Thomas Pickering (c. 1621 – 9 May 1679) was a

Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...

lay brother Lay brother is a largely extinct term referring to religious brothers, particularly in the Catholic Church, who focused upon manual service and secular matters, and were distinguished from choir monks or friars in that they did not pray in choi ...

who served in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

during the time of

recusancy Recusancy (from ) was the state of those who remained loyal to the Catholic Church and refused to attend Church of England services after the English Reformation. The 1558 Recusancy Acts passed in the reign of Elizabeth I, and temporarily repea ...

in the late seventeenth century. He was

martyred A martyr (, ''mártys'', 'witness' stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external party. In colloquial ...

as a result of the fraudulent claims of

Titus Oates Titus Oates (15 September 1649 – 12/13 July 1705) was an English priest who fabricated the "Popish Plot", a supposed Catholic conspiracy to kill King Charles II. Early life Titus Oates was born at Oakham in Rutland. His father was the Baptis ...

that he was part of a

plot Plot or Plotting may refer to: Art, media and entertainment * Plot (narrative), the connected story elements of a piece of fiction Music * ''The Plot'' (album), a 1976 album by jazz trumpeter Enrico Rava * The Plot (band), a band formed in 2003 ...

to murder King Charles II.

Life

Pickering was born in 1621 in Skelsmergh, near

Kendal Kendal, once Kirkby in Kendal or Kirkby Kendal, is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Westmorland and Furness, England. It lies within the River Kent's dale, from which its name is derived, just outside the boundary of t ...

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders the Scottish council areas of Dumfries and Galloway and Scottish Borders to the north, Northumberland and County Durham to the east, North Yorkshire to the south-east, Lancash ...

. His father died fighting for

Charles I of England Charles I (19 November 1600 – 30 January 1649) was King of Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland, and Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland from 27 March 1625 until Execution of Charles I, his execution in 1649. Charles was born ...

during the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

Butler, Alban. ''Butler's Lives of the Saints'', Vol. 5, (Paul Burns, ed.) A&C Black, 1997, p. 49
He entered the Benedictine Priory of St. Gregory the Great at

Douai Douai ( , , ; ; ; formerly spelled Douay or Doway in English) is a city in the Nord (French department), Nord département in northern France. It is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture of the department. Located on the river Scarpe (rive ...

and made his vows as in 1660.Huddleston, Gilbert. "Ven. Thomas Pickering." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 12. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911 In 1665, he was sent to London to be steward for the Benedictine monks who served the chapel of

Catherine of Braganza Catherine of Braganza (; 25 November 1638 – 31 December 1705) was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England, List of Scottish royal consorts, Scotland and Ireland during her marriage to Charles II of England, King Charles II, which la ...

, the

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

wife of King Charles II, first at

St James's Palace St James's Palace is the most senior royal palace in London, England. The palace gives its name to the Court of St James's, which is the monarch's royal court, and is located in the City of Westminster. Although no longer the principal residence ...

, and from 1671 at

Somerset House Somerset House is a large neoclassical architecture, neoclassical building complex situated on the south side of the Strand, London, Strand in central London, overlooking the River Thames, just east of Waterloo Bridge. The Georgian era quadran ...

on the

Strand Strand or The Strand may refer to: Topography *The flat area of land bordering a body of water, a: ** Beach ** Shoreline * Strand swamp, a type of swamp habitat in Florida Places Africa * Strand, Western Cape, a seaside town in South Africa * ...

. He became known personally to the Queen and Charles II; and when in 1675, urged by the

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

, Charles issued a proclamation ordering the Benedictines to leave England within a fixed time, Pickering was allowed to remain, probably on the grounds that he was not a Catholic priest.

Popish Plot

In 1678, Titus Oates made false claims of a Catholic plot against the King's life, and Pickering was accused of being part of this conspiracy, which is popularly known as the

Popish Plot The Popish Plot was a fictitious conspiracy invented by Titus Oates that between 1678 and 1681 gripped the kingdoms of England and Scotland in anti-Catholic hysteria. Oates alleged that there was an extensive Catholic conspiracy to assassinat ...

