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THE LIBRARY

THE UNIVERSITY

OF CALIFORNIA

LOS ANGELES

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" Kixr. John's Ci;p " (temp. F-dwakd III.).

HISTORY

OF THE BOROUGH OF

KING'S LYNN.

VOLUME I.

13 V

HENRY J. HILLEN

NOinMClI :
I'uiNTKii r,Y THE East ov Englaxd Xkwspapur Co., Ltd.,

AND SOLI) AT

Kinti's Lynn by Messrs. Matsei.l cV Takgktt, W. H. Smith S: Son, W. H. Tavi.ou. and
Thkw & Son : at Norwich by Messrs. Jakroi.d & Sons, and A. H. Gonsi- :

also by the Author.

T5A

TO the memory of the dead,
who made OUR BOROUGH what
it is—

To those with whom we dwell,
who strive to make it better than
it is ; and finally —

To those, who may succeed
when we are gone, with earnest
hopes, that their approving benison
may rest upon the good intentions
of the past.

ENGLISH LOCAL

*>9jS

PREFACE.

Several treatises, dealing with the social and constitutional history of
the Borough of King's Lynn, have been written, lost, and forgotten ;
two, however, survive because they were published — the one by
Benjamin Mackerell in 1738, and the other by William Richards in 1812.

The compiling of the third — an essay towards a more comprehensive,
up-to-date account of this " ancient sea-port, borough, and market
town," has yielded the writer pleasure ; and it is to be hoped that its
publication, undertaken at the earnest request of many appreciative
burgesses, may awaken interest in the minds of those living in the town
and neighbourhood.

The maker of books resembles an apothecary, as Robert Burton, the
scholarly wit, assures us, who " compounds medicine by pouring out of
old bottles into new ones." History, indeed, is not the product of an
exuberant imagination, but a careful reiteration of events recorded by
others. For obvious reasons, these pages are not overburdened with
references, yet every statement is based upon some authority apparent
or not, and hints are given to lead the inquirer towards the sources
from whence information is derived.

The writer — greatly beholden to Mr. George H. Anderson, the Borough
Accountant, who supplied the photographs from which the illustrations
are taken, and to Mr. George F. Pratt, who assisted in the compilation
of the indexes — may well exclaim with Macrobius : Oinne meiim, nihil
meiim — " this is all mine and yet none of it is mine."

Although care has been given to insure accuracy, yet errors, especially
when authorities disagree, are not impossible. May, however, the
Readers' generous response — " To forgive divine," be reciprocal of the
writer's humble apology — " To err is human."

HENRY J. HILLEN.

April, 1907,

Friars' Rest,
King's Lynn,

CONTENTS.

VOLUME I.
Part I. — To the Accession of H.M. King Edward VII.

Chapter

I. The Lin in Prehistoric Times

II. The Camp of Peace

III. The Burg in the Lin ...

IV. The Gleaming Dawn ...

V. The Legend of St. Margaret

VI. A Habitation with a Name .,

VII. Our Great Charter

VIII. The King's Taxes

IX. The Red Register

X. The Tolbooth ...

XI. Isabel the Fair...

XII. Naval and Military Annals .

XIII."' The Peasants' Rising ...

XIV. The First Lollard Martyr .

XV. The Revolt of the Burgesses

XVI. The Hansa

XVII. The Bishop and the Sword ..

XVIII. The Fugitive King

XIX. Our Lady of the Mount

XX. The Building of the Temple

XXI. Church and State

XXII. The Hand of the Spoiler

XXIII. Her Ladyship " The Queen "

XXIV. The Battle and the Breeze..
XXV. Our Heritage — The Sea

XX\''I. Nkaring the Crossw.ays

^XVII, For King or Country ?

Page

9
i6
24

30
38
47
56
69

105
121
138

153
166

178

192

206

214

234

259

277
287

314
3^7

CONTENTS.

Chapter

XXVIII.
XXIX.

XXXI.

XXXII.

XXXIII.

Reaping the Whirlwind
Welding the Broken Chain
Unstable as Water
Birth of Nonconformity
The Receipt of Custom
The Veering of the Wind

Page
362

375

393
411

427
439

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

"King John's Cup" (temp. Edward III.) ... ... Frontispiece

Crypt at the Foot of High Bridge, from an Etching by page

Henry Baines 45

View of the " Triple Arcade " from the North-West,

Bank Lane (1907) 265

The Corporate Seal, obverse and reverse ; the Seal of

the Gild of St. George, and the Admiralty Seal

(each exact size) 317

"King John's Cup" — Enamelled Panels around the Bowl 365
North Prospect of the Tuesday Market-place, "before

THE REIGN OF JaMES IInD," FROM A LiTHOGRAPH
PUBLISHED ABOUT 1827 43I

ILLUSTRATIVE DIAGRAMS.

The Arms of the Borough

A Cross-Crosslet

■*'The Tolbooth (King's Staith)

*St. Margaret's Church

'"••'Part of a Medieval House (Bank Lane)

" Roughly sketched ground plans,

Page

219

267

PART I.

TO THE ACCESSION OF H.M. KING EDWARD VII.

HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

CHAPTER I.
The Lin in Prehistoric Times.

At the head of the Wash, an important opening on the East Coast of
England, lies the " Fenland," a vast plain, embracing portions of six
different counties and covering an area of 1,300 square miles.

The ancient inhabitants of this district unquestionably belonged
to a sturdy and determined race. On the inland islands, which dotted
the treacherous surface of a broad, dreary morass, they reared their
frail mud-and-wattle huts. Having once gained a footing, no matter
how fearfully insecure, they proceeded to cut a cunning maze of
ditches, and to raise those wonderful " walls " or banks (the traces of
which exist to-day) in order to keep out the intrusive waters of the
ever-threatening sea beyond.

In " the foggy fennes, with her unwholesome ayre and more un-
wholesome soyle," to which Michael Drayton (1563-1631) thus refers
in his Polyolhion — a geographical survey of England in verse, —
terrible floods were at that remote period very usual occurrences. The
ground, in many places much lower than the sea, was for the greater
part of the year in a sodden state ; the atmosphere, moreover, was not
only saturated with vapour, but it was also charged with noxious
exhalations, arising from gigantic accumulations of putrefying animal
and vegetable matter. The Fenland, though " a boggy syrtis, neither
sea nor good dry land," was, notwithstanding, the home of the
primitive fenmen. Braving, daring — defying the elements of nature,
they hunted the badger and otter in the tangled overgrowth of the
water-courses of that dark, unhealthy mere ; they snatched a scanty
supply of burbot or mallard from "the waste enormous marsh;"
they wrung from an unwilling soil a meagre and precarious crop, on
which their lives and the lives of their children greatly depended;
and they preserved untarnished the independence bequeathed them
by a stern and savage ancestry. Though floods and inundations again
and again devoured the fruit of their labour, yet were they undis-
mayed, for sufiicient evidence remains to shew how courageously they
cooperated in pitting their puny strength against superior — ay, almost
omnipotent forces, until in the end they could exult, in that they were
more than conquerors.

Gradually and after centuries of unremitting toil a marvellous
transformation was achieved ! The stagnant eas and sluggish lins,
the wild intricate meres and many of those long, tortuous water-ways
either partially or wholly disappeared ; the luxurious undergrowth in
the heart of this fenny fastness, which rendered approach at one

2 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

time tediously slow, and at other times utterly impossible, succumbed
by imperceptible degrees. Many of the saltwater fish entrapped so
many years ago in the winding streams are slowly dying and will soon
become extinct, whilst the wild birds which once bred in such immense
quantities are yearly growing scarcer. The crane, the dotterel, and
the bald buzzard or fen eagle, as it was once termed, are either quite
unknown or extremely rare. Under sanitary conditions the virulent
epidemics which devastated this malarious district are almost unknown.
The " Great Dismal Swamp " upon our eastern seaboard no longer
exists ; it has given place to a rich agricultural area which is poetically
and yet justly styled the " Golden Plain of England." On either
hand are waving corn-fields or verdant meadows, amid which the
sheltered cot, the busy mill and many a " Sweet Auburn " nestles
peacefully.

FROM THE KNOWN TO THE UNKNOWN.

Our island home at a remote period formed part of the mainland.
A dense forest covered the surface of what we will term East Anglia,
and, stretching athwart the North Sea, connected our country with the
Continent. The remains of the " forest bed " are found along the
coast of Norfolk and Suffolk beneath and skirting the present cliffs ;
they reappear in Western Europe. The same forest covered the
whole of Ireland and extended beyond, for at a depth of 600 feet,
trunks of trees, etc., have been dredged from the Atlantic. The
climate was then far other than it is now, because many tropical
animals found a congenial habitat in this immense forest. In the
Norwich Crag and the forest bed of the Norfolk foreshore, bones of
the elephant, the woolly-haired rhinoceros, the hippopotamus, the
cave lion and the cave bear, the spotted and striped hyaena, the Irish
elk, the bison, and of many living species, including the anthropoid
ape and mafi, have been found.

How long this period existed geologists are unable to conjecture ;
it terminated, however, when the first of the glacial epochs set in.
During the so-called Ice-Age, repeated alternations of heat and cold
seem to have occurred, for in the Pleistocene strata there is a most
perplexing association of tropical, temperate and arctic animals. The
lion and the grizzly bear, the hyaena and the reindeer, the panther and
the arctic fox, the glutton and the mammoth, etc., are found side by
side. But what chiefly concerns us is the fact that man —

PALiEOLITHIC MAN

appears spread over most of the dry land, throughout the whole world.
Vestiges of the caves in which he dwelt, and the workshops, or rather
pits, in which he chipped the rudest of stone implements (for the use
of metals was unknown to him in his primitive state), have been
brought to light.

Although Palaeolithic remains are rarely met with in West Nor-
folk, yet the neighbourhood of Brandon, Mildenhall and Lakenheath
is rich in specimens attributable to the " Old Stone Folk," who lived,
as computed, some 600,000 or 700,000 years ago. At Thetford, too,
on the borders of Norfolk and Suffolk, excellent specimens have been

THE LIN IN PREHISTORIC TIMES. 3

found in the " river gravel." Few English examples can excel these
implements for their marvellous delicacy of workmanship ; they have
been widely distributed, specimens linding a place not only in the
principal museums of this country, but in many of those on the Con-
tinent. Similar remains were discovered at Shrub Hill, near Feltwell ;
and a perfect PaliEolithic flint celt* was taken from the peat during
the construction of the new railway bridge at Sutton Bridge (1895),
at a spot which at some far distant period was perhaps the bed of the
ancient river Nene.

That few vestiges of prehistoric man have been discovered in the
Lin, as part of the fenland was subsequently called, may be because
a portion of this area was for inconceivable ages in a state of sub-
mersion. The general subsidence of a greater part of Britain did
not, however, greatly affect this district, because while Scotland and
Lancashire were depressed more than 1,300 feet, our fenland sank only
about twenty feet.

At low water two beds of peat may be traced along the banks of
the Great Ouse. The outcrop is distinctly marked near the Cut
Bridge. These vegetable deposits are separated by a layer two or
three feet in thickness, brought thither by the tides. Hence the fact
is clearly established that there were two successive subsidences in
what we term the Lin. The section of the strata passed through when
Thomas Allen sunk a well opposite St. Nicholas' Chapel to obtain
water for brewing purposes (1829), shews the widespread area of these
peat-beds ; and it, moreover, proves the absurdity of boring for water
in this district. The well is generally regarded as being of
" fabulous depth " ; this, however, is not the case, as will be seen by
the following sectional measurements of strata encountered in course
of the boring : —

Vegetable soil

* . ■

7 feet

Loam used for bricks

^ ,

Peat

• •■

— 3 II

Blue Clay ...

8 ,.

Peat, with alder and hazei.

• • >

Blue clay with silt ...

■ • ■

30 „

Kimmeridge clay

...

630 „

Total

depth

687! feet,

It will be noticed that the intervening layer is thicker where the silting
from the receding water has continued longest.

Whilst dredging for oysters, two or three miles from the Bar Flat,
some Lynn fishermen brought up a perforated stone hammer. This
unique specimen, preserved in our Museum, powerfully suggests that
the submerged forest was at one time inhabited by primeval man.

When the glaciers finally disappeared there dawned what is
designated the New Stone Age. That man had advanced in
civilization is clearly established — he now reared domestic animals,

' Celt, a rutting or cle.^ving iiuplcnieiit of stone — or of li uhzc if so stated. This term, at first vaguely
applied because they were supposed to be of Celtic make is now being discarded, whilst arrow-head and
»pear-heari, &r. are u?cd instead,

4 HISTORY OF KING'S LVNN.

cultivated the soil, and practised a few primitive arts such as spinning,
weaving and the making of rude pottery. The stone implements
used were more neatly wrought, and in some instances highly polished.
At one part, at least, of the period he w^as acquainted with the use of
copper, tin and gold. Remains of shell mounds, lake dwellings,
barrows and sepulchral chambers have been found in many parts of
the world.

NEOLITHIC MAN

probably lived, we are told, some 60,000 years ago. At the com-
mencement of this era, and when man reappeared, glaciers might still
have been lingering upon the highest of pur mountain ranges, but the
end of the glacial epoch was inevitable. The intense cold slowly gave
place to a mild and genial climate, and from that time to the present
the genus homo has never been e.xtinct in Britain. The wonderful
discoveries of Messrs. Prestwich, Evans, Wyatt and Lyell at Bidden-
ham, in the bed of the Great Ouse, near Bedford, shew that " the
fabricators of antique tools, and extinct mammalia coeval with them,
were post-glacial, or in other words, posterior to the grand submer-
gence of central England beneath the waters of the glacial sea."
(Sir Charles Lyell.)

