Saint Nicholas Owen (died 1606) was an English Catholic martyr who built numerous priest holes in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I of England. Little is known of his early life, but it is believed that he was born in Oxford, England around 1550 into a devoutly Catholic family and grew up during the Penal Laws. He became a carpenter presumably by trade, and for about twenty years, built hiding-places for priests in the homes of Catholic families. He frequently travelled from one house to another, under the name of "Little John", accepting only the necessities of life as payment before starting off for a new project.