30th May, 1381:
Thomas Bampton, the king's tax
collector for Essex, is chased out of Brentwood by villagers from
Fobbing, Corringham and Stanford.
2nd
June, 1381: Chief Justice, Sir Robert Belknap and a small
party of soldiers are chase out of Brentwood. Two of Belknap's men
are captured and killed.
6th
June, 1381: Sir Simon Burley's serf, John Belling, is rescued
from Rochester Castle.
7th
June, 1381: Wat Tyler is elected leader of the rebels.
John Ball is rescued from Maidstone Prison.
8th
June, 1381: The people of Yalding receive news of the rebellion.
9th
June, 1381: Sir John Legge, the king's tax collector for
Kent, hears about the rebellion and returns to London. Wat Tyler and
the rebels march to Canterbury.
10th
June, 1381: The rebels enter Canterbury. The castle and
the Archbishop of Canterbury's palace are ransacked.
11th
June, 1381: The Kent rebels leave Canterbury and begin
their march to London. The marchers break into several manor houses
on the way and destroy any documents concerning the feudal system.
Imprisoned serfs are set free by the rebels.
12th
June, 1381: The rebels from Kent arrive at Blackheath on
the outskirts of London. Soon afterwards the Essex rebels arrive at
Mile End. Rebels receive new; that peasant rebellions are taking place
all over England. Peasants also begin arriving in London from Surrey,
Sussex, Suffolk, Norfolk, Cambridgeshire, Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire.
It is estimated that there are about 30,000 people in Wat Tyler's
army.
13th
June, 1381 (morning): News reaches the rebels that Richard
II has left Westminster Palace and gone to the Tower of London. The
king's main adviser, John of Gaunt, is in Scotland. Two senior members
of the government, Simon Sudbury, the Archbishop of Canterbury and
the king's treasurer, Robert Hales, are with the king. Richard talks
to the rebels from the Tower by St Catherine's Wharf. Wat Tyler sends
a letter to Richard II. The king, who only has an army of 520 men,
agrees to meet the rebels at Rotherhithe.
The king arrives at Rotherhithe
on a barge. The rebels demand that the king's leading advisers, John
of Gaunt, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Robert Hales, John Legge,
should be executed. The king is unwilling to leave his barge and after
a few minutes he returns to the Tower of London.
13th
June, 1381 (afternoon): The Kent rebels arrive at the Southwark
entrance to London. Supporters of the rebels inside the walls lower
the drawbridge. The rebels now enter London. Soon afterwards they
set fire to John of Gaunt's Savoy Palace.
14th
June, 1381 (morning): Richard II agrees to meet Wat Tyler
and the rebels at 8.00 a.m. outside the
town walls at Mile End. At the meeting Wat Tyler explains to the king
the demands of the
rebels. This includes the end of all feudal services, the freedom
to buy and sell all goods, and a free pardon for all offences committed
during the rebellion.
The king immediately grants
these demands. Wat Tyler also claims that the king's officers in charge
of the poll tax are guilty of corruption and should be executed. The
king replies that all people found guilty of corruption would be punished
by law. Charters are then handed out that have been signed by the
king. These charters give serfs their freedom. After receiving their
charters the vast majority of peasants go home.
14th
June, 1381 (afternoon): About 400 rebels led by John Starling,
enter the Tower of London and capture Simon Sudbury, archbishop of
Canterbury, Robert Hales, the king's
treasurer and John Legge. Sudbury, Hales and Legge are executed at
Tower Hill.
15th
June, 1381: William Walworth, mayor of London, raises an
army of about 5,000 men. Richard II sends a message to Wat Tyler asking
to meet him at Smithfield that evening. At Smithfield, the king ask
Wat Tyler and his rebels to leave
London. Wat Tyler makes further demands such as the end of tithes,
the abolition of bishops, the redistribution of wealth, equality before
the law, and the freedom to kill the animals in the forest. William
Walworth, mayor of London, begins to argue with Wat Tyler. William
Walworth stabs and kills Wat Tyler. The rebels obey King Richard's
instructions to leave
London.
23rd
June, 1381: Richard II and his army arrive in Waltham from
London. Richard II's announces that he has cancelled the charters
that he issued in London on 14th June.
28th
June, 1381: King's soldiers defeat Essex rebels at Billericay.
About 500 rebels are killed in the battle.
5th
July, 1381: William Gildebourne. Thomas Baker and other
rebels from Fobbing are executed at Chelmsford. During the next few
weeks an estimated 1,500 rebels are executed.
13th
July, 1381: John Ball is captured in Coventry and taken
to be tried at St Albans.
15th
July, 1381: John Ball, is hung, drawn and quartered at
St Albans.
29th
September, 1381: Peasants under the leadership of Thomas
Harding make plans to capture Maidstone.
30th
September, 1381: Leaders of planned rebellion arrested
at Boughton Heath. Later, ten of these men are found guilty of treason
and executed.
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