Tag Archives: Hospitallers

“Once belonging to the knights of the Temple”

In 1510, husbandman Andrew Hardewyn of Orton Longueville, Huntingdnshire, killed two men by hitting them on the head with a staff. When he appeared before Huntingdonshire gaol delivery Hardweyn pleaded sanctuary and his case went up to King’s Bench: he claimed that he had taken asylum in a messuage (property) once belonging to the TemplarContinue reading ““Once belonging to the knights of the Temple””

Sanctuary in a “Templar messuage” in Gloucester

Another sanctuary claim in a Hospitaller property inherited from the Templars in the fourteenth century: in July 1510, Thomas Jones, yeoman of London, and William Morsate, salter of Wells, took sanctuary at Gloucester in “a messuage of the Templars” held by the Hospitaller prior. The cases of Jones and Morsate differed from others who wereContinue reading “Sanctuary in a “Templar messuage” in Gloucester”

Asylum at the Bristol Temple Fee

In 1516 three Bristol men (John White; John Johnson; and Edward Fowler) were indicted for a murder in the Kingswood forest outside Bristol, bringing up another problematic sanctuary case. When brought before King’s Bench weeks later, they pleaded sanctuary, claiming that they had taken asylum at the Temple Fee in Bristol, a property originally belongingContinue reading “Asylum at the Bristol Temple Fee”

The Savage case and sanctuary in the 1510s

The case of John Savage is one of the most famous of English sanctuary cases, about which some of the most influential scholarship on the subject has been written. I would argue, however, that the Savage case has been misinterpreted and its significance overstated. Nonetheless it reveals a lot about what was happening with sanctuaryContinue reading “The Savage case and sanctuary in the 1510s”

Davy Jones, sanctuary seeker

Here is another Bristol Temple Fee sanctuary seeker and another difficult 1510s sanctuary case. In November 1517, David Jonys, yeoman of Bristol (who no doubt looked something like the man above…) sought sanctuary for burglary and horse theft. At gaol delivery at Bristol a month later, Jonys pleaded sanctuary, claiming that he had been forciblyContinue reading “Davy Jones, sanctuary seeker”

Death of a tinker

A 1526 coroner’s inquest jury reported that Stafford dyer John Ithel had been minding his own business in the suburb of Forebridge when tinker Gilbert Hethe attacked him. Ithell struck back (the jurors said) in self-defence. Immediately after their encounter, as Hethe hung between life and death from the wound Ithell had inflicted on him,Continue reading “Death of a tinker”

Rubbing Cromwell the wrong way

This sanctuary seeker seems to have been another felon who rubbed Cromwell the wrong way, and was not fortunate enough to successfully use Westminster’s asylum to gain time to organize a pardon. In February 1539 a London yeoman named George Brewce was tried for burglary in Colchester. He claimed benefit of clergy in an attemptContinue reading “Rubbing Cromwell the wrong way”