St Nicholas Owen by Tony Reynolds (30-Apr-2014) Paperback

by Tony Reynolds

During the reigns of Elizabeth I and James I it was high treason, and therefore death, to be a Catholic priest in England. It was consequently vital that there be somewhere to hide when the pursuivants came battering at the door. One name is prominent in the construction of priest-holes ‒ that of Nicholas Owen. A very short and later crippled man, he built the majority of these shelters, so saving the lives of untold numbers of priests and fugitives. His early apprenticeship as a joiner and his knowledge of construction served him well as he burrowed into walls and constructed near-invisible entrance holes. Although a well-known figure in Recusant studies, and almost invariably mentioned in histories of the Gunpowder Plot, this is his first detailed biography. St Nicholas Owen was born in Oxford, the son of a carpenter. Two of his brothers were to train as Catholic priests on the continent. A third, Henry, the first apprentice at what was to become the Oxford University Press, went on to assist the Mission with the production of Catholic books and pamphlets. Nicholas was himself apprenticed to an Oxford joiner in 1577. Acting as a servant to Fr Henry Garnet SJ for nearly twenty years, Owen had many adventures, narrowly evading capture, and assisted in the escape of the Jesuit Fr John Gerard from the Tower of London in 1597. St Nicholas was tortured at the Poultry Compter in 1594 but later released. He was finally taken in one of his own priest-holes during the rigorous pursuit of Catholics that followed the failure of the Gunpowder Plot, and died upon the rack in the Tower of London in 1606. Evidence of St Nicholas Owen's work is still visible in country houses and mansions across England, and recent research has unveiled greater detail of his fascinating career assisting the English Mission at the close of the 16th and beginning of the 17th centuries. Tony Reynolds read Architecture at University College London in the 'sixties, and became interested in the application of computers to architecture, then very much in its pioneering stages. A staunch member of the caving club at college, this love of confined spaces combined with his architectural training may have given him special insight into the construction of priest-holes. Working as a computer manager and resident programmer, he has published several textbooks on computer use by architects, and, most recently, a well-received book of pastiche Sherlock Holmes stories.

Unknown Binding

First published April 30, 2014

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Reviews

[Steven R. McEvoy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a fascinating read. It is an odd mix of history, biography, And technical review of priest holes. The book by no means focuses exclusively on Own. In fact his part is likely less than half of the book. We are given a lot of background information on the times, the persecutions of Catholics, the recusants, and ultimately the Gunpowder Plot. The description of this volume begins with this statement:

“During the reigns of Elizabeth I and James I it was high treason, and therefore death, to be a Catholic priest in England. It was consequently vital that there be somewhere to hide when the pursuivants came battering at the door. One name is prominent in the construction of priest-holes ‒ that of Nicholas Owen. A very short and later crippled man, he built the majority of these shelters, so saving the lives of untold numbers of priests and fugitives.”

I came across the name Saint Nicholas Owen in a different book and wanted to find out more about him. I could only find this volume and Nicholas Owen: Builder of Secret Places: A Ten-Minute Biographical Play by Gay Toltl Kinman. This was the one that look most promising and it was a fascinating read. I highlighted several passages while reading this book, some of them are:

“He records that he turned to Nicholas Owen to arrange him some lodgings. This is a talent of Nicholas’ that we have not previously seen, but Gerard praises his skill in making the arrangements and implies that it was a duty he often carried out, describing him as ‘that excellent man, who was so experienced in transactions of this sort.’”

“Prisons even competed among themselves for the custody of the most lucrative detainees. Inmates were charged for everything necessary to survival and comfort; food, drink, clothes, bedding, medical attention and so on.”

“Nicholas was the chief, but not the only, constructor of priest-holes at the time. In the far North of England which Garnet seldom reached, there was Father Richard Holtby, whom Squiers calls the ‘Nicholas of the North’. Holtby was a very competent and hard-working priest to whom Garnet had given the northern counties as his territory.”

“It is pleasing to consider that we may well see more priest-holes rediscovered. In an episode evoking innumerable scenes from children’s fiction, the ingenious pivoting beam hide at Harvington was discovered by a young boy in 1897 when he teased out a loose brick. Similarly, the double hide at Coughton Court, despite its considerable size, was forgotten and found only during repair work in 1945. We can have every hope that more examples of Nicholas’ particular genius remain to be found.”

“On the first occasion that Nicholas was captured, twelve years previously, the authorities had not realised that they had anyone of importance in their clutches. This time it was different. No doubt through confessions wrung out on the rack they knew that Nicholas was the chief builder of priest-holes in England. One Councillor (Tesimond says it was the Earl of Salisbury himself) exulted: ‘Is he taken that knows all the secret places? I am very glad of that. We will have a trick for him.’”

“The truth was this: the man had lived a saintly life, and his death was answerable, and he a glorious martyr of extraordinary merit. God assisted him with so much grace that in all his torments he gave not the least sign of relenting, not any sign of impatience, not any one word by which the least of his acquaintance either did or might come in any trouble.”

“We can perhaps take consolation from the thought that being declared a saint and martyr is an even higher honour than being accepted as a member of the Society of Jesus.”

“We have then a picture of an intelligent and companionable man who was also skilled and knowledgeable craftsman.”

“In the end what raised him to sainthood was not his martyrdom alone, but also his loyalty to his friends, his unstinting labours for his Church and his faith that gave him the strength to endure unto death tortures which can surely be compared to those of the Cross.”

There is a section towards the end of the book talking about the saints and martyrs of England during these times. It talks about the 254 causes proposed in 1886, of whom 241 were martyrs. From those a detailed examination of 136. Which lead to the 40 submitted in 1960. The Forty Martyrs of England and Wales. In 1970 those 40 were canonized.

This book was an excellent read. The illustrations, and photos throughout the work add to the tale. And the fact that the author is trained in architecture gives him incredible insight into what was done and how it was accomplished.

For those interested in this period of Catholic History in England this ia a most excellent volume.

Note: This book is part of a series of reviews: 2021 Catholic Reading Plan!

[G. Lawrence · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good, veers away from Owen sometimes to talk about better known figures of the Catholic underground, but the detail about priest-holes (what I bought it for) is good.

[Clare · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought this at Coughton Court, famous for its priest hole. I wanted to know more about the person who made them and how, and where more were. The book placed the construction of priest holes in context, fleshing out the Jesuits Nicholas served and travelled around the country. There wasn't much on the mechanics of how the holes were made, with more a consideration on the difficulties of making them and how to disguise the noise and mess of their construction. Accounts of the pains and deprivations suffered by people hiding in some, compared to the relative ease in better equipped holes was interesting, showing how Nicholas gained in knowledge, the holes made becoming increasingly sophisticated and cunning. And such a sad end. Fascinating.

[Kevin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book, gave enough history that I did not feel lost as someone who was not that familiar with the setting. The stories within are absolutely fascinating and actioned packed and remind us as Catholics, that despite the modern narrative, at many points in time Catholics and the Catholic Church have been victimized, rather than the dogmatic instigator that our Church is so often portrayed as.