In 1381, the villagers of Fobbing (and of Corringham and Stanford le Hope) were summoned to Brentwood to pay "shortfalls" in their poll tax. Thomas Baker, declared that his village had already paid their taxes, and that no more money would be forthcoming. This was one of the sparks that ignited the peasant's revolt. He was the principal leader of the rebels in Fobbing and in the wider Barstable Hundred. He was executed by hanging and drawing on 4th July 1381 in Chelmsford.

Thomas Baker owned "Pokattescroft alias Bakerescroft" in Fobbing, for which he paid 2s per year to the Abbot of Waltham Cross. Baker's land in Fobbing probably came into his possession through his wife, Avice  After his execution, his land was confiscated. It was identified in various land transactions in the 16th and 17th centuries. The name was not used on the tithe redemption map or the associated schedule, but it can still be identified as a result of a farm survey by Thomas Marsh in 1781 - see Randal Bingley's article in Panorama 37 and his book, "Fobbing - Life and Landscape".

The picture shows the Memorial to the Peasants' Revolt in the recreation ground at Fobbing. This is a metal sculpture by B R Coode-Adams, erected to commemorate the 600th anniversary in 1981. At the same time, a plaque was placed outside the White Lion pub at the end of Fobbing Road.(See Exploring Thurrock by Christopher Harrold - second edition, 2008.)

The revolt is also remembered in the name of Wat Tyler Country Park, a short distance away in Pitsey Hall Lane in Basildon.