The martyr
fires of the sixteenth century
in England burned without
discrimination as to the status
or sex of those who suffered.
Men and women, old and young,
ecclesiastic and layman, rich
and poor, scholar and student,
nobleman and labourer, none were
spared who stood firm upon the
faith of Jesus Christ and
refused to bow to the alluring
demands of compromise and
perversion. One such was Julian
Palmer who was born about 1533
in Coventry, the son of a mayor
of that city. He was a boy of
'rare and early promise' and was
sent to Magdalene School,
Oxford, for his education, going
on to Magdalene College where he
progressed from studentship to
fellowship. He was a dedicated
student rising at four o'clock
in the morning to commence his
daily studies. He learned to
speak Latin with great ease, and
was one of the few at that time
to show proficiency in Greek.
Palmer was brought up a strict
Roman Catholic, and was
exceedingly zealous - for that
religion. He hotly resented the
spread of Protestantism in the
college following the accession
of King Edward VI in 1547, and
was frequently punished by the
officers of the college for his
staunch adherence to Romanism.
Indeed it was his outspoken
remarks and violent opposition
to reformed truth which
eventually led to his expulsion
from the college.
Yet even at
that time he was not at peace in
his own mind. Shortly before his
expulsion he confided to a
friend - "As touching our
religion, even our own
consciences bear witness that we
taste not such an inward
sweetness in the profession
thereof as we understand the
Gospellers to taste in their
religion: yea to say the truth,
we maintain, we wot not what,
rather of will than of
knowledge! But what then? Rather
than I will yield unto them I
will beg my bread."
Following his expulsion he moved
to Reading where he earned his
keep as tutor in the family of
Sir Francis Knollys. This
however did not continue for
very long, for on the death of
King Edward and the accession of
Queen Mary, royal commissioners
were sent to Oxford to expel the
Protestant fellows from the
colleges, and Palmer was
reinstated at Magdalene. Yet, in
Roman Oxford he was no more
settled than he had been in
Protestant Oxford.
The
martyrologist Foxe records that
"about this time, through the
grace of God working in his
heart, and the study of God's
word assisting thereto," Palmer
began to be much exercised in
his mind concerning those who
were being sent to the stake for
their faith in Jesus Christ. He
commissioned one of his own
scholars to go to Gloucester to
witness the martyrdom of Bishop
John Hooper on the 9th February
1555, and to bring him an
account of it. Later that same
year he was present at the
martyrdoms of Latimer and Ridley
in Oxford, overhearing the
conversation which passed
between the two as the fires
were kindled. He came away from
the place deeply affected,
reflecting on the cruel and
barbarous nature of these
happenings. It seems that this
was the turning point in his
life, for he now showed himself
as zealous a Protestant as he
had been a Romanist, and it was
not long before the authorities,
coming to hear of this, called
him before them, deprived him of
his fellowship, and expelled him
from Oxford. In a conversation
with one of his friends at
Oxford about this time, he is
reported to have said "Truly,
I have been in danger of burning
once or twice, and hitherto, I
thank God, I have escaped it:
but I judge verily it will be my
end at last. Welcome be it, by
the grace of God!"
He returned
now to Reading and was within a
short time appointed Master
(Headmaster) of Reading School.
There he was "well accepted
of all those that feared God and
favoured His words, as well for
his good learning and knowledge
as for his earnest zeal and
profession of the truth".
Satan, however, soon stirred up
enemies to spy on him, who,
pretending to have a zeal for
the gospel, wormed their way
into his confidence, and when
opportunity arose rifled through
his books and papers to find
those which might incriminate
him. They threatened him with
exposure to the Council if he
did not resign, hand over the
Mastership of the school to a
friend of theirs, and leave the
town. This he did, but because
he had not received settlement
of his outstanding salary, he
travelled to Eynsham in
Oxfordshire to visit his mother,
hoping to obtain certain monies
due to him from his father's
will. However she refused to
honour the will because of his
Protestant beliefs and sent him
away with just a half-sovereign
in his pocket. Returning to
Oxford where he still had many
friends, he was given a
recommendation to a school in
Gloucestershire, but before
going there he went back to
Reading, perhaps hoping to claim
the salary which was still owed
to him. Lodging at the
Cardinal's Hat inn in the town
centre where he was well-known
to the landlord and his wife,
his presence soon became known.
This
unexpected visit alarmed his
enemies who denounced him to the
mayor of the town on trumped-up
charges of intended adultery,
and conspiracy to murder against
his hosts, producing a forged
letter to back up these claims.
He was at once committed to the
town gaol opposite St.
Laurence's church where he was
held for a week in the stocks.
On the morning of his trial he
was brought before the mayor,
but the proceedings were
interrupted at lunchtime so that
the mayor could go and eat.
Palmer was put in a cage in the
market place, where for two
hours he was exposed to the
insults and taunts of his
enemies, and the reproaches of
former friends who had given
credit to the slanders made
against him. On the mayor's
return the trial was resumed,
and Palmer gave such a good
account of himself that the
mayor was convinced of his
innocence. His accusers,
however, fearful that they might
lose their prey, brought charges
of heresy against him, the
threat of which had originally
caused Palmer to flee from
Reading, and he returned to the
gaol.
