Norwich in the Sixteenth Century.
AT the commencement of this century most of the houses in the city were
built of wood with thatched roofs. This accounts for the number of fires
which broke out at different times, and which, in 1507 and 1509, reduced
a large portion of the city to ashes, no fewer than 718 houses being
consumed in the latter year. These conflagrations induced the
corporation, in 1509, to issue an order that no newly-erected buildings
in the city should be covered with thatch, but this injunction not
extending to those previously erected, some few still retain this
dangerous covering.
In 1501, John Rightwise, then mayor, began building the cross in the
Market Place, and finished it in 1503. It was a commodious and handsome
pile, but falling into decay, it was sold by the Tonnage Committee in
1732 for £125, and soon afterwards it was taken down. About 1506, St.
Andrew’s Church was built, near the site of the old church of St.
Christopher.
Henry VIII. began his reign on April 22nd, 1509, when the city was in a
state of great distraction, on account of the terrible fires which caused
much destruction of property. In that year a great part of the
cathedral, with its vestry, and all the ornaments and books were
destroyed by a fire, which broke out on St. Thomas’ night. In 1515, the
Lady Mary, sister to the king, and her consort the Duke of Suffolk,
visited the city on their return from France, and were nobly entertained.
Henry VIII., while he continued a papist, burned the reformers; and when
in a fit of anger he disowned the pope and assumed the English tiara, he
was no less zealous against both Papist and Puritan, who would not bind
their consciences to his royal decrees. During the prelacy of Richard
Nykke or Nix, the bigotted bishop of Norwich, several church reformers
were burnt here and at other places.
In 1517, Cardinal Wolsey visited the city to mediate between the citizens
and the monks, but their disputes were not finally settled till 1524,
when the jurisdiction of the convent was ascertained and separated from
that of the corporation until 1538, when they were converted into a dean
and chapter.
On March 2nd, 1520, Queen Catherine and Cardinal Wolsey visited the city,
and all the city companies went to meet the queen “in Puke and Dirke
Tawney Liveries,” and the city presented her with 100 marks.
In 1522, in consequence of the many vexatious suits in the Sheriff’s
Court for words and trifling debts, it was agreed that four aldermen be
named, one out of each of the great wards, to sit in person, or by
deputies, every Wednesday, from eight till nine in the morning, to adjust
all debts under two shillings, and all actions on words, for the ease and
peace of the city. This institution was of great benefit, and in some
measure answered the purpose of the old Court of Conscience.
In 1524, on September 2nd, through the mediation of Cardinal Wolsey, a
composition and final agreement was sealed between the prior and the city
at the Guildhall, by which the city resigned all jurisdiction within the
walls of the priory, the whole site thereof being hereby acknowledged to
be part of the County of Norfolk and in the Hundred of Blofield; and the
church gave up all right of jurisdiction in every place without their
walls and within the walls of the city; so that now, Tombland, with the
fairs kept thereon, and all things belonging to those fairs—and
Holmstrete, Spytelond, and Ratten Row, with their letes—were adjudged to
belong to the city, and to be part of the county thereof. The prior and
convent and their successors were also exempted from all tolls, customs,
and exactions whatever, by land or water in the whole city, or county of
the city and its liberties, for goods or chattels bought or sold for the
use of the prior and convent, their households, or families.
In 1525 the king granted the city another charter, confirmed likewise by
parliament, in which the late composition and agreement between the city
and prior was fully recited and established, and new privileges were
granted.
In 1530 the king was declared supreme head of the church of England; and
was acknowledged so by act of parliament in 1535. In the latter year an
act was passed for recontinuing liberties in the crown, by which all
cities, boroughs, and towns corporate, had their liberties and privileges
fully confirmed.
BILNEY’S MARTYRDOM.
A short account of the martyrdom of Thomas Bilney, in 1531, may serve to
illustrate the persecuting spirit of the age. He had renounced the
tenets of the Church of Rome, and was condemned on the following passages
extracted from two sermons which he had preached in 1527, at Ipswich.
“Our Saviour Christ is our Mediator between us and the Father; what
need have we therefore for any remedy from saints? It is a great
injury to the blood of Christ to make such petitions, and blasphemeth
our Saviour.”
“Man is so imperfect by himself, that he can in no wise merit by his
own deeds.”
