As part of the Rothwell 600 celebrations a blue plaque was unveiled at Carlton Hall, Queen Street, Carlton, to commemorate the life of the Blessed Thurstan Hunt, a seminary priest who was born there in 1555.

He studied at Douai College and was ordained as a priest at Rheims in 1585 before returning to work in the North of England for the next fifteen years. He was captured in the Fylde area whilst attempting to rescue a fellow priest, Robert Middleton, a nephew of Margaret Clitheroe, who had also studied at Rheims and Rome.

In 1600 they were apprehended by and imprisoned in Lancaster Castle although their interrogation only revealed that they were priests. When asked what they thought of Queen Elizabeth, Father Middleton boldly replied that he acknowledged her authority in temporal matters and prayed that God would one day make her a good Catholic.

They were treated with great inhumanity and heavily ironed day and night until, by the order of the Privy Council, with their feet tied beneath their horses' bellies, they were carried in public disgrace up to London. They were sent back to Lancaster for trial, and condemned to death because they were priests who had been ordained overseas and had dared to exercise their priesthood in England. 

They were beatified by Pope John Paul II on November 22 1987.

The plaque was unveiled jointly by the Reverend Gale Uttley of Lofthouse and Father Carlos Carvallo of Rothwell at 11:30am on Saturday 22nd November 2008.

Info from: Eric Johnson
Carlton Village Residents Association