Richard Herst (Hurst) (died 29 August 1628) 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 ...

recusant Recusancy (from la, recusare, translation=to refuse) was the state of those who remained loyal to the Catholic Church and refused to attend Church of England services after the English Reformation. The 1558 Recusancy Acts passed in the reign ...

layman. He is a Catholic martyr, beatified in 1929.

Life

Herst is thought to have been born at Broughton, near

Preston, Lancashire Preston () is a city on the north bank of the River Ribble in Lancashire, England. The city is the administrative centre of the county of Lancashire and the wider City of Preston local government district. Preston and its surrounding distri ...

, England, where he was a well-to-do

yeoman Yeoman is a noun originally referring either to one who owns and cultivates land or to the middle ranks of servants in an English royal or noble household. The term was first documented in mid-14th-century England. The 14th century also witn ...

, farming his own land. He was arrested while out ploughing his fields."The Lancaster Martyrs", Lancaster Castle
/ref> As he was a recusant, Norcross, a

pursuivant A pursuivant or, more correctly, pursuivant of arms, is a junior officer of arms. Most pursuivants are attached to official heraldic authorities, such as the College of Arms in London or the Court of the Lord Lyon in Edinburgh. In the mediaeval e ...

, was sent by the

Bishop of Chester The Bishop of Chester is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Chester in the Province of York. The diocese extends across most of the historic county boundaries of Cheshire, including the Wirral Peninsula and has its see in the C ...

to arrest him. The pursuivants had a fracas with Hurst's servants, in the course of which one of the pursuivant's men, by name Dewhurst, in running over a ploughed field, fell and broke his leg. The wound mortified and proved fatal, and before his death Dewhurst made a solemn oath that his injury was the result of an accident. Nevertheless Hurst was indicted for murder, as the Government wished at that time to make severe examples of recusants.Brown, C.F. Wemyss. "Richard Hurst." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 7. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. 15 Jan. 2014
/ref> Through Hurst's friends a petition was sent to King

Charles I of England Charles I (19 November 1600 – 30 January 1649) was King of England, Scotland, and Ireland from 27 March 1625 until Execution of Charles I, his execution in 1649. He was born into the House of Stuart as the second son of King James VI of ...

, also supported by

Queen Henrietta Maria Henrietta Maria (french: link=no, Henriette Marie; 25 November 1609 – 10 September 1669) was Queen of England, Scotland, and Ireland from her marriage to King Charles I on 13 June 1625 until Charles was executed on 30 January 1649. She was ...

. No evidence contradicting Dewhurst's

dying declaration In the law of evidence, a dying declaration is testimony that would normally be barred as hearsay but may in common law nonetheless be admitted as evidence in criminal law trials because it constituted the last words of a dying person. The ratio ...

having been adduced, the

jury A jury is a sworn body of people (jurors) convened to hear evidence and render an impartiality, impartial verdict (a Question of fact, finding of fact on a question) officially submitted to them by a court, or to set a sentence (law), penalty o ...

were unwilling to convict; but the foreman of the jury was told by the judge, in the house of the latter, that the Government was determined to get a conviction, that a murder had been committed, and that the jury must bring in a verdict of guilty. Hurst was convicted and sentenced to death; on the next day, being commanded to hear a sermon at the Anglican church, he refused and was dragged by the legs for some distance to the church, where he put his fingers in his ears so as not to hear the sermon. At the gallows he was informed that his life would be spared if he would swear allegiance to the king, but as the oath contained passages to which he objected, he refused and was at once executed. He was executed at Lancaster.

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.; **____, ''Lancashire Recusants'', in manuscript; **

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 h ...

, ''Memoirs'', II (Edinburgh, 1878) 97-101; **''A True and Exact Relation of the Death of Two Catholiks at Lancaster'', 1628 (London, 1737), a rare tract; ** Henry Foley in ''Stonyhurst Magazine'' No. XX, 112; **

Charles Dodd Hugh Tootell (1671/72 – 27 February 1743) was an English Catholic historian. He is commonly known under his pseudonym Charles Dodd. Life Tootell was born in Lancashire. He was tutored by his uncle, Christopher Tootle, before studying with ...

-Tierney, ''Cath. Hist.'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Herst, Richard 1628 deaths English beatified people 17th-century venerated Christians People from Broughton, Lancashire Year of birth unknown One Hundred and Seven Martyrs of England and Wales