Humphrey Middlemore

Humphrey Middlemore, O.Cart, (died 19 June 1535) was an English Catholic priest and Carthusian hermit, who was executed for treason during the Tudor period. He is considered a martyr by the Catholic Church, and, along with other members of his religious order to meet that fate, was beatified by Pope Leo XIII on 9 December 1886.

Though the date of his birth is uncertain, his father was Thomas Middlemore of Edgbaston, Warwickshire, who had acquired his estate at Edgbaston by marriage with the heiress of Sir Henry Edgbaston. Humphrey's mother was Ann Lyttleton, of Pillaton Hall, Staffordshire. Attracted to the Carthusian Order, he entered the London Charterhouse, where he was professed and ordained. He was subsequently appointed to the office of . He was esteemed by the prior, Dom John Houghton.

In 1534 the question of King Henry VIII's marriage with Anne Boleyn arose. The king was determined that the more prominent of his subjects should expressly acknowledge the validity of the marriage, and the right of succession of any issue therefrom. The Crown was at first anxious to secure the public acquiescence of the monks of the London Charterhouse in this matter, since they enjoyed great prestige for the austerity and sincerity of their mode of life. Accordingly, the royal commissions paid a visit to the Charterhouse, and required the monks to take the oath to that effect. Doms John Houghton and Humphrey Middlemore refused, and were, in consequence, imprisoned in the Tower of London; but, after a month's imprisonment, they were persuaded to take the oath conditionally, and were released.

...
Wikipedia