BattlefieldsPeasants' Revolt: Canterbury 1381
Medieval

Peasants' Revolt: Canterbury 1381

1381
Kent, England
Era
Medieval
Battle Type
Skirmish
Location
Kent, England
Status
Unregistered
The Combatants

Who Fought

Defeated
Canterbury authorities
VS
Victor
Kentish rebels (Wat Tyler)
Outcome
Canterbury seized without resistance; castle and Archbishop Simon Sudbury's palace sacked, court and public records burned, prison opened and inmates freed, suspected enemies dragged out and executed; rebels moved on to London the following morning.
The Battle

History & Significance

Peasants' Revolt: Canterbury 1381 was a medieval skirmish, fought at Kent, England in 1381. Kentish rebels (Wat Tyler) prevailed over Canterbury authorities. Canterbury seized without resistance; castle and Archbishop Simon Sudbury's palace sacked, court and public records burned, prison opened and inmates freed, suspected enemies dragged out and executed; rebels moved on to London the following morning.

Confirmed battlefield location
The ground

The ground they fought on

The site of Peasants' Revolt: Canterbury 1381 lies on White Chalk Subgroup, bedrock that formed in the Maastrichtian. The rock here is chalk.

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This page covers Peasants' Revolt: Canterbury 1381. A full Aubrey report for the area pulls together this battle alongside scheduled monuments and everything else the record holds within a few miles:

Overview
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Monuments
The legally protected scheduled monuments around the location, each with its period, type and significance.
Battlefields
The battles and sieges fought on this ground, mapped and set on a timeline of the wider conflict.
Roman Britain
The Roman roads, forts and towns near here, and the Iron Age people who held the land before Rome arrived.
Domesday
The settlement's entry in the 1086 Domesday Book: who held it, what it was worth, and the people who worked the land.
Civil War
The Civil War fighting, garrisons and recorded militaria in this area, woven into the arc of 1642 to 1651.
Geology
The bedrock beneath the site, its age and rock type, reaching back hundreds of millions of years.
LiDAR
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Local Names
What the street and field names around here actually mean, and the history buried inside them.
Historical Maps
Ordnance Survey maps from the 1800s, layered over the location as it stands today.
Literature
The books, county histories, charters and archives that mention this place, quoted with their sources.
Legal
The protected sites nearby and the metal-detecting, access and treasure laws that apply to this ground.
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Protected heritage nearby

Scheduled Monuments near Peasants' Revolt: Canterbury 1381

The Guildhall
The Guildhall
Scheduled monument · ~0 mi

The Guildhall is a medieval civic building located in Kent, England, serving as a centre of municipal governance and commerce. Constructed during the medieval period, the structure reflects the architectural conventions of its era, with characteristics typical of guildhalls built to accommodate t…

N Chadwick / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Blackfriars
Blackfriars
Scheduled monument · ~0.1 mi

Blackfriars is a Dominican friary located in Canterbury, Kent, founded in the mid-thirteenth century as part of the establishment of the Friars Preachers in England. The surviving structures, notably the gatehouse and sections of the precinct walls, date primarily from the fourteenth and fifteent…

Tilman2007 / CC BY-SA 4.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Roman site, Butchery Lane
Roman site, Butchery Lane
Scheduled monument · ~0.1 mi

Butchery Lane is a Roman site located in Kent, England, comprising archaeological remains dating to the Roman period. The site lies within an area of known Roman activity and settlement in the region. As a scheduled ancient monument, it represents evidence of Roman occupation and land use in Kent…

Christchurch Priory and Archbishop's Palace
Christchurch Priory and Archbishop's Palace
Scheduled monument · ~0.1 mi

Christchurch Priory is a monastic house founded in the eleventh century in Christchurch, Hampshire, though historically associated with Kent through its ecclesiastical connections and administrative networks. The priory was established as an Augustinian foundation and became a significant religio…

Tilman2007 / CC BY-SA 4.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Tower of St Magdalene's Church
Tower of St Magdalene's Church
Scheduled monument · ~0.2 mi

Tower of St Magdalene's Church is a medieval ecclesiastical structure located in Kent. The tower survives as a substantial example of parish church architecture, retaining characteristic features of its period of construction. Built of local stone, the tower demonstrates the building traditions t…

Nilfanion / CC BY-SA 4.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Canterbury city walls
Canterbury city walls
Scheduled monument · ~0.2 mi

Canterbury city walls is a substantial circuit of medieval fortification surrounding the historic centre of Canterbury in Kent. The walls were constructed primarily during the late twelfth and thirteenth centuries, built upon foundations that often utilised earlier Roman stonework from the fourth…

Ymblanter / CC BY-SA 4.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Greyfriars, Canterbury
Scheduled monument · ~0.2 miles
Medieval wall of Black Prince's Chantry
Scheduled monument · ~0.2 miles
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