In late January 1487, John Cole the younger of Great Greenford, Middlesex, was found dead at nearby Norwood. A coroner’s inquest was convened. The inquest jurors declared that Cole had been killed by Richard Smyth, a “mealman” (seller of meal/flour). They also reported that immediately after Smyth ran to the parish church at Southall, takingContinue reading “A 1487 murder mystery”
Tag Archives: Taking church without abjuring
Brutal breach of sanctuary?
An escaped robber and disputed accounts of his arrest: was he violently seized in a church in great disrespect of the sacral space and sanctuary—or simply taken into custody on the city street? In February 1490, Richard Reynold, yeoman of Hendon Middlesex, ran into the London church of St Olave in Old Jewry, escaping arrestContinue reading “Brutal breach of sanctuary?”
Sanctuary breaches and hard resets in Coventry, 1490
There was a real mess of a sanctuary situation in Coventry in 1490 enmeshed in a triangular dispute, featuring the bishop, the city’s government, and the crown. The bishop and the city both played fast and loose with the rules. Seizure #1: In February 1490 William Johnson, tailor of Lincoln, was about to be hangedContinue reading “Sanctuary breaches and hard resets in Coventry, 1490”
Cattle theft and homicide
One April day in 1490, John Abrey of Wendlebury, Oxfordshire, was crossing the king’s road when he saw a husbandman named John Carteworth leading away three of his (Abrey’s) cows from the common field. Abrey tried to stop him and the quarrel became violent. Carteworth pierced Abrey’s head with a pitchfork, giving Abrey a headContinue reading “Cattle theft and homicide”
Cop killer, 1491
In mid-February 1491, John Wells, glover of Oxford, ran into the church of All Hallows. He confessed to the coroner that a month before he had killed a serjeant, whose job it was to arrest suspected felons. A draft of a petition to the king from the serjeant’s widow, Margery Ludlow, gives some backstory toContinue reading “Cop killer, 1491”
Burglary in London, 1491
On 5 October 1491, John Archer, a London baker, broke into the house of Margery Marsshe in the parish of St Clement in London, taking a mazer (a wooden drinking bowl) decorated with silver gilt. From London Archer apparently fled to the West Country, and eventually took sanctuary in the parish church at Nunney, Somerset.Continue reading “Burglary in London, 1491”
Murder in Staffordshire, 1496
On 27 April 1496 at Alrewas, Staffordshire, a coroner’s inquest was held over the body of John Hunt. Jurors reported that seven men–artisans of different trades in nearby Lichfield–had murdered him and then run to sanctuary. The seven men were a baker, a dyer, a draper, a fletcher, a tallowchandler, and two pewterers. According toContinue reading “Murder in Staffordshire, 1496”
A Berkshire prison break
We’ve seen a few cases of felons awaiting trial escaping from their prisons and running to sanctuary; sometimes a whole gang break out at once and reach safety by running to nearest churchyard, as happened in Berkshire in 1497. In 1497, six prisoners in Wallingford castle in Berks (now Oxon) escaped by the keeper’s negligence.Continue reading “A Berkshire prison break”
Murderer in the stocks
A funny little case from Lincolnshire in 1498. A coroner’s inquest over Thomas Straker of Swineshead found that John Hall and Richard May, labourers also of Swineshead, had assaulted and killed Straker. Both Hall and May fled from the scene with the people of Swineshead in hot pursuit. They caught May and put him “inContinue reading “Murderer in the stocks”
Get-out-of-jail-free card?
There were quite a few sanctuary breach cases 1500-10, suggesting that either local authorities were pushing the envelope on sanctuary, or felons were trying to use allegations of breach as a get-out-of-jail-sort-of-free card. Though some have seen these cases as part of a “judicial assault” on sanctuary, that’s not quite accurate. In cases coming toContinue reading “Get-out-of-jail-free card?”
Sanctuary Seekers in England, 1394-1557 