- William Freeman
William Freeman (b. at
Manthorp near York, c. 1558; executed atWarwick ,13 August 1595 ) was an EnglishRoman Catholic priest. He is a Catholic martyr,beatified in 1929.Life
His parents were
recusant Catholic, but he was conformingAnglican for some time. He was educated atMagdalen College, Oxford , and took his degree as B.A. in 1581. He then lived for some years in London.He witnessed the execution of
Edward Stransham in 1586. Strongly impressed with this example, he left England and was ordained priest in 1587 atReims . Returning to England in 1589, he worked for six years on the borders ofWarwickshire ; in connection with his life many persons are mentioned who were contemporaries or friends ofShakespeare .In January, 1595, a special commission was sent down to
Stratford-on-Avon to search the house of Mrs. Heaths who had engaged his services as tutor to her son. William Freeman was arrested, and spent seven months in prison. He denied his priesthood, but also refused all offers to escape. Owing to the treachery of a fellow-prisoner, William Gregory, he was at last sentenced as a seminary priest and in spite of a protest of loyalty, suffered the death of a traitor at Warwick.
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