Andrew Bromwich ( c.1640-1702 ) was an English Roman Catholic priest, a survivor of the Popish Plot, and the founder of the Oscott Mission, which developed into St. Mary's College, Oscott.
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He was born at Old Oscott in Staffordshire to a Catholic farming family which by tradition had already produced several priests. He entered the English College, Lisbon in 1668, was ordained about 1672, and returned to Staffordshire.[1] His home county had one of the strongest Catholic communities in England, and a certain degree of immunity from the Penal Laws was provided by the fact that Lord Aston , a powerful local landowner was a Catholic who made little attempt to conceal his beliefs.[2] Bromwich took a crucial precaution by swearing the Oath of Supremacy and the Oath of Allegiance. Prior to the Popish Plot it was unofficially understood that priests who took the oaths were to be left in peace.
During the Popish Plot the young Lord Aston, who had just succeeded to the title, became a principal target when he dismissed his steward, Stephen Dugdale. Dudgale in revenge turned informer: his intelligence, charm and social standing were a marked contrast to earlier informers like Titus Oates so that even Charles II, a sceptic, " began to think there was somewhat in the Plot".[3] After some hesitation Dugdale directly accused Aston of treason; Aston went to the Tower of London, though he was never brought to trial, and the removal of their patron exposed the Staffordshire Catholics to persecution.
Bromwich was tried at the Stafford Assizes in August 1679 with the Jesuit William Atkins (1601-1681) who was so old and frail that even the most credulous should have had difficulty in believing him a conspirator.[4] In fact unlike earlier victims they were charged only with acting as priests , but even so were liable to the death penalty under a statute of 1585. They were tried before the Lord Chief Justice, Sir William Scroggs who was a convinced believer in the Plot, and though tolerant enough of the Catholic laity, violently prejudiced against the priesthood. In the event he was prepared to be merciful to these particular priests ,but not until the guilty verdict was in, and jury and accused were subjected to his famous bullying manner. Bromwich's plea that he had taken the oaths was dismissed as a lie " you priests are full of tricks", and the jury were treated to a tirade on the evils of the priesthood : "It is to these sorts of men we owe all the troubles we are in, the threat to the King's life,the subversion of our government, and the loss of our religion."[5] Not surprisingly they were both found guilty.
Having secured the required verdicts, Scroggs was prepared to be merciful. Bromwich produced proof that he had taken the oaths, which unofficially entitled him to a reprieve, while Scroggs accepted that Atkins' age and frailty made him a suitable case for clemency. Atkins died in prison in 1681; Bromwich must have been released at the latest in February 1685 when James II announced that all persecution of his Catholic subjects should immediately cease.[6]
Under the Catholic James, Bromwich had nothing to fear and he resumed his ministry in Stafford. It was in these years that he founded a small mission at Oscott for the shelter, and later training, of priests. Surprisingly he was able to continue work after the Revolution of 1688, protected perhaps by the strength of local feeling; at his death he bequeathed his old family home to the mission. The mission survived and grew in the eighteenth century and was the origin of St. Mary's College , Oscott.[7]
Bromwich died in 1702 and was buried in the family vault at Handsworth.[8]