BattlefieldsPeasants Revolt — Canterbury 1381
Medieval

Peasants Revolt — Canterbury 1381

1381
Kent, England
Also known as: Canterbury 1381 Wat Tyler · Rebels take Canterbury 1381
Era
Medieval
Battle Type
Skirmish
Location
Kent, England
Status
Unregistered
The Combatants

Who Fought

Defeated
Canterbury authorities
Forces
c. 50-100 city authorities
VS
Victor
Kentish rebels (Wat Tyler)
Forces
c. 3000-5000 rebels
Outcome
Canterbury seized; Archbishop Simon Sudbury's records burned; castle briefly held
The Battle

History & Significance

On the march to London, Wat Tyler's rebels seized Canterbury and burned the legal records of the cathedral and city — records of rents, villeinage obligations and legal judgments that bound the poor. Archbishop Simon Sudbury (also Lord Chancellor) had fled but his properties were attacked. The rebellion in Canterbury mirrored the wider assault on the instruments of feudal and royal administration. Sudbury was later dragged from the Tower of London and beheaded on Tower Hill by the London mob.

Questions & Answers

Frequently Asked Questions

Aubrey Research

Explore the landscape around Kent

Aubrey generates in-depth historical research for any location in Britain — drawing on Domesday records, scheduled monuments, Victorian OS maps, geological data and archaeological archives to tell the full story of a place.

Research a location near Kent