 While the revolt was unfolding in London , John Wrawe led his force into Suffolk . Wrawe had considerable influence over the development of the revolt across eastern England , where there may have been almost as many rebels as in the London revolt . The authorities put up very little resistance to the revolt : the major nobles failed to organise defences , key fortifications fell easily to the rebels and the local militias were not mobilised . As in London and the south @-@ east , this was in part due to the absence of key military leaders and the nature of English law , but any locally recruited men might also have proved unreliable in the face of a popular uprising . 