“The coming of Christ was long prophesied before, and desired by the
prophets; but John Baptist, being more than a prophet, did not only
prophesy, but with his finger shewed Him, saying, ‘_Behold the Lamb
of God_, _which taketh away the sins of the world_.’ Then, if this
was the very Lamb which John did demonstrate, that taketh away the
sins of the world, what injury is it to our Saviour Christ, that to
be buried in St. Francis’ cowl should remit four parts of penance?
What is then left to our Saviour Christ, which taketh away the sins
of the world? This I will justify to be a great blasphemy to the
blood of Christ.”
“It is great folly to go on pilgrimages; and preachers in times past
have been antichrists; and now it hath pleased God somewhat to shew
forth their falsehoods and errors.”
“The miracles done at Walsingham, Canterbury, and Ipswich, were done
by the devil through the sufferance of God, to blind the poor people;
and the Pope hath not the keys that St. Peter had, except he
followeth Peter in his living.”
“Christian people should set up no lights before images of saints,
for saints in heaven need no lights, and images have no eyes to see;
and, therefore, as Ezechias destroyed the brazen serpent that Moses
made by the commandment of God, even so should the kings and princes
of these times destroy and burn the images of saints set up in
churches.”
It was further deposed against Bilney, that he was notoriously suspected
to be a heretic, and that in his sermons he had exhorted the people to
put away their gods of silver and gold, and to desist from offering to
them either candle, wax, money, or any other thing; and that in
rehearsing the litany he said, “pray you only to God and no saints;” and
when he came to that part, Sancta Maria, &c., or, O Saint Mary pray for
us, he called out, “stop there.”
These and many other articles of the like nature being proved, he was
exhorted to recant and abjure them; and upon his refusing to do so, the
Bishop of London, having pulled off his cap, and made the sign of the
cross on his forehead and breast, pronounced the following sentence:—
“I, by the counsel and consent of my brethren here present, do
pronounce thee, Thomas Bilney, who has been accused of divers
articles, to be convicted of heresy; and for the rest of the sentence
we will deliberate till to-morrow.”
The next day Bilney was again asked whether he would recant and return to
the unity of the church; when he desired a day or two for consideration
and to consult his friends. In fear of a dreadful death at the
expiration of the time, he subscribed his abjuration; and being absolved,
he had the following penance enjoined him; to bear a faggot at the
procession at St. Paul’s, bareheaded, and to stand before the preacher
during the sermon there, and to remain in prison till he should be
released by Cardinal Wolsey. When in prison, the reflection on what he
had done drove Bilney almost to despair, and he suffered all the agonies
of remorse for more than twelve months.
At length he resolved to seal that truth which he had so shamefully
abjured, with his blood. For this purpose he travelled to Norwich, and
on his way to the city he openly preached those doctrines for which he
had been condemned; and being apprehended, was confined in one of the
cells under the Guildhall. On August 19th, he was taken to Lollards’
pit, outside of Bishopsgate, and burnt there in the presence of a crowd
of horrified spectators.
This and many other instances may serve to show the persecuting spirit of
a church which had arrogated to itself a dominion over the consciences of
men, and dared to propagate a religion of fear as the religion of Christ.
After the Reformation, which had now begun, the same persecuting spirit
was manifested by the Church of England; and many suffered here for their
nonconformity to the Establishment. Several other martyrs were burnt in
Norwich during the same reign, and in 1539, one William Leyton, a monk of
Eye, in Suffolk, was burnt here, for speaking against a certain idol
which used to be carried about in procession at Eye; and for asserting
that the sacrament ought to be administered in both kinds.
In the same year peace and amity were settled between the church and the
city on a much more stable foundation than had been previously effected,
by an arrangement as to jurisdictions of the authorities.
* * * * *
In 1534 an act was passed for rebuilding those parts of the city which
were laid waste by the late fires; by which it was enacted that if the
owners of such void grounds should, by the space of two years after
proclamation made by the mayor for all persons to rebuild or enclose
their grounds, neglect to rebuild on such ground, or sufficiently enclose
the same with mortar and stone, then it should be lawful for the mayor,
etc., to enter on such vacant grounds, and hold and retain them to their
own use and their successors’ use for ever, discharged of all rents and
outgoings whatsoever, provided that, within two years after such entry
made, they either rebuild or enclose them as aforesaid.
DISSOLUTION OF THE MONASTERIES.
