Page:Notes and Queries - Series 11 - Volume 11.djvu/156

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NOTES AND QUERIES. [ii s. XL FEB. 20, 1915.

foot are the borough arms. The inscription

is as follows :

In memory of

those blessed Martyrs for Christ who during the reign of Queen Mary were burned alive in this town of Colchester for their firm adherence to the Protestant Faith.

John Lawrence

a Priest and sometime a Black Friar having been degraded and condemned by Edmund

Bonner, Bishop of London,

was burned March 29 th 1555 :

Nicholas Chamberlaine

suffered June 14 th 1555 :

Christopher Lyster, John Mace, John Spencer,

Simon Joyne, Rich d Nichols, and John Hamond,

were burned alive for the testimony of the Gospel,

April 28* 1556 :

W m Bongeor, W m Purchas, Tho s Benold,

Agnes Silverside, Helen Ewring, and Eliz th Folkes,

were burned outside the Town-Wall

August 2 J 1557 : and W m Munt, John Johnson, Alice Munt, and

Rose Allen on the same day suffered in like manner in the

Castle Bailey :

Margaret Thurston and Agnes Bongeor were burned alive,

Sept. 17 th 1557 :

W m Harries, Richard Day, and Christiana George, suffered martyrdom by fire,

May 26 th 1558, for the defence and testimony of Christ's Gospel.

Also

John Thurston and others who died in Colchester Castle and other prisons in

this Town, being

" Constant Confessors of Jesus Christ."  They loved not their lives unto the death. Rev. vi. 9-11. Rev. iii. 11.

KENTISH MARTYRS.

Canterbury. This memorial is placed upon a rock base, and consists of a pedestal and obelisk rising to a height, of 13 ft., sur- mounted by a reproduction of the ancient Canterbury Cross. It was unveiled by Lord George Hamilton on 10 June, 1899. On the pedestal are recorded the names of the martyrs and the following inscriptions :

In Memory of Forty-one Kentish Martyrs

who were

burnt at the stake on this spot in the reign of Queen Mary

A.D. 1555-1558.

For themselves they earned the Martyr's Crown ; by their heroic fidelity they helped to secure for succeeding generations the priceless blessing

of religious freedom.

of His saints."
 * ' Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death

This site was secured

and this monument \vas erected

by public subscription

A.D. 1899. ' Lost we forget."

THOMAS CATJSTON, &c. Bayleigh, Essex. On 23 Sept., 1908, Mr. Rowland Whitehead, M.P. for South - East Essex, unveiled an obelisk erected by public subscription near the traditional spot where two men were burnt in 1555. It cost 100Z. In the front of the pedestal is inserted a drinking fountain. The inscrip- tions are as follows :

[Front] Near this spot

suffered for the truth

Thomas Causton, 26 Mar: 1555,

John Ardeley, 10 June 1555,

who in reply to Bp. Bonner

said " If every hair of my head

were a man I would suffer death

in the opinion and faith I now profess."

[Right side] Also to commemorate

Robert Drakes, Minister of Thundersley,

and [Back] William Tyms,

Curate of Hockley, who suffered at Smithfield 14 April 1556.

[Left side] Erected in

1908 by Protestants of Rayleigh

and District.

The noble army of Martyrs praise Thee. [Below inscription in front]

Thy Word is truth. See 10 S. xi. 65.

MARGERY POLICY.

Pembury, Kent. A memorial fountain which had been erected here was formally dedicated on 24 July, 1909. It is placed on the green opposite the Camden Hotel. It consists of a drinking-trough for horses and cattle, with a smaller one for dogs, and a drinking -fountain for travellers at one end. It was erected by voluntary subscriptions at a cost of nearly 501. Mrs. Betts and Mrs. H. Jennings were the originators of the scheme. The inscription is as follows : To the memory of Margery Polley of Pem- bury | who suffered martyrdom at Tonbridge A.D. 1555. | Erected by voluntary contributions.

JOHN T. PAGE.

Long Itchington, Warwickshire.

(To be continued.}

' THE DRAMATIST ; OR, MEMOIRS OF THE STAGE,' &c. Reference has been made in 'N. & Q.' (see 10 S. v. 377) to this small book by Ann Catherine Holbrook, nee Jackson" It has recently been my good fortune to pick up a copy which presents a graphic picture of Thespian customs of the