Robert Dibdale

Who was Robert Dibdale?

The Blessed Robert Dibdale was an English Catholic priest and martyr.

Dibdale was born the son of John Dibdale of Shottery, a village in the county of Warwickshire, within the parish of Stratford-upon-Avon, the birthplace of William Shakespeare's wife Anne Hathaway, at a date unknown. He had a brother, Richard, and two sisters, Joan and Agnes. It would seem the family were Catholics. Peter Ackroyd speculates that Dibdale attended the King’s New School in Stratford, the same grammar school attended by William Shakespeare.

Government records show that in 1581 his absence abroad at Louvain since about 1576 had been noted by the English authorities. Catholic records, however, show that, by that time, he had already been to Rome and had then gone to the English College in Rheims, France, arriving there on 29 December 1579, before setting out for England on 22 June 1580. At that point he had still not been ordained.

Dibdale was immediately arrested upon landing at Dover. It is recorded that he was committed to the Gatehouse by 29 July the same year, being discharged on 10 September 1582.