Thomas Maxfield (real name Macclesfield) (c.1590 – 1 July 1616) 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,

beatified Beatification (from Latin , "blessed" and , "to make") is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their name. ''Beati'' is the ...

in 1929.

Life

He was born in

Stafford Stafford () is a market town and the county town of Staffordshire, England. It is located about south of Stoke-on-Trent, north of Wolverhampton, and northwest of Birmingham. The town had a population of 71,673 at the 2021–2022 United Kingd ...

gaol, one of the younger sons of William Macclesfield of Chesterton and Maer and

Aston Aston is an area of inner Birmingham, in the county of the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Located immediately to the north-west of Birmingham city centre, Central Birmingham, Aston constitutes a wards of the United Kingdom, war ...

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation ''Staffs''.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, ...

; William Macclesfield was a Catholic

recusant 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 ...

, condemned to death in 1587 for harbouring priests, one of whom was his brother Humphrey. His mother was Ursula, daughter of Francis Roos, of Laxton, Nottinghamshire. William Macclesfield is said to have died in prison and is one of the prætermissi as William Maxfield; but, as his death occurred in 1608, this is doubtful. Thomas arrived at the English College at Douai on 16 March 1602-3, but had to return to England 17 May 1610, owing to ill health. In 1614 he went back to Douai, was ordained priest, and in the next year came to London. Within three months of landing he was arrested, and sent to the Gatehouse, Westminster. After about eight months' imprisonment, he tried to escape by a rope let down from the window in his cell, but was captured on reaching the ground. This was at midnight 14–15 June 1616. For seventy hours he was placed in the

stocks Stocks are feet and hand restraining devices that were used as a form of corporal punishment and public humiliation. The use of stocks is seen as early as Ancient Greece, where they are described as being in use in Solon's law code. The law de ...

in a dungeon at the Gatehouse, and was then on Monday night (17 June) removed to

Newgate Jail Newgate Prison was a prison at the corner of Newgate Street and Old Bailey, just inside the City of London, England, originally at the site of Newgate, a gate in the Roman London Wall. Built in the 12th century and demolished in 1904, the pris ...

, where he was amongst criminals. On Wednesday, 26 June, he was brought to the bar at the

Old Bailey The Central Criminal Court of England and Wales, commonly referred to as the Old Bailey after the street on which it stands, is a criminal court building in central London, one of several that house the Crown Court of England and Wales. The s ...

, and the next day was condemned solely for being a priest, under the Jesuits, etc. Act 1584. The Spanish ambassador, Diego Sarmiento de Acuña, Count of Gondomar, did his best to obtain a pardon, or at least a reprieve; but, finding his efforts unavailing, had solemn exposition of the Blessed Sacrament in his chapel during Maxfield's last night on earth. Maxfield was condemned to be executed 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 ...

, London. The procession to Tyburn early on the following morning was joined by many devout Spaniards, who, in spite of mockery, formed a guard of honour. Tyburn-tree itself was found decorated with garlands. Catholics retrieved his relics from the pit in which they were interred beneath the bodies of two criminals in London in 1616 and Gondomar arranged their safe passage to Spain.Walsham, Alexandra. "Thomas Maxfield's Relics: A Footnote", Remembering the Reformation, University of Cambridge
/ref> Half of Maxfield's relics are now at

Downside Abbey Downside Abbey is a Benedictine monastery in England and the senior community of the English Benedictine Congregation. Until 2019, the community had close links with Downside School, for the education of children aged 11 to 18. Both the abbey ...

, near Bath. Others are located in the Santa Ana chapel of the Paza de Gondomar.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maxfield, Thomas 1590 births 1616 deaths English beatified people Executed people from Staffordshire Executed Roman Catholic priests People executed by Stuart England 17th-century venerated Christians 17th-century English Roman Catholic priests People from Stafford 17th-century executions by England One Hundred and Seven Martyrs of England and Wales

Life

See also

References