William Flower was a 16th-century English
Protestant
Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
martyr. His story is recorded in ''
Foxe's Book of Martyrs
The ''Actes and Monuments'' (full title: ''Actes and Monuments of these Latter and Perillous Days, Touching Matters of the Church''), popularly known as Foxe's Book of Martyrs, is a work of Protestant history and martyrology by Protestant Engli ...
''. He was burnt to death on 24 April 1555 at St. Margaret's churchyard,
Westminster
Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster.
The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...
, London.
Early life
Flower was born in
Snailwell
Snailwell is a small village and civil parish in East Cambridgeshire, England around north of Newmarket.
History
The parish of Snailwell covers an area of in the extension of eastern Cambridgeshire that surrounds the town of Newmarket in Suff ...
in
Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East of England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and North ...
. While still a boy he was sent to
Ely Cathedral
Ely Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity, is an Anglican cathedral in the city of Ely, Cambridgeshire, England.
The cathedral has its origins in AD 672 when St Etheldreda built an abbey church. The presen ...
to live as a Benedictine monk. Upon the
suppression of the monasteries he began working as priest. He then lived in various places around the country. He was married in
Tewkesbury Abbey
The Abbey Church of St Mary the Virgin, Tewkesbury–commonly known as Tewkesbury Abbey–is located in the English county of Gloucestershire. A former Benedictine monastery, it is now a parish church. Considered one of the finest examples of Nor ...
to Alice Pulton with whom he had three children. He worked for some time as a doctor and surgeon, despite lacking any qualifications to do so, and also as a schoolmaster in
Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by
two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...
. Finally he moved to
Lambeth
Lambeth () is a district in South London, England, in the London Borough of Lambeth, historically in the County of Surrey. It is situated south of Charing Cross. The population of the London Borough of Lambeth was 303,086 in 2011. The area expe ...
with his family, although spent much of his time away from home.
Attack at St Margaret's Church
Flower was a Protestant, and for many years had rejected the doctrine of
transubstantiation
Transubstantiation (Latin: ''transubstantiatio''; Greek: μετουσίωσις ''metousiosis'') is, according to the teaching of the Catholic Church, "the change of the whole substance of bread into the substance of the Body of Christ and of th ...
. On Easter Day 1555, intending to assault the celebrant at what he saw as a Popish mass, he made his way across the Thames to
St Margaret's Church, Westminster
The Church of St Margaret, Westminster Abbey, is in the grounds of Westminster Abbey on Parliament Square, London, England. It is dedicated to Margaret of Antioch, and forms part of a single World Heritage Site with the Palace of Westminster a ...
. He had intended to do the same on the previous Christmas Day at
St Paul’s Cathedral, but arriving at the cathedral he had not the resolve to do so. This time, however, he entered the church of Saint Margaret armed with a wood-knife (a large cleaver used by hunters for disjointing carcasses). He struck the priest administering the sacrament on the head and again on his arm, wounding him grievously and causing his blood to spill into the chalice containing the consecrated hosts. A great tumult ensued and Flower was seized and taken to
Newgate prison
Newgate Prison was a prison at the corner of Newgate Street and Old Bailey Street just inside the City of London, England, originally at the site of Newgate, a gate in the Roman London Wall. Built in the 12th century and demolished in 1904, t ...
.
Trial and execution
![William Flower](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e0/William_Flower.gif)
Brought before
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 ...
,
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 ...
at the consistory court, Flower eventually repented for injuring the priest but refused to repent for the reason why he had done so. Bonner excommunicated him and then turned him over to the secular court whereupon he was sentenced to have his hand cut off and then be burnt at the stake.
On 24 April 1555 Flower was brought to St Margaret's Church and outside the churchyard was tied to a stake and his right hand cut off. Flower did not flinch at this:
And thus fire was set unto him, who burning therein, cried with a loud voice, "O the Son of God, have mercy upon me! O the Son of God, receive my soul!" three times; and so his speech being taken from him, he spake no more, lifting up, notwithstanding, his stump with his other arm, as long as he could. And thus endured this constant witness and faithful servant of God the extremity of the fire, being therein cruelly handled, by reason that to his burning little wood was brought; so that for lack of faggots, there being not sufficient to burn him, they were fain to strike him down into the fire; where he lying along (which was doleful to behold) upon the ground, his nether part was consumed in the fire, whilst his upper part was clean without the fire, his tongue in all men's sight still moving in his mouth.
Bibliography
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References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Flower, William
1555 deaths
16th-century Protestant martyrs
People executed under Mary I of England
People executed for heresy
Executed British people
Executed people from Cambridgeshire
People executed by the Kingdom of England by burning
Year of birth unknown
Protestant martyrs of England