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|image=St Etheldreda, Ely Place, London EC1 - Nave statue - geograph.org.uk - 1613381.jpg
|image=St Etheldreda, Ely Place, London EC1 - Nave statue - geograph.org.uk - 1613381.jpg
|imagesize=
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|caption=Statue of St Margaret Ward in [[St Etheldreda's Church]], London.
|caption=Statue of St Margaret Ward in [[St Etheldreda's Church, London|St Etheldreda's Church]], London.
|birth_place=[[Congleton]], [[Cheshire]], [[England]]
|birth_place=[[Congleton]], [[Cheshire]], [[England]]
|death_place= [[Tyburn]], London, England
|death_place= [[Tyburn]], London, England
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'''Margaret Ward''' (c. 1550-30 August 1588), the "pearl of Tyburn", was an English [[Roman Catholic Church|Catholic]] [[martyr]] who was executed during the reign of [[Elizabeth I of England|Elizabeth I]] for assisting a [[Clergy|priest]] to escape from prison. She was [[canonised]] in 1970, as one of the [[Forty Martyrs of England and Wales]].
'''Margaret Ward''' (c. 1550-30 August 1588), called the "pearl of Tyburn",<ref name="shrewsburydiocese">{{Cite web |title=St Margaret Ward, August 30th |url=https://www.dioceseofshrewsbury.org/download_item/st-margaret-ward-august-30th/ |access-date=15 September 2023 |website=Diocese of Shewsbury |language=en-US}}</ref> was an English [[saint]] and [[martyr]] who was executed during the reign of [[Elizabeth I of England|Elizabeth I]] for assisting a [[Clergy|priest]] to escape from prison. She was [[canonised]] in 1970, as one of the [[Forty Martyrs of England and Wales]].


==Life==
==Life==
Margaret Ward was born in [[Congleton|Congleton, Cheshire]], in Northwest England, around 1550.<ref name="butlerslives-405">{{Cite book |last1=Butler |first1=Alban |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZHnM1a1NTugC&q=Margaret+Ward |title=Butler's Lives of the Saints |last2=Burns |first2=Paul |date=2003 |publisher=Liturgical Press |isbn=978-0-8146-2903-1 |location=Collegeville, Minnesota |pages=405 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="catholicencyclopedia">{{Cite book |last=Burton |first=Edwin |url=https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15551b.htm |title=The Catholic Encyclopedia |publisher=Robert Appleton Company |year=1912 |volume=15 |location=New York |chapter=St. Margaret Ward |access-date=15 September 2023}}</ref> Not much is known about Ward's early life, except that, as the ''[[Catholic Encyclopedia]]'' states, "she was of a good family"<ref name="catholicencyclopedia" /> and was described as a [[gentlewoman]].<ref name="butlerslives-405" /> According to [[Hagiography|hagiographer]] [[Alban Butler]], Ward was a victim of the renewed persecution in England at the time, during the reign of [[Elizabeth I]].<ref name="butlerslives-405" />


Ward worked as a housekeeper or companion in the home "of a lady of distinction"<ref name="catholicencyclopedia" /> named Whitall in London.<ref name="butlerslives-405" /><ref name="catholicencyclopedia" /> Ward decided to help [[William Watson (priest)|William Watson]], a priest and conspirator, later executed for treason, who was imprisoned in the [[Bridewell Palace|Bridewell prison]]. Butler stated that "her story is largely part of" Watson's.<ref name="butlerslives-405" /> Ward befriended the [[Prison officer|gaoler]]'s wife, took food to Watson, and smuggled in rope to help Watson escape. She arranged for two Catholic [[Waterman (occupation)|watermen]] to meet Watson on the [[River Thames|Thames]] below the prison walls; even though he broke his arm and leg during his escape, he was picked up by the watermen, "who rowed him to a safe hiding place".<ref name="butlerslives-405" /> Watson left the rope hanging from the prison wall and it was traced back to Ward. She was arrested, charged, and tried for "aiding a traitor to escape"<ref name="butlerslives-405" /> and was tortured by being hung by her wrists and beaten for eight days.<ref name="butlerslives-405" /><ref name="elizabethan" />
Margaret Ward was born in [[Congleton]], Cheshire around 1550.<ref>[http://www.santiebeati.it/dettaglio/68150 Borrelli, Antonio. "Santa Margherita Ward"], ''Santi e Beati'', 12 April 2003</ref> She was living in London in the service of a lady of the "first rank" when she learned of the severe maltreatment of Richard Watson, a priest confined at [[Bridewell Palace|Bridewell Prison]].<ref name=diocese>[http://www.dioceseofshrewsbury.org/about-us/saints-and-martyrs/st-margaret-ward "St. Margaret Ward", Diocese of Shrewsbury]</ref> She obtained permission to visit him. She was thoroughly searched before and after every visit, but gradually the authorities became less cautious, and she managed to smuggle a rope into the prison. Fr. William Watson jumped off the wall, slightly hurting himself. He escaped, but left the rope hanging from the window. The boatman whom Ward had engaged to convey him down the river then refused to carry out the bargain. Ward, in her distress, confided in another boatman, [[Blessed John Roche|John Roche]], who undertook to assist her. He provided a boat and exchanged clothes with the priest. Watson escaped, but Roche was captured in his place, and Ward, having been Watson's only visitor, was also arrested.<ref name=Burton>[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15551b.htm Burton, Edwin. "St. Margaret Ward." The Catholic Encyclopedia] Vol. 15. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1912. 29 May 2016</ref>


