John Almond
Almond, John (c.1577–1612), priest and martyr. Born at Allerton (Lancs.), he was educated mainly in Ireland until he became a student at the English College, Rome, in 1597. In 1601 he was ordained priest and obtained his doctorate in divinity, after showing himself exceptionally intelligent and quick in disputation. In 1602 he returned to England, where for seven years he was an energetic and successful itinerant missionary. Pursuivants captured him and he was imprisoned, first at Newgate, then at the Gatehouse. Either he escaped or he was released, for there is record of his working in Staffordshire in 1609, but in 1612 he was again arrested and imprisoned in the appalling conditions of Newgate. Because of his high reputation for holiness and learning, the archbishop of Canterbury and other divines tried to extract a recantation from him, but without success. In 1612 he was accused and convicted of being a priest, although the charge was never proved, and he was executed at Tyburn on 5 December. He was canonized by Paul VI in 1970 as one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales. Feast: 25 October.
Bibliography
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- N.C.E., i. 328; B.T.A., iv. 502–3; W. J. Steele, Blessed John Almond (pamphlet, 1961)
