7. NATIONAL REVOLT

Richard ll succeeded to the throne in 1377 at the age of ten.  He is said to have inherited the appearance of his father, the Black Prince, but none of his military skills. Initially the country was governed by a Regency council, but in 1381 it was faced with a major uprising, the Peasant’s Revolt. Agricultural labourers had refused to pay a new poll tax and many were still in serfdom to the great religious abbeys.

Local grievances had festered too, especially in Cambridgeshire against a Roger of Harleston, who had a house in Cottenham. It was promptly burned down. There were riots and much damage to the University and Great St. Mary’s Church in Cambridge. The young King and his Council met the national leader, Wat Tyler, in London at Mile End and agreed concessions.  But once the crowd had dispersed the King reneged on the agreement and many of the ringleaders were executed.  Although he reigned for a further 18 years, the memory of treachery persisted, and Richard’s love of personal luxury and raising taxes led to his eventual murder in 1400 at Pontefract Castle.
Willingham and hundreds of other villages were still recovering from the effects of the Black Death a generation earlier when half the population had been wiped out. There was still a shortage of men to till the fields, the cost of labour had greatly increased, prices had increased, and the value of land had fallen.

This was also the start of what became known as the ‘mini ice age’. Winters became colder, rivers froze over more regularly, and snowfall was greater, leading to flooding when it melted.  Given the grim housing conditions in Willingham then, this must have been a difficult time for villagers.  However, more prosperous times for the village were not too far away, as we shall discover next time.

Next time:  The Lull before the Storm of Reformation