Martyrs' Memorial — Attraction in Oxford

The Martyrs' Memorial is a stone monument positioned at the intersection of St Giles', Magdalen Street and Beaumont Street, to the west of Balliol College, Oxford, England. It commemorates the 16th-century Oxford Martyrs. The monument was built 300 years after the events of the English Reformation and commemorates the Bishop of Worcester Hugh Latimer and Bishop of London Nicholas Ridley, who were burned nearby on October 16, 1555 after having been convicted for heresy because of their Protestant beliefs after a quick trial. It also commemorates the former Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Cranmer, who was similarly executed (after having watched his colleagues' painful deaths while imprisoned in a nearby tower and the Vatican having permitted his degradation from holy orders in February) on March 21, 1556. The Rev. Charles Pourtales Golightly (a descendant of Huguenots who fled to England in that earlier era) and other Anglican clergy raised the funds to erect the monument during the Victorian era. They opposed the 19th century Oxford Movement (also known also the Tractarian Movement), led by John Keble, John Henry Newman and others. Golightly and his colleagues were alarmed at the Anglo-Catholic realignment the movement was bringing into the Church of England, and wanted the memorial to reflect the university's Protestant profession and anti-Catholic tradition. Designed by George Gilbert Scott, the monument was completed in 1843 after two years' work, having replaced "a picturesque but tottering old house". The Victorian Gothic memorial, whose design dates from 1838, has been likened to the steeple of a cathedral, though it was consciously patterned on the Eleanor crosses erected by King Edward I between 1290 and 1294 to the memory of his wife, Queen Eleanor of Castile (1241–1290). Henry Weekes sculpted the three statues of Cranmer, Latimer and Ridley. The monument is listed at Grade II*.[3]

The inscription on the base of the Martyrs' Memorial 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; this monument was erected by public subscription in the year of our Lord God, MDCCCXLI.

Cuthbert Bede (in his novel The Adventures of Mr Verdant Green) wrote about the setting of the Martyrs' Memorial thus in 1853:

He who enters the city, as Mr Green did, from the Woodstock Road, and rolls down the shady avenue of St Giles', between St John's College and the Taylor Buildings, and past the graceful Martyrs' Memorial, will receive impressions such as probably no other city in the world could convey.

The actual execution site is close by in Broad Street, just outside the line of the old city walls. The site is marked by an iron cross sunk...

The Martyrs' Memorial in Oxford, England, is a striking stone monument located at the intersection of St Giles', Magdalen Street, and Beaumont Street.

Erected between 1841 and 1843, it commemorates the Oxford Martyrs: three prominent Protestant bishops – Thomas Cranmer (Archbishop of Canterbury), Nicholas Ridley (Bishop of London), and Hugh Latimer (Bishop of Worcester). These men were burned at the stake for heresy in Oxford in 1555-1556 during the reign of Catholic Queen Mary I, for refusing to renounce their Protestant beliefs.

Designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott in the Gothic Revival style, the monument is based on the medieval Eleanor Crosses. It features intricate carvings and statues of the three martyrs.

While commemorating a 16th-century event, the memorial's construction in the 19th century was also a response to contemporary religious debates, particularly the Oxford Movement, emphasizing the Protestant heritage of the Church of England. It stands as a significant symbol of religious freedom and conviction in English history. A cross of cobblestones in nearby Broad Street marks the actual...

Memorial built in honor of three martyrs who were burnt at the stake as heretics under the reign of Bloody Mary.

The three men - Hugh Latimer, Nicholas Ridley, and Thomas Cranmer - were martyred for their support of the English reformation. All three also supported the claims of Lady Jane Grey (the 9 day queen) to the throne following the death of Edward VI.

Ridley has been the “Bishop of London and Westminster”. Latimer was bishop of Worcester. Cranmer was Archbishop of Canterbury. Cranmer was instrumental in annulling Henry VIII’s marriage to Catherine of Aragon. The stories of all three men are fascinating. The three were housed in the near by Bocardo prison prior to execution. The cell door that held Cranmer can be seen at the Saxon Bell Tower at St. Michael at the North...