Tyburn Walk

Today was the Feast of the English Martyrs (it used to be the Beatified Martyrs of England and Wales, but now it's the whole lot: Saints and Blesseds together. I wouldn't mind, but the Feast of the Forty Martyrs on October 25th has been dropped completely, which seems a bit mean!!)

Fr Nicholas has put up a stunning post on the martyrs, complete with pictures of some relics: be sure to check out the eyeball of Blessed Edward Oldcorne, SJ!

The first Sunday in May (so this Sunday) is the occasion of the Tyburn Walk, organised by the Guild of Our Lady of Ransom. The Guild prays for the Conversion of England back to the True Faith, and it also supports priests in poor parishes. A few years back, the Walk was a full procession, in silence (apart from the recitation of the Rosary), in the road with a police escort, and we stopped traffic, literally. Now, because of reduced numbers (and the inconvenience stopped traffic poses to the Sunday trading on Oxford Street) we just walk along the pavement. Every cloud has a silver lining: the smaller numbers mean that we can actually go inside the churches which have a special significance on the route.

The walk starts off in a churchyard just across from the Old Bailey, which is where Newgate prison used to be. The church bells would toll before those to be martyred were taken from the prison to be drawn on hurdles to the place of execution at Tyburn (now Marble Arch.)

From Newgate Prison, we walk to St. Etheldreda's in Ely Place. This church is the oldest Roman Catholic church in England and the first pre-Reformation church to be restored to Catholic worship. This is the first stop, and after a brief introduction from the Master of the Guild, Monsignor Stark, a rosary is recited. The walk then proceeds towards Kingsway (Lincoln's Inn Fields), and stops at the church of St. Anselm & St. Cecilia, where the Rosary is recited once more. This church was once the chapel of the Sardinian Embassy, and you can read more about its history HERE.

From there, we go on to St. Patrick's, Soho Square. The Rosary is recited, some hymns are sung, and everyone is blessed with the relics of St. Oliver Plunkett (the last person to be martyred) and someone else, whose name escapes me. Finally, the walk proceeds down Oxford Street, until we get to Marble Arch.

A few hardy individuals brave the barriers and the traffic, and risk life and limb in order to go and pray on a little traffic island in the middle of the Edgware Road: there is a small plaque set in the ground, announcing that this is the site of Tyburn Tree (the name given to the gallows.) I only found out about it because, when the procession walked in the road, we would stop and venerate it. Unless you knew it was there, you'd never see it, because the barriers prevent anyone from crossing at that point...

And the walk finally ends at Tyburn Convent, with Benediction. The Blessed Sacrament is perpetually exposed. There is a huge grille separating the chapel from the Sanctuary, and you can just catch a glimpse of the nuns' choir (oh, and they're proper nuns... full habits and everything!) It's a really stunning experience. The crypt downstairs has many relics of the Tyburn martyrs, and lots of information. It isn't practical to see the crypt on the day of the walk (just too many people... it's standing room only in the main chapel) but it is well worth a visit.

For those of you unable to get to London, I recommend paying a virtual visit to the Tyburn Convent, where you can find out much more about all the martyrs, and about the nuns.

Anyhow, with a Latin Mass (Novus Ordo) scheduled for Sunday morning (assuming Fr Tim makes it back from the Eternal City) and the Tyburn Walk in the afternoon, I think this Sunday is going to be a real treat!