Acts and Monuments Volume 2 Part 2, Book 12 · Letter 1
*A Letter sent to Boner Byshop of London, from Syr Thomas Tye Priest.
Tye… letter … Bi…hop Boner.RIght honourable Lord, after my bounden duety done in most humble wise, these shall be to signify vntounto your Lordship the state of our parties concerning religion. And first since the comming downe, of the 24. rancke hereticks dismissed from you, the detestable sort of Schismaticks were neuer so bold since the king and Queenes Maiesties reignes as they are nowe at this present. In Muc…bently where your Lordship is Patrone of the Churche, since Williā Mount, & Alice his wife, with Rose Allin her daughter came home, they doe not onelyonly absent themselues from the church, and seruice of God but do dayly allure many other away from the same, which before did outwardly shew signes & tokens of obedience.
They assemble together vponupon the Sabbaoth day in the time of diuine seruice, sometimes in one house, sometime in an other, and there ke…pe theyr priuy conuenticles and scholes of heresy. The Iurates sayth, the Lordes Commission is out, & they are discharged of theyr othe. The Quest men in your Archdeacons visitation alleadged that forasmuch as they were once presented & now sent home they hauehave no more to do with them nor none other Your Officers sayth, namely Mayster Boswell, that the Coū sell sent them not home without a great consideration. I praye God some of your Officers proue not fauorers of hereticks. The rebels are stout in the Towne of Colchester.
The ministers of the Church are hemd at in the open streets, and called knaues. The blessed Sacrament of the aultar is blasphemed and rayled vponupon in eueryevery Alehouse and Tauerne. Prayer and fasting is not regarded. Seditious talkes and newes are rife, both in towne and countrey, in as ample and large manner, as though there had no honorable Lords and Commissioners bene sent for reformation thereof. The occasion riseth partly by reason of Iohn Lone of Colchester H…e…h (a peruerse place) which Iohn Lone was twise indicted of heresye, and thereupon fled with his wife and householde, and h…s goodes seased within the Towne of Colchester, to the King and Queenes Maiesties vse. Neuerthelesse the sayd Iohn is come home agayne, and nothing sayde or done to him. Whereupon the heretickes are wonderfully encouraged, to the no litle discomfort of good and Catholicke people, which dayly prayeth to God for the profite, vnity, and restauration of his Church agayne, whiche thing shall come the sooner to passe, through the trauell and paynes of su…h honourable Lordes and reuerend fathers, as your good Lordshippe is, vntounto whome I wish long life and continuaunce, with encrease of much honour.
From Colchester the xviij. of December. Your humble Bedes man Thomas Tye Priest.
When Iudasly this wicked Prieste had thus wrought his malice agaynst the people of god, within a while after, the stormes began to arise agaynste those poore persecuted William Mount and his company, wherby they were enforced to hide themselues from the heat thereof. And continuing so a litle space at last, the vij. day of March. an. 1557. being the first Sonday in Lent, and by 2. of the clock in the morning, one Maister Edmund Tyrrell (who came of the house of that Tyrrels which murdered king Edward the v. and his brother) tooke with him the Bailiffe of the hundred called William Simuell, dwelling in Colchester, and the two Cōstables of Muchbently aforesayd named Iohn Baker & William Harries with diuers other,W. Simuell, Iohn Baker, W. Harries persecutors. a great nū ber: & besetting the house of the said William Mount roūd about, called to them at length to open the doore, which being done M. Tyrrell with certein of his cōpany, went into the chamber where the sayd father Mount and his wife lay, willing them to rise:The taking of W. Munt, his wyfe, and Rose Allin their daughter. for (sayd he) ye must goe wyth vsus to Colchester Castle. Mother Mount hearing that, beyng very sicke, desired that her daughter might first fetche her some drinke: for she was (she sayd) very ill at ease.
Then he gaue her leaue & bad her go. So her daughter the forenamed Rose Allin, mayde, tooke a stone pot in one hand, & a candle in the other, & went to draw drink for her mother: & as she came back again through the house, Tyrrel met her, & willed to geue her father & mother good coū sell, and to aduertise them to be better Catholicke people.