But what manner of man was he? you naturally ask. For reply
we append a description from the pen of Mr. W. G. Clarke :

We can picture him thus : Seated at the foot of a huge pine tree on the
verge of a broad expanse of water which filled out the ancient river-valley of the
Little Ouse. Behind him are the forest depths with their mdefinable mystery —
the haunt of many a wild beast. He feels none of the nervous apprehension
which a highly-civilised man of the present day would experience, since such
subtle development of the nervous system would at that date have been fatal to
the future progress of the race. Standing up, his keen ear quick to detect the
faintest sound, we can see that he is of medium height, with long and powerfully
developed arms, broad-shouldered and hipped, but with thin flanks— a near
approach to the tj-pical fen man. His dress is very simple, merely a few skins
carelessly sewn together with sinews running through holes pierced with either his
bone needle or his flint awl. Across his shoulder a bow, made of a short piece of
ash and more sinews, is slung ; whilst half-adozen arrows rest in a bark quiver,
fastened to his side with a leathern thong. The arrow shafts are made of wood,
which has been sawn to the length, shaved to the thickness and planed to the
roundness that was needful entirely with implements of flint, and are finished off
witli barbed flint points, again bound on with the ever-useful sinew. With the
fire obtained by striking a nodule of iron pyrites with a piece of flint, he is
heating some "pot-boilers" or "cooking-stones " to a white heat, and presently
his wife will carefully put them inside the coarse pot of sun-burnt clay, and thus
heat the water it contains. At present she is busily engaged in scraping the fatty
tissues from the skin of the wolf, which her lord has recently slain. Now with
stealthy footstep, and eye and ear on the alert, he is off again in search of other
game, and his wife is left alone. [Transactions of the Norfolk and Nonfich
Naturalist Society, Vol. VI., p. 24.]

When the Alexandra Dock was being excavated at Lynn, the
bones of various extinct and other animals — those of the mammoth,
the primeval ox (Bos fritnigeitius), the beaver, elk, wild boar, etc.,
besides three well-shaped arrow-heads, were brought to light. In the
bed, moreover, above which these occurred, specimens of British and
Roman pottery were discovered (i868). Fragments of pottery similar

THE UN IN PREHISTORIC TIMES. 5

in character were also found when the Eau Brink Cut Bridge was
erected (1873).

That prehistoric implements are not uncommon in the neigbour-
hood of our borough is established by the following " finds " : —

(i) Thetford and the district, including Santon Warren, Stone-
heath, Thetford Abbey Heath, Thetford Warren — arrow and spear-
heads, chisels and fabricators,* awls and borers, knives and saws,
scrapers and smoothing stones, as well as flakes, axes and cores
(Mr. W. G. Clarke.)

(2) Riffley, South Wootton, Middleton, East Walton, Barton
Bendish, Beechamwell, Shingham, Caldecott, Narborough, Westacre,
Oxborough, Tottenhill, and the Nar Valley — celts more or less perfect.

(3) Pentney and Roydon Fen — polished celts.

(4) Massingham Heath — flakes, fabricators, rough-hewn
hammers, mining tools (picks, hammer-picks, borers, diggers and hand
choppers); also the antlers of deer. (Dr. C. B. Plowright.)

(5) Hunstanton, by the shore — about fifty wave-worn imple-
ments (Rev. R. C. Nightingale) ; Rising and Heacham inland —
Neolithic scrapers, flakes, etc. (Mr. H. Lowerison) ; Holme Scarfe —
a small bronze axe-head, sticking in the trunk of a tree (1829). This
interesting relic, formerly in Samuel Woodward's collection, un-
questionably belongs to the Forest Bed. It is now deposited in the
Norwich Museum, and is described as " partly embedded in the
trunk of a tree," although the authorities never possessed the wood
from which it was taken.

(6) Swaffham— stone and bronze celts, ancient pottery and
several querns ; f Sporle — flint hammer-heads, partly bored on each
side and bronze axe-heads ; also found at Riffley, Hillington, Cong-
ham, Fordham, Oxborough and Boston.

The following additional places where urns and implements have
been found are marked on the map, attached to Mr. E. M. Beloe's
article, entitled The P adders' Way and its Attendant Roads
(1895) • — Snettisham, Castle Rising (bronze implements), Pens-
thorpe, Lexham, Wereham, Merton, Weeting, Wretham, Ixworth and
Lakenheath (stone and bronze implements). Unbaked food vessels
are unearthed at Tottenhill.

Other specimens, no less interesting, may no doubt be seen in
many private cabinets.

The geological importance of the following recent disrnveries in
North-East Norfolk is sufficient apology for prolonging this section.
These specimens, if their genuineness be established, will certainly
constitute

THE EARLIEST TRACES OF MAN

in Western Europe.

Mr. W. J. Lewis Abbott picked up worked flints in the Cromer
forest-bed at Runton (1807). This circumstance is of vast conse-
quence, because in this country the remains of man were never found

• Fabricator, a narrow stone chisel or flaking tool, employed with a stone hammer to do the finer
chipping.

t Quern, a primitive stone haud-mill for grimlins com.

6 /i/STORy OF KING'S LYNN.

at so low a horizon before ; it thus places the advent of man in
Western Europe at a much earlier date. The opinion had indeed
been previously hazarded that if vestiges occurred at this horizon at
all they would be exactly where Mr. Abbott has discovered them.
The Forest-bed series (the top of the Pliocene, beneath the Glacial
Beds) are below a valley gravel, which contains flint implements of
well-known palaeolithic forms. He found them sticking in the iron-
pan, portions of which were attached to them. Whilst some experts
regard these interesting relics as the unqualified work of primeval
man, Sir John Evans, with the caution for which he is distinguished,
admits that they may probably be such.

Prior to the above-related incident, Mr. Randall Johnson found
two worked flints, about twenty miles east of Runton, on the Palling
beach, which were similarly stained with the characteristic iron-pan
of the Forest-bed. On the same coast, at Hemsby, some ten miles
from Palling, Mr. Woolstan ploughed up the head of a stone axe
(1897). This specimen Sir John Evans unhesitatingly pronounced to
date from B.C. 1000.

The greater part of the Fenland, as geologists assure us, is the
outcome of

A NATURAL PROCESS

which they call " silting." Ever since the Post-Glacial epoch began,
the tides have been ebbing and flowing with clock- like regularity ;
they have daily and persistently, century after century, brought the
waste produced by the wear and tear of erosion from the adjacent
coasts of Lincolnshire and Yorkshire, and have quietly dropped them
into the Wash, — the jEstuarium Metaris, as Ptolemy calls it, which,
of all the numerous /Estuaria, or bay-like openings around our coast,
was then of the utmost importance. From time immemorial silting
has been going on, and the process is unvaryingly the same. Sir
William Dugdale (1605-1686) noticed it, and still, as we know, it is
going on, and it will continue thus to do, until the Wash, which is
already but partly covered with water, is permanently and completely
silted up. Man may assist Nature, and by means of embankments
facilitate these growing accretions, but he cannot prevent them. Here,
then, is a vast triangular area, covering 600 square miles — nearly one-
half of the entire Fenland — whose apex is at Littleport, and whose
sides stretch away eastward toward the artificial banks which guard
our shores. This tract of land was not formed, as is commonly the
case, by materials borne down by the rivers on their way to the sea,
but it is entirely the result of tremendous accumulations brought
hither by the tides of past ages, the newest inland portion of which
must have been deposited 7,000 years since.

It is well known how Neolithic man constructed rude villages
upon piles driven into the beds of certain lakes. The remains of
these so-called " Lake-Dwellings," which were connected with the
shore by gangways, fixed or removable, are well known in Ireland, as
well as in different parts of Switzerland. That none have as yet
been discovered in this part of the Fenland is an insufficient reason

THE LIN IN PREHISTORIC TIMES. T

to conclude that prehistoric man or his near descendants may not at
some remote era or other have constructed similar places of abode in
this neighbourhood, which was, after the glacial period, if not wholly
covered with water, rarely better than a dangerous, impassable swamp.
The " submarine forest " between Lincolnshire and Norfolk might
at some era of the world's history have been the habitation of early,
uncivilised man, although now covered by the sea. The draining of
the West Mere in the parish of Wretham, a few miles from Thetford
and twenty-four from Lynn, revealed " a lake-dwelling " (1851),

At Weeting, between Thetford and Lynn, there may be seen what
is described as " probably the finest remains of neolithic quarrying
extant." As a step in a right direction, it may be well to give a
passing reference to the so-called

" grimes' graves "

before directing attention to similar ancient vestiges nearer Lynn.
The " graves," of which there are about one hundred, are circular in
form, and are situated in a wild and desolate locality. They were
carefully examined by the Rev. Canon Greenwell, of Durham, the
experienced explorer of the tumuli of the Yorkshire Wolds (1870).
The main objects of this arduous undertaking was to test the foregone
conclusion of archaeologists ihat these earthworks were the remains of
an ancient British village, the dwellings of which were partly sunk in
the ground. During the process of excavation, which for some time
was most disheartening, the teeth of various animals, including those
of the dog, pig, goat and a small ox, as well as club-like instruments
fashioned from the antlers of the deer, several flint hammers, a bone
pin ingeniously sharpened, and a piece of chalk having a hole through
it, bored from both sides, were found.

At length, at a depth of 40 feet, he rame upon a tunnel in the chalk, which
he followed up, and there a sight met his gaze that few men have been privileged
to see ; for before him lay the workmen's tools just as they had been left after
the day's labour — who shall say how many centuries ago ? Even the explorer at
Pompeii and Herculaneum, as he disinters the relics of more than 1,800 years
ago, is looking upon a modern production when compared with those found at
Grimes' Graves. Here were the picks of deers' antlers, chalk lamp, and a few
rough flint flakes and weapons laid down carelessly as the shades of evening fell,
with the expectation of again being used en the subsequent day. Perhaps a
neighbouring tribe made a raid that ni^ht, and the flint-workers were numbered
with their forefathers ; or, as is more probable, a landslip took place, and the
way to their tools was obstructed with tons of chalk. All the implements were
covered with a limestone inaustation tliat told of the centuries they had lain
hidden from the light of day. (Mr. W. G. Clarke.)

Referring to two of the picks brought from the tunnel. Canon
Greenwell says they had " upon them an incrustation of chalk, the
surface of which bore the impression of the workmen's fingers, the
print of the skin being most ap{)arent." After a patient and minute
investigation, the reverend gentleman was perfectly convinced that
these marvellous remains at Weeting were a series of neolithic flint
quarries, worked by prehistoric man, unacquainted with the use of
metals.

8 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

From surface flints the rude implements of Palaeolithic man were
almost exclusively made, but after many, many centuries newly-
quarried flints were found to be far easier of manipulation. Hence
in the later Stone Age surface flints were discarded and deep shafts
were sunk. How inconceivably laborious was the making of these
excavations, with no spade or picks, except the antlers of the deer or
sharp-pointed stones bound with ligatures to rough hafts, something
like the chisels and punches used by blacksmiths at the present time,
which are held by twigs of twisted hazel or willow. In these holes,
sometimes thirty or forty feet deep, were cut successive stages on the
alternate sides, and up these awkward steps large blocks of stone were
handed up to the surface. Here the flints were trimmed and worked
into the nicely-balanced artistic weapons, which constituted the most
useful belongings of our cave-dwelling ancestors.

FLINT-KNAPPING AT BRANDON

is the most ancient of surviving crafts. From the far remote
Neolithic Ago. down to the present hour has the working of flints been
carried on in this neighbourhood. It therefore constitutes the oldest
native industry in Great Britain. True, arrow-heads are no longer in
demand, but the industrious flint-knappers of Lingheath supply not
only the " strike-a-lights " which many travellers prefer to matches,
but immense quantities of gun-flints, which are mostly exported to
Africa, where " Brown Bess "—the cumbersome, uncertain flint-lock
musket, has been in evidence since the invention of the percussion
cap induced our manufacturers to throw the out-of-date weapon upon
the markets of the Dark Continent,

When we remember that with the best of tools it takes the modern
flint-knapper two or three years' continuous practice to acquire a
moderate degree of success in his peculiar craft, we can the more
thoroughly appreciate the wonderful skill and astonishing patience
which enabled the forgotten inhabitants of East Anglia to produce
by the mere striking of one stone against another such marvellous
specimens of artistic beauty. If any of our readers are sceptical
and reticent of praise, we ask them to try the experiment themselves,
and that, too, under the best conditions. Let them produce a well-
balanced arrow-head, and for this purpose we will leniently concede
the use of any hammers they may choose.

The discovery of artificially-chipped flints, in the road-metal
spread upon some of the highways in this part of Norfolk, led to the
exploring of the source of supply — " a gravel pit," on

THE MASSINGHAM HEATH,

by Messrs. C. B. Plowright, M.D., and H. C. Brown, Ph.D.
The result of their labour was communicated to the Norfolk and Nor-
wich Naturalist Society (1891). Upon this extensive heath some
half-dozen interesting depressions were observed, which bore a strong
resemblance to those already mentioned at Weeting. All were
roughly circular, and in general appearance alike ; they varied in
depth from eight to ten feet, and were from forty to ninety feet in

THE CAMP OF PEACE. 9

diameter, and in no case was there a cart-track leading thereto. Flint
flakes, the refuse struck off in the making of rude digging and boring
tools, were found in each. These hollow depressions were also re-
garded as " shafts sunk by Neolithic man for the purpose of procuring
flint for the fabrication of the various articles manufactured from
it by him."

Many years since the Rev. Christopher Grenside, then Rector of
Great Massingham, contended that upon this heath were traces of "a
British village." These Mr. Plowright and his companion tried in
vain to discover.

One afternoon, however (says Mr. Plowright in his report), we were led by a
happy accident to the object of our search. It was during the winter after we had
measured the above-described depressions, standing on tlae higher ground on the
north side of the Grimston road, that we saw by the slanting rays of the setting
sun a number of hollows on the south side of the road. The sun had sunk just
low enough to cause the edge of each hollow to cast a shadow into the interior.
Plainly displayed before us on the opposite hill were a number of round shadows,
which marked the objects of our search. These consisted of a cluster of about a
dozen small round depressions from 15 to 20 feet across, not more than a foot or
two deep, occupying the summit of a small eminence within 100 yards of the
main road from Grimston to Massingham ; this eminence is on the south side of
the road, and is the first high ground approaching the road beyond Little
Massingham Belt on the road from Lynn to Great Massingham. . . . It is
quite possible that the inhabitants of this village were the same men who
chipped the flints they had previously mined from the before-mentioned shafts.
At present (1891) the traces of the village are plain enough ; but there may come
a time when the plough of the agriculturist in one short day will obliterate this
interesting relic of the past. [Transactions of Novfolk and Norwich Naturalist
Society, Vol. V., p. 264.]

