.gif)
John Kemble (martyr)
Encyclopedia
Saint John Kemble was an English
Roman Catholic martyr
. He was one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales
.
, in 1599, the son of John and Anne Kemble. They were a prominent local recusant Catholic
family. There were four other priest
s in the family.
John Kemble was ordained a priest at Douai
College, on 23 February 1625. He returned to England
on 4 June 1625 as a missionary in Monmouthshire
and Herefordshire
.
' plot in 1678.
The events leading up to the arrest of Father Kemble need to be seen against the backdrop of the plot. Titus Oates was a perjurer who concocted a plot in which the Anglican
King Charles the Second
would be assassinated and his Catholic brother (later, King James the Second
) installed as king in his place.
When Oates' story was examined in detail the whole fraud was exposed, but by then the damage had been done. Among the many Catholics caught up in the frenzy was Father John Kemble.
, near Welsh Newton
, when he was arrested. He was warned about the impending arrest but declined to leave his flock, saying, "According to the course of nature, I have but a few years to live. It will be an advantage to suffer for my religion and, therefore, I will not abscond."
He was arrested by a Captain John Scudamore of Kentchurch. It is a comment on the tortuous values of the age that Scudamore's own wife and children were parishioners of Father Kemble.
Father Kemble, now 80, was taken on the arduous journey to London
to be interviewed about the plot. He was found to have had no connection with the alleged plot but he was found guilty of the treason
ous crime of being a Catholic priest. He was sentenced to be hanged, drawn and quartered
.
He was returned to Hereford
for the sentence to be carried out. Before he was led out to his execution Father Kemble insisted on saying his prayers and finishing his drink, and the assembled party joined the elderly priest in a final smoke and a drink. To this day the sayings, "Kemble pipe", and "Kemble cup", meaning a parting pipe or cup, are used in Herefordshire.
Before his death Father Kemble addressed the assembled crowd, pointing out that no association with the "plot" had been charged to him. The old priest went on to say, "…the failure of the authorities in London to connect me to the plot makes it evident that I die only for profession the Catholic religion, which was the religion that first made this Kingdom Christian
."
jan2006.jpg)
Kemble was allowed to die on the gallows
before being drawn and quartered, thus he was spared the agony suffered by many of other Catholic martyrs of England, Scotland and Wales.
One of Kemble's hands is still preserved at St. Francis Xavier
church in Hereford city centre. His body rests in the (Church of England
) churchyard of St Mary's, Welsh Newton, and local Catholics make an annual pilgrimage to his grave.
s were soon attributed to the saintly priest. Scudamore's daughter was cured of throat cancer
, and Scudamore's wife recovered her hearing whilst praying at the Kemble's grave. John Kemble was beatified
in 1929 by Pope Pius XI
and canonized
on 25 October 1970 by Pope Paul VI
. His feast day is 22 August.
The famous Kemble family
are relatives of John Kemble. The family became almost a 'Royal Family' of the English stage in the nineteenth century. The most famous was Sarah Siddons
, née Kemble. It has been said that she was the finest English tragic actress ever. She was John Kemble's great-great grandniece.
Other noteworthy members of the family, though not Catholics, were: Roger Kemble
, Stephen Kemble
, Charles Kemble
, John Mitchell Kemble
, Frances Anne Kemble who after spending time in the United States
held strong anti slavery
opinions, Adelaide Kemble
and Henry Kemble
. John Philip Kemble
was baptized a Catholic and spent some time at Douai
, but did not become a priest and appears to have abandoned the faith.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
Roman Catholic martyr
Martyr
A martyr is somebody who suffers persecution and death for refusing to renounce, or accept, a belief or cause, usually religious.-Meaning:...
. He was one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales
Forty Martyrs of England and Wales
The Forty Martyrs of England and Wales are a group of men and women who were executed for treason and related offences in the Kingdom of England between 1535 and 1679...
.
