The Tudor Society
  • 1 December 1581 – The martyrdom of St Alexander Briant

    Today marks the feast day of St Alexander Briant, the Roman Catholic priest who was hanged, drawn and quartered on 1st December 1581 at Tyburn.

    Briant studied at Hart Hall and Balliol College, Oxford, where his tutors included Richard Holtby and Robert Persons, who later became Jesuits. Their influence led to him abandoning his studies and joining the seminary at Douai. On 29th March 1578, he was ordained as a priest and in August 1579, he was sent on a mission to England.

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