00:00Hello and welcome to Kent Chronicles live on KMTV where we explore all of Kent's history from the
00:23medieval era to the industrial revolution and everything in between. I'm Lucy Keane and join
00:28me as we turn back time and discuss all things history. This week we are diving into the dark
00:34history of executions and rebellions around the county, therefore a warning as this week's episode
00:41contains mild graphic images and discussions so some viewer discretion is advised. First up we
00:48headed to Westgate Towers where Eleanor Gonsalves spoke to Dr Sheila Sweetenberg about rebellions
00:53in Canterbury during the medieval period. And now for this week's A Town Free Time.
01:02Almost 400 years after the execution of Charles I we're here in Canterbury to explore the city's
01:07own connections with execution and rebellion. To find out more we spoke with specialist associate
01:12lecturer Dr Sheila Sweetenberg from the University of Kent. So we are looking at the new Westgate
01:20towers that were built in about 1380. Now it was built on the behest of Archbishop Simon Sudbury.
01:29Simon Sudbury also helped build the city wall and the great perpendicular nave in the cathedral. He
01:35was also a key official in Richard II's government and thus one of the main minds behind the poll taxes.
01:40The poll taxes were incredibly unpopular because they targeted everyone which led to the peasants'
01:44revolt in 1381. One of the leaders in Canterbury was a chap called Henry Bongoy but he'd come up
01:52against some of the city's officials so when the rebellion broke out he saw this as an opportunity
02:00in that sense. The rebels executed those who were wrongly oppressing the ordinary people in Canterbury.
02:06They came to both Canterbury and made stone to liberate those whom they believed were falsely
02:10imprisoned and then they marched on London to show they meant business. All of the rebels attack
02:16the Tower of London. They drag out Simon Sudbury as well as the main treasurer and they execute them.
02:27Simon Sudbury's head ends up in Sudbury church in fact in East Anglia. You can still go and see it.
02:34The rest of Sudbury's body is in a tomb in Canterbury Cathedral. The revolt ultimately failed
02:41and those who led the rebellion were executed at the Westgate Towers. The butter market also has its
02:47history with rebellion and execution. Originally known as the bull stake it was where the process of
02:52bull baiting took place. In 1471 during the War of the Roses Canterbury supported Edward IV as king
02:59but truly desired Richard Neville, the Earl of Warwick to take over. This was due to Elizabeth
03:04Woodville, Edward IV's wife who rubbed people the wrong way because of her low social status.
03:10Warwick was able to briefly return Henry to the throne but Edward regained control.
03:15Canterbury was sort of split between the two. Which way do we go? We really want to support Warwick
03:21but you know the mayor at the time in 1470-71 was a chap called Nicholas Faunt. Now he did very much
03:31support the Earl of Warwick so when Edward came back from exile, brought troops with him,
03:39was successful at the Battle of Barnet and then the Battle of Tewkesbury. Nicholas Faunt as mayor
03:45was in a sense a chap who has been described as acted and did too little and he did it too late. But
03:56what he did do was take a group of rebels from Canterbury and they were going to march on London
04:06and try and take London therefore try and stop Edward IV. As a result of his slow actions Faunt was
04:13captured by Edward. He was tried and executed at the bull stake which was likely watched by the king.
04:22Next we headed to St Dunstan's church in Canterbury to learn about this week's periodic profile.
04:28Thomas More who was the Lord Chancellor of England was beheaded for rebelling against King Henry VIII.
04:33We spoke to Susan Palmer to tell us more about More.
04:48Welcome to St Dunstan's church in Canterbury. This is the Roper Chapel that we're standing in
04:53and it's here that the head of St Thomas More is in our fault under the ground. He was executed
04:59by under the orders of Henry VIII in 1535. His daughter Margaret was married to William Roper
05:06and this chapel here was built by the Ropers and that's how his head ended up here. Thomas More
05:12was a friend of Henry VIII. He wasn't just his Chancellor. He rose up as a lawyer and was in
05:19Parliament, became Chancellor but he was a friend of Henry VIII as well. He refused to accept the marriage of
05:25Henry to Anne Boleyn and he refused to accept Henry as the head of the church in England and
05:32that obviously destroyed their friendship and ultimately destroyed Thomas's life. I think his
05:37legacy very much is, well we say Marmite don't we, it's one of those awful cliches but he stood up for
05:44what he believed in. He didn't believe that the marriage of Henry VIII and the Queen Catherine should
05:49have been annulled. He didn't believe that Henry should set himself up as the head of the church in
05:53England. All those things ultimately caused his demise. So if you want somebody that stands firm
06:00for what they believe in, Thomas More's your man.
