Somewhere
near St John's Wood I think it was that some 40 gathered for worship.
The meeting was interrupted and 27 were brought before Sir Roger
Cholmly. Some women managed to escape but 22 were committed to
Newgate and remained there seven weeks. The jail keeper explained to
them all they needed to do to be released was to hear mass but this
they could not do, so 13 were burnt, seven in Smithfield and six at
Brentford (two others died in prison, the other seven survived). The
seven who died in Smithfield were called Pond, Estland, Southam,
Ricarby, Floyd, Holiday and Roger Holland. They were sent to Newgate,
June 16 1558 and executed June 27.
Roger
Holland, a merchant-tailor of London, was first an apprentice with
one Master Kemption, at the Black Boy in Watling Street, giving
himself to dancing, fencing, gaming, banqueting and wanton company.
He had received for his master certain money, to the sum of £30 and
lost it all at dice. This set him on escaping to the continent.
He shared
this with a fellow servant in the house, Elizabeth, a believer. She
had recently inherited a legacy and so she gave him £30 to cover the
losses on condition that he reformed his way of life and come and
hear the gospel preached and read the Bible, calling on God for grace
in prayer.
Within
six months Holland had become a zealous Christian and was used in the
conversion of his father and others when he visited Lancashire. His
father gave him £40 to start a business in London. He used this to
repay Elizabeth and shortly after the two were married. It was the
first year of Queen Mary. He was not martyred until the sixth and
final year of her reign. He was among the last to die in Smithfield.
