Sebastian Newdigate
Carthusian monk and martyr
Who they were
Sebastian Newdigate, a younger son of a Middlesex family, was educated at Cambridge and became a close friend of Henry VIII and a privy councillor. After his wife died in 1524 he entered the London Charterhouse as a monk.
Arrested in May 1535 for denying the king's supremacy over the Church, he was kept for fourteen days standing, bound to a pillar by iron rings at his neck, hands and feet. The king himself visited him and offered him riches and honours if he would give way, but he refused. He was executed at Tyburn on 19 June 1535 with William Exmew and Humphrey Middlemore.
The miracles
As a martyr he was raised to the altars without a miracle.
Why that counted as sanctity
A courtier and friend of Henry VIII who became a Carthusian and died rather than accept the king's supremacy.
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
- Humphrey Middlemore Blessed“He was executed at Tyburn on 19 June 1535 with William Exmew and Humphrey Middlemore.” — this site's research
- William Exmew Blessed“He was executed at Tyburn on 19 June 1535 with William Exmew and Humphrey Middlemore.” — this site's research
- Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), via New Advent - Blessed Sebastian Newdigate
- Roman Martyrology, 19 June (Italian Bishops' Conference, Santo del giorno)
- Wikidata Q7442488 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
- English Wikipedia — Sebastian Newdigate (CC BY-SA)
Checked against the sources listed on 22 September 2026. Corrections welcome.