# William Pygot

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/William_Pygot
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/William_Pygot.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Pygot
> Source revision: 1356058814
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

{{Short description|English Protestant martyr}}
{{Use British English|date=December 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2026}}
'''William Pygot''' was a sixteenth-century English butcher and Protestant martyr. His story was recorded in ''[Foxe's Book of Martyrs](/source/Foxe's_Book_of_Martyrs)''. For denying [transubstantiation](/source/transubstantiation), he was burned to death at [Braintree](/source/Braintree%2C_Essex), [Essex](/source/Essex), on 28 March 1555.<ref>p.257, [John Foxe](/source/John_Foxe), ''[Foxe's Book of Martyrs](/source/Foxe's_Book_of_Martyrs)'', 2000, Ambassador Publications</ref>

According to [John Foxe](/source/John_Foxe), Pygot was examined and condemned to death alongside [Thomas Tomkins](/source/Thomas_Tomkins_(martyr)), [William Hunter](/source/William_Hunter_(martyr)), [Stephen Knight](/source/Stephen_Knight_(martyr)), and [John Lawrence](/source/John_Lawrence_(martyr)) by the Bishop of London, [Edmund Bonner](/source/Edmund_Bonner) on 9 February 1555. Unlike his contemporaries, there is no mention of the extent of Pygot's suffering in prison or torture, if indeed he was tortured at all. Pygot was martyred on the same day as Knight, who was burned alive in nearby [Maldon](/source/Maldon%2C_Essex).<ref>''[Foxe's Book of Martyrs](/source/Foxe's_Book_of_Martyrs)'', https://www.exclassics.com/foxe/foxe277.htm</ref>

Upon the opening of [Braintree Town Hall](/source/Braintree_Town_Hall) in 1928, the upper walls of the council chamber were painted by [Maurice Greiffenhagen](/source/Maurice_Greiffenhagen). Murals representing the history of the town from the Roman era to the twentieth century include a representation of Pygot moments before his pyre was lit. Due to its close proximity to the ancient market place, it is believed that the Town Hall stands on the site of execution.

In 2012, the Braintree & Bocking Civic Society funded a blue plaque to commemorate his martyrdom. It is located on the courtyard wall of the library.<ref>[Open Plaques](/source/Open_Plaques) http://openplaques.org/people/9211</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pygot, William}}
Category:16th-century Protestant martyrs
Category:16th-century executions by England
Category:People executed for heresy
Category:Executed English people
Category:People from Braintree, Essex
Category:People executed by the Kingdom of England by burning
Category:Year of birth unknown
Category:People executed under Mary I of England
Category:Protestant martyrs of England

{{England-reli-bio-stub}}

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [William Pygot](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Pygot) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Pygot?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.