King John’s Treasure
King John of England was known as ‘Bad King John’ for good reason. As well as being generally regarded as hugely incompetent, he was something of a tyrant and also hugely greedy. The mad monarch would routinely rob from his enemies and even his allies, enriching himself with gold coins, gold plates and jewelry. Some, he gave away to his bodyguards and closest allies, more for self-preservation than due to any sense of generosity. The vast bulk, however, John kept for himself, though it is believed he lost much of his treasure, and it’s yet to be found.
The background to the legend of King John’s Treasure is a matter of historical record. By the end of the twelfth century, the major landowners of England had had enough of their crazy king. The barons rebelled, seeking to reverse John’s fiscal reforms and negotiate better conditions for themselves. While both sides laid down their arms with the Magna Carta peace treaty of 1215 – a treaty that is still seen as a major milestone in British history – neither the king nor the barons stuck to their word and fighting recommenced soon after.
In October 1216, while out waging war in the east of England, the king fell ill and started to head westwards back to his castle. While the monarch made it safely back to Newark Castle, his men tried to take a short cut over the large expanses of marshes and mud flats known as The Wash. They, and the wagons they were transporting, became trapped in the mud as the tide started to rise. The men were drowned and the wagons, containing all of King John’s crown jewels, were lost.
Eight centuries on, the treasure has yet to be found. But that’s not due to a lack of trying. Over the years, everyone from professional archaeologists to mystics have headed to The Wash in a bid to find the jewels. But what will they find if indeed they do uncover the wagons? According to some historians, John was only carrying with him some panels for his own private chapel or, at most, a single crown. But others believe that a huge hoard of treasure is there to be found, with the whole stash possibly even worth as much as $70,000,000 in today’s money. However, until the mud gives up its secret, what Mad King John lost that day in 1216 will remain a mystery.