M., 218. Harbert, Sir Edward, 389. Harding, 316, 320, 321. Hargraves, Mr., 274. Harpsfield, Nicholas, Archdeacon
of Canterbury, 22, 23, 32, 33. Harrington, Ven. William, M.,
247. Harrison, Ven. James, M., 427.
— John, als. of Symons, M., 337,
430. 537, 538, 54i» 542.
— Martin, 168. Harrow-on-the-Hill, 201, 389 ;
Uxenden Manor, near, 389,
394. Harsnet, Samuel, later Archbishop
of York, 237, 242, 247, 249. Hart, Fr. John, 37, 284. Hartley, Ven. William, M., 65, 66,
67, 356, 513. 516, 520, 522-
530, 546- HasfieM, near Gloucester, 147, 148,
150. Hathersage, 338, 340 ; Catholic
Church, 350. Hatton, Richard, no, 120, 124. Havre, 78. Hawkinson, Elizabeth, 39.
— spy, 39. Haydock, Aloysia, 35.
— Bridget, 34.
— Evan, 34, 35, 36.
— Ven. George, M., 34-51, 66,
67, 74, 75.
— Helen, 34.
— • Richard, 35, 36, 37. William, 34.
562
LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
Haj^on, 263, 264. Hayward, Sir Rowland, 155. Haywood (Heywood), Jasper, S.J.,
175, 336, 337- Heath, Thomas, 427, 433. Hemerford, Henry, 71.
— Margaret, 71.
— Robert, 71.
— Ven. Thomas, M., 67, 68,
71-5.
— William, Minister of Folke,
71- Hene, a minister, 69. Henry VHI, 372. Hereford, Viscount, 185. Hereford, 388. Hesketh, Mrs., 38.
— William, 38, 40, 50. Hethfield, Robert, 527. Hewett, Huit, Ven. John, M., als.
Weldon, als. Savell, 508-21, 529, 537-
— William, draper, 509. Hewitt, see Hewett. Heywoode, Oliver, a/5. Blythe,
Blithe, 532. Hide, see Hyde. Hieth, see Hythe. Higgins, Isaac, 38, High Peak, Hundred of the, 339,
340- Higham, Anne, 201.
— William, 201. Hindlip, 174. Hobson, Richard, 482. Hodgeson, Henry, 480. Hodgkins, pursuivant, 395. Hodgson, Christopher, 225. Hoghton, Elizabeth, Lady, 35.
— Helen, 34.
— Sir Richard, 35.
— Thomas, 35. Hogsdon, see Hoxton. Holford, Ven. Thomas, M., als.
Acton, or Bude, 183, 221, 387-98.
Holland, Rev. Henry, 73, 232.
Holm Lacy, Herefordshire, 388.
Holt, William, Rector of the Eng- lish College, Rome, 376, 377, 380-1, 463, 464, 465.
Holt, Denbighshire, 133, 144. Holtby, Father Richard, S.J., 511. Hopton, Sir Owen, Lieut, of the
Tower, 41, 42, 48, 67, 74, 85,
loi, 146, 412. Home, Adam, 8.
— Robert, Bp. of Winchester, i,
8, 9, 92-3. Horner, Ven. Nicholas, tailor, M., 512.
— als. Forest, priest, 423, 427. Horsey, Sir John, 2. Horsham, 495.
Hounslow, 399, 406.
— Heath, 95.
Howard, Charles, Lord, 396.
— Mr., II.
Hoxton, Hogsdon, Middlesex, 185. Huddlestone (Hurlstone), Ralph,
64, 213 ; Randall, Judge, no,
121. Hudson, 474. Hugh, John, 511. Hughes, Edward of the Holt,
133. -- John, 132, 135, 137, 138, 141.
— Mrs. John, 138, 141. Huit, see Hewett. Hull, 356.
Hull, Suff. Bp. of, see Pursglove,
Robert, 333. Humber river, Yorks, 217. Humphrey, Dr., 319.
— Laurence, Dean of Winches-
ter, 13, 18-19. Hunt, Mr., 317; his sons, 317. Huntingdon, Earl of, Lord Lieu- tenant and Lord President of the.North, 168, 260, 318, 508. Hurlstone, see Huddlestone. Hutton, William, 252, 253, 255, 258.
— Matthew (Dean, afterwards
Archbishop of York), 262. Hyde, Hide, Leonard, 153, 155, 161, 162, 418.
— Mr., 355.
— Thomas, 105.
Hygate, als. of Ven. R. Sympson,
M., 344. Hythe, Kent, 524.
INDEX OF NAMES
563
Ilchester, 61 ; jail, 61, 295.
Ingham, Richard, 173.
Ingleby, Ingilby, Anne, Lady, 211; EHzabeth, 215; Ven. Francis, M., 211-6, 253, 254, 258 ; Grace, 215 ; Sir Henry, 215 ; John, i6g; John of Lawkland, i6g ; John of Rudby, Yorks, i6g ; Marie, 215 ; Thomas of Lawkland, 169 ; Sir William, 211.
Ingolstadt, 149.
Ingram, Christopher, 217.
Ipswich, Suffolk, 293, 473, 498, 502, 504, 505, 506.
Ireland, 97, 137.
Iron Acton, Gloucestershire, 58,
59- Isle of Wight, 202, 205, 207, 502.
Governor of, see Carey,
Sir George. Isleworth, 159.
Jackson, John, of Douay, diarist,
176. James, Ven. Edward, M., 226, 449,
452, 474, 475, 476, 478, 479,
480, 485, 486, 487, 489, 490-7,
504, 540.
— Mr., 464. James I, 430.
Jenks (Chinckes), book-binder,
380. Jenneson, William, 39, 40. Jessop, John, 267, 268, 270, 271. Johnson, als. of Richardson, B. M. Laurence, Mr., 116. 26.
— Robert, M,, 281.
Jones, Ven. John, M., als. Buckley, O.S.F., 3.
— Richard, printer, 2.
— Robert, S.J., 428. Judges, list of, 480. Julius II, Pope, 376. Jurymen, list of, 480, 482.
Kaye, — of Woodsome, 264 ;
his daughter, 264. Kegworth, Leicestershire, 532.
36
Kellison, Matthew, President of
Douay, 408. Kemp, David, als. of Tomson, priest, 292.
— David, 511, 517.
— Moyle, 172.
— Sir Thomas, 172. Kennet, Bp., 94. Kent, 410.
Kestell, Mr., 235. Keynes, Humphrey, 61.
— James, 61. Kingsdown, Kent, 115. Kingsmell, Sir William, 4, 5, 19,
20. Kingsmill, John, 9. Kingston-on-Thames, 439, 440,
445, 504.
Kingston-upon-HuU, 275, 510; Castle prison, 510; Block- house prison, 510 ; North Blockhouse prison, 510.
Kirby, B. Luke, M., 172, 523.
Kirton, Lanes., 9.
Knaresborough, Walter, 251.
Knaresborough, Yorks, 251, 257.
Knoyle, 296.
La Rochelle, 473. Lacy, or Lassie, Mr., 213. Lacy, B. William, 213. Lambeth Marsh, 434. Lampley, Ven. William, M., 550 2. Lancaster, 107, no, 112, 114, 121.
— Castle, 116, 223. Lancaster, John, 176, 480.
— Roger, 176.
Langley, A^nes, 259, 264 ; Alice, 264 ; Catherine, 259, 264 ; Christopher, 259, 263, 264 ; family of Owsthorpe, 264 ; family of Sheriff Hutton, 264 ; Henry of Dalton, 264 ; Isabel, 259, 262, 264; Jane, 264 ; Joan, 259, 264 ; Mar- garet, 259, 264 ; Margery, 264 ; Mary, 264 ; pedigree, 264 ; Richard, 259, 263, 264 ; Richard of Rathorpe Hall, 264 ; Ven. Richard, M., 259- 64 ; Robert of Sheriff Hut-
564
LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS.
ton, 264 ; Thomas, 259, 261, 264 ; Thomas of Maltonby, 264 ; Thomas of Rathorpe Hall, 264 ; Ursula, 263, 264 ; William, 264.
Langton Herring, Dorset, 93, 230.
Lanherne, Cornwall, 201.
Lahounde, see Laon,
Laon (Lahounde), 77, 173, 200, 212, 266, 324, 335, 388, 392,
443. 454. 523-
Laon, Bp. of, see Douglas, Valen- tine, O.S.B.
Lassie, see Lacy.
Lateran Council, 486.
Law, T. G., 430, 442.
Lawkland, Yorks, 169.
Lawson, Peter, 79, 80, 83, 86.
Lawsons of Brough, 79.
Layburne, James, M., of Skels- more, 120.
Laystoke (? Lowestoft), Suffolk, 500, 502, 503.
Lea, als. of Sergeant, Ven. Rich- ard, M.
Lee, see Leigh, Ven. Richard.
Leeds, 274, 275.
Leicester, Earl of, 136, 211, 417, 426, 512, 513, 517, 518, 529 ; deputy of, 136.
Leigh, Lee, als. Earth, Ven. Richard, als. Garth, M., 408- 415, 420, 423.
