The Stratford Martyrs were eleven men and two women who 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 ...
together for their
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 ...
beliefs, either at
Stratford-le-Bow, Middlesex or
Stratford, Essex
Stratford is a town in east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London. Until 1965 it was within the historic county of Essex. Part of the Lower Lea Valley, Stratford is situated 6 miles (10 km) east-northeast of Chari ...
, both near London, on 27 June 1556 during 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 ...
.
The martyrs
A detailed description of the event is in
John Foxe's book, ''
The Acts and Monuments''.
[The Acts And Monuments Of The Christian Church By John Foxe: 344. Thirteen Martyrs Burned At Stratford-Le-Bow](_blank)
/ref> Foxe lists those executed: Henry Adlington, a sawyer
*A sawyer (occupation) is someone who saws wood.
*Sawyer, a fallen tree stuck on the bottom of a river, where it constitutes a danger to boating.
Places in the United States
Communities
*Sawyer, Kansas
*Sawyer, Kentucky
* Sawyer, Michigan
* Saw ...
of Grinstead, Laurence Pernam, a smith
Smith may refer to:
People
* Metalsmith, or simply smith, a craftsman fashioning tools or works of art out of various metals
* Smith (given name)
* Smith (surname), a family name originating in England, Scotland and Ireland
** List of people wi ...
of Hoddesdon
Hoddesdon () is a town in the Borough of Broxbourne, Hertfordshire, lying entirely within the London Metropolitan Area and Greater London Urban Area. The area is on the River Lea and the Lee Navigation along with the New River.
Hoddesdon ...
, Henry Wye, a brewer
Brewing is the production of beer by steeping a starch source (commonly cereal grains, the most popular of which is barley) in water and fermenting the resulting sweet liquid with yeast. It may be done in a brewery by a commercial brewer ...
of Stanford-le-Hope, William Halliwel, a smith of Waltham Holy Cross, Thomas Bowyer, a weaver of Great Dunmow
Great Dunmow is a historic market town and civil parish in the Uttlesford district of Essex, England. It is situated on the north of the A120 road, approximately midway between Bishop's Stortford and Braintree, five miles east of London Stans ...
, George Searles, a tailor of White Notley
White Notley is a parish in Essex, England. The settlement (which includes the outlying hamlet of The Green) lies equidistant between the towns of Witham and Braintree amongst arable farmland, in each direction. White Notley is a quintessentia ...
, Edmund Hurst, a labourer of 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 ...
, Lyon Cawch, a Flemish
Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium; ...
merchant of the City of London
The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London f ...
, Ralph Jackson, a servant of Chipping Ongar
Chipping Ongar () is a market town and former civil parish, now in the parish of Ongar, in the Epping Forest District of the county of Essex, England. It is located east of Epping, southeast of Harlow and northwest of Brentwood. In 2020 th ...
, John Derifall, a labourer of Rettendon
Rettendon is a small village and civil parish in the Borough of Chelmsford in Essex, England, about south east of the city of Chelmsford. Situated near the River Crouch, the village was once owned by the Bishop of Ely. The A130 formerly passed ...
, John Routh, a labourer of Wix, Elizabeth Pepper of Colchester who was pregnant, and Agnes George of West Bergholt. A further three men, Thomas Freeman, William Stannard, and William Adams, were given a dispensation by Cardinal Pole, the Archbishop of Canterbury, because they had recanted although Foxe is dubious about that.
The 16 accused had been brought to Newgate in London from various parts of 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 ...
and Hertfordshire. Beginning on 6 June 1556, at an ecclesiastical tribunal under the direction of Thomas Darbyshire
Thomas Darbyshire (1518–1604) was an English churchman and Jesuit.
He was a nephew of Edmund Bonner by a sister. He received his education at Broadgates Hall, Oxford, where he graduated B.A. in 1544, B.C.L. in 1553, and D.C.L. on 20 July 155 ...
, the chancellor of Edmund Bonner
Edmund Bonner (also Boner; c. 15005 September 1569) was Bishop of London from 1539 to 1549 and again from 1553 to 1559. Initially an instrumental figure in the schism of Henry VIII from Rome, he was antagonised by the Protestant reforms intro ...
the Bishop of London
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
, they were charged with nine counts of 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 ...
, to which they all either assented or remained silent. All of them were condemned to death and later published a letter detailing their beliefs in rebuttal of a sermon
A sermon is a religious discourse or oration by a preacher, usually a member of clergy. Sermons address a scriptural, theological, or moral topic, usually expounding on a type of belief, law, or behavior within both past and present contexts. ...
that had been preached against them by John Feckenham
John Feckenham (c. 1515 – October 1584), also known as John Howman of Feckingham and later John de Feckenham or John Fecknam, was an English churchman, the last abbot of Westminster.
Under Henry VIII and Edward VI
Feckenham was born at Feckenh ...
, the Dean of St Paul's
The dean of St Paul's is a member of, and chair of the Chapter of St Paul's Cathedral in London in the Church of England. The dean of St Paul's is also ''ex officio'' dean of the Order of the British Empire.
The current dean is Andrew Tremlett, ...
. On 27 June 1556, the remaining 13 were brought from London to Stratford, where the party was divided into two and held "in several chambers". Here, the sheriff unsuccessfully attempted to persuade each group to recant, by telling them falsely that the other group had already done so.
Execution
The executions were said to have been attended by a crowd of 20,000. The exact place of the execution is unknown; the most likely site is thought to have been Fair Field in Bow (then known as ''Stratford-le-Bow''), north of the present day Bow Church DLR station. An alternative suggested location is Stratford Green, much of which is now occupied by the University of East London Stratford Campus. This theory seems to date only from the erection of a monument to the martyrs in the nearby churchyard of the Parish Church of St John the Evangelist in 1879.[St John's Church, Stratford E15: The Martyrs Memorial](_blank)
/ref> According to Foxe, "eleven men were tied to three stakes, and the two women loose in the midst without any stake; and so they were all burnt in one fire".
Martyrs' Memorial
In 1879 a large monument was erected in St John's churchyard in Stratford Broadway, to commemorate the 13 and others who were executed or tortured in Stratford during the persecutions. The memorial is Grade II listed on the National Heritage List for England
The National Heritage List for England (NHLE) is England's official database of protected heritage assets. It includes details of all English listed buildings, scheduled monuments, register of historic parks and gardens, protected shipwrecks, a ...
.
See also
* List of Protestant martyrs of the English Reformation
References
{{1500sProtestantwomen
1556 in England
16th-century Protestant martyrs
People executed under Mary I of England
People executed for heresy
Executed British people
16th-century English people
Executed English people
People executed by the Kingdom of England by burning
Martyred groups
History of the London Borough of Newham
Protestant martyrs of England