Thomas Sprott (d. 11 July 1600), also spelled Thomas Spratt, was an English martyr, as was his colleague, Thomas Hunt, who is also known as Thomas Benstead.
Biography
Thomas Sprott (''alias'' "Parker") was born in about 1571 at
Skelsmergh
Skelsmergh is a small village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Skelsmergh and Scalthwaiterigg, in South Lakeland in rural Cumbria, England, about north of Kendal, on the A6 road (England), A6 road.
St. John the Baptist Church at S ...
, near
Kendal
Kendal, once Kirkby in Kendal or Kirkby Kendal, is a market town and civil parish in the South Lakeland district of Cumbria, England, south-east of Windermere and north of Lancaster. Historically in Westmorland, it lies within the dale of th ...
in
Westmorland
Westmorland (, formerly also spelt ''Westmoreland'';R. Wilkinson The British Isles, Sheet The British IslesVision of Britain/ref> is a historic county in North West England spanning the southern Lake District and the northern Dales. It had an ...
; suffered at
Lincoln with Thomas Hunt on 11 July 1600. Sprott studied at
Douai College in northern France,
Ward, Bernard. ''Menology of St. Edmund's College, Old Hall''
United Kingdom, Catholic Truth Society, 1909. p. 68 where he was ordained priest in 1596.[Delaney, John J.. ''Dictionary of Saints'']
United States, Image/Doubleday, 2005. p. 574 He was sent on the English mission that same year, and signed the letter to the pope, dated 8 November 1598, in favour of the institution in England of the archpriest
The ecclesiastical title of archpriest or archpresbyter belongs to certain priests with supervisory duties over a number of parishes. The term is most often used in Eastern Orthodoxy and the Eastern Catholic Churches and may be somewhat analogous ...
. Sprott had hoped to join the Jesuits.[
]
Thomas Hunt
Hunt was born in Norfolk in approximately 1573. 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 reemer ...
says that his real name was probably Bensted or Benstead, as that was how Henry Garnet referred to him.[Camm O.S.B., Bede. "Fresh Light on Our Martyrs from the Valladolid Manuscript", ''The Month: An Illustrated Magazine of Literature, Science and Art'']
p. 352, vol. 92, 1900. He studied for the priesthood at the Royal English College in Valladolid and subsequently the English College of Seville, being ordained in 1599. His service in England was brief, being initially imprisoned at Wisbech, where he then escaped with five others.
Arrest and Execution
Some months later, they were arrested at the Saracen's Head, Lincoln, upon the discovery of the holy oils and two Breviaries
A breviary (Latin: ''breviarium'') is a liturgical book used in Christianity for praying the canonical hours, usually recited at seven fixed prayer times.
Historically, different breviaries were used in the various parts of Christendom, such as ...
in their possession.Sir John Glanville
Sir John Glanville the younger (1586 – 2 October 1661), was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1614 and 1644. He was Speaker of the English House of Commons during the Short Parliament. He support ...
berated the jury when it failed to find the defendants guilty. Hunt then said that if the judge thought them guilty he should pronounce sentence himself and not bring "innocent blood" on the heads of those who understood neither the law nor the case.
Taking exception to the phrase "innocent blood", Glanville responded, "Let your blood which you call innocent be on me and my head." He then directed the jury to find them guilty, which was done. His words were remembered when sixteen days later Glanville died while riding a quiet cob in the meadows; his horse suddenly shied and threw him and he suffered a broken neck.beatified
Beatification (from Latin ''beatus'', "blessed" and ''facere'', "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 nam ...
by Pope John Paul II on 22 November 1987.
See also
* Douai Martyrs
The Douai Martyrs is a name applied by the Catholic Church to 158 Catholic priests trained in the English College at Douai, France, who were executed by the English state between 1577 and 1680.
History
Having completed their training at Douai, ...
Notes
*
References
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sprott, Thomas
English beatified people
1600 deaths
Year of birth missing
16th-century births
People executed under Elizabeth I
People from Westmorland
Executed people from Cumbria
Eighty-five martyrs of England and Wales
Executed Roman Catholic priests