Early years and ordination
John Kemble was born at Rhydicar Farm, St Weonards, HerefordshireHerefordshire
Herefordshire is a historic and ceremonial county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire" NUTS 2 region. It also forms a unitary district known as the...
, in 1599, the son of John and Anne Kemble. They were a prominent local recusant Catholic
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
family. There were four other priest
Priest
A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...
s in the family.
John Kemble was ordained a priest at Douai
Douai
-Main sights:Douai's ornate Gothic style belfry was begun in 1380, on the site of an earlier tower. The 80 m high structure includes an impressive carillon, consisting of 62 bells spanning 5 octaves. The originals, some dating from 1391 were removed in 1917 during World War I by the occupying...
College, on 23 February 1625. He returned to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
on 4 June 1625 as a missionary in Monmouthshire
Monmouthshire (historic)
Monmouthshire , also known as the County of Monmouth , is one of thirteen ancient counties of Wales and a former administrative county....
and Herefordshire
Herefordshire
Herefordshire is a historic and ceremonial county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire" NUTS 2 region. It also forms a unitary district known as the...
.
Pastoral work
Little is known of his work caring for the sustenance of his flock for the next fifty three years. The condition of Catholics had eased but priests still needed to perform their ministry discreetly.Titus Oates' plot
The uneasy tolerance within which Father Kemble had operated was shattered by Titus OatesTitus Oates
Titus Oates was an English perjurer who fabricated the "Popish Plot", a supposed Catholic conspiracy to kill King Charles II.-Early life:...
' plot in 1678.
The events leading up to the arrest of Father Kemble need to be seen against the backdrop of the plot. Titus Oates was a perjurer who concocted a plot in which the Anglican
Anglicanism
Anglicanism is a tradition within Christianity comprising churches with historical connections to the Church of England or similar beliefs, worship and church structures. The word Anglican originates in ecclesia anglicana, a medieval Latin phrase dating to at least 1246 that means the English...
King Charles the Second
Charles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
would be assassinated and his Catholic brother (later, King James the Second
James II of England
James II & VII was King of England and King of Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII, from 6 February 1685. He was the last Catholic monarch to reign over the Kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland...
) installed as king in his place.
When Oates' story was examined in detail the whole fraud was exposed, but by then the damage had been done. Among the many Catholics caught up in the frenzy was Father John Kemble.
Arrest and execution
Father Kemble was staying at his brother's home, Pembridge CastlePembridge Castle
Pembridge Castle, originally called Newland Castle, is a late 12th century to early 13th century Grade I listed former border castle located approximately northwest of Welsh Newton in Herefordshire, England....
, near Welsh Newton
Welsh Newton
Welsh Newton is a small village and civil parish in the county of Herefordshire, England. It is located close to the border with Wales to which the parish extends....
, when he was arrested. He was warned about the impending arrest but declined to leave his flock, saying, "According to the course of nature, I have but a few years to live. It will be an advantage to suffer for my religion and, therefore, I will not abscond."
He was arrested by a Captain John Scudamore of Kentchurch. It is a comment on the tortuous values of the age that Scudamore's own wife and children were parishioners of Father Kemble.
Father Kemble, now 80, was taken on the arduous journey to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
to be interviewed about the plot. He was found to have had no connection with the alleged plot but he was found guilty of the treason
Treason
In law, treason is the crime that covers some of the more extreme acts against one's sovereign or nation. Historically, treason also covered the murder of specific social superiors, such as the murder of a husband by his wife. Treason against the king was known as high treason and treason against a...
ous crime of being a Catholic priest. He was sentenced to be hanged, drawn and quartered
Hanged, drawn and quartered
To be hanged, drawn and quartered was from 1351 a penalty in England for men convicted of high treason, although the ritual was first recorded during the reigns of King Henry III and his successor, Edward I...
.
