Colchester Martyrs Explained

The Colchester Martyrs were 16th-century English Protestant martyrs. They were executed for heresy in Colchester, Essex, during the reigns of Henry VIII and Mary I. Their story is recorded in Foxe's Book of Martyrs.

1545 or 1546

"[O]ne Henry" and his servant were burned at the stake.^[1]

29 March 1555

John Lawrence, a priest and former Blackfriar at Sudbury, Suffolk^[2] was burned at the stake.^[3]

14 June 1555

Nicholas Chamberlain (or Chamberlaine), a weaver from Coggeshall, Essex was burned at the stake.^{[4] [5]}

28 April 1556

Christopher Lister, a husbandman from Dagenham, Essex, John Mace, an apothecary from Colchester, Essex, John Spencer, a weaver from Colchester, Essex, Simon Joyne, a sawyer, Richard Nicol, a weaver from Colchester, Essex and John Hamond, a tanner from Colchester, Essex were burned at the stake.^{[4] [6]}

2 August 1557

William Bongeor, Thomas Benhote, William Purchase, Agnes Silverside, Helen Ewring, Elizabeth Folk, William Munt, John Johnson, Alice Munt and Rose Allen were taken to Colchester Castle and burned at the stake.^[7]

17 September 1557

Agnes Bongeor, wife of Richard Bongeor, John Kurde, and Margaret (Widow) Thurston were burned at the stake^{[8] [4]}

26 May 1558

William Harris, Richard Day and Christian George (female) were burned at the stake.^{[4] [9]}

Those who died in prison

James Gore died on 7 December 1555 in Colchester prison^{[4] [10]} and John Thurston, who had been taken at Much Bentley, Essex, died in May 1557 in Colchester Castle.^[11]

Monuments

A monument to these victims of the Marian persecutions is in St Peter's Church on North Hill;^[12] another is in the Colchester Town Hall.^[13]

See also

• List of Protestant martyrs of the English Reformation

Notes and References

1. http://www.exclassics.com/foxe/foxe207.htm Foxe's Book of Martyrs: 207. John Athy, John Heywood, Kerby, and Roger Clarke
2. Web site: Foxe's Book of Martyrs, Glossary of People . 2014-10-12 . https://web.archive.org/web/20131231000430/http://www.johnfoxe.org/index.php?realm=more&gototype=modern&type=person&letter=J . 2013-12-31 . dead .
3. http://www.exclassics.com/foxe/foxe277.htm Foxe's Book of Martyrs: 275. William Pygot, Stephen Knight, and John Laurence
4. Thomas Bryce, "The Regester" in Edward Farr, ed., Select Poetry of the Reign of Queen Elizabeth (1845).
5. http://www.exclassics.com/foxe/foxe293.htm Foxe's Book of Martyrs: 291. Thomas Osmond, William Bamford, Thomas Osborne and others
6. http://www.exclassics.com/foxe/foxe341.htm Foxe's Book of Martyrs 338. Christopher Lyster, John Mace, John Spencer, Simon Joyne, Richard Nichols and John Hamond.
7. http://www.exclassics.com/foxe/foxe365.htm The Ex-Classics Web Site - THE ACTS AND MONUMENTS OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH by JOHN FOXE: 362. TEN COLCHESTER MARTYRS
8. Web site: Foxe's Book of Martyrs - 367. Agnes Bongeor, Margaret Thurston and John Kurde. Exclassics.com. 1 September 2012.
9. http://www.exclassics.com/foxe/foxe381.htm Foxe's Book of Martyrs: 378. Three Colchester Martyrs.
10. http://www.exclassics.com/foxe/foxe327.htm Foxe's Book of Martyrs: 325. John Webbe, George Roper, Gregory Parke, William Wiseman, and James Gore
11. http://www.exclassics.com/foxe/foxe365.htm Foxe's Book of Martyrs: 362. Ten Colchester Martyrs
12. http://www.stpeterscol.org.uk/mems1.html St Peter's Colchester: Memorials - part 1
13. http://www.camulos.com/virtual/townhall.htm Virtual Tour of Colchester's Town Hall