Lost Norwich - Robert Kett, Kett's Heights and Kett's Hill

[@Mypastforme]

Thanks for posting John, I’m very proud to say Robert Kett is my 13 x great uncle. I work at the City Council and was unaware his image was on the door the I pass every day!

[@JohnAtkinsLostNorwich]

Thanks so much for getting in touch, I always hoped that a decendent of Robert Kett would see the video. Yes, search out his image on the door on Monday morning!

[@stuartbridger5177]

I have just discovered your fascinating series. I had family in Norfolk and growing up in the '70's , we didn't have much money. The annual holiday was staying with a relative on Borrowdale Drive. This video in particular brings back great memories. Ketts Oak was one of the familiar landmarks, then coming into Norwich after a long drive from Surrey. Past Pulls Ferry, sight of the Cow Tower and turning right up Ketts Hill, we knew we were nearly there. The story of Robert Kett is still very familiar.

[@JohnAtkinsLostNorwich]

Thank you very much. I like your description of your arrival into Norwich - well remembered!

[@borleyboo5613]

As a historian of 40+ years, I enjoyed that immensely. Poor Robert and William. I always feel so sorry for the Kett brothers. And I cannot BELIEVE that they got rid of that gorgeous church on the corner. Philistines!!!!!! Thank you once again for another interesting and thought provoking video. 😃👍

[@JohnAtkinsLostNorwich]

Thank you very much, that means a lot. I'm so glad you enjoyed it.

[@martinthirkettle599]

What a cracking video. Went on a guided tour of this area a couple of years ago as part of a walk around some of the locations featured in the book ‘Tombland’ - well worth a read for any Norwich/Wymondham resident and a great insight into the rebellion albeit fictionalised.

[@JohnAtkinsLostNorwich]

Thanks Martin. Indeed it is a wonderful book. So much so, I think I might read it again!

[@traceyculyer5811]

Thank you John, I hope that the true story of Robert Kett is still taught in schools. It seems we have come full circle, as we take note of all the land grabbing at the moment around Norfolk.

[@JohnAtkinsLostNorwich]

Thank you Tracey - a good point, well made!

[@ArsLonga1967]

I'm a bit late coming to this post John. I thoroughly enjoyed it as usual. I just wanted to add a couple of things... I believe the judge, when sentencing Kett, said that he should be hung from the battlements of Norwich Castle "... until he cometh down of his own accord" so I'm guessing he was up there awhile. The other thing I wanted to share was an old poem which relates to the land clearance and enclosures (though I think it's later than Kett's rebellion) It shows how very little has changed over the years 😊 I think it originates from Suffolk so apologies to your Norfolk subscribers 😊 "They hang the man and flog the woman For stealing the goose from off the common. But they let the greater criminal loose, Who steals the common from the goose"

[@JohnAtkinsLostNorwich]

Thanks very much Andrew for adding those details, which add colour to the story. Glad you enjoyed it, and thanks for your comment.

[@noswim]

Ahh so happy your audio is sorted mate, great content!

[@JohnAtkinsLostNorwich]

Thank you, I'm well chuffed with it!

[@ricardo-lq4bq3pp3l]

I remember the old vicarage at the bottom of the hill. The 82 bus used to swing round it before toiling up Ketts hill. Us kids always liked getting the front seats upstairs where you would have to hang on as it made the turn.

[@JohnAtkinsLostNorwich]

Thank you for adding that great story!

[@Superpartymarty]

Brilliant video really enjoyed this. I relocated from Bedfordshire originally and moved to Damgate Street in Wymondham before then moving to Ketts Hill in Norwich. Used to love the deer coming down from Ketts Heights to our garden and our kittens at the time used to sit with them. I’ve since moved on to Old Catton but still found this video really enjoyable and interesting.

[@JohnAtkinsLostNorwich]

Thank you, that's a great story about the deer and your cats. I'm glad you enjoyed it.

[@Paul-ru2ws]

Brilliant, very interesting. I remember spending lots of time exploring ketts heights as a kid in the 80's before it was made fully accessible. Great memories, thank you.

[@JohnAtkinsLostNorwich]

Thank you, it would have been very interesting to see in in the 80s.

[@theoloyla]

@@JohnAtkinsLostNorwich As a Thorpe Hamlet boy me and my mates spent a lot of time playing up there in the late 50's/early 60's.

[@JohnAtkinsLostNorwich]

@@theoloyla I bet you have some great memories from there!

[@Ionahaifa]

Thank you for the video it was very informative!

[@JohnAtkinsLostNorwich]

Thank you very much!

[@geoffpoole483]

Prior to moving to Norwich in 2012 I'd never heard of the Kett Rebellion until I came across Kett's Oak on a cycle ride. Kett's Heights is one of the city's unsung gems. Edward Vallance's "Radical History of Britain" includes a detailed account of the rebellion. There's also a designated footpath between Wymondham and Norwich named after the Kett brothers. Thanks for a concise and informative video on an event that deserves to be better-known.