He was returned to Hereford
Hereford
Hereford is a cathedral city, civil parish and county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, southwest of Worcester, and northwest of Gloucester...
for the sentence to be carried out. Before he was led out to his execution Father Kemble insisted on saying his prayers and finishing his drink, and the assembled party joined the elderly priest in a final smoke and a drink. To this day the sayings, "Kemble pipe", and "Kemble cup", meaning a parting pipe or cup, are used in Herefordshire.
Before his death Father Kemble addressed the assembled crowd, pointing out that no association with the "plot" had been charged to him. The old priest went on to say, "…the failure of the authorities in London to connect me to the plot makes it evident that I die only for profession the Catholic religion, which was the religion that first made this Kingdom Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
."
Gallows
A gallows is a frame, typically wooden, used for execution by hanging, or by means to torture before execution, as was used when being hanged, drawn and quartered...
before being drawn and quartered, thus he was spared the agony suffered by many of other Catholic martyrs of England, Scotland and Wales.
One of Kemble's hands is still preserved at St. Francis Xavier
Francis Xavier
Francis Xavier, born Francisco de Jasso y Azpilicueta was a pioneering Roman Catholic missionary born in the Kingdom of Navarre and co-founder of the Society of Jesus. He was a student of Saint Ignatius of Loyola and one of the first seven Jesuits, dedicated at Montmartre in 1534...
church in Hereford city centre. His body rests in the (Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
) churchyard of St Mary's, Welsh Newton, and local Catholics make an annual pilgrimage to his grave.
Sainthood
MiracleMiracle
A miracle often denotes an event attributed to divine intervention. Alternatively, it may be an event attributed to a miracle worker, saint, or religious leader. A miracle is sometimes thought of as a perceptible interruption of the laws of nature. Others suggest that a god may work with the laws...
s were soon attributed to the saintly priest. Scudamore's daughter was cured of throat cancer
Esophageal cancer
Esophageal cancer is malignancy of the esophagus. There are various subtypes, primarily squamous cell cancer and adenocarcinoma . Squamous cell cancer arises from the cells that line the upper part of the esophagus...
, and Scudamore's wife recovered her hearing whilst praying at the Kemble's grave. John Kemble was beatified
Beatification
Beatification is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a dead person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in his or her name . Beatification is the third of the four steps in the canonization process...
in 1929 by Pope Pius XI
Pope Pius XI
Pope Pius XI , born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti, was Pope from 6 February 1922, and sovereign of Vatican City from its creation as an independent state on 11 February 1929 until his death on 10 February 1939...
and canonized
Canonization
Canonization is the act by which a Christian church declares a deceased person to be a saint, upon which declaration the person is included in the canon, or list, of recognized saints. Originally, individuals were recognized as saints without any formal process...
on 25 October 1970 by Pope Paul VI
Pope Paul VI
Paul VI , born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding Pope John XXIII, who had convened the Second Vatican Council, he decided to continue it...
. His feast day is 22 August.
Relatives
Kemble family
Kemble is the name of a family of English actors, all distinguished actors and actresses who reigned over the British stage for decades. The most famous were Sarah Siddons and her brother John Philip Kemble , the two eldest of the twelve children of Roger Kemble , a strolling player and manager of...
are relatives of John Kemble. The family became almost a 'Royal Family' of the English stage in the nineteenth century. The most famous was Sarah Siddons
Sarah Siddons
Sarah Siddons was a Welsh actress, the best-known tragedienne of the 18th century. She was the elder sister of John Philip Kemble, Charles Kemble, Stephen Kemble, Ann Hatton and Elizabeth Whitlock, and the aunt of Fanny Kemble. She was most famous for her portrayal of the Shakespearean character,...
, née Kemble. It has been said that she was the finest English tragic actress ever. She was John Kemble's great-great grandniece.
Other noteworthy members of the family, though not Catholics, were: Roger Kemble
Roger Kemble
Roger Kemble was an English theatre manager, strolling player and actor. In 1753, he married actress Sarah "Sally" Ward at Cirencester, Gloucester, and they had twelve children, who formed the great Kemble family of 19th-century actors and actresses.Roger Kemble was born in Hereford...
