A Brief History of Rebellion in Sussex

Sussex is normally thought of as a peaceful, idyllic, sun-blessed county, and that image is true; Sussex has always had an excellent climate. The people of Sussex, though, are not idle doormats.

"We wunt be druv" is the county's motto, symbolising the attitude of those living in Sussex to any possible oppression or exploitation that they may be the victim of. Strong-willed and not to be written off is the reputation they want to maintain, and it isn't one rooted in myth and legend. Sussex does have a history of rebelling against those it feels have done wrong by it.

Throughout the 13th and 14th centuries, Sussex was governed by corrupt rulers who had no issue with squeezing the county for their own personal gain. The county had also acted as a passage for troops going to France for centuries, and food levies that were used to support these troops were not popular with the locals. On top of all this, there were the plagues throughout the 1300s which ruined populations.

What all of this led to was a readiness to rebel against those that had forced them into these situations. When the poll taxes were brought in, and parliament attempted to stop the movement of labour and demands for increased wages that had become possible since the plagues decimated the workforce, the peasants had had enough.

Through May and June of 1381, protests, often violent, occurred throughout the East of England and the capital. The Tower of London was stormed, and the Lord Treasurer and Lord Chancellor (who was also the Archbishop of Canterbury) were slain.

The protest leaders then managed to arrange a talk with the king himself, and one of them, Wat Tyler, rode ahead, only to be killed by the king's men. The king then told the protestors that Tyler had in fact been knighted, and they should ride out to St John's Fields to meet him.

Unfortunately, being dead, Wat Tyle wasn't waiting to meet them at St John's Fields, and whilst they were away, the king and nobleman rallied a force to take back the capital and keep out the revolting peasants. The leaders of the protests were tracked down and executed, but their point had been made: the peasants had power.

During the English Civil War, most of Sussex didn't side with either Parliament or the King, and some places even took a stance of armed neutrality, where they would attack soldiers of both sides who approached, but would deal with both parliament and the king apart from that. This was largely possible due to the iron works there, which both sides needed for guns and ammunition.

Though there might not have been any rebellions recently, don't visit Sussex without remembering its violent past.

This article was written by Tom Sangers on behalf of Flackley Ash, a country house hotel in Sussex who urge you to remember them if you're looking for hotels in Rye.