The First Three of the 40 Martyrs of England and Wales

As promised, I'll be on the Son Rise Morning Show with Matt Swaim at about 7:50 a.m. Eastern/6:50 a.m. Central to start our survey of the 40 Martyrs of England and Wales, beginning with the three Carthusian priors, St. John Houghton, St. Augustine Webster, and St. Robert Lawrence.

Please listen live here; the podcast will be archived here.

On Friday, I highlighted St. John Houghton's leadership in guiding the Carthusian community in their response to Henry VIII's changes in religious policy. The other priors, Webster and Lawrence, were in London to consult with him on the situation and that's why the three of them went to Cromwell with their plea for the respect of conscience after praying, fasting, and celebrating Mass. Robert Lawrence had succeeded Houghton as the Prior of Beauvale in Nottinghamshire. All three men had attended the University of Cambridge.

Even among Tudor fans of Henry VIII and Thomas Cromwell, the treatment of the Carthusian monks rouses great repulsion and disgust, because Cromwell and Henry flaunted all the customs of England and displayed so much cruelty.

The Carthusians were hanged, drawn, and quartered in their habits--as traitors they should have been in secular clothing as laity--and Houghton was still wearing a hair shirt. Dragged from the Tower to Tyburn, their religious status was clearly displayed.

Michael Davies transcribes the scene at Tyburn, based upon the reports of Maurice Chauncy or Chauncey, a Carthusian who had sworn the oath his Priors refused:

To [Saint] John Houghton God was pleased to grant the signal honour of being the first man since pagan times to suffer death in England for being a Catholic. After lovingly embracing the executioner, who craved his pardon, the holy Martyr entered the cart which stood beneath the gallows; and there, in the sight of the multitude, he was asked once again whether he would submit to the king's laws before it was too late. Nothing daunted, he replied: "I call Almighty God to witness, and I beseech all here present to attest for me on the dreadful danger of judgement, that, being about to die in public, I declare that I have refused to comply with the will of His Majesty the King, not from obstinacy, malice, or a rebellious spirit, but solely for fear of offending the supreme Majesty of God. Our holy Mother the Church has decreed and enjoined otherwise than the king and Parliament have decreed. I am therefore bound in conscience, and am ready and willing to suffer every kind of torture, rather than deny a doctrine of the Church. Pray for me, and have mercy on my brethren, of whom I have been the unworthy Prior." He asked for time to say his last prayer, which he took from the 30th Psalm: "In thee, O Lord, have I hoped; let me never be confounded: deliver me in Thy justice . . . Into Thy hands I commend my spirit; for Thou hast redeemed me, O Lord, the God of truth." [Saint] John Houghton was now ready to meet death.

A thick rope had been chosen, for fear he might be strangled and expire too quickly. It was placed about his neck. The sheriff gave the signal. The cart was drawn aside; and the gentle monk, who had done good to many, and harm to none, was hanging like a malefactor from the gallows. Then came the worst part of the business, for no mercy was shown, and the hideous sentence was carried out in all its details. The rope was cut, and the body fell heavily on the ground; but John Houghton was not dead. They tore off his holy habit, and laid him on a plank or platform. The executioner inflicted a long and ghastly wound with a sharp knife, dragged out his entrails, and threw them in a fire prepared for the purpose. The poor sufferer was conscious the whole time; and while he was being embowelled  (sic) he was heard to exclaim: "Oh most holy Jesus, have mercy upon me in this hour!" When at last the executioner placed his hand upon the heart to wrench it from its place, the blessed Martyr spoke again. A German, Anthony Rescius, who afterwards became auxiliary Bishop of Wurzburg, was close by. He overheard his last words: "Good Jesu! what will ye do with my heart?" The struggle was over at last John Houghton had been faithful unto death, and gained the crown of life. 76

Webster and Lawrence suffered the same torture--although Houghton's hair shirt had made it harder for the executioner to disembowel him--and then their bodies were prepared for Henry VIII's warning to others:

The bodies were cut into quarters which were thrown into a cauldron of boiling pitch to prevent decay, and then set up in different parts of London as proof positive that the king was indeed the head of the Church in England. These executions constituted a clear and savage warning to every priest and monk in the country of what awaited them if they failed to swear upon oath that they accepted the Royal Supremacy. In order to terrify the remaining Carthusians into submission, John Houghton's severed arm, all bloody from Tyburn, was nailed above the gateway of the Charterhouse.

Many members of Henry VIII's Court and Council attended the executions and there are unfounded and later retracted reports that the king was there too. You may read a fuller account of their executions here, starting on page 41 of the document.

Saint John Houghton, pray for us!

Saint Augustine Webster, pray for us!

Saint Robert Lawrence, pray for us!

Image Source: used by permission.