The Colchester Martyrs were 16th-century
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
Protestant
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...
martyr
A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...
s. They were executed for
heresy
Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, in particular the accepted beliefs of a church or religious organization. The term is usually used in reference to violations of important religi ...
in
Colchester
Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian.
Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colch ...
,
Essex
Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Grea ...
, during the reigns of
Henry VIII and
Mary I
Mary I (18 February 1516 – 17 November 1558), also known as Mary Tudor, and as "Bloody Mary" by her Protestant opponents, was Queen of England and Ireland from July 1553 and Queen of Spain from January 1556 until her death in 1558. She ...
. Their story is recorded in ''
Foxe's Book of Martyrs
The ''Actes and Monuments'' (full title: ''Actes and Monuments of these Latter and Perillous Days, Touching Matters of the Church''), popularly known as Foxe's Book of Martyrs, is a work of Protestant history and martyrology by Protestant Engli ...
''.
1545 or 1546
"
e Henry" and his servant were
burned at the stake
Death by burning (also known as immolation) is an execution and murder method involving combustion or exposure to extreme heat. It has a long history as a form of public capital punishment, and many societies have employed it as a punishment f ...
.
[Foxe's Book of Martyrs: 207. John Athy, John Heywood, Kerby, and Roger Clarke](_blank)
/ref>
29 March 1555
John Lawrence, a priest and former Blackfriar at Sudbury, Suffolk
Sudbury (, ) is a market town in the south west of Suffolk, England, on the River Stour near the Essex border, north-east of London. At the 2011 census, it had a population of 13,063. It is the largest town in the Babergh local government d ...
was burned at the stake
Death by burning (also known as immolation) is an execution and murder method involving combustion or exposure to extreme heat. It has a long history as a form of public capital punishment, and many societies have employed it as a punishment f ...
.[Foxe's Book of Martyrs: 275. William Pygot, Stephen Knight, and John Laurence](_blank)
Exclassics.com; retrieved 17 May 2013.
14 June 1555
Nicholas Chamberlain (or Chamberlaine), a weaver from Coggeshall
Coggeshall ( or ) is a small town in Essex, England, between Colchester and Braintree on the Roman road Stane Street and the River Blackwater. It has almost 300 listed buildings and a market whose charter was granted in 1256 by Henry III.
...
, Essex
Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Grea ...
was burned at the stake
Death by burning (also known as immolation) is an execution and murder method involving combustion or exposure to extreme heat. It has a long history as a form of public capital punishment, and many societies have employed it as a punishment f ...
.[Thomas Bryce, "The Regester" in Edward Farr, ed.]
''Select Poetry of the Reign of Queen Elizabeth''
(1845).
Exclassics.com; retrieved 17 May 2013.
28 April 1556
Christopher Lister, a husbandman from Dagenham, Essex, John Mace, an apothecary from Colchester
Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian.
Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colch ...
, Essex, John Spencer, a weaver from Colchester
Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian.
Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colch ...
, Essex, Simon Joyne, a sawyer, Richard Nicol, a weaver from Colchester
Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian.
Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colch ...
, Essex and John Hamond, a tanner from Colchester
Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian.
Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colch ...
, Essex were burned at the stake
Death by burning (also known as immolation) is an execution and murder method involving combustion or exposure to extreme heat. It has a long history as a form of public capital punishment, and many societies have employed it as a punishment f ...
.[Foxe's Book of Martyrs 338. Christopher Lyster, John Mace, John Spencer, Simon Joyne, Richard Nichols and John Hamond.](_blank)
Exclassics.com; retrieved 22 May 2013.
2 August 1557
William Bongeor, Thomas Benhote, William Purchase, Agnes Silverside, Helen Ewring, Elizabeth Folk, William Munt, John Johnson, Alice Munt and Rose Allen were taken to Colchester Castle
Colchester Castle is a Norman castle in Colchester, Essex, England, dating from the second half of the eleventh century. The keep of the castle is mostly intact and is the largest example of its kind anywhere in Europe, due to its being bui ...
and burned at the stake
Death by burning (also known as immolation) is an execution and murder method involving combustion or exposure to extreme heat. It has a long history as a form of public capital punishment, and many societies have employed it as a punishment f ...
.
17 September 1557
Agnes Bongeor, wife of Richard Bongeor, John Kurde, and Margaret (Widow) Thurston were burned at the stake
Death by burning (also known as immolation) is an execution and murder method involving combustion or exposure to extreme heat. It has a long history as a form of public capital punishment, and many societies have employed it as a punishment f ...
26 May 1558
William Harris, Richard Day and Christian George (female) were burned at the stake
Death by burning (also known as immolation) is an execution and murder method involving combustion or exposure to extreme heat. It has a long history as a form of public capital punishment, and many societies have employed it as a punishment f ...
.[Foxe's Book of Martyrs: 378. Three Colchester Martyrs.](_blank)
Exclassics.com; retrieved 30 May 2013.
Those who died in prison
James Gore died on 7 December 1555 in Colchester prison[Foxe's Book of Martyrs: 325. John Webbe, George Roper, Gregory Parke, William Wiseman, and James Gore](_blank)
Exclassics.com. Retrieved on 2013-05-19. and John Thurston, who had been taken at Much Bentley, Essex, died in May 1557 in Colchester Castle
Colchester Castle is a Norman castle in Colchester, Essex, England, dating from the second half of the eleventh century. The keep of the castle is mostly intact and is the largest example of its kind anywhere in Europe, due to its being bui ...
.[Foxe's Book of Martyrs: 362. Ten Colchester Martyrs](_blank)
Exclassics.com; retrieved 29 May 2013.
Monuments
A monument to these victims of the Marian persecutions
Protestants were executed in England under heresy laws during the reigns of Henry VIII (1509–1547) and Mary I (1553–1558). Radical Christians also were executed, though in much smaller numbers, during the reigns of Edward VI (1547–155 ...
is in St Peter's Church on North Hill; another is in the Colchester Town Hall.Virtual Tour of Colchester's Town Hall
camulos.com; accessed 31 July 2015.
See also
*
List of Protestant martyrs of the English Reformation
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Colchester Martyrs
16th-century Protestant martyrs
People executed under Mary I of England
People executed for heresy
People from Colchester
Executed British people
16th-century English people
Year of birth unknown
Martyred groups
People executed by the Kingdom of England by burning
Protestant martyrs of England
Lists of Christian martyrs