Sincerely do we reiterate the writer's concluding words : " May
this day be long distant !"

CHAPTER 11.

The Camp of Peace.

On the eastern side of the Lin — " a flat malarious world of reed and
rush " — were two promontories (Gaywood and Runcton), which
jutted out into a marshy expanse, and which were at one time higher
than they are at present. A deposit of silt gradually encroaching
between these natural jetties would in time cover the peaty surface of
the fenland so that the part most distant from the sea would cease to
he flooded, unless perhaps when there chanced to be an exceptionally
high tide. Hence nothing is more natural than to suppose the
inhabitants reared from time to time a series of banks between these
promontories in order to protect the land that the tidal deposits had
formed. The survival of certain inland place-names proves that the
position of the coast-line was once further west than is now the case.
Holland, a part of Lincolnshire adjacent to our Marshland, refers to
a low-lying country, if we may trust the Teutonic origin of the name ;

10 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

Shrew's Ness Point appears several miles away from the waters of the
Wash ; and ancient salt-pans, which were always near the sea-shore,
have been found much further inland than Sailers' Lode.

That this part of our island swarmed with inhabitants at a very remote
period there can be but small doubt. The numerous tumuli or barrows still
existing, or destroyed within memory — the sites of ancient dwellings incom-
patible with aught but savage existence — of which Grimes' Graves near Weeting,
the immense range of pits extending nearly five miles along the north-east coast
of Weybourn, Beeston, Aylmerton and other places, and the hollows still to be
found on Marsham Heath, are important examples. Numerous earthworks, too,
of a boldness and extent to render them objects of admiration to this day, and
of some of which the Roman did not disdain to avail himself and to incorporate
with his own stupendous works, attest the power and resources of the tribes
located in this district. [Norfolk Archceology .]

EARLY INHABITANTS.

Of the " Newer Stone Folk," the Iberians — Silurians, or
Euskarians, as they are also called — inhabited this part of the globe.
They were a non-Aryan race, short and thick in stature, with long
skulls, dark hair, and swarthy complexions. That they greatly
resembled the Basques there can be no doubt ; and the remark made by
Caesar that Silures had their hair " coloured and curled like the old
people of Spain " has led to the conclusion that they were of the self-
same race. These aborigines were incapable of attaining any high
intellectual development, nevertheless they were in a measure civilised.
Their mode of life is unknown, but the long barrows found in various
parts of the country are ascribed to them, and clearly establish the fact
that their weapons were of stone, and that they were ignorant of
metals.

After an indefinite period the Iberians were invaded — perhaps re-
peatedly invaded — by hordes of Aryans, whom we denominate Celts,
but whom the Romans termed Cimmerii and Cimbri. The time of
their coming is unascertainable, and hence beyond the very limited
bounds of our historical knowledge. The Celtic settlers were the so-
called " Advanced Stone Folk." Their skulls were round, and their
hair fair ; they burned their dead, and over the rude urns in which they
placed the ashes of their cremated friends they raised round barrows.*
From an examination of many of these barrows, or tumuli, it has been
found that the Celts used not only weapons in stone but others which
were wrought in bronze. Neatly carved ornaments in amber, jet and
fossil have also been discovered. Moreover, they employed a wheel
in fashioning their earthen vessels ; they used gold in uniting their
trinkets ; and scattered slag proves indisputably that they were con-
versant with the art of smelting iron.

The clever prehistoric colonisers, from whom the earlier dwellers
in this country learnt so much, came apparently in separate relays, for
there seems to have been no homogeneity amongst them. The three
tribes which settled in the eastern part of the country are familiar to

• Barrow (A.S. bcoj'g'— from beorgan, to protect or shelter, also to fortify) : An artificial mound of
stones or earth piled up over the remains of the dead. Burials in barrows were practised as late as the 8th
century. One of the finest barrows in the world is Silbury Hill, near Marlborough, Wiltshire. It is 170
feet in perpendicular height, 316 feet along the slope, and it covers about five acres of ground.

THE CAMP OF PEACE. 11

us under their Latinised names : the Coritani, who occupied Lincoln-
shire and the eastern midlands ; the Trinobantes, the district north of
the Thames ; and the Iceni — those with whom we are most interested —
were in possession of what was subsequently known as East Anglia,
which included Norfolk, Suffolk, Huntingdonshire and Cambridge-
shire. Of this territory Norfolk and Suffolk were fairly habitable,
whilst the other portions of the district to a great extent were extremely
marshy and malarious. As few Roman stations have been found in
Suffolk, it is highly probable that the county of Norfolk was the centre
of their prosperity and the arena where their power was displayed.

A few miles from Lynn, in the Marshland division of the " Free-
bridge Hundred," we meet with what is termed

" THE ROMAN BANK."

Eleven million tons of material, as is computed, were absorbed
in the construction of this remarkable rampart. Its circuit, which
originally measured 150 miles, embraced seven important townships,
namely : Emneth, Walsoken, Walton, VValpole, Terrington, Tilney
and Clenchwarton. As members of the colony, each town had a right
to share in the luxuriant pasturage which abounded on the Smeeth,*
to which " droves " from the different townships converged, and all
in return were expected, or it may be by certain laws compelled, to co-
operate in keeping the sea-wall, by which those " within the Marsh-
land ring " were protected, in efficient repair. This was the ancient
Freebridge, which appears in the Domesday Book as Frede bruge and
Fredre burge, the derivation of which must now claim attention.

(i) Bridge: — The Anglo-Saxon burJi, burg (a camp, a settlement
a town and subsequently a borough), is derived from a base with the
same gradation as burg-on, the past tense plural of beorg-an, to pro-
tect ; burg lapses in the oblique cases into beorg, an earth-work. How
reasonably then might (Free-) burg have been applied to a colony of
settlers surrounded by the " Roman bank."

Moreover, burh in the plural becomes by mutation byrig or byrigg,
and the double g is written eg in Anglo-Saxon, gg (or gge) in middle
English (iioo — 1500), and dge in modern English, in nearly all cases,
the sound being changed from that of the " hard " ^ to that of ;.
Hence, in tracing the word " bridge " to burli (a camp, or earth-
work), we have the Anglo-Saxon brycg (byricg), the middle English
briggc (byrigg), and the modern English bridge (byridge),
the g being pronounced like a ;. " The breakdown of the g into the
sound of ; is really due to the frequent use of the oblique cases of the
substantives in which a final e followed the eg, as in the Anglo-Saxon
brycg-e, the genitive, dative and accusative of brycg ; hence the middle
English took the form of brigg-e instead of brigg or brig.'' It will
be remembered that in the north of England brig is still used, and it
contrasts strikingly with "the southern palatalised form bridge."
[Skeat's Principles of English Etymology, 1887.]

* Smecth ; Anglo-Saxon smccffc, plane, smooth. "Tylney Smeeth. So called of a smooth plaine or
common thereunto adioyning some two miles in extensure." (Wecver's Antient Funerall Monuments, 1767.)
Smithfield in London is a familiar example of this form of designation. Fridaybridge, Elm : frede bruge
Freebridge; or jreJa byrigg (15th century), frede dug {hyrlgp)"\.ht day of peace" ;hence a memorial earthwork

12 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

(2) Free : — This syllable is derived from the Anglo-Saxon
adjective freo, frio; Gothic frei-s (stem fri-ja), which originally meant
" at liberty," " acting at pleasure," " free," " peaceful " ; and it is
allied to the Sanskrit fn-ya, beloved, agreeable, from Aryan fri, to
love. Frede, the genitive case of freo, means " of peace."* (Skeat
and Taylor.)

(3) Freebridge therefore signifies a settlement protected by an
earth-work — a camp of peace ; and the lands not subject to the juris-
diction of a lord claiming sac or soc were termed *' free." West
Briggs, a depopulated village contiguous with the parishes of Totten-
hill and Wormegay, was entered in the Conqueror's survey as Wes-
bruge. Carefully notice the derivation of the syllable -bridge (Free-
bridge), as reference must be made to the root {beorg) in another place.

Now the all-wise Odin, we are told, enacted a law that the bodies
of the dead should be burned, with whatever goods they possessed ;
he moreover ordained that over the ashes, heaps of earth should be
raised for an everlasting memorial, and that high staves inscribed with
Runic characters should mark the graves of such as had during their
lives performed exceptional deeds of valour. The staves, it is true,
have disappeared, but the mounds of earth heaped up so many cen-
turies ago remain. Many mounds are still to be seen in the " Free-
bridge," and what strikes the observer as somewhat strange is the fact
that by far the greater number are near the " Roman Bank." They
actually follow its winding course. Without being too venturesome,
we think it might be safely affirmed that a people who were capable
of constructing a system of roads, who threw up fortifications Caesar
was constrained to admire, who raised high mounds over the funereal
piles of their heroes, would, being prompted by the first law of nature,
strive to protect themselves against the depredations of an insidious
enemy like the sea. Some writers contend that the so-called
" Ancient Briton " acquired his knowledge of embanking from the
Belgic Gauls, who in turn derived this necessary art from the Greeks
who visited the west of Europe. Be this as it may, the British Celts
were unquestionably a mixed race long before the Roman invasion,
" There cannot be the least doubt that an active communication was
maintained throughout the Celtic nation on different sides of the
channel." — [Kemble's Saxons in England, 1876.]

For three reasons the bank encircling the " Camp of Peace " may
be regarded as of pre-Roman origin : — First, because our early pro-
genitors were skilled in the construction of earth-works; secondly,
because in some places older embankments intersect what are un-
doubtedly Roman ; and thirdly, because the Celtic Britons undoubtedly
raised mounds to mark where the ashes of their dead were deposited.
Besides, these mounds abound in Marshland, and they are, with one
solitary exception, at no great distance from the " Bank." The
remains of enormous earthworks, not only in West Norfolk, but in
various parts of the kingdom, seem to point to the existence of a great
r.ational system of embankment at one time or other.

^' A special seat near the altar for those claiming sanctuary was called the /reed-stool or " seat of
peace."

THE CAMP OF PEACE. 13

Whether the Romans landed on the shores of Norfolk, or on the
south-east coast of England, must be left for future consideration, but
" the fame of the Latin arms seems early to have penetrated into the
land of the Iceni, whose chieftain allied himself with the new comers."
(Mason.) Let us for a while accept the theory that Caesar and his
legions landed on the coast of Kent. Once having gained a footing
in Britain, the invaders would turn their attention almost at once to
the Freebridge part of the great Fenland, because, as an ancient
stronghold or camp of refuge, it would be conspicuous in offering
resistance to their advance, and besides, from an early date this district
was renowned for its amazing fertility.

In all likelihood the conquerors either improved or finished the
" walls " or sea-banks already in existence, so that any land occasion-
ally subject to inundation might be adequately protected. That
they pursued this course is evident, because Tacitus, the celebrated
Roman historian (a.d. 60-120), informs us in his Vita Agricolce — the
life of his father-in-law Agricola, that the Romans employed the sub-
jugated Britons '^in sylvis paludibus emuniendis,'' that is, in clearing
the woods and draining the marshes.

THE SUBJUGATION OF THE ICENI,

the tribe at this period inhabiting the Lin and other parts of Norfolk,
was brought about in the reign of the Emperor Claudius by his
general Aulus Plautius (a.d. 43) ; hence the Fenland was one of the
first acquisitions in Britain gained by the Roman invaders. The
friendship, however, between the Romans and the Icenian inhabitants
was unfortunately of short duration. This was owing not so much
to changes in the policy pursued by the new comers, as to the over-
bearing insolence and unwarranted exactions of those deputed to carry
it out. Such cruel oppression, which was peculiarly unjust and wholly
unpardonable, at last goaded the tribe into open rebellion. This
outburst of indignation was the prelude of a general rising, which for
a time seriously endangered the Roman supremacy. Catus Decianus,
the brutal persecutor of Boadicea, " the British warrior queen," and
her heroic daughters, had been appointed procurator over the province
peopled by our courageous forbears. He is regarded as the first pro-
curator, and his rule embraced Norfolk, Suffolk, the greater part of
Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshire, and perhaps extended into
Lincolnshire.

Under the supervision of Catus Decianus the embanking of the
Fenland marshes was more thoroughly accomplished. To facilitate
the accomplishment of this tremendous undertaking, he introduced a
colony of Belgae, a people singularly fitted, from practical knowledge
of the nature of their own country, for such work. The improvements
thus begun are supposed to have been finished by Severus, one hundred
and fifty years afterwards.

Of the origin and early history of the

SETTLEMENT IN THE LIN

to the east of the " Camp of Peace " (Freebridge) very little is known.
Tradition is silent, and the pages of history are obscured by the

U HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

shadow of barely-mentioned centuries. In this respect the old burg
upon the Lin, insignificant though it might be, stands by no means
alone. Cities of incomparable importance, such as Paris, Rome and
our own stupendous metropolis, have submitted to a like fate.
Referring to London, the late Sir Walter Besant observes : —

When a little later we are able to read contemporary history, we find not a
single custom or law due to the survival of British customs. We iind the courses
of the old streets entirely changed, the very memory of the old streets swept
away, not a single site left of any ancient building. Everything is clean gone ;
not a voice, not a legend, not a story, not a superstition remains of that stately
Augusta. It is entirely vanished, leaving nothing behind but — a wall ! You
may see (he goes on) at the Gild Hall nearly everything that remains of Roman
London. But there is absolutely nothing to illustrate Saxon Augusta. The
city, which grew up over deserted Augusta and flourished for four hundred years,
has entirely disappeared. Nothing is left of it at all !

And what in sooth remains of old, historic Lynn — of British,
Roman, Saxon, Danish Lynn ? The spade of the unthinking agricul-
turist has levelled its earth-works, and the impartial hands of remorse-
less Time have crushed its strong-built walls and scattered the frag-
ments to the winds. Long centuries of its history are unrecorded, and
its origin is preserved in a name, over whose derivation philologists
disagree.

Tradition would have us believe that Rising was a place of
supreme importance before Lynn sprang into existence. According
to the old doggerel —

Rising was a sea-port town,

When Lynn was but a marsh ;
Now Lynn it is a sea-port town
And Rising fares the worse.

