Did you know that people were burnt alive for the heinous crime of translating the bible into English? This is a story of the Amersham Martyrs.
After the cemetery, I start trudging up the hill, dragging my sorry carcass up the hill. 
Looking back at the village
A lovely view of the road
Mustard fields show a beautiful yellow splash of colour on the hillsides
A view of the manor house. But I turn and walk up determined to reach the top. 
And there is the memorial. 
This was erected in 1931. 
"In the shallow of depression at
a spot 100 yards left of this
monument seven Protestants, six men
and one woman were burned to death
at the stake. They died for the
principles of religious liberty,
for the right to read and interpret
the Holy Scriptures and to worship
God according to their consciences
as revealed through God's Holy Word
Their names shall live for ever
So what was the story? The reformation had a bit of a start here. Way back in the 1500’s. Can you actually imagine the situation? These poor people were killed by the Catholic Church for the heinous crime of reading the bible in English and wanting to celebrate their religion in their own way. 
The worst bit that was that William Tylsworth was burned to death, and his daughter Joan was sentenced to light the pyre. What kind of a Church was that? What kind of a holy man was there who sentenced this? What kind of inhuman religion is this? That forces such inhumanity on humans? Everywhere we see that organised religion is, contrary to popular opinion, the source of much sorrow and pain. Salutations there old chaps, you didnt die in vain, the power of the church was destroyed in fair old England and so it will be for all other religions who create pain and suffering, Hinduism, Islam, you name it. Bah.
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