Richard of Wallingford (14th century), constable of

Wallingford Castle Wallingford Castle was a major medieval castle situated in Wallingford in the English county of Oxfordshire (historically Berkshire), adjacent to the River Thames. Established in the 11th century as a motte-and-bailey design within an Anglo-Sa ...

and landowner in

St Albans St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, Hertfordshire, Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major ...

, played a key part in the

English peasants' revolt of 1381 The Peasants' Revolt, also named Wat Tyler's Rebellion or the Great Rising, was a major uprising across large parts of England in 1381. The revolt had various causes, including the socio-economic and political tensions generated by the Blac ...

. Though clearly not a peasant, he helped organise

Wat Tyler Wat Tyler (c. 1320/4 January 1341 – 15 June 1381) was a leader of the 1381 Peasants' Revolt in England. He led a group of rebels from Canterbury to London to oppose the institution of a poll tax and to demand economic and social reforms. Wh ...

’s campaign, and was involved in presenting the rebels’ petition to

Richard II Richard II (6 January 1367 – ), also known as Richard of Bordeaux, was King of England from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. He was the son of Edward the Black Prince, Prince of Wales, and Joan, Countess of Kent. Richard's father died ...

. The petition called for an end to

feudal Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was the combination of the legal, economic, military, cultural and political customs that flourished in Middle Ages, medieval Europe between the 9th and 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a wa ...

serfdom Serfdom was the status of many peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to manorialism, and similar systems. It was a condition of debt bondage and indentured servitude with similarities to and differences from slavery, which develop ...

, the ending of services to a feudal lord, to abolish market monopolies and restrictions on buying and selling goods. Tyler refused to accept a charter offered by the king, despite Richard of Wallingford's encouragement. Richard of Wallingford took a letter from the king to St Albans, where a rebellion was in progress.

William Grindecobbe William Grindecobbe or William Grindcobbe was one of the peasant leaders during the English Peasants' Revolt of 1381. A Townsman of St Albans, he was a substantial property owner there and has been described as a 'hero' of the revolt. Life His ...

, leader of the revolt in St Albans, and his supporters including William Cadington, John Barbour were complaining about the suppression of rights to grind grains. They believed that this was permitted by an ancient charter of liberties of

King Offa Offa (died 29 July 796 AD) was King of Mercia, a kingdom of Anglo-Saxon England, from 757 until his death. The son of Thingfrith and a descendant of Eowa, Offa came to the throne after a period of civil war following the assassination of Æt ...

, that had been since been denied by the

abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the male head of a monastery in various Western religious traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not the head of a monastery. The fem ...

St Albans Abbey St Albans Cathedral, officially the Cathedral and Abbey Church of St Alban but often referred to locally as "the Abbey", is a Church of England cathedral in St Albans, England. Much of its architecture dates from Norman times. It ceased to be ...

. Wallingford argued with the abbot about these rights. using the king's letter and called for the ancient charter to be produced. However, during the course of the discussions, news arrived that Tyler had been killed, which led to the rebels reducing their terms. With Richard II back in control, most of Wallingford's co-rebels were executed, but Wallingford was sent to jail and later pardoned by the king. Meanwhile, the king revoked all the charters issued during the rebellion, and restored the rights of the abbot of St Albans. Richard of Wallingford, constable, is not to be confused with the earlier

Richard of Wallingford Richard of Wallingford (1292–1336) was an English mathematician, astronomer, horologist, and cleric who made major contributions to astronomy and horology while serving as abbot of St Albans Abbey in Hertfordshire. Biography Richard was bor ...

, mathematician and abbot of St Albans Abbey.

References

# Hedges, J.K. (1881) ''Wallingford History'', Wm Clowes, London # Lindsay, P.; Groves, R. (1950) ''The Peasants Revolt, 1381'', Hutchinson, London {{DEFAULTSORT:Richard of Wallingford 14th-century English people Wallingford, Richard of Wallingford, Richard of Wallingford, Richard of Recipients of English royal pardons