16 October 1555
Latimer and Ridley burnt at the stake

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Hugh Latimer and Nicholas Ridley, two prominent Protestant reformers, are burnt at the stake in Oxford. Ridley says: 'We shall this day light such a candle by God's grace in England, as I trust shall never be put out.' Mary I, a devout Catholic, seeks to reverse the Protestant Reformation by attacking heresy. This leads to many trials and burnings, with more than 300 people losing their lives. The persecution results in the queen being called 'Bloody Mary', and the Protestant victims are recorded by John Foxe in his bestselling Book of Martyrs.

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