Blessed Thomas Holford
Catholic priest martyred during the English Reformation
Feast: 28 August (not on the universal Roman calendar; kept in the Roman Martyrology or local calendars)
Who they were
Thomas Holford was a priest who was put to death at Clerkenwell on 28 August 1588, under Elizabeth I. He was one of eight men condemned together who all suffered on that same day in different parts of London.
In 1913 the Catholic Encyclopedia counted him among the English martyrs whose cause had been admitted at Rome, who were then styled Venerable.
The miracles
As a martyr he was raised to the altars without a miracle.
Why that counted as sanctity
One of the English martyrs who died for the Catholic faith under Elizabeth I.
The cause
The cause continues. No postulation address is published here yet. Favours received through this person’s intercession, and offers of help, are best sent to the religious order or congregation they belonged to, or to the diocese where the cause was opened; either will pass them to the postulation.
Connected on this site
- Henry Webley Blessed“A layman named in the Roman Martyrology for 28 August with Hugh More among a group of English martyrs that also included the priests William Gunter, Robert Morton, Thomas Holford and James Claxton and the Franciscan cleric Thomas Felton.” — this site's research
- Robert Morton Blessed“A priest named in the Roman Martyrology for 28 August among a group of English martyrs with the priests William Gunter, Thomas Holford and James Claxton, the Franciscan cleric Thomas Felton and the laymen Henry Webley and Hugh More.” — this site's research
- Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), via New Advent - English Confessors and Martyrs (1534-1729)
- Roman Martyrology, 28 August (Italian Bishops' Conference, Santo del giorno)
- Wikidata Q4926301 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
- English Wikipedia — Thomas Holford (CC BY-SA)
Checked against the sources listed on 22 September 2026. Corrections welcome.