Plaques numbers 03,04,05 can all be found at this location.
Burned at the Stake
This plaque is on the garden boundary wall of
Malmesbury House.
Malmesbury House is in the Cathedral Close near St Ann's gate.
The O/S grid position is SU 14518 East 29646 North.
This memorial was erected to keep alive the memory of
three protestant martyrs.
William Coberley
John Maundrel
John Spicer
who were burned at the stake in Salisbury
on 24 March 1556.
"for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ"
Rev.1:9.
"Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life"
Rev. 2:10.
Commissioned by John H Cordle esq. 1993
former M.P.
The Close. Salisbury
This commemorative plaque was unveiled on September 25th 1993 by the
Rt. Hon. Viscount Norwich in the presence of H.M. Lord Lieutenant
Field Marshal Sir Roland Gibbs. G.C.B., K.C.B., C.B.E., D.S.O., M.C.
The 3 men named here were among 280 people who died for their faith in England during the reign of Mary I (1553 - 1558)
John Maundrel, who appears to have been the leader of the group, was described as a husbandman. A farmer's son, he was born in Rowde and brought up near Keevil. Foxe (see below) says of him 'that he delighted in nothing so much as to hear and speak of God's word, never being without the New Testament about him, although he could not read himself'. John Spicer was a mason and William Coberley a tailor. One Sunday in March 1556 all three attended a service at Keevil parish church. When the priest asked the congregation to pray for souls in purgatory Maundrel and his friends objected noisily. The priest ordered them to be put in the stocks where they remained for the rest of the service. They were brought before a justice of the peace and the next day taken to Salisbury. They appeared before Bishop Capon* and the diocesan chancellor Dr. Jeffery at a church (demolished in 1852) in Fisherton Anger. They were asked if they believed in the real presence in the sacrament (i.e. transubstantiation - that the bread and wine when consecrated at the Mass become the true body and blood of Christ - a key point at issue between Protestants and Roman Catholics, and consequently a question often asked at trials such as this). They denied it, and went on to denounce the Pope, the doctrine of purgatory, and the veneration of images. They were condemned and handed over to the sheriff ('Master St John') for execution. Spicer is reported to have said 'O master sheriff, now you must be their butcher, that you may be guilty also with them of innocent blood before the Lord'.
On 24 March they were taken to 'a place between Salisbury and Wilton' where stakes had been set up (Fisherton Field, probably near the present Emmanuel Church, where there is another plaque commemorating the martyrs). The sheriff apparently offered John Maundrel the Queen's pardon if he would recant, to which he replied "Not for all Salisbury". On being made the same offer, John Spicer said, "This is the most joyful day I ever saw". The account given in Foxe's Book of Martyrs (a widely read account of the persecutions) concludes 'Thus were they three burnt at two stakes, where most constantly they gave their bodies to the fire and their souls to the Lord, for testimony of His truth.' Coberley was the last to die. His wife Alice escaped his fate by recanting after being arrested. (Foxe says she was tricked by the jailer's wife into picking up an almost red hot key, and was thus convinced that she would be unable to bear the pain of death by burning.)
*John Salcot, known as Capon, was Bishop of Salisbury from 1539 until his death in 1557. He achieved the considerable feat of keeping his job throughout the reforms of Henry VIII and Edward VI and the restoration of Catholicism under Mary I. During the latter reign he became an enthusiastic persecutor of Protestants. He has been accused of mismanaging the cathedral's estates to his own advantage, to the extent that his successor John Jewel said 'a capon has devoured all'. He is buried in the south choir aisle of the cathedral, near the bishop's throne.
The Acts and Monuments of John Foxe, volume 8, edited by the Rev Stephen Reed Cattley MA - Seeley and Burnside, London 1839
The city of Salisbury ed Hugh Shortt, SP Publishers Ltd 1962
Bishops in Brief - Jean Perkins, Salisbury Cathedral Library, 1996
History of Modern Wiltshire - Hoare, Benson and Hatcher - published by John Bowyer Nichols and Son, 1843
Special thanks are due to Miss Suzanne Eward, Librarian and Keeper of the Muniments, Salisbury Cathedral
Life's but a walking shadow
This plaque is high on the wall of Malmesbury House.
Malmesbury House is in the Cathedral Close near St Ann's gate.
The O/S grid position is SU 14536 East 29646 North.
Life's but a walking shadow.
This is life eternal that
they may know thee the only
true God, and Jesus Christ,
whom thou hast sent.
St John Chapter 17, Verse 3.
One can observe that besides the straight hour lines on the wall, radiating from the base of the gnomon, there are curved lines. These lines have dates on them. By observing where the tip of the gnomon shadow is, it is thus possible to determine not only the time but also the date. Remember however that this sundial dates from 1749; before the calendar was changed, before Greenwich Mean Time was adopted and before British Summer Time. Much more information can be obtained from the British Sun Dial society.
Reformation of Calendar
This plaque is on the garden boundary wall of
Malmesbury House.
Malmesbury House is in the Cathedral Close near St Ann's gate.
The O/S grid position is SU 14536 East 29646 North.
An important timely point of interest to the passer-by...
In the year of our Lord 1752, the Reformation of the
Calendar took place - see the Wall Dial above dated
1749. This Julian calendar made the year too short,
thus the accumulated error amounted to eleven days.
England adopted the Gregorian or Reformed Calendar,
so the next day after Sept. 2nd 1752 became Sept 14th 1752.
Malmesbury House The Close Salisbury Wiltshire June 1989
The calendar act did more than skip 11 days. For some further information click here.
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