This statement merits as much credence as the rhyme relating to
Downham —

Rising was, Lynn is, and Downham shall be
The greatest sea-port of the three.

For our " ancient borough " we claim no great antiquity. Not-
withstanding, a Roman station was probably reared here (as at Rising,
Oxborough, Wisbech, etc.), either near or upon the site of a British
settlement. In the time of Ptolemy, some forty years after Agricola's
conquest, there were as many as fifty-six cities which could scarcely
be looked upon as wholly Roman in their construction; and Caesar
states that there were numerous buildings in Britain not unlike those
in Gaul.

LYNN — A PLACE-NAME.

In ancient documents the student meets with Lenn and Lenne ;
in the deeds of the priory at Lewes, in Sussex, founded by William de
Warren, the spelling is Lunea; whilst in the Domesday Survey {1080-6)
the word appears as Lena and Lun. When history is silent, it may be
advantageous to glean information even from a name. At the outset,
however, let it be clearly understood that this word, in its varying
guises, always refers to a distinct part of the Fenland ; that our town
does not figure in the Domesday book ; and, finally, that North, West,
and South Lenne are not mentioned until centuries afterwards.

THE CAMP OF PEACE. 15

(i) Camden suggests that Lenne is derived from the British
noun Lhyn, a word denoting a pool, or " waters broad-spreading."
He points out that the river Nar, which flows close to our town, was
at one time called the " Linn river," and he suggests that the Romans,
who, perhaps, settled along its banks, might (from some resemblance,
though not now apparent), have named it after a stream in Italy, men-
tioned by Virgil in his Atneid (vii. 517) — Sulfur ea Nar, albus
aqua. As the adjacent town was called " Linn," it is right to
inquire whether the town was named from the river, or the river from
the town. The Nar, however, is not a canal, but a natural water-
course ; hence the probability is in favour of the settlement deriving
its name from the stream which flowed into a marshy liti. " The
Anglo-Saxons," writes Mr. Henry Bradley, M.A., sometime President
of the Philological Society, " carefully preserved the ancient British
names of rivers and streams. In this respect their practice agreed
with that of the Romans, and they still further resembled them in the
frequent habit of calling inhabited places from the rivers on which
they stood."

(2) Spelman contends that Lcn (Lenne) is not a corruption of
Lyn (Lhyn), but that it is the Anglo-Saxon word for " farm."

Subsequent writers, whose views we purpose giving, have con-
tented themselves with adopting one or other of these theories.

Leland in his Itinerary, Seldon in his notes on Drayton's
Polyolhion, and Dr. Isaac Taylor in Names and Places, adhere to the
etymology proposed by Camden. So also does Mr. John J. Coulton,
who looks upon Lyn as another form of Len, and who, in support
thereof, says " Z<?;z-wade in Norfolk is the water-wade or ford,
equivalent to Z^-w-ford in Norfolk and VJ ater-iox^ in Ireland.
Z^^z-dale in Yorkshire," he adds, "is a low-lying street next the
Ouse ; Len-ion (Notts.) and Zm-ham (Kent) are water-town and water-
home ; and Len-nox in Scotland is a double water name — len and ox,
usk or ouse."

In Hereward the Wake, Charles Kingsley speaks of " the nixies
in the dark linns'' of the English Fenland ; and the late William
Taylor reminds his readers that deep pools or linns have given names
not merely to King's Lyiin, but also to Lin-coXn, Tinh-lin. Glas-Zm, Lin-
lithgow, Lin-ton, Kil-Zm and Ros-Zm. There is besides in Scotland
Loch Linnhe, and in Wales Lhyn Gavathan, which means, according
to Giraldus Cambrensis, the great lake. In Switzerland may be
found a Lyn, in Sweden a Lina river and Lund a town, and in Den-
mark Lufzden, etc.

The Rev. George Munford, who wrote an able book on Local
Names in Norfolk (1870), believed Spelman to be right; he contends
that Lenne Episcopi, as the town was termed long after the compilation
of the Survey, meant the Bishop's Farm or Fee, but upon the ex-
change between Henry VIII. and Nykke, Bishop of Norwich, it came
to be called King's Lynn, or Farm, and so it continues. In Anglo-
Saxon l(zn, len, he pointed out, was a lease ; hence /ff;/-land means
leasehold land, implying probably that some portion, if not the whole,
of our borough was once held on lease from the king or the lord of the

16 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

hundred. In the Anglo-Saxon liJi-an, to lend, the -n is a suffix and
the // is dropped; li-n, pronounced " leen." [Skeat.]

Mr. Walter Rye was at one time in favour of Sir Henry
Spelman's derivation; he now, however, considers " Lynn" to be a
transplanted rather than an aboriginal place-name, because in old
documents it was generally spelt Lin, and he finds places in Denmark
with the same name. In his " History of Norfolk " (1893) there
occurs the following passage : —

The people of whose existence we have the first tangible and undoubted
proof in our country are to my mind the Danes, whose first, and I think,
hitherto unsuspected invasion, I hope to shew was before that of the Romans,
and not after those of the Romans and Saxons.

In demonstrating this proposition, he points out how six of the
hundreds in this county are identical in name with Danish villages, that
five more are obviously Danish, and that of 256 places principally in
the north-east of Norfolk, seventy-eight are wholly, and fifty-three
in part, identical with places now in Denmark, and 125 are by their
prefixes or affixes Danish. Narborough is represented by Knarreborg,
Marshland by Marslund, Castle Rising and Wood Rising by Risinge,
and Lynn by Luen (a farm).

CHAPTER III.

The B«fgf in the Lin.

At a comparatively recent date the land upon which our town stands
was covered with water, and the sea surged up the depression between
the higher grounds at Gaywood and Runcton. As the new accumula-
tions of silt peeped from beneath the surface of the water, our indus-
trious predecessors raised long embankments from one headland to the
other — every succeeding earth-work being near the ever-retreating
seaboard.

The dwellers within " the Marshland ring." a few miles west of
the growing elevation in the Lin, enjoyed the privilege of grazing their
herds on an extensive piece of land set aside for that purpose ; for this
mutual concession all were expected to assist the commonweal by help-
ing to keep the encircling bank in repair, so that not only they them-
selves, but their neighbours in the adjacent places, and the wealth of
the community as a whole, might be protected against the overpowering
inroads of the sea. The importance of this bank, or " wall," as
these earth ramparts were generally called, may be better estimated
when it is pointed out how the syllable enters into the composition of
three at least of the names applied to the seven townships, namely,
Wal-soken, Wal-ton, and W«^pole. This Avord appears in the old
Mercian dialect (A. Sax. zveall), and is merely the Latin uall-um, a
rampart, borrowed at an early period when the Latin u was still w.
" It must be remembered," writes Professor Skeat, " that many Latin
words were already familiar to most of the Teutonic tribes soon after

THE BURG IN THE LIN. 17

the Christian era; so that the English invaders not only learnt some
Latin words from the Britons, but had brought others with them.
Such words also clearly belong to the Latin of the First Period, but
it is not easy to say precisely what they were." This remark applies
to two other words — street and fort, to which future reference must
be made.

The prevailing principle in the Fenland " Camp of Peace,"
against whose encircling " wall " the threatening waters beat in vain,
was unquestionably, " Each for all, and all for each." The pros-
perity of the colony was due to the cooperative energy of every
inhabitant. The settlement in the Lin, though a much smaller one,
was, we are inclined to think, maintained by the exercise of the same
principle. Winding its way through the broad alluvial delta there
was a tempting stream of fresh water, which could perhaps be
diverted in order to form a moat or defence on more sides than one.
Two nearly parallel banks were probably raised, about 300 yards
apart; the southern along the right bank of the Mill river, and the
northern along the left bank of the Purfleet. Although these streams
have both disappeared, yet their names happily survive. Each ran
in a seaward direction, and helped to enclose wliat may be likened
to a somewhat irregular parallelogram — the four sides of which may
be briefly considered. In this speculation we must be guided by the
general contour of the district, and the meaning of the ancient place-
names.

The east, and possibly the oldest bank, —

(l) THE GANNOCK

can easily be traced along " the Walks " and past the Red Mount ; it
stretches between what we term the Mill fleet, and a point up to which
the Purfleet flowed until recently. The Gannock — a name by which
it was designated many centuries ago, is perpetuated in our present
Guanock terrace, which is a strangely unaccountable disguise. Before
proceeding further it is imperative that attention be directed to this
old name. The process may be tedious and perplexing, but this is
the only course to pursue when documentary evidence fails.

In the early part of the fourteenth century, Peter Langtoft, an
Austin friar, composed in French verse a chronicle of the Danish
invasion. A translation was published by Thomas Hearne, an
eminent antiquary (1725). When describing the war in the time of
King Stephen, the author in Hearne's Robert of Brunne, otherwise
Langtoft's Chronicle, says : —

Stephen stoutly deals in slides and kennes,

That agayne him hold kastells, over them ruthely reigns,

In Hertford full stoutly his gannock hath up set

"With Robert Fitz Henry, Stephen so with him met.

Commenting on this passage, the late Mr. Henry Harrod, F.S.A.,
in his Report on the Deeds and Records of King's Lynn, observes : —
" Here gannock is evidently the king's standard, and it may be that
the ' Gannock Hill ' (at Lynn) was the chief point of the early town
defences, where the standard was up set."

18 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

Mr. Henry Bradley, M.A., of philological renown, shews in the
Modern Language Quarterly (July, 1898) that gamiock is a remark-
able error for Talbot, a man's name. He first points out that the
Latin original reads thus : —

Quidam namque proditorum, nomine
Talbot tenuit contra regem castellum
Herefordise in Wales.

in other words — " For a certain man of the traitors, Talbot by name,
held the castle of Hereford in Wales against the King. " Mistaking
the meaning, Langtoft gives this absurd rendering : —

" a Hertford in Wales le galbot est assis,"

that is : "At Hertford in Wales ( ?) the galbot is placed ;" and Robert
of Brunne, further mistaking lb for zv — an excusable error it must be
admitted — wrote gaituot, that is, uu for " double u " w ; which in
being subsequently transcribed appeared as gannoc. Every change
in this transformation, it will be seen, was easy from the likeness of
the letters. The process, however, changed Talbot the traitor into an
impossible gannoc, and led Mr. Harrod to fix the position of the
standard upon our Gamiock Hill.

A subsequent writer, however, clinches the matter with these
words : — " The derivation of Guanock is now settled, Gua is of the
same origin as war, and knock is the British for hill." It may not-
withstanding be pointed out that the word with which we are concerned
is Gannock or Ganock, and not its fanciful modern representative
" Guanock " — a word which retains the old pronunciation, gua, as in
" guard," rather than gua in " guano." How and by whom was this
peculiar derivation settled? Knock is by no means British. There
is indeed an Irish and Gaelic cnoc, a knoll or hill, but that is not
"British"; and the Irish and Gaels, we are told, never inhabited
East Anglia, any more than the Chinese or the Maoris. Mr. James
H. Murray, LL.D., D.C.L., the editor of the Oxford Dictionary, con-
siders " Gannock " to be " like a thousand other names, an ultimate
fact, beyond which for want of evidence we cannot go " ; and the late
Canon Taylor, the erudite author of Words and Places, etc., ventures
reluctantly to give a guess, acknowledging that it may " probably be
valueless." The last syllable he admits might be another form of the
Celtic cnoc or knwc. which seems, like dun and combe, to have become
an English loan-word, as is indicated by Knock\\o\'i in Kent. " The
first syllable," he continues, " might be from gan (Anglo-Saxon gang-
an) to go — often used of Rogation Days; the whole meaning Pilgrim-
age Hill or Perambulation Mound."

This seems more reasonable than the war-hill theory. Spelman,
tracing this custom to ancient times, considers it to be an imitation of
the feast called Terminalia, which the Romans dedicated to the god
Terminus. The custom was annually observed in February, when the
peasants crowned the Termini or landmarks w^ith garlands, offered
libations of milk and wine, and sacrificed young lambs and pigs. The
perambulation of the line marking the boundary of the liberties of the
settlement in the Lin was in after years along the Gannock bank, past

THE BURG IN THE LIN. 19

the Gannock hill (Red Mount),* and on towards the Purfleet. The
bridge which spanned the ancient mill leat was perhaps the first
erected near the burg or burh. In later times disputes between the
bishop and the town-folk respecting its repair were common
occurrences. " As it was in the course of the Perambulation way, by
which the bounds were yearly walked on Ascension Day, the Lord of
the Town was considered to be the person to repair it." (Harrod.)

(2) THE BRIGGATE.

Nearer the sea, and at the same time almost parallel with the
Gannock, was the byrig or earth-work, which formed the second side
or western boundary of the parallelogram. With the growth of the
town this earth-work no doubt gradually disappeared, but the old name
was retained on maps as late as the i8th century. Brigg, as
has already been explained, is derived from the same root as Free-
bridge, and is very closely related to the Celtic synonym briga.
Byrig- gate became Brig- gate, which means the road along me rampart
or earth-work — as will be obvious after reading the following para-
graph. The position of this embankment, skirting the foreshore, cor-
responded with our High street, a name in itself somewhat suggestive.

(3) THE STONEGATE.

To prevent occasional inundations from the two tidal streams form-
ing the northern and southern sides of the parallelogram, high banks
were absolutely necessary. It was no unusual practice to make paths
of wood, sand and gravel, along the banks of rivers, and, though rude
in construction, they constituted capital means of communication,
especially during the wet winter months. These, in turn, the Romans
would pave, converting the uneven roads on the upraised banks beside
the streams into strata — Virgil's viarum strata or causeways. Our
word street (Mercian dialect stret), is an English form of the Latin
strata uia (u = w, wia), a paved way ; strata being the feminine of the
present participle of the Latin verb sternere, to spread, to lay down,
or to pave a road. (Skeat.)

Along the right bank of the mill leat was the high earth-work or
dyke first perhaps termed the Mill-byrig, next the Stone-byrig (or
" Stone-brigg," as in the Chamberlains' accounts, 137 1), and then
the Stone-street. In place-names the syllable stone is said to be an
infallible sign of Roman occupancy. We have, however, at the pre-
sent neither Mill-byrig nor Stone-street, but we are familiar with the
word " Stone-gate," — the name of one of our ancient borough
wards. Now the Danes and Scandinavians, who in later times sought
an abiding-place in this neighbourhood, would naturally call the old
river roadway Stont-gate rather than S)tont- street, because gate in
their own language meant a road or way (Danish gaia; Anglo-Saxon
geat). This remark applies to ^x\g-gate, Dam-gate, and possibly to
Trligh-gaie.

• In a grant from Archbishop Eadsi to St. Augustine's Abbey, Canterbury f 1044-6), five acres of land
are said to be " butan rcada gatan," that is, " outside the Red Gate or Road- way." May not our Red Mount be
a variant of Road Mount — our Lady's Mount beside the Walsingham Way ? (See Catalogue of the Stowe
MSS., King's Library, British Museum, 1883.)

HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

are

The left banks of the Mill fleet and " the Walks rivulet
noticeably lower than the opposite banks.

During the recent excavations in connection with our sewerage
works, a cobble-paved track was found (1900-1). It was traced from
the corner of Union Street, along All Saints Street to the west, and
then in a northerly direction through Bridge Street and Church Street,
as far as the corner of Priory Lane. Small cobbles of the " petrified
kidney " sort had been used in All Saints Street, whilst much larger
ones were employed in Bridge Street and Church Street. The
annexed table will serve the purpose of a diagram : —

Course of the old track.

Surface above Sea-level.

Present streets.

Old track.

All Saints street,

Union street corner

18 feet.

12 feet.

Bridge street corner

18 „

9 ..

Bridge street,

Crooked lane corner

2ii „

I2i „

Boal street

172 ..

7f .,

Near Lady bridge

18 „

7 ..

The ancient track was met at a deeper and deeper level as the Mill Fleet
was approached, until it was lost altogether on the south side at a depth of 13I
feet. It was, however, found again on the other side : —

Church street

Nelson street corner
Priory lane corner

8 feet.
15^ -.

The depth of the old track beneath the present streets may be found by
subtracting the figures in the second column from those in the first. For example,
the old track is 3 feet below the surface at the corner of Priory lane, and 1 1 feet
near the Lady Bridge.

This ancient road was at one period the south entrance to the
town ; crossing the low-lying ground in South Lynn, it led to the ford
at the Mill leat, and from thence to the old earth-work, thrown up
along the inner bank of the stream, forming another side of the paral-
lelogram. Where the tide was strong and the traffic great, larger
stones were wisely selected by these long- forgotten paviors. It may
be urged that, the crest of the earth-work being at the corner of Priory
Lane, the embankment could hardly be said to follow the course of the
stream. But where were its confines so many years ago? It was
evidently much broader, for the soil thrown out in Nelson Street de-
noted an estuary. Arms of trees cut in lengths were found driven into
the ground ; quantities of small unbroken oyster-shell were also em-
bedded in the earth. There can, however, be no doubt about the old
Stonegate following the course of the stream, which possibly turned
a little to the north, that is, in a line with Church Street (which was
once very properly termed the Stonegate), before it finally emptied
its waters.

The stone track, along the right bank of the Mill leat, might be
expected to converge into the cobbled path at no great distance from
the crest of the earth-work; if so, the excavators must come across

THE BURG IN THE LIN. 21

vestiges of the Stonegate in Tower place; and this they did, about
forty paces from the point where a wooden and afterwards an " iron
bridge " once spanned the Mill fleet. By referring to a survey of the
borough, an imaginary line joining these points will run in a straight
line with " the Walks."

(4) THE PURFLEET

had also an inner bank which was higher than the normal level. A
culvert now conveys the water of the Purfleet branch of the Gaywood
river beneath St. John's Churchyard. Although the bank has been
cut away and the earth spread upon the adjacent field, sufficient has
been left to establish our contention. To preserve five trees the earth
enclosing their roots has been left, and if the bank be examined it will
be seen to be about the same height as the Gannock, which joins it at
the north-eastern angle.

After selecting purfresiura from Ducange and diligently com-
paring it with Purfleet, Mr. Beloe was inclined, when writing in 1883,
to regard " Purfleet " as meaning in an etymological sense " the
boundary fleet " ; subsequently he writes : " We have a distinct name
in Purfleet. It is the porta -fieta. Thus Purfleet being the port -fleet
is clearly settled. There is on the north bank of the Thames in Essex
a Purfleet, and the charters of the middle ages call it porta fleta." At
a still later period portce fleta, " the fleet of the port " (which may,
notwithstanding, mean the fleet of the gate, mouth, or entrance), and
finally " in Latin portus fleta, the fleet of the port."

Great diversity of opinion exists relative to the adoption of the
Latin port (which may be either port-us, a haven or harbour, or port-a,
a gate or market), as an English word, in port, port-reeve, port-moot,
etc. Skeat includes port with words belonging to the Latin of the
First Period, and derives it from port-us, a harbour. Avoiding this
debatable subject we must content ourselves by stating that whenever
a market was held in one of the old burgs the burg itself was spoken
of as a port; hence this syllable, when forming a part of an inland
place-name, refers not to a port in its modern signification, but to an
ancient market. (Stockport, Langport, Newport, Littleport, etc.)*

Granted that the Purfleet was our principal stream ; but how does
that settle the derivation? By what means does port become pur?

The corruption of language (Mr. Henry Bradley affirms), which seems so
lawless and arbitrary, is really regulated by very definite though complicated
laws, and no phonetic change must ever be assumed which is not in accordance
with strict rule and precedent. . . Etymological conjecture based only on the
modern form of names is a mere waste of ingenuity. Such guesses will hardly
prove correct in one instance out of four, even when they are attempted by
thoroughly qualified scholars.

The last sylable, fleet, which Forby includes in his Vocabulary of
East Anglia (1830), means a shallow tidal channel, and pur, according
to Canon Taylor, refers to gulls or sea-birds, and the whole word, as
he with commendable hesitancy suggests, may mean " the tern fleet —
the habitat of aquatic birds." The old spelling " Puflflet " {circa

*» Compare Maitland's Domesday Book and. Beyond (1897), pp. 195-6, with Stubbs' Constitutional History
of England (1887), Vol. I, p. 439.

22 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

i35<^) he considers a corruption of the original " Purfleet," pointing
out tlie fact that r might change into f, but that f could never change
into r. Be it, however, remembered that the speculation of a learned
authority does not by any means " settle " the point at issue.
In an interesting article, entitled

" MOATED MOUNDS,"

which appeared in The Builder (March 13, 1875), the remains of the
earth-works at Cambridge, Towcester, Tempsford, Toternhoe and
Caerleon are minutely described. A careful perusal will reveal
certain points of resemblance : —

(i) They are situated at no great distance from a fresh-water
river j an artificial loop of the main stream being used as a mill leat;

(2) They are near one of the ancient tracks or roadways ; and

(3) Each of them possesses a circular mound.

Making special reference to Tempsford and Toternhoe, the writer
observes : " Among the earth-works in the valley of the Ouse within
the three adjacent counties of Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and
Huntingdonshire, are two, which, though in many respects different,
have one peculiarity in common — the combination of the circular
mound with a rectangular enceinte."

The burg on the foreshore of the Lin was near a fresh-water
stream, w^hich was diverted to form not only a moat on the east and
north, but, moreover, a mill leat on the south, which drove the Town
Mill until a recent date. The '' Water Mill " appears on Rastrick's
plan (1725), and was in a line with St. James' Workhouse. Parts
of the oak frame (22 in. by 20 in. by 9 ft. and 16 in. by 16 in. by
5 ft.), in which the overshot wheel worked, were discovered
during the sewerage undertaking (1901). A track or beaten
path ran no doubt from Wisbech, along the edge of the
Lin, and on to the other camp at Rising, passing en
route an ancient fortress — a circular mound of earth. There
are, moreover, one or two other particulars in which the camp
in the Lin resembled that at Tempsford. The earth- works were both
rectangular, and although the burg at Tempsford was at one period
certainly occupied by the Danes, the writer maintains the work was of
an earlier date, because the Danish earth-works were never rectangular.
Tempsford is situated about 400 yards from Tempsford mill, upon the
right bank of the Ivel. The Lin parallelogram is not protected by a
mound in the middle, but by one on the outer side of the eastern bank,
which was called the " Gannock. " Within the north-east angle of
the Tempsford encampment there is also a raised mound or earth-
w^ork, which, strange to say, is known as " Cannock's Castle." There
are no signs whatever of masonry, but the word " castle " was very
commonly applied to spots where no such buildings ever stood, as, for
example, the " Castle hills " at Northallerton. Doubtless the Romans
constructed a castellu?n exploratorium, or watch-tower, at each of these
places, from whence they might look out and observe the approach of
any hostile tribe.*

'■" In Norwich the Gannock Close is on the opposite side of the river to the Watergate of the Cathedral
Close.

THE BURG IN THE LIN. 23

OLD LIN AND NEW LIN.

There is reason, then, for believing that the early settlement in
the dreary Lin, traces of which still survive, was, like the Freebridge
" Camp of Peace," of pre-Roman origin. The Celts were fond of
choosing long, sloping declivities, inaccessible by foot at high water,
on which to raise their habitations. Lincoln, a Roman colonia, was
established upon such a site, — a piece of land jutting into the Swans'
Lin, a marshy expanse with many islets. Not far otf another coloma
was (it may be supposed) founded in a similar Un, of which King's
Lynn is the present representative. As a rule the Romans completed
or improved what was already begun; they reared their colonice and
mttnicipce near or upon the then existing ofpida of the conquered
Britons rather than upon distinctly fresh sites. The Romans were
guided in the construction of their camps, first by the existing earth-
works, if there were any, and secondly, by the natural contour of the
ground. Their camps were square, triangular, or round, but the most
approved was the oblong camp, with its length at least one-third
greater than its breadth. The parallelogram already described would
fulfil these conditions — the computed measurements being 680 by
300 yards. Lin may, as Camden asserts, have arisen out of the ruins
of a far earlier settlement, — perchance, for aught that is known to the
contrary, that of " Old " Lin on the other side of the haven. Prior
to the Saxon Heptarchy no mention is made of Lin, yet the village
of West Lynn " across the water " has borne the cognomen of Old
Lynn, ever since its perhaps more modern rival — Neiu Lynn, as it was
once styled, sprung into existence. If there ever were two distinct
settlements they were at one period certainly not far apart. A few
lines from Ben Adam's poem (fifteenth century), as given in the Nor-
folk Tour (1829), may in a measure strengthen what must appear
somewhat traditional : —

That auntient place
Old Lyn now called, 'twas populous, but now
Only few houses, what it was once to show.
This was the towne called Lyn, long time before
This corporate towne was built, or name it bore.

As invaders the Romans were unwelcome, notwithstanding they
brought with them the blessings of civilization. To all intents and
purposes they were

FRIENDS IN DISGUISE,

for the triumph of the arts they introduced quite eclipsed the conquest
brought about by force of arms. An ample atonement crowned the
sacrifice the Britons made. Throughout the length and breadth of
our land are scattered astonishing relics of their marvellous genius.
The Romans were indeed a wonderful people, and their advent in
Britain quite changed the aspect of the whole country. The rude
mud cabins of the almost wild aborigines gave place to pretentious and
comfortable dwellings of brick or stone; and well-built towns rose
here and there, as if created by some occult power.

Terrible trouble at home, alas, compelled the Romans to turn
their backs on Britain, and thus were the helpless natives forced to

24 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

ask assistance of the Saxons, — a lawless, piratical Germanic race, to
drive back the intrusive Picts and Scots. This was the commence-
ment of a lengthy reign of terror and anarchy. Cities and towns
vanished as quickly as they had appeared ; whilst murder and rapine
rode roughshod through the kingdom.

That the burg in the Lin in its Romanized state was included in
this general devastation seems highly probable, although history is
silent respecting it. A resuscitation of the old town on the eastern
side of the narrow haven might have occurred when the Saxon dynasty
ended.

CHAPTER IV.
The Gleaminer Dawn.

*s>

There is evidence, abundant and conclusive, that in the early part of
the Christian era the Church of Christ was planted in Britain. With-
out reiterating the convincing arguments adduced bv Bishops Stilling-
fleet and Burgess, and other learned authorities, the above statement
shall be accepted, and we will at once proceed to shew how probable
it is that Norfolk was the scene of the introduction of Christianity
into this country.

First, let us consider our local traditions.

Among the rural inhabitants of West Norfolk, traditions based
upon Druidism, Roman mythology, and the Christian religion are
current. It is remarkable, for instance, that at Shingham, a
sequestered village some fifteen miles from Lynn, there are planta-
tions haunted by Bel's dogs. Now the word Shingham means, as
etymologists assure us, the bright or shining dwelling, and strange
indeed is it, that tradition asserts there was, in the adjacent village
of Beechamwell St. Mary, a temple of the sun, and, moreover, that
Shingham and the adjoining village of Caldecott contained, at some
remote period, temples dedicated respectively to Venus and Diana —
Roman goddesses ! Is it not curious that this cluster of villages near
Swaffham should, moreover, be haunted by a pack of spectral hounds,
which the present inhabitants call Bel's dogs? As "no one can
imagine or reason why the traditions should have been invented among
a population not addicted to mythology " — and Mr. Andrew Lang's
observation on this subject is quoted — we are constrained to admit
that it is very curious. That the Romans built such temples in Britain
is beyond dispute. A temple dedicated to the goddess of the chase
is supposed to have occupied the same natural elevation now crowned
by St. Paul's Cathedral. As with Caldecott, so with London, the
tradition alone sun-ives. An altar dedicated to Trivia, that is, Diana
of the Cross-ways, formerly stood where the Roman roads, the Ick-
nield Street and the Ermine Street crossed, not very far from Royston.
Here a festival was held soon after each vernal equinox, when the
Romans made sacred cakes and offered them to their goddess. The
eating of crossed buns is chiefly observed in this district — Cambridge,

THE GLEAMING DAWN. 25

Hertford, Norfolk, etc., whereas in other parts the custom is quite
unknown, as for example at Bath, where instead of a temple to Diana
there was one dedicated to Minerva. Fragments of tiiis ancient temple
have been found, sufficient to enable Smirke to design a restored
portico. To a Pagan rather than a Christian rite may we derive the
origin of our " hot cross bun."

