List of Catholic martyrs of the English Reformation

The Roman Catholic martyrs of the English Reformation are men and women executed under treason legislation in the English Reformation, between 1534 and 1680, and recognised as martyrs by the Roman Catholic Church. Though consequences of the English Reformation were felt in Ireland and Scotland as well, this article only covers those who died in the Kingdom of England.

On 25 February 1570, Pope Pius V's "Regnans in Excelsis" bull excommunicated the English Queen Elizabeth I, and any who obeyed her. This papal bull also required all Roman Catholics to rebel against the English Crown as a matter of faith. In response, in 1571 legislation was enacted making it treasonable to be under the authority of the Pope, including being a Jesuit, being Roman Catholic or harbouring a Roman Catholic priest. The standard penalty for all those convicted of treason at the time was execution by being hanged, drawn and quartered.

In the reign of Pope Gregory XIII (1572–85), authorisation was given for 63 recognised martyrs to have their relics honoured and pictures painted for Roman Catholic devotions. These martyrs were formally beatified by Pope Leo XIII, 54 in 1886 and the remaining nine in 1895. Further groups of martyrs were subsequently documented and proposed by Roman Catholic bishops of England and Wales and formally recognised by Rome.[1]

Numbers in various categories

In 1874 a Process was begun, containing 353 names, to which six were added in Rome, making 359.[2] Of those: -

1. 54 were beatified in 1886.
2. 9 were beatified in 1895.
3. One (Oliver Plunkett) was beatified in 1920.
4. 136 were beatified in 1929.
5. 85 were beatified in 1987.
6. (So 285 were beatified at various times, of whom 43 were subsequently canonised).
7. 30 were declared venerable, of whom one, John Travers, was executed in Dublin and appears in Irish Catholic Martyrs.
8. (So 315 were declared venerable, of whom 285 were subsequently beatified).
9. 44 were postponed ("dilati") - 36 died in prison and 8 were postponed for other reasons.

Canonised by Pope Pius XI on 19 May 1935

1. John Fisher, Bishop of Rochester, 22 June 1535
2. Thomas More, layman, 6 July 1535

Canonised by Pope Paul VI on 25 October 1970

John Houghton

1. John Almond, priest, 1612[3]
2. Edmund Arrowsmith, Jesuit priest, 1628
3. Ambrose Edward Barlow, Benedictine priest, 10 September 1641[4]
4. John Boste, priest, 24 July 1594[5]
5. Alexander Briant, Jesuit priest, 1 December 1581
6. Edmund Campion, Jesuit priest, 1 December 1581
7. Margaret Clitherow, laywoman, 25 March 1586[6]
8. Philip Evans, Jesuit priest, 1679
9. Thomas Garnet, Jesuit priest, 1608
10. Edmund Gennings, priest, 1591
11. John Griffith (alias Jones, Buckley, or Griffith, or Godfrey Maurice), Franciscan friar, 1598
12. Richard Gwyn (alias Richard White), layman, 1584
13. John Houghton, Prior of the London Charterhouse, 4 May 1535
14. Philip Howard, Earl of Arundel, layman, 1595
15. John Kemble, priest, 1679
16. Luke Kirby, priest, 30 May 1582
17. Robert Lawrence, Prior of the Beauvale Charterhouse, 4 May 1535[7]
18. David Lewis, Jesuit priest, 1679[3]
19. Anne Line, laywoman, 1601
20. John Lloyd, priest, 1679
21. Cuthbert Mayne, priest, 1577
22. Henry Morse, Jesuit priest, 1645[3]
23. Nicholas Owen, Jesuit lay-brother, 1606
24. John Payne, priest, 1582
25. Polydore Plasden, priest, 1591[3]
26. John Plessington, priest, 1679
27. Richard Reynolds, Brigittine monk of Syon Abbey, 4 May 1535[8]
28. John Rigby, layman, 1600
29. John Roberts, Benedictine priest, 1610
30. Alban Bartholomew Roe, Benedictine priest, 1642
31. Ralph Sherwin, priest, 1 December 1581
32. John Southworth, priest, 1654
33. Robert Southwell, Jesuit priest, 1595[3]
34. John Stone, Augustinian friar
35. John Wall, Franciscan priest, 1679[3]
36. Henry Walpole, Jesuit priest, 1595[3]
37. Margaret Ward, laywoman, 1588
38. Augustine Webster, Prior of the Axholme Charterhouse, 4 May 1535
39. Swithin Wells, layman, 1591
40. Eustace White, priest, 1591[3]

