We embarked on two walks for this event which commemorates the 1381 Peasants’ Revolt’s links to Fobbing. As well as being part of T100 Festival Goes Wild, this walk was be part of the Essex Book Festival, organised in partnership with T100 Festival.

There were two walks to choose from, a six-mile walk from Fobbing to Wat Tyler Park, or a one-mile walk around Wat Tyler Park. 

Today, Fobbing is a quiet South Essex village edged by marshland and creeks of the tidal Thames. However, back in the 14th Century, Fobbing became a hotbed of insurrection and arguably the birthplace of the greatest grassroots rebellion this country has ever witnessed – The Peasants’ Revolt during 1381’s Summer of Blood.

Much has been written about the uprising but most accounts centre on the confrontations in London, which culminated in the killing at Smithfield of Wat Tyler, the most prominent leader of the ‘rustics’. Over the course of a six-mile journey from St Michael’s Church, our small band of ‘pilgrims’ walked-and-talked their way to Wat Tyler Country Park, focusing on the origins of the revolt in South Essex, addressing questions like: “What caused commoners like Fobbing’s Thomas Baker to risk everything by speaking out against the hated poll tax?”; “What were the commoners ultimately hoping to achieve?” and “Why in Fobbing!?”

Guided by Walk Leader Phil East, walkers discovered the origins of the revolt. A volunteer ‘Walk Leader’ for Kinetika and T100 Festival, Phil East is an amateur writer and professional Southender. After a lifetime of glitz and glamour working for the Council, Phil retired to walk around in circles; read up on social history; and twang Thames Delta Blues on air banjo.

The day concluded with free medieval street entertainment by The Thameside Mummers. For those who wanted to go the extra mile, during the interval between Mumming plays, there was an additional option for walkers to join a guided stroll around the country park and a visit to Basildon Heritage Centre.

See the gallery from the day: