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Extract: - Monastries under siege

There are several other cases of attempts to break into monasteries by force of arms, so the walls and gates were very necessary. In 1212 Binham was besieged by Robert Fitzwalter after the prior (a friend of Robert's) had been removed from office. The monks were forced to eat bran and drink water from the drainpipes until Robert's men were driven off by the king's army. In 1307 a group of 25 men forcibly entered Horsham and remained at its gates for four months. Six years later a mob broke into Thetford Cluniac friary. Some of the monks fled into the church for sanctuary but they were pursued and murdered in front of the high altar. One man was later accused of murdering the prior's nephew in this incident but the jury found him not guilty. Norwich Cathedral priory was besieged several times by angry citizens objecting to its power within the city.