The life of Nicholas Owen
"It is incredible", writes Cecil, "how great was the joy caused by his arrest . . . knowing the great skill of Owen in constructing hiding places, and the innumerable quantity of dark holes which he had schemed for hiding priests all through England." Not only the Secretary of State but Waade, the Keeper of the Tower, appreciated the importance of the disclosures which Owen might be forced to make. After being committed to the Marshalsea and thence removed to the Tower, he was submitted to most terrible "examinations" on the Topcliffe rack, with both arms held fast in iron rings and body hanging, and later on with heavy weights attached to his feet, and at last died under torture.
Nicholas Owen enrolled as an apprentice to the Oxford joiner William Conway on the feast of the Purification of Blessed Mary, February 2nd ,1577. He was bound for a period of eight years and the papers of indenture state that he was the son of Walter Owen, citizen of Oxford, carpenter. Oxford at the time was strongly Catholic. The Statute of artificers determined that sons should follow the profession into which they were born. If he completed his apprenticeship it would have been in 1585. We know from Fr. Gerard that he began building hides in 1588 and continued over a period of eighteen years when he could have been earning good money satisfying the contemporary demand for well-made solid furniture.
Fr. Garnet in a letter dated 1596 writes of a carpenter of singular faithfulness and skill who has traveled through almost the entire kingdom and, without charge, has made for Catholic priests hiding places where they might shelter the fury of heretical searchers. If money is offered him by way of payment he gives it to his two brothers; one of them is a priest, the other a layman in prison for
Why should priests need hiding places? From 1585 it was considered treason, punishable by a traitor's death, to be found in England if a priest had been ordained abroad. Of Owen, the modern edition of Butler's Lives of the Saints says: "Perhaps no single person contributed more to the preservation of Catholic religion in England in penal times".
In the aftermath of the Gunpowder Plot, 1605, the result of the frustration of a group of young Catholics when, after dropping hints of toleration, James I made it clear that there would be no relaxation of anti - Catholic legislation, the hunt for priests accused of complicity centred on Hindlip House. This had been provided with hiding places by Nicholas Owen which proved undetectable. He himself was there and when he emerged after four days of hiding he was arrested.
Contrary to English law, which forbade the torture of a man suffering from a hernia, as he was, he was racked day after day, six hours at a time. He died under torture without betraying any secret - and he knew enough to bring down the entire network of covert Catholics in England.
He was canonized in 1970, not merely for his endurance but for his sanctity, attested by his contemporaries. The anniversary of his death is March 2nd, which is also his feast day.
"It is incredible", writes Cecil, "how great was the joy caused by his arrest . . . knowing the great skill of Owen in constructing hiding places, and the innumerable quantity of dark holes which he had schemed for hiding priests all through England." Not only the Secretary of State but Waade, the Keeper of the Tower, appreciated the importance of the disclosures which Owen might be forced to make. After being committed to the Marshalsea and thence removed to the Tower, he was submitted to most terrible "examinations" on the Topcliffe rack, with both arms held fast in iron rings and body hanging, and later on with heavy weights attached to his feet, and at last died under torture.
Nicholas Owen enrolled as an apprentice to the Oxford joiner William Conway on the feast of the Purification of Blessed Mary, February 2nd ,1577. He was bound for a period of eight years and the papers of indenture state that he was the son of Walter Owen, citizen of Oxford, carpenter. Oxford at the time was strongly Catholic. The Statute of artificers determined that sons should follow the profession into which they were born. If he completed his apprenticeship it would have been in 1585. We know from Fr. Gerard that he began building hides in 1588 and continued over a period of eighteen years when he could have been earning good money satisfying the contemporary demand for well-made solid furniture.
Fr. Garnet in a letter dated 1596 writes of a carpenter of singular faithfulness and skill who has traveled through almost the entire kingdom and, without charge, has made for Catholic priests hiding places where they might shelter the fury of heretical searchers. If money is offered him by way of payment he gives it to his two brothers; one of them is a priest, the other a layman in prison for
Why should priests need hiding places? From 1585 it was considered treason, punishable by a traitor's death, to be found in England if a priest had been ordained abroad. Of Owen, the modern edition of Butler's Lives of the Saints says: "Perhaps no single person contributed more to the preservation of Catholic religion in England in penal times".
In the aftermath of the Gunpowder Plot, 1605, the result of the frustration of a group of young Catholics when, after dropping hints of toleration, James I made it clear that there would be no relaxation of anti - Catholic legislation, the hunt for priests accused of complicity centred on Hindlip House. This had been provided with hiding places by Nicholas Owen which proved undetectable. He himself was there and when he emerged after four days of hiding he was arrested.
