15 November 1838 A.D. Oxford Memorial to Reformed Martyrs—Reprobated by
Tractabates & Tractaphiles
Severance, Diana. “A Gothic Cross to Remember
Martyrs.” Christianity.com. Accessed 9
Jun 2014.
Something had to be done.
Meeting on this day, November 15, 1838 a group from
the University of Oxford and the city met at Town Hall and agreed upon that.
They decided to ask the public for funds to erect a memorial. Their action was
more of a protest than anything else. Historian James Anthony Froude had
downplayed three of England's prominent Protestant martyrs in a book he wrote.
At the time, he was under the influence of the Tractarians, a group of
Reformers whose eyes turned toward Rome. (John Henry Newman, one of the editors
of Froude's Remains, did become a Roman Catholic.) The Oxford leaders
wanted to reassert the dignity of the three slighted men.
And so they appealed for funds
to erect a Gothic Cross atop a spire in Oxford, England, to the memory of
Nicholas Ridley, Hugh Latimer and Thomas Cranmer. The committee selected a
design by George Gilbert Scott. Work was completed in 1841.
The inscription on the cross
reads: "To the glory of God and in grateful commemoration of His servants,
Thomas Cranmer, Nicholas Ridley, Hugh Latimer, Prelates of the Church of
England, who, near this spot, yielded their bodies to be burned, bearing
witness to the sacred truths which they had affirmed and maintained against the
errors of the Church of Rome; and rejoicing that to them it was given not only
to believe in Christ, but also to suffer for His sake . . ."
Almost three hundred years
earlier, these three Church of England leaders had been publicly burned to
death in this distinguished university center. All three were executed across
from the main entrance of Balliol College on Broad Street (formerly Horsemonger
Street.)
Bishops Ridley and Latimer were
both executed on October 17th, 1555. The night before, while eating his last
supper, Bishop Ridley remarked to his keeper's wife: "Though my breakfast
will be somewhat sharp, my supper (in heaven) will be more pleasant and
sweet." Ridley embraced Bishop Latimer at the place of execution, and when
the first fagot was lit at Ridley's feet, Latimer encouraged him: "Be of
good cheer, Ridley; and play the man. We shall this day, by God's grace, light
up such a candle in England, as I trust, will never be put out."
The year following, March 21,
1556, Archbishop Cranmer was put to death. At one point he had signed a
document renouncing his Protestant faith. Shortly before his execution, he
repudiated his own weakness by saying "forasmuch as my hand hath offended,
writing contrary to my heart, therefore my hand shall first be punished; for
when I come to the fire it shall first be burned." And Archbishop Cranmer
did hold his hand in the fire until it was burnt to a cinder, frequently
saying: "This unworthy right hand."
Bibliography:
2. Black, Sid. "A Brief History of the Martyr's Memorial Loyal Orange
Lodge No.213 Oxford." http://www.geocities.com/Athens/
Ithaca/4657/sidsbook.htm
3. Liddon, Henry Parry. Life of Edward Bouverie Pusey. Chapter
XXI. London: Longmans, 1894.
4. "Sir George Gilbert Scott." http://homepage.ntlworld.com/
john-nicholson/hafodunos/ggscott.htm
5. Stuart, Clara H. Latimer. Grand Rapids, Michigan:
Zondervan Books, 1986.
6. Various other internet articles.
Last updated July, 2007.
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