If, in giving an account of the state of society in the middle ages, we
were to omit from our enumeration of causes the vast influence of the
clergy of the church of Rome, we should present a very imperfect view of
the subject. The priests dominated over the minds of men for many
centuries, and their influence either for good or evil pervaded all
classes of society. This influence caused the erection of monasteries,
nunneries, priories, and friaries, nineteen in number, in Norwich before
the 16th century. Monastic institutions were originally beneficial to
society. In the dark ages, they preserved learning to some extent, and
were houses of refuge for the destitute. No doubt there were many good
self-denying men and women amongst the monks and nuns, who did some
service to the poor who then abounded in the land. But in time the
monasteries sunk for the most part into dissolute confraternities; stupid
and sleepy, where not vicious; and banded together against the liberties
of the nation; and there were constant broils between the monks and the
citizens in Norwich.
The king having entirely renounced the authority of the church of Rome,
and assumed the title of Head of the Church of England, caused a very
strict inquiry to be instituted into the state of all monastic
institutions. This inquiry resulted in their suppression, more for the
gratification of the monarch’s avarice than from his desire to benefit
his subjects; and most of the monks in Norwich and Norfolk, as well as in
other parts of England, were sent adrift with small pensions. The king,
indeed—in revenge for being excommunicated by the pope—suppressed 1148
monasteries in England, whose revenues amounted to £183,707 yearly. He
either seized the property for himself or divided it amongst his
favourites, and the Duke of Norfolk obtained a great part of it in
Norwich. The dissolution of those ancient institutions caused a great
deal of poverty; the priests were driven out homeless over the land, and
the poor had no houses of refuge and no means of relief.
In 1538, Thomas Cromwell, lord privy seal, the king’s vicegerent, sent
injunctions to all bishops and curates, charging them to take care that
an English bible of the largest size be placed open in each parish
church, for every one to have recourse to. The open bible was generally
read in this city and elsewhere, and this, no doubt, promoted the
reformation of religion. In spite of the tyranny of kings, the
domination of priests, and the superstition of the people, the
Reformation still advanced, and the national mind was emancipated by
degrees from ancient thraldom.
* * * * *
In 1545, one Rogers, of Norfolk, was condemned and suffered martyrdom,
for opposing the six articles of an act passed for abolishing diversity
of opinions in religion. This act inflicted the penalty of death upon
those—1st, who by word or writing denied transubstantiation; 2nd, who
maintained that communion in both kinds was necessary; 3rd, or asserted
that it was lawful for priests to marry; 4th, or that vows of chastity
might be broken; 5th, or that private masses are profitable; 6th, or that
auricular confession is not necessary to salvation.
The king died on the 28th January, 1546; and his exequies were celebrated
here with great pomp, as appears from the chamberlain’s account; though
what good he ever did for the city it would be hard to say. He was a
king who spared no man in his anger and no woman in his lust. In his
reign, 72,000 persons were hung for political offences or for the crime
of poverty as a warning to others. The “Merry England” of those days was
in fact a terrible country to live in. Men were beaten, scourged,
branded with hot irons, and killed without mercy or limit.
Edward VI. was proclaimed king on January 28th, 1546; and on February
25th, his coronation was celebrated with much pomp in Norwich, where
great rejoicings took place. Six large guns were fired on Tombland; the
populace were treated with plenty of beer; and bonfires were lighted in
several of the streets. There was a grand procession with a pageant, in
which the king was represented by an effigy of king Solomon.
On March 8th, 1546, Edward VI., and the executors of his deceased father,
granted to the mayor, sheriffs, citizens, and commonalty, the hospital of
St. Giles’ in this city, now called the Old Men’s hospital, with all the
revenues belonging thereto for the maintenance of poor people dwelling
therein, all which the late king had promised to give them at the request
of the citizens, a short time before his death.
Norwich has always been noted for its civic feasts and good cheer; and
Bale, writing at this time (1549), in his “Continuation of Leland’s
Antiquities,” says:—
“Oh, cytie of England, whose glory standeth more in belly chere than
in the searche of wisdome godlye, how cometh it that neither you nor
yet your ydell masmongers have regarded this most worthy commodytie
of your countrye? I mean the conservacyon of your antiquyties, and
of the worthy labours of your learned men. I thynke the renowne of
such a notable act would have much longer endured than of all your
belly banquettes and table triumphes, either yet of your newly
purchased hawles, to keep St. George’s feast in.”
