John Penry (1563 – 29 May 1593) was executed for

high treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its d ...

during the reign of Queen

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudo ...

. He is

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

' most famous

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

Separatist Separatism is the advocacy of cultural, ethnic, tribal, religious, racial, regional, governmental, or gender separation from the larger group. As with secession, separatism conventionally refers to full political separation. Groups simply seekin ...

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 ...

Early life

Penry was born in

Brecknockshire Brecknockshire ( or ), also known as the County of Brecknock, Breconshire, or the County of Brecon, was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It was created in 1 ...

, Wales; Cefn Brith, a farm near Llangammarch, is traditionally recognised as his birthplace. His parents were Meredydd (Meredith) Penry and Eleanor (nee Godley). He matriculated at Peterhouse, Cambridge, in December 1580, being then probably a

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 ...

, but soon became a

, with strong

Puritan The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to rid the Church of England of what they considered to be Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should b ...

tendencies. Having graduated B.A., he moved to

St Alban Hall St Alban Hall, sometimes known as St Alban's Hall or Stubbins, was one of the academic halls of the University of Oxford, medieval halls of the University of Oxford, and one of the longest-surviving. It was established in the 13th century, acqu ...

, Oxford, and gained his M.A. in July 1586. He did not seek ordination, but was licensed as university preacher.

Career

There is not much evidence for his preaching tours in Wales; they could only have been made during a few months of 1586 or the autumn of 1587. In 1562 an act of Parliament had made provision for translating the Bible into Welsh, and the

New Testament The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...

was issued in 1567; but the number printed would barely supply a copy for each

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...

. Indignant at this failure, Penry published early in 1587 ''The Æquity of an Humble Supplication'' "in the behalf of the country of Wales, that some order may be taken for the preaching of the Gospel among those people". Archbishop

John Whitgift John Whitgift (c. 1530 – 29 February 1604) was the Archbishop of Canterbury from 1583 to his death. Noted for his hospitality, he was somewhat ostentatious in his habits, sometimes visiting Canterbury and other towns attended by a retinue of 8 ...

, angry at the implied criticism, had him brought before the High Commission and imprisoned for about a month. On his release Penry married a lady of

Northampton Northampton ( ) is a town and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is the county town of Northamptonshire and the administrative centre of the Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority of West Northamptonshire. The town is sit ...

and lived there for some years. With the assistance of Sir Richard Knightley, he set up a

printing press A printing press is a mechanical device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a printing, print medium (such as paper or cloth), thereby transferring the ink. It marked a dramatic improvement on earlier printing methods in whi ...

, which for nearly a year from

Michaelmas Michaelmas ( ; also known as the Feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, the Feast of the Archangels, or the Feast of Saint Michael and All Angels) is a Christian festival observed in many Western Christian liturgical calendars on 29 Se ...

1588 was in active operation. It was successively located at East Moulsey (

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

), Fawsley (

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire ( ; abbreviated Northants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Leicestershire, Rutland and Lincolnshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshi ...

Coventry Coventry ( or rarely ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands county, in England, on the River Sherbourne. Coventry had been a large settlement for centurie ...

and other places in Warwickshire, and finally at

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

, where it was seized in August 1589. On it were printed Penry's ''Exhortation to the governours and people of Wales, and View of... such publike wants and disorders as are in the service of God... in Wales''; as well as the celebrated Martin Marprelate tracts. In January 1590, his house at Northampton was searched and his papers seized, but he succeeded in escaping to

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. There he published several tracts, as well as a translation of a learned theological work known as ''Theses Genevenses''.

Return to England and death

Returning to England in September 1592, he joined the separatist, or Brownist, congregation in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, in which he declined to take office, though after the arrest of ministers Francis Johnson and John Greenwood, he seems to have been the regular preacher. He was arrested in March 1593 following his recognition by the local vicar at Ratcliff and imprisoned in Poultry Compter while efforts were made to find some pretext for a capital charge. Failing this a charge of

sedition Sedition is overt conduct, such as speech or organization, that tends toward rebellion against the established order. Sedition often includes subversion of a constitution and incitement of discontent toward, or insurrection against, establ ...

was based on the rough draft of a petition to Queen Elizabeth I that had been found among his private papers; the language was harsh and offensive, but had been neither presented nor published. He was convicted by the Queen's Bench on 21 May 1593, and hanged at St Thomas-a-Watering on 29 May at the unusual hour of 4 p.m., without being granted permission to see his wife, Eleanor, or their four young daughters, Deliverance, Comfort, Safety and Sure-Hope before his death. The signature of his old enemy Whitgift was the first of those affixed to the death warrant.

Notes

References

External links

John Penry
by Professor Joseph Black (University of Massachusetts, Amherst) - modern short biography, part of Professor Black's digital resource

{{DEFAULTSORT:Penry, John 1563 births 1593 deaths Welsh Protestants People from Brecknockshire Alumni of Peterhouse, Cambridge Alumni of St Alban Hall, Oxford 16th-century Welsh writers People executed under Elizabeth I Executed Welsh people 16th-century Protestant martyrs People executed by the Kingdom of England by hanging Welsh martyrs Protestant martyrs of England