William Bentney
William Bentney, alias Bennet, (1609 – 30 October 1692) was an English Jesuit priest during the Penal laws.
Life
Bentney was born in Cheshire. He entered the Society of Jesus on 7 September 1630 and was sent to the English missions in 1640. He laboured there with great zeal and success for forty-two years. A victim of the Oates Plot,[1] he was betrayed and arrested at the instigation of a nobleman to whose sisters he was administering the sacraments, and was taken to the Leicester jail. No one in those parts being willing to bear witness against him, being so universally esteemed,[1] Bentney was at once transferred to Derby, where he was tried and sentenced to death at the Spring Assizes of 1682. His execution was delayed for unknown reasons and on the accession of James II he was released. After the Glorious Revolution in 1688, however, he was rearrested, tried and condemned, but the sentence remained suspended, and in 1692 he died in Leicester jail at the age of 82 or 83. He is buried near the maternity block of Leicester Royal Infirmary with a memorial plaque on its wall noting the fact.
From the 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia
William Bentney — (Alias Bennet).
An English Jesuit priest born in Cheshire, 1609; died 30 October, 1692. He entered the Society of Jesus 7 September, 1630, was sent to the English missions in 1640, and labored there with great zeal and success for forty-two years. He was then arrested, at the instigation of a nobleman to whose sisters he was administering the sacraments, and was taken to the Leicester jail. No one in those parts being willing to bear witness against him, Bentney was at once transferred to Derby, where he was tried and sentenced to death at the spring assizes of 1682. His execution was delayed for unknown reasons, and on the accession of James II he was released. He was rearrested, however, tried and condemned after the Revolution, but the sentence remained suspended, and in 1692 he died in Leicester jail.
Foley, Records, V, 490, and Collect; Gillow, Bibl. Dict Eng. Cath.
References
- Back to citation occurrence 1.0 Back to citation occurrence 1.1 Gillow, Joseph. Biographical Dictionary of the English Catholics..., Vol. 1 (1885), pp.185–186.