Leighton, William of the Plashe,
135. Lenton, monks of, 334. Leominster, 184 ; grammar school,
184. Lewes, Sussex, 175, 479. Lewis, Jevan, 133. Lewknor, Richard, Justice, 479,
480, 484, 485, 487, 488. Lichfield, diocese of, 461, 523. Lichfield, Bp. of, see Overton. Liege, 311.
Little Cheney, Dorset, 93, 230. Littlehampton, Sussex, 475, 480,
493, 494- Llanidloes, Montgomery, 127. Lloyd, Owen, 425, 426, 428 ; Mrs.,
426 ; two sisters, 426.
Lloyd, Jevan, 133, 134, 136, 137. — see Flower. London, 95, 114, 151, 225, 230, 243, 267, 281, 289, 293, 303, 318, 319, 338, 357. 362, 364, 367. 385, 408, 464.
Bp. of, 444, see Aylmer and Bancroft.
Bishopsgate, 178, 370.
Blackfriars, 370.
Bridge (London), 70, 231.
Charterhouse, 241.
Churches, St. Andrew's in Hol- born, 395 ; St. Anselm and St. Cecilia, 383 ; St. Olave's, Hart St., 25; St. Mary Magdalene's in Southwark St., 400 ; St. Paul's, 39, 40 ; St. Paul's Churchyard, 38, 400 ; Shoreditch Church, 370 ; St. Sepulchre, 368.
City Gates, 70 ; Ely Place, Holborn, 201.
Gray's Inn, 169, 384, 386, 515.
Gray's Inn Court, 293.
Gray's Inn Fields, 393, 394.
Guildhall, 44, 232.
Holborn, 38, 393, 395, 496.
Holborne Conduit, 184, 186,
294, 393- Inns of Court, 72. Inns: —
Bell at Holborn, 393.
Blue Boar in Holborn, 293.
Bishop in Fleet Street, 186.
Exchequer in Holborn, 393.
Red Lion in Holborn, 291,
293- Sun and Seven Stars, 291. Inner Temple, 114, 169, 211. Lambeth, 443. Lincoln's Inn Fields, 146, 370,
372, 383, 384. Lion's Inn, 177. Middle Temple, 411. Mile End Green, 358, 360, 365. Parishes, All Saints, 150, 154;
St. Dunstan's, 427. Prisons : —
Bridewell, 14, 402, 403 ; chapel, 403, 406, 436.
INDEX OF NAMES
565
London — Prisdns {contd.) —
Clerkenwell, 226, 387, 395,
396, 531. 534, 535. Clink, 9, 162, 226, 227, 229,
232, 344, 356, 417, 440,
443, 444, 471, 476, 477,
494, 500, 501, 502, 504,
505, 533, 539, 540. Counter, 14. Counter in Woodstreet, 183,
201, 532. Counter, Poultry, 24, 162,
401, 402. Fleet, 39, 56, 185, 340, 346,
477. Gatehouse, 24, 33, 38, 40, 41,
174, 235, 357, 533, 534-
HoUoway, 537.
Marshalsea, 58, 62, 67, 69, 73, 86, 101, 207, 229, 230, 284, 292, 361, 362, 405, 406, 426, 427, 466, 448, 449, 456, 471, 474, 475, 476, 477, 478, 493, 494, 504, 525, 526, 533 ; Knight Marshal of, see Carey.
Newgate, 9, 27, 147, 153, 155, 161, 162, 187, 245, 354, 356, 358, 359, 368, 370, 383, 395, 401, 402, 403, 404, 405, 406, 412,
423, 427, 444, 449, 456, 512, 515, 528, 531, 533; •• Hangman " of, see Bull " Limbo " in Newgate, 403 ; keeper of, see Deyos.
Old Bailey, 153, 161, 181, 201, 364, 369, 382, 396, 536.
Star Chamber, 41.
Tower, 23, 26, 27, 33, 37, 39, 40, 41, 42, 44, 48, 68, 74, 85-90, 98, 103, 146, 150, 151, 177, 281, 283, 284, 361, 411, 412, 470, 477, 511 ; Lieutenant of, see Hopton, Ouen, Tower Gate, 68 ; Broad Arrow Tower, 99; Little Ease, 282, 402. Privy Council, 83, 84.
Recorder of, see Fleetwood,
William, 445. Sahsbury Court, 355. Schools, St. Dunstan within Temple Bar, 95 ; Mercer's, in Paternoster Royalty, 532. Smithfield, 291. Streets :—
Aldersgate, 148 ; Bishopsgate Without, 201 ; Bread, 150, 154 ; Farringdon, 367, 427 ; Fleet, 186, 267, 294, 355 ; Gracechurch, 370 ; Gray's Inn Lane, 515; Hart, 25; Lombard, 370 ; Long Lane End, 148 ; Ludgate, 370 ; Paternoster Row, 532 ; Strand, 394 ; Thames Street, Turning Lane, 393 ; Tothill, Tuttle, 15. Theatres : —
•' The Curtain," Shoreditch,
370. *« Theatre," Holloway, 522,
529. Two playhouses in Black- friars, 370. Shoreditch, The Theatre, 366, 370. Town Clerk, 155, 156, 158. Tower Hill, 27. Tower Wharf, 336, 357, 527. Tuttle, Tothill, 185. Long, als. of Sergeant, Ven.
Richard, M. Longford, Gloucester, 162. Loughborough, 317. Louvain, 203, 321.
— St. Monica's Augustinian
Convent, 166.
— St. Ursula's Convent, 199. " Lovell, Lady, 401, 402.
Low Hall, Farnham, 251. Lowe, John, of Lancashire, 223.
— Ven. John, M., 115, 223-8, 245. Lucar, 541.
Luckcombe, Somerset, 71. Ludlam, Ven. Robert, M., 330-50. Ludlow, Shropshire, 451,455. Luifenham, North, Rutlandshire, 317-
566
LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
Lumley, Lord, 26, 32. Lutterworth, Leicestershire, 301,
302, 305. Lyford, 61, 161, 362. Lyne, Ven. Anne, M., 201.
— Roger, 201.
" Lynton of Craven," Yorkshire,
351. Lyon Key, 410. Lyster, Thomas, S.J., 173. Lyversage, Mr., 390, 391.
Mancano, Padre Juan Lopez, S.J.,
441. Macclesfield, William, 305, see
Maxfield. Madrid, 16.
Magdeburg Centuriators, 23. Magewyke, William, 480. Mainy {see Manny), Anne, 241, 242.
— John, 242.
— Richard, 241, 242, 243, 247. Mallory, Anne, 211.
— Sir William, 211. Malton, 259, 264. Manchester, 109.
— College, 119. Manners, Magistrate, 339. Manny, Sir Walter de, 241. Manston, Dorset, i. Manston, ? Maxton, Dorset, 294, Manwood, Roger, Baron, 456,
458, 551- Mapledurham, 10. Marchaumont, Mgr. Cosme
Clausse de, Bp. of Chalons-
sur-Marne, 60, 173, 185, 203,
217, 230. Marches, Council of the, 132,
134- Marsden, Richard, 202. Marsden, Ven. William, M., 202-
210. Marsh, John, 510, 511, 517. Martin, Gregory, 11, 24, 27, 30,
204.
— Ven. Richard, M., 383, 422-4,
427.
— Richard, recorder of London,
422.
Martinstown, Dorset, 229, 230.
Marwood, William, 237.
Mary, Queen of England, 373,
400. Masham, a sheriff, 69. Mass, see Analytical Index, § 6. Mathew, Toby, Archbishop of
York, 171, 522, 524. Mawdesley, 50. Maxfield, Humphrey, 38.
— William, 304. Maxton, see Manston.
Mayes, Henry, Lord Mayor of
York, 189-97 ; Mrs., 189. Mayor of London, Lord, 155. Mayne, B. Cuthbert, 311, 437. Meares, Laurence, 164, 168. Meeching, Sussex, 175. Mellor, Derbyshire, 331. Meltonby, 259, 264. Mendoza, Dom Bernadin, 414. Merevell, Mr., keeper of York
Castle jail, 214 ; jailor of Low
House, York, 314. Michelgrove, John, 421 ; Elizabeth,
421. Michelgrove, 416. Middlemore, John, 173. Middleton, Ven. Anthony, 18.
— Margaret, see Clitherow, 188.
— Thomas, 188. Milan, 177, 376, 462. Mile End, 351.
Mile End Green, 513, 516, 518,
519, 520, 529. Millington, 264. Milverton, Somersetshire, 60, 62,
176. Minims, order of, 241. Miriadock, Denbighshire, 133. Molanus quoted, 219, 232. Monkaster, Mr., 319. Monkewarde, 190. Monksdale, 334. Monkton Farleigh, Wilts, 184. Montacute House, near Yeovil,
Somersetshire, 52, 55, 56, 57. Montagu, Lord, 178. Monte Cassino, 408. Moore (Morgent), Hugh, M., 365,
383, 384-6, 420.
INDEX OF NAMES
567
Moore, Mr., 384, 385. More, Fr. Henry, 174.
— B. Thomas, M., 139, 338. Morecott, William, 174. Morgan, Hugh, mistake for Moore,
Hugh, 386.
