Richard Leigh was the son of Richard Leigh, who attended
Cambridge University, and Clemence Holcroft, daughter of
Sir John Holcroft. He was the subject of a childhood
arranged marriage at
Middleton, 22 September 1562 with Anne Belfield (married in 1574
William Assheton,
steward of the
manor of
Rochdale), daughter of Ralph Belfield, of
Clegg Hall, who had died without a male
heir in 1552. Her sister, Elizabeth, was married on the same day to
Alexander Barlow (later Sir Alexander Barlow) and both marriages were subsequently
annulled on the grounds of being so young that "doth not remember that he ever was marryed." Leigh attended
Shrewsbury School before studying
divinity at
Reims and at
Rome, where he was
ordained in 1586. He returned to England but before reaching Cheshire, was arrested in London and banished. He returned to England again and was arrested on 4 July 1588, about two weeks before the arrival of the
Spanish Armada. In the aftermath of the failed invasion, there was an immediate reaction against Catholics. Imprisoned in the
Tower of London, he was condemned at the
Old Bailey for being a
priest and hanged at
Tyburn on 30 August 1588, with five others who have been declared
Venerable:
Richard Martin,
John Roche,
Edward Shelley,
Richard Lloyd (alias Flower) and
Margaret Ward. Leigh was
beatified by
Pope Pius XI in 1929. == See also ==