Richard Herst
English Roman Catholic martyr
Who they were
Richard Herst, a well-to-do yeoman farmer near Preston, was a recusant. When men came to arrest him, one of them fell and broke his leg, and though he swore before dying that it was an accident, Herst was charged with murder.
Despite a petition supported by the queen, the government procured his conviction by pressure on the jury, and he was executed at Lancaster on 29 August 1628.
The miracles
As a martyr he was raised to the altars without a miracle.
Why that counted as sanctity
A farmer condemned on a false charge for being a Catholic.
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
- Edmund Arrowsmith Saint“This document, conforming to the ancient style of the "Acts of martyrs" includes the story of the execution of another 17th-century recusant martyr, Richard Herst.” — Wikipedia
- Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), via New Advent - Richard Herst
- Wikidata Q7326430 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
- English Wikipedia — Richard Herst (CC BY-SA)
Checked against the sources listed on 21 September 2026. Corrections welcome.