William Tresham (priest)

William Tresham was an English Roman Catholic priest and martyr. He was executed for his priesthood during the reign of Elizabeth I.

Details of his early life are scarce. He was ordained as a priest and ministered in secret in England during a period of intense persecution of Catholics. He was arrested for being a priest and subsequently imprisoned.

Tresham was indicted under the laws that outlawed Catholic priests from ministering in England. He was found guilty of treason simply for exercising his priestly functions. He was hanged, drawn, and quartered at Tyburn on 20 September 1600.

He was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1987 as one of the Eighty-Five Martyrs of England and Wales. His feast day is celebrated on September 20th.