According to [[Robert Southwell (priest)|Robert Southwell]], a martyr and Jesuit priest, Ward "was flogged and hung up by the wrists, the tips of her toes only touching the ground, for so long a time that she was crippled and paralyzed, but these sufferings greatly strengthened the glorious martyr for her last struggle".<ref name="catholicencyclopedia" /> [[John Roche (martyr)|John Roche]], who was either her servant or one of the watermen who helped Watson escape on the river and exchanged clothes with him, was arrested and tried with Ward.<ref name="butlerslives-405" /><ref name="catholicencyclopedia" /> They were offered release if they asked for the queen's pardon and agreed to "confirm to the established Church",<ref name="butlerslives-405" /> but they refused and were hanged at [[Tyburn]] on 30 August 1588.<ref name="butlerslives-405" /><ref name="catholicencyclopedia" /><ref name="elizabethan">{{Cite book |last=Martin |first=Patrick H. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=crcfDAAAQBAJ&q=Margaret%20Ward |title=Elizabethan Espionage: Plotters and Spies in the Struggle between Catholicism and the Crown |publisher=McFarland, Incorporated |year=2016 |isbn=9781476623597 |location=Jefferson, North Carolina |oclc=949258284 |access-date=16 September 2023}}</ref>
Margaret Ward was kept in irons for eight days, was hung up by the hands, and [[Scourge|scourged]],<ref name=diocese/> but absolutely refused to disclose the priest's whereabouts. At her trial, she admitted to having helped Watson to escape, and rejoiced in "having delivered an innocent lamb from the hands of those bloody wolves". She was offered a pardon if she would attend a [[Protestant]] service but refused.<ref name=Burton/> She was hanged at [[Tyburn]] on 30 August 1588,<ref>{{Cite book|title=Elizabethan espionage : plotters and spies in the struggle between Catholicism and the crown|author=Martin, Patrick H.|date=27 April 2016|isbn=9781476623597|oclc=949258284}}</ref> along with Edward Shelley, [[Richard Martin (martyr)|Richard Martin]], [[Richard Leigh (martyr)|Richard Leigh]], Richard Lloyd (alias Flower) and [[John Roche (martyr)|John Roche]].


==Veneration==
==Veneration==
Margaret Ward was beatified in 1929<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=SH0mCwAAQBAJ&dq=saint+margaret+ward&pg=PA173 Kelly-Gangiand, Carol. ''365 Days with the Saints'', Wellfleet Press, 2015] {{ISBN|9781627889636}}</ref> and [[canonised]] by [[Pope Paul VI]] on 25 October 1970, as one of the [[Forty Martyrs of England and Wales]].<ref>[http://dowym.com/discover/margaret-ward/ "Saint Margaret Ward: Firm in the Faith", Dioceses of Westminster]</ref> Her feast day, along with all the English Martyrs, is on 4 May. However, in the [[Roman Catholic]] dioceses of England, she shares a feast day with fellow female martyr saints [[Margaret Clitherow]] and [[Anne Line]], on 30 August.<ref>[https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_academies/cult-martyrum/martiri/009.html Martirologio, Vatican, 2005]</ref> The three were officially added to the [[Calendar of saints (Episcopal Church)|Episcopal Church liturgical calendar]] with a feast day on 30 August.<ref>{{Cite web |title=General Convention Virtual Binder |url=https://www.vbinder.net/resolutions/24?house=HD&lang=en |access-date=2022-07-22 |website=www.vbinder.net}}</ref>
Ward and Roche were beatified in a large group in 1929 and Ward was canonised as one of the [[Forty Martyrs of England and Wales]] by [[Pope Paul VI]] in 1970.<ref name="butlerslives-405"/> Her feast day, for both the [[Catholic Church|Roman Catholic Church]] and the [[Episcopal Church (United States)|Episcopal Church]], is August 30.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Martirologio |url=https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_academies/cult-martyrum/martiri/009.html#agosto |access-date=15 September 2023 |website=Vatican}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Resolution A007 Authorize Lesser Feasts and Fasts 2022 |url=https://www.vbinder.net/resolutions/24?house=HD&lang=en |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220913143652/https://www.vbinder.net/resolutions/24?house=HD&lang=en |archive-date=13 September 2022 |access-date=15 September 2022 |website=General Convention Virtual Binder |publisher=Episcopal Church}}</ref>


