Category: Rebellion

Beunans Meriasek : Cornish Play

17/6/2020

In 1497, Henry Tudor, who took the crown of England from Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485, began to levy taxes on the Cornish people to pay for his wars in Scotland. This lead to what history calls the Cornish Rebellion of June that year.

The rebellion began with voices of unrest in the village of St Keverne where Michael Joseph An Gof and Thomas Flamank spoke out about these taxes and what they thought the people of Cornwall should do about it. The rebellion ended on the 28th June with the execution of James Tuchet, Baron Audley who lead the rebels to London.

At that time, and written in the Cornish language was a miracle play called Beunans Meriasek, it's theme was about the struggle between good and evil. In this play, evil is represented by King Teudar.

It's likely the Cornish were using this play to criticise the king in a subtler way than that of violence.

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The Wyatt Rebellion

11/4/2020

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I often wonder what I would do in a given situation in history, for instance, would I have followed Richard Duke of York against Henry VI? At Henry VIII's separation with Rome would I have stuck with the old religion or taken up the new Protestant one? Nobody knows what they would have done, and I suppose it all depends on who your family were, what positions they held and how they thought the turning of fortunes wheel might affect them.

My 15th century West Country ancestor was a fervent heretic hunter, yet his Catholic son, considered ‘suspect and weak and followed only those noblemen who are dangerous in the county’ conformed to the teachings of the Protestant church. I have to assumes that, if I was with my ancestor at this time I might to have joined him in capturing those men who were not of the same faith as me or maybe I would have been willing to join a rebellion that was taking place in the first few months of the reign of Queen Mary that was known as Wyatt's Rebellion.

The proposed marriage of the newly crowned Queen Mary to Philip of Spain and the fear that many people had that England would once again turn towards the old religion was at the root of Wyatt's rebellion. He had previously been imprisoned for his support of Lady Jane Grey’s claim to the throne but he had managed to escape the executioner's axe. Wyatt's new plan was to remove Mary from the throne and replace her with her Elizabeth, who would then marry Edward Courtenay. Courtenay was never a proven rebel but he was however embroiled in the plot. Peter Carew, a West Country gentleman did take part as did Henry Grey, Duke of Suffolk. Many others joined Wyatt but no one seemed to notice that the vast majority of the populace had taken to Mary as their queen.

On entering London Wyatt's rebels were outnumbered by the queen's forces and Wyatt was captured.

While in the tower Wyatt named Edward Courtenay as the instigator of the rebellion and begged Courtenay to admit to it. By implication, Courtenay and Princess Elizabeth were suspected of being involved and they too were imprisoned, when no evidence was found they were both released and Courtenay fled the country but Wyatt was sent to trial at Westminster Hall on 15th of March.

Thomas Wyatt mounted the scaffold on the 11th April in 1554 and was executed for treason.

Following his trial Thomas Wyatt was beheaded on Tower Hill, his body quartered and his bowels and genitals burned. Wyatt's demise was gruesome but the treatment of his remains even more so, his head and body parts were then taken and parboiled and were later displayed for all to see, his head however disappeared.

What of the fate of Carew and the Duke of Suffolk? Carew, like Courteney, escaped abroad he was captured and imprisoned but later released on payment of his debts to the crown. The Duke of Suffolk also escaped but was found on his estate in Warwickshire, where he was betrayed by his gamekeeper.

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Execution of Thomas Wyatt

9/4/2018

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For leading a rebellion against the crown Thomas Wyatt mounted the scaffold on the 11th April in 1554 and was executed for treason.

The proposed marriage of the newly crowned Queen Mary to Philip of Spain and the fear that many people had that England would once again turn towards the old religion was at the root of Wyatt's rebellion. He had previously been imprisoned for his support of Lady Jane Grey’s claim to the throne but he had managed to escape the executioner's axe. Wyatt's new plan was to remove Mary from the throne and replace her with her Elizabeth, who would then marry Edward Courtenay. Courtenay was never a proven rebel but he was however embroiled in the plot. Peter Carew, a West Country gentleman did take part as did Henry Grey, Duke of Suffolk. Many others joined Wyatt but no one seemed to notice that the vast majority of the populace had taken to Mary as their queen.

On entering London Wyatt's rebels were outnumbered by the queen's forces and Wyatt was captured.