— Thomas, 178.
— William, 176. Morgent, see Moore.
Morley, Thomas, vicar of Mon- tacute, 56.
Moroni, Giovanni, Cardinal Bp. of Ostia and Velletri, and pro- tector of England, 36.
Morris, John, Fr., S.J., 201, 221,
439, 440-
— pursuivant, 25.
— Robert, 132, 135, 137, 138,
141. Morton, Anne, 372 ; Anthony, 372 ; Benjamin, 273 ; Daniel, 372; Mrs., 372; Nicholas,
D.Dm 39, 372, 373, 374; tablet erected to, in Rome, 372, 373 ; Ven. Robert, M., 372-82, 386 ; Robert, 423 ; a deacon, M., 462; Robert, senior, 372, 373 ; Samson, 372; William, 372; Relatives of Ven. Robert, M., ^75.
Moseley, executioner, 308.
Mouche, see Mush.
Mountain, Humphrey, 214.
Mowbreck Hall, 35, 36.
Munday, Andrew, 294, 295.
— Anthony, apostate and writer,
48, 49. Munday, — , 432. Munden, John, of Wells diocese,
94. Mundyn, Ven. John, M., 67, 68,
74, 90, 92-106. Mirfield, 259, 264. Munkefreston, Yorks, 352. Murford, Thomas, 480. Mush (Mouche), John, 166, 167,
168, 189, igo, 213, 215, 224,
225, 260. Mussoponte, see Pont-^-Musson. Mutton, John, 482. Mychell, Thomas, 480.
Mylane Green, see Mile End Green. Mynors, Mynoures, John, 148,
150, 161, 361. Mynoures, William, 305.
Nantwich, Nant Wyche, 390.
Navarre, King of, 517.
Nayler, Richard, 172.
Naylor, Mr., 535.
Neale, or Neele, John, als. of
Roche, John, 437, 438. Nele, John, 232. Newall, pursuivant, 388. Newcastle, 293, 381, 500, 502. Newcastle-on-Tyne, 527. Newhaven, 78, 79. Newhaven, Sussex, 175. Newhaven, 475, 493. Newhaven in Normandy, 357. Nicholas (? Wheeler), 172. Nicols, George, 266. Nicholson, see Norris, Richard,
priest. Nightingale, James, 292. Normandy, 231. Normanton, Yorks, 35. North Riding of Yorkshire, 167,
498. Northampton, 319. Northumberland, Countess of,
470, 472.
— Earl of, 123 ; see Percy, Norris {or Nicholson), Richard, 62,
64, 66, 67. Norris, Richard, 292.
— pursuivant, 40, 41, 42, 186. Norton, Anthony, 10, 14.
— Benjamin, i, 10, 229, 416,
442.
— George, 354, 355; family,
355, 359-
— John, 372 ; daughter of, 372.
— pursuivant, 39.
— Sir Richard, 10, 11 ; " The
Rebel," 351, 352, 353,
354-
— Thomas, 27, 29, 30, 33. Norton Conyers, 372. Norwich, 401. Nottingham, 522.
Novara, Bishop of, see Speciani.
568
LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
Nutter family, 76.
Nutter, John, Dean of Chester,
77-
— Ven. John, M., 67, 68, 74, 76-
gi, 100, loi.
— Ven. Robert, M., 76, 77.
Olney, Bucks, 466.
Orange, Prince of, assassinated,
356. Orford Ness, 80. Osburne, John, 480.
— Nicholas, 480.
— Peter, 483. Oscott, 174, 312.
Ostliffe, Ostclifife, George, 115. Ostia, Cardinal Bp. of, see
Moroni. Ousebridge, York, 214, 254. Ousebridge Counter, York, 253.
— Jail, 253.
— Kidcote, Yorks, 218, 252,
263, 275, 510.
— Kidcote, prison in, 263. Oven, John, 175, 479, 481, 485,
486.
— Walter, 176.
— Piers, 136, 141.
— William, 375, 377.
— William, 462.
Owen, Mr., of Lincoln's Inn, 146.
Overton, William, Bp., Coventry and Lichfield, 305, 306.
Overton, Flintshire, 127.
Oxford, 2, 18, 54, 55, 56, 59, 77, 92, 107, 127, 150, 152, 171, 175, 176, 265, 267, 274, 305, 319, 332, 340, 380, 452, 524; Assizes, 380 ; Bocardo, 171.
Oxford Churches, St. Mary's, 279.
Oxford Colleges and Halls: — All Souls, 171; Balliol, 175, 265 ; Brasenose, 77, 202, 203, 211 ; Christ Church, 127, 171, 301 ; Corpus Christi, 52, 57, 150, 176, 543, 548 ; Exeter, 291 ; Gloucester Hall, see Worcester College ; Hart Hall, 72; Jesus, 451, 452, 455 ; Merton, 172, 176 ; New,
I, 8,: II, 14, 52, 57, 92, 93, 95, 105, 152, 203, 229 ; Oriel, 279 ; Pembroke, olim Broad- gates Hall, 384, 422; St. John's, 53, 54, 71, 72, 74, 171, 172, 452, 453, 469, 473, 490, 522, 523, 528; St. John Baptist's Hall, 469 ; St. Mary's Hall, 176, 202, 203 ; White Hall, 451, 455 ; Wor- cester, olim Gloucester Hall, 53, 54, 150, 331, 332, 342, 469, 470, 473 ; Conversions at, 176. Oxford Parishes,St. M. Magdalene, 171.
— University, 200, 229, 265,
279, 453, 490, 544, 545.
— Vice-Chancellor, 319.
Pace, John, 235.
Padley Hall, High Peak, 338; Chapel, 339, 349.
— priest's hole at, 338. Paine, Mr., 389.
Palmer, Sir Thomas, 479, 480.
— William, 54.
Papal Sec. of State, see Galli.
Paris, 105, 149, 150, 157, 173, 176-9, 292, 318, 378, 381, 463, 465, 473, 515, 516; Notre Dame, 317.
Parker, Brian, judge, no, 121.
— Thomas, saddler, 265. Parry, Dr., 484.
Parry, als. Morgan, priest, 226. Parsons, Thomas, 177, 178.
— see Persons. Patchman, 421. Patenson, Bernard, 261. Paul IV, Pope, 46. Paul's Cross, 411. Pauncefoot, John, 147, 148, 150;
Dorothy, 147, 148, 150. Payne, B. John, M., 18.
— pursuivant, 25.
Peckham, Edmund, 236, 237, 242, 244, 250.
— Mrs., 241.
— Sir George, 236, 250. Pendle Forest, Whalley, Lanes, 76.
INDEX OF NAMES
569
Penkevel, Peter, imprisoned for faith, 528.
Penshurst, Kent, 421.
Percy, Henry, Earl of Northum- berland, 470 ; children of, 470.
— family, 351, 470.
— B. Thomas, M., 470. Persall, Charles, 176.
Persons, Parsons, Fr. Robert, SJ., II, 146, 150, 151, 183, 265, 356, 377, 386, 463, 524, 538.
Petre, Lady, 432.
Phelips, see Phelps.
Phelps, Sir Edward, 57.
— Thomas, 57.
— William, 57. Phillips, Fabian, 135. Piacenza, 462. Pierpointe, Gervase, 427.
Piers, John, Bishop of Salisbury,
296. Pike, Ven. William, carpenter, M.,
272. Pilchard, Pilcher, Pylcher, Ven.
Thomas, als. Foster, M., 265-
273. 299. Pilkington, Robert, 408. Pippyn, James, 294. Pitts, Arthur, priest, 39, 40, 66, 67,
524. Pius V, Pope, 28, 400. Plain John, nickname of Ven.
John Nutter, M., in prison,
88, Plantin, printer, 23. Plashe, The, 135. Plater, Mrs., 241. Plumptons of Plumpton, 372. Poems on Martyrs, 348, 349. Pole, Edward, 235.
— De la, family, 340. Germain, 340.
Pont-^-Musson, Mussoponte, 290.
Popham, Sir John, Attorney General, afterwards Lord Chief Justice (1582), 46, 68,
89, 99, 147, 152, 155, 297- Pope, The, 5, 148, 149. Potter, George, 172, 474, 476,
493.
Potter, als. of Stransham, George.
Poulton, Lanes, 39.
Pounde, Thomas, 283.
Poyntz, Sir Nicholas, 57, 58, 59, 60.
Prees Hall, Kirkham, 343.
Preston, 121. — Kidcote prison, 121.
Prestwold, Leicester, 317.
Probert, Tudor, 137.
Puckering, Sergeant, afterwards Sir John, 357, 363, 368, 386, 389, 405, 419, 423, 428, 432, 443, 444, 448, 449, 45i, 457, 458, 466, 467, 476, 483, 494, 502, 503.
Pugh, Harry, 134.
Puleston, Roger, gent., 128, 130, 136.
Pursglove, Robert, Bp. Suffragan of Hull, and Prior of Gis- burne in Cleveland, 333, 460 ; deprived of his see on refusing the Act of Supremacy, 333 ; established a Grammar School at Tideswell and at Gisburne, 333 ; received ^200 a year when monastery suppressed,
333- Pylcher, see Pilchard, Pytt, John, 480.
