  The right of sanctuary (Lat. sanctuarium, holy place), was the right of a person to protection or asylum within consecrated ground, founded on an ancient belief that one entering assumes part of the holiness of a place. It would be committing sacrilege to remove the person from the sacred place, so the right of sanctuary was considered inviolable.1 Those who dared violate the right of sanctuary by forcibly removing people, or by committing violence upon those within, were excommunicated by the Church. The right of sanctuary had been "designed by the Church for the protection of the weak, and the prevention of a revenge, wild justice, violence, and oppression."2 Sanctuary could be sought for many reasons: to postpone legal proceedings if one had commmitted a crime; to escape one's creditors or to delay going to prison for debt; or, to escape from the hostility of those in power, especially if one had displeased a bishop or a king. The only people denied sanctuary were those who were traitors, non-Christians, and those who had committed the crime of sacrilege. In England, the right of sanctuary and officially recognized places of sanctuary had existed since the Anglo-Saxon days. The foremost among these places of refuge was Westminster Abbey, granted a charter as a sanctuary by Edward the Confessor. At Westminster, the whole precinct of the Abbey was sacred ground, but the main bastion of safety was the building called the Sanctuary at Westminster. St. Peter's Sanctuary was situated on the northwest corner of the Abbey precinct, where the current Westminster Guildhall now stands. The Sanctuary was a large square keep two stories high, with thick stone walls and only one exterior door, made of heavy oak. The building contained two chapels, and a few residential rooms. It was constructed to withstand an attack, and was quite the safest place to resort to, if one was in danger. Among the famous refugees in Westminster's long history was Queen Elizabeth Woodville, wife of King Edward IV, who escaped twice to the Sanctuary. The first time occurred when Edward had to flee England during the rebellion of his brother George, Duke of Clarence, and Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick in 1470. It was at the Sanctuary on November 2, 1470, that the heir of York, the future King Edward V, was born. The second escape to the Sanctuary at Westminster happened in May, 1483, after Richard of Gloucester, soon to be King Richard III, seized Edward V and declared himself "Protector." Elizabeth knew she and her children, specifically the younger prince, Richard of York, were under threat from their uncle. Richard wished to take the boy by force, but the Archbishops of Canterbury and York threatened him with excommunication. Richard argued that only criminals had right or need of Sanctuary, and since the child was too young to have committed offense, he could not claim sanctuary. Furthermore, Richard argued, the boy would be in the care of his loving uncle, and in the company of his brother. They yielded, and Elizabeth Woodville had to let her son go—she never saw either of her sons again, for within weeks, Richard had the princes murdered in the Tower. Another famous person to take sanctuary at Westminster was John Skelton, tutor and poet laureate to King Henry VIII. He had attacked Cardinal Wolsey in his satires Speke, Parrot (1521?), Colin Cloute (1521-22), and Why Come Ye Not to Court? (1522), and took residence at a house in the precinct of Westminster for fear of reprisal. Tradition states that Skelton died in sanctuary at Westminster, but this has not been proved. By an act of James I in (1623), sanctuary for crime was abolished throughout England, though in civil cases the practice was partially maintained until "The Escape from Prison Act" of 1697. The Sanctuary at Westminster was partly demolished during the seventeenth century, but the final remains of the building were not cleared until the middle of the eighteenth century. 1. Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th Ed. Vol XXIV. (1910), 129. 2. Besant, Sir Walter. Westminster. New York: Frederick A. Stokes, 1895. 174. |
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Article Citation: Jokinen, Anniina. “The Sanctuary at Westminster.” Luminarium. 7 Jan 2007. [Date when you accessed the page]. <http://www.luminarium.org/encyclopedia/westminstersanctuary.htm> Other Local Resources: Books for further study: Besant, Sir Walter. Westminster. New York: Frederick A. Stokes, 1895. <Available at Google Books>. Cox, Charles J. The Sanctuaries And Sanctuary Seekers of Mediaeval England. (Reprint from 1911). Kessinger Publishing, 2005. Mazzinghi, T. J. de'. Sanctuaries. Stafford: Halden & Son, 1887. <Available at Google Books>. Rosser, Gervase. Medieval Westminster, 1200-1540. Oxford University Press, 2001. Stanley, A. P. Historical Memorials of Westminster Abbey. (Reprint from 1882). Kessinger Publishing, 2003. Westminster Sanctuary on the Web:
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