While in the tower Wyatt named Edward Courtenay as the instigator of the rebellion and begged Courtenay to admit to it. By implication, Courtenay and Princess Elizabeth were suspected of being involved and they too were imprisoned, when no evidence was found they were both released and Courtenay fled the country but Wyatt was sent to trial at Westminster Hall on 15th March.

Following his trial Thomas Wyatt was beheaded at Tower Hill, his body quartered and his bowels and genitals burned. Wyatt's demise was gruesome but the treatment of his remains even more so, his head and body parts were then taken and parboiled and were later displayed for all to see, his head however disappeared.

What of the fate of Carew and the Duke of Suffolk? Carew, like Courteney, escaped abroad he was captured and imprisoned but later released on payment of his debts to the crown. The Duke of Suffolk also escaped but was found on his estate in Warwickshire, where he was betrayed by his gamekeeper.

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The Peasants Revolt Begins

13/6/2017

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It was on the 12/13th June in 1381 that over 100,000 peasants marched to London, headed by one Wat Tyler, in the hope that government and their king would listen to their grievances.

Between the years 1348 and 1350 thousands of men, women and children had died due to what we now call the Black Death. Just over thirty years later in 1381, England had still not recovered, workers were few, jobs were many, the treasury was empty and in an effort to counter this taxation was increased.

This new tax angered the poor, for they had come to enjoy their 'freedom' and to a certain extent they had gained the ability to control their own lives.

In 1380, to rectify the situation, a poll tax to raise money to help England financial situation was introduced that would initially result in the nonpayment of taxes but escalate into violence and death.

The seeds of this revolt were set just a month previous, you can read about that here

meanderingthroughtime.weebly.com/history-blog/john-bampton-and-the-events-of-may-1381

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The Peasants Revolt and the Death of Simon of Sudbury

11/6/2016

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In 1376, the death of Edward of Woodstock, commonly known as the Black Prince can be equated to an ocean landslide that eventually causes a devastating Tsunami on the other side of the world. I consider it the starting point of the Wars of the Roses, and, more importantly, the catalyst for all that occurred following the ascent of Richard II to the English throne and up to his usurpation in 1399. Putting the many effects the Black Prince's death aside, I would like to write of one man, Simon of Sudbury, who was caught up in all of this.

Sudbury, as his name suggests, was from the village of Sudbury in Suffolk, it's not known when he left this small East Anglian village or if he ever revisited but he certainly had a great fondness for the place. He founded St Leonard's, a leper hospital in 1372 and the College of St Gregory two years later. In the late 1340's Sudbury had studied in Paris, moved to Rome and then back again to England to take up a post in the court of Edward III. It was as Archbishop of Canterbury, at Westminster Abbey, that he crowned Richard of Bordeaux, the Black Prince’s surviving son, king of England. Five years later it was Sudbury, in his new post as Chancellor of England, that rebels vented their anger.

“His Grace Simon of Sudbury” by Raden Ajeng Wahyuni

It was the events that occurred in a six months period of 1381 that led to Sudbury's violent death on the 14th June.

England had not recovered from the Black Death, workers were few, jobs were many, the treasury was empty and in an effort to counter this taxation was increased. This, of course, angered the poor, for they had come to like their 'freedom.' In 1380, to rectify the situation, a poll tax to raise money to help England's financial situation was introduced, those in authority thought it a grand idea, the rest of the country did not, consequently, there was trouble. Between 13th and the 15th of June over 100,000 peasants marched on the country's capital led by one Wat Tyler. Watching the proceedings from within the Tower of London, Sudbury would have seen the young king do his bit in appeasing these so called rebels, making promises that he didn't keep. Sudbury and Robert Hales, England's Treasurer soon realised that their lives were in danger when they saw that the rebels had entered through the gates of the Tower of London. Hiding in the White Tower, Sudbury was found praying. Both men were dragged out and decapitated.

Sudbury must have suffered greatly, his ear was sliced and the bone in his neck showed that there had been more than two strokes to take off his head. Both Sudbury and Hales' heads were put on poles and carried about the city by the rebels. As mentioned earlier, the boy king never kept his promise to the peasants and eventually Wat Tyler's head was exchanged for that of Sudbury's, whose body was taken to Canterbury, but his head elsewhere.

Sudbury's mummified skull rests in a small cupboard in St Gregory's Church Sudbury and here we can see poor Simon's skull, with skin still attached. In 2011, over six hundred years after his death, forensic artist Adrienne Barker from the University of Dundee reconstructed Sudbury’s head using detail from the skull. Adrienne said,

“I hope people in Sudbury like what we’ve done but he’s a strange looking fellow so it’ll be interesting to see their reactions.”

