John Plessington
Encyclopedia
St John Plessington also known as John Plesington, William Scarisbrick and William Pleasington, is one of the Roman Catholic Forty Martyrs of England and Wales
.
Born at Dimples Hall, near Garstang
, Lancashire
, England
, the son of Robert Plessington, a Royalist
Roman Catholic, and Alice Rawstone, a family thus persecuted for both their religious and political beliefs. Educated at by Jesuits at Scarisbrick Hall
, then at the Royal College of Saint Alban at Valladolid
, Spain and then Saint Omer's monastery in France
, he was ordained in Segovia
on 25 March 1662. He returned to England in 1663 ministering to covert Catholics in the areas of Holywell
and Cheshire
, often hiding under the name William Scarisbrick. He was also tutor at Puddington Old Hall
near Chester. Upon arrest in Chester during the Popish Plot
scare caused by Titus Oates
, he was imprisoned for two months, and then hanged, drawn and quartered
for the crime of being a Catholic priest. From the scaffold at Gallow's Hill in Boughton, Cheshire
he spoke the following:
He was beatified in 1929 by Pope Pius XI
, and canonized and made one of the Forty Martyrs on 25 October 1970 by Pope Paul VI
.
There is now a school called St. John Plessington in England which has just won TES School of the Year 2010 out of England, Wales, Ireland and Scotland.
Forty Martyrs of England and Wales
The Forty Martyrs of England and Wales are a group of men and women who were executed for treason and related offences in the Kingdom of England between 1535 and 1679...
.
Born at Dimples Hall, near Garstang
Garstang
Garstang is a town and civil parish within the Wyre borough of Lancashire, England. It is ten miles north-northwest of the city of Preston and eleven miles south of Lancaster, and had a total resident population of 4,074 in 2001....
, Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, the son of Robert Plessington, a Royalist
Cavalier
Cavalier was the name used by Parliamentarians for a Royalist supporter of King Charles I and son Charles II during the English Civil War, the Interregnum, and the Restoration...
Roman Catholic, and Alice Rawstone, a family thus persecuted for both their religious and political beliefs. Educated at by Jesuits at Scarisbrick Hall
Scarisbrick Hall
Scarisbrick Hall is a country house situated just to the south-east of the village of Scarisbrick in Lancashire, England.-History:Scarisbrick Hall was the ancestral home of the Scarisbrick family and dates back to the time of King Stephen . The Scarisbrick family lived on the site from 1238 until...
, then at the Royal College of Saint Alban at Valladolid
Valladolid
Valladolid is a historic city and municipality in north-central Spain, situated at the confluence of the Pisuerga and Esgueva rivers, and located within three wine-making regions: Ribera del Duero, Rueda and Cigales...
, Spain and then Saint Omer's monastery in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, he was ordained in Segovia
Segovia
Segovia is a city in Spain, the capital of Segovia Province in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is situated north of Madrid, 30 minutes by high speed train. The municipality counts some 55,500 inhabitants.-Etymology:...
on 25 March 1662. He returned to England in 1663 ministering to covert Catholics in the areas of Holywell
Holywell
Holywell is the fifth largest town in Flintshire, North Wales, lying to the west of the estuary of the River Dee.-History:The market town of Holywell takes its name from the St Winefride's Well, a holy well surrounded by a chapel...
and Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
, often hiding under the name William Scarisbrick. He was also tutor at Puddington Old Hall
Puddington Old Hall
Puddington Old Hall stands on a former moated site in the village of Puddington, Cheshire, England. It is sited near the England-Wales border, overlooking the Dee estuary.-History:...
near Chester. Upon arrest in Chester during the Popish Plot
Popish Plot
The Popish Plot was a fictitious conspiracy concocted by Titus Oates that gripped England, Wales and Scotland in Anti-Catholic hysteria between 1678 and 1681. Oates alleged that there existed an extensive Catholic conspiracy to assassinate Charles II, accusations that led to the execution of at...
scare caused by Titus Oates
Titus Oates
Titus Oates was an English perjurer who fabricated the "Popish Plot", a supposed Catholic conspiracy to kill King Charles II.-Early life:...
, he was imprisoned for two months, and then hanged, drawn and quartered
Hanged, drawn and quartered
To be hanged, drawn and quartered was from 1351 a penalty in England for men convicted of high treason, although the ritual was first recorded during the reigns of King Henry III and his successor, Edward I...
for the crime of being a Catholic priest. From the scaffold at Gallow's Hill in Boughton, Cheshire
Boughton, Cheshire
Boughton is a neighbourhood to the east of Chester city centre, part of the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England...
he spoke the following:
- But I know it will be said that a priest ordayned by authority derived from the See of Rome is, by the Law of the Nation, to die as a Traytor, but if that be so what must become of all the Clergymen of the Church of England, for the first Protestant Bishops had their Ordination from those of the Church of Rome, or not at all, as appears by their own writers so that Ordination comes derivatively from those now living.
He was beatified in 1929 by Pope Pius XI
Pope Pius XI
Pope Pius XI , born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti, was Pope from 6 February 1922, and sovereign of Vatican City from its creation as an independent state on 11 February 1929 until his death on 10 February 1939...
, and canonized and made one of the Forty Martyrs on 25 October 1970 by Pope Paul VI
Pope Paul VI
Paul VI , born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding Pope John XXIII, who had convened the Second Vatican Council, he decided to continue it...
.
There is now a school called St. John Plessington in England which has just won TES School of the Year 2010 out of England, Wales, Ireland and Scotland.