Richard Woodman (martyr)
Encyclopedia
Richard Woodman was a Protestant
martyr, who was born in Buxted
and lived in nearby Warbleton
in East Sussex
. He was burnt during the Marian Persecutions
in 1557 in Lewes
. The cult of the Sussex Martyrs
is said to have been started using an etching by James Henry Hurdis
of Woodman burning as a Protestant martyr.
, and became known whilst running an "iron-making" business that employed one hundred people. During a sermon at St Mary the Virgin
Church, Warbleton, Woodman was arrested for having words with the rector which are said to have identified Woodman as a Protestant. Woodman says that the rector was preaching the exact opposite of what he previously said (before Mary
was Queen). Woodman lived close to the church and his foundry was also adjacent. Woodman was in contravention of a 1553 law which protected preachers from criticism whilst preaching.
Woodman was imprisoned and investigated at intervals by local magistrates and at quarter sessions where he refused to assure them of his intention to conform. He served terms in prison amounting to six months in total where he was examined by the Bishop of Chichester
, George Day
, and by the commissioners of Cardinal Pole.
Finally he was sent to the Queen's Bench in London although it is not certain if this was legal. There he stayed for another year and a half until Dr. John Story
, the persecuting chancellor, sent him to the bishop's "coalhouse". Whilst a prisoner there he was further examined including an investigation by thirty respectable people who set him free on the 18 December 1555. His release was unconditional as they could find no heresy and his arrest appeared to be illegal.
It was said that Woodman had submitted to the church but he unwisely corrected this view by undertaking preaching around his parish to correct any misunderstandings over his position.
Woodman fled abroad after a warrant had been issued for his arrest. He returned again, but was turned in by his brother (allegedly because they had a financial dispute). Woodhouse was again in the bishop's "coalhouse" where he was again examined before being sent to the Marshalsea
prison.
John Christopherson
who was to be the next Bishop of Chichester conducted a second examination on 27 April 1557, but Woodman could not be tried as Christopherson had not been appointed. John White
, the Bishop of Winchester
then examined Woodman in St George's Church in Southwark
, but he had no jurisdiction over Woodman. Over the next few weeks, Woodman was examined again by White, Christopherson and William Roper and in combination they managed to get Woodman to admit a heresy and he was excommunicated.
Woodman was taken to Lewes and burnt in front of the Star Inn (now the Town Hall), together with nine others on 22 June 1557. The nine were George Stevens, Alexander Hosman, William Mainard, Thomasina Wood, Margery Morris, James Morris, Denis Burges, Ann Ashdon and Mary Groves. This was the largest number of people burnt in England at one time and was intended to serve as a warning to others.
.
M. A. Lower
published the Sussex Martyrs in the mid-nineteenth century, a book credited with reviving memories of the martyrs. At the time the martyr deaths had been largely forgotten, and Lower believed that High Churchmen were referring to the Protestant Reformation
and the deaths of these people as "a mistake". Following the publications "anti-popish" demonstrations took place each year around 5 November. In 1868 a figure dressed as the "Bishop of Lewes" warned Protestants of the Roman Catholic threat and the following year an effigy of the pope was to be blown up with gunpowder.
Protestantism
Protestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...
martyr, who was born in Buxted
Buxted
Buxted is a village and civil parish in the Wealden District of East Sussex in England. The parish is situated on the Weald, north of Uckfield; the settlements of Five Ash Down, Heron's Ghyll and High Hurstwood are included within its boundaries...
and lived in nearby Warbleton
Warbleton
Warbleton is a civil parish in the Wealden District of East Sussex, England. Within its bounds are four settlements, one of which gives its name to the parish. It is located south-east of Heathfield on the slopes of the Weald.-History:...
in East Sussex
East Sussex
East Sussex is a county in South East England. It is bordered by the counties of Kent, Surrey and West Sussex, and to the south by the English Channel.-History:...
. He was burnt during the Marian Persecutions
Marian Persecutions
The Marian Persecutions were carried out against religious reformers, Protestants, and other dissenters for their heretical beliefs during the reign of Mary I of England. The excesses of this period were mythologized in the historical record of Foxe's Book of Martyrs...
in 1557 in Lewes
Lewes
Lewes is the county town of East Sussex, England and historically of all of Sussex. It is a civil parish and is the centre of the Lewes local government district. The settlement has a history as a bridging point and as a market town, and today as a communications hub and tourist-oriented town...
. The cult of the Sussex Martyrs
Sussex Bonfire Societies
The Sussex Bonfire Societies are responsible for the series of bonfire festivals around Central/Eastern Sussex along with parts of Surrey and Kent from September - November....
is said to have been started using an etching by James Henry Hurdis
James Henry Hurdis
James Henry Hurdis was an amateur artist and the elder son of James Hurdis, a renowned professor of poetry. He is known for his many portraits of notable Sussex people...
of Woodman burning as a Protestant martyr.
Life
Woodman was born around 1524 in Buxted in East Sussex; he became an ironmasterIronmaster
An ironmaster is the manager – and usually owner – of a forge or blast furnace for the processing of iron. It is a term mainly associated with the period of the Industrial Revolution, especially in Great Britain....
, and became known whilst running an "iron-making" business that employed one hundred people. During a sermon at St Mary the Virgin
St Mary the Virgin
-Churches:* St Mary the Virgin, Aldermanbury* St Mary the Virgin, Blackburn Hamlet* St Mary the Virgin, Brighton* St Mary the Virgin, Barnes* St Mary the Virgin, Bathwick* St Mary the Virgin, Gillingham, Dorset* St Mary the Virgin, Henbury...