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The Cornish Rebellion

17/6/2015

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In the first twelve years of his reign, Henry VII had successfully put down a number of major threats. They had all come from the Yorkist opposition, the de la Poles the sons of Elizabeth of York, Lambert Simnel and Perkin Warbeck, pretenders to the throne.

In the June of 1497, the rumblings of a new threat to Henry's reign could be heard in the most western part of England that was not of a dynastic nature, it was a tax riot that turned into full scale rebellion. When Henry imposed yet another subsidy on the people to finance his war against the Scots, there was outrage in the county, traditionally it was the northern counties that bore the brunt of this taxation.

Poverty among the tin workers and labourers of Cornwall was rife, Michael Joseph An Gof, a blacksmith from the Cornish village of St Keverne was the first to rouse his village to rebellion and Thomas Flamank, a lawyer of Bodmin whose father Sir Richard Flamank was Cornwall's royal tax collector, were inciting rebellion in Bodmin urging the people to march and take their grievances to the King. They began to march peacefully to London, picking up supporters on the way. Thomas Flamank spoke at public meetings against the imposition of this tax. He compiled a “Declaration of Grievance" listing the Cornish complaints about English rule. The Cornish became a disciplined army of around 15,000 men, effectively led by Gof and Flamank.

These 'rebels' hoped to boost their numbers with men from Kent, but no support was forthcoming forcing the rebels to backtrack and head back towards London. When they arrived at Deptford Bridge they were confronted by archers protecting an important crossing point over the River Ravensbourne at Deptford.

It was on the 17th June that men of Cornwall faced the King's forces at Blackheath.

Just outside London, Michael Joseph An Gof, Thomas Flamank and their followers were forced into battle against the King’s army in the Battle of Deptford Bridge. The armies of Henry VII stormed the bridge at dawn the following day, the bridge was taken leaving between 200 and 2000 men dead.

Gof and Flamank, two brave Cornish leaders were hanged, drawn and quartered ten days later on the 27th and their heads displayed on London Bridge, although they were offered a degree of leniency as the drawing happened after they were dead.

No doubt both men hoped that their efforts were not in vain, and that

'They shall have a name perpetual and fame permanent and immortal'

Sadly this is not the case, both Gof and Flamank have been largely forgotten by history, over shadowed by men of equal bravery and events deemed to be greater than theirs. London, it seems, has made some effort to remember them and their plight, there is a plaque in their memory near the entrance to Greenwich Park.

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John Bampton and the Events of May 1381

28/3/2015

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Sowing the seeds of the Peasants Revolt

Unlike later plots against government, such of the Gunpowder Plot in 1605 or the Babington Plot in 1586 where conspiracies were formulated by a few men under one roof, the Peasants Revolt was the quiet murmurings of unrest among many unhappy and angry people who finally got together under one leader.

We get much of our information regarding the beginnings of the revolt from local level in the form of court cases brought against villagers who took part in the early stage, people from the villages like Fobbing, Billericay, Gold Hanger and Bocking. Evidence of the events that took place in Brentwood on the last days in May are also found in written accounts and this is backed up by the Anonimalle Chronicle written at the time by a Benedictine monk from St Mary’s Abbey in York, and a later inquisition headed by the Chief Justice of the King Bench and West County lawyer, Sir Robert Tresillian.

Historian are in agreement over the events that took place in Brentwood, but not over John Bampton, the man who history associates with it. In the Anonimalle Chronicle, Bampton's christian name is Thomas but the vast majority of the
references to him are as John.

Bampton held lands in Essex, in 1362 Edward III granted him Ongar Park for an annual payment of ten marks and in 1372 he held Margaret Roding, one of six villages that make up what is known as The Rodings. He also held Canewdon, a village just north of Rochford. Also in 1372, Bampton was made sheriff of Essex, but it was as Justice of the Peace that he achieves his historical 'claim to fame'

History tells us that Bampton was in the Essex village of Brentwood in the May of 1381 to inquire into unpaid taxes, and he had summoned the inhabitants of surrounding villages to come to Brentwood and explain their non payments.The meeting soon got out of hand and men from three of the communities refused to cooperate, violently forcing Bampton and his men at arms out of the village.

It was this one incident that was the catalyst for the Peasants Revolt, the troubles soon escalated and was followed by the rebelling peasants entering London on June 13th.