Rose.
Syr, they hauehave a better instructour then I. For the holy Ghost doth teach them I hope, which I trust wil not suffer them to erre.
Tyrrell.
Why, sayd Mayster Tyrrell, art thou still in that minde, thou noughty houswife? Mary it is time to look vponupon such heretickes in deed.
Rose.
Syr, with that which you call heresy,Talke betweene Edmund Tyrrell and Rose Allin. do I worshyp my Lord God. I tell you troth.
Tyrrell.
Then I perceiue you will burne, gossip, with the rest, for companies sake.
Rose.
No syr, not for companies sake, but for my Christes sake, if so I be compelled, and I hope in his mercies, if he call me to it, he will enable me to beare it.
Tyrrell.
So he turning to his companye, sayde: Syrs thys gossip wil burne: do ye not thinke it? Mary sir, quoth one, proue her, and you shall see what she will do by and by.
❧ The burning of Rose Allins hand, by Edmund Tyrrell, as she was going to fetch drinke for her Mother, lying sicke in her bedde.
Then that cruell Tyrrill taking the candell from her, held her wrest, and the burning candell vnderunder her hande, burning crosse wise ouer the backe thereof, so long till the very smowes crackt a sūder. Witnes hereof Williā Kandler then dwelling in Muchbently,Tyrrell burneth Rose Allins hand. which was there presēt and saw it. Also Mistres Bright of Romford, with Anne Starky her mayd, to whom Rose Allin both declared the same, and the sayd Mistres Bright also ministred salue for the curing therof, as she lay in her house at Romforde going vp towardes London with other prisoners.
In which time of his tyranny, he sayd oftē to her: why whore wilt thou not cry? Thou young whoore, wilt thou not cry? &c. Unto which alwayes she aunswered, that she had no cause, she thanked God, but rather to reioyce. Hee had, she sayd more cause to weepe then she, if he considered the matter well. In the ende, when the sinnowes (as I sayd) brake that all the house heard them, he then thrust her from him violētly, and sayd: ha strong whore, thou shamelesse beast, thou beastly whore. &c. with such like vile wordes. But she quietly suffering his rage for the time, at the last,The patience of the faythfull. said: Syr, hauehave ye done what ye will doe? And he sayd, yea, and if thou thinke it be not well, then mend it.
Rose.
Mend it? nay, the Lord mend you, and geue you repentance, if it be his will. And now if ye thinke it good begin at the feet,The deuill payeth the persecutors their wages. and burne the head also. For he that set you a worke, shall pay you your wages one daye I warrant you: and so she went and caryed her mother drinke as shee was commaūded. Furthermore, after the searching of the house for more company, at the last they found one Iohn Thurston and Margaret his wife there also, whome they caried with the rest to Colchester Castle immediatly.
And this sayd Rose Allin being prisoner, tolde a frend of hers this cruell act of the sayd Tirrell, and shewing him the maner therof▪ she sayd: while my one hand (quoth she) was a burning, I hauing a pot in my other hand, might hauehave laid him on ye face with it,Shee reuengeth not euill for euill. if I had would? for no mā held my hand to let me therin. But I thanke God (quoth she) with all my hart, I did it not.
Also being asked of another howe she could abyde the paynefull burning of her hand, she said, at first it was some griefe to her, but afterward, the longer she burned the lesse she felt, or well neare none at all.
And because Mayster Tyrrell shall not goe alone in this kinde of cruelty, you shall heare another like example of a blynde Harpers hand burnt by Bishop Boner, as is testified by the relation of Ualentine Dyngley sometime gentleman to the sayd Bishop: who declared before credible witnes, as followeth: how the sayd Bishop Boner hauing this blind Harper before him, spake thus vntounto him: that such blinde abiectes whiche folow a sorte of hereticall Preachers, when they come to the feeling of the fire, wyll be the first that will flye from it.