The charge of
heresy was a very serious one
which, if proven, would almost
certainly result in the death
sentence unless the accused
recanted. Primarily it related
to the question "Is the
Lord's presence in the Lord's
Supper corporeal or spiritual?"
The Roman church argued that it
was corporeal, that is, that the
physical body of the Lord Jesus
Christ was actually present in
the bread, whilst the Protestant
reformers showed from Scripture
that it was a spiritual
presence. This was the great
point at issue in the reign of
Queen Mary, and was the test
often applied to suspected
heretics. So Julian Palmer faced
this new charge, and was
initially brought before the
mayor, two Reading justices, and
an official of the Bishop of
Salisbury in whose diocese
Reading was situated. As he
would not deny his Protestant
convictions he was remanded to
appear before the Chancellor of
the Salisbury diocese, Dr
Jeffrey, who was due to hold
court in Newbury, some seventeen
miles away, the following week.
On Monday
10th July 1556, Julian Palmer
stood before Dr Jeffrey and his
assessors in the parish church
of Newbury before an audience of
some three hundred people. Four
charges were initially laid
against him, that he denied the
supremacy of the pope of Rome,
that he affirmed that there were
but two sacraments, not seven as
the Roman church states, that he
had said that the priests set up
an idol in the mass, and so he
had not attended the service
since he came to Reading, and
that he held that there was no
purgatory. These points were
discussed it seems without a
great deal of enthusiasm until
one of the assessors, a local
rector, raised the all important
question about the presence at
the Lord's Table. Pointing to
the pix, the container in which
the consecrated bread was kept,
which stood on the altar in the
church, he thundered out
"What seest thou?" "I
see", replied Palmer, "a
canopy of silk embroidered with
gold." "And what is
within?" continued the
clergyman. "A piece of bread
in a cloth", said Palmer.
Being asked if he did not
believe that "the true body
of Christ was substantially
received in the sacrament?"
he answered, "If the
sacrament of the Lord's Supper
be administered as Christ did
ordain it, the faithful do
indeed spiritually and truly eat
and drink in Christ's body and
blood." Further pressed as
to whether he understood the
words "really, carnally, and
substantially", in the sense
maintained by the Roman church,
he declared that he "would
not believe so absurd and
monstrous a doctrine." This
sealed his fate. There was no
need for any further
questioning. The court
immediately arose for lunch.
There were still those who
sought to save Palmer. He was
sent for by Sir Richard Abridge,
High Sherriff, and Mr. John
Winchcombe, a former MP for
Reading, as they dined together,
who attempted to persuade him to
recant his views. But he stood
firm there was no going back.
Execution of
heretics usually followed
swiftly upon sentence, and
Palmer was taken at once to the
'Blind House', the Newbury
lock-up, a dark and dreary cell,
to await his fate. There he
found two others, already
condemned, John Gwin and Thomas
Askew, simple country folk who
were prepared to die for their
Master. The following morning,
Tuesday 11th July, Palmer was
sent for to sign certain
documents, which he did with the
addition of the words "I
forsake the pope and his
popelings, with all popish
heresy". The three men were
then taken by the constable of
Newbury with his bailiffs to the
Sand Pits, a place in the
grounds of St. Bartholomew's
Priory, on the outskirts of the
town, where they were to be
burned. There, preparations were
made, the stake fixed, the
faggots laid, and the chains
made ready.
Palmer now
made a brief exhortation to his
fellow prisoners "Brethren,
be of good cheer in the Lord,
and faint not. Rejoice and be
glad, for great is your reward
in heaven. Fear not them that
kill the body, and be not able
to touch the soul. God is
faithful, and will not suffer us
to be tempted further than we
shall be able to bear it. We
shall not end our lives in the
fire, but make a change for a
better life. Yea, for coals we
shall receive pearls: for God's
Holy Spirit certifieth our
spirits that He hath even now
prepared for us a sweet supper
in heaven, for His sake which
suffered for us!" Then they
sang a psalm and were led to the
stake. Falling to the ground
Palmer began repeating the words
of Psalm 31, "In thee, 0
Lord, have I put mv trust",
whilst his companions prayed
silently. Taking off their
garments, they kissed the stake
and were bound to the post to
await the flames. Palmer said
his final words to those
gathered around, "Good
people, pray for us that we may
persevere to the end; and for
Christ's sake, beware of popish
teachers, for they deceive you."
Then the signal was given, and
the fires kindled. As the three
martyrs stood, they raised their
hands to heaven and cried,
"Lord Jesus, strengthen us,"
and again "Lord Jesus,
receive our souls." So they
died, three courageous men who
refused to bow the knee to Baal,
who loved not their lives unto
the death. Julian Palmer was but
twenty-three years old. Some
three hundred years later, a
charred post with a long iron
chain still attached was found
at the place where the execution
had taken place, a grim reminder
of the events of that summer's
day in 1556.
John Westmacott
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I gratefully acknowledge my
thanks to
Our Inheritance Bible Ministries
for their
kind permission in allowing me
to reproduce this article.
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