QUERNDON, 317.
Radborne, Rathborne, Derby, 340 ; Hall, 340.
Radcliffe, William, 372 ; daughter of, 372.
Ragazzoni, Mgr. Girolamo, Apos- tolic Nuncio in France, Bp. of Bergamo, 149, 152.
Raglan, Monmouth, 366.
Rainolds, Reynolds, William, 14, 106, 150, 204.
Raissius, chronicler, 459, 472,
529. Randolph, Thomas, 146. Rasyn, Raison, John, 9. Ratcliff, Leicester, 532.
570
LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
Rathorpe Hall, Dalton, 259.
Rawlins, Alexander, 243.
Reade, a tutor, 473.
Reason, Rayson, see Rasyn.
Reedley Hallows, Lancaster, 76.
Reynold, Edmund, 150.
Reynolds, Reynold, see Rainolds.
Rheims, 14, 37, 38, 46, 66, 67, 69, 93, 94, 100, loi, 149, 174, 175, 176, 184, 212, 213, 217, 223, 230-6, 239, 353, 354, 357, 366, 367, 373-9, 381, 426, 443» 447, 455, 462, 463, 473, 474, 480, 481-91, 492, 493, 498, 499, 506, 511, 523, 526, 527, 540, 545, 546, 548; Cathedral, 173, 200, 203, 220, 292, 448, 499, 523, 546. Chapel of St. Remy, 378. Church of Our Lady, 217. Church of St. Stephen's, 274,
280. St. Mary's, 185.
English College at, 55-60, 72, 73, 77, 78, 115, 116, 146, 148, 164, 172, 173, 200, 203, 211, 220, 225, 241, 265, 267, 275, 276, 280, 284, 285, 289, 292,
323, 335, 337, 341, 385, 388, 401, 402, 404, 408, 409, 453,
454, 509. Vice-President of, see Barrett. Rhodes, Roades, judge, 255, 256,
257- Rhodes, Island of, 421. Ribadeneira, Fr., S.J., 441, 459,
472. Richardson, Edm., Mayor of York, 190 ; his wife, 190-2.
— B. Laurence, vere Johnson,
116. Richmond, London, 84, 85. Rilston-in-Craven, 372. Ripley, Yorks, 211.
— Castle, 215. Ripon, Yorks, 313, 320. Rishton, Edward, 162. Risse, Dr., 75. Robinson, Francis, 498, 506.
— Ven. John, M., 498-507.
— Mrs., 498.
Roche, Ven. John, als. Neele, M., 409, 423, 430-8.
Rodgers, 355 ; Mrs., 355.
Roe, Thomas or Christopher, 151, 152.
Roger, Thomas, als. Berden, Nicholas, spy, 179.
Rokeby, Ralph, Master of St. Katherines, 207.
Rookbye [Ralph], 232.
Rome, 14, 35-8, 43, 46, 49, 67, 72, 96, lor, 224, 228, 235, 275, 276, 281, 380, 462-5, 527 ; English College in, 36, 39, 72, 73, 94, 150, 173, 224, 311, 372, 376-80, 408, 456, 460, 461, 491, 492, 506 ; English Hospice, 276, 409.
Rome, Churches : —
St. Peter, 37; St. Paul, 37; St. Sebastian, 37 ; St. John Lateran, 37 ; Holy Cross in Jerusalem, 37; St. Lawrence, 37; St. Mary Major, 37; Seven Churches of, 37 ; Pil- grimage to, 97.
Rouci-Sissonne, de, Mgr. Charles, Bp. of Soissons, 77, 173, 230.
Rouen, 16, 78, 149, 175, 178, 292, 293, 298, 463.
Rouse, see Rowsham.
Rowsham, Rouse, Ven, Stephen, M., 221, 279-87, 493, 551.
Rudby, Yorks, 169.
Rudston, John, 263, 264 ; Ursula, 263, 264.
Ruffyn, William, 482.
Rug, near Corwen, 130.
Rumbridger, John, 480.
Rushton, Northants, 185.
Ruthin, 144.
Ruthin Jail, 130, 131.
Ruyle, Gilbert, 319.
Rye, 175, 207 ; Sussex, 292.
Sackforth, Mr., 155. Sackville, Anne, 453. — Sir Richard, 453. Sadler, a Scot, 319. St. Andrews, Archbishop of, see Douglas, John.
INDEX OF NAMES
571
St. Asaph, 491.
— Bp. of, see Goldwell. Saint-John, William, 4.
St. Mabyn, near Bodmin, 290. St. Omer, 313. Saire, Robert, see Sayers. Salford, House of Rogues, 119.
— Jail, 35, 39, n?, "9. Salisbury Hall, 343. Salisbury, Salusbury, John, 130 ;
Mrs., 400, 402. Salisbury, 288, 296 ; Bp. of, see
Piers Cathedral, 321. Sander, Saunders, Sister Elizabeth, O.SS. S. 16, 17.
— Saunders, Nicholas, 16, 17,
52, 97, 137, 418. Sandys, Ven. John, M., 220-2, 286,
397- Sawnder, John, 480. Sayers, Saire, Robert, monk,
O.S.B., 408. Scarborough, Yorks, 79. Scarvill, John, 480. Scot, Anne, 241.
— Sir Reginald, 241. Scotland, 381.
Scots, Queen of, see Mary Stuart.
Scudamore, Harry, 388 ; Sir James, 388 ; John, 388.
Sefton, 77.
Sergeant, Ven. Richard, M., als. Lea, als. Long, life of, 200, 201.
Seton, Thomas, 317.
Shelley, Shellye, Archdeacon Henry, 10, 417 ; Edward, 162, 416, 421 ; Edward, of War- minghurst, 421 ; Ven. Edward, M., 356, 358, 362, 364, 365, 416-21, 423 ; Elizabeth, 421 ; George, 421 ; Henry, 421 ; Joan, 421; Sir John, 416; Sir John of Michelgrove, 421 ; Sir John, Knight of Rhodes, 421 ; Justice, 475, 493 ; Mrs., 417 ; Pedigree, 421 ; Percy Bysshe, poet, 416 ; Richard, 417 ; Richard of Alcanning, 421 ; Richard of Patcham, 421 ; Sir William, 421 ; of
Castle Goring, 416 ; of Warm- inghurst, 416.
Shelton, Mr., Queen's Attorney, 412.
Sherer, Thomas, 135.
Sherson, Martin, priest and con- fessor, 409.
Shert, B. John, M., 47, 281.
Sherwood, Richard, 236.
Showell, Robert, 432.
Shrewsbury, Earl of, see Talbot.
Shutte, Chief Baron, 27, 30.
Shyrley, John, 480.
Sidington St. Mary, Gloucester, 230.
Sidney, Sir Henry, 132.
Silkmoor, Gallows' Flat, in parish of Castlechurch, 308.
Silvage, near Ilminster, 61.
Simpson, Richard, 283, 477, 496.
Sittingbourne, Kent, 455, 456.
Skillicorne, William, 343.
Slacke, Richard, 66, 67.
Slade, John, of Manston, i.
— Ven. John, M., 1-18.
— William, 2.
— William, S.J., 172, 173. Slater, John, 480.
Sledd, pursuivant, 39 Small, Christopher, 232. Smith, Annie, 241, 242, 245-247.
— Nicholas, S.J., novice, 146.
— Richard, Bp. of Chalcedon, i,
II, 229, 257, 273, 443.
— William, 38.
Snell, Mr., under sheriff of York,
315. Soissons, 146, 173, 200, 230, 266, 274, 280, 341, 353, 404.
— Bp. of, see Rouci-Sissonne.
— Cathedral, 239. Sommerfield, 137.
SouUey, Hugh, apostate, 129, and
vicar of Wrexham, 133, 134,
142. South Maperton, Dorset, 92. Southwell, Ven. Robert, S.J., M.,
358, 399, 400, 402, 403, 407,
412. Southwark, Manor of, 500. Spain, King of, 148, 149, 352, 528.
572
LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
Spanish invasion, danger of, occa- sions persecution, 395.
Spaw, The, 541.
Speciani,Cesare, Mongr., 36, after- wards Bp. of Novara and of Cremona, 36.
Spencer, Spenser, John, Sheriff, 48, 50, 69, 74.
Spiritualism and the alleged pos- sessions, 237, 242, 243.
Spratt, Edward, 304.
Sprott, Mr., 305, see Spratt.
Stafford, Miss, 334; Nigel de,
334. Stafford, 301, 304, 305, 336, Stafford, Richard, 334. Staines, 96. Stamp, Mr., 244. Standish, Alexander, 202. — Alice, 202.
Standish Hall, Lancashire, 202. Standley, Sir Rowland, 392. Stanney, Fr. Thomas, S.J., 184,
409. Stansham, see Stransham. Stanway, 220. Stapleton, Mrs., 194. Stephenson, Thomas, S.J., 385,
386. Stock, William, 53, 54. Stockar, Thomas, 231. Stoke, Dorset, 71. Stoke, Nottingham, 317. Stoker, George, 433. Stokes, Walter, 273, 287, 298. Stone, Gloucestershire, 200. Stonor, Dame, 525 ; John, 525. Stonor Park, Henley, 525. Story, B. John, M., 137. Stourton, William, 61. Stow, historian, 396, 445. Stradlinge, John, 482. Strange, Mrs., 285. Stransham, Ven. Edward, M., als.
