 Word of the troubles in the south @-@ east spread north , slowed by the poor communication links of medieval England . In Leicester , where John of Gaunt had a substantial castle , warnings arrived of a force of rebels advancing on the city from Lincolnshire , who were intent on destroying the castle and its contents . The mayor and the town mobilised their defences , including a local militia , but the rebels never arrived . John of Gaunt was in Berwick when word reached him on 17 June of the revolt . Not knowing that Wat Tyler had by now been killed , John of Gaunt placed his castles in Yorkshire and Wales on alert . Fresh rumours , many of them incorrect , continued to arrive in Berwick , suggesting widespread rebellions across the west and east of England and the looting of the ducal household in Leicester ; rebel units were even said to be hunting for the Duke himself . Gaunt began to march to Bamburgh Castle , but then changed course and diverted north into Scotland , only returning south once the fighting was over . 
