Battle of North Walsham The Battle of North Walsham was a mediaeval battle fought on 25 or 26 June 1381 , near the town of North Walsham in the English county of Norfolk , in which a large group of rebellious local peasants was confronted by the heavily armed forces of Henry le Despenser , Bishop of Norwich . The battle is significant for being the last occurrence of any major resistance during the English Peasants ' Revolt of 1381 . Despenser succeeded in suppressing the rebellion that broke out throughout East Anglia that summer . His force at first consisted of his own retinue , but men flocked to him . He moved across East Anglia towards Norwich and then onwards to North Walsham to deal with the rebels , led by Geoffrey Litster , the so - called ' King of the Commons ' . At North Walsham the rebels were decisively defeated by Despenser ' s men . Mediaeval chroniclers differ in their accounts of exactly what happened at North Walsham . After the battle , Litster was captured and executed by Despenser , but the fate of most of his rebel army is not known for certain . Background . The Peasants ' Revolt of 1381 was a major rebellion that spread throughout mediaeval England during the summer of that year . Its causes are complex . The drop in population caused by the Black Death , which arrived in England in 1348 , resulted in an acute labour shortage and consequently , higher wages . The Statute of Labourers ( 1351 ) was a law enacted during the first parliament of Edward III , to make labour laws and their intended enforcement more precise and detailed , and also to allow the government to control wages . It had the effect of making life more difficult for peasants , but more profitable for the wealthy landowners . Further discontent erupted from the behaviour of those nobles who ruled on behalf of the boy - king Richard II , and also from the position of the church ; as many priests were ill - educated , and the bishops and abbot s themselves were landowners , it was generally hated by the common people . Feelings were stirred up by rebellious priests such as John Ball , who criticised the church wherever the common people flocked to him to listen to his words . The Revolt began in Essex , following the introduction of a succession of highly unpopular poll taxes levied against the English population . In 1377 the expense of the Hundred Years ' War had caused the government to introduce a poll tax of four pence . By 1380 this had tripled , but as many refused to pay , revenues dropped . The imposition of a third poll tax in 1381 prompted unrest in Essex and Kent , which then spread all over England . According to the " Anonimalle Chronicle " , the ' evil actions ' of the commons in both Essex and Kent were ' because of the exceptionally severe tenths and fifteenths and other subsidies lightly conceded in parliaments and extortionately levied from the poor people ' . Most serious of all were events that occurred in London on 13 – 15 June . During the summer , rebels from Kent and Essex marched to London and , once admitted to the city , managed to capture the Tower of London . King Richard , who had promised to agree to all the demands of the peasants , met the rebels outside the city , where the peasants ' leader , Wat Tyler , was killed and the rebellion was ended . Once they were defeated it became clear to the rebels that they had failed to gain Richard ' s support . Whilst the king was at Waltham , in Essex , a proclamation was issued condemning the rebels and denying that he had ever approved of the their actions . At Waltham , Richard refused to ratify the promises he made , as he believed they had been extorted by force , adding , " Villeins ye are still , and villeins ye shall remain " , and threatening vengeance upon those who had rebelled . The rebellions in Essex , Kent and London spread to many other English counties . In Norfolk , the rebellion started on 14 June , when a group of rebels from Suffolk reached the county , and spread westwards towards the Fens and north - eastwards towards Norwich and Yarmouth . As in other parts of the country there was widespread unrest , during which property and official documents were destroyed and several individuals were summarily executed . The leaders . Henry le Despenser ( c . 1341 – 1406 ) was an English nobleman who in his early life had been a soldier in Italy , and who in 1370 became Bishop of Norwich . He obtained a reputation as the ' Fighting Bishop ' after playing his part in suppressing the Norfolk rebels during the Peasants ' Revolt , and later embarking on an ill - fated enterprise for Pope Urban VI , who in 1382 employed him to lead a crusade in Flanders against the supporters of the anti - pope Clement VII . For his defeat at the siege of Ypres ( 1383 ) , Despenser was impeached in Parliament , attainted and deprived of his lands . He later regained his lands and favour with king Richard II of England . In 1399 Henry Bolingbroke landed at Ravenspur in Yorkshire and the military campaign that followed resulted in Richard ' s abdication . Despenser remained true to Richard : he was subsequently imprisoned , but was afterwards reconciled with the new king . Henry le Despenser died in his diocese at North Elmham in 1406 . Little is known of Geoffrey Litster ( also named by mediaeval chroniclers as Iohanne Lyttestere and Jekke Litster ) , a moderately wealthy dye r from the village of Felmingham in Norfolk . He is first recorded in the returns made by the collectors of the 1379 poll tax in Norfolk . As peasants , he and his men would have been both untrained and unequipped to fight Despenser ' s fully armed and trained force . Geoffrey Litster was captured after the battle and executed soon afterwards at North Walsham . Events in Norfolk before the battle . During the summer of 1381 , insurrection spread from the south - east of the country to other parts of