Edward Oldcorne was born in York in 1561 to a non-Catholic father and a staunchly Catholic mother. He planned to train as a doctor, but in 1581, he set off to train for the priesthood, firstly at Rheims, and then in Rome. Ordained in 1587, he became a Jesuit, and in company with John Gerard, travelled to England during the dangerous period following the defeat of the Armada. John Gerard’s secret autobiography, unpublished in English until 1951, is the main source of information about Oldcorne.
 
As soon as Oldcorne and Gerard landed secretly on the Norfolk coast, they split up for safety, and Oldcorne made his way to London. He contacted Fr Henry Garnet, the Jesuit superior in England, and they headed together to the Midlands, where there were a number of Catholic gentry houses ready to shelter missionary priests. From 1590, Oldcorne’s centre of activity was at Hindlip Hall in Worcestershire, home of the Habington family, many of whom were deeply involved in plotting against Elizabeth I.
 
Oldcorne established Hindlip as the centre for missionary activity in Worcestershire and the Welsh Marches, and John Gerard remarked on people ‘flocking’ to Hindlip to receive the Sacraments. Oldcorne had at least three close shaves with the authorities.  When Hindlip was searched in 1606, following the Gunpowder Plot, in which the Habington family was implicated, eleven secret hiding places were uncovered.
 
The search lasted twelve days, before the hiding place of Garnet and Oldcorne, both severely weakened by hunger and confinement, was discovered. The priests were imprisoned in the Tower of London, and Oldcorne was tortured over several days, but failed to extract a confession of complicity in the Gunpowder Plot. He was taken back to Worcester for trial, and condemned to death, along with Brother Ralph Sherwin, his assistant, and two of the conspirators, even though he had no connection with the Plot.
 
Edward Oldcorne was hanged, drawn and quartered on 7 April 1606 at Red Hill Worcester. He was among the 136 English Reformation martyrs beatified in 1929 by Pius XI. The nature of the martyrs’ deaths means that few relics of them survive; Oldcorne’s scant relics are in the care of Stonyhurst College, and a crucifix belonging to him, found after the search at Hindlip, is kept at the Bar Convent in York. The house that Oldcorne knew at Hindlip was destroyed by fire, and demolished in 1820.

The Memorial of Blessed Edward is kept on 27th January.

God our Father,
you filled Blessed Edward Oldcorne
with the strength and courage
to attain a martyr’s death.
Grant us a share in that same strength,
that we may daily take up our cross and follow you.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.

• The secret biography of John Gerard, published as The Autobiography of a Hunted Priest remains in print. Details are given here. 
• The site of Blessed Edward's martyrdom can be visited. Details are available here.
• in 2023, on its 60th Annivesary of foundation, Blessed Edward Oldcorne Catholic College made a pilgrimage in the footsteps of the martyr. A report on the pilgrimage is available here and a video here.

Photographs (c) 2026, Allen Morris

Image (C) Westminster Diocesan Archives.

Image of the Tower of London. Detail from Martyrs window at Holy Trinity Church, Newcastle-under-Lyme.

Memorial to those martyred at Worcester's Red Hill.