, Stephen Kemble
Stephen Kemble
George Stephen Kemble was a successful theatre manager, British actor, writer, and a member of the famous Kemble family....
, Charles Kemble
Charles Kemble
Charles Kemble was a British actor.-Life:The youngest son of Roger Kemble, and younger brother of John Philip Kemble, Stephen Kemble and Sarah Siddons, he was born at Brecon, South Wales. Like John Philip, he was educated at Douai...
, John Mitchell Kemble
John Mitchell Kemble
John Mitchell Kemble , English scholar and historian, was the eldest son of Charles Kemble the actor and Maria Theresa Kemble....
, Frances Anne Kemble who after spending time in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
held strong anti slavery
Abolitionism
Abolitionism is a movement to end slavery.In western Europe and the Americas abolitionism was a movement to end the slave trade and set slaves free. At the behest of Dominican priest Bartolomé de las Casas who was shocked at the treatment of natives in the New World, Spain enacted the first...
opinions, Adelaide Kemble
Adelaide Kemble
Adelaide Kemble was an English opera singer of the Victorian era, and a member of the Kemble family of actors. She was the younger sister of Fanny Kemble, the famous actress and anti-slavery activist...
and Henry Kemble
Henry Kemble
Henry Kemble was a British actor. A member of the famed Kemble family, he was the grandson of Charles Kemble. He was educated at Maze Hill School Greenwich, King's College School and King's College London....
. John Philip Kemble
John Philip Kemble
John Philip Kemble was an English actor. He was born into a theatrical family as the eldest son of Roger Kemble, actor-manager of a touring troupe. His elder sister Sarah Siddons achieved fame with him on the stage of the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane...
was baptized a Catholic and spent some time at Douai
Douai
-Main sights:Douai's ornate Gothic style belfry was begun in 1380, on the site of an earlier tower. The 80 m high structure includes an impressive carillon, consisting of 62 bells spanning 5 octaves. The originals, some dating from 1391 were removed in 1917 during World War I by the occupying...
, but did not become a priest and appears to have abandoned the faith.
Dates
- Born 1599 at Rhydica Farm, Saint Weonard's Parish, Herefordshire, England
- Martyred 22 August 1679 at Widemarsh Common
- Feast Day 22 August
- BeatifiedBeatificationBeatification is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a dead person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in his or her name . Beatification is the third of the four steps in the canonization process...
1929 by Pope Pius XIPope Pius XIPope Pius XI , born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti, was Pope from 6 February 1922, and sovereign of Vatican City from its creation as an independent state on 11 February 1929 until his death on 10 February 1939... - CanonisedCanonizationCanonization is the act by which a Christian church declares a deceased person to be a saint, upon which declaration the person is included in the canon, or list, of recognized saints. Originally, individuals were recognized as saints without any formal process...
25 October 1970 by Pope Paul VIPope Paul VIPaul VI , born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding Pope John XXIII, who had convened the Second Vatican Council, he decided to continue it... - 25 October, Feast Day of the Forty Martyrs of England and WalesForty Martyrs of England and WalesThe Forty Martyrs of England and Wales are a group of men and women who were executed for treason and related offences in the Kingdom of England between 1535 and 1679...
External links
- http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/saintj8t.htm
- http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08616a.htm
- http://www.stthomasirondequoit.com/SaintsAlive/id509.htm
- http://www.tyburnconvent.org.uk/martyrs/martyrs_main.html
Sources
- Encyclopædia BritannicaEncyclopædia BritannicaThe Encyclopædia Britannica , published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia that is available in print, as a DVD, and on the Internet. It is written and continuously updated by about 100 full-time editors and more than 4,000 expert...
, 15th Edition - Edmund Campion, by Evelyn WaughEvelyn WaughArthur Evelyn St. John Waugh , known as Evelyn Waugh, was an English writer of novels, travel books and biographies. He was also a prolific journalist and reviewer...
, Longmans, Green and Co., 1935