Nicholas Horner (died 3 March 1590) was an English

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

layman,

hanged, drawn and quartered To be hanged, drawn and quartered became a statutory penalty for men convicted of high treason in the Kingdom of England from 1352 under Edward III of England, King Edward III (1327–1377), although similar rituals are recorded during the rei ...

because he had "relieved and assisted"

Christopher Bales Christopher Bales, also spelled Christopher Bayles, alias Christopher Evers (1564–1590), was an English Catholic priest and martyr. He was beatified in 1929. Biography Christopher was born at Coniscliffe near Darlington, County Durham, England ...

, a seminary priest. A tailor by trade, he was charged with making a

jerkin A jerkin is a man's short close-fitting jacket, made usually of light-coloured leather, and often without sleeves, worn over the doublet in the 16th and 17th centuries. The term is also applied to a similar sleeveless garment worn by the Britis ...

for a priest. Horner maintained that the customer was a stranger and he didn't know who he was. Horner is recognized as a Catholic martyr,

beatified Beatification (from Latin ''beatus'', "blessed" and ''facere'', "to make”) is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their nam ...

in 1987.

Life

Horner was born at Grantley in Yorkshire. A tailor by trade, he had gone to London to be cured of a wound in his leg. He was arrested on the charge of harbouring Catholic priests and committed to

Newgate Prison Newgate Prison was a prison at the corner of Newgate Street and Old Bailey Street just inside the City of London, England, originally at the site of Newgate, a gate in the Roman London Wall. Built in the 12th century and demolished in 1904, t ...

, where he was kept for a long time close confined in a cell. Due to the heavy fetter on his leg and the deprivation of all medical aid, he contracted

blood poisoning Sepsis, formerly known as septicemia (septicaemia in British English) or blood poisoning, is a life-threatening condition that arises when the body's response to infection causes injury to its own tissues and organs. This initial stage is follo ...

in the injured leg which rendered an amputation necessary.Brown, C.F. Wemyss. "Nicholas Horner." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 7. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. 16 April 2020 During the procedure, he was assisted by John Hewitt, a priest and fellow prisoner, also originally from York.Dunn, Henry E., "Venerable John Hewitt", ''Lives of the English Martyrs''
(Edwin Hubert Burton and John Hungerford Pollen, eds.) Longmans, Green and Co., 1914, 508. After a year, he was set free through the efforts of some friends, and worked at his trade at some lodgings at Smithfield. At some point he made the priest Bales a

. When he was again found to be harbouring priests he was cast into

Bridewell Bridewell Palace in London was built as a residence of King Henry VIII and was one of his homes early in his reign for eight years. Given to the City of London Corporation by his son King Edward VI for use as an orphanage and place of correc ...

for harbouring priests and hung up by the wrists till he nearly died. Bowden, Henry Sebastian. "Venerable Nicholas Horner, Layman, 1590". ''Mementoes of the English Martyrs and Confessors'', 1910. CatholicSaints.Info. 22 April 2019
/ref> Horner was convicted of a

felony A felony is traditionally considered a crime of high seriousness, whereas a misdemeanor is regarded as less serious. The term "felony" originated from English common law (from the French medieval word "félonie") to describe an offense that resu ...

for making a jerkin for a priest, and as he refused to conform to the public worship of the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

, was condemned. On the eve of his execution at Smithfield, he had a vision of a crown of glory hanging over his head; the story of this vision was told by him to a friend, who in turn transmitted it by letter to Father Robert Southwell. He was hanged in front of his lodging in Smithfield, 3 March 1590.

References

;Attribution * The entry cites: **

Joseph Gillow Joseph Gillow (5 October 1850, Preston, Lancashire – 17 March 1921, Westholme, Hale, Cheshire) was an English Roman Catholic antiquary, historian and bio-bibliographer, "the Plutarch of the English Catholics". Biography Born in Frenchwood Hous ...

, Bibl. Dict. Eng.. Cath., s. v. **

Richard Challoner Richard Challoner (29 September 1691 – 12 January 1781) was an English Roman Catholic bishop, a leading figure of English Catholicism during the greater part of the 18th century. The titular Bishop of Doberus, he is perhaps most famous for hi ...

, Memoirs, (Edinburgh, 1878), I, 166, 169, 218 {{DEFAULTSORT:Horner, Nicholas 1590 deaths English beatified people People executed under Elizabeth I by hanging, drawing and quartering 16th-century venerated Christians Year of birth unknown Executed people from North Yorkshire Eighty-five martyrs of England and Wales British tailors