Richard of Pudlicott (died 1305), also known as Richard de Podelicote (or Pudlicote, or Dick Puddlecote), was an English wool merchant who, down on his luck, became an infamous burglar of King Edward I's Wardrobe treasury at Westminster Abbey in 1303. Richard, along with high-ranked accomplices, stole a large portion of the king's treasury of gems, antique gold and coins, estimated at over 100,000 pounds, or about equal to a year's tax revenue for the Kingdom of England. When priceless objects began flooding pawn shops, houses of prostitution and even fishing nets in the River Thames, the king and his ministers, away at war in Scotland, were alerted. Many dozens of people were rounded up and jailed in a wide and indiscriminate net and eventually brought to one of the biggest trials of the High Middle Ages in England. Ultimately most of the loot was recovered and a dozen or so were hanged, including Richard, but most escaped the executioner. Richard gave a false confession that he was the only one involved, saving the clergy—his inside accomplices—from being condemned. After his hanging, his body was flayed, and legend said his skin was nailed to the door of Westminster Abbey as a warning to other would-be criminals. A 2005 study of the door, dating back to the reign of King Edward I (making it the oldest door in England) revealed the legend to be false. The fragments of hide found under the door's lone surviving iron strap turned out to be from an animal hide which once covered the door.[1][2]
richard, pudlicott, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, january. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Richard of Pudlicott news newspapers books scholar JSTOR January 2017 Learn how and when to remove this template message Richard of Pudlicott died 1305 also known as Richard de Podelicote or Pudlicote or Dick Puddlecote was an English wool merchant who down on his luck became an infamous burglar of King Edward I s Wardrobe treasury at Westminster Abbey in 1303 Richard along with high ranked accomplices stole a large portion of the king s treasury of gems antique gold and coins estimated at over 100 000 pounds or about equal to a year s tax revenue for the Kingdom of England When priceless objects began flooding pawn shops houses of prostitution and even fishing nets in the River Thames the king and his ministers away at war in Scotland were alerted Many dozens of people were rounded up and jailed in a wide and indiscriminate net and eventually brought to one of the biggest trials of the High Middle Ages in England Ultimately most of the loot was recovered and a dozen or so were hanged including Richard but most escaped the executioner Richard gave a false confession that he was the only one involved saving the clergy his inside accomplices from being condemned After his hanging his body was flayed and legend said his skin was nailed to the door of Westminster Abbey as a warning to other would be criminals A 2005 study of the door dating back to the reign of King Edward I making it the oldest door in England revealed the legend to be false The fragments of hide found under the door s lone surviving iron strap turned out to be from an animal hide which once covered the door 1 2 Contents 1 Legacy 2 Further reading 3 References 4 External linksLegacy EditPudlicott is featured in a BBC TV movie titled Heist 2008 made about the events of 1303 His character was played by Kris Marshall Further reading EditLuke Owen Pike 1873 A History of Crime in England Vol 1 pp 199 203 and 466 7 From Google Books Hubert Hall 1891 The Antiquities and Curiosities of the Exchequer pp 18 33 From Google Books Paul Doherty 2005 The Great Crown Jewels Robbery of 1303 The Extraordinary Story of the First Big Bank Raid in History ISBN 978 0 7867 1664 7 Davis Family Detective Agency 2022 Nov 30 A Holy Heist 1307 Westminster An episode in the Cloak amp Dagger podcast https www dfdagency net cloak and dagger podcast a holy heistReferences Edit Paul Doherty Archived from the original on 6 October 2008 Retrieved 5 October 2008 Westminster Abbey the Oldest Door Archived from the original on 24 November 2014 Retrieved 24 November 2014 External links EditThomas Frederick Tout 1916 A Mediaeval Burglary From Internet Archive This United Kingdom biographical article related to crime is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Richard of Pudlicott amp oldid 1165202059, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
