Great changes were made in the law during the reign of Henry VIII.
Traitors were wholly exempted from the privilege; those abjuring the realm
were not actually banished, but were to remain throughout life in the
sanctuary, and if they left it and committed any offence, they might then
be brought to trial. All inmates were to wear a badge twenty inches in
length and breadth, were forbidden the use of weapons, and were not to
leave their lodgings between sunrise and sunset. In 1538, the right of
sanctuary was further restricted, and Wells, Manchester, Northampton,
York, Derby, and Launceston were declared sanctuaries. Manchester found
this privilege to be of such doubtful value that two years later it was
transferred to Chester, and afterwards to Stafford. In the reign of James
I., the right of sanctuary was abolished almost everywhere. The Palatine
Counties had their special sanctuaries. In Cheshire, Hoole Heath,
Overmarsh, and Rudheath were such places of refuge. The abbey of Vale
Royal had also a grant. But generally the County Palatine of Chester was a
place of resort for those who had come into conflict with the law in other
parts of the kingdom, and it was not until the reign of Charles II. that
the king's writ ran in the palatinates and other privileged places. Many
privileged places in London, Westminster, and Southwark were brought
within the regular jurisdiction in the reign of William III. and George
II.
We have an instructive picture of the working of the sanctuary system in
the case of Manchester. The Act of 32 Hen. VIII., c. 8, abolished the
right of refuge in all places except, and the exception is a considerable
one--churches, hospitals, and churchyards. Perhaps a more important
exception was that sanctuary was to be denied to those guilty of murder,
rape, highway robbery, burglary, house-burning, or sacrilege. Whilst
abolishing many sanctuaries, certain additional places were named as
cities of refuge for minor offenders. One of these was Manchester. A year
later the town petitioned to be relieved from this distinction. The
inhabitants set forth that Manchester had a great trade in the bleaching
of linen yarn, and in the making of linen and woollen cloths and dressing
of cotton, and that the influx of dissolute persons to the sanctuary had
caused serious damage to the prospects of the town, which, having no
mayor, sheriff, or bailiff, and no jail, was badly circumstanced for
dealing with these lawless invaders. The request was granted, and the
sanctuary removed from Manchester to Chester. But the city of the Deva
found it desirable to obtain relief, and a further removal was made to
Stafford.
The fridstool at Hexham still remains, although nearly everything else of
the Saxon foundation has perished. This "chair of peace" was the central
point of the sanctuary, which extended a mile around. A Durham example of
the working of the law may be cited.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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