Martyr mystery: is this St John Plessington?

The Bishop of Shrewsbury, Mark Davies, is seeking to establish for certain that parts of a skeleton found in a pub belong to one of the 40 Martyrs of England and Wales, writes Elena Curti.

Bishop Davies is appealing for funds to pay for DNA tests that could prove the bones belong to St John Plessington, who was martyred in Chester in 1679.

There is a large hole in the skull thought to have been inflicted from the inside when a pike was pushed through the head. It has long been believed that the bones belonged to a priest who was hanged, drawn and quartered. Forensic scientists have concluded they probably date from the late seventeenth century and a garment found with them is from the same period.

The remains were found in the late nineteenth century, hidden in a pub – once the local headquarters of Jesuit missionaries – next to St Winefride’s Well at Holywell in Flintshire. The bones were taken to the nearby St Beuno’s retreat house but have now been returned to Holywell. Bishop Davies is hoping that DNA tests can be conducted to see whether they match other relics of St John Plessington.

“By his faithfulness to the point of death, St John Plessington stands out as the great witness to the priestly life and mission in Shrewsbury Diocese,” Bishop Davies told the diocesan paper, Shrewsbury Catholic Voice. “As one of England’s 40 martyrs he points to the long continuity of our Catholic faith … If funds could be found to identify and authenticate his relics it would allow our connection to his heroic ministry and martyrdom to become visible … in a new way for generations to come.”