. At his trial on 17 December 1678, no evidence of

treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state (polity), state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to Coup d'état, overthrow its government, spy ...

against Pickering except Oates's mere word was produced, and Pickering's housekeeper, the formidable Ellen Rigby, later testified that Oates had only seen Pickering once in his life, when he had been begging for

alms Alms (, ) are money, food, or other material goods donated to people living in poverty. Providing alms is often considered an act of Charity (practice), charity. The act of providing alms is called almsgiving. Etymology The word ''alms'' come ...

at the Benedictine's London house in the summer of 1678. She also testified that he had a personal grudge against Pickering, who, despite his habitual charity and good temper, told her not to admit him again.Kearney, Daniel. "Titus Oates and the Popish Plot", ''Thinking Faith'', July 10, 2015
/ref> Pickering's innocence was so obvious that the Queen publicly announced her belief in him. Nonetheless, the jury, under heavy pressure from

William Scroggs Sir William Scroggs (c. 162325 October 1683) was Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales, Lord Chief Justice of England from 1678 to 1681. He is best remembered for presiding over the Popish Plot trials, where he was accused of showing bias agai ...

, the

Lord Chief Justice The Lord or Lady Chief Justice of England and Wales is the head of the judiciary of England and Wales and the president of the courts of England and Wales. Until 2005 the lord chief justice was the second-most senior judge of the English a ...

, who was a convinced believer in the Popish Plot, found him guilty, and with William Ireland and John Grove he was condemned to be

hanged, drawn, and quartered To be hanged, drawn and quartered was a method of torturous capital punishment used principally to execute men convicted of high treason in medieval and early modern Britain and Ireland. The convicted traitor was fastened by the feet to a h ...

Execution

The King, who himself had Catholic leanings, was torn between his reluctance to execute three men whom he knew to be innocent (Ireland's innocence was even more obvious than Pickering's since he had a cast-iron

alibi An alibi (, from the Latin, '' alibī'', meaning "somewhere else") is a statement by a person under suspicion in a crime that they were in a different place when the offence was committed. During a police investigation, all suspects are usually a ...

, which the prosecution never succeeded in breaking), and his fear of the popular clamour, as the public loudly demanded the death of Oates's victims. Twice within a month, the three prisoners were ordered to prepare for execution and then reprieved. At length Charles, although only with great reluctance, ordered the execution of Ireland and Grove, hoping that this would satisfy public opinion and save Pickering from his fate. However, on 26 April 1679, the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

petitioned for Pickering's execution. Charles yielded, and on 9 May 1679, Pickering was hanged, drawn and quartered at

Tyburn Tyburn was a Manorialism, manor (estate) in London, Middlesex, England, one of two which were served by the parish of Marylebone. Tyburn took its name from the Tyburn Brook, a tributary of the River Westbourne. The name Tyburn, from Teo Bourne ...

with Ambrose Mac-Fall, George Terpitsas and the Benedictine George Gervase. Pickering was buried in

St Giles in the Fields St Giles in the Fields is the Anglican parish church of the St Giles district of London. The parish stands within the London Borough of Camden and forms part of the Diocese of London. The church, named for St Giles the Hermit, began as the c ...

churchyard. Pickering was one of the 107 martyrs beatified by Pope Pius XI on 15 December 1929. A man of true simplicity and innocence of life, he was described as the most charitable and sweet-tempered of men."Bienheureux Thomas Pickering, Martyr en Angleterre", Nominis
/ref>

Roman Martyrology

"In London, in 1679, Blessed Thomas Pickering, Benedictine monk and martyr. A man of true simplicity and innocence of life, he was falsely accused of plotting against King Charles II, and with a quiet heart went to the gallows at Tyburn."

References

Sources

Bede Camm Dom Bede Camm, O.S.B., (26 December 1864 – 8 September 1942) was an English Benedictine monk and martyrologist. He is best known for his many works on the English Catholic martyrs, which helped to keep their memories alive in the newly reeme ...

(1931) ''Nine Martyr Monks'', pp. 344–348. *Kenyon, J. P. ''The Popish Plot'', Phoenix Press reissue 2000 {{DEFAULTSORT:Pickering, Thomas People executed by Stuart England by hanging, drawing and quartering English Benedictines 1620s births 1679 deaths Victims of the Popish Plot English beatified people 17th-century Roman Catholic martyrs 17th-century venerated Christians People from Westmorland Executed people from Cumbria One Hundred and Seven Martyrs of England and Wales