Anthony Turner

Anthony, Antony or Tony Turner may refer to:

See also

Anthony Turner (actor)

Anthony Turner (fl. 1622 – 1659) was a noted English actor in the Caroline era. For most of his career he worked with Queen Henrietta's Men, one of the leading theatre companies of the time.

Nothing is known of Turner's early life or the start of his career; by 1622 he was already a leading player with the Lady Elizabeth's Men. In 1625, Christopher Beeston formed a new company under the patronage of the new queen, Henrietta Maria; some members of the Lady Elizabeth's troupe, including Turner, joined the organization. Turner was a consistent presence in the known casts of the Queen Henrietta's company; he played —

Turner tended to play older men, like Justice Landby and Old Lord Bruce; yet he also took the role of a kitchen maid in Part 1 of Fair Maid — one of the few cases in which a mature actor, rather than a boy player or young adult actor, is known to have played a female character.

Anthony Turner (martyr)

Blessed Anthony Turner (1628–1679) was an English Jesuit and victim of the fabricated Popish Plot, falsely executed for conspiracy to murder Charles II. He was beatified in 1929.

Life

He was born in Leicestershire, the son of a clergyman, Toby Turner, who was Rector of Little Dalby. He went to Uppingham School in Rutland, then studied at Peterhouse, Cambridge, where according to tradition he converted to Roman Catholicism. He went to the English College, Rome and then to the Jesuit College, St Omer. He was ordained in 1659. In 1661 he was sent to the Jesuits' Worcestershire mission and remained there for the rest of his life; in due course he was appointed Jesuit Superior for the District.

Trial and execution

On the outbreak of the Popish Plot the Government showed exceptional interest in apprehending Turner: why he was considered to be of such importance is unclear, but undoubtedly he was hunted down in three counties. Turner, like many of the accused priests, fled to London, no doubt with the intention of escaping from England by taking refuge in a foreign Embassy; but while arrangements were being made through the embassies to smuggle him out of the country he voluntarily gave himself up to the authorities in February 1679. His motives for giving himself up are unclear: Jesuits, though they were schooled to endure martyrdom, were not expected to actively seek it, nor does his spirited defence at his trial suggest that he had any such wish. It is most likely, as J. P. Kenyon suggests, that his physical and mental suffering had caused him to suffer a short-lived nervous breakdown.