The Missing Fairies of Norfolk: Part Five

“They never danced on any heath As when the time hath been”

In Part Four of my ‘Missing Fairies of Norfolk’ series I posited the theory that Norfolk folk lack knowledge of their fae, in part, due to the Puritans. I think, however, there is another massive factor that has led to our forgetfulness.

The Missing Fairies of Norfolk: Part Four

Ancient woodlands decimated, blessed sanctuaries redistributed, age old villages removed and pasture land stolen - at whose silken clad feet can we lay the blame? Old Coppernose¹ of course. During the turbulent reign of Henry VIII manorial lords new and old began the enclosure of land which had previously been accessible to all.

Wymondham, Norfolk, Early July 1549 - The humid heat of an English July beat down upon the farm labourers that year. Anticipation peaked in the days leading up to the yearned for holiday of the annual Summer Fair. It was almost upon them. A rare chance for release, a day (and night) of raucous revelry. They had suffered in recent years. Land once used to forage, gather wood, graze a few sheep or perhaps a milking cow to supplement to their meagre incomes had been wrenched from them. Land that their forebears had walked and worked and communed with since time immemorial, now forbidden. The day of the fair at last arrived, the 6th July 1549. The people were rowdy that year, food prices were high and morale was low. At the fair a troupe of actors performed a play, outlawed by Old Coppernose, in honour of the murdered St Thomas Becket; a patron of the local Wymondham Abbey. The Abbey was one of many to fall to the destruction of the dissolution, it was also the setting of their beloved parish church which was very nearly destroyed, along with the Abbey, by local landowner Sir John Flowerdew. The taboo play, the day of folly, the copious drink, the heaviness of that wretched summer reached a dangerous pinnacle on the night of that longed for Summer Fair. A drunkenly cobbled together plan was set in motion. The next day the group of the woebegone set off to take their revenge. Their target? The despised Sir John Flowerdew. They travelled on foot to the nearby villages, pulling up hedges and tearing down the enclosing fences as they went. Arriving at Flowerdew’s abode they put forth their grievances, he a lawyer with a silver tongue bribed them and persuaded them to go after Robert Kett, a landowning Yeoman of Wymondham, instead of him. Easily persuaded the mob changed course and headed Kett’s way. Fate is a curious thing, energy bubbling beneath the surface, waiting for just the right moment - perhaps coaxed on by unseen beings for whom chaos is gloriously entertaining 🧚🏼‍♂️

57 year old Robert Kett was a wealthy Yeoman farmer. A native of Wymondham, his family had farmed in the area for nigh on 400 years when the mob turned up at his door. He was a principled man, he alone had stood against Flowerdew in his lust for destruction and demanded that the parish church of Wymondham be kept whole for the people. For this reason Flowerdew held a grudge towards him, perhaps he hoped to bring about his end by sending the troublesome mob of men his way. Flowerdew, a small minded and greedy man did not anticipate a man of wealth and prominence in the community actually listening to what the people had to say. Kett sat with the men he had known all his life, heard their tales of trouble and strife and was moved by their testimony. Riled up by their stories and perhaps a sprinkling of fate, Robert Kett offered to lead the men in their cause and went with them to tear down his own fences and those of his nemesis Flowerdew.

The Great Oak Tree, between Hethersett & Wymondham, 9th July 1549 - Kett was a persuasive and influential man. In just 24 hours news had spread of the commotion. Men from neighbouring towns and villages travelled to join the group from Wymondham. The rebels initial meeting place? An ancient oak tree on the road between Wymondham and Hethersett. An oak tree that was a sapling around the time that Robert Kett’s ancestors first tilled the soil of the area. Under Kett’s leadership the group became more organised. Over the next few days they marched towards Norwich. They were approached several times by local sheriffs and mayors ordering them to disperse. But they were too strong, too angry, they had been too hungry for too long.

