Report this comment
  • "Get your facts right and stop repeating Catholic propaganda. She was charged with treason not being a Catholic and never stood trial so couldn't have be executed. She refused to plead because if she was found guilty of treason her husband's business would be confiscated by the crown. This 'noble' martyr harboured agents of a foreign power at war with England and preferred to stay silent and be pressed to death rather than stand up for her beliefs and be executed for treason. The people of York at the time were probably as horrified to find out what she was doing as people in York in the Second World War would have been to find a neighbour harbouring a German spy."
  • This field is mandatory
  • This field is mandatory

  • Please note we will not accept reports with HTML tags or URLs in them.


  • Enter the above word in the box below

Please be fair, courteous and respectful to the views of others so we can build a vibrant community in a safe online environment. You are personal liable for your comments and action will be taken against anyone who offends, ridicules or posts malicious and damaging views. If you wish to complain, please contact us.

Saint Margaret Clitherow honoured with York procession

7:03pm Sunday 25th March 2012 in News Photograph of the Author By Kate Liptrot , kate.liptrot@thepress.co.uk

The procession to honour Saint Margaret Clitherow makes it way past York Minster The procession to honour Saint Margaret Clitherow makes it way past York Minster

A SAINT who was martyred in York more than 400 years ago was honoured in a pilgrimage through the city’s streets at the weekend.

On Saturday, Saint Margaret Clitherow, known as the Pearl of York, was remembered in a Latin mass in the presence of the Bishop of Middlesbrough, the Rt Rev Terence Drainey, in St Wilfrid’s Catholic Church and a procession then passed her shrine in Shambles and crossed Ouse Bridge, the place of her execution.

The procession ended at the Church of the English Martyrs in Dalton Terrace.

St Margaret was executed for her Roman Catholic beliefs on March 25, 1586, in the Tollbooth, which stood on the old Ouse Bridge. She was placed under a door and weights were piled on her until her ribs gave way.

The wife of a York butcher, she was imprisoned at least six times for hiding Catholics and holding Mass at her home in Shambles.

She was tried for harbouring Jesuit and seminary priests and celebrating Mass, but refused to plead guilty to the offences amid fears her close friends and family would then be hunted down.

Although relatives and friends tried to save her by claiming she was pregnant, she was sentenced to death.

She was canonised by Pope Paul VI in 1970.

Local Businesses

About cookies

We want you to enjoy your visit to our website. That's why we use cookies to enhance your experience. By staying on our website you agree to our use of cookies. Find out more about the cookies we use.

I agree