Traces, too, of Druidism have been detected in many Norfolk
place-names, and in certain customs with which the general reader is
far more familiar ; but in the tradition relating to the spectral hounds,
the survival attaches itself not so much to the place, as to the circum-
stances associated with the place. It constitutes a neat blending of the
ancient polytheism of the Druids and the newly-introduced mythology
of the Romans. The Druids were wont to worship the rising sun (that
is, Bel) from the hill-tops; from this custom the castle-mound at Nor-
wich was anciently known as Belinus. A common expression in
Leicestershire — " he leaps like a hel giant," that is, as the rising sun
from the sea — is associated with the sun-wojship of our Druidic fore-
fathers. The pale, glinting light, flickering among the masses of
waving foliage in the Shingham woods, unquestionably gave rise to
the phantom sun-dogs — and dogs, be it remembered, were sacred to
Diana, the goddess of hunting.

Another East Anglian tradition assures us St. Paul preached the
Gospel at Babingley, near Lynn. That the great Apostle of the
Gentiles really visited this country is more than probable. Mr.
Soames, indeed, says " he may fairly be considered the founder of
our national Church." Gildas, the most ancient of the British his-
torians, states that as early as the reign of the Emperor Nero a
Christian Church was existent in Britain (a.d. 6o or 6i), about the
time when the Icenian (|)ueen Boadicea was vanquished ; and Clemens
Romanus, a fellow-worker with St. Paul, declares in his Epistle to
the Corinthians that St. Paul " taught the whole world righteousness,
and for that end went to the utm<ist l:)ounds of the west." From the
testimony of Eusebius we learn that " some of the apostles passed
over the ocean to the British Isles "; Theodoret affirms that St. Paul
brought salvation to the islands lying in the ocean ; whilst St. Chrysos-
tom remarks : " The British Islands, which lie beyond the sea, and
are in the very midst of the ocean, have felt the influence of the word. "

Speed maintains that under the auspices of the family of Carac-
tacus, St. Paul propagated the Gospel in this country ; and Bishop
Burgess, so deservedly distinguished for his proficiency in ecclesias-
tical antiquities, when commenting upon the imi)risonment of the
British chief and his adherents in Rome, observes : —

It is a remarkable and interesting fact that the detention of the British
hostages should have been coincident with St. Paul's residence there as a
prisoner ; and it was not a less favourable coincidence that they sliould be
released from confinement in the same year in which St. Paul was set at liberty.
Nothing could be more convenient for St. Paul's mission to the (lentiles than the
opportunity which their return must have ofTered him of introducing the Gospel
into Britain ; and nothing more probable than that he should readily embrace
such opportunity.

26 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

At the chancel end of the 13th century church at Babingley,
about four miles from Lynn, are the ivy-clad ruins of an earlier edifice,
which is clearly of Norman origin. These crumbling walls are
believed to occupy the site of a rude 7th century building, popu-
larly accredited the Jirst Christian Church in East Anglia. The
church itself (at present disused because of a scattered population)
is dedicated to the memory of Felix of Burgundy, who came over in
response to an invitation from Sigebert, the king of this part of the
Heptarchy, and who landed, according to tradition, upon the shore
at Babingley. As Bishop of the East Angles, St. Felix is said to
have " converted many to Christianity in the neighbourhood of Bab-
ingley about the year a.d. 630." (Munford.) Nothing, however,
remains to indicate an ancient foundation, but the name by which this
hamlet is known unquestionably represents the Babinkelia of the old
chronicles, the Bahinghelea and Bahinkeleia of the Domesday Book,
and the Bahiirghley of Bacon's Liher Vitce.

Sir Henry Spelman (1562 — 1641), in his Icenia, says : " Several
hills called Christian Hills in the vicinity seem to support this
opinion," — that St. Paul laboured as a missionary on the bounds of
the Lin. It must be admitted that the Christian hills cannot now be
identified ; but the late William Taylor contends that prior to the
throwing up of the earth-work round the Norman castle at Rising the
ground in the immediate vicinity was considerably above the common
level of the surrounding district.

If we are justified in accepting the tradition relating to the Shing-
ham sun-dogs as based upon the truth, we can hardly in fairness reject
the tradition that St. Paul preached the Gospel in East Anglia.

Secondly, the consideration that the Romans under Julius Caesar
landed on the coast of Norfolk.

In 1866 the Rev. Scott F. Surtees, Rector of Banham, published
a small but significant pamphlet, entitled: Julius Casar : shaving
beyond reasonable doubt that he never crossed the Channel, but sailed
from Zeelattd and landed in Norfolk (reissued 1868). with the avowed
object of disproving the commonly accepted theory that the subjugators
of the " Ancient Britons " landed near Deal, on the shores of Kent.
This he does by proving from the etymology of the name of the place
from whence the Roman general sailed, and by critically examining the
hour of sailing, that the distance could not possibly have been covered
in the time. He shews how the alleged landing-place and the adjacent
coast do not correspond with the description given by Caesar himself.
It is freely acknowledged that Caesar landed twice in Britain, but
where, and at what precise spot? Mr. Surtees answers: "Caesar
landed in Norfolk." At Brancaster, Wells, Weybourn. Sheringham,
and Cromer is the steep coast line to which reference is made in the
Commentaries. The time occupied in crossing from Gaul, he argues,
could only apply to landing at one of these places ; the shingly beach
at Weybourn exactly corresponds with the one mentioned, and the level
ground along the cliffs at Sheringham would permit the natives to
follow the route of the invading fleet either in chariots or on foot.
Corn, moreover, was growing abundantly in the neighbourhood, but

THE GLEAMING DAWN. 27

Deal neither is nor was noted for its cereal productions. Amber is
often picked up along the Norfolk coast, and this is mentioned by
Caesar as a distinctive mark. Finally, the entire district teems with
relics of Roman invasion ; earth-works, thrown up as a temporary and
not a permanent defence, abound, and coins, pottery, and other me-
mentoes have from time to time been brought to light.

Taking these and other circumstances into consideration, the
learned author comes to the conclusion, that notwithstanding the wear-
ing away of the coast-line which has been going on for nineteen cen-
turies, both the visits paid by the Romans were in Norfolk, at Wey-
bourn and Sheringham.

We are fully aware that Mr. Walter Rye refers disparagingly to
" the perverse ingenuity " of this " wildly ingenious antiquary," and
that the Rev. Francis T. Vine published a counterblast, entitled :
Caesar in Kent: an account of his landing and Ins battles with tht
Ancient Britons (1887).

The Fenland, as already stated, was the first, or at least one of
the first, Roman acquisitions in Britain ; and Catus Decianus, who was
appointed to govern this district, is regarded as the first procurator.
If, then, the Roman invaders effected a landing on the Norfolk fore-
shore in the neighbourhood of the Lin, it would be reasonable to infer
that the early pioneers of the Gospel would try to cross the almost
trackless waters by taking the same course, and that in taking the same
course they would land as near the same spot as possible. Mackerell
says it is recorded that Felix, to whom reference has already been
made, landed at Lynn, — " as Sir Henry Spelman saith, and was their
first Bishop and Apostle. He converted the people of the town and
built the church at Babingley, which is near this place towards the sea,
and was the first Christian Church in these parts."

Thirdly, the ancient roads, which led inland, diverged from a
point on the coast of Norfolk.

In an almost unbroken straight line, the ancient trackway now
known as the Peddars' Way has been traced by Mr. E. M. Beloe from
Holme, near Hunstanton, through Norfolk and Suffolk, almost up to
Bury St. Edmunds. It passes through Sedgeford. Anmer. Castleacre,
and Pickenham, and runs on to Wretham, where one branch ends at
Bardwell, and the other at Ixworth (Icknield way).

Starting from the self -same point the Great Fen road takes a
somewhat divergent course. It runs through Flitcham, Gavton, Ox-
borough, and from thence to Ickburgh. A branch joins Gayton with
Lynn, whilst another connects Bawsey, Wormegay, Stradsett, Denver,
Eldernell, and perhaps Peterborough (Ermine Street).

As these important trackways took a more or less south-easterly
course, and no doubt formed junctions with the great national thorough-
fares, — the Ermine Street and the Icknield way — it would be impera-
tively necessary for those who wished to penetrate the couijtry to land
as near as possible to the point where the roads converged. That this
was customary is apparent from the story of the landing of King
Edmund.

After the East Anglians had defeated King Offa's three would-

28 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

be successors, for whom they evinced no predilection, they offered the
crown to Edmund, who was then a sojourner in Germany. Whereupon
the King-elect hastily embarked for Britain, but was shipwrecked in
trying to effect a landing not far from Gore Point, where the great
roads met. From a local tradition we learn that the mouldering walls
near the Hunstanton light-house are those of the Capdla Sancti
Kdmundi super le Clyffe, — the chapel Edmund built to the honour of
God in commemoration of his miraculous escape. It is said that he
shut himself up within its precincts, in fulfilment of a vow, and that he
did not emerge therefrom until he had committed to memory the entire
Psalter. Having accomplished this remarkable mental feat, he
accepted the crown at the hands of the East Anglians (a.d. 870.)*

Fourthly, the surprising absence of cromlechs (used as altars),
stone circles and other megalithic remains in this county.

The early Christian missionaries, in order to render the transition
from the worship of Odin to that of Christ easy, agreeable and attrac-
tive, usually changed the temples dedicated to idolatrous purposes into
Christian churches. By this perhaps unwarranted compromise were
the outraged feelings of the natives soothed. " For if these temples,"
writes Pope Gregory, " are well built, it is requisite that they be con-
verted from the worship of devils to the sacrifice of the true God ; that
the nation, seeing that their temples are not destroyed, may remove
error from their hearts, and knowing and adoring the true God, may
the more familiarly resort to the places to which they have been accus-
tomed." (a.d. 601.) Bede, indeed, refers to a temple in East Anglia
containing an altar whereon sacrifices were offered to the Christ, and a
smaller one whereon victims were slain to propitiate demons.

It is not unlikely that in many places the old Druidic temple was
succeeded by a series of churches, built, of course, at different periods,
— a church erected by the Norman settlers being reared on the site of
a rude Saxon building, which had replaced a ruder and more primitive
temple, wherein heathen rites were faithfully observed. Hallowed
associations prompted the susceptible builders of bygone ages to cling
to the same consecrated spot, beloved by their departed kinsfolk, and
there rather than elsewhere would they reverently construct a new and
superior fabric. The detection of no fragments of moulded or rough-
hewn stone, the remains of previous structures, does not in the least
establish the fact that an earlier church, or pagan temple, did not
exist prior to the erection of the present structure. In some instances
traces have undoubtedly been unearthed, and whilst every material
vestige of Druidism has disappeared, as in our own county, where
Christianity was presumably iirst introduced, in other parts of the king-
dom rude stone temples still abound. When the fascination of those
huge structures, where the stubborn influence of Odinism was felt the
longest, could no longer impede the onward course of the new doctrine,
they were not destroyed, but, though deserted, were permitted to

'•" At an early period there was a rliapel dedicated to St. Edmund in Lynn where three dead men were,
as we are told, raised to life, and several blind and dumb people as well as cripples were cured. [See
5f. Edmund, by Rev. J. B. Mackinlay, p. 291.]

THE GlEAMlNG DAWM. 29

remain. Roughly, the number of Druidical remains throughout the
country appears to be in inverse ratio to the number of the churches.

On the cliff at Gorleston, " overlooking the east," there once stood
some large stones, resembling an ancient cromlech, which (if tradition
be credited) were used in Druidical worship. This, however, if
reliable, must be regarded as a solitary instance. Of the Britons and
their traces here (in Norfolk) we really know little and find less. Surely
this peculiar characteristic of the county helps to prove that the
pioneers of th» Christian religion gained at least an early, if not a first,
footing here.

And lastly, the exceptional number of churches in Norfolk seems
to indicate that the spread of the Gospel radiated from this part of
the kingdom.

Because of the ruins of so many splendid priories, Dr. Jessopp
termed the district about Gayton " the Holy Land of Norfolk " ; and
with equal propriety might Norfolk itself be called " the Holy Land
of Britain." The county covers 2,024 square miles, and contains
more than 730 churches, that is, 117 more than Yorkshire (a county
three times its size), and more than any other county in the " Three
Kingdoms." How can this be accounted for except by the theory
propounded, namely, that the Gospel was first preached here, and that
it gradually spread to the remoter and more inaccessible districts?

The average area of a parish in England is shewn by calculation
to be about 5. i square miles ; in Westmoreland, which is sparsely popu-
lated, it is as high as 23.4 square miles. Norfolk may boast as shew-
ing the lowest average. Here for every 2.7 square miles there is a
parish church, whilst in Kent the average parish-area is 42.2 square
miles. As no part of England was so much exposed as Norfolk to the
inroads of the heathen Danes, this fact becomes even more remark-
able. An objection may be urged that many of our 730 churches are
modern, and are not built on the site of heathen temples ; the same
remark may be applied with equal force to any of the other counties.
Moreover, in the Aliddle Ages the religious supremacy of Norfolk was
generally acknowledged.* With less than one-twentieth the area of
England, it then possessed one-sixteenth of the whole monastic revenue,
and one-eighth of the entire religious foundations of the nation.

"This county," exclaims Thomas Fuller (1608-61), "hath the
most churches of any in England — 660, and though the poorest livings,
yet by some occult quality of their good husbandry and God's blessing
thereon, the richest clergymen. I wish," he quaintly observes, " the
inhabitants may make good use of their so many churches and cross
that pestilent proverb, ' the nigher to the church, the farther from God,'
substituting another (which will be a happy change) in the room there-
of, namely, ' the more the churches, the more sincere the devotion.' "
Whether Fuller's wish is realised we leave others to decide.

In conclusion, it must be frankly admitted that every point ad-
vanced is vague and nothing in itself, and even if taken collectively

• The Oomesciay iioofe accounts for J.y rliurches in Norfolk.

30 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

they are by no means conclusive; yet we venture to think, notwith-
standing all which might be said to the contrary, they tend in a measure
to substantiate the proposition under consideration, that the scene of
the introduction of Christianity into this country was in Norfolk, and
probably at no great distance from the Lin.

CHAPTER V.
The Legend of St. Margatet.

