John Britton (martyr)

John Britton (Bretton) (died 1 April 1598) was an English Catholic martyr from Barnsley, Yorkshire, who was executed during the reign of Elizabeth I. He was beatified in 1987.^[1]

A member of the old, established Bretton family, near Barnsley in Yorkshire, Britton was a devout Catholic.^[2] Known as a zealous Catholic, he was subjected to continual vexations and persecutions, which caused him to absent himself from his wife and family for safety.^[3] As an old man, he was accused of making traitorous speeches against the queen and condemned to death. He refused to renounce his faith, and was executed at York on 1 April 1598. He was probably the father of Matthew Britton, prefect and professor at Douai in 1599.

• 1598 deaths
• People from Barnsley
• English Roman Catholics
• People executed under Elizabeth I
• 16th-century Roman Catholic martyrs
• 16th-century venerated Christians
• Executed people from South Yorkshire
• Eighty-five martyrs of England and Wales
• English religious biography stubs
• Roman Catholic biography stubs

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• Short description matches Wikidata
• Use dmy dates from November 2019
• EngvarB from November 2019
• Year of birth missing
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