06:09Now, how well do you know your history? It's time for this week's Tea Time Trivia with Louis Stephens.
06:17There's trivia to be done out in Kent. Which castle in Kent was the family home of Tudor Queen Anne Boleyn?
06:23Hello. Heaver Castle. I don't know. Yes it is Heaver. I don't know and I'll say Leeds.
06:30No we don't actually, no. Heaver Castle, am I getting here? No. Oh it wasn't Heaver Castle was it?
06:36That's correct, the answer is Heaver Castle. In 1536 Anne Boleyn was accused of adultery and treason
06:43against King Henry VIII. She was imprisoned in the Tower of London and was executed on the 19th of May.
06:49She joked the day before, I heard say the executioner was very good and I have a little neck.
06:58And finally, our reporter Tia Chalice met with Dr Doreen Rosman to learn a bit more about a memorial
07:05honouring 41 martyrs executed for their religious beliefs. Here is today's long-standing landmarks.
07:11I'm here today at Martyrsfield Road in Canterbury, just on the outskirts of Canterbury City Centre.
07:26And just behind me stands a memorial commemorating 41 people who were burnt at the stake.
07:31This group of people are known as the Kentish martyrs and were executed between 1555 and 1558.
07:39And earlier I spoke to Dr Doreen Rosman a little more about the memorial and the people that died here.
07:45In Queen Mary's reign, as most people will know, people who refused to return to Catholicism,
07:53which Mary was reintroducing. If they refused to recant, if they lived in this part of the world,
07:59they ran the risk of being put to death. Every government throughout history has always been
08:07anxious to control Kent. So religious unorthodoxy was looked on very, very suspiciously in this part
08:14of the world. And that's why Canterbury had the largest number of people who were burnt to death
08:22in Mary's reign, other than London. Only London had more. Of the 41 who were burnt, there was one,
08:30so far as we know, who had close contacts with Canterbury. And that was a man called John Bland,
08:36who was the rector of Addyshire. John Bland was somebody who preached very regularly in Canterbury.
08:43So people in Canterbury would have known about him. In the subsequent reign, a man called John
08:49Fox published a book of martyrs with lots of woodcuts and gory pictures. The picture of burnings
08:55at Canterbury features John Bland and three others who were the first people to be burnt.
09:03When it was decided 300 years later to erect a memorial to them, they were offered a site in this
09:09area. But it's also thought that this would have been the area where they were burnt. And in the 1890s,
09:17the then Dean of Canterbury Cathedral and the then Archbishop thought it would be a good idea to erect
09:23a memorial to commemorate the martyrs. But then there's debate about the actual shape the memorial
09:31should take. They eventually settled on what you can see here with the Canterbury cross on the top.
09:39The memorial was unveiled in June 1899. There was a service at the cathedral and then people came here
09:48for the actual unveiling. And all the speakers on that occasion were very anxious to stress that
09:58times had changed and it was very difficult for people in the late 1890s to imagine the tyranny
10:05of despotism of the past. You know, we're a free country. We believe in liberty. But then they went on
10:10to give a warning. They said, we admire the martyrs for having the courage of their convictions. But we
10:20need to beware of the bigotry that put them to death. So beware of present day bigotry. And I think
10:28their wording was something like, in this somewhat controversial age. This hidden memorial on the
10:35outskirts of Canterbury carries an extensive history. And now we know a little bit more
10:40about the religious conviction of the 10 women and 31 men who refused to recant their faith,
10:47and this local monument that commemorates them all. Tia Chalice for KMTV, Canterbury.
10:52Well, it looks like that was one for the history books. You've been watching Kent Chronicles live
11:05on KMTV. Don't forget though, there's always history happening around us. And if you have a story you
11:10think we should be covering, then get in touch. And you can always keep up to date with all of our
11:16content across your county, logging on to kmtv.co.uk. You can also keep us on your social timelines by
11:23liking us on Facebook and following us on TikTok. Also, if you are more interested in the present and
11:28the past, we have our other special programmes also available on our website. But all from me,
11:34thank you so much for watching. Have a good evening. See you soon.
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