Christopher Wharton
Encyclopedia
Christopher Wharton was an English Roman Catholic priest. He is a Catholic martyr, beatified in 1987.
. He was educated at Trinity College, Oxford
, where he graduated M.A., 3 February 1564, and afterwards became a Fellow.
In 1583 he entered the English College at Reims
to study for the priesthood (28 July). He was ordained priest in the following year 31 March, but continued his studies after ordination till 1586, when on 21 May he left Reims in company with Edward Burden.
No details of his missionary work have been preserved; but at his trial Baron Savile
, the judge, incidentally remarked that he had known him at Oxford some years after 1596. He was finally arrested in 1599 at the house of Eleanor Hunt, a widow, who was arrested with him and confined in York Castle
. There, with other Catholic prisoners, he was forcibly taken to hear Protestant sermons.
He was brought to trial together with Mrs. Hunt at the Lent Assizes 1600, and both were condemned, the former for high treason
, the latter for felony
. Both refused life and liberty at the price of conformity. Eleanor Hunt died in prison.
Life
He was the second son of Henry Wharton of Wharton and Agnes Warcop, and younger brother of Thomas Wharton, 1st Baron WhartonThomas Wharton, 1st Baron Wharton
Thomas Wharton, 1st Baron Wharton was an English nobleman and a follower of King Henry VIII of England. He is best known for his victory at Solway Moss on 24 November 1542 for which he was given a barony.-Early life:...
. He was educated at Trinity College, Oxford
Trinity College, Oxford
The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity in the University of Oxford, of the foundation of Sir Thomas Pope , or Trinity College for short, is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It stands on Broad Street, next door to Balliol College and Blackwells bookshop,...
, where he graduated M.A., 3 February 1564, and afterwards became a Fellow.
In 1583 he entered the English College at Reims
Reims
Reims , a city in the Champagne-Ardenne region of France, lies east-northeast of Paris. Founded by the Gauls, it became a major city during the period of the Roman Empire....
to study for the priesthood (28 July). He was ordained priest in the following year 31 March, but continued his studies after ordination till 1586, when on 21 May he left Reims in company with Edward Burden.
No details of his missionary work have been preserved; but at his trial Baron Savile
Baron Savile
Baron Savile, of Rufford in the County of Nottingham, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom.It was created in 1888 for the diplomat Sir John Savile. He was the eldest of the five illegitimate children of John Lumley-Savile, 8th Earl of Scarbrough, and the grandson of John Lumley-Savile,...
, the judge, incidentally remarked that he had known him at Oxford some years after 1596. He was finally arrested in 1599 at the house of Eleanor Hunt, a widow, who was arrested with him and confined in 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...
. There, with other Catholic prisoners, he was forcibly taken to hear Protestant sermons.
He was brought to trial together with Mrs. Hunt at the Lent Assizes 1600, and both were condemned, the former for high treason
High treason
High treason is criminal disloyalty to one's government. Participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplomats, or its secret services for a hostile and foreign power, or attempting to kill its head of state are perhaps...
, the latter for felony
Felony
A felony is a serious crime in the common law countries. The term originates from English common law where felonies were originally crimes which involved the confiscation of a convicted person's land and goods; other crimes were called misdemeanors...
. Both refused life and liberty at the price of conformity. Eleanor Hunt died in prison.