Augustine Webster (died 4 May 1535) was an English Catholic martyr. He was the

prior Prior (or prioress) is an ecclesiastical title for a superior in some religious orders. The word is derived from the Latin for "earlier" or "first". Its earlier generic usage referred to any monastic superior. In abbeys, a prior would be l ...

of Our Lady of Melwood, a Carthusian house at

Epworth Epworth originally referred to Epworth, Lincolnshire, a town in England that was the birthplace of John Wesley and Charles Wesley, early leaders of the Methodist religious movement. The town's name has since been used for other places and instituti ...

, on the Isle of Axholme, in north Lincolnshire, in 1531. His feast day is 4 May.

Background

At the outbreak of the

English Reformation The English Reformation took place in 16th-century England when the Church of England broke away from the authority of the pope and the Catholic Church. These events were part of the wider European Protestant Reformation, a religious and poli ...

, England had ten of these hermitage-monasteries. In English they are commonly called "Charterhouses," from the French name for the location of their first foundation, in the mountainous area of the "La Chartreuse". The Carthusians were held in the highest esteem. The government was at first anxious to secure the public acquiescence of the monks of the London Charterhouse regarding royal supremacy in ecclesiastical matters; since for the austerity and sincerity of their mode of life they enjoyed great prestige. That is one reason why King Henry VIII set out to win them over or destroy them.

Life

Augustine Webster was educated at Cambridge University, and became a monk at the Charterhouse of Sheen. In 1531 he became prior of Our Lady of Melwood, a Carthusian house at Epworth, on the Isle of Axholme. In February 1535 he was on a visit to the London Charterhouse with his fellow prior, Robert Lawrence of Beauvale, to consult the prior of London,

John Houghton John Houghton may refer to: Politicians * John Houghton (fl.1393), MP for Leicester (UK Parliament constituency) * John Houghton (died 1583) (before 1522–1583), MP for Stamford (UK Parliament constituency) * John Houghton (Manx politician) * J ...

about the approach to be taken by the Carthusians with regard to the religious policies of Henry VIII."Augustine Webster", Oxford Reference
/ref> They resolved to go together to Cromwell, the King's Vicar-General, to represent their sincere loyalty, but to petition to be exempted from a requirement that would violate their conscience. Cromwell was unsympathetic.

Trial

Sometime around the middle of April 1535, Webster, and fellow Carthusians, Houghton and Lawrence were imprisoned in the Tower on the orders of Thomas Cromwell for refusing to take the

Oath of Supremacy The Oath of Supremacy required any person taking public or church office in England to swear allegiance to the monarch as Supreme Governor of the Church of England. Failure to do so was to be treated as treasonable. The Oath of Supremacy was ori ...

. They were soon joined by Bridgettine Richard Reynolds. All four were examined together and charged for their denial of the royal supremacy. The trial took place 28 April. They pleaded "not guilty" to the charge of treason and were led back to prison. The jury deliberated all day, and when Cromwell sent to inquire the cause of the delay, it was intimated that they would find the men innocent. Despite threats, the jury refused to return a guilty verdict until Cromwell appeared before them in person. All four were hanged, beheaded and quartered at Tyburn on 4 May 1535.Stanton, Richard. "Blessed Augustine Webster, Martyr". ''Menology of England and Wales'', 1887. CatholicSaints.Info. 23 April 2015
/ref>

Veneration

Augustine Webster was one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales canonized by Pope Paul VI. There are stained glass windows of the martyr in the following churches: * Holy Souls Church in Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire * Our Lady and the English Martyrs, Hills Road, Cambridge *

St Etheldreda's Church St Etheldreda's Church is a Roman Catholic church in Ely Place, off Charterhouse Street in Holborn, London. The building is one of only two surviving in London from the reign of Edward I, and dates from between 1250 and 1290. It is dedicated ...

in Ely Place * St Mary's Roman Catholic Church, Bridge Gate, Derby * Roman Catholic Parish of St. Mary and St. Augustine Webster, Barton-upon-Humber St. Augustine Webster Catholic Voluntary Academy in North Lincolnshire is named after him. Roman Catholic Parish of St. Mary and St. Augustine Webster is named after him.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Webster, Augustine Carthusian Martyrs of London Carthusian saints English saints English Roman Catholic saints Forty Martyrs of England and Wales People executed by Tudor England by hanging, drawing and quartering 16th-century Christian saints Canonizations by Pope Paul VI Year of birth unknown Executed English people People executed under Henry VIII 1535 deaths

Background

Life

Trial

Veneration

See also

References