[@JohnAtkinsLostNorwich]

Thank you Geoff, for all those details. I meant to mention the path but forgot!

[@peterjameson321]

Thank you for this insight John. I lived in the Kett's Hill area about 20 years ago and spent much time at Kett's Heights enjoying the magnificent view over the city from there. Your résumé of Robert Kett is most enlightening and has given me something to contemplate when I next visit the Heights.

[@JohnAtkinsLostNorwich]

Thank you Peter, very kind of you to say so. It is a classic view.

[@The_Brit_Girls]

I thoroughly enjoyed this episode about the Kett brothers and their rebellion. I'm glad they're now deservedly regarded as heroes rather than villains. It was very interesting to see how the area has changed over the years, and it's good to see the area around the old chapel at Kett's Heights is being preserved.

[@JohnAtkinsLostNorwich]

Thank you. Since making this video, Kett's Heights have been awarded £250000 to maintain and develop the area.

[@adrianrutterford762]

Informative, as ever. Thank you for sharing another interesting video.

[@JohnAtkinsLostNorwich]

Thank you Adrian 👍

[@mancroft]

Excellent as usual. Thank you.

[@JohnAtkinsLostNorwich]

Thanks again!

[@brianwaters8754]

Back in the '60s when I used to travel up Kett's Hill by bus to get to school, the land at the bottom, which is now a car sales yard, used to be the winter headquarters of a travelling fairground. It used to fascinate me that from the bus you could see the side of the large wooden gates that faced into the yard, and they were covered in the most amazing, ornate lettering, animals, scrolls etc. I assume their resident painter used them to practice on

[@JohnAtkinsLostNorwich]

Thanks for that comment...I had no idea of that!

[@davegoldsmith4020]

Nice one John, My mother in law used to live close to the heights 40 years ago, never got to go there, until last year. Walked down Gurney road into the city today, seeing the original bollard from your earliest photo and the modern roundabout made me think how important your videos are, as that modern roundabout is being changed yet again, since you made the video. Wymondham Abbey is well worth a visit. Last year I read the book Tombland by CJ Sansom set in the time of Kett , and with it fresh in my mind visited the locations mentioned in the book, like your videos it gave a brilliant sense of our historic city.

[@JohnAtkinsLostNorwich]

Thank you Dave for your very informative comment. Yes I was amused that, no sooner had I photographed the bottom of Kett's Hill, it all got fenced off! Tombland is a wonderful book, a weighty tome as they say, but well worth reading.

[@jokennedy2943]

Excellent history, John

[@JohnAtkinsLostNorwich]

Thank you Jo.

[@IDreamOfGaming]

Excellent video as always

[@JohnAtkinsLostNorwich]

Thanks again for commenting!

[@goingnowhere7845]

Do you ever cover just outside Norwich? The village I grew up in (Tasburgh) and its neighbouring villages have seen some changes over the years. I left in 1977 but luckily for me my sister moved back in 2003 (next door to our old house) so I get to see what's changed & what remains the same. Weird for me to go to Screwfix where as a child I used to go to the cattle market or that my Bro in-law is a Dr at the N&N but the N&N I was born in is now flats. Two things totally unchanged - the market and the toy shop in the arcade oh, & Jarrolds.

[@JohnAtkinsLostNorwich]

Occasionally I go out of Norwich, but because it needs repeated visits, Tasburgh might be a bit far. I hope this link will be of interest to you. norfolk.spydus.co.uk/cgi-bin/spydus.exe/ENQ/WPAC/BIBENQ?ENTRY1_NAME=BS&ENTRY1=tasburgh&NRECS=20&SORTS=SQL_REL_BIB&ENTRY_NAME=BS&ENTRY_TYPE=K&GQ=&CF=PICNOR&ISGLB=0&NRECS=20&QRY=&QRYTEXT=

[@InArcadiaSum]

Very interesting. Although I lived in a bedsit along Thorpe Road for a very short time, this is a part of Norwich which I seldom visited; very much "across the river" for me, as latterly I spent more time in the centre and in the West and North West parts of the city.

[@JohnAtkinsLostNorwich]

Thank you, I hope it made sense even if you're not familiar with the area.

[@m0xiemarlinspike]

If anyone is interested C J Sansom’s Tombland is a great novel set during the rebellion

[@JohnAtkinsLostNorwich]

Absolutely!

[@simongee8928]

As a lad, I was always puzzled why the Kett's Oak meeting place was so far from Norwich; seven miles, when Kett could have chosen somewhere much nearer.

[@JohnAtkinsLostNorwich]

yes, that would have seemed strange!

[@simongee8928]

​@@JohnAtkinsLostNorwichAnd then his band assembled on Mousehold Heath which is on the eastern side of the city which implies that they would have had to travel around the city from Wymondham to get there. Hmm.