Contrary to English law, which forbade the torture of a man suffering from a hernia, as he was, he was racked day after day, six hours at a time. He died under torture without betraying any secret - and he knew enough to bring down the entire network of covert Catholics in England.
He was canonized in 1970, not merely for his endurance but for his sanctity, attested by his contemporaries. The anniversary of his death is March 2nd, which is also his feast day.
Further articles relating to the Life and times of St. Nicholas Owen can be found in our News & Articles section :-
The Martyrdom of St Nicholas Owen - :read article:
St Nicholas Owen and the Gunpowder Plot - :read article:
Source: www.stnicholasowen.co.uk
Life
He was born in Oxford, England, around 1562 into a devoutly Catholic family and grew up during the Penal Laws. He was apprenticed as a joiner in 1577 where he acquired skills that he was to use in building hiding places. He entered the service of Henry Garnet S.J. around 1588 and for the next 18 years built hiding places for priests in the homes of Catholic families. He frequently traveled from one house to another, under the name of "Little John", accepting only the necessities of life as payment before starting off for a new project.
Owen was only slightly taller than a dwarf, and suffered from ahernia. Nevertheless, his work often involved breaking through thick stonework; and to minimize the likelihood of betrayal he often worked at night, and always alone. The number of hiding places he constructed will never be known. Due to the ingenuity of his craftsmanship, some may still be undiscovered.
Owen was only slightly taller than a dwarf, and suffered from ahernia. Nevertheless, his work often involved breaking through thick stonework; and to minimize the likelihood of betrayal he often worked at night, and always alone. The number of hiding places he constructed will never be known. Due to the ingenuity of his craftsmanship, some may still be undiscovered.
For many years, Owen worked in the service of the Jesuit priest Henry Garnet, and was admitted into the Society of Jesus as a lay brother. He was arrested in 1594, and was tortured at the Poultry Compter, but revealed nothing. He was released after a wealthy Catholic family paid a fine on his behalf, the jailers believing that he was merely the insignificant friend of some priests. He resumed his work, and is believed to have masterminded the famous escape of Father John Gerard, S.J. from theTower of London in 1597.
Early in 1606, Owen was arrested a final time at Hindlip Hall inWorcestershire,[6] giving himself up voluntarily in hope of distracting attention from his master Fr. Garnet who was hiding nearby with another priest. Realizing just whom they had caught, and his value, Secretary of State, Robert Cecil exulted: "It is incredible, how great was the joy caused by his arrest... knowing the great skill of Owen in constructing hiding places, and the innumerable quantity of dark holes which he had schemed for hiding priests all through England.
After being committed to the Marshalsea, a prison on the southern bank of the Thames, Owen was then removed to the Tower of London. He was submitted to terrible "examinations" on the Topcliffe rack, dangling from a wall with both wrists held fast in iron gauntlets and his body hanging. As his hernia allowed his intestines to bulge out during this procedure, the rackmaster strapped a circular plate of iron to his stomach. When he remained stubborn, it is believed that he was transferred to the rack, where the greater power of the windlass forced out his hernia which was then slashed by the plate, resulting in his death. However, Owen had revealed nothing to his inquisitors. He died in the night between 1 and 2 March 1606.
Father Gerard wrote of him:
"I verily think no man can be said to have done more good of all those who laboured in the English vineyard. He was the immediate occasion of saving the lives of many hundreds of persons, both ecclesiastical and secular."
A priest hole (hiding) in the staircase made by Nicholas Owen in a 16th-century manor-house, Harvington Hall, Worcestershire, UK.
Another priest hole made by Nicholas Owen in the library in the Harvington Hall
The same priest hole inside.
St Nicholas Owen and the Gunpowder Plot - :read article:
"I verily think no man can be said to have done more good of all those who laboured in the English vineyard. He was the immediate occasion of saving the lives of many hundreds of persons, both ecclesiastical and secular."
A priest hole (hiding) in the staircase made by Nicholas Owen in a 16th-century manor-house, Harvington Hall, Worcestershire, UK.
_In_the_Library_Havrington_Hall-Worcestershire-UK-1.jpg)
Another priest hole made by Nicholas Owen in the library in the Harvington Hall
_In_the_Library_Havrington_Hall-Worcestershire-UK-2.jpg)
The same priest hole inside.
St Nicholas Owen and the Gunpowder Plot - :read article:
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