Barber, 171-82, 185, 491 ;
Francis, 171 ; George, als.
Potter, 172 ; John, 172 ;
Lawrence, 171 ; Robert, 171 ;
Thomas, 172 ; of Canterbury,
171 ; of Faversham, 171 ; of
Kent, 171 ; Worcester, 172.
Strimshaw, Norfolk, 56.
Stuart, Mary, Queen of Scots, 24,
179, 317. 318, 339. Studley, 211. Sutton, Abraham, 301, 302, 303,
304, 307, 309, 310 ; John, 301.
— Ven. Robert, priest, M., 301-
312.
— Ven. Robert, layman, M., 514,
516, 531-6, 541; William, 301, 302, 303, 304, 309. Sutton Place, Woking, 311. Sydenham family, 61. Sydney, Sir Harry, 138. Sykes, Ven. Edmund, M., 274-8,
409. Symons, als. of Harrison, John. Sympson, Ven. Richard, M., 330-
350.
Tailby, Christopher, 418.
Tailour, Thomas, 209.
Talbot, George, Earl of Shrews- bury, and Guardian of Mary Stuart, 338, 339.
Talbot family, 343.
Tanfield, 432.
Tate, Agnes, 264 ; William, 264.
Taunton, 295.
Taunton, Franciscan Convent, 215.
Taylor, Ven. Hugh, M., 164-5, 168, 169, 258.
— James, 174.
Tedder, Thomas, als. Fletcher, 65.
— William, 100. Tesh, Anne, 194. Thames, 231, 337.
Thelwall, Ithel, 130 ; Simon, 130,
135, 137. 138, 143-
Thompson, Ven. William, als. Blackburn, 200, 201, 244.
Thornbery, Francis, 304.
Thornbury, 305, see Thornbery.
Thornley, 202.
Thornell, Edmund, 72.
Throckmorton (Throgmorton), Francis, 137 ; Francis, con- spirator, 177, 178 ; Muriel, 185 ; Sir Robert, 185 ; Thomas, 176.
Thules, John, 292.
INDEX OF NAMES
573
Thulis, 244.
Thwing, Ven. Edward, M., 176.
Thymolby, Mrs., 355.
Tibbit, John, 292.
Tibnam Longrow, Norfolk, 473.
Tichborne, Touchbourne, Ben- jamin, 4 ; Henry, 10 ; family, 26.
Tideswell, 334, 349, 460, 461 ; School, 332, 333.
Toledo, Cardinal, 174.
Tollerton, Yorks, 515.
Tomson, William, 292.
— see Kemp.
Topcliffe, Richard, priesthunter, 25, 26, 246, 339, 342, 351, 352,
353, 354, 357, 4i3, 417, 494,
520 ; examiner, 483. Tower Hill, 311. Towneley, John, 38. Towneley Hall, Lanes., 38. Townsend, Henry, 135. Tracy, Paul, High SherilT, 220,
221. Travers, Mr,, 11. Trayford, William, 237. Traysalpina, Bp, of, 293. Tregian, Francis, 437, 438. Tregwethan, als. of Hambley,
Ven. John, M. Tremayne, Mr., 226. Trenchard, George, 2. Tresham, Sir Thomas, 185 ;
Muriel, Lady, 185. Trevethan, see Tregwethan. Trewe, Andrew, 252.
— John, 195. Turner, John, 482. Twichener, Anthony, 8. Twickenham Road, 406. Tyburn, 34, 38, 52, 69, 71, 74, 76,
77, 90, 92, 145, 161, 171, 181, 183, 200, 201, 228, 229, 232, 234, 282, 391, 408, 413, 416, 420, 422, 423, 427, 428, 430, 436, 437, 537, 538, 541-
Tyrie, Fr., S.J., 381.
Tyrrell, Anthony, apostate, 226, 245, 247, 410, 411 ; spy, 244 ; his accusations and repent- ances, 244-5 ; his confession
of betraying a priest, 410 ; his attempt to abjure heresy, 411.
UxENDEN Manor, Harrow-on-the- Hill, 389, 394.
Valladolid, 441.
Vaudemont, de. Cardinal, 378, 379.
Vautrollier, J., printer, 414.
Vaux, Lord, 243.
Vele, Joan, 161.
— John, 161.
Velletri, Card. Bp. of, see Moroni. Venice, 38. Verdun, 77, 289.
Vero,Guillermo,5^^ Way, William. Volvedon, Cornwall, 437.
W., P. H., one of Walsingham's spies (? one of the Tich- burnes), 26.
Waius, see Way, William.
Wales Seminary, Priests in, 129.
Wallen, Mathew, 177.
Walpole, Ven. Henry Martyr, S.J., 413, 419, 444, 519.
Walsingham, Sir Francis, Secre- tary of State, 26, 62, 85, 93, 94, 96, 97, 98, 138, 267, 283, 319, 363, 389, 448, 476, 494, 495, 501, 540.
Ward, Ven. Margaret, M., 409, 423, 430-8.
Warfoid, William, Father, S.J. ,17, 72, 203, 268, 281, 374, 512.
Warmington, William, 66, 67, 292.
Warminghurst, Sussex, 416, 421.
Warner, John, Archdeacon of Cleveland, 53.
Warnford, Richard, 11, 17.
Warrington, Lancashire, 107.
Waterton, a Catholic, 336.
Wath, near Tanfield, Yorks, 276.
Watkins, Mr., 294.
Watson, Bp. of Winchester, 17.
— John, 480.
— William (? Richard), priest,
409, 430, 432, 434, 435, 437, 438.
574
LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
Way, Ven. William, als. Flower, M. (sometimes mis-called Wigges), 439-46, 504, 540.
Way, Warden of the Marshalsea, 89.
Webbe, 292, 293.
'Webley, Weblie, Welley, Alice, 162; Armigeri, 162; family, of Gloucester, 361 ; Ven. Henry, M., 161, 358, 360-5 ; Joane, 161 ; John, dyer, 161 ; John, dyer, Mayor of Gloucester, 361 ; Thomas, 162, 163, 418 ; Thomas, dyer, 362 ; Ven. Thomas, M., 145-63 ; William, 161, 362.
Webster, Arthur, apostate, 275.
— Frances, confessor for faith,
218, 275.
— Mrs., 275.
Weldon, John, als. of Hewett.
Welley, see Webley.
Wells, Ven. Swithin, M., 184, 243,
395. Wells, Somerset, 8, 10, 55, 107.
— Cathedral, 9, 52. Wells, Ripon, 342. Wentworth, Mary, 264 ; Michael,
264. West, Lady, 267.
— Thomas, 4.
West Riding, Yorks, 252, 259. Westbrooke, William, 480. Westby, Helen, 34.
— Miss ? 38.
— William, 34. Westchester, see Chester. Westmoreland, Earl of, 37, 123,
418. Westminster, 9 ; Dean of, see
Goodman ; Hall, loi ; Queen's
Bench, 67, 68, 73, 90, 100,
loi, 356, 526. Weston family, 311.
— Francis, 311.
Weston, William, als. Edmonds, S.J., 226, 227, 237, 240, 242, 244.
Weston, 427.
Whalley, The Monk of, 50.
Whalley, Lanes, 76. Wheathall, Somerset, 92, 230. Wheeler, Ven. Nicholas, M., als.
of Woodfen and Woodfrey,
172, 174, 183-7. Whitaker, William, 204. White, vere Gwyn, Catherine, 138, 139, 140, 141.
— Keble, 490.
— Ven. Richard, vere Gwyn,
M., 127-44; ^^^ Gwyn.
— Robert, 4, 6.
— Sir Thomas, 53.
Whiting, B. Richard, Abbot of Glastonbury, M., 364.
" Whiting of Lancashire," 26.
Whittel, Whittall, Mrs., 432 ; Mr., 294, 432, 438.
Widmerpool, Ven. Robert, M., 450, 458, 466, 467, 469-72.
Widmerpool, Nottingham, 469.
Widmerpoole, or Wodmerpole, Robert, 469 ; family of Wid- merpool, 469.
Wigges, William, mistaken for Way, William, M., 439-42; confessor, 153, 155, 161, 162, 418, 439, 441.
Wigginton, preacher, 195.
Wigmore, 441, 472.
Wilcocks, Wylkox, spy, 272.
Wilcox, Ven. Robert, M., 447-50, 458-66, 467, 469, 471, 472.
Wildon, John, layman, prosecuted for having a devout wife, 519 ; Mrs.. 519.
Willec, see Willis.
William of York, St., 311.
Williams, Frideswide, 239-42, 245, 247; Maurice, 293; Maurice Morris (perhaps Ven. Richard), 539, 540-2; Rich- ard, Ven., M., 537-542; Sarah, 237, 240-3, 247.
Williamson, Thomas, no, 120,124.
Willis, Willec, Wyllace, Francis, vere Stransham, 177.
Wilson, Robert, 441, 442, 446.
