Priest hole

A priest hole (English priest hole) is a hole ( hideout ) for priests. These can still be found in older, formerly Catholic houses in England.

After Henry VIII had established the Church of England and claimed the supremacy of the crown of England, Catholicism was regarded as disobedience against the king and was under suspicion of treason. Roman Catholic priests and religious were persecuted in England from about the beginning of the reign of Queen Elizabeth I in 1558. The measures against them were reinforced after there had been riots and unrest (eg Ridolfi conspiracy 1570/71, Babington plot in 1586, etc.). Partial served previously (eg Exeter Conspiracy 1538) and even later fictional conspiracies (eg Popish conspiracy 1678) as a reason for restrictive measures against Catholics.

Arrangement of priest holes

Priest holes were built or expanded in castles and country homes of Catholic families in England. There were often spartan, but artfully arranged hiding places and entrances, in which the priest-celebrant could slip in an emergency. This also served as a hiding place for keeping the sacred vessels and altar furniture.

Many such hiding places are attributed to the Masons, a lay brother of the Jesuits and later martyr Nicholas Owen, who is said to have constructed these secret places and entrances, to protect the lives of the persecuted. In the East Riddlesden Hall such a hiding place was a part of the chimney, in Ripley Castle and Harvington Hall ( Worcestershire ) a part of the wall covering. In Chesterton Hall ( near Cambridge ), the priest's hole was a part of the toilet.

Owen was taken after the Gunpowder Plot in 1605 Hindlip Hall, Worcestershire, captured and tortured on the rack in the Tower of London in 1606 to death. He was canonized as a martyr in 1970 (see also: Forty Martyrs of England and Wales).

Literary reference

Priest holes are also mentioned in the literature and are or were, especially in the field of crime novels popular subjects. So, for example, takes Agatha Christie " Poirot and the kidnapper " make reference to: