Church seeks to exhume head of Catholic martyr Sir Thomas More… 500 years after it was put on a pike
St Dunstan's Church in Canterbury has revealed plans to exhume and preserve the centuries-old relic, with hopes of putting it on display.
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The remains of Catholic martyr Sir Thomas More may be exhumed
Credit: Alamy
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The former Lord Chancellor to Henry VIII was executed for his beliefs in 1535
Credit: Getty
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St Dunstan's, an Anglican church in Canterbury, Kent, has made the bid to dig up the severed head
Credit: Alamy
The remains would be placed in a shrine in 2035, lining up with the 500th anniversary of More's execution.
More was Henry VIII's lord chancellor but was best known for defying the King and was executed for treason in 1535 in Tower Hill, London.
The lawyer, author and philosopher refused to accept Henry as head of the newly formed Church of England - a decision that cost him his life.
While his body was buried in
the Tower
of London, his head was parboiled and mounted on a spike on London Bridge as a grim warning to others thinking of crossing the king.
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More's daughter, Margaret Roper, secretly recovered the head, reportedly preserving it in spices and keeping it with her for the rest of her life.
When she died in 1544, the head was buried alongside her and in 1578, her remains, along with her father's head, were transferred to the Roper family vault at St Dunstan's Church, where it's been ever since.
Now, church leaders say the time has come to unearth what remains and preserve it using modern conservation techniques.
A statement read to the congregation at St Dunstan's last Sunday confirmed that the parochial church council (PCC) has agreed to begin the process if granted permission,
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It read: "What the PCC has agreed, subject to all the right permissions being granted, is to exhume and conserve what remains of the relic, which will take several years to dry out and stabilise.
"We could just put it back in the vault, maybe in a reliquary of some kind, or we could place the reliquary in some sort of shrine or carved stone pillar above ground in the Roper chapel, which is what many of our visitors have requested.
"We'd really appreciate your ideas and thoughts."
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The move could turn the quiet Kent parish into a major draw for pilgrims, tourists, and history buffs but first, the church needs the green light from church authorities.
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It would also require around £50,000 in donations to make it happen.
The relic could take several years to fully stabilise and dry, but once conserved, the church plans to either place it back in the vault or move it into a custom-built shrine or stone pillar inside the chapel.
Visitors have reportedly been asking to see the relic for years, and the church is now inviting ideas from the community about how best to honour More's legacy.
The church hopes to raise tens of thousands of pounds to fund expert archaeologists and conservation specialists but Rev Jo Richards, rector of the benefice, said early reaction from the congregation has been positive.
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Church courts don't often approve exhumations, but in this case, supporters hope More's global significance as a saint, scholar, and martyr will help make the case.
More is also officially regarded as a holy relic by the Catholic Church, which could help the Church's case.
He was a respected lawyer and the author of Utopia, a visionary text imagining an ideal society but was also a firm defender of the Catholic faith.
While he's remembered for his courage and moral conviction, More also played a part in persecuting heretics, those who had different beliefs, defending their executions in his writings.
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Even so, his private life was marked by generosity, wit, and deep religious devotion, according to those who knew him.
His friend Erasmus called him 'the most virtuous man in England'.
If the project goes ahead, work could begin in the
next
few years, with the shrine ready in time for the anniversary in 2035.
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The Roper family is buried in St Dunstan's, Kent
Credit: Wikimedia
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