A Grand Day Out Beverley Sanctuary Stones

A Grand Day Out

Part 1

Beverley Sanctuary Stones

Following our long investigation of the Meaux Abbey site Gill Webster (my very able and thinking volunteer) and I thought we'd do something less taxing while we regrouped our minds for more of Meaux Abbey! But little did we know how we would inadvertently become engrossed in the results of 'Our Grand Day Out'. This was local trip to find sanctuary stones, a moated house/castle and a deserted village.

So on a lovely Sunday morning (27/8/17) we set of about 10.30 to investigate the three things mentioned above. For brevity and thus the readers sanity I'll divide the day into two and post them on FB separately.

Sanctuary (refuge) , stones (crosses)

In medieval times the church had considerable sway both secular and religious. The erection of Sanctuary crosses or stones is an example of this. Basically stone crosses (or stones) were erected at distances from an important church to give protection to felons. Should a felon get 'inside' the ring these stones formed round the church they were accorded certain protections by the church. Generally churches erected 4 stones or stone crosses which covered the main roads (and main compass quadrants) to the church. However, the north, south, east and west aspects were less important than covering the main roads, as we will see in the case of Beverley Minster. Because of Saint John of Beverley the sanctuary at the Minster was regarded as one of the most important in England and felons from all over were drawn to it. Legend has it, that King Athelstan in 934 A.D visited the tomb of Bishop John of Beverley (d 721). As a result of this he believed that he had been given victory against the Scots at Battle of Brunanburh (937 AD). The cult of Saint John was important in Beverley's development. Because of his victory King Athelstan gave the privilege of Sanctuary to Beverley Minster and this lead to various subsequent Kings carrying the banner of St John into some of their battles.

There were apparently two sanctuary boundaries, perhaps more. The first and outer was marked by the Sanctuary Stones/crosses and the second offered by the town boundary. The sanctuary stones were a boundary which once inside felons could, for30 days, escape the civil law. However, after 30 days the miscreant had to mount a defence. It is thought that wrong doers had to touch the stone, or cross, and then progress towards Beverley Minster and if need be the Sanctuary Chair (Frit stool) that still stands to the left of the high altar.

Once inside the circle of sanctuary stones their pursuers had to leave them alone or pay a fine of £8. A considerable sum in those days. If they were taken nearer the Minster the cost went up and if the felon was taken at the edge of the cemetery the pursuers were fined £24! If they were taken when sat in the sanctuary chair or in the church the pursuers faced the death penalty. Once they had claimed Sanctuary by being inside the perimeter of the sanctuary stones they had 30 days to mount their defence before trial. The church could of course defend them. Because Beverley Minster was a powerful church sanctuary seekers came from far and wide particularly for the offence of homicide. From 1478/99 there were 132 fugitives mostly men but women were represented!

So where are the Beverley stones now?

Details and history of these 'crosses' is complex depending on information source. Currently there are three stones to be found out of a possible 4 (perhaps 5). These are the Stump Cross (National Grid Ref: TA 02554 36415), Walkington Cross (National Grid Ref: TA 00393 37386) and Bentley Cross (National Grid Ref: 02554 36415). The parking to view these stones is not easy as they are on busy or narrow roads and pulling off onto the grass kerb may not really be an option. The Stump Cross is in a field planted usually to cereals. Fifty yards east of the cross there is a farm field entry on the south side of the road. However, it must be remembered that farmers need access to their fields and leaving unattended vehicles might not be the best option. The 'cross' is 70 m to the right of the gate It is far the best preserved of the three crosses and once bore the inscription 'Pray for the soul of Master William de Walthon'. The Walkington Cross is on the south side of the B1230 about 70 yards west of the traffic lights. It is possible to pull off the road on Coppleflat Lane, north of the traffic lights. The Bentley Cross: National Grid Ref: TA 02554 36415. This is on the busy A164 south of the exit to the Beverley By-Pass just by the 40 mph sign. There is a small entrance about 150 yards south of this cross that leads to a 'lagoon'. Beware, this is a busy road and care is needed walking along the verge to the cross and backing out of this entrance if you park there.

More information

These figures are mine and so are approximate. The bearings and distances ('as the crow flies') of the three stones from Beverley Minster are:

Stump Cross 280 degrees North and 2 miles from the Minster

Walkington Cross 233 degrees North and 2 miles, 2000 ft from the Minster

Bentley Cross 205 degrees North and 1 mile, 4700 ft from the Minster.

The distance of these crosses from the Minster is interesting. Perhaps the monks from the Minster didn't have a way of measuring 'as the crow flies' but measured such distances by walking. If they walked from the Minster through the streets of this would be longer than 'as the crow flies'. Some authorities say that the crosses were measured from the tomb of St John in the Minster and others put this distance at one mile. Clearly this doesn't seem to be true from the above measurements taken from the OS map 293. It would seem that the distance of the sanctuary stones from the Minster differed between stones and also it was more than a mile.

Another explanation could be that the distance to the various crosses was taken from the notional outer limits of the town. Not knowing what the town boundary was in the 12th or 13th centaury makes this difficult to tell. Certainly measuring back one mile from the crosses towards the Minster lands you in the country side around Beverley rather than anywhere that might be considered Beverley, even today. The distance could have been measured the town boundary or the limits of what Beverley claimed beyond the town its self the so called limits of 'liberty Beverley'.

It may be noticed that while the north, south and west entries to Beverley are coved by a sanctuary cross the east side seems not to be. This is probably because at this time the Hull Valley was still flooded making it unlikely that felons might approach from the east.

To us a fascinating Part 1 of this outing. Part 2 to come is equally as interesting and introduced us to a powerful English family -- the Percy's.

Chris Coulson August 2017