Robert Ludlam (c. 1551 – 24 July 1588) was an English

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

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 ...

ed in the reign of

Queen Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". El ...

. He was born around 1551, in

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...

. His father was a yeoman. He matriculated at

St John's College, Oxford St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded as a men's college in 1555, it has been coeducational since 1979.Communication from Michael Riordan, college archivist Its founder, Sir Thomas White, intended to pro ...

, in 1575, and remained there for two or three years, but left without taking a degree. He was admitted to the English College at

Rheims Reims ( , , ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French department of Marne, and the 12th most populous city in France. The city lies northeast of Paris on the Vesle river, a tributary of the Aisne. Founded by ...

on 25 November 1580, and the following September, he was ordained as a priest. He set out for England on 30 April 1582. Little is known of his ministry in England. An unnamed source, quoted in Hayward, says that he was : liberty in England six or seven years. He was a very mild man, did much good in the country; for that he did much travel, and was beloved. On 12 July 1588, Robert Ludlam and fellow priest

Nicholas Garlick Nicholas Garlick (c. 1555 – 24 July 1588) was an English Catholic priest, martyred in Derby in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. Early life He was born around 1555, near Dinting in Glossop, within the county of Derby. In January 1575 he m ...

were arrested at Padley, home of Catholic

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 ...

, John Fitzherbert. The raid was made for the purpose of arresting Fitzherbert; the finding of two priests was an unexpected bonus. In

Derby Gaol The term Derby Gaol historically refers to the five gaols in Derby, England. Today, the term usually refers to one of two small ‘tourist attractions’, the gaol which stood on Friar Gate from 1756 to 1846 and the cells of which still exist an ...

, Ludlam and Garlick met with another priest, Richard Simpson, who had been earlier condemned to death but had been granted a reprieve, either, as stated by most sources, including

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 ...

, because he had given some hope that he would attend a Protestant service, or, as suggested by Sweeney, because the Queen may have given orders to halt the persecution of priests to remove the threat of invasion from Spain. Whether or not Simpson was wavering, it is certain that he remained firm after his meeting with Garlick and Ludlam. The three priests were tried on 23 July 1588, were found guilty of treason, and were sentenced to be

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 King Edward III (1327–1377), although similar rituals are recorded during the reign of King Henry III ( ...

. The sentence was carried out the next day, at St Mary's Bridge, in Derby. Ludlam was the last of the three to be executed, and, according to eyewitnesses, stood smiling while the execution of Garlick was being carried out, and smiled still when his own turn came. His last words, and the only words of his that are recorded, were ''Venite benedicti Dei'' ("Come, you blessed of God"), which he uttered just before he was thrown off the ladder.Hayward, F.M. ''Padley Chapel and Padley Martyrs''. Derby. Bemrose and Sons, 1903. 2nd edition 1905, p. 35. Robert Ludlam, Nicholas Garlick, and Richard Simpson were declared

venerable The Venerable (''venerabilis'' in Latin) is a style, a title, or an epithet which is used in some Western Christian churches, or it is a translation of similar terms for clerics in Eastern Orthodoxy and monastics in Buddhism. Christianity Cathol ...

in 1888, and were among the

eighty-five martyrs of England and Wales The Eighty-five Martyrs of England and Wales, also known as George Haydock and Eighty-four Companion Martyrs, are a group of men who were executed on charges of treason and related offences in the Kingdom of England between 1584 and 1679. Of the e ...

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 ...

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

on 22 November 1987. In 1999 Robert Ludlam had a theatre named after him in Derby, called the Robert Ludlam Theatre.

References

External links

The Story of the Padley MartyrsThe Derby Theatre Named After Him
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ludlam, Robert 1550s births 1588 deaths Alumni of St John's College, Oxford English College, Douai alumni 16th-century English Roman Catholic priests English beatified people Martyred Roman Catholic priests People executed under Elizabeth I by hanging, drawing and quartering Executed people from Derbyshire 16th-century Roman Catholic martyrs 16th-century venerated Christians Eighty-five martyrs of England and Wales

See also

References

External links