Canonised by Pope Paul VI on 12 October 1975

1. Oliver Plunkett, Archbishop of Armagh, 1 July 1681 (beatified in 1920).

Beatified 29 December 1886 by Pope Leo XIII

Sir Thomas More and Bishop John Fisher

As well as those listed below, John Fisher and Thomas More were beatified on this date, as were the following 11 members of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales - Alexander Briant, Edmund Campion, John Houghton, Luke Kirby, Robert Lawrence, Cuthbert Mayne, John Payne, Richard Reynolds, Ralph Sherwin, John Stone, Augustine Webster - making a total of 54.

1. Thomas Abel, priest, 30 July 1540[9]
2. Richard Bere, Carthusian monk, 9 August 1537
3. Thomas Cottam, Jesuit priest, 30 May 1582
4. John Davy, Carthusian, 8 June 1537
5. William Exmew, Carthusian monk, 19 June 1535
6. John Felton, layman, 8 August 1570
7. Richard Fetherston, Archdeacon, 30 July 1540
8. William Filby, 30 May 1582
9. Thomas Ford, 28 May 1582
10. John Forest, Franciscan friar, 22 May 1538
11. German Gardiner, layman, 7 March 1544
12. Thomas Green, Carthusian, 10 June 1537
13. William Greenwood, Carthusian brother, 6 June 1537
14. John Haile (or Hale), priest, 4 May 1535
15. Everard Hanse, priest, 1581
16. William Hart, priest, 1583
17. William Horne, Carthusian lay brother, 4 August 1540
18. Robert Johnson, priest, 1582
19. Thomas Johnson, Carthusian, 20 September 1537
20. Richard Kirkman, priest, 1582
21. William Lacy (or Lacey), priest, 22 August 1582
22. John Larke, priest, 7 March 1544
23. Humphrey Middlemore, Carthusian monk, 19 June 1535
24. John Nelson, priest, 1577
25. Sebastian Newdigate, Carthusian monk, 19 June 1535
26. Walter Pierson, Carthusian brother, 10 June 1537
27. Thomas Plumtree, priest, 1570 - Chaplain to the Rising of the North
28. Edward Powell, 30 July 1540
29. Thomas Redyng, Carthusian, 16 June 1537
30. Lawrence Richardson (also known as Lawrence Johnson[10]), 30 May 1582
31. John Rochester, Carthusian monk, 11 May 1537
32. Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury, laywoman, 27 May 1541
33. Robert Salt, Carthusian brother, 9 June 1537
34. Thomas Scryven, Carthusian, 15 June 1537
35. John Shert, priest, 1582
36. Thomas Sherwood, layman, 1579
37. John Story, Chancellor to Bishop Bonner, 1571 - for high treason (for having supported the Northern Rebellion of 1569 and encouraging the Duke of Alba to invade)
38. Richard Thirkeld, priest, 1583
39. James Tompson, priest, York, 1582
40. James Walworth, Carthusian monk, 11 May 1537
41. Thomas Woodhouse, priest, 1573

Beatified 13 May 1895 by Pope Leo XIII

Hugh Faringdon

1. John Beche (or Thomas Marshall), Abbot of Colchester, 1 December 1539[11]
2. John Eynon, priest, 14 November 1539
3. Hugh Faringdon, Abbot of Reading, 14 November 1539
4. Adrian Fortescue, Knight of St. John of Jerusalem, 9 July 1539
5. Roger James, Benedictine, 15 November 1539
6. Thomas Percy, Earl of Northumberland, layman, 1572 - Leader of the Rising of the North
7. John Rugg (or Rugge), Benedictine monk, 15 November 1539
8. John Thorne, Benedictine monk, 15 November 1539
9. Richard Whiting, Abbot of Glastonbury, 15 November 1539

Beatified 15 December 1929 by Pope Pius XI

As well as those listed below, 29 members of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales were also beatified on that date, making a total of 136.

