John Shakespeare's world

Priest holes

Priest holes were hiding places built deep within the fabric of Catholic houses to protect fugitive clerics from the dreaded pursuivants.

Priest hole in the Kings Room at Moseley Old Hall. A candle lights up the small hiding area.
©NTPL/ Andreas von Einsiedel

The hiding holes had to be well hidden, for the searchers were brutal men who would happily strip off panelling, smash tiles, lift floorboards and demolish masonry to get at their quarry. Captured priests – and those who harboured them – were liable to be executed for treason.

The greatest exponent of the craft was Nicholas Owen, a diminutive carpenter and Jesuit lay brother from Oxford, who had a remarkable ability to think in three dimensions. He built many ingenious priest holes before being starved out of one himself and dying under torture in the Tower in 1606, staying silent to the end.

Owen, who was known as “Little John”, was canonised and beatified in the 20th century.

Here are six of the best priest holes to visit:

The priest hole at Oxburgh Hall, Norfolk, showing the door open.
©NTPL/ Mark Fiennes

Oxburgh Hall, Norfolk. One of the finest remaining examples of Nicholas Owen’s work. Visitors can enter the hideaway and imagine how the hunted priests felt (National Trust). Call 0044 (0)1366 328258 for admission details.

Baddesley Clinton, Warwickshire. This is a medieval moated manor with Elizabethan interiors and three priest holes, one reached through the sacristy (National Trust). 0044 (0)1564 783294.

Stonor Park, Oxfordshire. See the priest hole where the Jesuit martyr Edmund Campion hid. He also wrote and printed at the house. 0044 (0)1491 638587.

Moseley Old Hall, Staffordshire. See the priest hole in the Kings Room. This is an Elizabethan house that would later become famous for its association with King Charles II – see the bed where he slept (National Trust). 0044 (0)1902 782808.

Harvington Hall, Worcestershire.  Four priest holes – all built around the central staircase – are almost certainly the work of Nicholas Owen. 0044 (0)1562 777846.