Robert Lawrence (martyr)
Encyclopedia
St. Robert Lawrence was one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales
. After joining the Carthusians, he served as prior of the Beauvale Charterhouse
, Nottinghamshire
, at the time when King Henry VIII of England
broke with Rome and launched the Dissolution of the Monasteries
. Robert went with St. John Houghton
to see Thomas Cromwell, who had them arrested and placed in the Tower of London
. When they refused to sign the Oath of Supremacy
, they were hung, drawn and quartered at Tyburn
, making them among the first Carthusian martyrs in England.
Beatified in 1886, Robert was canonized by Pope Paul VI
with the other martyrs in 1970.
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...
. After joining the Carthusians, he served as prior of the Beauvale Charterhouse
Beauvale Charterhouse
Beauvale Charterhouse was a Carthusian monastery in Beauvale, Nottinghamshire. It is a scheduled ancient monument.-History:...
, Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire is a county in the East Midlands of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west...
, at the time when King 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...
broke with Rome and launched the Dissolution of the Monasteries
Dissolution of the Monasteries
The Dissolution of the Monasteries, sometimes referred to as the Suppression of the Monasteries, was the set of administrative and legal processes between 1536 and 1541 by which Henry VIII disbanded monasteries, priories, convents and friaries in England, Wales and Ireland; appropriated their...
. Robert went with St. John Houghton
Saint John Houghton
Saint John Houghton, O.Cart., was a Carthusian hermit and Catholic priest and the first English Catholic martyr to die as a result of the Act of Supremacy by King Henry VIII of England...
to see Thomas Cromwell, who had them arrested and placed in the Tower of London
Tower of London
Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, separated from the eastern edge of the City of London by the open space...
. When they refused to sign the Oath of Supremacy
Oath of Supremacy
The Oath of Supremacy, originally imposed by King Henry VIII of England through the Act of Supremacy 1534, but repealed by his daughter, Queen Mary I of England and reinstated under Mary's sister, Queen Elizabeth I of England under the Act of Supremacy 1559, provided for any person taking public or...
, they were hung, drawn and quartered at Tyburn
Tyburn, London
Tyburn was a village in the county of Middlesex close to the current location of Marble Arch in present-day London. It took its name from the Tyburn or Teo Bourne 'boundary stream', a tributary of the River Thames which is now completely covered over between its source and its outfall into the...
, making them among the first Carthusian martyrs in England.
Beatified in 1886, Robert was canonized 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...
with the other martyrs in 1970.