1. Henry Abbot, layman, 4 July 1597
2. John Amias, priest, 16 March 1589[12]
3. Robert Anderton, priest, 25 April 1586.[13]
4. William Andleby, priest, 4 July 1597[14]
5. Ralph Ashley, Jesuit priest, 7 April 1607[4]
6. Thomas Aufield, priest, 6 July 1585[15]
7. Christopher Bales, priest, 4 March 1590[16]
8. Mark Barkworth, Benedictine, 27 February 1601[4]
9. William Barrow,[17] alias William Harcourt, 20 June 1679
10. James Bell, priest, 1584
11. James Bird (or Byrd or Beard), layman, 25 March 1592
12. John Bodey, priest, 2 November 1583[18]
13. Thomas Bosgrave, layman, 4 July 1594[19]
14. William Browne, layman, 5 September 1605
15. Christopher Buxton, priest, died Canterbury, 1 October 1588[20]
16. Edward Campion (also known as Gerard Edwards), 1 October 1588[20]
17. John Carey, Dublin born lay helper of John Cornelius S.J., 4 July 1594[19]
18. Edmund Catherick, priest, 1642
19. James Claxton (Clarkson), priest, 1588
20. Edward Colman (or Coleman), layman, 1678
21. Ralph Corbie, Jesuit, 7 September 1644[4]
22. John Cornelius, Jesuit priest, 4 July 1594[19]
23. Ralph Crockett, priest, 1 October 1588
24. Robert Dalby, priest, York, 16 March 1589[12]
25. William Dean, priest, 28 August 1588[21]
26. Francis Dicconson, priest, 1590
27. Roger Dicconson, priest, 7 July 1591
28. James Duckett, layman, 1601
29. John Duckett, priest, 1644
30. Thomas Felton, Franciscan, 1588
31. James Fenn, priest, 1584
32. John Fenwick, Jesuit priest, 1679[17]
33. John Finch, 1584
34. William Freeman, priest, 1595[22]
35. Edward Fulthrop, layman, 1597
36. John Gavan, Jesuit priest, 1679[17]
37. Miles Gerard, priest, 1590
38. George Gervase, Benedictine, 1608
39. David Gonson (or Gunston), layman, 12 July 1541
40. Hugh Green, priest, 1642
41. John Grove, layman, 24 January 1679
42. William Gunter, priest, 1588
43. William Harrington, priest, 1594
44. William Hartley, priest, 1588
45. Thomas Hemerford, priest, 1584[3]
46. Richard Herst (Hurst), layman, 29 August 1628
47. John Hewitt (alias Weldon, alias Savell), priest, 1588
48. Sydney Hodgson, layman, 10 December 1591
49. Thomas Holford, priest, 1588
50. Thomas Holland, priest, 12 December 1642[4]
51. Laurence Humphreys (or Humphrey), layman, 1591
52. John Ingram, priest, 1594[3]
53. John Ireland, priest, 7 March 1544[23]
54. William Ireland, Jesuit priest, 1679[17]
55. Edward James, priest, 1588[3]
56. Edward Jones, priest, 1590
57. Brian Lacey, layman, 1591
58. Richard Langhorne, layman, 1679
59. Richard Langley, layman, 1586
60. Richard Leigh, priest, 1588[3]
61. John Lockwood, priest, 1642[3]
62. William Marsden, priest, 25 April 1586[13]
63. Richard Martin, layman, 30 August 1588
64. John Mason, layman, 1591
65. Thomas Maxfield, priest, 1616
66. Anthony Middleton, priest, 1590
67. Ralph Milner, layman, 7 July 1591
68. Hugh More, layman, 28 August 1588
69. Robert Morton, priest, 1588[3]
70. John Munden, priest, 1584[3]
71. George Napper (alias Napier), priest, Oxford, 1610
72. John Nutter, priest, 1584
73. Edward Oldcorne, Jesuit priest, 1606[3]
74. Francis Page, Jesuit, 1602
75. William Patenson, priest, 1592
76. John Pibush, priest, 1601
77. Thomas Pickering, Benedictine, 1679
78. Philip Powell, Benedictine, 1646
79. Alexander Rawlins, priest, 1595
80. Thomas Reynolds (born Thomas Green, possible alias Richard Reynolds), priest, 21 January 1642[4]
81. William Richardson, priest, 1603[4]
82. John Robinson, priest, 1 October 1588
83. John Roche, layman, 1588
84. Patrick Salmon, layman, 4 July 1594[19]
85. Maurus Scott (William Scot) 1612
86. Edward Shelley, 30 August 1588,
87. John Slade, layman, 1583
88. Richard Smith, (also known as Richard Newport), priest, 1612[24]
89. Thomas Somers, priest, 1610
90. John Speed, layman, 4 February 1594
91. William Howard, 1st Viscount Stafford, layman, 29 December 1680
92. Edward Stransham, priest, 1586
93. Robert Sutton, layman, 5 October 1588
94. George Swallowell, layman, 26 July 1594
95. Thomas Thwing, priest, 1679[17]
96. Thomas Tunstall, priest, 1616
97. Anthony Turner, Jesuit, 1679[3]
98. Thomas Warcop, layman, 4 July 1597
99. William Ward, priest, 1641
100. Edward Waterson, priest, 1593
101. Robert Watkinson, priest, 1602
102. William Way (alias May or Flower), priest, 1588
103. Thomas Welbourne, layman, 1 August 1605
104. Thomas Whitbread, Jesuit, 1679[17]
105. Robert Widmerpool, layman, 1 October 1588[20]
106. Robert Wilcox, priest, 1 October 1588[20]
107. Peter Wright, Jesuit, 1651