And again he says:—
“I have been also at Norwyche, our second cytie of name, and there
all the library monuments are turned to the use of their grossers,
candelmakers, sope sellers, &c.”
Small credit is here given to the city for the patronage and promotion of
intellectual pursuits.
KETT’S REBELLION.
In 1549 the city was the scene of an insurrection resembling that of the
Jacquerie in France, and the War of the Peasants in Germany. The facts
of this local rebellion were simple enough. The poor people objected to
the enclosure of waste lands, in the neighbourhood of Attleborough and
Wymondham, by the nobility and gentry, who had been put in possession of
the abbey lands, which had been previously appropriated for the use of
the poor, who still considered that they had a right of commonage on the
waste lands and open pastures. The rebellion commenced at Eccles, Wilby,
Attleborough, and the neighbouring villages, the inhabitants of which
were enraged at Mr. John Green, lord of the manor of Wilby, who had
enclosed that part of the common belonging to his manor, which had from
time immemorial been open to the adjoining commons of Hargham and
Attleborough, and in which the people had enjoyed all rights of
intercommoning with each other. The people continued quiet till
Wymondham fair, on July 7th, when they collected in large numbers. The
leaders of the movement, accompanied by a large number of others, went to
Morley, about a mile from Wymondham, and laid open the new enclosures;
and on returning to Wymondham, they destroyed all the fences by which the
commons and wastes were enclosed. John Flowerdew, of Hethersett,
incensed at the destruction of his fences, gave forty pence to a number
of the country people to throw down the fences of Robert Kett, alias
Knight, whose pasture lay near Wymondham Fairstead. They carried out his
wishes to the full, and on the following morning returned to Hethersett,
where, at Kett’s instigation, they laid open other enclosures of
Flowerdew’s. After this, the rioters appointed Robert Kett and his
brother William, a butcher, to be their captains, and the movement soon
assumed the form of an organized rebellion. The numbers of the rebels
quickly increased, and marching on Mousehold Heath, they took possession
of the mansion of the Earl of Surrey; and thence proceeded to lay siege
to the city. They held courts of justice under a large tree, called the
“Oak of Reformation:” and having augmented their numbers to 16,000 from
the citizens, and strongly fortified their camp, they summoned the city
to surrender. For months they maintained hostilities, and the country
round was pillaged and laid waste, until at length they gained an
entrance to the city, and took the mayor and several councillors
prisoners to their camp. A strong force was thereupon sent down for the
defence of the city, under the Marquis of Northampton, and a regular
battle was fought at the base of the hill on St. Martin’s Palace Plain.
In this engagement Lord Sheffield was slain; and the rebels, having
forced the Marquis to retreat, plundered the city, and set fire to it in
many parts. In short, all attempts to quell this violent insurrection
were ineffectual, till a large army, which had been raised to proceed
against the Scots, was ordered to march to the relief of Norwich, under
the command of the Earl of Warwick, who arrived under the city walls on
the 23rd of August. On the following day, after making an ineffectual
offer of pardon to the insurgents, on the condition that they should lay
down their arms, the king’s troops commenced their attack; and having
made several breaches in the walls, and forced open some of the gates,
they soon entered the city, and took possession of the Market Place. In
the midst of this scene of blood, the king’s ammunition carriages, having
entered apart from the main body of the army, were captured by the enemy,
but were soon retaken by a detachment from the Market Place. A large
body of the rebels still remaining in the city now made a lodgement on
Tombland, and through their superior local knowledge, greatly annoyed the
soldiers by posting small parties at the angles of the different streets
leading to the Market. The Earl of Warwick, however, brought out his
whole force to scour the city, and the rebels, after setting fire to
their camp, were obliged to quit their post on the hill and retreat to
Dussyn’s Dale, on Mousehold, resolving to finish the business by a
general engagement in the valley.
On August 27th, being re-enforced by a newly-arrived detachment of
troops, the Earl marched out of the city to attack the rebels, to whom he
again offered pardon, provided they would quietly lay down their arms;
but, confident in their numbers, they refused to capitulate. A bloody
conflict ensued, but the rebels, being unaccustomed to the discharge of
artillery, were soon in confusion. Of this the Light Horse took
advantage, and advancing to the charge, drove the rebels from the field
and pursued them with great slaughter. Over 3000 were killed, and about
300 of the ringleaders were afterwards executed. The gates of the city
suffered much damage during this insurrection. The rebels set Bishop’s
gate on fire, with some of the houses in the street, and those belonging
to the Great Hospital. Pockthorpe, Magdalen, St. Augustine, Coslany, and
Ber Street gates, shared the same fate. When the disturbances ceased,
the repair of the city generally was commenced, and especially of the
gates. Outside Magdalen Gates a gallows was erected, at which place and
at the cross in the Market Place 300 rebels were executed. Two, styled
prophets, were hanged, drawn, and quartered, their heads being placed on
the towers, and their quarters on the gates.
