Robert Anderton

Robert Anderton (c. 1560 – 25 April 1586) was an English or Manx Catholic priest and martyr under the Elizabethan era religious persecution. Along with his companion, William Marsden, he was beatified by Pope Pius XI in 1929.

Biographies Robert Anderton was born, according to some sources in Lancashire and according to William Blundell on the Isle of Man, around 1560.

He probably attended Brasenose College and graduated from Oxford University in 1578. While at Reims, Anderton was regarded as an excellent preacher, and a gifted teacher. He was ordained 31 March 1585.

William Marsden was also born in Lancashire, and probably attended St Mary Hall, Oxford. and made prefects over the junior school.

Mission, capture, and execution Upon finishing their studies, Anderton and Marsden set out for England on 4 February 1586. They were caught in a storm while crossing the English Channel and prayed to die on land rather than at sea. Their ship being driven ashore by the storm onto the Isle of Wight, they were quickly seized by the local authorities. In court, they pleaded that they had not violated the law by landing in England, as their landing was involuntary, being forced ashore by the storm.

Legacy They were beatified by Pope Pius XI in 1929.

There is a stained glass window of Blessed Robert Anderton in St Mary's Catholic Church in Euxton.

A memorial plaque was erected in their honor in the garden at St Thomas of Canterbury Roman Catholic Church in Cowes.