Martyrs’ Graves

The Oakington “Martyrs’ Graves” are the burial site of three non-conformist ministers: Francis Holcroft (1633–1692) “The Apostle of Cambridgeshire”, Joseph Oddy (1629–1687), and Henry Osland (c.1688–1711). The site is accessible to the public via a narrow footpath on the northeast side of St Andrew’s churchyard, which can be reached via a footpath from Water Lane opposite Meadow Farm Close.

The term non-conformist referred to Christians who refused to come under the authority and precise doctrine of the Church of England. The period immediately following the English civil war, when Oliver Cromwell ruled as Lord Protector (1653–1658) was charactised by a relatively high level of religious freedom. But after the restoration of the monarchy and the rule of Charles II in 1660, the Church of England was restored as the national church, and the 1662 Act of Uniformity required all church ministers to conform to the 1662 Book of Common Prayer. Those who did not were forced out their positions. Several thousand such non-conformists were removed in what has become known as the Great Ejection. They were also excluded from holding any civil or military office, from teaching in schools, and from being awarded any degrees by the universities of Cambridge or Oxford. The non-conformists at this time included various groups including Baptists and Presbyterians, and later came to also include other groups such as Methodists and Quakers.

Cambridgeshire in general, and Oakington in particular, seems to have been a significant centre for non-conformism. Indeed, when the bishop visited Oakington in 1685 he described it as

“The most scandalous Parish and worse in ye Diocese, for ye people are most vile”.

Among the ministers ejected in 1662 was Francis Holcroft, who prior to 1662 was a successful and popular preacher at the church in Bassingbourn (near Royston) where he had been assisted by the Reverend Joseph Oddy, fellow of Trinity College Cambridge. Following ejection, Holcroft simply took his former congregation with him and continued to preach to them at various places throughout Cambridgeshire, with the continuing assistance of Oddy who had been ejected from his Trinity fellowship and from his living at Meldreth. Holcroft was arrested in 1663 for illegal preaching at Great Eversden and was imprisoned in Cambridge Castle, where a friendly gaoler allowed him out on Sunday nights to continue preaching in Eversdon Woods. He was released from the Cambridge gaol in 1672, whereupon he returned to preaching and was subsequently re-arrested and sent to Fleet Prison in London. In total Holcroft spent 12 years in prison. After his release, he continued preaching across Cambridgeshire and in neighbouring counties. He established non-conformist churches in 30 villages in south Cambridgeshire alone, and it was said that “there was scarcely a village in Cambridgeshire at which he did not preach”. He died in Thriplow in 1962, leaving his small estate to his congregations and the patch of burial ground in Oakington outside of the churchyard where he is buried.

Meanwhile, Holcroft’s chief assistant Joseph Oddy moved to Willingham. He became pastor of a church that the ejected minister there, Nathaniel Bradshaw, had set up in his own house and preached to for five years before escaping to London. Oddy preached all over the Fens, and some people would travel over 20 miles to hear him preach. He also spent five years imprisoned in Cambridge Castle for illegal preaching, along with Holcroft. He moved to Cottenham in 1882, where he continued preaching until his death in 1687.

Henry Osland, the third non-conformist minister buried in the Oakington graves, was the son of a minister, also called Henry, who had been ejected from his living in Worcestershire. Osland became paster of the newly formed non-conformist church in Cottenham and Willingham in 1694, and preached there until he died in 1711 aged 43.