Winchester, i, 4, 11, 12, 13, 23, 95, 96, 208, 209, 267 ; bishops of, 500 ; bishops (protestant.
INDEX OF NAMES
575
of), see Cowper, Home, Watson ; College, 8, 52, 92, 95, 105, 229; College Warden, see Bilson, Thomas ; dean of, see Humphrey, Laurence ; Jail, 2, 4, 10, II, 16, 73, 93, 205 ; market place, 4.
Wing, Rutland, 316, 319.
Wingfield, als. of Davis, Richard, 387.
Winterbourne, St. Martin, or " Mar tens- towne," 230.
Wisbech, Wisbyche, 363, 501, 512, 529, 540; Castle, 174, 439, 474, 477 ; jail, 151, 161, 448, 456 ; " relegatus in in- sulam," 283.
Witch persecution in Europe, 236.
Witchcraft, hanging women for,
237. Wodmerpole, see Widmerpoole. Wolley, the Latin Secretary, 96. Wollock, Bartholomew, 317. Wolsey, John, 304. Wombwell, ? of Wombwell, 264 ;
Margery, 264. Woodfen, Ven. Nicholas, M., als.
Wheeler, 174, 181, 183-7. Woodfin, A., 184. Woodfrey, see Woodfen. Woodroffe, Robert, 76, 78. WooUey, 264. Worcester, 234. Worsley, Erasmus, 305.
— pursuivant, 388.
— Ralph, 118.
— Robert, Keeper of New Fleet,
Salford, 117. Worswick, Thomas, 305, 307. Worthington, Dr., 385, 442, 446,
454, 459, 472. Wrexham, Denbighshire, 127, 128,
129, 130, 131, 132, 133, 135,
144, 481. Wrexham, Black Chamber (Siam-
brddu) 130, 135. Wright, William, 4, 11. Wyckliff, heretic, 302. Wye, Kent, 172.
Wykeham, Bp. William, 93. Wylkox, see Wilcocks. Wyllace, see Willis. Wymark, Mr., 317 ; his sons, 317. Wyn, Derbyshire, 522.
Yale, 133, 134, 136, 137.
Yarmouth, 79.
Yarmouth Roads, 500, 502.
Yates, Mr., schoolmaster, 76.
Yeomans, William, 205.
Yepez, Bp., 370, 412, 441, 472.
Yonge, Mr., 232.
York, 115, 118, 164, 166, 168, 169,
188, 199, 212, 213, 217, 251, 257, 259, 260, 262, 274, 276,
313, 323, 343, 356, 508, 509, 511, 512, 516, 529, 543, 547, 548 ; York Castle, 152, 164,
189, 194, 214, 215, 254, 255, 257, 260, 263, 275, 276, 278,
314, 5", 547- Aldermen, 508, 509. Archbp. of, see Harsnet. Archbp. of, see Matthew. Bar Convent, 198, 199. Bishop's Palace, 212.
•' Christ's Parish," 190.
Common Hall, 194, 252, 253, 257.
Davygate, 188.
Great Manger Gate, 189.
Guildhall, 194, 195.
London Hall, 257.
Lord Mayor of, 508, 509, 520.
Low House jail, 314.
Mitklegate Bar, 192.
Minister of, 254 ; wife of, 254.
Ousebridge, 192, 194.
Recorder of, see Birnand.
Recorders of, 508, 509.
St. Peter's prison, 218.
Tolbooth, 197, 254.
Tyburn, 192, 278. Young, James, priest, 436, 538. — Richard, Justice, 151, 155, 227, 244, 410, 443, 483, 539, 540. Yoward, Mr. and Mrs., 197. Yswyd, 128.
II. ANALYTICAL INDEX.
§ I. Martyrs: Early Life.
Families and relatives, lo, 76, 161, 166, 171, 183, 194, 202, 211, 230, 235, 251, 259, 263, 265, 330, 351, 372, 416, 426, 470 ; father a protestant, 71, 384, 387; apostatises, 331,352; re- conciled, 33, 353 ; a martyr, 399, 498, 506 ; mother, at court, has leave for mass, 400, 529 ; brother, a martyr, 76 ; a suf- ferer, 428; converted, 301,302; an apostate priest, 168 ; sons and daughter priests and nun, 199, cf. 259, 416; wife im- prisoned, 139, 168 ; at execu- tion, 68, 138, 141.
Childhood and early education, 76, 161,301,366,532,543; school life, 145, 184, 204, 274, 291, 317, 331, 460; school friends, 202.
Home life, 114, 146, 188; married, 55, 115, 128, 167, 189, 259, 417, 498, 538 ; family and children, 55, 128, 259.
§ 2. University Careers.
College life, 71, 72, 107, 127, 174, 265, 301, 367 ; chorister, 52 ; dogs kept, 9 ; oath of supre- macy refused, 53, 92, 490; taken, 544 ; expelled for re- ligion, I, 9, 53 ; degrees taken, 72, 145, 200, 265, 384, 469, 509, 515, 522, 543, 544; de- gree impossible to Catholics,
53, 331, 453, 473, 490 ; sus- pended for religion, 92, 522, 523 ; loss of fellowship, 92 ; rejection from college caused many priests, 546 ; priest at Oxford, 524 ; vision of martyr's crown, 279 ; see Cambridge, and Oxford, Col- leges of.
§ 3. Professions, etc.
Tutor or schoolmaster, i, 54, 77, 92, 317, 321, 332, 388, 470, 473 ; printer, 22 ; estate agent, 58; glover, 550 ; chaplain, 236, 515 ; page, 400 ; cobbler, porter, cook, then priest and martyr, 323 ; servant to Lord Dacre, 453 ; law student, 211, 384 ; anglican orders, 223 ; anglican minister, 107, 108, 538 ; parson ot Lutterworth, 301 ; ofWin- terbourne, St. Martin, 230.
§ 4. College Life Abroad {See Douay, Rheims, Rome, etc.)
Maintained by himself, 211, 491 ; by others, 293, 474 ; by Mary Stuart, 317; cases of con- science, 211, 292 ; seminary course curtailed, 498, 546 ; ora- tion, 204 ; " Te Deum " at news of martyrdom, 467 ; oath at Rome, 37, 224, 409, 461, 491 ; petition of 50 scholars, 462, 492.
" Marian," or " old " priests, xii, 107, 321, 537-40.
576
ANALYTICAL INDEX
577
Money matters : poor, 127, 186, 275, 461 ; well-to-do, 265, 288, 375,474; working man, 550; money borrowed, 375.
Appearance, 48, 74, 181, 210, 215, 268, 281, 374, 392, 393, 496, 526, 547 ; defective eyesight, 268 ; wry neck, 281 ; health, 86, loS, 275, 385, 474, 546.
§ 5. Conversion.
Conformity, 58, 128, 167, 176, 490 ; reconciled, 115, 129, 265, 423, 538; conversion, 108,189, 203, 280, 288, 301, 302, 342, 385, 388, 453, 460, 490, 523, 533, 545 ; explained his errors from the pulpit, 303 ; hopeless affec- tion makes him turn to God,
334- Attainments : preaching, 175, 203, 211; controversy, 204; Hebrew, 204 ; poet, 128 ; casuistry, etc., 152, 215, 506, 547 ; styled " of no account," 501 ; of little education, 550.
§ 6. Priestly Life.
Missionary life, 212, 218, 293 ; for one month only, 499 ; con- versions, 54, 60, 176, 186, 275, 294, 355, 528 ; in law court, 285 ; exorcisms, 226, 245, 328 ; apostolate of press, 22, 81, 150, 156, 524; catechism, 81, 115, 192.
Mass, 15, 19, 64, 68, 109, 115, 179, 193, 201, 222, 226, 266, 282, 286,292, 353, 495,525; acci- dent, 280, 28 1 ; furniture, 2,11, 25, 26, 82, 194 ; tin chalice, 65 ; rituale, 466 ; breviary, 46 ; confessions, 115, 125 ; com- munion and baptism, 42, 44, 115, 193, 294,324; office, 109, 180; in bed, 122, 181; holy bread, 293 ; holy water, 293 ; rosary, crucifix, medals, 234; sign of cross, 136; spiritual
exercises, 225 ; string for rosary, 141.
§ 7. Prayers and Good Works.
Prayers, 20, 48, 141, 181, 193, 197, 266, 277, 458, 495, 520 ; de- votion to B. Sacrament and to martyrs, 192 ; to St. Peter^ 46; consolations, 280, 282, 306, 495 ; lights and miraculous graces, 297, 307, 332, 333', visions, 17, 263, 271, 282, 343 ; presence of God, 193, 266.
Good works : visiting prisoners, 38, 39, 180, 192, 235, 432; visiting poor, 109 ; guide for priests, 115 ; entertaining priests, 167, 192, 426, 427, 428, 470 ; hiding holes, 260 ; living at inns, 241, 293,
Penances : in river, 120, 129, 191 ; pilgrimage, 276; fastings, 345; public recantation, 431 [see austerities).
Vows, 276, 334, 401, 517; voca- tions to priesthood, 54, 524 ; alms, 195 ; faculties and in- dulgfence^--, 73, 109-11, 492 ; dispensations, 225.
