John Adams (martyr)
Encyclopedia
John Adams was a Catholic priest and martyr.
He was born at Winterborne St Martin in Dorset
at an unknown date (c. 1543?) and became a Protestant minister. He later entered the Catholic Church and travelled to the English College then at Rheims
, arriving on December 7, 1579. He was ordained a priest at Soissons
on December 17, 1580. He set out for the mission in England on March 29, 1581. He is known to have worked in Hampshire but details of his later, as of his earlier life are patchy. It may be that he was taken prisoner at Rye
only a short time after landing in England and that he escaped. In 1583 he was described as a man of "about forty years of age, of average height, with a dark beard, a sprightly look and black eyes. He was a very good controversialist, straightforward, very pious, and pre-eminently a man of hard work. He laboured very strenuously at Winchester and in Hampshire, where he helped many, especially of the poorer classes."
Captured at Winchester
, he was brought to London and arrived at the Marshalsea
prison on March 7, 1584. His sentence this time was banishment and he was expelled with some seventy-two other priests. He arrived at Rheims on November 14, 1585 but then set out again and was again captured, being taken to the Clink in London on December 19 the same year. This time, as was to be expected, he was not treated so lightly, especially since that year the Act had been passed making it a capital offence to be a Catholic priest in England. The sentence of hanging, drawing and quartering was completed at Tyburn, London
on October 8, 1586. His fate was shared by two fellow priests, John Lowe and Robert Dibdale
, and maybe his own brother, a layman. This latter fact is not certain and the forename is not in any case known. All three priests were declared Blessed (the last stage prior to sainthood) by Pope John Paul II on November 22, 1987.
He was born at Winterborne St Martin in Dorset
Dorset
Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...
at an unknown date (c. 1543?) and became a Protestant minister. He later entered the Catholic Church and travelled to the English College then at Rheims
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....
, arriving on December 7, 1579. He was ordained a priest at Soissons
Soissons
Soissons is a commune in the Aisne department in Picardy in northern France, located on the Aisne River, about northeast of Paris. It is one of the most ancient towns of France, and is probably the ancient capital of the Suessiones...
on December 17, 1580. He set out for the mission in England on March 29, 1581. He is known to have worked in Hampshire but details of his later, as of his earlier life are patchy. It may be that he was taken prisoner at Rye
Rye, East Sussex
Rye is a small town in East Sussex, England, which stands approximately two miles from the open sea and is at the confluence of three rivers: the Rother, the Tillingham and the Brede...
only a short time after landing in England and that he escaped. In 1583 he was described as a man of "about forty years of age, of average height, with a dark beard, a sprightly look and black eyes. He was a very good controversialist, straightforward, very pious, and pre-eminently a man of hard work. He laboured very strenuously at Winchester and in Hampshire, where he helped many, especially of the poorer classes."
Captured at Winchester
Winchester
Winchester is a historic cathedral city and former capital city of England. It is the county town of Hampshire, in South East England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government district, and is located at the western end of the South Downs, along the course of...
, he was brought to London and arrived at 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 on March 7, 1584. His sentence this time was banishment and he was expelled with some seventy-two other priests. He arrived at Rheims on November 14, 1585 but then set out again and was again captured, being taken to the Clink in London on December 19 the same year. This time, as was to be expected, he was not treated so lightly, especially since that year the Act had been passed making it a capital offence to be a Catholic priest in England. The sentence of hanging, drawing and quartering was completed at Tyburn, London
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...
on October 8, 1586. His fate was shared by two fellow priests, John Lowe and Robert Dibdale
Robert Dibdale
Robert Dibdale, or Debdale, was a Catholic priest and martyr.He was born the son of John Dibdale of Shottery, in the parish of Stratford-upon-Avon and the birthplace of William Shakespeare's wife Anne Hathaway at a date unknown. He had a brother Richard and sisters Joan and Agnes. It would seem...
, and maybe his own brother, a layman. This latter fact is not certain and the forename is not in any case known. All three priests were declared Blessed (the last stage prior to sainthood) by Pope John Paul II on November 22, 1987.
Sources
- The most reliable compact source is Godfrey Anstruther, Seminary Priests, St Edmund's College, Ware, vol. 1, 1968, pp. 1–2., with corrections and adaptations.