Feastday: February 7
Death: 1603
Martyr of England. Born in Sheffield, he studied for the priesthood at Valladolid and Seville, Spain, receiving ordination in 1594. William was sent back to England, where he used the name Anderson. He was soon arrested and executed at Tyburn by being hanged, drawn, and quartered. He was the last martyr in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (r. 1558-1603).
William Richardson (1572–1603) was a 16th-century Roman Catholic English martyr.
Richardson was born in the village of Wales, West Riding of Yorkshire. He studied for the Roman Catholic priesthood at seminaries in Valladolid and then Seville, both in Spain. He was ordained sometime between 1594 and 1600. William was then sent back to England, where he used the alias William Anderson. Soon after arriving in England, he was betrayed by a trusted person, arrested in London's Gray's Inn (an Inn of Court), and imprisoned. He was tried and convicted within a week and hanged, drawn, and quartered. His was the final martyrdom to take place during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I as she was to die herself within a month.
His feast day is celebrated February 17.
