An Introduction to the Industrial and Social History of EnglandCheyney, Edward Potts
History
An Introduction to the Industrial and Social History of England
Cheyney, Edward Potts
Great Britain -- Economic conditions; Great Britain -- Maps; Industries -- Great Britain
During the same three days, insurrection had broken out in several
other parts of England. Disorders are mentioned in Kent, Essex,
Hertfordshire, Middlesex, Suffolk, Norfolk, Cambridge, Huntingdon,
Hampshire, Sussex, Somerset, Leicester, Lincoln, York, Bedford,
Northampton, Surrey, and Wiltshire. There are also indications of
risings in nine other counties. In Suffolk the leadership was taken by
a man named John Wrawe, a priest like John Ball. On June 12th, the
same day that the rendezvous was held on Blackheath, a great body of
peasants under Wrawe attacked and pillaged a manor house belonging to
Richard Lyons, an unpopular minister of the last days of Edward III.
The next day they looted a parish church where were stored the
valuables of Sir John Cavendish, Chief Justice of the Court of King's
Bench and Chancellor of the town of Cambridge. On the 14th they
occupied Bury, where they sacked the houses of unpopular men and
finally captured and put to death Cavendish himself, John of
Cambridge, prior of the St. Edmund's Abbey, and John of Lakenheath, an
officer of the king. The rioters also forced the monks of the abbey to
hand over to them all the documents giving to the monastery power over
the townsmen. There were also a large number of detached attacks on
persons and on manor houses, where manor court rolls and other
documents were destroyed and property carried off. There was more
theft here than in London; but much of the plundering was primarily
intended to settle old disputes rather than for its own sake. In
Norfolk the insurrection broke out a day or two later than in Suffolk,
and is notable as having among its patrons a considerable number of
the lesser gentry and other well-to-do persons. The principal leader,
however, was a certain Geoffrey Lister. This man had issued a
proclamation calling in all the people to meet on the 17th of June on
Mushold Heath, just outside the city of Norwich. A great multitude
gathered, and they summoned Sir Robert Salle, who was in the military
service of the king, but was living at Norwich, and who had risen from
peasant rank to knighthood, to come out for a conference. When he
declined their request to become their leader they assassinated him,
and subsequently made their way into the city, of which they kept
control for several days. Throughout Norfolk and Cambridgeshire we
hear of the same murders of men who had obtained the hatred of the
lower classes in general, or that of individuals who were temporarily
influential with the insurgents. There were also numerous instances of
the destruction of court rolls found at the manor houses of lay lords
of manors or obtained from the muniment rooms of the monasteries. It
seems almost certain that there was some agreement beforehand among
the leaders of the revolt in the eastern districts of England, and
probably also with the leaders in Essex and Kent.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account