§ 8. Characteristic Virtues {besides Courage and Constancy).
Abstinence and austerities, 72, 88, 108, 180, 193, 194, 268, 275, 276, 277, 345, 348, 445 ; hair shirt, 180, 348, 445 ; dislike of fine clothes, 70 ; despised earthly things, 100, 262.
Breadth of mind, 90, 177, 238,369, 501, 524, 526, 550.
Charity, 86, 191, 380, 550, 552 ; kindness to others, 87, 238, 249, 260, 268, 369, 547.
Calmness, gentleness, meekness, etc., 53. 58-61, 72, 90, 100, 191, 204, 214, 262, 266, 269, 315. 367. 371. 495. 526, 547 ; prudence, 60, 97, 212, 374, 547 ; imprudence, 248.
37
578
LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
Firmness, perseverance, etc , 32, 116, 117, 125, 162, igi, 269, 478, 488, 552 ; weak, 288, 295, 496.
Candour, simplicity, etc., 238, 260, 498, 501, 535.
Cheerfulness, joy, etc., 41, 43, 98, 102, 112, 139, 191, 196, 214,
262, 263, 371, 445, 458. Zeal, 40-60, 86, 181, 210,212,219,
249, 265, 275, 304, 341, 343, 369, 417, 426, 547, 549, 550.
Energy and earnestness, 215, 268, 324, 488.
Tact, 181 ; discretion, 269 ; sym- pathy, etc., 524; tenderness, 104.
Obedience, 60, 315.
Patience, 30, 61, 117, 186, 190,
263, 324-
Humility, 40, 70, 88, 191, 276, 290,
324, 371, 495- Self-forgetfulness, 178, 210, 249,
367, 550. Chastity, 72, 407 ; modesty, 60,
204, 266, 341, 407, 495, 526. Laboriousness, 86, 152, 215, 224,
249, 285, 286, 323, 324. Desire of martyrdom, 47, 120,
445 ; desire of suffering, 98,
315- Piety, 60, 210, 260, 266 ; good
life, 59, 191, 204, 341, 495,
526, 549. Gravity, 83, 260, 501, 526, 546 ;
faithfulness, 105, 224.
§ 9. yourneyings.
Journeyings, 178, 179, 276, 293, 464, 493 ; journey money, 475, 491, 530 ; passport, 319 ; return to England, 267, 284, 506, 516, 517, 518, 528 ; abroad, 231, 473 ; to Rome, 72, 276, 530 ; audience with the Pope, 38, 73, 225, 491; shipwreck, 81 ; storm, 205 ; hardships, 276, 319, 462; vessels watched, 360; ship robbed, 319.
[ § 10. Searches and Arrests.
I Searches and escapes : house searched, 25, 186, 194, 260,
I 298, 388, 389, 410 ; ship
j searched, 8r.
Priest disguised, 61, 293, 515 ; in
I hiding, 14, 56, 57, 339 ; sus-
I pected to be a spy, 541 ;
I flight, 129 ; escapes, 180, 389.
{ Betrayed by those of his house- hold, 150, 168, 194, 276- 295, 385, 551 ; by priest, 129 ; by fallen Catholics, 149, 226, 252, 339, 344; by persons
j benefited, 228, 550; by acci-
I dent, 213, 252, 281, 312, 322,
! 361.
: Arrests, 36, 61, 73, 95, 96, 115, ! 129; on board ship, 361, 363,
i 475, 493, 499 ; at seaside, 235,
■ 401.
' Carried to prison, 18, 84 ; dragged, 340 ; on horseback, 268 ; es- I cort, 41, 84.
§ II. Prisons.
Prisons described, 61, 121, 263, 271, 314, 341, 342; "Little Ease," 282, 402 ; " Low House," 314; "Derby jail that always stank," 342; " Limbo," 403 ; Kingston- upon-Hull, " the worst for extremity," 510 ; dungeon, iig ; garret prison, 88 ; " The Pit," 74 ; a cave, 68.
Bonds, iron shackles, 10, 15, 61, 68, 74, 83, 84, 99, 131, 134, 213, 313, 324, 403, 435, 526; kissed, 88 ; leg amputated because of irons, 512; double irons, 132 ; hobbles, 84 ; bolts on leg, 130 ; chains in church, 131 ; pinioned, no, 121, 268, 340 ; hand and foot, 207 ; legs, no, 121.
Protestant Church, dragged to, by heels, 119; by force, 131, 403; going to, 24, 25, 119, 313, 314, 345, 431 ; refusing
ANALYTICAL INDEX
579
to go, log, 436; Protestant preacher refused, 117, 118, 477, 485 ; silenced, 131 ; have to hear Protestant Bible, 118.
Discussions, 12, 40, 42, 65, 83, 133, 213, 305, 306, 314, 412.
Conversions in prison, 17, 30, 62-4, 86, 125, 268, 272, 525, 526 ; exhorting fellow-prison- ers, 62, 66, 125, 222, 314 ; convicts attention to, 63 ; keeper converted, 17 ; tutor to warden's sons, 313.
Visitors in prison, 62, 125 ; visits forbidden, 42 ; visitors searched, 433 ; rooms
searched, 10 ; goods seized, 24, 40, 41, 98, 255 ; liberty to be purchased, 16, 25, 346 ; bribes, 117.
Alms, 62, 63, 195 ; " Dividents," 426, 427 ; prison charges, 44, 63,363, 477,510.
Torture and violence : torture, 27, 121, 134, 147, 148, 151, 153, 402 ; manacles, 136 ; rod, 194 ; (? woman flogged, hung by wrists, 435) ; no sleep, 121 ; " nothing drawn from him but the name of Jesus," 27 ; prayer for torturers, 134 ; threat of tor- ture, 116; fear of, 97; yielding to torture, 148, 288, 289, 290, 295, 296, 355, 496,
5i«, 527. Whether lawful to escape, 16 ;
account of escape, 293, 296,
433, 434, 435 ; repentance of
spy, 222, 226, 228. Cost of moving prisoners, 84, 227,
230, 267, 275, 282, 336, 357 ;
exiled, 410, 506, 511, 516-9,
527.
§. 12. Examinations,
Examinations, 44, 88, 93, 96, no, III, 135, 151, 178, 181, 396, 457, 481, 493, 494, 533 ; with- out food or sleep, 121.
?>7
Replies of prisoners, 67, loi, r22, 123, 156, 158, 159, 180, 205, 206, 214, 413, 455, 516.
Denial of treason, 277, 285 ; con- fessing the faith, 12, 43, 475 ; weakness in faith, 112, 290, 295, 298, 344, 394, 485 ; con- fessing queen, etc., heretical,
45, 49, 455- Acknowledge priesthood, 83, 109,
205, 277, 285, 318, 319, 344,
364, 391, 392, 396, 449, 455,
457, 466, 475, 502. Oath of supremacy, 55, 391, 392,
485, 488 ; text of oath, 486.
§ 13. Trials.
Trials, 11, 13, 135, 154, 160, 196, 297, 345, 369, 390, 391, 482, 488, 534, 551.
Charges against martyrs, indict- ments, 100, 153, 154 ; con- spiracy, 29, 30, 43, 62, 66, 73, 100 ; exorcism, 226, 246 ; helping priest, 427 ; treason, 255, 257 ; trifling charges, 66, 136, 137, 383, 423, 437,
539-
Pleadings, 206 ; refusing to plead, 136, 195 ; refusing jury, 513, 516 ; refusing judge, 444.
Witnesses: false witness paid, 137; of low character, 551.
Persecuting statutes, xi-xvi, 356, 484 ; defended, 483, 484.
Judgment without jury, 369, 513 ; honest jury altered, 261 ; jury intimidated, 138 ; doomed be- fore trial, 369, 534 ; jury's acquittal refused, 255, 257 ; Protestant Bishop a judge,
445.
Sentence, joy at, 102, 261, 278, 285, 324, 548 ; " Te Deum " recited, ro2 ; pardon off"ered, 132.
Consoled by priests, 31, 45, 99, 100, 103, 261, 364 ; by Cath- olics, 66 ; martyr depressed, 99, 306.
58o
LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
Reprieve on conformity, 47, 406, 486-8 ; re-trial, 255 ; bail, 132.
§ 14. Contestation.
Papal supremacy confessed, 5, 6, 12, ig, 43, 46, 68, no, 111-7, 123, 124, 136, 137, 163, 255,
257. 483, 484- Queen's supremacy denied, 5, 7,
12, 19, 20,, 42, 45, 68, log,
III, 112, 123, 142, 163, 314,
414, 445, 488, 535. Queen's temporal power, 5, 7,
19, 20, 98, 123, 206, 208, 445,
535.
Bull of Pius V and Elizabeth's excommunication, 6, 7, 19, 65, 109, 122, 124, 134, 137.
" Bloody Question," 44, 65, 66, 67, 89, 97, in, 121, 194, 206, 208, 405, 428, 457, 517, 531 ; defended, 417-9; it§ hy- pocrisy, xvii.
Ill-treatment : abused, 44, 89, 98, 99, no, 205, 261, 324, 435 ; blows, 98 ; pinioned, 196, 305 ; pelted from a dunghill, 285 ; jadge taunts and tempts, 213, 214, 485, 551 ; friends,
20, 102, 103, 529.
