Thomas Thwing
Encyclopedia
Blessed Thomas Thwing was an English Catholic priest and martyr.
Born at Heworth Hall, near York, in 1635, he was the son of George Thwing, Esquire, of Kilton Castle, Brotton, and Heworth Hall, and was the nephew of the Catholic martyr Edward Thwing. His mother was Anne, sister of the Sir Thomas Gascoigne
, of Barnbow Hall, Barwick in Elmet, Yorkshire
. Thomas Thwing was educated at St Omer and at the English College, Douai
, ordained a priest and sent from there to minister on the English mission in 1665, which he did for some 14 years. Until April 1668, he was chaplain at Carlton Hall, Carlton-juxta-Snaith, the seat of his cousins the Stapletons. He next opened a school at Quo-usque, the Stapletons' dower-house. When in 1677 Mary Ward
's "Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary" began their foundation in the house given by his uncle Thomas Gascoigne at Dolebank, it was in some sense natural that Thwing become their chaplain, three of his sisters being of the community. It was there that he was arrested in the early part of 1679.
At the time of the Titus Oates
scare, two servants, who had been discharged from Sir Thomas Gascoigne's service for dishonesty, sought vengeance and reward by revealing a supposed plot by Gascoigne and others to murder the king. At first the allegation made no mention of Thwing. Nevertheless, Gascoigne, Thwing, and others were arrested on the night of July 7, 1679, at the Gascoigne's house, Barnbow Hall, and he remained for a year prisoner at York Castle
. He was arraigned at York on March 17 with Mary Fenwick, Lady Tempest and Sir Miles Stapleton
, but many jurors were challenged and this led to the trial being postponed to the summer assizes. He was brought to the bar on July 29 and Gascoigne's former servant Bolron testified against him. The prosecution played upon a list of Catholics which had been found the night of the arrest, in reality not conspirators but supporters of the new convent. Despite this Thwing was promptly found guilty on the very same evidence upon which his relatives had been acquitted, the sentence being pronounced separately from the felons and murderers found guilty at the same assizes, not out of consideration for his being a priest but because of his social status. Upon hearing it, he humbly bowed his head and said in Latin, "I am innocent."
Thomas Thwing was beatified by Pope Pius XI on December 15, 1929.
John William Willis-Bund
, A Selection of Cases from the State Trials, University Press, Cambridge, 1882, vol. II, pp. 1055 and 1117ff.
Born at Heworth Hall, near York, in 1635, he was the son of George Thwing, Esquire, of Kilton Castle, Brotton, and Heworth Hall, and was the nephew of the Catholic martyr Edward Thwing. His mother was Anne, sister of the Sir Thomas Gascoigne
Thomas Gascoigne
Thomas Gascoigne was born on 7 January 1786. He was the owner of the mines in the Aberford and Garforth area. He was the owner of Lotherton Hall Estate in Aberford....
, of Barnbow Hall, Barwick in Elmet, Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
. Thomas Thwing was educated at St Omer and at the English College, Douai
Douai
-Main sights:Douai's ornate Gothic style belfry was begun in 1380, on the site of an earlier tower. The 80 m high structure includes an impressive carillon, consisting of 62 bells spanning 5 octaves. The originals, some dating from 1391 were removed in 1917 during World War I by the occupying...
, ordained a priest and sent from there to minister on the English mission in 1665, which he did for some 14 years. Until April 1668, he was chaplain at Carlton Hall, Carlton-juxta-Snaith, the seat of his cousins the Stapletons. He next opened a school at Quo-usque, the Stapletons' dower-house. When in 1677 Mary Ward
Mary Ward (nun)
The Venerable Mary Ward, I.B.V.M., was an English Catholic Religious Sister who founded the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary, also known as the Loreto Sisters...
's "Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary" began their foundation in the house given by his uncle Thomas Gascoigne at Dolebank, it was in some sense natural that Thwing become their chaplain, three of his sisters being of the community. It was there that he was arrested in the early part of 1679.
At the time of the Titus Oates
Titus Oates
Titus Oates was an English perjurer who fabricated the "Popish Plot", a supposed Catholic conspiracy to kill King Charles II.-Early life:...
scare, two servants, who had been discharged from Sir Thomas Gascoigne's service for dishonesty, sought vengeance and reward by revealing a supposed plot by Gascoigne and others to murder the king. At first the allegation made no mention of Thwing. Nevertheless, Gascoigne, Thwing, and others were arrested on the night of July 7, 1679, at the Gascoigne's house, Barnbow Hall, and he remained for a year prisoner at York Castle
York Castle
York Castle in the city of York, England, is a fortified complex comprising, over the last nine centuries, a sequence of castles, prisons, law courts and other buildings on the south side of the River Foss. The now-ruinous keep of the medieval Norman castle is sometimes referred to as Clifford's...
. He was arraigned at York on March 17 with Mary Fenwick, Lady Tempest and Sir Miles Stapleton
Miles Stapleton
Sir Miles Stapleton, KG was Lord of the Manor of Ingham, Norfolk and de jure Baron Ingham of Ingham, Norfolk, and Lord of the Manor of Bedale, Yorkshire.-Family:...
, but many jurors were challenged and this led to the trial being postponed to the summer assizes. He was brought to the bar on July 29 and Gascoigne's former servant Bolron testified against him. The prosecution played upon a list of Catholics which had been found the night of the arrest, in reality not conspirators but supporters of the new convent. Despite this Thwing was promptly found guilty on the very same evidence upon which his relatives had been acquitted, the sentence being pronounced separately from the felons and murderers found guilty at the same assizes, not out of consideration for his being a priest but because of his social status. Upon hearing it, he humbly bowed his head and said in Latin, "I am innocent."
Thomas Thwing was beatified by Pope Pius XI on December 15, 1929.
Sources
Godfrey Anstruther, The Seminary Priests, Mayhew McCrimmon, Great Wakering, 1976, pp. 225–226.John William Willis-Bund
John William Willis-Bund
John William Bund Willis-Bund was an historian and local Worcestershire politician.Willis-Bund was born in 1843 at Wick Episcopi, Worcestershire, the son of John Walpole Willis and his second wife Ann Susanna Kent Bund. The adoption of his mother's surname was necessary in order to inherit from...
, A Selection of Cases from the State Trials, University Press, Cambridge, 1882, vol. II, pp. 1055 and 1117ff.