Beatified 22 November 1987 by Pope John Paul II

Thomas Bullaker

1. John Adams, priest, 8 October 1586[25]
2. Thomas Atkinson, priest, 1616
3. Edward Bamber, priest, 1646[17]
4. George Beesley, priest, 5 July 1591[26]
5. Arthur Bell, Franciscan priest, 1643[17]
6. Thomas Belson, layman, 5 July 1589[27]
7. Robert Bickerdike, layman, 23 July 1586
8. Alexander Blake, layman, 4 March 1590;[16]
9. Marmaduke Bowes, layman, 26 November 1585[28]
10. John Britton (alias Bretton), layman, 1 April 1598[29]
11. Thomas Bullaker, Franciscan priest, 1642
12. Edward Burden, priest, 1588
13. Roger Cadwallador, priest, 1610
14. William Carter, layman, 11 January 1584[30]
15. Alexander Crow, priest, 30 November 1587
16. William Davies, priest, 27 July 1593
17. Robert Dibdale, priest, 8 October 1586[25]
18. George Douglas, priest, 1587
19. Robert Drury, priest, 1607
20. Edmund Duke, priest, 27 May 1590[3]
21. George Errington, layman, 1596
22. Roger Filcock, priest, 1601
23. John Finglow (Fingley), priest, 8 August 1586
24. Matthew Flathers, priest, 1608
25. Richard Flower, layman, 1588
26. Nicholas Garlick, priest, 1588
27. William Gibson, layman, 1596
28. Ralph Grimston, layman, 1598
29. Robert Grissold, layman, 1604
30. John Hambley, priest, 1587
31. Robert Hardesty, layman, 1589
32. George Haydock, priest, 12 February 1584[3]
33. Henry Heath, Franciscan priest, 1643
34. Richard Hill, priest, 27 May 1590
35. John Hogg, priest, 27 May 1590
36. Richard Holiday, priest, 27 May 1590
37. Nicholas Horner, layman, 4 March 1590
38. Thomas Hunt, priest, 1600
39. Thurstan Hunt, priest, 1601
40. Francis Ingleby, priest, 3 June 1586
41. William Knight, layman, 1596
42. Joseph Lambton, priest, 24 July 1592[3]
43. William Lampley, layman, 1588
44. John Lowe, priest, 8 October 1586[25]
45. Robert Ludlam, priest, 1588
46. Charles Mahoney (alias Meehan), Franciscan priest, 1679
47. Robert Middleton, priest, March 1601[3]
48. George Nichols, priest, 1589
49. John Norton, layman, 1600
50. Robert Nutter, priest, 1600
51. Edward Osbaldeston, priest, 1594
52. Antony Page, priest, 1593
53. Thomas Palasor, priest, 1600;
54. William Pike, layman, 1591
55. Thomas Pilchard, priest, 21 March 1587
56. Thomas Pormort, priest, 20 February 1592[3]
57. Nicholas Postgate, priest, 1679
58. Humphrey Pritchard, layman, 1589
59. Christopher Robinson, priest, 1597
60. Stephen Rowsham, priest, 1587
61. John Sandys, priest, 11 August 1586
62. Montford Scott, priest, 1591
63. Richard Sergeant, priest, 2 April 1586
64. Richard Simpson, priest, 1588
65. Peter Snow, priest, 1598
66. William Southerne, priest, 1618
67. William Spenser, priest, 1589
68. Thomas Sprott, priest, 1600
69. John Sugar, priest, 1604
70. Robert Sutton, priest, 1587
71. Edmund Sykes, priest, 23 March 1587
72. John Talbot, layman, 1600
73. Hugh Taylor, priest, 25 November 1585[28]
74. William Thomson, priest, 20 April 1586
75. Robert Thorpe, priest, 1591
76. John Thulis, priest, 18 Mar 1616[3]
77. Edward Thwing, priest, 26 July 1600[3]
78. Thomas Watkinson, layman, 31 May 1591[3]
79. Henry Webley, 28 August 1588
80. Christopher Wharton, priest, 1600
81. Thomas Whitaker, priest, 1646[17]
82. John Woodcock, Franciscan priest, 7 August 1646[3]
83. Nicholas Woodfen, priest, 21 January 1586
84. Roger Wrenno, layman, 1616
85. Richard Yaxley, priest, 1589

