Here, a more or less failed sanctuary — some caught on, some didn’t. On 1 May 1468, Thomas Huntley paid 6d to be admitted to sanctuary in the manor of Paris Garden located on the south bank of the Thames, now at the foot of Blackfriars Bridge. The manor of Paris Garden belonged to theContinue reading “The failed sanctuary at Paris Garden”
Tag Archives: Debt
“I ly in seintwarye at grete coste”: Scribe William Ebesham in sanctuary
In 1468 or 1469 scribe William Ebesham wrote one of his most important clients, Sir John Paston, to ask him for money, for as “God knoweth, I lie in sanctuary at great cost and amongst right unreasonable askers.” Between about 1460 and 1500, layman Ebesham made a career as a scribe, especially as a copierContinue reading ““I ly in seintwarye at grete coste”: Scribe William Ebesham in sanctuary”
Parishioners fight off a sanctuary breach
The realm returned to ordinary time, and ordinary people taking sanctuary, in 1472. Around then John Creymer of Canterbury was put into the town prison for several debt and trespass lawsuits. Creymer managed to escape from the prison and ran next door to the church of the Holy Cross at Westgate, “and there toke saintwaryeContinue reading “Parishioners fight off a sanctuary breach”
Debtors in sanctuary and debt litigation: an odd twist
Here a debtor seeks sanctuary, with a couple of twists. In the mid-1470s, William Cowper of London complained to the chancellor about one William Chapman, “dwelling and abiding in sanctuary in Greenwich.” First of all, a curious twist in the complaint: usually Chancery plaintiffs were annoyed with defendant sanctuary men because they were in sanctuaryContinue reading “Debtors in sanctuary and debt litigation: an odd twist”
A sanctuary in Greenwich
In the 1460s or 1470s, a London leatherseller named Thomas Bygge ran to sanctuary in Greenwich because he owed £100 (a huge amount of money for a humble leatherseller) to John Hanmer, a London mercer. Hanmer complained to the Chancellor, reporting that he and one of his servants, William Umfray, had gone the previous weekContinue reading “A sanctuary in Greenwich”
Gamblers and cheaters
In 1477 François Narbone of Gascony lured Bernard, servant and kinsman of Diego de Castro, a Spanish merchant, into a London tavern; there by “false and subtle means” he cheated Bernard of £28 by playing with a loaded set of dice. Diego, enraged, had François arrested by London officials “to have him punished according toContinue reading “Gamblers and cheaters”
Beverly, a sanctuary town
In July 2019, I visited Beverley for the first time: I was impressed to see the sanctuary town, including the purported “frith stool” in Beverley Minster. Alas, sanctuary seekers probably didn’t use this seat; but though our guide told me that tales of sanctuary at Beverley were invented by fanciful Victorian antiquarians, we do indeedContinue reading “Beverly, a sanctuary town”
Robert Purfote and the boundaries of sanctuary
Here is one of my old favourites: a London grocer named Robert Purfote who took sanctuary at St Martin le Grand around 1480 for debt. By twists and turns his house came to straddle the boundary of the sanctuary precinct, so that one side was within the refuge, one side out. In a 1530s royalContinue reading “Robert Purfote and the boundaries of sanctuary”
A London mercer in sanctuary: John Baron
In 1476, with his wife Alice, mercer of London John Baron fled to sanctuary at Westminster to escape imprisonment for debt. (Kit French has written about the Barons in an article in Medieval Prosopography). John Baron is a good example of the advantage that merchants could take of sanctuary protection. On going into Westminster, heContinue reading “A London mercer in sanctuary: John Baron”
Sanctuary at St Katherine by the Tower
Around 1480, William White complained to the Chancellor that one John Fraunceis, a sanctuary man at the hospital of St Katherine by the Tower, had sued him in a court at St Katherine’s. Fraunceis was in sanctuary for debt and perhaps his strategy for getting out of his money troubles was to use the jurisdictionalContinue reading “Sanctuary at St Katherine by the Tower”
Sanctuary Seekers in England, 1394-1557 