John Foxe the Martyrologist and his Family

Abstract

From the commencement of the reign of Queen Elizabeth down to the middle of the last century, several members of the Foxe family, descendants of the great martyrologist, resided in the parish of Waltham Holy Cross. And it is asserted by several local writers that the justly celebrated John Foxe himself resided in this ancient town, where he uninterruptedly pursued his literary labours during the early part of the latter half of the sixteenth century. Tradition even points to the house in “Sun Street,” then called “East Street” in which he compiled the “Book of Martyrs.” Some have supposed that John Foxe visited the house of Mr. Cressey in the Romeland with Stephen Gardner and Henry the Eighth to consult about the king's divorce from Catherine of Arragon, but that is a mistake which the writer has pleasure in correcting. It was Dr. Edward Fox (afterwards Bishop of Hereford) that figured in that scene, and not the martyrologist.