Edmund Catherick (''c''. 1605 – 13 April 1642) was an English

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

priest. He is a Catholic

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', 'witness' Word stem, 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 ...

, beatified in 1929.

Life

Catherick was probably born in

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

about 1605. He was descended from the Catholic family of Catherick of Carlton, North Yorkshire and Stanwick, in the

North Riding The North Riding of Yorkshire was a subdivision of Yorkshire, England, alongside York, the East Riding and West Riding. The riding's highest point was at Mickle Fell at . From the Restoration it was used as a lieutenancy area, having b ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

.Challoner, Richard. ''Memoirs of Missionary Priests'', New York. P.J. Kenedy, 1924, p. 415
/ref> Educated at

Douai College The English College (French: ''College des Grands Anglais'') was a Catholic seminary in Douai, France (also previously spelled Douay, and in English Doway), associated with the University of Douai. It was established in 1568, and was suppressed ...

, he was ordained in the same institution, and about 1635 went out to the English mission where he began his seven years' ministry which closed with his death. During this time he was known under the alias Huddleston, which was probably his mother's maiden name.Saxton, Eugene. "Ven. Edmund Catherick." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 3. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1908 Apprehended in the North Riding, near Watlas, Catherick was brought by pursuivants before Justice Dodsworth, a connection by marriage – possibly an uncle. Gillow states that it was through admissions made to Dodsworth, under the guise of friendship, that Catherick was convicted. He was arraigned at York and condemned to death together with John Lockwood. The execution was stayed by the king

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 ...

for a short time, but he finally signed the warrant and it was carried out during his presence at The Manor in York. Catherick and Lockwood were dragged through the streets of York on a hurdle to the place of execution and

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 ...

. Catherick's head was placed on

Micklegate Bar York has, since Roman times, been defended by walls of one form or another. To this day, substantial portions of the walls remain, and York has more miles of intact wall than any other city in England. They are known variously as York City W ...

. What remained of the body was buried at Toft Green and later taken to St. Gregory's Monastery, Downside. The skull, said to have been found at

Hazlewood Castle Hazlewood Castle is a country residence, now a hotel, in North Yorkshire, England, by the A1 and A64 between Aberford and Tadcaster. It is one of the oldest fortified houses to survive in the whole of Yorkshire. The site overlooked the batt ...

, was examined by

John Lingard John Lingard (5 February 1771 – 17 July 1851) was an English people, English Catholic Church, Catholic priest and historian, the author of ''The History of England, From the First Invasion by the Romans to the Accession of Henry VIII'', an ei ...

in 1845.

References

;Attribution * The entry cites: **

Joseph Gillow Joseph Gillow (5 October 1850, Preston, Lancashire – 17 March 1921, Westholme, Hale, Cheshire) was an English Roman Catholic antiquary, historian and bio-bibliographer, "the Plutarch of the English Catholics". Biography Born in Frenchwood Ho ...

, ''Bibl. Dict. Eng. Cath.'', I, 432 **

Richard Challoner Richard Challoner (29 September 1691 – 12 January 1781) was an English Catholic prelate who served as Vicar Apostolic of the London District during the greater part of the 18th century, and as Titular Bishop of Doberus. In 1738, he publishe ...

, ''Memoirs'', II {{DEFAULTSORT:Catherick, Edmund 1605 births 1642 deaths 17th-century English Roman Catholic priests English beatified people People executed by Stuart England by hanging, drawing and quartering 17th-century venerated Christians Executed people from Lancashire Executed Roman Catholic priests One Hundred and Seven Martyrs of England and Wales

Life

See also

References