The Church, The Crown and The Christening Gown

While the coroners were going about their business the church decided to continue with their heresy claim and on 16 December 1514 it was decreed that, based upon the evidence (there were basically no witnesses able to come forward on Hun’s behalf), Hun had committed suicide by hanging himself probably because he’d been discovered to have been a heretic, so poor Richard Hun, or at least his corpse, was burnt as a heretic.

But the matter didn’t end there.  It was a difficult call for the coroner’s Court and therefore, it wasn’t until 1516 that the true events surrounding Hun’s death became clear.

According to various documentary evidence which came to light it seems that Horsey, Joseph and Spalding visited Hun in his cell, Spalding carrying a candle to light the way and Joseph carrying a piece of wire or a needle.  The plan was to heat the wire or needle in the candle until it was red hot, thrust it forcefully up poor Hun’s hooter and it should have gone straight into his brain which would have killed him with minimal external signs.  Unfortunately the three weren’t too adept at the task in hand and after several attempts the result was just a bloody mess caused by haemorrhaging from the nose.  Presumably in order to stop Hun from struggling, Spalding grabbed Hun firmly and succeeded in breaking his neck.

What is it they say?  The best laid plans …?  The Three Stooges obviously got themselves into a right old two-and-eight and hurriedly tried to straighten things up in the cell.  They washed Hun and put him in a clean shirt as the one he’d been wearing was covered in blood.  They then took Hun’s girdle, stuck it round his neck, combed his hair, closed his eyes, strung him up and put his cap back on his head.  So, as far as they were concerned, it looked as if Hun had committed suicide.

Unfortunately the three had botched it and it was hardly beyond the wit of man and didn’t need CSI intervention to discover that Hun had been murdered.  Hun’s bloodied jacket had been left unnoticed in a dark corner of the cell and there was also a pool of blood lying elsewhere in a dark area of the cell.  The stool on which it was alleged Hun had been standing in order to hang himself was on the bed.  The candle had been extinguished and it’s unlikely Hun could have blown it out after he was dead!  In order to compound the case for murder, one of the motley crew (probably Horsey as he’d been the most affluent of the three) had, in the stampede to leave the scene of the crime, left an expensive fur gown draped over the stocks in the cell.

Several witnesses had made statements about the whereabouts of the three culprits which seemed consistently to point to them being in the cell at the time the prisoner had died.  There were no alibis for any of them at the time of death.

At the hearing of the murder case, thanks to the intervention of Richard Fitzjames, Bishop of London, through Cardinal Wolsey, Horsey was actually released but was banished from London and ended up down in Exeter.  The other two weren’t actually recorded as being imprisoned or executed so presumably by some foul flouting of the law managed to escape to pastures new but, on behalf of Hun’s family, Parliament did pursue with the King what should be done with Hun’s assets which should have defaulted to the Crown.  The Crown very graciously compensated the family with £1,500 and some plate and other jewels.