The Oak of Reformation, Mousehold Heath, Mid July 1549 - They set up camp in Mousehold Heath, just outside Norwich. Kett commandeered headquarters in St Michael’s Chapel on the sight of yet another destroyed priory. The number of ‘camp men’ grew, representatives from all the Hundred’s² of Norfolk (and one from Suffolk) met with Kett on the heath beneath another ancient oak tree - the Oak of Reformation. The oak upon the heath seemed to Kett the most sensible place to hold court, a well known landmark that could be seen by all approaching. The Oak, ancient being of strength and regeneration had been anticipating Kett and his men’s arrival for many a decade it had sensed the energy of the commotion leaking through time. Beneath the Oak Kett held council, he managed the camp and the men, he issued warrants to obtain provisions and arms and arrest members of the gentry. And the Oak knew that in a few short weeks it would be comforting the energy of many in its boughs. Over 6 and a half weeks the size of the camp grew to over 12,000, workers and artisans from Norwich and the surrounding towns and villages had joined the ‘mob’. The population of the camp larger than that of Norwich itself, and with Norwich being the second city of England at the time the high ups in the first city of England were starting to get a little hot under their collars.

Officials from Norwich agreed to attend Kett’s council beneath the Oak to discuss the rebels now formalised list of 29 grievances. The grievances according to Andy Wood³ surmised to:

“a desire to limit the power of the gentry, exclude them from the world of the village, constrain rapid economic change, prevent the over exploitation of communal resources, and remodel the values of the clergy”.

Norwich, 22nd July 1549 - The rebels took control of the city. They seized guns and military supplies and set up guards around the walls. A herald from London arrived offering the rebels pardon if they gave up their cause immediately. Kett rejected the heralds offer, twice. The rebels did not give in to wanton violence, theft or pillaging. They took the civic leaders to their camps on Mousehold Heath, some were imprisoned and others (Mayor Codd) were released and allowed to stay in the camp with the men.

Norwich, 31st July 1549 - The King (or rather his advisors as this was the 2nd year of the Reign of Edward VI) sent 1400 soldiers to Norfolk in an attempt to quell the rebellion. The rebels, greater in number and knowledge of the area fought off the soldiers led by the Marquess of Northampton, who ordered a retreat after heavy losses.

Norwich, 24th August 1549 - The Earl of Warwick arrived with 14,000 experienced soldiers and bloody battle commenced.

Dussindale, Norwich, 27th August 1549 - The rebels had been away from their homes and families for nearly two months, they were weary and battle worn. The Earl of Warwick arrived with heavily trained foreign mercenaries. The rebels of Norfolk were no match for them. The final gruesome battle took place at Dussindale, Norwich and thousands of Kett’s men were slaughtered. The next day many of those that had survived the battle were hanged at the very place they had been negotiating for their rights, The Oak of Reformation.

Robert Kett and his brother William were captured by the King’s men and imprisoned in the Tower of London. At trial they were found guilty of treason and sent back to Norfolk on 7th December 1549 to be hanged. Robert Kett was hanged from the walls of Norwich Castle and William Kett was hanged from the west tower of what remained of Wymondham Abbey.

A gruesome tale in which the ‘good man’ is quashed and the rich get their way. One which is oft repeated throughout history. I have taken the time to offer my retelling of this famous event from Norfolk’s past, the ‘commotion tyme’ as I feel it is a tangible example that demonstrates the sentiment of Bishop Richard Corbett’s (1582-1635) poem, ‘The Fairies Farewell’. Particularly the lines:

But some have chang’d your land

…

They never danced on any heath

As when the time hath been.

The land enclosure process continued throughout the seventeenth, eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and Norfolk, a large county filled with many country estates with tremendous amounts of ‘private’ land has seen more than it’s fair share of enclosures. This lack of access to the land that surrounds us has led, in my opinion, to a disconnection from the land and the beings that live (or once lived) amongst us. A disconnection that perhaps began earlier in Norfolk than in other counties of England to the West.

In the closing paragraph of my last instalment of the ‘Missing Fairies of Norfolk’ series I suggested that I would examine land enclosure AND under investigated round barrows of the county in this instalment. However, I venture to say that this essay is long enough without the introduction of the Neolithic so I shall save that subject for part six!

1. Old Coppernose: Henry VIII’s most well known nickname due to the practice of issuing debased coins (silver plated copper coins) - the thin layer of silver would eventually wear away, especially around the nose of the king’s forward-facing portrait, resulting in the red colour of the copper showing. www.royalmint.com

2. Hundred’s of Norfolk: Local areas were divided into ‘Hundreds’

3. Wood, Andy (2002). Riot, rebellion and popular politics in early modern England.