Robert and William Kett were tried in London for high treason and
rebellion, and convicted. On November 29th, they were delivered to Sir
Edmund Windham, High Sheriff of the counties of Norfolk and Suffolk, to
receive punishment. Robert was conveyed to Norwich, and being brought to
the foot of the castle, was drawn up to a gibbet erected at the top, and
there left hanging alive till he died by famine; and his body, being
entirely wasted, at length fell down. A similar sentence was executed
upon William, who was suspended alive upon the top of Wymondham steeple.
This fearful rebellion having been thus brought to an end, the citizens,
after the departure of the kings troops, began to repair the damages to
the walls and gates. Unhappily, however, their trials were not yet over,
for the late disastrous occurrences were followed by such a scarcity and
dearness of provisions, that the corporation issued an edict, requiring
all the wealthier inhabitants to find corn for their own households
elsewhere, so that their poorer neighbours might have the exclusive
benefit of the city markets.
QUEEN MARY.
The Princess Mary was proclaimed here on July 18th, 1553, and was the
first English Queen in her own right, and the people of Norwich and
Norfolk rushed to her standard, impelled by the memory of Kett’s
rebellion. The queen was a bigoted Roman Catholic, and in her reign
popery was revived in its worst form, associated with all the atrocities
of the most sanguinary persecution. Protestants were gathered like fuel
for burning; and as for the Puritans, no fate could be too severe for
them.
In March, 1556, William Carman, of Hingham, was burnt in Lollards’ pit,
outside of Bishop’s Gate. He was charged with being an obstinate
heretic, and actually having in his possession a bible, a testament, and
three psalters in the English tongue.
On July 13th, of the same year, Simon Miller, merchant of Lynn, and
Elizabeth Cooper, a pewterer’s wife, of the parish of St. Andrew, were
burnt together in Lollards’ pit. On August 5th, Richard Crashfield, of
Wymondham, Thomas Carman, William Seaman, and Thomas Hudson, were burnt
for heresy in the same place.
On July 10th, 1557, Richard Yolman, a devout old minister, seventy years
of age, was burnt for heresy. He had been curate to that learned and
pious martyr, Mr. Taylor, of Hadleigh.
As if a judgment had come on the country for such atrocities, the quartan
ague and a new sickness soon afterwards raged so violently, that it was
said that “fire, sword, and pestilence,” had swept away a third part of
the men of England; and it is recorded that ten of the Norwich aldermen
fell victims to the latter scourge.
During this short reign, the city was afflicted by the presence of those
merciless persecutors, Bishop Hopton and Chancellor Dunnings, at whose
instigation several martyrs to the reformed religion were burnt here in
1557 and 1558. Happily the career of this bigoted, blood-thirsty,
priest-ridden queen, was cut short, and a new and brighter era dawned
upon the nation.
THE REIGN OF QUEEN ELIZABETH.
This queen ascended the throne on Nov. 7th, 1558, and was proclaimed here
on the 17th of the same month. She was a zealous promoter of the
Reformation. The form of worship used in the churches was similar to
that in the time of Edward VI.; but the protestants were almost as
intolerant in this reign as the Romanists had been before, though they
claimed the right of private judgment; and the principle of toleration
was not recognised for centuries by any church, or sect, or party.
In 1561, on the Guild day, the Duke of Norfolk, and the Earls of
Northumberland and Huntingdon, with many other nobility and gentry, dined
with the Mayor, William Mingay, Esq., in St. Andrew’s Hall, which could
scarcely contain the company and their retinue. The entertainment is
said to have been very magnificent, and the expense of the feast amounted
to 32s. 9d.
In 1565, the prosperity of the city, which had begun to decline, was
again revived by the settling here of 330 Flemings and Walloons, who had
fled from the Netherlands, from the rigid persecution under the
sanguinary Duke of Alva. In 1570, by the fostering encouragement of
Queen Elizabeth, the number of these foreign settlers had increased to
3925, and by the introduction of bombazine, and other manufactures, they
contributed much to the wealth and prosperity of Norwich.
