Tombland

Norwich was now thoroughly occupied, with Augustine Steward back in formal charge, but men from the camp holding all important positions. ¹ The cathedral was occupied. Again, there were several days of looting; rebels calling out ‘a Cod’s head for a penny’ to frighten the richer citizenry, while houses were broken into and looted, sometimes under the pretext of search being made for Northampton. Augustine Steward’s own house was broken into; however, the men were ordered off by a rebel in authority, indicating that Kett soon re-established control over his men in the city; indeed Steward was authorized to send sometimes unsympathetic preachers to the camp – although the richer citizens of Norwich must have remained in a state of considerable fear.

On the 11 August a proclamation declared forfeit all the property of the Western rebels, who were decisively defeated at Sampford Courtenay on the 16th – savage reprisals against the population followed. Pardons and money were carried to the three camps in Essex, and two in Kent. Six leaders of the Essex camps were later executed. ² The majority of the smaller camps were going down.

THE COMING OF WARWICK ’S ARMY

Around 20 August the Earl of Warwick’s army set out from London. Again, numbers vary according to the sources, but 10,000 men is a reasonable figure. The army consisted of local levies but also professional soldiers, including Captain Drury, who had experience of the Scottish wars, and some 1,500 landsknechts. These Swiss or German mercenaries were among the most feared troops in Europe, and were the strongest and most experienced of soldiers, employing heavy horses, long pikes and arquebuses, which in close formation could deliver deadly volleys. ¹

The original plan had been for Somerset himself to command the army, but he changed his mind and placed John Dudley, Earl of Warwick, in command. Dudley was the second man on the Council, an experienced and highly successful soldier both on land and sea, a very different prospect from Northampton. It may be that Somerset changed command since leading the force against the rebels himself could finally have destroyed his reputation as a ‘friend of the poor’, but if so, it was another mistake, because Dudley’s victory greatly enhanced his own reputation. The army set out on 20 August, linked up with the remnants of Northampton’s army at Cambridge, then moved on to Norfolk and by the 23rd had reached Wymondham. On Mousehold the mood must have been a mixture of fear, anger and above all determination. Given the skill the rebels were to show against a serious professional army, good use must have been made of the month of August for intensive training. This would only stiffen the resolve of those about to fight.

But what of those unable to do so – those wounded from earlier battles, the unfit, the elderly and women? In Tombland I have imagined these groups as being sent away before Dudley arrived. This is reinforced by the fact that the rebels planned to burn the camp beforehand if they had to give battle.

How hopeful were those who remained? There had been every chance of defeating Northampton’s small, weak army, but Warwick was a very different prospect. Determination to do or die must have been mixed with doubt, especially among the better-off yeomen, who had most to lose. It is quite possible that August saw a shift in power in the camp towards the younger, more radical element, with the least to lose. Kett retained his leadership throughout but, as we shall see, there are signs that perhaps by the very end he was no longer fully trusted.

There must, inevitably, have been deserters who preferred to go home rather than face death – this too may have shifted the balance of power in the camp. It would be easy for them to get out, as the wide frontiers of Mousehold Heath were impossible to police effectively.

What would the rebels do if they won? It is interesting that, when it later became clear that they would have to give battle outside Norwich, they brought down the walls of the northern part of the city. ² This denied the walls as a position from which government forces could attack them. In Tombland I have speculated that they may have further intended, had they won the final battle, to sweep on into north Norwich, where they had support among the citizens, then perhaps afterwards to try to reinstate the camps of the South-East, possibly even march on London to face the Protector himself. This seems the most likely plan that the optimists might have envisaged.

As Warwick approached the city, the rebels shored up the walls. ³ This does not mean that they did not envisage more street fighting in Norwich – they did, and were to be extremely effective – but it presented an extra barrier for Warwick’s forces. If he broke in and fighting inside Norwich failed, the fallback was to give battle in open country, where the rebels had the advantage of being able to choose the site, which must have been well prepared.