Joan Waste
Encyclopedia
Joan Waste was a blind woman who was burned in Derby
for refusing to renounce her Protestant faith.
In 1553, Queen Mary I
came to the throne and in January 1555 it was made illegal by Parliament to hold Protestant views. At least 284 people were condemned for heresy during Mary's reign. Some were famous, the bishops Thomas Cranmer
, Hugh Latimer
, and Nicholas Ridley
among them, but many executed between spring 1555 and the queen's death in November 1558 were from "the lower orders".
Waste was called before the Catholic Bishop of Lichfield and Coventry
, Ralph Baines
' chancellor, Anthony Draycot
, to defend her views; and for these she was condemned.. She had objected to the services now being read in Latin. She was sentenced for buying a New Testament which she asked friends to read to her for a penny a time. She also denied the doctrine of transubstantiation
and held that the bread and wine were only that.
Her trial took place at what was then All Saints Parish Church. This building has been rebuilt, but the tower dates from 1530 and the building is now known as Derby Cathedral
.
On the day of her death she was reported to have held hands with her twin brother as she walked to her death.
Waste was accompanied to church by Anthony Draycot who gave a final sermon, Thomas Powthread, Sir John Port
, Henry Vernon and Master John Dethick of Newhall
.
The public execution took place at Windmill Pit on the Burton Road in Derby. Windmill Hill Pit is on Lime Avenue which is just off Burton Road in Derby. She was hanged over the fire with a rope and she fell into the fire when the rope burned through. Waste was expected to suffer for her beliefs for eternity. Draycot it is said went home to his meal that day.
There is a memorial to her in Birchover
church. The place where Waste was executed is now the site of a Roman Catholic church. Ralph Baines, the Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield was deprived of his bishopric (21 June, 1559) on the accession of Elizabeth I of England
and committed to the imprisonment of Edmund Grindal
, the Protestant Bishop of London
. Draycot was sent to be a prisoner of the fleet and died after being released in 1571.
Derby
Derby , is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands region of England. It lies upon the banks of the River Derwent and is located in the south of the ceremonial county of Derbyshire. In the 2001 census, the population of the city was 233,700, whilst that of the Derby Urban Area was 229,407...
for refusing to renounce her Protestant faith.
Biography
Waste was born blind in 1534, with her twin brother Roger, to a Derby barber, William Waste and his wife, Joan. By the age of twelve she had learned to knit as well as how to make ropes (her father was also a ropemaker).In 1553, Queen Mary I
Mary I of England
Mary I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from July 1553 until her death.She was the only surviving child born of the ill-fated marriage of Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine of Aragon. Her younger half-brother, Edward VI, succeeded Henry in 1547...
came to the throne and in January 1555 it was made illegal by Parliament to hold Protestant views. At least 284 people were condemned for heresy during Mary's reign. Some were famous, the bishops Thomas Cranmer
Thomas Cranmer
Thomas Cranmer was a leader of the English Reformation and Archbishop of Canterbury during the reigns of Henry VIII, Edward VI and, for a short time, Mary I. He helped build a favourable case for Henry's divorce from Catherine of Aragon which resulted in the separation of the English Church from...
, Hugh Latimer
Hugh Latimer
Hugh Latimer was a Fellow of Clare College, Cambridge, Bishop of Worcester before the Reformation, and later Church of England chaplain to King Edward VI. In 1555, under Queen Mary, he was burnt at the stake, becoming one of the three Oxford Martyrs of Anglicanism.-Life:Latimer was born into a...
, and Nicholas Ridley
Nicholas Ridley (martyr)
Nicholas Ridley was an English Bishop of London. Ridley was burned at the stake, as one of the Oxford Martyrs, during the Marian Persecutions, for his teachings and his support of Lady Jane Grey...
among them, but many executed between spring 1555 and the queen's death in November 1558 were from "the lower orders".
Bishop of Lichfield
The Bishop of Lichfield is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Lichfield in the Province of Canterbury.The diocese covers 4,516 km² of the counties of Staffordshire, Shropshire, Warwickshire and West Midlands. The bishop's seat is located in the Cathedral Church of the Blessed...
, Ralph Baines
Ralph Baines
Ralph Baines or "Bayne" was the last Roman Catholic bishop of Lichfield and Coventry, in England.-Early life:Educated at St. John's College, Cambridge, Baines was ordained priest at Ely in 1519...
' chancellor, Anthony Draycot
Anthony Draycot
Anthony Draycot was an English Roman Catholic churchman and lawyer. During the reign of Queen Mary he held a diocesan position as chancellor; his role in condemning numerous Protestants to death is detailed in Foxe's Book of Martyrs.-Life:He was from Staffordshire, and became Principal of White...
, to defend her views; and for these she was condemned.. She had objected to the services now being read in Latin. She was sentenced for buying a New Testament which she asked friends to read to her for a penny a time. She also denied the doctrine of transubstantiation
Transubstantiation
In Roman Catholic theology, transubstantiation means the change, in the Eucharist, of the substance of wheat bread and grape wine into the substance of the Body and Blood, respectively, of Jesus, while all that is accessible to the senses remains as before.The Eastern Orthodox...
and held that the bread and wine were only that.
Derby Cathedral
The Cathedral of All Saints , is a cathedral church in the City of Derby, England. It is the seat of the Bishop of Derby, and with an area of around is the smallest Anglican cathedral in England.-History:...
.
On the day of her death she was reported to have held hands with her twin brother as she walked to her death.
Waste was accompanied to church by Anthony Draycot who gave a final sermon, Thomas Powthread, Sir John Port
John Port (the younger)
Sir John Port 'the Younger' was an English Knight of the Bath and Justice of the Common Pleas. He founded Repton School, an almshouse at Etwall and also has a secondary school named after him.-Biography:...
, Henry Vernon and Master John Dethick of Newhall
Newhall, Derbyshire
Newhall is a town located in South Derbyshire, England. The village of Stanton is nearby and in the same parish.-Newhall village:The village lies between the A444 to its south and the A511 to its north. To its east is the market town of Ashby-de-la-Zouch, very close to the M42 linking Nottingham ...
.
The public execution took place at Windmill Pit on the Burton Road in Derby. Windmill Hill Pit is on Lime Avenue which is just off Burton Road in Derby. She was hanged over the fire with a rope and she fell into the fire when the rope burned through. Waste was expected to suffer for her beliefs for eternity. Draycot it is said went home to his meal that day.
There is a memorial to her in Birchover
Birchover
Birchover is a village and civil parish in the Peak District National Park, in Derbyshire, England. It is about five miles north-west of Matlock, and according to the 2001 UK census had a population of 362...
church. The place where Waste was executed is now the site of a Roman Catholic church. Ralph Baines, the Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield was deprived of his bishopric (21 June, 1559) on the accession of Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...
and committed to the imprisonment of Edmund Grindal
Edmund Grindal
Edmund Grindal was an English church leader who successively held the posts of Bishop of London, Archbishop of York and Archbishop of Canterbury during the reign of Elizabeth I of England.-Early life to the death of Edward VI:...
, the Protestant Bishop of London
Bishop of London
The Bishop of London is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of London in the Province of Canterbury.The diocese covers 458 km² of 17 boroughs of Greater London north of the River Thames and a small part of the County of Surrey...
. Draycot was sent to be a prisoner of the fleet and died after being released in 1571.
Further reading
- The Book of Martyrs, Chapter XV1, Wikisource, accessed February 2009
- Blind Faith - Joan Waste, Derby's Martyr, Pat Cunningham, ISBN 978-0-9556325-1-8