George Marsh (martyr)
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George Marsh was a Protestant Martyr who was born in Deane, Bolton in 1515. He died in Boughton, Chester on April 24th 1555.
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[edit] Life
George Marsh was born and lived most of his life around Deane near Bolton. He was said to be a tall man with a clever way with words and a popular preacher. He was for a time employed by the king, but fell out of favour during the reign of Queen Mary. He refused to convert to Catholicism; he was even given one last chance to convert while being tied to the stake at which he would be burned.
[edit] Death
George Marsh was executed on a windy day in April 1555 on the north side of the road in Boughton, about a mile from Chester City Centre. He was sentenced to be burned to death at the stake at the traditional execution ground at the time in Boughton, Chester. After his death his ashes were collected by his friends and buried in the nearby cemetery of Saint Giles. There is no grave marker in the Cemetery erected for him just a brief footnote on an inscription:
"St Giles Cemetery. Here stood the leper hospital and chapel of St Giles. Founded early in the 12th century and endowed by successive Norman earls of Chester they remained in constant use until 1643. When defensive measures during the siege of Chester necessitated the demolition of buildings outside the city walls. The cemetery remained to mark the site and in time the little village of Spital Boughton clustered around it. In 1644 the royalist defenders suffered great loss of life in a gallant sortie in Boughton and many of the fallen were buried here. It was also used for victims of the plagues which ravaged the city in the 16th and 17th centuries. Being extra parochial the site was granted to the corporation by Charles II in 1685. As a burial ground and through for a period in the charge of St Johns parish. It remains in their hands. When protestant martyr George Marsh was burned at the stake on gallows hill close by his ashes were collected by his friends and buried here. The last burial took place in 1854"
[edit] Memorials
There are two memorials to George Marsh in Chester. One is by the road side in Boughton which contains the following inscription:
"George Marsh born Dean Co. Lancaster. To the memory of George Marsh martyr who was burned to death near this spot for the truth sake April 24th 1555. Also John Plessington 19th July 1679. Canonised saint 25th October 1970."
The other is in St John the Baptist Church in Chester.
[edit] Present Day
The execution of George Marsh is still a matter controversy within the Protestant Church in Chester. They recently held a commemoration for him outside the Town Hall.