§ 15. Execution.
Preparatory prayer, 112, 125, 197, 326, 520 ; Mass, 286 ; letter before, 89, 105, 106.
Prayers on way, 20 ; singing service, 413 ; litanies, 458 ; Stabat Mater, 458 ; jfesus Psalter, 20; Te liicis ante terminum, 48 ; rosary, 141.
Constancy, 198, 552 ; satisfaction and great joy, 90, 102, 103, 125 139, 261, 324, 328, 445, 471, 498, 504, 505.
Via dolorosa : pinioned, 69, 104, 141 ; hurdle, 4, 15, 18, 68, 104, 112, 125, 141,269; sledge, 278, 280, 286, 346, 487; dragged, 190 ; called " Sweet
Bed," 19; cart, 365, 413, 519, 529; horseback, 406; led, 458 ; sixty miles on foot to execution, 505.
Halter, 19 ; broken, 269 ; kissed 19,471, 541; cut, 50; called " Blessed Chain," 19.
Gallows, blessing, 4 ; kissed, 4 ; especially erected, 368.
Ladder kissed, 346, 471 ; re- mounted, 329.
Last speech : refused, 308, 370, 383, 487 ; howled down by crowd, 467; impressive, 346; short, 75, 125 ; lament on country's apostasy, 347.
Protestant ministers refused, 112, 125, 142, 487 ; Protestant ministers disputed, 18, 69, 74. 513, 516.
Queen's forgiveness asked, 20, 74 ; refusal to ask, 7, 48, 142, 436.
Blessing himsalf, 141, 514, 519; others, 69, 141, 146, 413, 487.
Executions, accounts of 4, 90, 102, 104, 308, 315, 535 ; fire not ready, 346 ; place of execu- tion described, 370.
Crowd : angry, 221 ; sympathetic, 407 ; papers thrown to, 346 ; friends, 20, 68, 102, 138, 141, 423, 529 ; martyr encour- aged, 104, 139, 423, 520, 529; passing bell, 551.
" Declaration " read, 209.
Martyr gives alms, 140 ; stripped, 69, 315, 348; mocked, etc., 102, 104, 278 ; asserts inno- cence, 69, 142 ; forced to wait and why, 467, 497,
529.
Executioner : begs forgiveness, 142, 471 ; refuses at first, 220 ; compelled, 269 ; bungles, 143.
Last prayers, 48, 69, 413, 458, 487 ; for queen, 20, 48, 142, 197 ; for England, 347 ; for Pope, 197 ; secret, 125, 487, 495 ; Latin, 4, 7, 49, 50, 487,
ANALYTICAL INDEX
581
Asks Catholic prayers, 74, 161,
424, 472; prayers from all, 142 ; Protestant prayers re- fused, 7, 20, 74, 159, 161.
Last words, 5, 7, 20, 69, 75, 102, 141, 142, 198, 221, 270, 308, 329, 348, 467, 487, 496, 505, 520 ; last absolution, 112, 168, 487 ; prevented, 278 ; beating breast, 519.
Martyr quartered alive, 90, 143, 347 ; disembowelled alive, 31, 50, 70, 75, 90, 181, 269, 315, 445 ; mouth cut, 308.
Blood from mouth, nose and ears, 518, 519; full penalties of treason, 7, 20, 458, 467, 472, 538, 548 ; martyrdom especi- ally brutal, 75, 198, 222, 308, 3i5» 365, 518, 552 ; martyr defends himself, 221, 270 ; hanged in boots and spurs, 169 ; quarter of an hour in flying. 520, 529 ; cries, 75 ; speaks, 347; gagged, 358; face covered, ig8 ; savagely hit, 358 ; peine forte et dure, 195.
Hanged only, 207, 220, 221, 261, 286, 365, 371, 396, 397, 406; by Queen's clemency, 513, 518, 530, 535.
Martyred at : Andover, 8 ; Brent- ford, near, 399 ; Canterbury, 447, 451, 460, 469 ; Chichester, 473, 490 ; Derby, 330 ; Dor- chester, 265 ; Gloucester, 220, 279, 550; Ipswich, 498; Isle of Wight, 202 ; Kingston-on- Thames, 439 ; Lancaster, 107, 114.
London : at Clerkenwell, 387, 531 ; Holloway, the " Theatre," 522 ; Lincoln's Inn Fields, 372, 3S4 ; Mile End Green, 351, 360, 508, 521; Shore- ditch, 366; Tyburn, 22, 34, 52, 71, 76, 92, 145, 171, 183, 200, 223, 234, 408, 416, 422,
425, 430, 537 ; Salisbury, 287 ; Stafford, 301 ; Winchester,
I ; Wrexham, 127 ; York, 164, 166, 188, 211, 217, 251, 259, 274, 313, 323, 543.
§ 16. After Martyrdom.
Relics, 50, 70, 144, 198, 199, 215, 262, 271, 307-11, 349, 397. 466, 489, 506, 538.
Preserved by Catholics, 50, 199, 215, 311, 349; incorrupt, 198 ; relic - seeker appre- hended, 215 ; portrait of martyr, 215 ; tokens and bent penny blessed as mementoes, 139, 140.
Consequences of martyrdom : con- versions, 112, 272, 347, 349 ; elements disturbed, 271 ; misfortunes of persecutors, 143, 213, 270, 271 ; people impressed, 476, 495, 503.
§ 17. Martyrs^ Maxims.
Martyrs' Maxims : —
" We are all beggars of God or
ought to be," 345. " All is too little for Christ's
sake,'' 286. " Oh ! I shall never come to
martyrdom," 445. " 0 fairest day, I ever saw,"
112. " Why do I tarry so long behind
my brother," 112. " Is it any more than one death,"
138. " In the Name of Jesus," 141. " Death ... is my comfort, but
the flesh is frail," 197. "I die for love of my Lord
Jesu," 198. " Happy I might be if I might
encounter death for Him,'"
165. When told to be hanged only
he said " The less was his
merit," 520. " Jesu ! how happy were I if I
58"2
LIVES OF ENGLISH MARTYRS
Martyrs' Maxims (contd.) —
might die for this cause," 504-
" I would consent (to escape) if I did not hope to suffer martyrdom," 456-7.
Death sentence " a sweet judg- ment," 214.
" The whole country here (Eng- land) is Catholic," 336.
" If God send a Catholic time, heretics' tongues would be stabled," 253.
" The sap is with Catholics in the root of the tree," etc, 253. 254.
*• Shall I always lie here like a beast, while my brother hastens to his reward," 548.
" Within an hour I shall conquer world, flesh, and devil," 286.
" I have done nothing but as a Roman Catholic priest ought to do," 519, 520.
"I do but pay rent before rent day," 140.
" I will gladly suffer for the Catholic faith," 44.
" If he could not dispute for his faith, he could die for it," 501.
" If a hundred hves would will- ingly lay all down in defence of faith," 467,
Prayed that the " Catholic ! Romish " church might pre- j vail, 457. I
" Pray God that my bloud may , increase Catholick faith in England," 50.
'* I will do what I can to set for- ward God's Catholic service,"
193- *' I am now to shoot as I never
shot in my life," 346. " Nothing but the smell of a
pilchard," 272. " I thank God heartily . . .
I am not worthy so good a
death," 196. " I am not worthy to suffer so
much as my brethren," 371.
" She would lay down many lives rather than do anything against God," 436.
" Truly I am unworthy of such glory as to suffer for Christ," 548.
" Persecuted, she learnt pa- tience," igi.
Separated from family . . . familiar with God, 191.
Shut up she learnt to despise the world, 191.
" We are so merry that unless we all parted, we fear we shall lose merit of imprisonment," 194.
Prison " accounted a most happy and profitable school where . . . honey is sucked out of enemies' poison," 190, 191.
" Going to heaven before them, would carry tidings that they were coming," 450, 471.
" Would never be guilty of ob- taining temporal honour at price of his salvation," 53.
" Rather die for God than live in world," 406.
" Made more account of priest- hood than of all other titles," 213.
" He would do as God put it into his mind," 256, 257.
" Elements shed tears for our sins," 141.
" I have been a jesting fellow etc.," 143.
" Never read that God ordained woman as Head of Church," 406.
" Peter received Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven, but you those of the beer-cellar,"
131-
" For this one night I watch in prayer with Christ," 325.
" God comfort all, for I am com- forted," 306.
" I have this night received greater consolation than I de- serve," 307.
ANALYTICAL INDEX
583
Martyrs' Maxims (contd.) —
" Deus propitius esto mihi pec- catori," 143.
" Non timebo quid mihi faciat homo," 485.
" Credo videre bona Domini in terra Viventiiim,'' 214.
*' Overproud of my new boots," meaning fetters, 213.
*' Cunning, thank God ! in wear- ing shackles ... for iron on
earth surmounts gold in heaven," 15.
Prison, " Our School of Pa- tience," 16.
Halter, " the happiest collar that ever went about his neck,"
541. " My legs shall perform journey without boots ; and shall be well paid for their pains," 503.
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2071 Lives of the English .357-
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