Jonathan Martin (arsonist)

Jonathan Martin (1782– 3 June 1838) was an English arsonist, famous for setting fire to York Minster in 1829.

Martin was born at Highside House, near Hexham in Northumberland, one of the twelve children of William Fenwick Martin and Isabella, née Thompson. Among his siblings was the artist John Martin and the philosopher William Martin. Jonathan was tongue tied and spoke with an impediment. He was brought up by his aunt, Ann Thompson, a staunch Protestant with a vivid image of hell.

After he witnessed the murder of his sister by a neighbour, he was sent to his uncle's farm to recover from the shock. He was apprenticed to a tanner but was press ganged in London in 1804. He served in the Royal Navy ship HMS Hercule for six years, including the Battle of Copenhagen in 1807. He was noted among his shipmates for his religious obsession.

He left the Navy when his ship was broken up in 1810, returning to Norton, County Durham, where he married, and his son Richard was born in 1814. After his parents died, he became a Wesleyan preacher in 1814, strongly denouncing the Church of England. He gained a reputation for disrupting church services.

After threatening to shoot the Bishop of Oxford, Edward Legge at a confirmation service in in 1817, he was arrested, tried, and was sent to a private lunatic asylum in West Auckland. He was later moved to the public asylum in Gateshead. He escaped in June 1820, but was soon recaptured.

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