In the autumn of 1406 Henry Despencer, the Bishop of Norwich was laid to rest in a tomb beneath the High Altar in the Cathedral. He had led a full life which included playing a major role in the ending of the Peasants' Revolt and also taking part in two religious crusades in Europe which led to the death of many innocent civilians. Some of these activities took place whilst he was Bishop.

In his younger days Henry had been in the pay of the Pope on a crusade against Visconti of Milan. When he went to the Pope to collect what he was owed for his service, news had just come through of the death of the Bishop of Norwich. At just 26 years of age, Despencer was awarded the title, to be confirmed when he returned to England. He brought to the church, not so much piety and devotion, but more a love of arms, and the skill in the use of them.

Norwich, in the later 14th Century was the second largest city in England. Before the Black Death its population had reached over 25,000 and there were 56 churches within the extensive city walls. East Anglia had grown immensely rich from the wool trade and weaving was the most important of the trades being followed in the city. The population of Norwich was rising as many peasants left the land to find work in the textile trade. But the people all around the country were dissatisfied with their lives and most specifically with the Poll Tax.

The first Poll tax had been levied in 1377 to finance the continuing war with France and unlike other taxes, it was to be paid by both peasants and landowners. Originally meant to be a 'one-off', it worked so well that it was repeated three more times. The first tax was 4d from every adult over the age of 15, then it was raised to 4d for the peasants and more for the rich, and finally in 1380, it was raised to 12d per adult.

The tax was to be paid in cash rather than farm produce and the collectors were reputed to be pocketing some of what they had accumulated. The consequence of this huge increase in the tax and its misappropriation meant that less people were inclined to pay it and despite the increase in amounts due, much less was actually reaching the government coffers. Commissioners were sent around the country to investigate the reduction What later became known as the Peasant's Revolt started when the villagers of Fobbing, Stanford and Corningham in Essex were summoned to appear before the commissioner. He demanded payment from those gathered for those who had not turned up. Riots followed, and the revenue officer, a Chief Justice and many of their men were beaten and driven from the village. Word spread and people started to burn down properties connected with the tax collectors and destroy any records of taxes and debts.

It was not just the Poll Tax that had incurred the anger of the population. The Black Death which had killed at least a third of the people should have meant that the poor had more chance to improve their circumstances. But laws had been passed to stop the peasants demanding more money, despite the fact that there were shortages and prices had risen.

Word of the rebellion spread and whilst the men of Norfolk and Suffolk stayed to protest in their own counties, the men of Kent and Essex under Wat Tyler and others marched on London. The demands of the rebels included the end of all feudal services and the freedom to buy and sell goods. The king granted the demands and Charters, signed by the King were given to the serfs granting their freedom. The vast majority of these peasants went home.

Shortly after this a group of the rebels captured and beheaded the Archbishop of Canterbury and the King's Treasurer. They also increased their demands to include the abolition of lordship and the bishops, the redistribution of wealth and the ending of tithes. But during a meeting with King Richard II, Wat Tyler was killed. Unaware of this, the rebels followed the King away from city where they were given Charters and encouraged to return to their homes.

A few days later the King declared the Charters invalid, as they had been extracted from him under duress. He and his men rode into East Anglia where 75 % of the rebels held responsible positions such as reeves, bailiffs, jurors or constables. They went from village to village seeking out local ringleaders who were then executed, very few with any form of trial. The most important of the leaders were hung, drawn and quartered.

But while events were happening in London, up n Norfolk, the rebel leader was a dyer named Geoffrey Litster. He and his men had extracted money from Norwich on a promise not to slaughter, pillage and burn, and after killing a few notables, had set up a base in the castle where knights were forced to wait upon him at table on their knees. His followers titled him the King of the Commons.

Litster's men had travelled around Norfolk, burning the deeds, court rolls and town charters but when they heard of the death of Wat Tyler they became unsettled. Litster sent three men with money and two knightly hostages to London, hoping to negotiate a peace. Near Newmarket, they ran into Henry Despenser, who was on his way back home from Lincolnshire with his usual retinue of eight lances and a few archers. He had stopped on route when he found that Peterborough Abbey was under attack and had killed the rebels. He had then moved on to carry out similar rescue missions at Ramsey monastery and in Cambridge. Despenser beheaded Litster's men, posted their heads at the Newmarket pillory, and went searching for the rebel leader.

Litster had retreated to North Walsham, behind a barricade of carts and furniture and also protected by banks and ditches. As one Chronicler put it, 'Immediately, this warlike Bishop being enraged at the audacity of these scoundrels, caused the trumpets to be sounded and seizing a lance in his right hand, set spurs to his horse and rushed forward'.

Litster was captured and some of his followers fled to seek refuge in the local church which was still under construction. But the Bishop, fully armoured with a huge two-handed sword, knowing the church was not yet consecrated, entered the building and cut down the rebels. He then received Litster's confession and granted him absolution, before having him dragged off to be hung, drawn and quartered.

Three years later when there were two rival popes Bishop Despenser was chosen to lead the crusade against the followers of the French pope. He was authorised to sell indulgences to raise further cash to fund the crusade. As one source noted "the bishop had wonderful indulgences ... granted to him for the said crusade" which enabled him to promise absolution for "both the living and the dead".

Henry sailed to Calais with a force of some 2,000 men. A Chronicler recorded the success of the attacks during which 3,000 were killed and many people taken prisoner. The good news came back to England, where many more men soon joined the campaign which was a magnet for "countless persons with neither horses nor weapons who flocked to the bishop, the more eagerly because their motive was profit". It is said that the Bishop led 60,000 men who had "mounted white cloaks, with red crosses on their shoulders, red scabbards to their swords, and marched off defying their masters".

Five months later, the Bishop of Norwich was back in England. Some say his army had been bribed to go home, others that the French king arrived to fight with a huge army and that he had lost control of his troops. Whatever the reason, Henry lost his land and title and was called to account before Parliament in October 1383. He blamed his captains for not following orders, and they in turn threw themselves on the king's mercy. In the end the king calmed down, the Bishop got his lands back and, aside from a few reportedly peaceful trips abroad, he retired to Norwich where it is said he kept up a constant quarrel with his monks for the next 23 years until his death in 1406.