Anyone who loves history in Norwich knows that July is the anniversary of Kett’s Rebellion. And, as we do every year, we’ve had a little flurry of customers asking us about it. So we were having a gentle debate in the office as to why it is such a popular story and it turns out, none of us agree. So, I thought I’d ask all the tour guides for their favourite parts and share them with you. Strap in, it’s a long one!
What is Kett’s Rebellion?
There are many differing opinions and inferences of Kett’s Rebellion.
Did Kett charge into it willingly? Did he simply fall too deep into the moment? Was he seeking power or trying to do what’s right? The one thing everyone agrees on is that it shook the government of the time and made a lasting impression on the people of East Anglia and much further afield too.
It all started with the Enclosures Act, which many people started to instantly see the effects of. No open land? No grass. No grass? Can’t feed sheep. Can’t feed sheep? Can’t get wool. Can’t get wool? Can’t spin and weave. Can’t spin and weave? Can’t sell to Merchant. Merchant has no cloth? Merchant can’t trade. Merchant can’t trade? Economy suffers.
Unfortunately, initially, the rich were just trying to keep peasants off their land. Little did they know the peasants needed their land as much as they needed the peasants – especially their sheep!
Here we’ll tell you the story through our tour guides’ favourite parts.
The Canterbury Connection – Oli’s Story
I’ve worked and lived in Canterbury as well as Norfolk. The two are tied together at the start of the rebellion, so naturally that’s my favourite part.
For a county known for our farming, it all went a bit wrong in 1549. An agriculture crisis in the 1540’s led to the passing of the Enclosure Act, an act of parliament that allowed landlords to build boundaries/enclosures around their lands and charged farm hands to work it.
This led to starvation. Farm hands couldn’t work the land without paying a sizeable sum which typically they couldn’t afford. The landlords got richer and the peasantry got poorer – at least for a little while, then things got more complicated.
The Wymondham Feast
At the annual Wymondham feast on July 6 1549, the locals put on a play about Thomas Becket, the Archbishop of Canterbury who was famously murdered by four agents of the King (who had definitely not ordered them to).
This whole affair had come to represent rebellion against the crown and any mention of Becket had been outlawed by King Henry VIII. So by that logic, any mention of the former Archbishop smelt of rebellion.
Not only that, Becket was a co-patron of Wymondham Abbey which had been torn down a decade before. This all got them in the mood to get a bit rebellious and they marched on a local landlord to tear down his fences.
When they got there, the landlord effectively said: “Chill out! I’m on your side guys! But you know who isn’t? My neighbour Rob! Take this cash for the effort and tear down his fences.”
When the rioters arrived at the house, the neighbour Rob, his actual name being Robert Kett, a local nobleman, approached the rioters to discuss why they were rioting. After a few hours, Kett was convinced by their argument and helped the rioters tear down his own fences, and ultimately led to rebellion in opposition to the King’s Act.
More Than a Peasant’s Rebellion – Holly’s Story
My favourite element of the story is how quickly support was drummed up and also the surprising support that the rebels found.
After finding support from Kett himself, the rebels settled and made their encampments where their numbers grew and grew. So many people could see what would come if nothing changed.
But it wasn’t just the peasants who banded behind Kett. He gained support from city figureheads. Mayor Codd, former Mayor Aldrich and local preacher Robert Watson accepted an invitation extended by Kett to sit in and potentially partake in their discussions.
This was not as a way to lever control – Mayor Codd and Aldrich signed off on the demands written at that council. 29 demands all based on reducing controls on land and overuse of communal resources…I’m sure many of us have had similar thoughts even in our lifetimes.
Why? As we’ve mentioned before, no peasants to farm land and tend sheep, no wool, no textile industry, no wealth. It seems so obvious to us now.
Mayor Codd and Augustine Steward
Some will tell you Mayor Codd was imprisoned up at the site of Surrey House but I personally find this unlikely, more a way of covering his tracks.
Mayor Codd chose to join the aforementioned council, he signed the list of 29 demands and when prisoners were released Mayor Codd stayed up at the base the rebels had set up.
I don’t think it’s hard to believe that support was coming from more than just the poor and the rebels. In fact, many turned a blind eye when rebels came into the city for provisions. Even if you weren’t brave enough to join the fight, it became clear that more than originally expected thought Kett’s rebels were right.
Mayor Codd’s second in command was Augustine Steward. He stayed down in the city throughout. He advised where he could and it’s unclear as to whose side he was on. He seemed to side with the King but many say he sided with whoever would pay him.
He did however warn dignitaries and battleheads of the strength of the rebels. Unfortunately, many did not take him seriously enough…you’ll hear more about that in a moment.
The Battle of Bishopgate Bridge – Max’s Story
The battle of Bishopgate Bridge is likely the first proper battle of Kett’s Rebellion in 1549.
On the 21 July, 16,000 rebels appeared on the hills of Mousehold opposite the bridge. They camped there overnight. The next day, Robert Kett sent emissaries down to the city with an offer of peace, if the city was willing to negotiate terms to make life fairer for the working folk.
