When the Convocation of Canterbury met in November 1529 and considered whether Henry VIII and Queen Catherine were truly married, he spoke in defence of the marriage.
The Act of Parliament which condemned St John Fisher in 1534 for his refusal to take the Oath of Succession, also referred to Fetherstone, who was sent to the Tower of London on 13 December of the same year.
He was hanged, drawn, and quartered at Smithfield on 30 July, together with the Catholic theologians Thomas Abel and Edward Powell, who, like himself had spoken on behalf Queen Catharine and had themselves been kept in the Tower for nearly six years.
They were executed with three others, Robert Barnes, Thomas Garret, and William Jerome, who were condemned for teaching Zwinglianism.
The Protestants were burned, and the three Catholics executed in the usual manner, their limbs being fixed over the gates of the city and their heads being placed upon poles on London Bridge.