Church, Warbleton, Woodman was arrested for having words with the rector which are said to have identified Woodman as a Protestant. Woodman says that the rector was preaching the exact opposite of what he previously said (before Mary
Mary I of England
Mary I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from July 1553 until her death.She was the only surviving child born of the ill-fated marriage of Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine of Aragon. Her younger half-brother, Edward VI, succeeded Henry in 1547...
was Queen). Woodman lived close to the church and his foundry was also adjacent. Woodman was in contravention of a 1553 law which protected preachers from criticism whilst preaching.
Woodman was imprisoned and investigated at intervals by local magistrates and at quarter sessions where he refused to assure them of his intention to conform. He served terms in prison amounting to six months in total where he was examined by the Bishop of Chichester
Bishop of Chichester
The Bishop of Chichester is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Chichester in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers the Counties of East and West Sussex. The see is in the City of Chichester where the seat is located at the Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity...
, George Day
George Day (bishop)
George Day was Bishop of Chichester.-Life:He graduated at the University of Cambridge in 1520–21, and became a Fellow of St. John's College, Cambridge on 19 September 1522...
, and by the commissioners of Cardinal Pole.
Finally he was sent to the Queen's Bench in London although it is not certain if this was legal. There he stayed for another year and a half until Dr. John Story
John Story
Blessed John Story , English Roman Catholic martyr, was born the son of Nicholas Story of Salisbury and educated at Hinxsey Hall, University of Oxford, where he became lecturer on civil law in 1535, being made later principal of Broadgates Hall, afterwards Pembroke College.He appears to have...
, the persecuting chancellor, sent him to the bishop's "coalhouse". Whilst a prisoner there he was further examined including an investigation by thirty respectable people who set him free on the 18 December 1555. His release was unconditional as they could find no heresy and his arrest appeared to be illegal.
It was said that Woodman had submitted to the church but he unwisely corrected this view by undertaking preaching around his parish to correct any misunderstandings over his position.
Woodman fled abroad after a warrant had been issued for his arrest. He returned again, but was turned in by his brother (allegedly because they had a financial dispute). Woodhouse was again in the bishop's "coalhouse" where he was again examined before being sent to the Marshalsea
Marshalsea
The Marshalsea was a prison on the south bank of the River Thames in Southwark, now part of London. From the 14th century until it closed in 1842, it housed men under court martial for crimes at sea, including those accused of "unnatural crimes", political figures and intellectuals accused of...
prison.
John Christopherson
John Christopherson
John Christopherson was Chaplain and confessor to Queen Mary I of England, Master of Trinity College, Cambridge , Dean of Norwich and Bishop of Chichester - all during the reign of Queen Mary ....
who was to be the next Bishop of Chichester conducted a second examination on 27 April 1557, but Woodman could not be tried as Christopherson had not been appointed. John White
John White (bishop)
John White was an English bishop, a Catholic who was promoted in the reign of Mary Tudor.-Life:He was born in Farnham, Hampshire and educated at Winchester College and New College, Oxford, where he graduated B.A. in 1529, M.A. in 1534, and D.D. in 1555.He was Warden of Winchester College from...
, the Bishop of Winchester
Bishop of Winchester
The Bishop of Winchester is the head of the Church of England diocese of Winchester, with his cathedra at Winchester Cathedral in Hampshire.The bishop is one of five Church of England bishops to be among the Lords Spiritual regardless of their length of service. His diocese is one of the oldest and...
then examined Woodman in St George's Church in Southwark
St George's Cathedral, Southwark
St George's Cathedral, Southwark, is a Roman Catholic cathedral in the Archdiocese of Southwark, south London.The Cathedral is the Mother Church of the Roman Catholic Province of Southwark which covers the Archdiocese of Southwark and the Dioceses of Arundel and Brighton, Portsmouth, and Plymouth...
, but he had no jurisdiction over Woodman. Over the next few weeks, Woodman was examined again by White, Christopherson and William Roper and in combination they managed to get Woodman to admit a heresy and he was excommunicated.
Woodman was taken to Lewes and burnt in front of the Star Inn (now the Town Hall), together with nine others on 22 June 1557. The nine were George Stevens, Alexander Hosman, William Mainard, Thomasina Wood, Margery Morris, James Morris, Denis Burges, Ann Ashdon and Mary Groves. This was the largest number of people burnt in England at one time and was intended to serve as a warning to others.
Legacy
Today Richard Woodman's martyrdom is remembered with the memorial pictured in his local churchyard, and he with others are celebrated in the Bonfire Night celebrations which are peculiar to Sussex. Woodman's martyrdom has been represented many times, including an etching by James Henry HurdisJames Henry Hurdis
James Henry Hurdis was an amateur artist and the elder son of James Hurdis, a renowned professor of poetry. He is known for his many portraits of notable Sussex people...
.
M. A. Lower
Mark Antony Lower
Mark Antony Lower F.S.A. M.A. was a Sussex historian who founded the Sussex Archaeological Society and is credited with starting the "cult of the Sussex Martyrs", however he was against the excesses of the "Bonfire Boys".-Life:...
published the Sussex Martyrs in the mid-nineteenth century, a book credited with reviving memories of the martyrs. At the time the martyr deaths had been largely forgotten, and Lower believed that High Churchmen were referring to the Protestant Reformation
Protestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...
and the deaths of these people as "a mistake". Following the publications "anti-popish" demonstrations took place each year around 5 November. In 1868 a figure dressed as the "Bishop of Lewes" warned Protestants of the Roman Catholic threat and the following year an effigy of the pope was to be blown up with gunpowder.