During the long reign of Elizabeth, numerous conspiracies were formed for
the re-establishment of Popery, and in 1570, John Throgmorton, Thomas
Brooke, and G. Redman, were hanged and quartered here for having joined
in these traitorous enterprises. In 1572, the Duke of Norfolk and
several other noblemen were attainted and beheaded for similar offences,
at London, York, and other places. The Duke not only espoused the cause
of Mary, Queen of Scots, but even offered to marry that Roman Catholic
Princess.
In 1574, a rumour was spread of invasion by the so-called invincible
Armada. Norwich, towards the general defence, exhibited on its muster
roll 2120 able men, of whom 400 were armed; the total number enrolled in
the whole county of Norfolk, being at the same time, 6120 able men, of
whom 3630 were armed. Happily there was no occasion for their services,
the Armada being destroyed by a storm at sea.
Queen Elizabeth made a progress through Suffolk and Norfolk, from the
16th to the 22nd August, 1578. She came on horseback from Ipswich to
Norwich, though she had several coaches in her train; and she lodged in
the Bishop’s Palace. For several days she was entertained by splendid
pageantries, principally allusive to the trade and manufactures of the
city. Whilst here she dined publicly in the North Alley of the Cathedral
Cloister, and often went a hunting on horseback, and to witness wrestling
and shooting on Mousehold heath. The city records contain full details
of the pageantries on the occasion of the royal visit. In no other city
was the Queen received with greater cordiality and pageantry than in
Norwich. The corporation, the inhabitants, the clergy, with the nobility
and gentry of the county, contributed largely to afford the royal lady as
pleasant and costly a reception as should be pleasing to her as a
spectacle, and demonstrative of exuberant loyalty. This joy was soon
turned into mourning; for, says a record known as the _Norwich Roll_,
“The trains of Her Majesty’s carriage being many of them infected, left
the plague behind them, which afterwards increased and contynued, as it
raged about a year and three quarters.” Nearly 5000 fell victims to this
dreadful malady.
In 1578, Matthew Hamond, of Hethersett, wheelwright, a heretic and
blasphemer, being convicted of reviling the queen and of denying the
authority of the Scriptures, the Godhead, the atonement of our Lord Jesus
Christ, and the existence of the Holy Ghost, was set in the pillory on
May 13th, and both his ears were nailed. Afterwards, on May 20th, he was
burnt in the castle ditch. In 1587 and 1588 Francis Knight and Peter
Cole, of Ipswich, were burnt in the same place for their deistical
sentiments.
The Reformation was not only stayed, but thrown backward by this
arbitrary, despotic queen. Though she was well disposed to reformation
in the abstract, yet the fear of popish influence and a jealousy for her
ecclesiastical authority over the church, made her act in the spirit of
the worst excesses of popery. She persecuted all who disputed her
authority in religious matters. In vain did the exiles return, hoping
for peace and “freedom to worship God.” The expulsion of a multitude of
clergy, who refused to conform to many impositions, and the many
hardships suffered by the puritans, especially in Norfolk and Suffolk,
evinced that no concession was to be expected from her. Her great idol
was perfect uniformity. To enforce it, she passed many laws, which made
nonconformity worse than felony, and she treated the Puritan as a rebel
against all authority, both human and divine. A beautiful “Memorial” of
the ministers of Norfolk is still preserved in vindication of their
loyalty, and in advocacy of greater liberty of conscience. The result of
it, however, was that seven or eight of them were suspended in Norwich.
But instead of this being the means of stopping the progress of
Puritanism, the sincere inquirers after truth were incited by such harsh
measures to fresh investigations, and more emboldened to declare their
views.
In 1582, on a second return made of the strangers settled here, they were
found to be 1128 men; 1358 women; 815 children, strangers born; 1378
children, English born; in all 4679. The whole population was about
15,000, and the citizens continued to return burgesses to parliament from
time to time, but not so frequently as in former reigns. During this
reign William Kemp, a comic actor of high reputation, and greatly
applauded for his buffoonery, danced a morris dance all the way from
London to Norwich in nine days, and was accompanied by crowds of people
as he passed on from town to town. When he arrived in Norwich he was
very kindly treated by the citizens, who turned out to meet him in large
numbers.
