Postgate is recognized as one of the 85 English Catholic Martyrs of England and Wales beatified by Pope John Paul II in November 1987.

Historian J. P. Kenyon remarked that "for nearly half a century he tramped the high moors of North Yorkshire and the plains of the Holderness, ministering to a scattered flock".

This period marked the last time Catholics were executed in England for their faith, with Nicholas Postgate being among the final victims.

In response, Sir Edmund's manservant, John Reeves, sought revenge and decided to act in the Whitby area, possibly because he knew priests arrived there from France.

Nicholas Postgate was apprehended by exciseman Reeves while performing a baptism at the house of Matthew Lyth in Little Beck, near Whitby.

Reeves, accompanied by his colleague William Cockerill, raided the house during the ceremony and arrested Postgate, who was 82 years old at the time.

[8] On the scaffold, he stated that he was too old and frail to make long speeches and would simply die for the Catholic faith to which he had devoted his life.

[9] Reeves was recorded in a treasury book as having been paid 22 shillings for the apprehension of Postgate,[10] but some believe he did not receive the money before committing suicide by drowning.