As we know, records of any historical event have to be read with caution and this applies to the events of the 30/31 of May 1381. It has been suggested that Bampton didn't play a major part in this story at all but only appeared because his property was one of the first to be attacked at beginning of the revolt. It has also been suggested that he was brought in later to replace another judge. But what is more likely is that he was not the lone justice triggering the revolt with his demands for money but one member of an investigating commission of four justices, a sheriff, a clerk and a sergeant at arms.

This suggestion is backed by Tresillian's commission statement that states

“John Goldsborough, John Bampton and other justices of the peace with bows and arrows pursuing them them to kill
them headed back to London."

In 1348, the Black Death killed over one third of England's population, it was the first link in a chain of events that would, over thirty years later, result in what is now known as the Peasants Revolt.

The second link in that chain was a shortage of people to work the land, and it was this that gave the peasant population the ’upper hand’ causing them to demand higher wages. To counter these demands taxes were implemented, three poll taxes were introduced over a four year period that saw everyone over the age of fifteen paying one shilling each, this tax was crippling, it was the seeds of civil unrest.

Of John Bampton after his return to London I cannot find any reference, but the important question is what of the peasants,did they go back to tilling the soil, did they return to their fields like nothing had happened? Initially yes, but what these men eventually achieved was the breaking down of the century old feudal system which had kept them at the very bottom of life's ladder. Attitudes were changing, this meant that the poor man would no longer be beholden to a lord and master, he would be a free man.

The events of 1381 ended badly for most, Richards II's promise to the peasants came to nothing, the charter that was signed later revoked, The peasants leader, Wat Tyler was decapitated after trying to escape and two important members of the court, the kings Treasurer and the Archbishop of Canterbury are viciously murdered in the Tower of London by the rebels themselves.

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Ambrose Rookwoode

7/11/2014

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On the 31st January 1606, Thomas Wintour and Robert Keyes were drawn from the Tower to the Old Palace Yard at Westminster, Guy Fawkes was brought to the scaffold too, but he was made to watch as his fellow plotters were hanged and quartered. Twenty-eight year old Ambrose Rookwood was another of the Gunpowder Plotters who also went to the gallows that day.

Rookwoode had spent over two months in the Tower of London, and below you can see a carving by an Ambrose Rookwoode in the wall of the Martin Tower. There were, in fact, two men known by the name of Ambrose Rookwoode - the above named Rookwoode and his great-grandson, a Jacobite soldier who was tried for treason and executed at Tyburn on 29 April 1696, ninety years after his namesake. However, it is not quite clear which Rookwoode was responsible for the carving, or which one of them was held in this tower. The fact that Henry Percy was held in the same tower adds weight to it being Rookwoode senior. Incidentally, for his part in the Gunpowder Plot, Henry Percy spent the following seventeen years incarcerated there.

Rookwood, ‘well-built and handsome, if somewhat short’, 'genial', ‘well-lettered’, and ‘very secret.’ was a member of an ancient family of Stanningfield in Suffolk who were wealthy and staunchly Catholic. His wife, Elizabeth Tyrwhitt's family were also a prominent Catholic family from Lincolnshire.

By the end of 1605, according to his confession, Rookwoode was approached by Catesby, Winter and Wright, he stated that he hadn't known the reason for supplying the men with gunpowder at a house in Lambeth. This may be true, Catesby, as the ring leader, was a determined man and also charming and it maybe that Rookwoode was easily persuaded.

After the capture of Fawkes, Rookwoode was among the men fighting of the kings forces at Holbeche House in Staffordshire, he was shot in the right arm and his face burnt, he was captured and taken to London and 'questioned at great length.' During his trial, he stated that he was led astray by Catesby and pleaded not guilty. Labeled a traitor, he was destined for a traitors death, four days after his trial he was drawn to his death. Rookwoode asked to be taken past his home where his dutiful wife Elizabeth was waiting at the window, he is said to have shouted 'Pray for me, pray for me!'

Rookwoode met his death on the gallows at Westminster Yard, even though he showed remorse, he was left to hang for longer than the others, a small mercy perhaps - he would be dead before they disemboweled him!

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Beunans Meriasek : Cornish Play

The Wyatt Rebellion

Execution of Thomas Wyatt

The Peasants Revolt Begins

The Peasants Revolt and the Death of Simon of Sudbury

The Cornish Rebellion

John Bampton and the Events of May 1381

Sowing the seeds of the Peasants Revolt

Ambrose Rookwoode

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