Edward Rishton
Encyclopedia
Edward Rishton was an English Roman Catholic priest.
from 1568 to 1572, when he proceeded B.A. probably from Brasenose College. During the next year he was converted to Catholicism, and went to Douai College to study for the priesthood.
He was the first Englishman to matriculate at Douai, and is said to have taken his M.A. degree there. While a student he drew up and published a chart of ecclesiastical history, and was one of the two sent to Reims
in November, 1576, to see if the college could be removed there. After his ordination at Cambrai
(6 April 1576) he was sent to Rome.
In 1580 he returned to England, visiting Reims on the way, but was soon arrested. He was tried and condemned to death with Edmund Campion
and others on 20 November 1581, but was not executed, being left in prison, first in the King's Bench prison
, then in the Tower of London
. On 21 January he was exiled with several others, being sent under escort as far as Abbeville
, whence he made his way to Reims, arriving on 3 March.
With the intention of taking his doctorate in divinity he proceeded to the University of Pont-à-Mousson in Lorraine, but the plague broke out, and though he went to Saint-Ménehould to escape the infection, he died of it and was buried there.
's imperfect Origin and Growth of the Anglican Schism. After his death this book was published by Father Persons, and subsequent editions included two tracts attributed to Rishton, the one a diary of an anonymous priest in the Tower (1580-5), which was probably the work of Father John Hart, S.J.; the other a list of martyrs with later additions by Persons.
Publication of the "Tower Bills" makes it certain that Rishton did not write the diary, and his only other known works are a tract on the difference between Catholicism and Protestantism (Douai, 1575) and Profession of his faith made manifest and confirmed by twenty-one reasons.
Life
He was probably a younger son of John Rishton of Dunkenhalgh and Dorothy Southworth. He studied at the University of OxfordUniversity of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
from 1568 to 1572, when he proceeded B.A. probably from Brasenose College. During the next year he was converted to Catholicism, and went to Douai College to study for the priesthood.
He was the first Englishman to matriculate at Douai, and is said to have taken his M.A. degree there. While a student he drew up and published a chart of ecclesiastical history, and was one of the two sent to Reims
Reims
Reims , a city in the Champagne-Ardenne region of France, lies east-northeast of Paris. Founded by the Gauls, it became a major city during the period of the Roman Empire....
in November, 1576, to see if the college could be removed there. After his ordination at Cambrai
Cambrai
Cambrai is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department.Cambrai is the seat of an archdiocese whose jurisdiction was immense during the Middle Ages. The territory of the Bishopric of Cambrai, roughly coinciding with the shire of Brabant, included...
(6 April 1576) he was sent to Rome.
In 1580 he returned to England, visiting Reims on the way, but was soon arrested. He was tried and condemned to death with Edmund Campion
Edmund Campion
Saint Edmund Campion, S.J. was an English Roman Catholic martyr and Jesuit priest. While conducting an underground ministry in officially Protestant England, Campion was arrested by priest hunters. Convicted of high treason by a kangaroo court, he was hanged, drawn and quartered at Tyburn...
and others on 20 November 1581, but was not executed, being left in prison, first in the King's Bench prison
King's Bench Prison
The King's Bench Prison was a prison in Southwark, south London, from medieval times until it closed in 1880. It took its name from the King's Bench court of law in which cases of defamation, bankruptcy and other misdemeanours were heard; as such, the prison was often used as a debtor's prison...
, then 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...
. On 21 January he was exiled with several others, being sent under escort as far as Abbeville
Abbeville
Abbeville is a commune in the Somme department in Picardie in northern France.-Location:Abbeville is located on the Somme River, from its modern mouth in the English Channel, and northwest of Amiens...
, whence he made his way to Reims, arriving on 3 March.
With the intention of taking his doctorate in divinity he proceeded to the University of Pont-à-Mousson in Lorraine, but the plague broke out, and though he went to Saint-Ménehould to escape the infection, he died of it and was buried there.
Works
At the suggestion of Robert Persons, he completed Nicholas SandersNicholas Sanders
Nicholas Sanders was an English Roman Catholic priest and polemicist.-Early life:Sanders was born at Chariwood , Surrey, the son of William Sanders, once sheriff of Surrey, who was descended from the Sanders of Sanderstead...
's imperfect Origin and Growth of the Anglican Schism. After his death this book was published by Father Persons, and subsequent editions included two tracts attributed to Rishton, the one a diary of an anonymous priest in the Tower (1580-5), which was probably the work of Father John Hart, S.J.; the other a list of martyrs with later additions by Persons.
Publication of the "Tower Bills" makes it certain that Rishton did not write the diary, and his only other known works are a tract on the difference between Catholicism and Protestantism (Douai, 1575) and Profession of his faith made manifest and confirmed by twenty-one reasons.