George Marsh (martyr)
George Marsh was a Protestant Martyr who was born in the parish of Deane, near Bolton in 1515. He died in Boughton, Chester on 24 April 1555 as a result of the Marian Persecutions which were carried out against religious reformers, Protestants, and other dissenters for their beliefs during the reign of Mary I of England. His death is recorded in Foxe's Book of Martyrs.
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[edit] Life
George Marsh was born and lived most of his life in the parish of Deane, near Bolton. He was a farmer and married at the age of twenty-five. After his wife's death he left his children in the care of his parents and entered Cambridge University where he associated with advocates of the reformed faith, particularly Lawrence Saunders. He became curate to Saunders at All Hallows Church in London.[1][2] He was said to be a tall man with a clever way with words and a popular preacher. He was for a time employed by the king, but fell out of favour during the reign of Queen Mary I. After Saunders was arrested George Marsh came north and continued preaching the Protestant faith in the parishes of Deane, Eccles and elsewhere in Lancashire.[3] Justice Barton of Smithills Hall, Bolton sent servants to arrest him at his mother's house but he gave himself up at Smithills Hall. After being "examined" at Smithills, according to local tradition, George Marsh stamped his foot so hard to re-affirm his faith, that a footprint was left in the stone floor.
He refused to convert to Catholicism; he was even given one last chance to convert while being tied to the stake at which he would be burned.[4]
[edit] Death
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George Marsh was executed on a windy day in April 1555 on the north side of the road in Boughton, about a mile from Chester City Centre. He was sentenced to be burned to death at the stake at the traditional execution ground at the time in Boughton, Chester. After his death his ashes were collected by his friends and buried in the nearby cemetery of Saint Giles.
There is no grave marker in the Cemetery erected for him just a brief footnote on an inscription:
- "St Giles Cemetery. Here stood the leper hospital and chapel of St Giles. Founded early in the 12th century and endowed by successive Norman earls of Chester they remained in constant use until 1643. When defensive measures during the siege of Chester necessitated the demolition of buildings outside the city walls. The cemetery remained to mark the site and in time the little village of Spital Boughton clustered around it. In 1644 the royalist defenders suffered great loss of life in a gallant sortie in Boughton and many of the fallen were buried here. It was also used for victims of the plagues which ravaged the city in the 16th and 17th centuries. Being extra parochial the site was granted to the corporation by Charles II in 1685. As a burial ground and through for a period in the charge of St Johns parish. It remains in their hands. When Protestant martyr George Marsh was burned at the stake on gallows hill close by his ashes were collected by his friends and buried here. The last burial took place in 1854"
[edit] Memorials
There are two memorials to George Marsh in Chester. One is in St John the Baptist's Church and the other is by the road side in Boughton which contains the following inscription:
"George Marsh born Dean Co. Lancaster. To the memory of George Marsh martyr who was burned to death near this spot for the truth sake April 24th 1555. Also John Plessington 19th July 1679. Canonised saint 25th October 1970."
There are two memorials to George Marsh at St Mary's Church, Deane. The base of a memorial cross in the churchyard is said to have been the base of an ancient Saxon cross from which early Christian preachers taught. It originally stood half a mile to the west of the church on Broadgate Road. Inscriptions on the base record his martyrdom and the erection of the memorial in 1893.[5] A window was also dedicated to him in 1897. It depicts Faith, Charity and Hope.[1]
[edit] Present day
The execution of George Marsh is still remembered by Protestants in Chester. They recently held a commemoration for him outside the Town Hall.
[edit] References
- ^ a b George Marsh, deaneparish.co.uk, http://www.deaneparish.co.uk/history/history315.asp, retrieved 2010-01-07
- ^ Sanders, protestantoldpaths.org, http://www.protestantoldpaths.org/2009/06/coventry-martyrs-memorial.html, retrieved 2010-01-13
- ^ George Marsh of Chester, tyndale.org, http://www.tyndale.org/TSJ/5/cooper5b.html/, retrieved 2010-01-13
- ^ George Marsh, martyr, hrionline.ac.uk, http://www.hrionline.ac.uk/johnfoxe/main/11_1563_1122.jsp, retrieved 2010-01-07
- ^ George Marsh Memorial, Images of England, http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/Details/Default.aspx?id=476085, retrieved 2010-01-30
