Skip to content
History–Tours
121515 June 1215 · Runnymede, Surrey

Magna Carta at Runnymede

The Magna Carta Memorial, a classical domed pavilion on the Runnymede meadows
Photo: Mark. CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Rebel barons forced King John to agree a charter of liberties in the water meadows at Runnymede beside the Thames. Most clauses dealt with feudal grievances, and the pope annulled it within weeks, but reissued versions entered English law. Its promise that no free man be punished except by lawful judgement later inspired constitutions in America and beyond.

Sites

  1. Site 1: Runnymede meadows and Magna Carta MemorialRiverside meadows, the 1957 American Bar Association memorial and modern artworks.Map ↗
  2. Site 2: British LibraryTwo of the four surviving 1215 copies in the Treasures gallery.Map ↗
  3. Site 3: Salisbury CathedralA 1215 copy displayed in the chapter house.Map ↗

Guides who take you there

History-only · order never for sale
We haven't found an independent history guide for this yet. Guide here? Tell us about your tours.

Also in London

More from the Medieval

Read more: reference. Summary written by History-Tours.com.