It was the custom long before our brave sailors and soldiers were
arrayed in uniforms of blue and red (or khaki) for combatants to bear
some conspicuous figure or device upon their shields or helmets, so that
they might, when enveloped from head to foot in armour, be easily
distinguished at the tournament or on the field of battle. These sym-
bols, which at the first were used arbitrarily, were in many instances
retained as hereditary marks of distinction. Subsequent to the reduc-
tion of heraldry to a science, which began in the reign of Henry IIL,
every town of any pretension took unto itself a coat-of-arms. With
that of our own borough, every inhabitant who troubles to read the
official announcements issued by the Town Clerk must be in a measure
familiar. If, when perusing the " notices " affixed to the Hall door,
he saw a placard headed with a pictorial representation of three lions
neatly cut in halves and cleverly engrafted to three herrings, similarly
bisected, so that each lion had the hind-quarter and tail of a herring,
and each herring the fore-quarter and head of a lion, he would at once
be conscious, without any knowledge of heraldry, and without being
told the arms of Great Yarmouth had been substituted for that of
King's Lynn, that "some-one had blundered."

THE ARMS OF OUR BOROUGH

are thus technically described : — Azure, three dragons heads erased
and erect, the jaws of eacli pierced with a cross-crosslet fitche, or. As
this is probably unintelligible to those who have not yet been initiated
into the mysteries of heraldry, an attempt to convey the meaning in
other words may perhaps be acceptable.

To the local draughtsman in search of a model, we say : — Go to
the nearest marsh and catch three dragons, as near the same weight as
possible ; tear— by no means cut — the heads from their bodies ; press

THE LEGEND OF ST. /MARGARET. 31

their jaws laterally, and with a spear, the peculiar construction of which
must hereinafter be described, transfix each gaping head ; arrange as in
the above illustration, and, disregarding the natural colour, depict
with bold outline and cross hatching in black, upon the best English
gilt, so that the design in gold appears upon a blue background. If
any difficulty be experienced (for dragons are said to be somewhat
scarce in this neighbourhood), a resourceful artist might manage with
one.

The head of the spear in question is a " cross-crosslet," or a
crossed cross ; three of its arms are crossed, and the fourth, described
as " fitche," is elongated and pointed. These crosses, which served
as emblems, were carried by the early Christians in their pilgrimages,

-f

and could easily be stuck into the ground whenever the bearers wished
to perform their wayside devotions, or make any sort of demonstration.
To account for the meaning of the curious symbol upon the
borough shield, it will be necessary to recall the story of

THE MARTYR OF ANTIOCH.

Theodosius, the aged patriarch of Antioch, toward the end of the
third century of our era, was blessed with a daughter named Margaret,
a virgin renowned, not merely for her exceptional beauty, but for lead-
ing a singularly holy life. She was as fair as the daisy from which
.she derived her name, and far more lovable besides, she was as pious
as she was lovely, which is more than can be said of some of Eve's
fair daughters. But the maiden, though richly endowed by nature,
and though belonging to an affluent family, was nevertheless beset with
many troubles. The " fatal gift of beauty " gained her an impor-
tunate lover — a very acceptable actjuisition, some may say ; and the
saintly chastity of her life, a subtle tempter in the semblance of
n dragon. In the huge, unwieldy monster, Margaret detected the
Evil One, who, cleverly '' got up " as a serpent, had caused
unutterable mischief in Eden, many centuries before. Firmly
and persistently the brave maiden rejected all his allurements,
and in the end triumphantiv cut short his insinuating entreaties
by pinning his squirming body to the ground with the point
of her cross. Having thus secured her soul from the clutches
of the Devil, it is a pity she did not adopt the same method
to preserve her body ; but then, you see. the other antagonist
was a Roman general — the great Olybius ; besides, the love of the

32 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

maiden warped her judgment and blinded her eyes so that she failed
to see aright.

Now, Olybius, the heathen, was in haste to marry the Christian
maiden, though he cordially abhorred the fanatic followers (as he
deemed them) of the reviled Galilean. There was, however, no reason
why he should not frustrate the spell those artful proselytes had cun-
ningly thrown around his lady-love. He therefore diligently set about
persuading Margaret to renounce the new religion ; but his arguments
were as futile as his entreaties. Thus, failing to effect his purpose,
in a fit of desperation he ordered her to be tortured. Exasperated
beyond measure because these gentle measures were inoperative, he
threatened as a last resource to take her life, if she did not comply with
his wishes. Love had developed into hatred, and changed the lover
into a merciless tyrant. In the words of Henry Hart Milman, the
poet, Olybius exclaims : —

Maiden, upraise thy voice ;
Olybius' throne or a blasphemer's fate is thine.
Make thou thy choice.

— Disdaining the fleeting pleasures of royalty, Margaret courageously
accepted the dreadful alternative ; she was therefore beheaded, in the
year of our Lord 278, and was afterwards canonized, as she well de-
served to be. Her holy day was formerly celebrated on the 20th of
July, by the reading of an appropriate legend in the church dedicated
to her honour, and the holding of a feast or fair in the churchyard, to
which the ancient " mercate of St. Margaret " and our modern
" Saturday market " owe their origin.

There is no need to trouble ourselves except with one part of this
romantic episode, and that is the maiden's victory over the dragon.
The legend itself is purely an adaptation of

AN OLD ARYAN MYTH,

a battle between a hero — in this case a heroine — and a monster, which
is extant in almost every nation. The Hindu legend gives Indra as the
hero and Vritna as the monster; the Roman, Hercules and the triple-
headed Cacus ; the Greek, Apollo and the terrible serpent Python ;
the Norse, Sigurd and Faf nir — a coiled dragon ; the Persians, the
Jews, and the Christians, too, have each a version of their own. The
Ugunda of the Mexicans, the sea-snake of the Scandinavians, and the
awe-inspiring reptile depicted on Chinese banners, are all varieties of
the same mythical dragon, whose destruction seems to have been the
common object of mankind, more especially during the earlier ages of
the Christian Church. The marvellous exploits of St. Michael, St.
Silvester, St. Martha, St. Margaret, and St. George (who was the
patron saint of this country as early as the Saxon period), do not by
any means impoverish the catalogue. Ecclesiastical history abounds
with exemplary saints who waged war with the Evil One in the guise
of a dragon, a snake, a serpent, or an amphibious monster of some kind
or other.

Upon the obverse side of the corporate seal of the borough, our
Mayor's seal of office, the seal of the Carmelites' convent, the Austin

THE LEGEND OF ST. 3IARGARET. 33

priory (circa 1387), the seals attached to the probate of wills {circa
1303), and the conventual seals of the neighbouring priories of West-
acre, Thetford, Hilburgh, and Norwich, St. Margaret is represented as
triumphantly trampling upon the distorted body of the dragon, whilst
piercing his upturned head with her cross. She is depicted in the
same attitude upon the rood-screens in Filby and other Norfolk
churches. Beneath a beautiful floreated initial, on letters patent
addressed to the Mayor and burgesses of Lenne, the engrosser has
drawn an angel bearing a shield with the arms of the town (1315).

DRAGON V. CONGER.

The arms of the Benedictine priory at Lenne, founded so many
years ago by Herbert de Lozinga, were with one trifling exception the
same as those borne by the town at the present time. The three heads
pierced were not those of the con\entional dragon, but those of the
conger eel.

Was not the dragon originally a conger eel, perhaps slightly modi-
fied ? Naturalists give instances of these eels being ten feet long and
eighteen inches in circumference, and weighing as much as 130 pounds.
(The flesh, it may be mentioned in passing, though rather coarse, is
much esteemed in the Channel Isles. There is a way of cooking it to
suit the palate, and it makes excellent soup. The devil surely did not
send all the cooks, because those who succeed in producing pleasant
and wholesome food from such raw material must verily have had quite
another origin.) The voracity of the conger eel is such that it will
devour its own species, and its strength is so great that it can crush
lobsters. As the Fenland abounded with eels, the conger no doubt
proved a formidable antagonist to the superstitious fishermen of early
times.

These characteristics support the assumption that the conger eel was the
prototype not only of the sea-dragon of English heraldry, but of the poetical
dragon — the dragon of the monkish legends — the representative of evil and the

serpent of romance The simple explanation lies in considering the

various victories represented to have been gained over dragons as so many
conquests obtained by virtue over vice. Some of these miracles have another
signification, and are supposed to be intended to typify the confining of rivers
within their proper channels, or limiting the incursions of the sea. [Moule's
Heraldry of Fish.]

This explanation seems to be specially applicable to our low-lying
district with its long protecting embankments.*

OUR CREST.

Soon after the Norman Conquest, seals became instruments of the
greatest imjjortance. When few practised, and nobles scorned, the art
of writing, the attaching of one's seal was absolutely necessary to give
validity to any kind of legal document. In many instances the pic-
torial devices upon coats-of-arms have been traced to similar, and in
some cases identical, devices ui)on seals, adopted by the same families
long before the dawn of the heraldic era ; and it is quite possible that
the crest above the shield upon which are emblazoned our town's arms,

" Three congers heads erect" (I'l'silulioii: 1363).

34 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

may owe its origin to the old ecclesiastical seal of the borough. Crests
were worn by knights upon their helmets as distinctive marks ; and they
were especially needful when the combatants were not carrying their
shields. As a community we have, correctly speaking, no right to a
crest, but as it now seems to be an inseparable adjunct to our azure
shield, it must not be wholly disregarded.

Our crest, be it observed, is the natural representation of a conven-
tional pelican in the act of " vulning," or wounding herself, for by
lacerating her own breast " the pelican in her piety," as is fabulously
asserted, nourishes her young. Hence we read in Wither's
Emblems :

Looke heere and marke (her sickly birds to feed)
How freely this kind pelican doth bleed.
See how (when other salves could not be found)
To cure their sorrowes, she herself doth wound ;
And when this holy emblem thou shaft see,
Lift up thy soule to Him who dy'd for thee.

The pelican, as is generally known, is an accomplished fisher,
scooping up its prey into the big pouch beneath its lower jaw. Its
nest, which is made of grasses, is placed on the ground, usually on
a sea island or on the border of some lake or river. When the eggs
are hatched, the parents turn the fish out of their pouches into the
mouths of the young. To do this they press the bill against the
breast, so that its scarlet tip looks like a blood spot against the white
feathers, and this has perhaps given rise to the fable that the pelican
feeds her young with her blood. The eider duck, it is true, plucks
down from her breast and places it over its eggs during incubation,
the drake supplying down when the "gentle breast" of his spouse
becomes exhausted ; and this habit has been perchance erroneously
attributed to the pelican.

The knight's helmet was formerly encircled with a coronet or
wreath composed of two strands of twisted silk. On the conventional
representation of this device, which is common in modern heraldry,
our pelican is comfortably perched. The " tinctures " of the rigid
support are taken from the shield and its charges : the strands are
therefore blue and gold alternately — the metal (gold) always being on
the dexter side, that is, to the left of the spectator. In heraldry the
" dexter " and " sinister " sides are so called from the right or left
of the wearer of the shield, arms, or crest ; hence the apparent
contrary from the spectator's point of view.

PELICAN V. EAGLE.

Upon the reverse side of the common corporate seal, already
mentioned, there is a well-executed eagle, standing on a label, whereon
appear the first words of St. John's Gospel : In ■princifio erat verbum
— " in the beginning was the word." This sentence of his, inscribed
in an open book, is often used as a representation or symbol of " the
Gospel " generally. The same design as that upon our corporate
seal is found upon the seal of the Gild of St. George (Lenne), and
the earliest record to which it is attached belongs to the year 1300.

THE LEGEND OF ST. MARGARET. 35

Degenerate forms must sometimes be encountered even in
heraldry. For example, an inoffensive lion harmlessly walking and
apparently looking at nothing in particular was believed by the early
heralds to be enacting the part of a leopard. Their so-called
" leopards " were really lions — spotless and without any leopardesque
distinctions. Hence until the beginning of the 15th century the lions
in the Royal Shield of England were absurdly styled leopards.

What's in a name? That which tve call a lion
By any other name would serve as well.

In like manner, from the eagle, a well-known emblem of St.
John, a degenerate pelican has perhaps been evolved. Before the
Reformation, eagle and pelican lecterns were both common ; in Dur-
ham cathedral there are specimens of each variety ; and Mr. Britton,
in his History of Norwich Cathedral, mentions an eagle lectern,
which, we are told, is in reality a pelican. Over the splendid fonts
at North Walsham and Watlington, and on the modern font covers
at St. Margaret's, Lynn, there are well-carved pelicans. There were
at one time, at least two pre-Reformation eagle lecterns of brass in
S. Margaret's church ; (Mackerell says there were three, and
that one was melted down to aid in recasting the peal of bells), and
frequent were the payments made for their " scouring." In 1635
twenty shillings were expended for this purpose. One of these
beautiful lecterns remains, but bereft of its talons. This is a rather
frequent mutilation, and is popularly accounted for by their having
been of silver, and, therefore, " stolen by Oliver Cromwell " — an
obvious absurdity, as the Protector, if he had meddled with these
objects at all, would have " collared the lot " brass being so very
handy a material for cannon or cannon-balls. It is far more likely
that the " reaving " was done by other hands — those even of the
official guardians of the Church, in the really " dark ages," not so
very distant, when the goods, furniture, funds, and constructive
materials of churches were the common prey of whomsoever took a
fancy to appropriate or destroy them.