Ward is depicted in panels in St Joseph's, Sale and St Alban's, Wallasey.<ref name=diocese/> There are several schools named after her, including [[St Margaret Ward Catholic Academy]] in [[Tunstall, Staffordshire]].<ref>[https://stmargaretward.co.uk/ St Margaret Ward Catholic Academy]</ref>
Ward is depicted in panels in St Joseph's Church in [[Sale, Greater Manchester|Sale]] and St Alban's Church in [[Wallasey]], in the [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Shrewsbury|Diocese of Shrewsbury]], in the [[North West of England|North West]] and [[West Midlands (region)|West Midlands]] of England. There was a wooden statue of her in St Lawrence's Church in [[Birkenhead]], a school and church are named for her in Sale, and another church in [[Holmes Chapel]] also is named for her. [[St Margaret Ward Catholic Academy]] in [[Tunstall, Staffordshire]], is named after her as well.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Home |url=https://stmargaretward.co.uk/ |access-date=15 September 2023 |website=St Margaret Ward Catholic Academy}}</ref>


==References==
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{reflist}}
*
*{{catholic|title = St Margaret Ward}}


{{Subject bar |portal1= Biography |portal2= Catholicism |portal3= England}}
{{Subject bar |portal1= Biography |portal2= Catholicism |portal3= England}}

Latest revision as of 16:56, 6 October 2023

For other uses, see Margaret Ward (disambiguation).

Saint

Margaret Ward
Statue of St Margaret Ward in St Etheldreda's Church, London.
Martyr
Bornin the 1550s
Congleton, Cheshire, England
Died(1588-08-30)30 August 1588
Tyburn, London, England
Venerated inRoman Catholic Church
Anglican Communion
Beatified15 December 1929 by Pope Pius XI
Canonized25 October 1970 by Pope Paul VI
Feast25 October (in England), 4 May
Attributesbasket, rope

Margaret Ward (c. 1550-30 August 1588), called the "pearl of Tyburn",[1] was an English saint and martyr who was executed during the reign of Elizabeth I for assisting a priest to escape from prison. She was canonised in 1970, as one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales.

Life[edit]

Margaret Ward was born in Congleton, Cheshire, in Northwest England, around 1550.[2][3] Not much is known about Ward's early life, except that, as the Catholic Encyclopedia states, "she was of a good family"[3] and was described as a gentlewoman.[2] According to hagiographer Alban Butler, Ward was a victim of the renewed persecution in England at the time, during the reign of Elizabeth I.[2]

Ward worked as a housekeeper or companion in the home "of a lady of distinction"[3] named Whitall in London.[2][3] Ward decided to help William Watson, a priest and conspirator, later executed for treason, who was imprisoned in the Bridewell prison. Butler stated that "her story is largely part of" Watson's.[2] Ward befriended the gaoler's wife, took food to Watson, and smuggled in rope to help Watson escape. She arranged for two Catholic watermen to meet Watson on the Thames below the prison walls; even though he broke his arm and leg during his escape, he was picked up by the watermen, "who rowed him to a safe hiding place".[2] Watson left the rope hanging from the prison wall and it was traced back to Ward. She was arrested, charged, and tried for "aiding a traitor to escape"[2] and was tortured by being hung by her wrists and beaten for eight days.[2][4]

According to Robert Southwell, a martyr and Jesuit priest, Ward "was flogged and hung up by the wrists, the tips of her toes only touching the ground, for so long a time that she was crippled and paralyzed, but these sufferings greatly strengthened the glorious martyr for her last struggle".[3] John Roche, who was either her servant or one of the watermen who helped Watson escape on the river and exchanged clothes with him, was arrested and tried with Ward.[2][3] They were offered release if they asked for the queen's pardon and agreed to "confirm to the established Church",[2] but they refused and were hanged at Tyburn on 30 August 1588.[2][3][4]

Veneration[edit]

Ward and Roche were beatified in a large group in 1929 and Ward was canonised as one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales by Pope Paul VI in 1970.[2] Her feast day, for both the Roman Catholic Church and the Episcopal Church, is August 30.[5][6]

Ward is depicted in panels in St Joseph's Church in Sale and St Alban's Church in Wallasey, in the Diocese of Shrewsbury, in the North West and West Midlands of England. There was a wooden statue of her in St Lawrence's Church in Birkenhead, a school and church are named for her in Sale, and another church in Holmes Chapel also is named for her. St Margaret Ward Catholic Academy in Tunstall, Staffordshire, is named after her as well.[7]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "St Margaret Ward, August 30th". Diocese of Shewsbury. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Butler, Alban; Burns, Paul (2003). Butler's Lives of the Saints. Collegeville, Minnesota: Liturgical Press. p. 405. ISBN 978-0-8146-2903-1.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Burton, Edwin (1912). "St. Margaret Ward". The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 15. New York: Robert Appleton Company. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
  4. ^ a b Martin, Patrick H. (2016). Elizabethan Espionage: Plotters and Spies in the Struggle between Catholicism and the Crown. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland, Incorporated. ISBN 9781476623597. OCLC 949258284. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
  5. ^ "Martirologio". Vatican. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
  6. ^ "Resolution A007 Authorize Lesser Feasts and Fasts 2022". General Convention Virtual Binder. Episcopal Church. Archived from the original on 13 September 2022. Retrieved 15 September 2022.
  7. ^ "Home". St Margaret Ward Catholic Academy. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
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