Sissinghurst Castle

My wonderful Kent,

The King grants land to his followers, who became his tenants in chief, in return for loyalty. Their fighting men are known as the Knights of the Shire and they, in turn, held land from their lords in return for their services.

Odo, Bishop of Bayeux, who was William I's half brother, was granted large areas in Kent.
Odo then granted the Manor of Chilham to Fulbert, who supplied fifteen knights for 'Castle Guard' at Dover for 20 weeks a year.

King William I ordered the Domesday survey, completed in 1086, to establish who owned what and how much tax they might pay. (Deep Joy) Elected knights and burgesses were sporadically called to attend Parliament, by the King, to negotiate taxes. Knights of the Shire were also granted responsibility for administering local justice.

The good people of Kent have risen in protest on several occasions when they have felt: oppressed by new laws or taxes; wages were kept low; when the government failed to defend the coast; when restrictive labour laws were passed and when the harvests were poor.
The egalitarian teaching of the Church also contributed to disturbances as it just confused the masses.