A HISTORY OF CUMBERLAND 



failed to grant redress to one or other of the 

 contending parties. 



One of the most interesting features in the 

 history of Wetheral is the right of sanctuary 

 or freedom from arrest which it afforded to 

 criminals for offences committed outside its 

 bounds. This privilege was conferred on the 

 priory by Henry I. when he endowed it with 

 all the customs and liberties enjoyed by the 

 churches of St. Peter in York and St. John 

 in Beverley. 1 It was also confirmed by later 

 kings. The bounds of the sanctuary were 

 not conterminous with those of the manor, 

 but were marked by six crosses, viz. the cross 

 on the bank of the Eden opposite Corby, the 

 cross near St. Oswald's chapel, the cross by 

 the lodge (juxta le loge) on the bank of the 

 river, the cross by the hedge at Warwick on 

 the boundary of the manor, called the 

 Wetheral 'gryth crosse,' the cross between 

 the vill of Scotby and the prior's grange there, 

 and the cross on the bank of the burn at 

 Cumwhinton. 2 It is a curious fact that no 

 refuge was allowed to those whose offence 

 was committed within the liberty. When 

 the felon reached the desired asylum, he was 

 obliged to toll a bell in the church and swear 

 before the bailiff of the manor that he would 

 henceforth behave himself as a law-abiding 

 subject. 



The right of sanctuary was a conspicuous 

 privilege involving such far-reaching conse- 

 quences to the community to which it apper- 

 tained, that claims to the exercise of this 

 liberty were regarded by the law with a 

 jealous eye. It may be taken, we suppose, 

 that the church which enjoyed this privilege 

 was called upon at some time or another to 

 prove its title. There are few places of sanc- 

 tuary that have not figured in the law courts. 

 The sanctuary of Wetheral was not singular 

 in this respect. Three cases of considerable 

 interest came before the justices itinerant at 

 Alston in 1292, whereby the title of the 

 priory to the liberty was established. Andrew, 

 son of Thomas of Warwick, having slain a 

 man by a blow on the head with a stick, fled 

 to Wetheral and obtained ' the peace ' accord- 

 ing to ancient custom. As it was not known 

 by what warrant the priory exercised such a 

 privilege, the abbot of St. Mary's, York, was 

 summoned to prove the title. It was main- 

 tained that from time immemorial the liberty 

 of receiving felons within its jurisdiction 

 (infra banlucam) was possessed by the priory 

 of Wetheral, an oath having been first taken 

 by such felons that they should conduct them- 



Reg. of Wetherbal, No. 5. 

 s Ibid, lllust. Doc. No. xxx. 



selves well and not depart beyond the bounds. 

 The verdict of the jurors was given in fav- 

 our of the right of sanctuary. In two other 

 cases of manslaughter at the same assize, the 

 felons sought refuge at Wetheral, and the 

 jurors found to the same effect. 3 From the 

 fact that Edward III. offered pardon in 1342 

 to all the ' grithmen ' or criminals who had 

 obtained the ' grith ' or peace at Wetheral, 

 Beverley, Ripon and Tynemouth, on the 

 condition that they should go out and fight 

 in Scotland, it may be inferred that the 

 liberty of sanctuary was largely used in the 

 northern counties at that date.* 



During the wars of Scottish independence 

 the resources of the religious houses 6 on the 

 Border were put to a severe strain by the 

 entertainment of royalties and magnates on 

 their way to Scotland. The English side was 

 of course the basis of military operations. 

 The depredations of the Scots or the expenses 

 incurred by hospitality were the principal 

 excuses alleged for the appropriation of 

 churches to meet the increased outlay. 

 Edward I. had stayed at the priories of Car- 

 lisle and Lanercost and the abbey of Holm- 

 cultram, as well as with the bishop of the 

 diocese at Rose Castle. It is not surprising 

 therefore that the Prince of Wales should 

 have sojourned at Wetheral about the same 

 period. He was there, presumably, as the 

 guest of the monks, on 20 October, 1301, 

 and again early in the year 1307, a few 

 months before he came to the throne. It 

 was on the latter occasion that Dungall Mac- 

 dowill, a Galwegiari captain, brought to the 

 prince's court at Wetheral Sir Thomas de 

 Brus and Alexander his brother, brothers of 

 Robert de Brus, King of Scots, and Reynold 

 de Crauford, whom he had wounded and 

 taken in battle, together with the heads of 

 certain Irish and Cantire men decapitated by 

 him and his army during the war. The 

 Chronicle of Lanercost gives a grim account 

 of the subsequent execution of the prisoners at 

 Carlisle, the head of Thomas de Brus having 

 been placed on the keep of the castle. 8 



Several of the priors of Wetheral were 

 advanced to the distinction of being abbots 

 of the mother church of St. Mary, York, 

 and one of them was appointed to the great 



' Reg. of WetherM, lllust. Doc. No. xxix. 



* Ibid. No. xxviii. 



B At this time garrisons were sometimes kept in 

 religious houses when their walls were strong 

 enough for fortification. In 1300 Edward I. 

 placed garrisons in divers abbeys of Scotland 

 (Liber S>uot. Contrar. Garderobtf, 180). 



6 Reg. of Wetberbal, lllust. Doc. No. viii. 



186 



