Charity searches for descendants of rioters involved in 1525 uprising

A historical charity is searching for descendants of rioters involved in the storming of an abbey 500 years ago.

More than 100 men stormed Bayham Abbey, near Tunbridge Wells in Kent, with makeshift weapons, in protest at its closure as part of new religious reforms.

Wednesday, June 4 marks the 500th anniversary of the 1525 riot, which is seen by historians as a “harbinger” of Henry VIII’s dissolution of the monasteries a decade later.

English Heritage, the charity which looks after the ruins of Bayham Abbey, are now searching for the relatives of the villagers who stormed the Abbey 500 years ago.

Michael Carter, English Heritage historian, said: “The Bayham Abbey uprising is a fascinating precursor to Henry VIII’s religious reforms, a harbinger not only of the dissolution of the monasteries just ten years later, but also of the Pilgrimage of Grace.

“This act of rebellion could have cost them their lives and, as we reach the 500th anniversary of the riot, we are keen to remember and celebrate these brave men.”

More than a decade before the dissolution of the monasteries, Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, Henry VIII’s chief adviser at the time, had already begun to suppress many of England’s smaller monasteries, to fund new university colleges at Oxford and Ipswich.

Cardinal Wolsey’s eventual successor, Thomas Cromwell, began the dissolution of every English monastery in 1536, under Henry VIII’s instruction.

On June 4 1525, more than 100 men with painted faces, armed with longbows, crossbows, swords and clubs, assembled at the abbey to reinstate the evicted canons, the priests living within the abbey.

“Whilst they will undoubtedly have feared the loss of their spiritual leaders, their loss of income would have been of equal concern,” said Mr Carter.

They stormed the gatehouse and temporarily restored the canons, until they were removed a week later and 31 men were indicted by the Crown.

The rioters were predominantly local tradesmen, including shoemakers, labourers and farmers.

English Heritage is searching for the descendants of those men, who are listed on their website.