Tombland

In early June all seemed quiet again, but when the new Prayer Book came into use on Whitsunday, 9 June, it immediately sparked a ferocious rebellion in Devon, which quickly spread to Cornwall. Perhaps 10,000 men were involved. The traditional account that ‘the Prayer Book Rebellion’ was solely concerned with reversing religious reform has been challenged by subsequent writers, notably Joyce Youings. ¹ There were no enclosure problems in the two counties, but there was serious resentment against the power of the gentleman and officials. There were very few of gentleman status among the leaders of the Western Rebellion, while some gentlemen were killed and most seem to have kept out of the way. The other leaders and the rank and file ranged from priests to yeomen and labourers. On 2 July the rebels began besieging Exeter, but the Protestant elite retained control of the city. Exeter’s high elevation and strong defences meant the rebels got bogged down there, the city being too large to bypass. Very significantly, the men of neighbouring Somerset refused to join forces with them, although there were risings there from May through July. ² This was crucial in containing the Western Rebellion; its religious conservatism, violent opposition to the government and the hopelessness of their siege strategy may have given the men of Somerset pause. And they may have known that, across the south, quite different tactics were already under consideration.

The Western rebels resembled the later camps only in sending petitions enumerating their grievances to Somerset. Twelve have survived, and have been meticulously studied by Aubrey Greenwood. ³ While they show a growing preoccupation with reversing religious changes, they also complain of the sheep tax, inflation and how the King’s officers and magistrates ‘are not trustworthy’ because of newly acquired wealth and lack of accountability. One petition included a demand for the number of each gentleman’s servants (meaning enforcers) to be limited to six, which would have destroyed local seigneurial power. Interestingly, one petition denounced ‘wasting resources on prolonged, failed foreign wars’.

To begin with, the government showed little understanding of the scale of events in the West. They tried a policy of conciliation, while gathering military forces to prevent any further advance. Outside Devon and Cornwall, there was in June what the Earl of Arundel described as ‘a quavering quiet’. On 1 July the Protector summoned much of the nobility and gentry from the Thames Valley and South-East to consult him at Windsor, probably to discuss forming an army to march against the West. ⁴

THE REBELLIONS OF COMMONWEALTH

Then, in the first week of July, rebellions exploded all across southern England and the south Midlands. Apart from one slightly later, isolated rebellion in Yorkshire, northern England remained quiet: it is unclear why, but firm government control established through the ‘Council of the North’ after the 1536 rebellion, lack of serious enclosure problems and fear of Scottish invasion are all likely factors.

The strategy of the southern rebels was to set up camps, often several in each county, usually outside towns, and send petitions to the government setting out their grievances. According to Amanda Jones there are sixteen camps whose location is known, with a question mark over another three, and very possibly other smaller ones. Ten were in East Anglia and Cambridgeshire. ¹ The range of grievances encompassed both opposition to the religious changes and social discontents, but the East Anglian rebellions concentrated almost exclusively on social issues and stressed loyalty, not opposition, to the government and its religious policies, saying that they were not rebels at all, merely seeking to help implement the Protector’s own agrarian policies. Numbers in the camps varied, and are hard to pin down, but several thousand were certainly involved both in Oxfordshire and Mousehold Heath. Local ‘stirs’ continued until the end of the year. ²

The rebels in Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire complained both about religious innovations and enclosure, high rents and prices. ³ Priests were among the leadership, but everyone defined themselves as the ‘poor’, and targeted the rich. They were well organized. It seems likely they moved headquarters from Enslow Hill in Oxfordshire to Chipping Norton as 1,500 men, detached from the army sent to deal with the Western rebels, were sent to put them down. Interestingly, this was the same number as the first army sent to deal with the Norfolk rebels two weeks later, implying the camp at Chipping Norton also numbered several thousand. The rebels were defeated in battle on 18 July. Fifteen were later hanged, including five priests from their steeples. Most of the rebels seem to have been husbandmen. The authorities certainly regarded the Midland rebels as anti-government and anti-hierarchical.