Richard Simpson (martyr)

Richard Simpson was an English Protestant martyr burned at the stake for heresy during the reign of Queen Mary I. Details about his life are scant and often conflated with other individuals of the same name living during the same period. He is primarily remembered for his unwavering faith in the face of persecution and death.

According to Foxe's Book of Martyrs, Simpson was a weaver from the parish of Stratford Bow, London. He was accused of denying the doctrine of transubstantiation, a central tenet of Catholic belief which holds that the bread and wine consecrated during the Eucharist become the body and blood of Jesus Christ. He was arrested and brought before Edmund Bonner, the Bishop of London, a notorious persecutor of Protestants.

Simpson steadfastly refused to recant his Protestant beliefs, maintaining that the Eucharist was a symbolic representation of Christ's sacrifice. Despite Bonner's attempts to persuade him, Simpson remained resolute in his faith. He was condemned as a heretic and sentenced to be burned at the stake.

Richard Simpson was executed on March 29, 1555, at Smithfield, London. His martyrdom contributed to the growing anti-Catholic sentiment in England during the Marian persecutions and helped to solidify his place as a figure of Protestant resistance in the historical record. He is remembered as one of the many ordinary individuals who suffered greatly for their religious convictions during this turbulent period of English history.