John Ballard was the son of William Ballard of Wratting, Suffolk. Ballard matriculated at St Catharine's College, Cambridge in 1569, but subsequently migrated to Caius College, Cambridge,[1] and on the 29 November 1579 went on to study at the English College at Rheims. He was ordained as a secular priest at Châlons on 4 March 1581, and was sent back to England on 29 March as a Catholic missionary and, as such, had a price on his head. To conceal his true identity, he played the part of a swashbuckling, courtly soldier called Captain Fortescue and was once described as wearing 'a fine cape laced with gold, a cut satin doublet and silver buttons on his hat'. Being a tall, dark-complexioned man, he was referred to by those who were unaware of his true identity as 'Black Foskew'.[citation needed]
In the Babington Plot, Ballard instigated Anthony Babington, Chidiock Tichborne and others to assassinate the Queen as a prelude to a full-blown invasion of England by Spanish-led Catholic forces. However, the plot had been discovered and nurtured by Queen Elizabeth's spymaster Francis Walsingham from the start. Indeed, Ballard's inseparable companion and fixer, Barnard Maude, who travelled everywhere with him, was a government spy.
The plot was manipulated by Walsingham in order to bring about his primary objective: the downfall of Mary, Queen of Scots. When Mary gave her consent to the plot by replying to a letter sent to her by Babington, her days were numbered.
With this vital piece of evidence in his possession, Walsingham had Ballard and the other conspirators arrested. Ballard was tortured. The conspirators were tried at Westminster Hall on 13 and 14 September 1586 and found guilty of treason and conspiracy against the Crown. They were executed by hanging, drawing and quartering in two batches on the 20 and 21 September. Ballard was executed on the first day along with the other main conspirators. The manner of their deaths was so bloody and horrific that it deeply shocked those who were present at the spectacle.[citation needed] When Elizabeth was told of the suffering the men had endured on the scaffold, and its effect on the many witnesses, she is said to have ordered that the remaining seven conspirators be left hanging until they were 'quite dead' before being cut down and butchered.[citation needed]
^"Ballard, John (BLRT569J)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
October 21, 2023
john, ballard, jesuit, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, john, ballard, jesuit, news, newspapers, book. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources John Ballard Jesuit news newspapers books scholar JSTOR April 2008 Learn how and when to remove this template message John Ballard died 20 September 1586 was an English priest executed for being involved in an attempt to assassinate Queen Elizabeth I of England in the Babington Plot Contents 1 Biography 1 1 The Babington Plot 2 In popular culture 3 ReferencesBiography EditJohn Ballard was the son of William Ballard of Wratting Suffolk Ballard matriculated at St Catharine s College Cambridge in 1569 but subsequently migrated to Caius College Cambridge 1 and on the 29 November 1579 went on to study at the English College at Rheims He was ordained as a secular priest at Chalons on 4 March 1581 and was sent back to England on 29 March as a Catholic missionary and as such had a price on his head To conceal his true identity he played the part of a swashbuckling courtly soldier called Captain Fortescue and was once described as wearing a fine cape laced with gold a cut satin doublet and silver buttons on his hat Being a tall dark complexioned man he was referred to by those who were unaware of his true identity as Black Foskew citation needed The Babington Plot Edit Main article Babington Plot In the Babington Plot Ballard instigated Anthony Babington Chidiock Tichborne and others to assassinate the Queen as a prelude to a full blown invasion of England by Spanish led Catholic forces However the plot had been discovered and nurtured by Queen Elizabeth s spymaster Francis Walsingham from the start Indeed Ballard s inseparable companion and fixer Barnard Maude who travelled everywhere with him was a government spy The plot was manipulated by Walsingham in order to bring about his primary objective the downfall of Mary Queen of Scots When Mary gave her consent to the plot by replying to a letter sent to her by Babington her days were numbered With this vital piece of evidence in his possession Walsingham had Ballard and the other conspirators arrested Ballard was tortured The conspirators were tried at Westminster Hall on 13 and 14 September 1586 and found guilty of treason and conspiracy against the Crown They were executed by hanging drawing and quartering in two batches on the 20 and 21 September Ballard was executed on the first day along with the other main conspirators The manner of their deaths was so bloody and horrific that it deeply shocked those who were present at the spectacle citation needed When Elizabeth was told of the suffering the men had endured on the scaffold and its effect on the many witnesses she is said to have ordered that the remaining seven conspirators be left hanging until they were quite dead before being cut down and butchered citation needed In popular culture EditBallard was played by Tom Fleming in the film Mary Queen of Scots 1971 In the 1972 BBC TV miniseries Elizabeth R episode Horrible Conspiracies Ballard was portrayed by David Garfield In the 1998 film Elizabeth he is portrayed by Daniel Craig References Edit Ballard John BLRT569J A Cambridge Alumni Database University of Cambridge Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title John Ballard Jesuit amp oldid 1156931740, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
