English Treasury Robbery of 1303

In 1303, a peasant wool merchant named Richard Pudlicott, burdened by debt and determined to change his fortune, plotted an audacious robbery of King Edward I's treasury at Westminster Abbey in London. He recruited church officials to aid in security and promised them hefty bribes. Over several months, Pudlicott meticulously chiseled away at the abbey's stonework, covering the damage with hemp plants he had planted earlier.

After successfully breaching the abbey's defenses, he spent two days inside, making off with an estimated £100,000 worth of treasures, a sum exceeding a year's tax revenue for England. Despite being eventually caught and executed, Pudlicott's crime left a lasting mark, as his flayed skin was nailed to the door of Westminster Abbey as a warning to potential imitators.