 On the north side of London , the rebels approached Smithfield and Clerkenwell Priory , the headquarters of the Knights Hospitaller which was headed by Hales . The priory was destroyed , along with the nearby manor . Heading west along Fleet Street , the rebels attacked the Temple , a complex of legal buildings and offices owned by the Hospitallers . The contents , books and paperwork were brought out and burned in the street , and the buildings systematically demolished . Meanwhile , John Fordham , the Keeper of the Privy Seal and one of the men on the rebels ' execution list , narrowly escaped when the crowds ransacked his accommodation but failed to notice he was still in the building . 
