Battlefields›Rising at Cambridge 1381
Medieval

Rising at Cambridge 1381

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

Who Fought

Defeated
University of Cambridge
VS
Victor
Cambridge townspeople and rebels
Outcome
University's library and archives burned in the town centre (Margery Starre reportedly danced as the documents burned); Corpus Christi College sacked, its plate carried off and its charter burned, with the college later claiming about £80 in damages; on 16 June the University was compelled to surrender its royal privileges and negotiate a new charter with the townspeople.
The Battle

History & Significance

Rising at Cambridge 1381 was a medieval skirmish, fought at Cambridgeshire, England in 1381. Cambridge townspeople and rebels prevailed over University of Cambridge. University's library and archives burned in the town centre (Margery Starre reportedly danced as the documents burned); Corpus Christi College sacked, its plate carried off and its charter burned, with the college later claiming about £80 in damages; on 16 June the University was compelled to surrender its royal privileges and negotiate a new charter with the townspeople.

Confirmed battlefield location
The ground

The ground they fought on

The site of Rising at Cambridge 1381 lies on Gault Formation And Upper Greensand Formation (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Cenomanian. The rock here is mudstone, sandstone and limestone.

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Everything a full report reveals about Rising at Cambridge 1381

This page covers Rising at Cambridge 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
An interactive map of the location with every monument and battle plotted, and a plain-language history built only from what the record holds.
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
Laser-scanned terrain that reveals earthworks hidden under fields and woodland, with likely features flagged.
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.
Spotlight
A deep dive into the most remarkable, lesser-known history of the place, traced back to the record.
Target Zones
For detectorists: the most promising ground to search nearby, ranked by confidence, with what to expect.
Timeline
The whole story of the location told era by era, from prehistory to the present day.
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Protected heritage nearby

Scheduled Monuments near Rising at Cambridge 1381

Cambridge motte and bailey castle, Civil War earthworks and the buried remains of an Iron Age defended settlement, Roman town and former county gaol
Cambridge motte and bailey castle, Civil War earthworks and the buried remains of an Iron Age defended settlement, Roman town and former county gaol
Scheduled monument · ~0.6 mi

Cambridge Castle is a motte and bailey fortress constructed by the Normans in the aftermath of the 1066 conquest, positioned strategically within the town of Cambridge, Cambridgeshire. The castle's earthwork defences, comprising a substantial mound surrounded by ditches, remain a prominent topogr…

Samuel Buck / Nathaniel Buck / Public domain / Wikimedia Commons
Hobson's Conduit
Hobson's Conduit
Scheduled monument · ~0.6 mi

Hobson's Conduit is a sixteenth-century water supply system constructed in Cambridge to serve the town's needs. Built by Thomas Hobson, a prominent Cambridge carrier and benefactor, the conduit brought fresh water from springs near Nine Wells to the marketplace and other parts of the town, with t…

Magnus Manske / CC BY-SA 3.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Old Cheddar's Lane pumping station
Old Cheddar's Lane pumping station
Scheduled monument · ~1 mi

I cannot locate reliable scholarly documentation for Old Cheddar's Lane pumping station as a scheduled ancient monument in Cambridgeshire with the designation reference provided. Without verified historical sources establishing its period, architectural character, and significance, I cannot respo…

Furrfu / CC BY-SA 3.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Chesterton Abbey
Chesterton Abbey
Scheduled monument · ~1.1 mi

Chesterton Abbey is a Benedictine priory founded in the twelfth century in Cambridgeshire. The site lies near Cambridge and represents an important monastic establishment of the medieval period, though substantial ruins no longer remain visible above ground. Archaeological investigation and docum…

Robevans123 / CC BY-SA 4.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Moated site at Manor Farm
Moated site at Manor Farm
Scheduled monument · ~2.3 mi

The moated site at Manor Farm is a medieval defensive settlement located in Cambridgeshire. The monument comprises a substantial water-filled moat that formerly enclosed a domestic and agricultural complex, typical of the manorial settlements established across England during the medieval period.…

Fractal Angel / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Wandlebury Camp: a multivallate hillfort, earlier univallate hillfort, Iron Age cemetery and 17th century formal garden remains
Wandlebury Camp: a multivallate hillfort, earlier univallate hillfort, Iron Age cemetery and 17th century formal garden remains
Scheduled monument · ~4.2 mi

Wandlebury Camp is a multivallate hillfort located near Cambridge in Cambridgeshire, representing a significant Iron Age defensive settlement. The site began as a univallate hillfort before later phases of construction resulted in multiple defensive ramparts and ditches. An Iron Age cemetery disc…

Ethan Doyle White / CC BY-SA 3.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Romano-British settlement site SW of Trumpington
Scheduled monument · ~2.7 miles
Settlement complex NE of Haslingfield
Scheduled monument · ~2.8 miles
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Battles near Rising at Cambridge 1381

Siege of Cambridge Castle (1643)
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