Have you ever heard of Priest Holes? Well, if you live in England, check your attic, b/c you may have one. Once upon a time, it was illegal to be Catholic in England.
King Henry VIII needed a male heir & blamed Catherine of Aragon, his 1st wife, for not giving him one.
On these grounds, he asked the Pope for an annulment, which was refused, so Henry founded his own church (the Church of England). And because he was King,
the entire country was required to convert to his new religion.
It was high treason for a priest to even enter England.
Priest Holes are pretty much what they sound like: Small, tucked-away medieval cubbies where Catholic families could hide their priests.
They had to be small, b/c priest hunters were out to find the heretics. They were no taller than four feet, wedged in any space in the house that could discreetly accommodate them.
When priest hunters became wise to these hidden spaces, they would wait until the families thought they had gone, and then seize the priest when he came out.
Some homes like this one, had multiple Priest Holes.
This one, formerly a medieval sewer, was found under a kitchen.
This man found one in the wall of his home.
Here’s one that was found above a bread-oven, in the thickness of the chimney stack.
Nicholas Owen was a carpenter
who specialized in building Priest Holes.
Owen
worked alone and at night to avoid suspicion.
Some of his work throughout England may still be undiscovered.
For example, this one,
rediscovered in 1858,
was not fully opened until 1910, and “still inside were a rope ladder, a small tapestry, bedding and a folding leather altar.”
Owen did eventually get caught.
The first time he was discovered, in 1594, he was tortured,
but did not reveal the names or locations of his fellow Catholics. He was released after a wealthy Catholic family paid a fine on his behalf, and went back to building Priest Holes.
In 1606, though, Owen was arrested again.
But, this time, he was tortured so badly, he
died an awful death, having revealed nothing to his inquisitors. He later became Saint Nicholas Owen, the Patron Saint of Illusionists and Escapologists.
