Another soldier turned to crime in aftermath of demobilization: on 14 April 1440 John Parker of Elmstone, Kent, soldier, took sanctuary in the church of St. Botulph without Bishopsgate in London (here pictured in mid-16th century Agas map, just outside the city walls)
He confessed to the coroner the burglary of Richard Hert’s house at Hoxton, Middlesex. He abjured the realm and was sent on his way to Dover with a cross in his hand to show his status as abjurer.
But – like others who show up in subsequent records – he apparently didn’t leave the realm: he was caught 10 days later and hanged soon after.
TNA, KB 9/232/1, mm. 55-56; KB 29/73, m. 22d.
Sanctuary Seekers in England, 1394-1557 