Disir
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- Sep 30, 2011
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The family once occupied a prominent position in the Tudor royal court but was ostracized after Sir Henry Bedingfeld (pictured below) refused to sign the Act of Uniformity 1588, which imposed fines on those who refused to attend Anglican services.
The Bedingfelds defied the authorities by continuing to practice the Catholic faith, building a priest hole to shelter clergy in the event of a raid. The narrow room was reached via a trap door that blended in with the tiled floor when shut.
... When builders returned to the property, which is maintained by the National Trust, they discovered an almost intact book known as the King’s Psalms (pictured below), printed in London in 1568. Previously only one copy of the book was known to have survived. It is kept in the British Library. The book, which was found in an attic void, was written by St. John Fisher, the Catholic Bishop of Rochester who was executed by order of Henry VIII in 1535.
Excellent find. I wonder what else they will find.
The Bedingfelds defied the authorities by continuing to practice the Catholic faith, building a priest hole to shelter clergy in the event of a raid. The narrow room was reached via a trap door that blended in with the tiled floor when shut.
... When builders returned to the property, which is maintained by the National Trust, they discovered an almost intact book known as the King’s Psalms (pictured below), printed in London in 1568. Previously only one copy of the book was known to have survived. It is kept in the British Library. The book, which was found in an attic void, was written by St. John Fisher, the Catholic Bishop of Rochester who was executed by order of Henry VIII in 1535.
Rare discoveries shed light on secret Catholic life in Tudor house
A restoration project at a country house has uncovered items that shed new light on the steadfast faith of a Catholic family in the wake of the English Reformation.
www.catholicnewsagency.com
Excellent find. I wonder what else they will find.