John Plessington was a 17th-century English Catholic priest who was executed for violating laws against the presence of Catholic clergy in the kingdom. Born in Garstang, Lancashire, he received his education from the Jesuits and at seminaries in Spain and France. After his ordination in 1662, he returned to England to serve local Catholics in Cheshire and Holywell, often using the alias John Scarisbrick to avoid detection. He was eventually arrested during the Popish Plot period and executed in Boughton, Cheshire.