  priest hole is the term given to hiding places for priests built into many of the principal catholic houses of england during the period when catholics were persecuted by law in england, from the beginning of the reign of queen elizabeth i in 1558. ==background== the measures put in force shortly after elizabeth's accession became much harsher after the rising of the north (1569) and the babington plot in particular, the utmost severity of the law was enforced against seminary priests. an act was passed prohibiting a member of the roman catholic church from celebrating the rites of his faith on pain of forfeiture for the first offence, a year's imprisonment for the second, and imprisonment for life for the third. all those who refused to take the oath of supremacy were called "recusants" and were guilty of high treason. a law was also enacted which provided that if any "papist" should be found converting an anglican, or other protestant, to catholicism, both would suffer death for high treason. in november 1591, a priest was hanged before the door of a house in gray's inn fields for having said mass there the month previously. laws against seminary priests and "recusants" were enforced with great severity after the gunpowder plot (1605) episode during james i's reign. arrest for a priest meant imprisonment, and often torture and execution. ==location and use==  england's castles and country houses commonly had some precaution in the event of a surprise, such as a secret means of concealment or escape that could be used at a moment's notice. however, in the time of legal persecution the number of secret chambers and hiding-places increased in the houses of the old catholic families. these often took the form of apartments or chapels in secluded parts of the houses, or in the roof space, where mass could be celebrated with the utmost privacy and safety. nearby there was usually an artfully contrived hiding-place, not only for the officiating priest to slip into in case of emergency, but also to provide a place where the vestments, sacred vessels, and altar furniture could be stored on short notice.fea, allan (1908). [http://www.gutenberg.org/files/13918/13918-h/13918-h.htm secret chambers and hiding places: historic, romantic, & legen
History_of_Roman_Catholicism_in_England Houses_in_England Rooms Secret_places