England , including the diocese of Norwich , where the rebellion lasted less than a fortnight . On 14 June a group of rebels reached Thetford , and from there the revolt spread over south - western Norfolk towards the Fens . At the same time the rebels , led by Geoffrey Litster , moved across the north - eastern part of the county and tried to raise support throughout the local area . Over the next few days , the rebels converged on Norwich , Lynn and Swaffham . Norwich , then one of the largest and most important cities in the realm , was taken and occupied by Litster and his followers , who caused considerable damage to the property and possessions of anyone they perceived as an enemy ( such as poll tax collectors and important officials ) once they managed to enter the city . The Norwich rebels then travelled to Yarmouth , destroying legal records and landowners ' possessions , while other insurgents moving across north - east Norfolk destroyed court rolls and taxation documents . There were numerous incidents of pillage and extortion across the whole county . The " Anonimalle Chronicle " gives a clear account of the unrest in East Anglia . On hearing of the rebellion , Henry le Despenser acted swiftly , moving through Cambridgeshire , Suffolk and Norfolk from his home in Burley , Rutland . His armed force initially consisted of his personal retinue , but ultimately became a much larger force consisting of many knights and other men who had previously not dared to confront the rebels . According to the historian Edgar Powell , Henry Dispenser undertook the task of dealing with the revolt in his diocese and punishing the rebels . He was involved in crushing rebellions at Peterborough and elsewhere , before moving on to suppress the revolts in Cambridge . The authorities were alerted to the call in Norfolk for men to join the revolt in the name of Litster . On 17 June the rebels from the north and east of the county assembled on Mousehold Heath , outside Norwich : shortly afterwards , Sir Robert Salle , who had come out of the city to speak with the commons , was killed . According to Thomas Walsingham , the knight died soon after he was ' knocked on the head by a rustic who was one of his own serfs ' . The rebels then entered Norwich and wreaked havoc , destroying property and killing several prominent citizens . Other houses and church properties within the county ( such as at Yarmouth ) were attacked by the rebels at this time . Geoffrey Litster was at Thorpe Market on 21 June and by the next day Despenser had reached nearby Felmingham . Hearing that the rebels were close , Despenser travelled the short distance from Felmingham to North Walsham Heath , where he encountered Litster and his men . The battle and its aftermath . There are no eye witness accounts of the battle that was fought at North Walsham on 25 or 26 June 1381 . The chronicler Thomas Walsingham related that there was a fierce engagement at North Walsham Heath , south of the town , in which " the warlike Bishop " led a successful attack on the rebels ' entrenched position . The Escheators ' Inquisitions for the period that name Litster also included the names of rebels from North Walsham who were killed , giving strong evidence that the rebels suffered a severe defeat . According to Thomas Walsingham , the rebels were routed as they fled through woodland and cut down as they were found . Writing in the 19th century , Walter Rye quoted a local man , " " They dew say a ' mazin ' lot of men are buried in that pightle . " " The local belief that the parish church at North Walsham was the scene of a bloodbath after the battle cannot be substantiated using historical documents . According to " The Book of Illustrious Henries " , written by the 15th century historian John Capgrave , very little fighting took place . The chronicler related that , " But by the good management of the bishop , and of other men who had assembled there , the whole people surrendered , rejoicing that they might withdraw in peace . Jack Litster himself , leaping over a wall , hid himself in a corn - field " . Inevitably the rebels ' ' king ' was found . Walsingham and Capgrave agree that after Geoffrey Litster ' s capture , he was taken to North Walsham and was there drawn , hung and quartered . According to Capgrave ' s chronicle , " The traitor was sought and found ; he was captured and beheaded ; and , divided into four parts , he was sent through the country to Norwich , Yarmouth , and Lynn , and to the site of his mansion ; that rebels and insurgents against the peace might learn by what end they will finish their career " . Walsingham wrote an account of the mercy shown by the bishop to Litster during his execution : " After hearing his confession and absolving him by virtue of his office , he followed him to the gallows , showing , although he had overcome him , a deed of kindness and piety , for he supported his head lest it should be bruised by the ground when he was being drawn to the hanging " . Litster ' s widow Agnes was later pursued by the authorities and was made to settle his outstanding debts ( for the sum of 33 shillings and nine pence ) . Commemoration of the battle . The site of the battle is one of only five battlefields in Norfolk that are recognised by Norfolk County Council . The battle was commemorated by three mediaeval stone crosses : one is on private land ; another ( now a stump ) was relocated by North Walsham Urban District Council in 1932 and can be found near the roadside by the town ' s water towers ; the third cross was moved and used as a parish boundary marker . It is situated on Toff ’ s Loke , off Norwich Road . A sculpture in the Memorial Park , North Walsham , carved in 1999 by Mark Goldsworthy from the trunk of a 120 - year - old oak tree , commemorates the 1381 battle . North Walsham ' s town sign contains a mosaic depicting the Peasants ' Revolt .