[@JohnAtkinsLostNorwich]

​@@simongee8928yes, I think I read somewhere they went via Bowthorpe, ending up on Mousehole because of its higher position above the city.

[@CandidlySharonH]

Hey there John I’ve jumped over from the @britgirlsgostateside page… loved your quiz 👏🏼👏🏼 I noticed you mentioned the scheduled pub ghost in your video too.. You’ve done so much research and have vast fascinating knowledge.. Well done to you, smashing that S button Stay awesome and have a wonderful safe day 💎🔆

[@JohnAtkinsLostNorwich]

Thank you Sharon, that's so nice of you. Yes, the pub is the oldest one in the city, built at the time people were working on the cathedral! Glad you enjoyed the quiz and thanks for watching my video too!

[@gillianapplegate7987]

Hello my grandmother was a kett. I have a family tree that was passed down to me with some paper work and a old bible 1888 of a kett also

[@JohnAtkinsLostNorwich]

Thank you - some great additional information 👍

[@g.dalfleblanc63]

In 1870 one third of all British national tax revenues came from alcoholic beverages, many times the cost of production. Elizabeth Howes my great, great...grandmother was the landlady of the Adam & Eve pub in the 19th Century, she was arrested for smuggling alcohol in her wherry boat lol. Lord Sheffield's ghost reputedly haunts the pub, he was taken there after being wounded. The tunnel system under the pub is said to go to the cathedral and the river, and has a well dating to Saxon times. The Howes family comes from Wymondham going back hundreds of years, I've looked online but haven't yet found a relation to the Ketts, he's certainly one of my top heroes.

[@JohnAtkinsLostNorwich]

Thank you so much for sharing those details, very interesting. You might like this video about the Adam and Eve pub. kzbin.info/www/bejne/qXyTk5Khr51orqcsi=o3YP4DSHw2kwTxJR

[@g.dalfleblanc63]

@@JohnAtkinsLostNorwich Thanks for the link.

[@JohnAtkinsLostNorwich]

@@g.dalfleblanc63 you're welcome!

[@iancooper2599]

Some of the Ketts after the Rebellion changed there name to Kemp to distant them selfs from the Name Kett

[@JohnAtkinsLostNorwich]

That's interesting, I hadn't heard that! Thanks for adding this detail.

[@g.dalfleblanc63]

Bowthorpe was the first place Kett and his army came to in Norwich. The mistake was moving the camp from Bowthorpe Marshes to Mousehold. Alfred the Great built his resistance to the Viking armies from his base in the Somerset Athelney Marshes. How history could have been so different if Kett and his army had fought from Bowthorpe marshes. I think the problem was they saw themselves as the same people as the thieving rich landowners Kett himself was a landowner, while the Vikings were clearly invaders to Alfred and his army. A long term war wasn't what Kett and his allies had in mind, they were demanding al the fences that had stoen the common land to be removed. Where Alfred knew a demand for justice to vikings would be a waste of breath. I live right on the edge of the Bowthorpe marshes, they go for miles and are often covered in thick fog (especially in the mornings), there are many secret pathways, which you know are passable or not by the water levels. Ironically most of the marshes are 'fenced off' particularly around Bawburgh.

[@JohnAtkinsLostNorwich]

Thank you very much for such a detailed comment. I understand why he went to Mousehole, but you've made an interesting "what if" comment.

[@g.dalfleblanc63]

@@JohnAtkinsLostNorwich Kett's Heights is strategic against the city but not from the East, it's all flat behind, another shame. All of Mousehold is very strategic with woods and valleys, but the shared 'Christanity' between the normal people and the thieving Barons, the Cathedral is in full sight of Kett's Heights would have been another reason to move from Bowthorpe marshes and also to move into the city itself, this ended up being bad strategically as they ended up fighting the King's army in the streets of Norwich. Great videos btw, Norwich is so full of history, one of my Great, Great Grandfathers first came to Norwich as a Hussar and was stationed in the Cavalry Barracks that were situated at the bottom of....Kett's Hill lol.

[@JohnAtkinsLostNorwich]

@@g.dalfleblanc63 thanks again for a great comment. I can see why they would have gone to Mousehold, but I can't quite see the advantage of Bowthorpe Marshes....

[@g.dalfleblanc63]

@@JohnAtkinsLostNorwich The land would include what is now Bawburgh pits, which were marshland before being turned into fisheries in modern times. I'm basing the idea of Kett following on Alfred the Great's base of operations being in the Somerset Marshes, he retreated there when he was outmatched by the Vikings. Norfolk has even more marshland and islands to live on than Somerset before the modern era.

[@mariuszzaborowski]

👍

[@JohnAtkinsLostNorwich]

Thank you!

[@MrSofakinggreat]

I would say your black & white photo of the bottom of ketts hill dates from the very late '50's/early 60's. Looks like a yeates bodied coach from that era coming down the hill.

[@JohnAtkinsLostNorwich]

Thank you, that's very helpful.