A Victorian monument commemorating thirteen Protestants executed or tortured during the Marian persecutions of the 1550s, standing in St John’s churchyard in Stratford Broadway.
At a glance
This Grade II listed memorial marks one of London’s darkest chapters. Thirteen martyrs were burned at the stake or otherwise persecuted for their faith between 1555 and 1556, when Catholic Queen Mary I sought to restore papal authority in England. The monument honours their memory and that of others tortured in Stratford during this period.
History
On 27 June 1556, eleven men and two women were burned at the stake together at Stratford-le-Bow for their Protestant beliefs. The wider persecutions claimed additional victims: Elizabeth Warne (burned 23 August 1555), Stephen Harwood (burned 30 August 1555), and Hugh Laverock and John Apprice (both burned 15 May 1556). The Reverend Thomas Rose, Vicar of All Saints Church in West Ham, was tortured and exiled for preaching against Catholic doctrines including auricular confession and transubstantiation.
More than three centuries later, public subscription funded this memorial. Designed by J T Newman and inaugurated on 2 August 1879, it was presided over by the Earl of Shaftesbury. His strongly anti-Catholic remarks proved controversial; The Graphic newspaper observed that such language wounded many good people rather than healing denominational divisions.
What you see
The monument is an ornate hexagonal column topped with a twelve-sided spire, rising 65 feet. One side carries a terra cotta plaque, sculpted in relief after an illustration from Foxe’s Book of Martyrs, depicting the martyrdom. The remaining panels inscribe the names of all the commemorated victims, including Patrick Packingham, who was executed at Uxbridge rather than Stratford.
Cultural significance
The memorial stands as testament to religious persecution and sixteenth-century martyrdom in England. It reflects Victorian approaches to commemoration and religious identity, while documenting individuals whose defiance of state-sanctioned doctrine cost them their lives. The monument embodies both remembrance and the sectarian tensions that persisted into the nineteenth century.
Key facts
- Location: St John’s churchyard, Stratford Broadway, London Borough of Newham
- Coordinates: 51.541561, 0.002618
- Erected: 1879
- Designer: J T Newman
- Height: 65 feet
- Listed status: Grade II on the National Heritage List for England
- Commemorates: 13 Protestant martyrs executed or tortured 1555–1556
Practical information & getting there
The memorial is located in St John’s churchyard, Stratford Broadway, in the London Borough of Newham. You can reach it via public transport; Stratford station serves the Central, DLR, and Jubilee lines. The churchyard is accessible during daylight hours. Further information about visiting is best obtained from local Newham tourism resources.
Sources & resources
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