Spilled Blood at Tower of London

Like most people I waited in the queue outside the Tower of London to get a glimpse of Kohinoor diamond which is believed to be arranged by the then governor General of India Lord Dalhousie to be given as gift to queen Victoria, the Empress of India in 1851 by Ranjith Singh’s successor Duleep Singh. As I was hoping to see it from a close range, I passed through many interesting places in the Tower. Interesting is not the right word because the appalling atrocities and torture done to the Catholic martyrs was almost echoing from the walls of the cold stone cells. It was like walking through the Death Valley where blood of the martyrs resonated the typical torture by the Tudor rulers. By now I had no more curiosity on the diamond but my history nerves were roused to know what happened to these martyrs?

First of all I was thrilled to know one among only two people to escape from the tower of London was a Jesuit priest John Gerard. A plaque at the mouth of moat leading to river Thames depicted the complicated and notorious escape from the high security Tower of London in 1599. It explained how the plan of escape was executed with the help of his Jesuit companions.

In 1594 John Gerard was captured with another Jesuit Brother Nicholas Owen and sent to notorious Tower of London. Both were questioned and tried with different methods of torture. John Gerard was mainly questioned and tortured in order to know the hiding whereabouts of Hendry Garnet, the then superior of Jesuits in Britain. John Gerard would not utter anything despite being tortured. It is said that, he was tortured so much that he was weak to slide in rope, which was used to escape through the river. I can only imagine how could he do it. It is like escaping from an ‘A’ grade prison in London.

Nicholas Owen was another incredible Jesuit who with his carpentry skills dug holes for the priests to hide from being arrested and executed. He dug secret holes up and down the country such a way that no authorities could trace them. It was remarkable and ingenious mind of a Jesuit who managed to sustain the Catholic faith in Britain. I think English Catholics should know about Nicholas Owen, because of whom they are Catholics today. Eventually he was captured and sent to Tower of London. March 02, 1606 he was tortured to death. One gruesome report stated that they tortured Owen ‘such in human ferocity’ that he became disemboweled. In fact he was instrumental in the escape of John Gerard.

I wonder how many of us know about it? It is worth noting that Jesuits have a great history in Britain particularly during the time of Tudors. When I walked those little cells in the Tower, I came across a tiny table on which sat a blank paper, candle and an orange. My curiosity ran wild to know what it meant? And to my surprise, I was told that John Gerard wrote a letter using orange peels on a blank paper, which actually remained blank unless it was read against the fire. This is how the escape was planned. This remained strong in my mind and heart.

William the Conqueror commissioned the Tower of London in 1078 intended to protect the city against the invaders. This became Britain’s most infamous prison where martyrs like Thomas More were tried and executed.

When I made my way into different cells of the Tower, it almost felt like the blood of those who were tortured cried out from the stonewalls. On the one hand I felt grateful to the Lord that we don’t have such atrocities but on the other hand my heart went out for those who are being tortured in different parts of the world, like Syria. It is appalling to know that our so called advanced world witnesses so much violence, it seems like the world is valley of blood crying out for help. These are my short reflections on the Tower of London and its connection to Jesuits. There are enough details of it available online.