A King’s Herald from York had been brought to the city and he countered that Robert and the other ringleaders should hand themselves in as traitors to the crown and the army should disperse. Kett announced that he would not hand himself over as he was not committing treason at all. Negotiations failed, and the city gates were closed to the rebels and archers placed on and around Bishop Bridge.
The Fall of Cow Tower
The main threat to the rebels on the hill was the imposing Cow Tower that still stands today. At the time it was nearly 75ft tall and bristling with cannons and men armed with early firearms. It would have resulted in enormous casualties to try and attack with it covering the river.
As a result, Kett ordered his small battery of cannons to target it and, in a hail of cannon fire, they sheared off the top of the building, disabling it. With the threat of cannon fire gone, Kett ordered the charge and 16,000 rebels poured down Mousehold towards the bridge.
Several men tried attacking the gatehouse on the bridge while others tried to swim the river beside it. Archers stationed on the city side cut down several as they crossed the water. Some sources say that the river ran crimson afterwards. Despite the casualties, the rebels’ sheer numbers overwhelmed the guards and they pushed into the city.
Once in Norwich, the rebels raided the armouries, seizing firearms and taking important prisoners back to their camp on Mousehold, where they would await the arrival of the King’s army.
This part of Kett’s rebellion stands out to me, not least because I live close by to the site, but because such an unassuming and quiet part of the city bore witness to blood, carnage and death.
You can stand on those weathered flagstones and imagine, rather than the gentle murmur of conversation from nearby pubs or the sounds of nearby traffic, the screams, clashing of arms and roars of anger as an oppressed people put their lives on the line to win back their freedom.
Something which is, sadly, still all too familiar in certain parts of the world today.
The Ghost of Lord Sheffield – Nyree’s Story
The following story sticks with me because I had a terrible date in the Adam and Eve and Lord Sheffield is said to haunt that particular pub (he has a penchant for causing mischief and hiding people’s keys)! I like to think it was Sheffield conducting mischief and nothing to do with anything I did or did not do.
May this be a lesson to you to trust your local guides. Lord Sheffield did not listen to local merchant and Deputy Mayor and he paid the ultimate price…
(Dear, reader. We are also intrigued by Nyree’s reason, but she won’t tell us either – we’re working on worming it out of her.)
Lord Sheffield led a cavalry against Kett. He’d heard that the rebels wanted to discuss their surrender. Augustine Steward (Deputy Mayor) advised him not to, it could have been a trap and the rebels knew the city better than he did. He ignored this advice, thinking he, a man of war, knew best.
When he headed to Bishopgate Bridge he found himself surrounded with men coming out of the river and nooks and crannies. He was either so terrified he fell off his horse or knew he was doomed and stepped off it…so that he could make the sign of surrender- taking his helmet off his head.
The Butcher
Unfortunately, one of Kett’s men – a butcher, by trade, either didn’t understand the sign or didn’t give a damn. He brought his meat cleaver with full force down onto the top of Sheffield’s head, cracking it in two like an egg.
Sheffield’s men dragged him into the Adam and Eve, where he quickly expired on the pub table. It seems that he didn’t lose his sense of humour in the afterlife though, because his ghost haunts the pub to this day…causing all sorts of mischief. I would know.
Further troops were sent and eventually Kett’s men were defeated, but not before they caused a lasting impact and wrote some of our city’s most loved history. You can learn more about this story on our famous Tavern Trails!
The 400-year Apology – Lisa’s Story
After Kett was captured at the battle of Dussindale, his trial took place in London, where he was sentenced to death for treason.
To be fair, revolting against the crown in those days would garner the death penalty and it’s hard to claim innocence when the rebellion is literally named after you. That being said, the people of Norfolk referred to this period as ‘The Commotion Time’.
Kett was taken to the castle and hanged, supposedly alive and wrapped in chains to expire from dehydration and exhaustion rather than the long drop, from the walls of the castle in December to be made an example of.
Unfortunately for the King, Kett had won the hearts and minds of the people of the city, and his hanging deeply upset the locals, especially because they left his corpse hanging from the walls for over a year. They petitioned for two things, the body to be removed and to bury him and an apology for the way he was treated and displayed. Of course, this was rejected.
A Story of Persistence
But you know us Norwich folk, we don’t give up. So they tried again the next year…to no avail. So they tried again…you can see where this is going.
The people did eventually get an apology and Kett even got a plaque. But it took them a while. Pause here to consider how many years they could have been petitioning for an apology…in 1949, 400 years later, an apology was issued. And there is now a plaque to commemorate that on the Castle. Better late than never?
What do you think about Kett’s Rebellion? A man that made the ultimate sacrifice or a man who got pulled in too deep, too fast? Whatever your opinion on the story I think it’s clear to see it has made an impact. We’re big fans here at The Shoebox and we’d love to know if you are too!