Battle of North Walsham

The Battle of North Walsham was a mediaeval battle fought on 25 or 26 June 1381, near the town of North Walsham in the English county of Norfolk, in which a large group of rebellious local peasants was confronted by the heavily armed forces of Henry le Despenser, Bishop of Norwich. The battle is significant for being the last occurrence of any major resistance during the English Peasants' Revolt of 1381.

Despenser succeeded in suppressing the rebellion that broke out throughout East Anglia that summer. His force at first consisted of his own retinue, but men flocked to him. He moved across East Anglia towards Norwich and then onwards to North Walsham to deal with the rebels, led by Geoffrey Litster, the so-called 'King of the Commons'. At North Walsham the rebels were decisively defeated by Despenser's men. Mediaeval chroniclers differ in their accounts of exactly what happened at North Walsham. After the battle, Litster was captured and executed by Despenser, but the fate of most of his rebel army is not known for certain.

North Walsham

Coordinates: 52°49′16″N 1°23′13″E / 52.821°N 1.387°E / 52.821; 1.387

North Walsham is a market town and civil parish in Norfolk, England in the North Norfolk district.

Demography

The civil parish has an area of 11.3 square miles (29 km²) and in the 2011 census had a population of 12,634. For the purposes of local government, the parish falls within the district of North Norfolk.

Transport

The town is 7.5 mi (12.1 km) south of Cromer and the same distance north of Wroxham. The county town and city of Norwich is 15 mi (24 km) south. The town is served by North Walsham railway station, on the Bittern Line between Norwich, Cromer and Sheringham. The main road through the town is the A149. Also, the town is located on the B1145 a route which runs between King's Lynn and Mundesley.

The town is on the North Walsham & Dilham Canal, still privately owned by the North Walsham Canal Company. The canal ran from Antingham Mill, largely following the course of the River Ant to a point below Honing. A short branch canal leaves the main navigation near Honing and terminates at the village of Dilham.