Martyrs' Memorial, Oxford
Martyrs' Memorial and Randolph Hotel at Magdalen and Beaumont Sts.
The Martyrs' Memorial, a Neo-Gothic creation of George Gilbert Scott.
The Martyrs' Memorial, with Balliol College in the background.
Statue of Thomas Cranmer and dedicatory inscription.
This cross in Broad Street marks the site of the bishops' execution.
Inscription next to the execution site in Broad Street.
Location map and aerial view of Martyrs' Memorial. For a larger interactive view, see our Oxford Map.
The Martyrs' Memorial is an imposing stone monument standing at the intersection of the southern end of St Giles Street in Oxford. It commemorates three Anglican bishops who were burned at the stake under Queen Mary in the 1550s: Thomas Cranmer, Nicholas Ridley, and Hugh Latimer.
History
Designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott, the Martyrs' Memorial was constructed in 1840-42, replacing "a picturesque but tottering old house" that occupied the site.
The memorial commemorates the "Oxford Martyrs," Anglican bishops Hugh Latimer and Nicholas Ridley and the Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Cranmer, who were executed in Oxford on the orders of Queen Mary Tudor.
The bishops were tried for heresy at the University Church of St Mary the Virgin and imprisoned at the Bocado Prison near St Michael at the North Gate Church, before being burned at the stake just outside the city walls in Broad Street.
The context of the martyrdom is the religious and political upheaval that followed King Henry VIII's break with the Roman Catholic Church in 1534. It was Archbishop Cranmer who annuled Henry's marriage to Catherine of Aragon and married him to Anne Boleyn instead. Protestant ideas gained a foothold in Britain during Henry's reign and the three bishops were among many who converted to Protestantism and taught according to its principles.
But then came the reign of Queen Mary Tudor (1553-1558), who would become known to history as Bloody Mary for the many executions she ordered. Mary was a Roman Catholic and, moreover, it was her mother who had been cast aside by Henry VIII. The annuled marriage of her parents made Mary an illegitimate child, so she had extra reason to remain staunchly Catholic and attempt to undo her father's reforms.
After being tried convicted of heresy in Oxford, the bishops Latimer and Ridley were executed on October 16, 1555. According to legend, Latimer said to his friend Ridley as the flames began to burn: "Be of good comfort, Master Ridley, and play the man; we shall this day light such a candle, by God's grace, in England, as I trust shall never be put out."
Thomas Cranmer recanted his Protestant teachings publicly and in writing, but Mary was not convinced of his sincerity and sentenced him to death anyway. Before his execution, Cranmer recanted his recantation from the pulpit of St. Mary's University Church and declared himself a Protestant. When he was burned at the stake, on March 21, 1556, he thrust his right hand in the flames first until it burned away, proclaiming: "I have sinned, in that I signed with my hand what I did not believe with my heart."
The inscription on the base of the Martyrs' Memorial reads as follows:
To the Glory of God, and in grateful commemoration of His servants, Thomas Cranmer, Nicholas Ridley, Hugh Latimer, Prelates of the Church of England, who near this spot yielded their bodies to be burned, bearing witness to the sacred truths which they had affirmed and maintained against the errors of the Church of Rome, and rejoicing that to them it was given not only to believe in Christ, but also to suffer for His sake; this monument was erected by public subscription in the year of our Lord God, MDCCCXLI.
This inscription goes a long way to explaining the reasons behind the Memorial's erection, some 300 years after the event it commemorates: the monument reveals more about the religious controversies of the 1840s than those of the 1550s.
Much of the Anglican Church was profoundly alarmed in the 1840s at the burgeoning Newmanite or Tractarian movement also known as the Oxford Movement, which sought to prove that the key doctrines of the Church of England were Roman Catholic. Low Church opponents, led by the Reverend Golightly, raised funds for setting up the Martyrs' Memorial to remind the inhabitants of Oxford (and the nation at large) that the Church of England's founding fathers had been martyred by the Roman Catholic Church.
What to See
The architect, a young George Gilbert Scott, was chosen by competition. He based his design on the 13th-century Eleanor Cross at Waltham in Essex, a prominent example of the Decorated Gothic style. It took two years to construct and was completed in 1842. The spiky and pinnacled Decorated Gothic memorial has been likened to the spire of a sunken cathedral.
Cuthbert Bede (in his novel The Adventures of Mr Verdant Green) wrote about the setting of the Martyrs' Memorial in 1853:
He who enters the city, as Mr Green did, from the Woodstock Road, and rolls down the shady avenue of St Giles', between St John's College and the Taylor Buildings, and past the graceful Martyrs' Memorial, will receive impressions such as probably no other city in the world could convey.
The actual site of the execution is about 20 meters away in Broad Street and is marked by a cross of bricks set in the road.
Quick Facts
| Site Information | |
| Names: | Martyrs' Memorial |
| Location: | Oxford, Oxfordshire, England |
| Faith: | Christianity |
| Denomination: | Anglican |
| Categories: | Monuments; Historical Sites |
| Architecture: | Neo-Gothic |
| Date: | 1840-42 |
| Architect: | Sir George Gilbert Scott |
| Features: | Reformation History |
| Status: | monument |
| Visitor Information | |
| Address: | St Giles Street, Oxford, England |
| Coordinates: | 51.755196° N, 1.259083° W (view on Google Maps) |
| Lodging: | View hotels near this location |
Travel Resources
- Oxford Map - our detailed interactive map of Oxford, plus hand-picked links to more
- Oxford Hotels - check availability, maps, photos and reviews, and book at the guaranteed lowest price
- Oxford Guided Tours - sightseeing tours and activities in Oxford
- Oxford Car Rentals - get the lowest rate by comparing multiple car companies at a glance
- Oxford Transportation - directions by train, car and bus, plus location map and links
Article Sources
- Personal visits (2005-07).
- Geoffrey Tyack, Oxford: An Architectural Guide (Oxford University Press, 1998), 210.
- Thomas Cranmer - BBC History
- Eyewitness account of Cranmer's execution - English History Primary Sources
- Hugh Latimer - Diocese of Ely
- Nicholas Ridley - Wikipedia
Last updated on July 26, 2010.
