THOMAS CHASE
THOMAS CHASE
One of those persecuted for the Gospel and Word of Christ was Thomas Chase of Amersham, a good man who often spoke against idolatry and superstition. Chase was brought before the blind bishop at Woburn and examined, and although we have no record of his examination, he must have professed Christ’s true Gospel against idolatry, for he was locked in the bishop’s house in Woburn. There he remained in chains, manacles, and irons, all of which he took quietly and faithfully, until they lost patience with him and secretly strangled him one day.
There would have been a public uproar if the truth came out about how Thomas Chase had died, so the church let out a rumor that the good man had hung himself. This would have been impossible, since Chase was chained in such a small area that he could neither sit nor stand, as a woman who saw him dead testified. To be sure no one would be able to examine the body, the authorities buried Chase secretly somewhere near the road between Woburn and Little Marlow.