Margaret Clitherow
Encyclopedia
Saint Margaret Clitherow (1556 – 25 March 1586) is an English saint
and martyr
of the Roman Catholic Church
. She is sometimes called "the Pearl of York
".
, after Henry VIII of England
had split the Church of England
from the Roman Catholic Church. She married John Clitherow, a butcher, in 1571 (at the age of 15) and bore him three children. She converted to Roman Catholicism at the age of 18, in 1574. Her husband John was supportive (he having a brother who was Roman Catholic clergy), though he remained Protestant. She then became a friend of the persecuted Roman Catholic population in the north of England
. Her son, Henry, went to Reims to train as a Roman priest
. She regularly held Masses in her home in the Shambles in York
. There was a hole cut between the attics of her house and the adjoining house, to enable a priest to escape in the event of a raid. A house in the Shambles once thought to have been her home, now called the Shrine of the Saint Margaret Clitherow, is open to the public (it is served by the nearby Church of St Wilfrid's
and is part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Middlesbrough
); her actual house (10 and 11, the Shambles) is further down the street.
In 1586, she was arrested and called before the York assizes for the crime of harbouring Roman Catholic priest
s. She refused to plead to the case so as to prevent a trial that would entail her children being made to testify and therefore they would be tortured, and she was executed by being crushed to death – the standard punishment for refusal to plead. She was killed on Good Friday
1586. The two sergeants who should have killed her hired four desperate beggars to kill her. She was stripped and had a handkerchief tied across her face then laid out upon a sharp rock the size of a man's fist, a door was put on top of her and slowly loaded with an immense weight of rocks and stones (the small sharp rock would break her back when the heavy rocks were laid on top of her). Her death occurred within fifteen minutes; she was left for 6 hours before the weight was removed from her corpse. After her death her hand was removed, and this relic is now housed in the chapel of the Bar Convent, York. After Clitherow's execution, Elizabeth I
wrote to the citizens of York to say how horrified she was at the treatment of a fellow woman: due to her gender, Clitherow should not have been executed. .
In 2008, a commemorative plaque was installed at the Micklegate end of Ouse Bridge
to mark the site of her martyrdom; the Bishop of Middlesbrough
unveiled this in a ceremony on Friday 29 August 2008.
in 1929 by Pope Pius XI
and canonised
in 1970 by Pope Paul VI
along with other martyrs from England and Wales
. The group of candidates canonised at that time is commonly called "The Forty Martyrs of England and Wales
". Her feast day in the current Roman Catholic calendar is 30th August along with fellow martyrs St. Anne Line and St. Margaret Ward.
A number of schools in England are named after Margaret Clitherow, including schools at Bracknell, Brixham, Manchester, Nottingham, Thamesmead SE28, Brent, London NW10 and Tonbridge. The Roman Catholic primary school in Nottingham
's Bestwood estate is named after Clitherow. In the United States, St Margaret of York Church and School, located in the Cincinnati, Ohio
suburb of Loveland
, is also named after her. Another school named after her is St. Margaret Clitherow RC Primary School, located opposite Stevenage Borough Football Club.
She is also the patroness of the Catholic Women's League
, an organisation of Catholic women founded in 1906, with small groups (known as branches) and sections (groupings of branches, usually along diocesan lines) across the world.
Saint
A saint is a holy person. In various religions, saints are people who are believed to have exceptional holiness.In Christian usage, "saint" refers to any believer who is "in Christ", and in whom Christ dwells, whether in heaven or in earth...
and martyr
Martyr
A martyr is somebody who suffers persecution and death for refusing to renounce, or accept, a belief or cause, usually religious.-Meaning:...
of the Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
. She is sometimes called "the Pearl of York
York
York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...
".
Life
She was born as Margaret Middleton, the daughter of a wax-chandlerChandler
A chandler was the head of the chandlery in medieval households, responsible for wax, candles, and soap.Chandler may also refer to:- People :* Chandler , the surname of various people...
, after Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
had split the Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
from the Roman Catholic Church. She married John Clitherow, a butcher, in 1571 (at the age of 15) and bore him three children. She converted to Roman Catholicism at the age of 18, in 1574. Her husband John was supportive (he having a brother who was Roman Catholic clergy), though he remained Protestant. She then became a friend of the persecuted Roman Catholic population in the north of 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...
. Her son, Henry, went to Reims to train as a Roman priest
Holy Orders
The term Holy Orders is used by many Christian churches to refer to ordination or to those individuals ordained for a special role or ministry....
. She regularly held Masses in her home in the Shambles in York
York
York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...
. There was a hole cut between the attics of her house and the adjoining house, to enable a priest to escape in the event of a raid. A house in the Shambles once thought to have been her home, now called the Shrine of the Saint Margaret Clitherow, is open to the public (it is served by the nearby Church of St Wilfrid's
St Wilfrid's York
St. Wilfrid's is a Roman Catholic church located in the centre of York, England, in the shadows of York Minster. A Church dedicated to St. Wilfrid has stood in York since medieval times. Catholics call it the "Mother Church of the city of York." It is in Gothic Revival style. The Arch over the main...
and is part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Middlesbrough
Diocese of Middlesbrough
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Middlesbrough is a Latin Rite Roman Catholic diocese based in Middlesbrough, England and is part of the province of Liverpool. It was founded on 20 December 1878, with the splitting of the Diocese of Beverley which had covered all of Yorkshire...
); her actual house (10 and 11, the Shambles) is further down the street.
