John Ball
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The Peasants’ Revolt of 1381 was undoubtedly a huge milestone in English history, and it has been written about many, many times. But now there is a new three-video series from historyhit.com, featuring Matt Lewis. You can view the first video here, as well as read all about the background to the great uprising.…
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The “awkward mediaeval cities” (3) : St. Alban’s
battlefields, blue plaque, Boudicca, Colchester, destruction, Edmund Duke of Somerset, Eleanor Crosses, Elizabeth I, Hatfield, Hertfordshire, Humphrey of Gloucester, Jean II, John Ball, London, Luton, martyrs, museums, Northampton, Oxford, Poitiers, Roman Britain, Roman theatre, Second Battle of St. Albans, Skipton Building Society, St. Alban, St. Albans, St. Albans Cathedral, Thameslink, Verulam Park, Verulamium Roman Museum, Victoria Street, Wars of the Roses, Watford JunctionUnlike Northampton and Oxford, St. Alban’s (City) is on the Thameslink network and also has a branch line to Watford Junction. Accommodation can be expensive but the less historic Luton is surprisingly convenient as a base, being about fourteen minutes away on the same line and costing about five pounds for a day return. Turning right…
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How many of you have books on your shelves that you’ve had for years but have yet to read? I’m guilty of that, I fear. However, today I grabbed a book at random, to read while my car, name of Iggy, underwent his first MOT. When I arrived and was seated, I discovered that the…
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John Ball was a Lollard priest who believed people were all equal and should not be crushed by the will of “evil lords”. He was also a leader of the Peasants’ Revolt, and in St Albans on 15th July 1381 was drawn, hanged and quartered. In all, fifteen men suffered the same grisly fate that…
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Here are some of the panels just inside the door of the Colchester Playhouse, now a theatre-themed public house. They illustrate John Ball, after whom a minor town centre road is also named, becoming a priest, a prisoner at Maidstone and then participating in the 1381 Peasants’ Revolt (from 30 May), fighting at Blackheath (on 12…
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Where better to start this time than Colchester, with its John Ball connections, of course? Here, in a beer advert, a centurion has edited some graffiti to remind the natives of the Roman Empire’s authority. Perhaps he will enter a pub with four colleagues and order some, raising two fingers when asked how many? He…
The New Murrey and Blue blog 