Historic Marker for John Fisher, Rochester, Kent
Posted by: 
dave-harris
N 51° 23.338 E 000° 30.156
31U E 326239 N 5696041
A plaque on the house where John Fisher lived for 31 years
Waymark Code: WMCHWZ
Location: South East England, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 09/10/2011
Views: 9
Saint John Fisher, as he is now known was born in Beverley, Yorkshire, England in the year 1469. On 14 October 1504, John Fisher was appointed Bishop of Rochester at the personal insistence of Henry VII. Rochester was then the poorest diocese in England and usually seen as a first step on an ecclesiastical career, but Fisher stayed there, presumably by his own choice, for the remaining 31 years of his life. He aimed at becoming a model bishop.
On Thursday, 17 June 1535 John Fisher was found guilty of treason and condemned to be hanged, drawn, and quartered at Tyburn. However, a public outcry was brewing among the London populace who saw a sinister irony in the parallels between the conviction of John Fisher and that of his patronal namesake, Saint John the Baptist. King Henry commuted the sentence to that of beheading, to be accomplished before 23 June, the Vigil of the feast of the Nativity of St John the Baptist. His execution on Tower Hill on 22 June 1535, had the opposite effect from that which King Henry VIII intended. John Fisher's beheading created yet another ironic parallel with that of the martyrdom of St John the Baptist who was also beheaded.
The Plaque Reads
"here lived for thirty one years John Fisher, Bishop of Rochester, chancellor of the university of Cambridge and cardinal who laid down his life for his faith on Tower Hill. June 22nd 1535"
The web link below tells of his life.
Type of Historic Marker: Plaque
Historical Marker Issuing Authority: Rochester Diocese
Related Website: [Web Link]
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Age/Event Date: Not listed
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