James Dowdall

James Dowdall was a Roman Catholic merchant from Drogheda, Ireland. He was a part of the prominent Dowdall family, originally from Dovedale in Derbyshire, England. Dowdall's cousin, James Dowdall, was the Lord Chief Justice of Ireland and died in 1584. In 1598, Dowdall's ship was stranded on the coast of Devonshire, England, where he was arrested by William Bourchier, the 3rd Earl of Bath. Dowdall openly rejected the supremacy of Queen Elizabeth I and only recognized the authority of the Pope. He was imprisoned in Exeter jail and subjected to torture, yet remained unwavering in his Catholicism. Dowdall's case attracted the attention of Sir Robert Cecil and was a matter of discussion between the Earl of Bath and Cecil.