Richard Woodman (1524? – 22 June 1557) was a

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 ...

martyr, who was born in

Buxted Buxted is a village and civil parish in the Wealden District, Wealden district of East Sussex in England. The parish is situated on the Weald, north of Uckfield; the settlements of Five Ash Down, Heron's Ghyll and High Hurstwood are included wit ...

and lived in nearby Warbleton in

East Sussex East Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Kent to the north-east, West Sussex to the west, Surrey to the north-west, and the English Channel to the south. The largest settlement ...

. He was burnt during the

Marian Persecutions Protestants were executed in England under heresy laws during the reigns of Henry VIII (1509–1547) and Mary I (1553–1558), and in smaller numbers during the reigns of Edward VI (1547–1553), Elizabeth I (1558–1603), and James I (1603 ...

in 1557 in

Lewes Lewes () is the county town of East Sussex, England. The town is the administrative centre of the wider Lewes (district), district of the same name. It lies on the River Ouse, Sussex, River Ouse at the point where the river cuts through the Sou ...

. The cult of the Sussex Martyrs is said to have been started using an etching by James Henry Hurdis of Woodman burning as a Protestant martyr.Christopher Whittick, ‘Hurdis, James Henry (1800–1857)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, Sept 2004; online edn, Jan 200
accessed 6 Nov 2009
/ref>

Life

Woodman was born around 1524 in

in East Sussex; he became an

ironmaster An ironmaster is the manager, and usually owner, of a forge or blast furnace for the processing of iron. It is a term mainly associated with the period of the Industrial Revolution, especially in Great Britain. The ironmaster was usually a larg ...

, and became known whilst running an "iron-making" business that employed one hundred people. During a sermon at St Mary the Virgin Church, Warbleton, Woodman was arrested for having words with the rector which are said to have identified Woodman as a Protestant. Woodman said that the rector was preaching the exact opposite of what he previously said (before Mary was Queen). Woodman lived close to the church and his foundry was also adjacent. Woodman was in contravention of a 1553 law which protected preachers from criticism whilst preaching. Woodman was imprisoned and investigated at intervals by local magistrates and at quarter sessions where he refused to assure them of his intention to conform. He spent periods in prison amounting to six months in total where he was examined by the

Bishop of Chichester The Bishop of Chichester is the Ordinary (officer), ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Chichester in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers the counties of East Sussex, East and West Sussex. The Episcopal see, see is based in t ...

, George Day, and by the commissioners of Cardinal Pole. Richard Woodman martyr

Finally he was sent to the Queen's Bench in London although it is not certain if this was legal. There he stayed for another year and a half until Dr. John Story, the persecuting chancellor, sent him to the bishop's "coalhouse". Whilst a prisoner there he was further examined including an investigation by thirty respectable people who set him free on 18 December 1555. His release was unconditional as they could find no heresy and his arrest appeared to be illegal. It was said that Woodman had submitted to the church but he (perhaps unwisely) corrected this view by undertaking preaching around his parish to correct any misunderstandings over his position. Woodman fled abroad after a warrant had been issued for his arrest. He returned again, but was turned in by his brother (allegedly because they had a financial dispute). Woodman was again in the bishop's "coalhouse" where he was again examined before being sent to the

Marshalsea The Marshalsea (1373–1842) was a notorious prison in Southwark, just south of the River Thames. Although it housed a variety of prisoners—including men accused of crimes at sea and political figures charged with sedition—it became known, ...

prison. John Christopherson who was to be the next Bishop of Chichester conducted a second examination on 27 April 1557, but Woodman could not be tried as Christopherson had not been appointed. John White, the

Bishop of Winchester The Bishop of Winchester is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Winchester in the Church of England. The bishop's seat (''cathedra'') is at Winchester Cathedral in Hampshire. The Bishop of Winchester has always held ''ex officio'' the offic ...

then examined Woodman in St George's Church in Southwark, but he had no jurisdiction over Woodman. Over the next few weeks, Woodman was examined again by White, Christopherson and William Roper and in combination they managed to get Woodman to admit a heresy and he was excommunicated. Woodman was taken to Lewes and burnt in front of the Star Inn (now Lewes Town Hall), together with nine others on 22 June 1557. The nine were George Stevens, Alexander Hosman, William Mainard, Thomasina Wood, Margery Morris, James Morris, Denis Burges, Ann Ashdon and Mary Groves. This was the largest number of people burnt in England at one time and was intended to serve as a warning to others.

Legacy

Woodman's martyrdom is remembered with the memorial pictured in his local churchyard, and he with others are celebrated in the

Bonfire Night Bonfire Night is a name given to various yearly events marked by bonfires and fireworks. These include Guy Fawkes Night (5 November) in Great Britain; All Hallows' Eve (31 October); May Eve (30 April); Midsummer Eve/Saint John's Eve (23 Jun ...

celebrations which are peculiar to Sussex.England's Christian Heritage
accessed November 2009. M. A. Lower published the ''Sussex Martyrs'' in the mid-nineteenth century, a book credited with reviving memories of the martyrs. At the time the martyr deaths had been largely forgotten, and Lower believed that High Churchmen were referring to the

Protestant Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the papacy and ...

and the deaths of these people as "a mistake". Following the publications "anti-popish" demonstrations took place each year around 5 November. In 1868 a figure dressed as the "Bishop of Lewes" warned Protestants of the Roman Catholic threat and the following year an effigy of the pope was to be blown up with gunpowder.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Woodman, Richard 1520s births 1557 deaths 16th-century Protestant martyrs People excommunicated by the Catholic Church People from Buxted English ironmasters Executed English people 16th-century English businesspeople People executed under Mary I of England Executed people from East Sussex People executed by the Kingdom of England by burning Protestant martyrs of England People from Warbleton