* * * * *
NORWICH PAGEANTS were celebrated during the middle ages, and occupy a
large space in the records of the corporation. Books of the several
companies relating to the pageants have been lost except that of St.
George, but some additional information has come to light on the subject.
A series of extracts were made early in the last century from the
Grocers’ book, showing the proceedings and expenditure of that company in
regard to their pageants from 1534 to 1570, and also the versions of the
plays in 1533 and in 1563. All the plays of that period were called
mysteries or miracle plays, and were founded on bible history. The play
was performed in a carriage called a “House of Waynscott, painted and
builded on a cart with fowre whelys.” Painted cloths were hung about it,
and it was drawn by four horses, “having head stalls of brode inkle with
knoppes and tassels.” The vehicle had a square top with a large vane in
the midst, and one for the end, and a large number of smaller ones. The
company was evidently unable to afford the cost of four horses in 1534;
only one was hired, and four men attended on the pageant with “Lewers.”
One of the plays was called “Paradyse,” and was performed by the Grocers
and Raffmen. It begins much in the same manner as the Coventry play,
with God the Father relating the planting of the garden of Eden, the
creation of man and placing him there, and God’s intention to create
woman. The other characters are Lucifer, Adam, and Eve, who exhibit the
incidents related in Genesis. Of the good taste or propriety of these
entertainments any observation is needless. They formed a remarkable
feature in the life of the middle ages, and show the childishness of the
people. The dialogues in all these plays are puerile doggerel.
EMINENT CITIZENS OF THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY.
_Dr. Legge_.
Few of the citizens of Norwich could make any pretensions as to birth,
whatever they might say about their birth-place. Among the natives of
this city of obscure parentage may be mentioned Thomas Legge, LL.D., who
was educated in Trinity College, where he was fellow, as also at Jesus
College, till he was chosen by Dr. Kaye as second master of Kaye’s
College. He was Dean of the Arches, one of the Masters of Chancery,
twice Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge, and thirty-four
years Master of Kaye’s College. Justus Lipsius eulogised him as a very
excellent antiquary, and as an oracle of learning. He was a great
benefactor to this college, bequeathing £600 for the building of the east
part thereof, besides several lesser liberalities. Thomas Bacon, the
fifteenth Master of Gonville Hall, had done great damage to it, and left
it in debt; but Dr. Legge and his two successors repaired all losses,
acting not so much like the masters as the stewards of the house. Dr.
Legge was the author of two tragedies, namely, “The Destruction of
Jerusalem,” and “The Life of King Richard III.,” which last was performed
before Queen Elizabeth, with great applause, in St. John’s College Hall.
The doctor died July 12th, 1607, leaving the college his heir, and he was
buried in it, so that he left his native city only the barren honour of
his name.
_John Kaye_.
John Kaye, or as he is sometimes called, Caius, was born at Norwich in
1510, and studied in Gonville Hall, Cambridge, from which he removed to
travel abroad. He took his degree of M.D. in the University of Padua.
In the reign of Edward VI. he was appointed principal physician at court,
a place which he enjoyed under both the Queens Mary and Elizabeth. The
College of Physicians of London elected him one of their Fellows, and he
presided over that body several years. Being very rich and desirous to
promote learning, he procured a charter from Queen Elizabeth dated 1565,
to turn Gonville Hall into a College; and he endowed it with the greater
part of his estate. He lived as an ornament to his profession till July,
1573, when he died, aged 63, at Cambridge. He wrote the “Antiquities of
Cambridge,” an excellent book; and he presented it to James I. as he
passed through his college. The King said, “Give me rather _Caius de
Canibus_,” a work of his as much admired, but hard to be got. He was
master of his college for some time, but in his old age he resigned that
office to Dr. Legge, a fellow commoner in his college, and a native of
Norwich.
_Archbishop Parker_.
Archbishop Parker, a native of Norwich, flourished in this reign, and was
a great benefactor to the city. He was born August 6th, 1504, being the
son of William Parker, a wealthy citizen. He was educated at the Grammar
School here, and in 1520 he was sent to Corpus Christi College, where he
took his degrees of B.A., M.A., and D.D., before 1538. The Queen
afterwards appointed him Archbishop of Canterbury, and he was very active
in persecuting the Puritans here. He was the author of many works which
showed much learning. He died on May 17th, 1575, and was buried in
Lambeth Chapel.