Rhea wrote:
"The desire to produce a book about this charismatic priest of the North York Moors has remained with me since the earliest days of my writing career … I have made time to research his life not only from previous publications and records but also from visits to his native moorland [and] the results have astounded me! I discovered I was born within 400 yards or so of what was surely his family home [and] that he created iconic decorations within some moorland homes - folklore experts call them witch posts but my research indicates they are not associated with the deterrence of witches. The X-marks are symbols of the Five Wounds of Christ and they identified houses in which Mass could be safely and secretly celebrated at a time when being a Catholic priest carried a sadistic death penalty”.
Blessed Nicholas Postgate Martyr of the Moors
Father Nicholas Postgate is one of our best-loved martyrs whose lonely mission in the wilds of the North York Moors has captured the imagination of people of all faiths. Known as 'The Good Samaritan of the Moors' due to his generosity to all, regardless of their status or religion, he walked around his huge 'parish' of Blackamoor, always declining the offer of a horse. He shared his food and clothes and visited people in remote areas to offer both spiritual and practical help, wanting to understand the plight of the poor and to empathise with them in every way.
Most remarkably he began this work when he was more than sixty years old, and continued almost into his eighties. Although born in those moors, he attended the English College at Douai where he earned the degree of Doctor of Divinity, and then returned to England to work as a chaplain for wealthy families in great houses. That secret work took him to places far away from his beloved Blackamoor. Returning to the moors in the early 1660s, he embarked on a completely new role that was to earn him everlasting admiration.
This work nourishing the Catholic faith came to the notice of Parliament just when the fabricated 'Popish Plot' of Titus Oates brought a return of the persecution of Catholics. A highly experienced Government agent, whose employer was alleged to have been murdered by Catholics, was ordered to hunt down, capture and prosecute Father Postgate.
This book, the most comprehensive ever written about the martyr, relates that story and reveals previously unpublished information about Father Nicholas Postgate DD, Martyr of the Moors.
Blessed Nicholas Postgate Martyr of the Moors was published in 2012.
Second hand copies are available on eBay and AbeBooks.