In 1586, she was arrested and called before the York assizes for the crime of harbouring Roman Catholic priest
Priest
A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...
s. She refused to plead to the case so as to prevent a trial that would entail her children being made to testify and therefore they would be tortured, and she was executed by being crushed to death – the standard punishment for refusal to plead. She was killed on Good Friday
Good Friday
Good Friday , is a religious holiday observed primarily by Christians commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and his death at Calvary. The holiday is observed during Holy Week as part of the Paschal Triduum on the Friday preceding Easter Sunday, and may coincide with the Jewish observance of...
1586. The two sergeants who should have killed her hired four desperate beggars to kill her. She was stripped and had a handkerchief tied across her face then laid out upon a sharp rock the size of a man's fist, a door was put on top of her and slowly loaded with an immense weight of rocks and stones (the small sharp rock would break her back when the heavy rocks were laid on top of her). Her death occurred within fifteen minutes; she was left for 6 hours before the weight was removed from her corpse. After her death her hand was removed, and this relic is now housed in the chapel of the Bar Convent, York. After Clitherow's execution, Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...
wrote to the citizens of York to say how horrified she was at the treatment of a fellow woman: due to her gender, Clitherow should not have been executed. .
Ouse Bridge
The Ouse Bridge carries the M62 between junctions 36 and 37 over the River Ouse north of Goole.-History:Traffic to and from Hull to the A1 historically went over Boothferry Bridge, on the A614, which was a swing bridge....
to mark the site of her martyrdom; the Bishop of Middlesbrough
Bishop of Middlesbrough
The Bishop of Middlesbrough is the Ordinary of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Middlesbrough in the Province of Liverpool, England.The diocese covers an area of of the counties of the East Riding of Yorkshire and North Yorkshire together with the City of York...
unveiled this in a ceremony on Friday 29 August 2008.
Canonisation
She was beatifiedBeatification
Beatification is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a dead person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in his or her name . Beatification is the third of the four steps in the canonization process...
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 canonised
Canonization
Canonization is the act by which a Christian church declares a deceased person to be a saint, upon which declaration the person is included in the canon, or list, of recognized saints. Originally, individuals were recognized as saints without any formal process...
in 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...
along with other martyrs from England and Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
. The group of candidates canonised at that time is commonly called "The Forty Martyrs of England and Wales
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...
". Her feast day in the current Roman Catholic calendar is 30th August along with fellow martyrs St. Anne Line and St. Margaret Ward.
A number of schools in England are named after Margaret Clitherow, including schools at Bracknell, Brixham, Manchester, Nottingham, Thamesmead SE28, Brent, London NW10 and Tonbridge. The Roman Catholic primary school in Nottingham
Nottingham
Nottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group...
's Bestwood estate is named after Clitherow. In the United States, St Margaret of York Church and School, located in the Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...
suburb of Loveland
Loveland, Ohio
Loveland is a city in Hamilton, Clermont, and Warren counties in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Ohio. Considered part of the Greater Cincinnati area, Loveland is located near exit 52 off Interstate 275, about northeast of the Cincinnati city limits. It borders Symmes, Miami and...
, is also named after her. Another school named after her is St. Margaret Clitherow RC Primary School, located opposite Stevenage Borough Football Club.
She is also the patroness of the Catholic Women's League
Catholic Women's League
The Catholic Women's League is a Roman Catholic lay organisation aimed at women in England and Wales. Through emigration in the past, the CWL may be found in some Commonwealth countries. It is especially flourishing in Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Hong Kong. -References:* Olivier Rota,...
, an organisation of Catholic women founded in 1906, with small groups (known as branches) and sections (groupings of branches, usually along diocesan lines) across the world.
Margaret
- Eternal Word Television Network: ST. MARGARET: MOTHER AND MARTYR
- Star Quest Production Network: Saints.SQPN.com: Saint Margaret Clitherow
- Catholic Exchange: St. Margaret Clitherow
- CatholicPamphlets.Net: SAINT MARGARET CLITHEROW
- Lay Saints: Saint Margaret Clitherow
- St Margaret Clitherow School: St Margaret Clitherow
- Bracknell Catholic Church: St Margaret Clitherow
- A Sinner's Guide to the Saints: St. Margaret Clitherow (1556 to March 25, 1586)
- Women for Faith & Family: VOICES - Vol. XX No. 3, Christmas 2005 - Epiphany 2006: The Women Saints of Britain
- YorkShambles.com (official Shambles website) (search for "St. Margaret Clitherow")
- Proper York: Saint Margaret Clitherow
- Hotels in York Ltd: The history of The Shambles York England - Margaret Clitherow
- blacmap.info: Margaret Clitherow
- BBC: York & North Yorkshire: The Pearl of York
- World News Network: Margaret Clitherow
- HighBeam Research: Encyclopedia.com: Clitherow, Margaret (1556–1586)
- Kate Emerson Historicals: A WHO’S WHO OF TUDOR WOMEN: M (search for "MARGARET MIDDLETON")
- rootsweb: ANCESTRIES of Errol BEVAN and Hollie Atkinson BEVAN - with a MULTITUDE of Cousin Lines!: Margaret MIDDLETON
- David Alton: The Secret Resting Place of Margaret Clitherow
- Let The Welkin Ring: St Margaret Clitherow (blog entry about 2011 pilgrimage to her shrine)
Children
- Kate Emerson Historicals: A WHO’S WHO OF TUDOR WOMEN: Cl-Cy (search for "ANNE CLITHEROW" — Margaret's daughter)