Saint Margaret: Shedding new light on Saint Margaret, the Pearl of York

The laws of England at this time prohibited the foundation of Catholic convents and as a result, the convent was established and operated in secret. Even today, many people walk past the building in the centre of the city without appreciating its importance.

But students in the city are hoping to put that right. York St John University students have explored the Bar Convent archives on Margaret Clitherow, a prominent martyr, and her relic.

The students have worked with material that has never been made public before, including a letter that casts new light as to how and why the relic might have been given to the convent.

Archive documents will go on public display for the first time including a rare pocket-sized engraving produced shortly after her death. Display marks the anniversary of her Martyrdom on March 25, 1586.

Display also marks International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month. Visitors can now discover new research on Saint Margaret Clitherow, the Pearl of York, and the mystery behind how the Bar Convent became custodians of her relic.

Using unseen documents from the Bar Convent’s archives, students from York St John University have been investigating the unsolved questions: How did the relic come into possession of the convent? When was it brought here? Why is it here?

This research will be shared alongside archive material that has never been on display before, as well as new interpretation on the significance of Saint Margaret Clitherow to York, Catholicism and women’s history, to mark the anniversary of her death (March 25th 1586) and International Women’s Day, today.

Special Collections Manager, Dr Hannah Thomas, said “Saint Margaret Clitherow, also known as ‘The Pearl of York’, is one of the most significant martyrs, particularly in terms of the nature of her execution. Her death was seen as so brutal by her contemporaries that Queen Elizabeth I is said to have written to the city officials to condemn their actions, and a sentence of this nature was never passed again as punishment for Catholics in this country.

“We receive many questions from visitors about why Saint Margaret Clitherow’s relic is housed at the convent, and how it came to be here. York St John University students Jessica Diamond, Benjamin Stringer and Mia Skinner, who are second year history students, were given access to our archives and have carried out research into these questions for the first time.”

New interpretations will also explore Saint Margaret Clitherow’s fellow women of the Catholic underground and other influential women who have contributed to the Bar Convent story.

This temporary display is within the Bar Convent’s permanent exhibition with new interpretation also in the Chapel alongside the relic. Included in admission to the exhibition.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​