The Magna Carta

On this day in 1215 King John met his barons to sign the Magna Carta, which was then known as the Charter of Runnymede, after the location of the meeting.

The Magna Carta was signed at Runnymede, a water-meadow on the south bank of the River Thames

The charter was drafted by the Archbishop of Canterbury Stephen Langton with the aim of bringing peace  between the deeply unpopular King and a group or rebel barons. It promised some wide ranging proposals designed to protect church rights, protect barons from illegal imprisonment, provide access to swift justice, and limit feudal payments to the Crown. 

The Charter of Runnymede would however be short lived, being annulled by Pope Innocent III within just three months, leading directly to the First Barons' War.  ​At the end of the war in 1217, it formed part of the peace treaty agreed at Lambeth where, in order to distinguish it from the concurrently issued Charter of the Forest, the document acquired its more famous name.

John signs the charter

The Magna Carta became an important part of English political life and was typically renewed by each monarch in turn. While it lost much of its practical significance as time passed and as the fledgling English Parliament passed new laws, it did not lose its cultural or even mythological status. 

These models were built by Brick to the Past's James Pegrum as part of a series of scenes on important events in British history. We will bring you further scenes from the Baron's War this summer; see them first by following us on Twitter or Facebook.