Roger Ashton (executed at
Tyburn, 23 June 1592) was an English
Roman Catholic soldier. He is a Catholic martyr.
Life
He was the third son of Richard Ashton of
Croston, in
Lancashire. In 1585 he had gone to serve in the
Low Countries under the
Earl of Leicester against the Spanish.
William Stanley having been placed on guard over the town of
Deventer
Deventer (; Sallands: ) is a city and municipality in the Salland historical region of the province of Overijssel, Netherlands. In 2020, Deventer had a population of 100,913. The city is largely situated on the east bank of the river IJssel, bu ...
, which had revolted from the Spaniards, he, with the assistance of Ashton, gave the town back to Spain and went over to their side (29 January 1587).
Cardinal
William Allen published a "Defence" of this act in the form of a letter addressed to one "R.A.". Stanley next entrusted to Ashton the task of bringing over his wife from Ireland, but she was already under arrest.
At the close of the year 1587 he returned to England and was apprehended in
Kent with a
marriage dispensation;
Richard Challoner says it was a papal dispensation to marry his
second cousin. In January, 1588, he was in the
Tower of London. Ill towards the close of the year, he was transferred to easier confinement in the
Marshalsea. From this he managed to escape and fled to his brothers in Lancashire. He was arrested later, at Shields (modern
North Shields or
South Shields
South Shields () is a coastal town in South Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, England. It is on the south bank of the mouth of the River Tyne. Historically, it was known in Roman times as Arbeia, and as Caer Urfa by Early Middle Ages. According to the 20 ...
, the historian does not specify which) near
Newcastle, while trying to escape overseas.
Transferred to
Durham and
York, he was tried and sentenced at
Canterbury. He was
hanged, drawn, and quartered; his indictment is not preserved. He died a "very resolute" Catholic, making profession of his faith.
References
;Attribution
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ashton, Ralph
1592 deaths
People executed under Elizabeth I by hanging, drawing and quartering
16th-century Roman Catholic martyrs
Year of birth unknown
16th-century English soldiers
English Roman Catholics
Executed people from Lancashire
Venerable martyrs of England and Wales