The story of Anthony Tyrrell has been very fully dealt with by Father Morris in his Troubles of our Catholic Forefathers. The authority he followed was a contemporary unpublished MS. of the famous Father Persons, still preserved in the English College at Rome and bearing as its title, The Fall of Anthony Tyrrell. Persons gives his own version of the present confession and, though there is no material difference between the two, it is unfortunate that Father Morris did not go direct to Tyrrell’s own statement, especially considering the very controversial character of Father Persons’ writings, and that a contemporary text does exist in the Lansdowne MSS. of the British Museum.

A happy chance has brought into my possession what is apparently Tyrrell’s actual letter. It is here printed verbatim, in the original spelling and without any attempt to straighten its confused sentences.

It was found wrapped up with some other papers of the famous Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, favourite of Queen Elizabeth, and must either have been sent to him for transmission or intercepted by one of his agents. Unfortunately, the covering letter is gone, but a schedule shows the whole packet to have been sent to Leicester by one Walter Bagot. I have no certainty who this Walter was, but I have found in my MSS. a document of the same date (1587) describing Walter Bagot as son to Richard Bagot of Blithefield, and their identity is very probable.

It is a pleasure to be able to print the Confession as written, without the alteration of one word or letter.