Declared venerable in 1886 and not subsequently beatified

1. Thomas Ashby, layman, 19 March 1544 - "there was some doubt that he died as a Catholic"[31]
2. Roger Ashton, soldier, 23 June 1592 - assisted Sir William Stanley in the surrender of Deventer to Spain
3. Laurence Bailey, layman, August 1604
4. Anthony Bates (alias Battie), layman, 22 March 1602
5. Thomas Bedingfeld (also known as Thomas Downes),[32][17] 21 December 1678 (died in prison)
6. Thomas Belchiam, Franciscan friar, 3 August 1538:[33][34][31]
7. Edmund Brindholme, priest, 4 August 1540[35][36][31]
8. Anthony Brookby, Franciscan, 7 July 1537:[33][31]
9. Brian Cansfield (or Tansfield), 3 August 1645[3] (died of ill-treatment in prison)
10. Thomas Cort, Franciscan, 27 July 1538:[33][31]
11. Sir Thomas Dingley, layman, 9 July 1539[31]
12. James Dowdall, layman, 13 August 1598
13. John Goodman, priest, 8 April 1642[17] (died in prison)
14. John Griffith (or Clark), priest, 8 July 1539[31]
15. Thomas Hackshott (alias Hawkshaw), layman, 24 August 1601,
16. James Harrison, priest, 22 March 1602
17. Richard Horner, priest, 4 September 1598
18. Francis Levison, Franciscan, 11 February 1680 (died in prison)
19. John Lion, layman, 16 July 1598
20. Edward Mico, Jesuit, 1678[3] (arrested, but too ill to be removed from sick-bed, where he died)
21. Edward Morgan, priest, 26 April 1642[3]
22. Francis Nevil, Jesuit, February 1679[17] (died in prison)
23. Clement Philpott (or Philpot), layman, 4 August 1540[36][31]
24. Robert Price (alias Aprece), layman, shot by Puritan soldiers, 7 May 1644
25. Nicholas Tichborne, layman, 24 August 1601,
26. Thomas Tichborne, priest, 20 April 1602[3]
27. Friar Waire, Franciscan, 8 July 1539[37][31]
28. Thomas Webley, layman, 6 July 1585[15]
29. Richard Williams, priest, 21 February 1592

As stated above, John Travers was executed in Dublin and appears in Irish Catholic Martyrs. The total number of those declared venerable in 1886 and not subsequently beatified is therefore 30.

Dilati

They "were left with their fate still in suspense, and are called Dilati. [36 of them were] "Confessors", who certainly died in prison for their faith, though it is not yet proven that they died precisely because of their imprisonment...[the remaining eight - William Tyrrwhit, James Atkinson, Matthias Harrison, Fr. Henry Garnet, S.J., John Mawson, Thomas Dyer, Lawrence Hill and Robert Green were] put off for various causes."[38] Those 'put off' are listed below in italics.

