North West View of Westminster Abbey by an unknown artist.
However, once there, he found his allies unreliable, and his campaign ended in failure.
Richard was among those who lost everything.
Stripped of his precious cargo and left in financial ruin, he returned to London, seething with resentment.
Richard did not meet the King, for he was in Scotland waging yet another war.
Before long, Richard became a familiar face at these debauched affairs, and wel known among the monks.
Plan of the Westminster Abbey and Palace, from A Mediaeval burglary by Thomas Frederick Tout.
As time passed, Richard grew increasingly comfortable within the Abbeys grounds.
The sight lingered in his mind.
A few days later, he spotted a ladder propped against the palace wall.
Instead, he set his sights on a far more ambitious target: the Kings treasury.
The crypt itself was one of the most secure rooms in Westminster.
In some places, its walls were an imposing 13 feet thick.
Access to this stairway was through the church, making unauthorized entry all but impossible.
By late April 1303, after months of labour, he finally broke through.
Illustration of the crypt, also known as the Pyx Chamber, where the Kings Treasury was located.
Illustration by Herbert Railton (1857-1910).
But Richards account raises several problems.
But the most damning inconsistency was the fact that there was no gaping hole in the crypt!
The far more likely scenario is that Richard had help from within.
A fisherman on the Thames pulled a silver goblet from his nets.
Expensive cups, dishes, and other valuables were found hidden behind tombstones in the churchyard.
Boys playing in nearby fields stumbled upon pieces of silver plate concealed beneath hedgerows.
Some of the missing treasures even turned up as far away as York.
The King appointed a special commission of judges to investigate the crime.
The Pyx Chamber today.
However, not all of the missing treasures had made their way back voluntarily.
Some were found hidden beneath the beds of the palace keeper and his assistants.
Still more turned up in the lodgings of Richard of Pudlicott and his mistress.
Then came the arrests.
Most were eventually released.
In the end, Richard was found guilty, and several othersincluding William and certain monkswere declared his accomplices.
In March 1304, eleven months after the burglary, William and five other culprits were hanged.
The greatest challenge, however, was deciding what to do with the monks.
He also had more pressing matters at handthe war in Scotland.
What is certain is that Richard had become the scapegoat.
Rather than risk a scandal, he chose to let the matter slide.
All the imprisoned monks were eventually released, while Richard was hanged as the sole perpetrator of the crime.
Some of the monks later recorded their own versions of the events.
The callousness of the monks and their arrogance are truly breathtaking.
A crude illustration depicting Richard of Pudlicott stealing valuables through a window in the crypt.
The King learned little from the events of 1303.
John Shenche, one of the prime suspects, was reinstated as Keeper of the Kings Palace at Westminster.
At Westminster Abbey, the aftermath of the scandal left a legacy of resentment and discord among the monks.
Their rivalry would dominate Abbey affairs for years to come.
In 1307, Abbot Wenlock died, but his appointed successor faced staunch opposition from Hadham and his faction.
