At various times in Henry VIII's reign you could be martyred for being too Catholic or too Protestant. Thomas More personally supervised the trial and burning of a number of Protestants, only to end up being beheaded for refusing to acknowledge Henry VIII's authority over the church – and is celebrated as a Catholic saint for this act.

Thomas Abel (or Abell) was executed for the same reason on 30th July 1530 – but unlike More, who received the "mercy" of the headsman's axe, Abel suffered the gruesome death of a traitor: hanging, drawing and quartering.

Abel was born around 1497, and took a Master of Arts and then Doctorate in Theology at Oxford University. He became Catherine of Aragon's chaplain and in 1528 was entrusted by her with a mission to Spain, probably to gain support in the face of the King's divorce plan.

When he returned she rewarded him with the parish of Bradwell. He remained a staunch supporter of Catherine, publishing a treatise against Henry's divorce attempt which was so troublesome to the monarch that he had copies bought up for destruction.

Abel was thrown into the Tower of London, released and then imprisoned again – the second time because he supported the Maid of Kent, a nun who saw visions and prophesied against the divorce. An elaborate piece of graffiti can still be seen in Beauchamp Tower, carved by Abel with an 'A', an image of a bell, and 'Thomas' above it. Abel's ability to create this carving, and make a visual pun on his name, says a lot for his stoical character.

With three others, Abel was subject to a Bill of Attainder – a piece of legislation that enables individuals to be found guilty of a crime without a formal trial. He was sentenced to "be drawn on a hurdle to the place of execution, there to be hanged, cut down alive, your members to be cut off and cast in the fire, your bowels burnt before your eyes, your head smitten off, your body to be quartered at the King's will, and God have mercy on your soul."

On July 30th, an extraordinary day of butchery, Thomas Abel, Richard Featherstone and Edward Powell were dragged from the Tower to Smithfield and suffered the gruesome torture of a traitor's death. Alongside them in this journey were three others: Robert Barnes, William Jerome and Thomas Garrett (or Gerrard), evangelicals who were convicted of heresy. As heretics they were burned to death.

The two groups of three men had completely opposing religious views, but all fell foul of a king who was obsessed with his personal power which he would not have limited, either by the authority of the Pope or by the Bible. Foreign observers, including the French ambassador, were baffled and horrified.

Abel was one of 54 English martyrs beatified by Pope Leo XIII in 1886.