The areas of Kent and Essex bordering the Thames estuary were the heartland of the rising. Wat Tyler, who probably crossed from Essex to Kent, was the most prominent rebel leader. The rising spread across the Home Counties and East Anglia, and even as far as Yorkshire and Somerset. Wat Tyler led the rebels to London where prominent royal officials were executed. The King was forced to give the rebels letters releasing them from all bondage. At a further meeting with the King, Wat Tyler was killed. The rising subsided, but no attempt was made to levy a poll tax for hundreds of years.
Rivers were at the centre of medieval economy and society. Rivers powered mills, provided water, food in the form of fish, and helped irrigate fields. Above all, rivers connected places otherwise hard to reach by land. The River Thames provided a vital means of communication in 1381. Men from Essex and Kent criss-crossed the river to spread the rising and co-ordinate their movements. The rebels included many boatman. Fishermen from north Kent and Essex, infuriated by the attempts of London to control fishing, joined the revolt. Rivers also brought threats and fear of attack. In 1377, beacons were erected in Gravesend, Sheppey, Fobbing and Tilbury to give warning of French attacks. In 1380, a French-Castilian fleet sacked Gravesend. In 1386, a full-scale French invasion was feared to be imminent. In recognition of the importance of Gravesend, King Richard II confirmed its monopoly of ferry traffic from Gravesend to London.
The workshop will be open access, suitable for all ages, and participants can sign up on the day. We are collaborating with local artist Sadie Hennessy in this installation and it will comprise three elements:
Vessels -A sound installation on the pier, using local people's voices to bring the contemporaneous written accounts of the Peasant's Revolt to life.
Banner-making workshop - where everyone is invited to make a protest banner and we will stage a 'demonstration' using all the banners at 4pm
Songs of Rebellion & Protest - Punk legend Gina Birch (The Raincoats) will be in the cafe area playing her selection of rebellious songs, and songs from her new album 'Trouble'. (2pm-5pm)
We will explore the changing role of the river in this history of protest and connectivity. Today the river is more of barrier than a link. How can we recapture the solidarity and community of riverside towns and villages at the time of the Peasants’ Revolt? How would major centres in the Peasants’ Revolt such as Gravesend and Fobbing link up today?
We will invite an artist to produce an interactive sound installation at the exhibition space at Gravesend Pier. The sound installation will incorporate letters, sermons and messages from the rebels of 1381. We will experiment with methods of sending these messages across the river.
A one-day event will be held on Sunday 22 June, comprising a public artist-led workshop in which participants will record their own messages about the river and its vessels for broadcast via the sound installation. Participants will also have access to the People of 1381 database so that they can explore the history of the rising in their area.
The workshop will be open access, suitable for all ages, and participants can sign up on the day.
