Jonathan Martin

Jonathan Martin (1782 – 27 May 1838) was an English arsonist, famous for setting fire to York Minster in 1829.

Early life Martin was born at Highside House, near Hexham in Northumberland, one of the twelve children of William Fenwick Martin and Isabella, née Thompson. Among his siblings was the artist John Martin and the philosopher William Martin. Jonathan was tongue tied and spoke with an impediment. He was brought up by his aunt, Ann Thompson, a staunch Protestant with a vivid image of hell.

After he witnessed the murder of his sister by a neighbour, he was sent to his uncle's farm to recover from the shock. He was apprenticed to a tanner but was press ganged in London in 1804. and his son Richard was born in 1814. After his parents died, he became a Wesleyan preacher in 1814, strongly denouncing the Church of England.

After threatening to shoot the Bishop of Oxford, Edward Legge at a confirmation service in Stockton in 1817, he was arrested, tried, and was sent to a private lunatic asylum in West Auckland. before Baron Hullock and a jury. The case was a national cause célèbre, coming only two months after the trials of Burke and Hare in Edinburgh. Martin was defended by Henry Brougham, who had gained notoriety for defending Queen Caroline in 1821. Despite the jury ruling that he was guilty on a capital charge, which should have resulted in a death sentence, the judge declared him not guilty on the grounds of insanity. He was detained in Bethlem Royal Hospital in London, where he remained until he died 9 years later. During this period of detention, he made a number of drawings,