1. Robert Dymoke, layman, 1580 (died in prison)
2. John Cooper, layman, 1580 (died in prison)
3. William Tyrwhit, layman, 1580 (died in prison - named by error for his brother Robert)
4. William Chaplin, seminary priest, 1583 (died in prison)
5. Thomas Cotesmore, priest, 1584 (died in prison)
6. Robert Holmes, priest, 1584 (died in prison)
7. Roger Wakeman, priest, 1584 (died in prison)
8. James Lomax, priest, 1584 (died in prison)
9. Mr Ailworth, layman, 1584 (died in prison)
10. Thomas Crowther, priest, 1585 (died in prison)
11. Edward Pole, priest, 1585 (died in prison)
12. Laurence Vaux, priest, 1585 (died in prison)
13. John Jetter, priest, 1585 (died in prison)
14. John Harrison, priest, 1586 (died in prison)
15. Martin Sherson, priest, 1587 (died in prison)
16. Gabriel Thimelby, layman, 1587 (died in prison)
17. Thomas Metham, Jesuit, 1592 (died in prison)
18. James Atkinson, layman, 1595 ("killed under torture by Topcliffe, but evidence is wanted of his constancy to the end")
19. Matthew/Matthias Harrison, seminary priest, 1599 (not yet sufficiently distinguished from James Harrison)
20. Eleanor Hunt, widow, 1600 (died in prison)
21. Mrs Swithun Wells, widow, 1602 (died in prison)
22. Henry Garnet, Jesuit, executed 1606 ("was he killed ex odio fidei, or was he believed to be guilty of the Powder Plot, by merely human misjudgment, not through religious prejudice?")[15]
23. John Mawson, layman, executed 1614 (not yet sufficiently distinguished from John Mason, 1591)
24. Thomas Dyer, Benedictine, c.1618-1630 - his identity 'has not been fully proved'[39][40]
25. Edward Wilkes, priest, 1642 (died in prison)
26. Boniface Kemp, priest, OSB, 1642 (died in prison)
27. Ildephonse Hesketh (alias William Hanson), Benedictine, 1642 (died in prison)
28. Thomas Vaughan, priest, probably 1644 (died in prison)
29. Richard Bradley, Jesuit, 1645 (died in prison)
30. John Felton, priest, SJ, 1646 (died in prison)
31. Thomas Blount, priest, probably 1646[17] (died in prison)
32. Robert Cox, Benedictine, 1650 (died in prison)
33. Laurence Hill, layman, 1679 (Was it due to odium fidei, or an unprejudiced error?)
34. Robert Green, layman, 1679 (Was it due to odium fidei, or an unprejudiced error?)
35. Thomas Jennison, Jesuit, 1679[17] (died in prison)
36. William Lloyd, seminary priest, 1679 (died in prison)
37. Placid Adelham, Benedictine, 1680 (died in prison)
38. Richard Birkett, priest, 1680 (died in prison)
39. Richard Lacey, Jesuit, 1680 (died in prison)
40. William Atkins, Jesuit, 1681 (died in prison)
41. Edward Turner, Jesuit, 1681 (died in prison)
42. William Allison, priest, 1681 (died in prison)
43. Benedict Constable, Benedictine, 1683 (died in prison)
44. William Bentney (alias Bennet), Jesuit, 1692 (died in prison)

Executed for their faith in England 1534–1680

1534–1547

During the reign of Henry VIII of England.

• John Allen, priest, 25 February 1538[41][42]
• John Collins, priest, 1538[43][44]
• George Croft, priest, 1538[43][44]
• Martin Condres, Augustinian monk, December 1538:[45]
• Paul of Saint William, Augustinian monk, December 1538:[45]
• Thomas Empson (or Epson), Benedictine, 4 August 1540:
• Robert Bird, layman; 4 August 1540:[36]
• William Bird, priest, 4 August 1540:
• William Peterson, priest, Commissary of Calais, Calais, 10 August 1540:[46] or 10 April 1540[47][48]

Decrees of Elizabeth I

During the reign of Mary I, papal authority was officially reinstated and under three hundred of the minority Protestant population were martyred.[49] Upon Elizabeth I's accession to the throne, an Act of Supremacy denied papal authority over the English church; but only a decade later, in February 1570, did Pope Pius V excommunicate Elizabeth and any who obeyed her, issuing the bull Regnans in Excelsis, which purported to "release[ Elizabeth I's] subjects from their allegiance to her".[50]

In the words of the New Catholic Encyclopedia, "Without question it was Elizabeth I's intention to supplant the old religion with the new in a bloodless manner. It is significant that there were no martyrs in the first 12 years of her reign, and only five in the years 1570 to 1577."[51] Of those five, Thomas Plumtree had been chaplain to the insurgents in the Rising of the North, John Felton had published Pope Pius V's Bull Regnans in Excelsis ("reigning on high"), excommunicating Queen Elizabeth, John Story was tried for high treason, for having supported the Rising of the North and encouraging the Duke of Alba to invade, Thomas Percy, 7th Earl of Northumberland, had led the Rising of the North, and Thomas Woodhouse had declared in a letter to William Cecil that Elizabeth "for her own great disobedience is most justly deposed".[52]

