Sidney Hodgson, layman, was one of the London Martyrs of 1591. There is very little known about him, except that he was arrested with some priests and sentenced to death. On October 18, 1591 a royal proclamation led to the stricter enforcement of the laws against Catholics in England. Consequently, he and six others were martyred on December 10, 1591. They were hanged, drawn and quartered. Sidney was beatified in 1929.
Sydney Hodgson (died 10 December 1591) was an English Roman Catholic lawyer. He is a Catholic martyr, beatified in 1929.
Life
He was a Catholic convert. In 1591, while Father Edmund Gennings was saying Mass at the house of Swithin Wells in London, the pursuivant Topcliffe and his assistants broke into the house just at the moment of consecration. On this account alone, their entrance into the room was obstructed by some of the male members of the congregation, including Sydney Hodgson, until the conclusion of the Mass; these gentlemen then surrendered themselves.
Hodgson and the others were brought to trial on 4 December 1591, the charge against him being merely that of receiving and relieving priests, and of being reconciled to the Church of Rome. He was offered his life if he would give some sort of a promise of occasional conformity to the Established Church. He was condemned and executed at Tyburn on 10 December.
