Sunday 12 August 2007

Martyrs Processions

Following the first celebration of the Lancaster Martyrs' feast on Tuesday (see below), a number of interesting old photographs were brought in. When the Martyrs' Memorial was blessed, there was a procession (above) from the Castle to the execution site, following (roughly) the route that the martyrs would have taken. The photograph shows the procession on Moor Lane; the Golden Lion pub would have offered a final drink to the condemned.

These two photographs show events marking the canonisation of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales. They were declared saints by Pope Paul VI in 1970; amongst the forty were St Edmund Arrowsmith and St Ambrose Barlow, both executed in Lancaster, and St John Southworth, imprisoned for a time at Lancaster Castle but executed at Tyburn. His body rests in Westminster Cathedral (see various entries on Westminster's site, click here and scroll down). In Lancaster there was a procession (above) and a service at the execution site (below). The Cathedral spire can be seen (above the trees at the back, right in the middle).