John Houghton

Who they were

John Houghton, a Cambridge doctor, was ordained in 1501 and entered the London Charterhouse in 1505, becoming its prior in 1531.

Committed to the Tower in April 1535 for refusing the oath of supremacy, he was the first to die in Henry VIII's persecution, disembowelled while fully conscious at Tyburn on 4 May 1535.

The miracles

As a martyr he was raised to the altars without a miracle.

Why that counted as sanctity

A Carthusian prior, the first martyr under Henry VIII.

Connected on this site

• Augustine Webster Saint
  “Augustine Webster was a Carthusian monk who was put to death on 4 May 1535, under Henry VIII, together with his fellow Carthusians John Houghton and Robert Lawrence.” — this site's research
• Robert Lawrence Saint
  “Robert Lawrence was a Carthusian monk who was put to death on 4 May 1535, under Henry VIII, together with his fellow Carthusians John Houghton and Augustine Webster.” — this site's research