St Augustine Bristol – Sanctuary Seekers in England, 1394-1557

Sanctuary at St Augustine’s monastery, Bristol

This case reveals some legal shenanigans on the part of the City of Bristol, which in the 1490s had a bee in its bonnet about St Augustine’s monastery just outside the City boundaries. Two indictments in the Bristol peace sessions in spring 1496 accused William Robynson, a yeoman of “Alyngton,” Dorset, of theft—he allegedly stoleContinue reading “Sanctuary at St Augustine’s monastery, Bristol”

Dominic Arthur and St Augustine’s, Bristol

In 1496, seven men submitted a petition to the chancellor complaining that City of Bristol officials had arrested them within the sanctuary precinct of St Augustine’s monastery, just outside the civic bounds. When I first dug into this case, a striking thing emerged: though this and one other case are the only I’ve found inContinue reading “Dominic Arthur and St Augustine’s, Bristol”