Consider being a resident of Highbury around 1381, of course that means you are only half-way through the ‘Hundred Year’s war’ (1337 – 1453), probably lost many loved ones in the Black Death (1348 – 1350), a plague that killed half of all Londoners, ruled by a King who is a 14 year old boy (Richard II) and have been unlucky enough to be born an ‘unfree serf’, which basically meant you were tied to working for the Lord of the Manor for little or no money, forever – it’s not hard to see why imposing an additional tax, namely the ‘Poll Tax’ with severe penalties for those who could not/would not pay, led to a bit of unrest with the masses………. The Revolt of 1381 was led by the semi-legendary Jack Straw who set up his headquarters on the site of Highbury Manor.