Church of St Thomas of Canterbury and the English Martyrs, Preston

About

English Martyrs Church or its full name The Church of St Thomas of Canterbury and the English Martyrs is a Roman Catholic Parish church in Preston, Lancashire. It was designed by Edward Welby Pugin and is a shrine church of the Diocese of Lancaster within the Parish of St John XXIII, Preston. It is near to Preston city centre and stands on the corner of the A6, between Aqueduct Street and St George's Road.

Gallow's Hill: English Martyrs Church is built on the site of an area that used to be called Gallows Hill. It received that name after the Battle of Preston of the Jacobite rising of 1715. After the government overcame the rebel army, it was on Gallows Hill that the rebel prisoners were executed. On 5 January 1715, it was recorded that sixteen rebels 'were hanged upon Gallows Hill, for high treason and conspiracy.' In May 1817, evidence of this was found when the area was dug up to improve the road heading north (the A6 road), and two coffins were found containing the remains of two headless bodies. A brass hand axe was also unearthed, with portions of timber which were assumed to be part of the gallows.