To whō the blind man sayd: that if eueryevery ioynt of hym were burnt, yet he trusted in the Lord not to flye. Then Boner signifying priuily to certeine of his men about him what the should do, they brought to him a burning coale. Which coale being put into the poore mans hand, they closed it fast again, and so was his hand piteously burned. Amongest the doers wherof was the said maister Ualentine Dyngley witnes and reporter hereof, as is afore declared.
We read in the story of Titus Liuius of king Porsēna: who after the burning of the righte hande of M. Scaeuola, which came purposely to kill him, beyng onelyonly contented therewith, sent him home to Rome agayne. But thus to burne the handes of poore men and women whiche neuer meant any harme vntounto them, and yet not contented with that, but also to consume theyr whole bodyes without any iust cause, we find no example of such barbarous tyranny, neither in Titus Liuius, neither in any other story amongest the heathen.
But to returne to our Colchester Martirs againe, as touching William Munt & his Wyfe, and burning of their daughter Rose Allins hand, sufficient hath bene declared. With the sayd William Munt and his family, was ioyned also in the same prison at Colchester, another faithfull brother named Iohn Iohnson, alias Aliker, of Thorpe, in the County of Essex labourer, of the age of xxxiiij. yeares, hauing no wife aliue, but three yong children, who also was with them indicted of heresy, and so all these foure laye together in Colchester Castle.
The other sixe prisoners lay in Mote Hall in the sayde towne of Colchester, whose names were:
First, William Bongeor, of the parish of S. Nicholas in Colchester, Glasier, of the age of lx. yeares.
2. Tho. Benold of Colchester, Talow Chaundler.
3. W. Purcas of Bocking in the County of Essex, Fuller, a yong man, of the age of xx. yeares.
4. Agnes Syluerside, alias Smith, dwelling in Colchester, widow of the age of lx. yeares.
5. Helene Ewring, the wi…e of Iohn Ewring, Myller,Helene Ewring apprehend… the second tyme. dwelling in Colchester, of the age of fiue and forty yeares or thereaboutes, who was one of the two and twenty prisoners mentioned before. pag. 1863. sent vp in bandes frō Colchester to London, and after being deliuered with the rest, repayred home to Colchester agayne to her husbande, where notwithstanding she enioyed her liberty not verye long: for shortly after her returne, met with her one Rob. Maynard then Bayliffe of Colchester,Robert Maynard a great enemy to the Gospell. a speciall enemy to Gods Gospell, who spying her, came to her, & kissed her, & bade her welcome home from London. Unto whome she considerately aunswered agayne, and sayd, that it was but a Iudas kisse. For in the end (quoth she) I know you will betray me: As in deed it came to passe, for immediately after that talke she was apprehended by him againe, & there lodged with the rest in the towne prison (as is aforesayde) called the Mote hall.
6. The sixt of this company was Elizabeth Folkes, a yong mayd, and seruaunt in Colchester, of the age of twē ty yeares.
These sixe were imprisoned in the town prison of Colchester, called Mote Hall, as the other soure aboue specified, were in the Castle.
Diuers examinations these good men had at sundrye times before diuers Iustices, Priestes, and Officers, as M. Roper, Iohn Kingstone Commissary, Iohn Boswell Priest and Boners Scribe, and others moe, whereof the sayd Boswell made relation to Bishop Boner, certifying him of their depositions, as is to be read in our first book of Actes and Monumentes. pag. 1607. Last of all they were examined again in Mote hall the xxiij. day of Iune, by doctour Chadsey, Iohn Kingstone Commissary, with other Priestes, & Boswell the Scribe, in the presence of the two Bailiffes of Colchester, Robert Browne & Robert Maynard, with diuers other Iustices both of the town & country, and other Gentlemen a great sort: at which tyme and place, and before the said persons, they had sentence of condemnation read agaynst thē, chiefely for not affirming the reall presence of the Sacrament in theyr Aultar. The effect of theyr wordes therein, was this, or such like, as here foloweth.