The threat of invasion by a Roman Catholic country assisted by English subjects led the Crown to try to repress Roman Catholicism.[53] Responding to Pius V's action, Elizabeth I's government passed anti-Roman Catholic decrees in 1571 forbidding anyone from maintaining the jurisdiction of the pope by word, deed or act; requiring use of the Book of Common Prayer in all cathedrals, churches and chapels, and forbidding criticism of it; forbidding the publication of any bull, writing or instrument of the Holy See (the death penalty was assigned to this); and prohibiting the importing of Agnus Dei images, crosses, pictures, beads or other things from the Bishop of Rome.

Later laws made illegal the drawing of anyone away from the state church; non-attendance at a Church of England church; raising children with teachers who were not licensed by an Anglican diocesan bishop; and attending or celebrating the Roman Catholic Mass.

In 1585, a new decree made it a crime punishable by death to go overseas to receive the sacrament of Ordination to the Roman Catholic priesthood. Nicholas Devereux (who went by the alias of Nicholas Woodfen) and Edward Barber (see below Edward Stransham) were both put to death in 1586 under this law. William Thomson and Richard Lea (see below Richard Sergeant) were hanged, disembowelled and quartered under the same law. In 1588, eight priests and six laymen at Newgate were condemned and executed under this law.[53]

1570–1603

• William Hambledon, priest, 1585
• John MacMahon, Jesuit priest, 1594[54]

1606–1680

• James Brown, Benedictine, 1645

Died in prison

• Thomas Wood, priest, before 1588

See also

• Elizabeth Barton#Arrest and execution
• Carthusian Martyrs
• Pilgrimage of Grace#Those executed after the Pilgrimage
• Irish Catholic Martyrs
• Marian persecutions

References

Citations

1. Pullan, Malcolm (2008). The Lives and Times of Forty Martyrs of England and Wales 1535–1680. Athena Press. pp. xvii–xxii. ISBN 978-1-84748-258-7.
2. Acts of English martyrs hitherto unpublished, page 384
3. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 14 May 2013. Retrieved 25 March 2013.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
4. "Edward MORGAN SJ". Sanalbano.org. 8 October 2016. Retrieved 5 November 2016.
5. "Catholic Encyclopedia: St. John Boste". Newadvent.org. Retrieved 5 November 2016.
6. "CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: St. Margaret Clitherow". Newadvent.org. Retrieved 5 November 2016.
7. "catholicnews.com". Archived from the original on 18 May 2005. Retrieved 14 February 2013.
8. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 16 March 2013. Retrieved 14 February 2013.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
9. "Lives of the English martyrs : declared blessed by Pope Leo XIII, in 1886 and 1895". Archive.org. Retrieved 5 November 2016.
10. "CatholicSaints.Info » Blog Archive » Blessed Lawrence Richardson". Saints.sqpn.com. 24 May 2015. Retrieved 5 November 2016.
11. "Lives of the English martyrs : declared blessed by Pope Leo XIII, in 1886 and 1895". Archive.org. Retrieved 5 November 2016.
12. "Catholic Encyclopedia: Ven. John Amias". Newadvent.org. 1 March 1907. Retrieved 5 November 2016.
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47. John Stow, Annales, or a general Chronicle of England, P579
48. 'Martyrdoms at Calais in 1540?, The Downside Review, Vol 64, Issue 3, 1946
49. The Book of Martyrs (Foxe), Chapter XVI, Wikisource, accessed 1 February 2013
50. Barry, Patrick, "The Penal Laws", L'Osservatore Romano, p.8, 30 November 1987
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Sources

• Pendrill, Colin (2000), The English Reformation 1485-1558, Heinemann.
• Pallen, C.B.; Wynne, J.J., eds. (1929), The New Catholic Dictionary, New York: Universal Knowledge Foundation.
•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Pollen, John Hungerford (1913). "English Confessors and Martyrs (1534–1729)". In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.

External links

• "English Confessors and Martyrs (1534–1729)". article by Pollen, J.H. in The Catholic Encyclopedia (1909)