Better known as the site for the upcoming Olympics Stratford
has claim to the site of the burning of 18 Protestant Martyrs on June 27th
1556 under the rule of Queen Mary Tudor.
Although the location of the burning is uncertain –it may
have been Stratford-le-Bow (and even the actual number put to death there is
unsure), to record the event in 1878 a memorial was erected in the churchyard
of St John’s Church, Stratford, London, E15.
The hexagonal monument of buff terracotta in Gothic style by
Architect J T Newman and produced by Johnson & Co of Sussex is still
prominent, if overlooked, just outside the church – I wonder how many people
have read the inscriptions which list those who died.
I’ve photographed the memorial and it’s proved difficult to
get a good angle on the complete structure but I hope that it now receives more
attention with the influx of visitors to the area.
