Acton, Ralph (supp. fl. after 1179), supposed preacher and compiler of sermons, is said to have composed various series on the Sunday gospels and epistles, and on the gospels and epistles for saints' days, which are listed by Bale, with incipits, from three manuscripts no longer extant. ...
Article
Acton, Ralph (supp. fl. after 1179), supposed preacher and compiler of sermons
Jeremy Catto
Article
Allies, Thomas William (1813–1903), theologian and Roman Catholic convert
W. B. Owen
revised by G. Martin Murphy
Allies, Thomas William (1813–1903), theologian and Roman Catholic convert, born at Midsomer Norton, Somerset, on 12 February 1813, was the son of Thomas Allies, curate of Henbury, Bristol, and later rector of Wormington, and his wife, Frances Elizabeth Fripp, daughter of a Bristol...
Article
Appulby, Simon [Symon the Anker of London Wall] (d. 1537), religious recluse and author
J. P. D. Cooper
Appulby, Simon [Symon the Anker of London Wall] (d. 1537), religious recluse and author, was the last anchorite to be attached to the church of All Hallows, London Wall. An ordained priest, Simon made his anchoritic profession at the nearby priory of the ...
Article
Archer, James (1751–1834), Roman Catholic preacher
Gerard Connolly
Archer, James (1751–1834), Roman Catholic preacher, was born in London on 6 November 1751 and baptized at the Catholic chapel, Spanish Place. He was the son of Peter Archer and his wife, Bridget, née Lahey. As a child he acted as pot-boy at ...
Article
Balthere [St Balthere, Baldred, Balther] (d. 756), hermit
D. H. Farmer
Balthere [St Balthere, Baldred, Balther] (d. 756), hermit, is often confused with an earlier saint of the same name. The later and better-known Balthere was described by his near contemporary Alcuin, in his poem on the bishops, kings, and saints of York. The so-called ...
Article
Baring, George (1781–1854), leader of the Western Schism and seceder from the Church of England
Grayson Carter
Baring, George (1781–1854), leader of the Western Schism and seceder from the Church of England, was born on 23 September 1781 in Mincing Lane, City of London, the fifth son of Sir Francis Baring (1740–1810), the founder of Baring Brothers merchant bank and a whig MP, and his wife, ...
Article
Barnard, John [known as John Augustine Bernard] (b. 1660/61, d. in or after 1713), Roman Catholic convert and author
A. J. Hegarty
Barnard, John [known as John Augustine Bernard] (b. 1660/61, d. in or after 1713), Roman Catholic convert and author, was the son of John Barnard (d. 1683), rector of Waddington, Lincolnshire, and his wife, Lettice, daughter of Peter Heylyn. Having matriculated from ...
Article
Barnewall, Robert, styled twelfth Baron Trimleston (c. 1704–1779), landowner and Roman Catholic activist
Gerard O'Brien
Barnewall, Robert, styled twelfth Baron Trimleston (c. 1704–1779), landowner and Roman Catholic activist, was the eldest son of John Barnewall, styled eleventh Baron Trimleston (1672–1746), and his wife, Mary, or Margaret (d. 1771), daughter and heir of Sir John Barnewall. Descended from an Anglo-Norman family whose estates in the counties of ...
Article
Bartholomew of Farne [St Bartholomew of Farne] (d. 1193), hermit
A. J. Piper
Bartholomew of Farne [St Bartholomew of Farne] (d. 1193), hermit, stands second in reputation only to Godric of Finchale among the hermits of northern England in the twelfth century. Just as Godric's fame depends on the life written by Reginald, a monk of ...
Article
Bellasis, Edward (1800–1873), serjeant-at-law and Roman Catholic convert
H. C. G. Matthew
Bellasis, Edward (1800–1873), serjeant-at-law and Roman Catholic convert, was born at his father's vicarage at Basildon, Berkshire, on 14 October 1800, the only son of the Revd George Bellasis of Queen's College, Oxford, rector of Yattendon and vicar of Basilden (or Basildon) and ...
Article
Belson, Thomas (bap. 1563, d. 1589), Roman Catholic martyr
Christine J. Kelly
Belson, Thomas (bap. 1563, d. 1589), Roman Catholic martyr, was baptized on 14 December 1563 in the parish church of Aston Rowant, Oxfordshire, the third son and sixth and youngest child of Augustine Belson (d. in or before 1601), landowner, and Margaret Scarneinge (...
Article
Best [Beste], Henry Digby (1768–1836), Roman Catholic convert and author
Rosemary Mitchell
Best [Beste], Henry Digby (1768–1836), Roman Catholic convert and author, was born in Lincoln on 21 October 1768, the son of Henry Best (1730–1782), prebendary of Lincoln from 1762. His mother, Magdalen (d. 1797), the daughter of Kenelm Digby of North Luffenham...
Article
Billfrith [St Billfrith] (d. 750x800?), anchorite
David Rollason
Billfrith [St Billfrith] (d. 750x800
Article
Bilney, Thomas (c. 1495–1531), evangelical reformer and martyr
P. R. N. Carter
Bilney, Thomas (c. 1495–1531), evangelical reformer and martyr, known as Little Bilney on account of his short stature, was born in Norfolk, most likely at Norwich. Of his parents nothing is known, except that they survived him. Sent up to Cambridge at an early age (...
Article
Blackwood, Adam (1539–1613), civil lawyer and Roman Catholic polemicist
Nicola Royan
Blackwood, Adam (1539–1613), civil lawyer and Roman Catholic polemicist, was born in Dunfermline, Fife, one of at least three children of William Blackwood (d. 1547), soldier, and Helen Reid (d. 1547/8). His parents died when he was about eight years old, his father in battle at ...
Image
Blount, Martha (1690–1763)
Maker: Charles Jervas
In
Article
Blount, Martha (1690–1763), Roman Catholic gentlewoman
Valerie Rumbold
Blount, Martha (1690–1763), Roman Catholic gentlewoman, was born on 15 June 1690 at the family estate of Mapledurham, Berkshire, the third child (but second eldest surviving) of six born to Lister Blount (1654–1710) and his wife, Martha (d. 1743), daughter of Anthony Englefield...
Article
Bowes, Marmaduke (d. 1585), Roman Catholic martyr
Sidney Lee
revised by Sarah Elizabeth Wall
Bowes, Marmaduke (d. 1585), Roman Catholic martyr, is of unknown parentage. He was a substantial Yorkshire yeoman of Angram Grange, near Appleton, in Cleveland. He experienced great personal conflict on religious issues, but refused to declare himself a Catholic, although he sympathized strongly with the Catholic cause. According to the recollections of ...
Article
Bridgewater, John (b. c. 1532, d. in or after 1596), college head and Roman Catholic exile
John J. LaRocca
Bridgewater, John (b. c. 1532, d. in or after 1596), college head and Roman Catholic exile, is of uncertain origins. Dodd mentioned that he may have claimed to be a Welshman or may have been born in Yorkshire. The Dictionary of National Biography...
Article
Brooksby [née Vaux], Eleanor (c. 1560–1625), recusant and priest harbourer
Colleen M. Seguin
Brooksby [née Vaux], Eleanor (c. 1560–1625), recusant and priest harbourer, was the eldest daughter and second of four children of William Vaux, third Baron Vaux of Harrowden (1535–1595), and his first wife, Elizabeth (d. 1562), daughter of Sir John Beaumont of ...