Yalding village was
granted to the Norman knight, Richard de Clare, in 1067. When I was
born in 1330, the village was owned by Hugh de Audley. At that time,
Yalding was managed by John Giffard.
In 1347 Hugh de Audley
sadly died. Yalding now became the property of his only child, Margaret.
Her husband, Ralph, Earl of Stafford became Yalding's new lord of
the manor.
In June, 1349, the pestilence
came to Yalding. John Giffard took control of the situation and quickly
arranged for the victims of the disease to be taken to a Pest House
that was built just outside the village. He paid several women to
look after the victims in the Pest House.
John Giffard, who was very
knowledgeable about medical matters and had read several books on
the subject, arranged for the victims to be bled.
The villagers came up with
some very strange ideas on how to prevent the pestilence. Some suggested
whipping each other in public. Others sprinkled vinegar and rosewater
on the floors of their huts. These people are not very intelligent
and are easily influenced by wild stories spread by freemen who had
heard them in other towns and villages. However, as John Giffard was
in charge of the village, he was able to force the people to do as
they were told. By taking this firm action, John Giffard helped to
save the lives of a large number of people living in Yalding.
One would have expected
that the serfs would have been grateful for the help they had received
during the outbreak of this terrible disease. Instead these foolish
serfs began demanding higher wages. Although my generous father paid
them one penny a day, they claimed they deserved more.
In 1350 the Earl of Stafford
and several other lords persuaded King Edward III and
his Parliament to pass the Statute of Labourers Act. This made it
illegal to pay wages
above the level offered in 1346. Despite this law, the greedy serfs
continued to ask
for higher wages. When my law-abiding father said no, some of Yalding's
serfs ran away.
With so many people having
died of the pestilence, John Giffard had difficulty finding enough
people to work in his fields. After a very good harvest in 1353, my
father was forced to pay the peasants three pence a day. The peasants
did not know what to do with all this extra money. Some even began
spending their money on colourful clothes. This was illegal and my
father soon put an end to this shameful behaviour. Some serfs were
more sensible and spent their money on animals and farming equipment.
Others purchased their freedom and were now able to leave the village.
In 1366, John Giffard,
the much loved estate bailiff, died. The whole village was shocked
by the news. I have been told that a large number of serfs were crying
as they worked in the fields. They were probably frightened about
what would happen to them now they had lost John Giffard. Ralph, Earl
of Stafford, was aware that these empty-headed peasants needed looking
after and had arranged for me to have a
good education at Tonbridge Priory.
Three years after the death
of John Giffard, the pestilence once again arrived in Yalding. Like
John Giffard, I also made sure that the victims were isolated from
the rest of the village. As a result of these measures only five people
from Yalding died. In 1372, Ralph, Earl of Stafford, died. His son
Hugh, became the new lord of the manor. Under my wise leadership the
people of Yalding continued to prosper.
In 1375
the Earl of Stafford, decided to increase the yearly rent to 18 pence
an acre. As expected, some of the more unreasonable members of the
village complained, but the vast majority realised he had made a sensible
decision. In 1376 the Earl of Stafford attended a meeting of the House
of Lords in London. King Edward III requested a new tax in order to
pay for the war in France. The majority of the lords were against
granting permission for this tax to be imposed on the English people.
During the last few years the English army had lost most of the land
it had controlled in France. Edward III was now 64 years old and was
no longer the wise military commander that he had been when he defeated
the French at Crecy and Poitiers. The lords were afraid that any money
granted would be wasted by a king who was no longer able to successfully
command a large English army.
The following year King
Edward died and was replaced by Richard, his ten year old grandson.
The most important member of King Richard II's government was his
uncle, John of Gaunt. During a meeting of Parliament in 1379 it was
agreed to grant permission for a poll tax. This was much fairer than
other taxes as it was a tax on every adult rather than a tax on the
rich. Lords like the Earl of Stafford agreed to pay £2, whereas
the peasants only had to pay four pence.
Some of the stingy members
of the village complained about the tax but eventually everybody paid.
In 1380, Richard II called another meeting of Parliament and asked
the members to raise another £100,000 to fight the French. Some
of the lords complained about paying another poll tax. One suggested
that the peasants should pay more this time. Parliament agreed to
this and passed a poll tax where every adult paid 12 pence each.
This time some people in
Yalding village complained about the poll tax. These greedy people
claimed they could not afford to pay the tax. This was untrue as everybody
in the village had animals they could sell. After I explained to these
stupid people why it was important to send a new army to France, they
agreed to pay the new poll tax.
In May 1381 the Earl of
Stafford and I were in Scotland with John of Gaunt's army. While we
were in Scotland we heard reports of a peasant rebellion in Essex
and Kent. I was informed that tax officials had been murdered and
that a peasant army was planning to march on the capital. I quickly
returned to London to help defend my king. However, by the time I
arrived back in London the peasants had left. I joined the king at
Billericay and helped him defeat the rebels. We then toured the Essex
villages arresting the ringleaders of the revolt.
In July I finally arrived
back home in Yalding. The serfs were very sorry for what they had
done. They blamed John Ball for their appalling behaviour. These stupid
serfs are so daft they are easily fooled by wicked men like John Ball
and Wat Tyler. One of the most ridiculous demands of people like Wat
Tyier was that the peasants should have a say in how the country should
be governed. This is the most absurd thing I have ever heard.
After I spoke to them they
realised they had been very foolish to listen to John Ball. I held
a meeting of the Manor Court and all those who had left the village
to join the revolt were fined 2 shillings each.
In 1382 there was another
meeting of Parliament. King Richard II explained that it was very
important that the peasants never again marched on London. Some lords
suggested that it would probably be wise to withdraw the idea of the
poll tax. Others proposed that the lords of the manor should consider
the possibility of allowing the peasants to buy their freedom. Many
lords pointed out that it was becoming more and more difficult to
stop serfs leaving their villages. Others argued that it would be
a good way of raising money.
When the Earl of Stafford
arrived in Yalding he had talks with the serfs. Nearly all of them
agreed to buy their freedom. When the negotiations had finished the
Earl of Stafford
had received over £45. With this money he was able to buy a
large number of animals. This proved to be very successful. Animals
are much better workers than serfs and they never ask for freedom
or an increases in their wages.
I am now 54 years old
and have been the estate bailiff at Yalding for over twenty years.
I have been a wise and sensible leader. Yalding is a prosperous village
and although some of the peasants still moan occasionally, most of
them realise that they are far better off than their parents and grandparents.
Thomas
de Edenbridge,
Court Lodge, 8th June,
1384
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