Editing Peasants' Revolt (section)

====Essex and Kent====
The revolt of 1381 broke out in [[Essex]], following the arrival of [[John Brampton|John Bampton]] to investigate non-payment of the poll tax on 30 May.<ref name=Dunn2002P73>{{harvnb|Dunn|2002|p=73}}</ref> Bampton was a Member of Parliament, a Justice of the Peace and well-connected with royal circles.<ref name=Dunn2002P73/> He based himself in [[Brentwood, Essex|Brentwood]] and summoned representatives from the neighbouring villages of [[Corringham, Essex|Corringham]], [[Fobbing]] and [[Stanford-le-Hope]] to explain and make good the shortfalls on 1 June.<ref name=Dunn2002P73/> The villagers appear to have arrived well-organised, and armed with old bows and sticks.<ref name="Sumption 2009 420">{{harvnb|Sumption|2009|p=420}}</ref> Bampton first interrogated the people of Fobbing, whose representative, [[Thomas Baker (Peasants' Revolt leader)|Thomas Baker]], declared that his village had already paid their taxes, and that no more money would be forthcoming.<ref name="Sumption 2009 420"/> When Bampton and two sergeants attempted to arrest Baker, violence broke out.<ref name=Dunn2002P73/> Bampton escaped and retreated to London, but three of his clerks and several of the Brentwood townsfolk who had agreed to act as jurors were killed.<ref>{{harvnb|Dunn|2002|p=73}}; {{harvnb|Sumption|2009|p=420}}</ref> [[Robert Bealknap]], the Chief Justice of the [[Court of Common Pleas (England)|Court of Common Pleas]], who was probably already holding court in the area, was empowered to arrest and deal with the perpetrators.<ref>{{harvnb|Dunn|2002|pp=73–74}}</ref>

[[File:Longbowmen.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|alt=Medieval painting|Peasant longbowmen at practice, from the [[Luttrell Psalter]], c. 1320–1340]]
By the next day, the revolt was rapidly growing.<ref name=Dunn2002P74>{{harvnb|Dunn|2002|p=74}}</ref> The villagers spread the news across the region, and John Geoffrey, a local bailiff, rode between Brentwood and [[Chelmsford]], rallying support.<ref name=Dunn2002P74/> On 4 June, the rebels gathered at [[Bocking, Essex|Bocking]], where their future plans seem to have been discussed.<ref>{{harvnb|Sumption|2009|pp=420–421}}</ref> The Essex rebels, possibly a few thousand strong, advanced towards London, some probably travelling directly and others via Kent.<ref name=Dunn2002P74/> One group, under the leadership of [[John Wrawe]], a former [[chaplain]], marched north towards the neighbouring county of Suffolk, with the intention of raising a revolt there.<ref>{{harvnb|Dunn|2002|p=122}}; {{harvnb|Powell|1896|p=9}}</ref>

Revolt also flared in neighbouring [[Kent]].<ref name=Dunn2002P75>{{harvnb|Dunn|2002|p=75}}</ref> Sir [[Simon de Burley]], a close associate of both Edward III and the young Richard, had claimed that a man in Kent, called Robert Belling, was an escaped serf from one of his estates.<ref name=Dunn2002P75/> Burley sent two sergeants to [[Gravesend]], where Belling was living, to reclaim him.<ref name=Dunn2002P75/> Gravesend's local bailiffs and Belling tried to negotiate a solution under which Burley would accept a sum of money in return for dropping his case, but this failed and Belling was taken away to be imprisoned at [[Rochester Castle]].<ref name=Dunn2002P75/> A furious group of local people gathered at [[Dartford]], possibly on 5 June, to discuss the matter.<ref>{{harvnb|Dunn|2002|pp=75–76}}</ref> From there the rebels travelled to [[Maidstone]], where they stormed the prison, and then on to [[Rochester, Kent|Rochester]] on 6 June.<ref>{{harvnb|Dunn|2002|pp=60, 76}}</ref> Faced by the angry crowds, the constable in charge of Rochester Castle surrendered it without a fight and Belling was freed.<ref name=Dunn2002P76>{{harvnb|Dunn|2002|p=76}}</ref>

Some of the Kentish crowds now dispersed, but others continued.<ref name=Dunn2002P76/> From this point, they appear to have been led by [[Wat Tyler]], whom the ''Anonimalle Chronicle'' suggests was elected their leader at a large gathering at Maidstone on 7 June.<ref name=Dunn2002Sumption2009P421>{{harvnb|Dunn|2002|p=58}}; {{harvnb|Sumption|2009|p=421}}</ref> Relatively little is known about Tyler's former life; chroniclers suggest that he was from Essex, had served in France as an archer and was a charismatic and capable leader.<ref name=Dunn2002Sumption2009P421/> Several chroniclers believe that he was responsible for shaping the political aims of the revolt.<ref>{{harvnb|Dunn|2002|p=58}}</ref> Some also mention a [[Jack Straw (rebel leader)|Jack Straw]] as a leader among the Kentish rebels during this phase in the revolt, but it is uncertain if this was a real person, or a pseudonym for Wat Tyler or John Wrawe.<ref>{{harvnb|Dunn|2002|pp=62–63}}</ref>{{#tag:ref|Walsingham highlights the role of a "Jack Straw", and is supported by Froissart, although Knighton argues that this was a pseudonym; other chroniclers fail to mention him at all. The historian Friedrich Brie popularised the argument in favour of the pseudonym in 1906. Modern historians recognise Tyler as the primary leader, and are doubtful about the role of "Jack Straw".<ref>{{harvnb|Dunn|2002|pp=62–63}}; {{harvnb|Brie|1906|pp=106–111}}; {{harvnb|Matheson|1998|p=150}}</ref>|group="nb"}}

Tyler and the Kentish men advanced to [[Canterbury]], entering the [[Canterbury city walls|walled city]] and [[Canterbury Castle|castle]] without resistance on 10 June.<ref>{{harvnb|Dunn|2002|pp=76–77}}; {{harvnb|Lyle|2002|p=91}}</ref> The rebels deposed the absent Archbishop of Canterbury, Sudbury, and made the cathedral monks swear loyalty to their cause.<ref>{{harvnb|Dunn|2002|p=77}}</ref> They attacked properties in the city with links to the hated royal council, and searched the city for suspected enemies, dragging the suspects out of their houses and executing them.<ref>{{harvnb|Dunn|2002|p=77}}; {{harvnb|Sumption|2009|p=421}}</ref> The city prison was opened and the prisoners freed.<ref>{{harvnb|Sumption|2009|p=421}}</ref> Tyler then persuaded a few thousand of the rebels to leave Canterbury and advance with him on London the next morning.<ref name=Dunn2002P78/>