John Atherton

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John Atherton, Bishop of Waterford and Lismore, was hanged for sodomy under a law that he had helped to institute. His lover, John Childe, was also hanged. Anonymous pamphlet, 1641.

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John Atherton (1598 – 1640) was the Anglican Bishop of Waterford and Lismore in the Church of Ireland. He and his steward and tithe proctor were both tried and executed for buggery in 1640.

[edit] Life and death

Atherton was born in 1598 in Somerset, England. He studied at Oxford University and joined the ranks of the Anglican clergy. In 1634 he became Bishop of Waterford and Lismore in the Church of Ireland. In 1640 Atherton was accused of buggery with a man, John Childe, his steward and tithe proctor. They were tried under a law that Atherton himself had helped to institute. They were both condemned to death. Reportedly, he confessed to the crime immediately before his execution, although he had proclaimed his innocence before that. More recently, some historical evidence has been developed that shows Atherton might have been a victim of a conspiracy to discredit him and his patrons. This was attributable to Atherton's status as an astute lawyer, who sought to recover lost land for the relatively weak Anglican Church of Ireland during the 1630s. Unfortunately for Atherton, this alienated him from large landowners, who then used his sexuality to discredit him.

Furthermore, seventeenth century English Puritan activists were actively campaigning to abolish bishops within the embattled Church of England, so they also had an interest in Atherton's downfall.^[1]

Posthumous accusations of sexual wrongdoing also include allegations of "incest" with his sister in law, and infanticide of the resultant child, as well as zoophilia with cattle, although it should be noted that these allegations began to be circulated several months after his death in an anonymous pamphlet, and may have been intended to further discredit the bishop's campaign to restore the finances of the Anglican Church of Ireland ^[2]

[edit] See also

• List of people executed for homosexuality

[edit] References

[edit] Further reading

• Alan Bray, Homosexuality in Renaissance England, Gay Men's Press, London 1982.
• Matthew Parris, The great unfrocked: two thousand years of church scandal, Robson Books, London 1998 ISBN 1861051298.
• Rictor Norton, The Life and Death of John Atherton (online reprint, at the end of the web page)
• Peter Marshall: "Sex, Scandal and the Supernatural" History Today: February 2007: 70-71.
• Mother Leakey & The Bishop - A Ghost Story by Peter Marshall ISBN 978-0-19-927371-3 . Published by OUP 2007

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