Scans give 3D look at Coughton Court’s priest hole

Stratford-upon-Avon Herald ^ | 30th November 2016 | Chris Smith

[Mean Daddy]

I worked with a lady from Ireland and she shared pics of altars in the woods. If I recall, the priests held mass there to avoid prosecution.

[cloudmountain]

"Following the English Reformation, Catholics were forced to make difficult choices between their loyalty to the Crown and to their faith. As a result, many wealthy Catholics cleverly redesigned their country homes to include secret spaces known as ‘priest holes’."

It's a shame that England went that way. I guess Henry VIII's quest for a SON outweighed God.
In the end his son died and a queen ruled the realm.

From: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_VIII_of_England

Henry VIII is known for his consequential role in the separation of the Church of England from the Roman Catholic Church, besides his six marriages and many extramarital affairs, as well as his effort to obtain an annulment of his marriage to Catherine of Aragon, which led to conflict with the Pope.
His disagreements with the Pope led Henry to separate the Church of England from papal authority, with himself as king and as the Supreme Head of the Church of England; the disputes also led to the Dissolution of the Monasteries.
His principal dispute was with papal authority rather than with doctrinal matters, and he remained a believer in core Catholic theological teachings despite his excommunication from the Roman Catholic Church.
Henry oversaw the legal union of England and Wales with the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. He is also well known for a long personal rivalry with both Francis I of France and the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, with whom he frequently warred.

He disputed papal authority.
He became the "Supreme Head of the Church of England."
...he remained a believer in core Catholic theological teachings despite his excommunication from the Roman Catholic Church.

[cloudmountain]

I worked with a lady from Ireland and she shared pics of altars in the woods. If I recall, the priests held mass there to avoid prosecution.

Mass on the run. Mass during warfare.

I remember seeing Mass being held on the fronts in the Vietnam War. I also recall movie clips from WWII about those Masses celebrated before men went into battle.
It HAD to have been comforting, especially to have received HOLY COMMUNION.