George Marsh, Boughton, Chester, Cheshire, England, UK - Religious Freedom on Waymarking.com

George Marsh was a Protestant Martyr who was put to death in Chester on 24 April 1555 as a result of the Marian Persecutions which were carried out against religious reformers. The monument is a simple granite tower and stands on the side of the church that until you read the inscription you would think was a world war memorial.

It is grey/pink to the look (as you can see in the gallery pictures) and the full inscriptions are listed below and also pictured in the gallery section). The monument stands on the south side of Boughton road, to the east of it stands a Protestant Church and this stands at the far west of the churches foot print. Please take care with little children near here as there is only a pavement between the monument (which is fences in with a metal fence) and the busy Boughton road.

The Marian Persecutions which were carried out against religious reformers, Protestants, and other dissenters for their beliefs during the reign of Mary I of England. His death is recorded in Foxe's Book of Martyrs.

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"

With thanks to Wikipedia and the Tyndale website:- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Marsh_(martyr)

Most of the text it taken and adapted from Foxe's Book of Martyrs (1563) by Bill Cooper

The monument text reads:- "To the memory of George Marsh Martyr Who was burnt to death Near this spot for truths sake April 24th 1555"

The side reads:- "George Marsh Born at Dean Co Lancaster AD 1515"

The other side reads:- "Erected by Nessie Brown Ad 1898"

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