Battle of North Walsham 1381
Marker: recorded battle location (no official boundary).
Key facts
| Date (year) | 1381 | Wikidata P585 point in time |
|---|---|---|
| Century | 14th century | derived |
| Period | Norman & medieval | derived |
| Country | England | derived |
| War / conflict | Peasants' Revolt of 1381 | Wikidata |
About the battle
The Battle of North Walsham was a medieval 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.
Despenser succeeded in suppressing the rebellion that broke out throughout East Anglia that summer. His force at first consisted of his own retinue, but numbers swelled as aristocrats saw both his victories and the harsh retribution meted out to the rebels. 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. Medieval chronicles differ in their accounts of exactly what happened at North Walsham. After the battle, Litster was captured and executed by Despenser, but the records of the time and subsequent histories disagree on the fate of his rebel army.
Visiting the battlefield
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 medieval 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 (illustrated) was moved and used as a parish boundary marker. It is situated on Heath Road, 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.
Location
- Recorded location (Wikidata; may be approximate): 52.8042, 1.3725
Battlefields are often on private farmland: please keep to public rights of way and respect landowners.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of North Walsham (revision 1370451873), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section and section(s) “Commemoration of the battle”; condensed by selecting paragraphs; citations removed. No text added.
Battle location from Wikidata (CC0).
Nearby battlefields
- Battle of Ringmere 1010 · 2 km
Browse more: battles in England · Norman & medieval · 14th century battles