List of Protestant martyrs of the English Reformation

Plaque in Maidstone, Kent, commemorating those burnt nearby

Protestants were executed in England under heresy laws during the reigns of Henry VIII (1509–1547) and Mary I (1553–1558), and in smaller numbers during the reigns of Edward VI (1547–1553), Elizabeth I (1558–1603), and James I (1603–1625). Protestant theologian and activist John Foxe described "the great persecutions & horrible troubles, the suffering of martyrs, and other such thinges" in his contemporaneously-published Book of Martyrs.

Protestants in England and Wales were executed under legislation that punished anyone judged guilty of heresy against Catholicism. Although the standard penalty for those convicted of treason in England at the time was execution by being hanged, drawn and quartered, this legislation adopted the punishment of burning the condemned. At least 280 people were recognised as burned over the five years of Mary I's reign by contemporary sources.


© MMXXIII Rich X Search. We shall prevail. All rights reserved. Rich X Search