Thomas Felton (1566?–1588) was a Franciscan Minim, a

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 ...

martyr and son of the Roman Catholic martyr, John Felton. Felton was born around 1566 at

Bermondsey Abbey Bermondsey Abbey was an English Benedictine monastery. Most widely known as being founded in the 11th century, it had a precursor mentioned in the early eighth century, and was centred on what is now Bermondsey Square, the site of Bermonds ...

, Surrey, and was about four years old when his father was executed. When still young, he served as a page to Lady Lovett. He was then sent to the English College, Rheims, where he received the first tonsure from the hands of the Cardinal de Guise, archbishop of Rheims, in 1583. He then entered the order of Minims, but its austerities undermined his health and he returned to England, to settle his property and make provision for his profession. Attempting to return to France, Felton was arrested on the coast, brought to London, and committed to the

Poultry Compter Poultry Compter (also known as Poultry Counter) was a small prison that stood at Poultry, part of Cheapside in the City of London. The compter was used to lock up minor criminals and prisoners convicted under civil law and was run by the Ci ...

. About two years later his aunt, Mrs. Blount, obtained his release through the interest of some of her friends at court. He attempted to return to France, but was again intercepted and committed to Bridewell. After some time he regained his liberty, and made a second attempt to get back to Rheims, but was rearrested and recommitted to Bridewell, where he was put into Little Ease and otherwise tortured. He was brought to trial at

Newgate Newgate was one of the historic seven gates of the London Wall around the City of London and one of the six which date back to Roman times. Newgate lay on the west side of the wall and the road issuing from it headed over the River Fleet to Mid ...

, just after the defeat of the

Spanish Armada The Spanish Armada (a.k.a. the Enterprise of England, es, Grande y Felicísima Armada, links=no, lit=Great and Most Fortunate Navy) was a Spanish fleet that sailed from Lisbon in late May 1588, commanded by the Duke of Medina Sidonia, an aris ...

, and was asked whether, if the Spanish forces had landed, he would have taken the part of Queen

Elizabeth Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to: People * Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name) * Elizabeth (biblical figure), mother of John the Baptist Ships * HMS ''Elizabeth'', several ships * ''Elisabeth'' (sch ...

. His reply was that he would have taken part with God and his country. But he refused to acknowledge the queen to be the

Supreme Head of the Church of England The title of Supreme Head of the Church of England was created in 1531 for King Henry VIII when he first began to separate the Church of England from the authority of the Holy See and allegiance to the papacy, then represented by Pope Clement VI ...

, and was accordingly condemned to death. The next day, 28 August 1588, he and another priest, named James Claxton (or Clarkson), were conveyed on horseback from

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 ...

to the place of execution, between

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has diverse company headquarters buildings whi ...

and

Hounslow Hounslow () is a large suburban district of West London, west-southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hounslow, and is identified in the London Plan as one of the 12 metropolitan centres in Gr ...

, and were there

hanged 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 ( ...

James Claxton

James Claxton was from Yorkshire. He went to the English College at Douai, which had relocated temporarily to Rheims, and was ordained at Soissons 9 June 1582. He set out for England with fellow-priest Richard Evens on 24 July. At some point he was captured and exiled in 1585. He returned to England, was again arrested and sent to the

Marshalsea prison The Marshalsea (1373–1842) was a notorious prison in Southwark, just south of the River Thames. Although it housed a variety of prisoners, including men accused of crimes at sea and political figures charged with sedition, it became known, in ...

. On 28 August 1588, he was taken with Thomas Felton to a place near Brentford, (likely "Bush Corner") and hanged.McClement, F. Kerr., "Venerable Thomas Felton and James Claxton", ''Lives of the English Martyrs'', vol.1, (Edwin Burton and J.H. Pollen, eds.), Longmans, Green and Co., 1914, p. 399
/ref> All told eight were executed on this day in and around London.

References

;Attribution * Sources: **Challoner's Missionary Priests (1741), i. 216; **Yepes, Hist. de la Persecucion de la Inglaterra, p. 610; {{DEFAULTSORT:Felton, Thomas 1567 births 16th-century Roman Catholic martyrs 1588 deaths People executed under Elizabeth I by hanging, drawing and quartering Executed people from London People from Bermondsey People from Surrey (before 1889) One Hundred and Seven Martyrs of England and Wales