William Hart
English Roman Catholic priest and martyr
Who they were
William Hart of Wells, an Oxford scholar, followed his rector to Douai, took the oath at the English College in Rome and was ordained. From 1581 he worked in Yorkshire, once escaping capture by standing up to his chin in the muddy moat of York Castle.
Betrayed on Christmas Day 1582, he was thrown into an underground dungeon in double irons, tried at the Lent assizes and executed at York on 15 March 1583.
The miracles
As a martyr he was raised to the altars without a miracle.
Why that counted as sanctity
A young priest who served Yorkshire's Catholics at the risk of his life.
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.
- Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), via New Advent - William Hart
- Wikidata Q3568685 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
- English Wikipedia — William Hart (priest) (CC BY-SA)
Checked against the sources listed on 21 September 2026. Corrections welcome.