Before the wonderful legend of St. Margaret fades from our
minds, it might be expedient to say a few words about the former
inhabitants of King's Lynn, because at one time it is said to have
been renowned as

THE DWELLING-PLACE OF VIRGINS.

vSir Henry Spelman, perhaps following Galfridus de Fontibus
(i)elieved to have been a monk of Thetford), in his De Infancia Set
EadiHUiidi {circa 1140-1160). contends that " the little, fair promon-
tory," at Maydcnhurc, was Hunstanton; but Camden contends that
Lynn had a stronger claim, and that during the Saxon period it was
known as Ulavdciihurg. iSLackerell, influenced, as he says, " by the
concurrent testimony of several ancient historians," concludes its
name was Mayden-hoiver — the retiring place for virgins. To support
these suggestions the following facts are advanced : hrst, our prin-
cipal church was dedicated to the memory of St. Margaret the Virgin,
the patroness of the town and the accredited protectress of defenceless

3G HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

spinsters; and secondly, that upon the early seal of the borough
there is the figure of our tutelary saint, as already described. It is
also asserted that our brave East Anglian forefathers, having van-
quished Uffa's three stalwart successors, offered the crown to Edmund,
who was then a sojourner in Germany (a.d. 870). The King-elect
embarked forthwith for Britain, and after encountering incalculable
dangers, he landed, as is stated, .at Mayden-burg. Moreover, to
strengthen the likelihood of the existence of Mayden-hurg or Mayden-
boiuer, INIackerell points out how prevalent is St. Edmund's name
in this district. There is St. Edmund's Ness, the chapel of St.
Edmund upon the cliffs at Hunstanton, where the pious king built
a royal town ( ?), the parish of North Lynn St. Edmund, and the
chapel of St. Edmund once connected with that of St. Nicholas at
Lynn.

The ingenious speculations of these authors, if swallowed, ought
assuredly to be taken cum grano salis, for they do not cite any docu-
ment or other authority in which such a place as Maydenburg or May-
denbower is mentioned ; and by what philological hocus-focus is it
possible to derive burg from bower? The thing appears to be a pure
invention, swallowed by the credulous, and merely " conveyed " with-
out acknowledgment by jNIackerell and Parkin. On the other hand,
we are inclined to regard Maydenburg or Magde-burg in Germany,
Maiden-head in Berkshire, and the traditional INIaydenburg (if there
ever was such a place) in East Anglia, as owing their names to the
following interestingly erratic legend : —

Once upon a time (to be as vague as the exigencies of the circum-
stances require), a British princess named Ursula, who was born, by-
the-bye, at Baoza, in Spain, embarked for Brittany. She was accom-
panied with 11,000 noble and 60,000 plebeian British virgins. Love
is well known to be no respecter of persons, and whether of high or
low degree, every one of the fair emigrants was more or less affected
with that dreadful malady so aptly described by Pliny as vehoneniia
cordis. But the cause of the unpleasant epidemic hath yet to be told.
A corresponding number of young and eligible young men had
already quitted their parental homes in Britain, and were restlessly
wandering up and down the Gallic shores, and constantly glaring at
the white cliffs which skirted the opposite coast.

What a pathetic exodus for a sparsely populated country
to contemplate, — the wholesale embarkation of one hundred
and forty-two thousand and two candidates for matrimony !
Through some inexplicable cause or other, the vessels with
their precious freights were wrecked in the Rhine. A
storm perchance had risen, the reckoning might have been
lost, or the captains, in too attentively inspecting their respective
cargoes, might have neglected to navigate their craft aright. _ It was
supremely unpleasant for these lovelorn damsels, but it might cer-
tainly have been a trifle worse. No lives were lost, and after a series
of exhausting vicissitudes Ursula and all the other maidens safely
entered Cologne. Another version assures the reader it happened
when they were returning from Rome, but as this and other trivial

THE LEGEND OF ST. MARGARET. 37

circumstances do not interfere with the approaching climax, the
discrepancies shall remain unreconciled.

Now it came to pass that the city at this time was held by hordes
of fierce Huns, who were speechless with surprise when they beheld
the Ursuline invaders. Pause, oh reader, and let thine imagination
pourtray the scene. What a unique procession — seventy-one thousand
and one maidens, shipwrecked, friendless, and, though ruthlessly
bedraggled, yet radiantly attractive ! How sincerely those stern war-
riors pitied the angelic creatures in their calamity, and how despera-
tely enamoured grew they of their beauty ; for pity and love, be it
remembered, are near akin. But the virtuous virgins, remembering
the youths in Gaul, sternly repulsed these bold, aggressive fellows,
and, preferring to follow the example of Lucretia, they one and all
sacrificed their lives to preserve their honour. ... In after
years the good citizens of Cologne built a magnificent church, and
dedicated it to St. Ursula and her heroic comrades. Inside, around
the walls thereof, are many glass cases still containing their osseous
remains.

This congruous, though perhaps romantic, story, is said to owe
its birth to the unearthing of a stone whereon was the Latin
inscription :

URSULA ET UNDECIMILLA VIRGINES

— that is, " The (two) virgins Ursula and Undecimilla." A careless
scribe, not for a moment thinking what trouble his remissness might
cause unborn generations, stupidly changed the precious words into
Ursula ct Uudecim inilUa Virgincs, which being interpreted, reads,
" Ursula and eleven thousand virgins," whereas there were only two.
The vast collection of bones still exhibited to more or less credulous
tourists in the church of St. Ursula were taken from an old Roman
cemetery, over which the walls of Cologne were erected ; the human
remains having first been exposed soon after the siege in the year
1106.

Hence two virgins lost their lives prematurely and both were
canonized as saints. Their names are perhaps synonymous, but it
would be too risky an adventure to substitute St. Margaret for St.
Ursula, because the process might detract from the convincing veracity
of our narrative. There is, notwithstanding, a faint colouring of
truth in this absurd monkish concoction. The good folk of Maiden-
head, in Berkshire, laid claim to one of the martyrs' heads, whilst
the other ghastly relic was eagerly appropriated and sincerely revered
by the superstitious inhabitants of King's Lynn (Maydcnbiirg), as the
head of their patroness ! Is there not convincing evidence in the
following remarkable entry, which appears upon the pages of our
Hall Book, just before the dawning of the Reformation?

St. Margaret's Head. — Fully agreed that St. Margaret's skull be had in
honour in tlie Trinity chapel of St. Margaret ; a fourth of the oblation to be
given to the Trinity Guild, a half to the prior and curate of Lenne, and the rest
to the churchwardens of St. Margaret for reparation of the said church (152^).

38 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

Six-and-thirty years later the trend of public opinion had veered
round to the opposite quarter. A big fire was kindled on the Tues-
day market-place; objectionable mass-books and sacred relics were
scrupulously brought together, and were then and there publicly
consigned to the flames.

CHAPTER VJ.
A Habitation with a Name.

In the third decade of the 7th century, Felix, a Burgundian mis-
sionary, was chosen first bishop of the East Angles by Sigebert their
king, and he was duly consecrated by Archbishop Honorius. In all
likelihood Felix obtained the spiritual possession not of the settlement
at the burg on the Lin alone, but of all the settlements upon the fore-
shore of the entire district. The diocese was a large one, embracing
as it did the north and the south folk (Norfolk and Suffolk), and the
exceptional duties thereto pertaining must have severely taxed the
bishop's strength. Felix died in a.d. 647, but the work was
vigorously pushed forward by his resolute successors. Many cen-
turies, however, were to elapse before the worship of Odin was to be
superseded by that of Christ. The reason is not far to seek : there
was already a strong infusion of the Danish element in the northern
part of East Anglia, and a series of incursions gave rise to repeated
revivals of declining Odinism. Not until the nth century did
the East Anglian Danes nominally accept Christianity.

CHRONICLES " ABSTRACT AND BRIEF,"

may be wxll applied to the few references to the settlement on the
shores of the receding Lin. This is clearly apparent from a perusal
of the following list of places in the neighbourhood mentioned by our
early historians.

GiLDAS (a.d. 511-570). Dc Catamite, Excidio et Conqiiestu Britannice : — Thames,
St. Albans {Veyulam). [Boadicea, "the deceitful lioness," queen of the
Iceni, is also mentioned.]

Bede (a.d. 637-735). Historia Ecclesiastica : — Dunwich (Dommoc), Burghcastle in
Lincolnshire {Cnohhevcshnrg).

NiNNius (9th Century). Eiilogiuin Britannice : — Norwich (Caer gain ivuis),
probably the Roman station of Garionenum is referred to as Gurnion Castle,
Lincoln {Cair loit coit), Cambridge {Cair grant). These are British place-
names.

AssER (9th Century). Annales Ret'um Gestatum ^Elfycdi Magni : — Cambridge

(Grantabridge), Thetford.
Fabius Ethelwerd fioth Century). Chvonidc: — Dereham (Deorhamme), Bury

St. Edmund (Beodoricsworthe), Thorney, Cambridge (G mntabridge), Thetford,

Bedford.

Various Writers included in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, which covers the period
from the Creation to a.d. 1154 : — Wisbech, Boston (Jcanhoe), the river Nene,
Crowland, Thorney, Ramsey, St. Neots, Spalding, Stamford, Ely, " Wittlesey-
mere," Peterborough {Medeshamstede), Norwich, Dereham (DeoWzaw), Thetford.

A HABITATION WITH A NAME. 39

In'GULPH (1030-1109). Historia Monasterii Croylandensis (Peter of Blois, &c.,
wrote the " continuations ") : —Wisbech, Whaplode, Walsingham, Norwich,
Holbeach, Elmham, Boston {St. Botolph's Town), &c., and Lynn {Lenne and
Lenne Episcopi).

William of Malmesbury (1095 or 6-1 143). De Gestis Regum : — Ely, Norwich,
Thetford, Lincoln, Dunwich, Elmham (Helmham), &c.

Geoffrey of Monmouth (12th Century). Historia Britonum : — Lincoln (Linda-
colinum), Caistor {Thong Castle, 23 miles from Lincoln), Colchester {Kaer
colvin).

Saga of Magnus, King Hacon's son (13th Century). Lynn {Linn).

Thomas of Walsingham (1272-1381). Historia Anglicana: — Lynn (Lcjine).

Richard of Cirencester (died 1402). Historia ah Hengisto ad Ann. 134S,
Britonum Anglorum et Saxonum Historia: — Caistor near Norwich {Venta),
Caistor near Chesterton {Durnomagns), Cambridge {Cnmboricum), the river
Yare (Gario7i), the river Nene {Aufona), the Boston Deeps {Metaris).

The chronicles and annals relating to this part of the Heptarchy
are, it must be admitted, singularly scarce as well as provokingly
barren. We have, indeed, to depend upon the slight incidental in-
formation preserved by other provinces for the names and dates of
the East Anglian kings.

SAXON AND DANE.

At the time when Ethelbert was king, a Danish hero, Ragnar
Lodbrog, who was unfortunately driven ashore on the Norfolk coast
in the vicinity of Reedham, was slain by the huntsman of Eadmund,
the lord of the East Angles. Ingwar and Hubba, hearing of their
father's death, came over (a.d. 866) ; they sailed up the Yare, and
landed a great army not far from Norwich. Northumberland and
Lincolnshire were pitilessly harried, whilst in East Anglia they cap-
tured Thetford after a stubborn fight ; the King was taken and cruelly
put to death (a.d. 870), but his name was sincerelv revered, and his
memory is still preserved in " Bury St. Edmund." So disheartened
were the East Anglians by this untoward event, that they at once sub-
mitted to the Danes, who adopted the country as their home and inter-
married with the daughters of the conquered Saxons. The amity and
confidence between the two tribes must have reached a climax (a.d.
899), when " the Danes committed their wives and their ships and
their wealth to the East Angles, and went at one stretch, day and
night, until they arrived at Chester. And they took the cattle and
slew the men and burned all the corn of the surrounding neighbour-
hood." [Anglo-Saxojt Chronicle.]

Time has considerately spared us, in certain existing customs,
not only the manners of the Romans and the superstitions of the
Saxons but " faithful remembrancers " of those strange Norse
legends recounted to our forefathers so many centuries ago by the
credulous retainers of the Danish vikings. Paganism is peculiarly
tenacious of life. The hanging-up of the mistletoe at Christmas,
the bringing in of the Yule log, the kindling of fires on St. John's
Eve, the bearing of garlands on May-day, etc., are, if not positive
survivals of heathen rites, at least the lingering result of a compromise
between darkness and light.

40 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

A multitude of the place-names in Norfolk clearly establish the
fact that the heathen Danes left traces behind them. Reference is
elsewhere made to the ominous appellation which clings to the
Miller's Entry — it is still " Nick the Devil's Lane"; and

THE FOOTSTEPS OF THE EVIL ONE

may possibly be discerned in the word Lake, with which the bur-
gesses of the present generation are acquainted. The fine earth-
works, to the north of the town, which are gradually being obliterated
by the industrious allotment holders, are traditionally of ancient
origin. These embankments (not the piece of water) were collectively
termed " the Loke." In the Scandinavian mythology, Loke or Loki
was the author of every calamity ; he was indeed the supreme Evil
One ; and his daughter Hela presided over the infernal region. Now
f/ie foe — the cause of much suffering in those days — was the sea,
which constantly threatened the low settlement on the border of the
Lin ; hence our superstitious ancestors naturally regarded the
" mysterious beyond " as the dwelling-place of their inveterate enemy
— Loke.

As late as 1738, and it might be later, Pilot Street was known
as Deucehill (or Dowshill), and the Deucehill bridge crossed the old
Fisher fleet not far from the military " block-house " on the outskirt
of the town. In 1403 John Groute was appointed keeper of the
gates of the " Douz hill yard " ; this must not be confounded with
Doucehill^flz'^, which means the way (Danish gaia) by the Deuce's
hill. This dreary, unfrequented spot — " the sands of Lenn at Duse
hill," at it appears in the Coroners' Roll (1305)— was no doubt, in
the minds of the simple folk living hard by, the abode of hobgoblins,
sprites, and other indescribable monsters. St. Guthlac was beset
with hordes of demons, who vainly tried to drive him from his retreat
at Crowland, and the neighbourhood of Cromer is still infested with
a demon-dog called " Old Shuck." Nickars and wood-devils, plenti-
ful enough at one time, were the dtius of the northern nations of
Europe (compare the Latin deus) ; and to the dusiens^ who amused
themselves by perching upon the chests of unconscious sleepers, were
attributed the unpleasant effects of nightmare and indigestion. The
" Deuce " and " Old Scratch " were names applied to the Devil.
According to Dr. Whitaker, the deuce was a mythological person, the
goddess of the Brigantes, a tribe inhabiting Yorkshire and
Lancashire; whilst Sharon Turner asserts that the deuce was a male
demon, that appeared to men in the semblance of a lovely female, but
to women as a man. Even St. Austin mentions these weird creatures
in his De Civitate Dei : —

Ouosdam dcemones quos dusios
Gain nuncipant,

— that is, " which same demons, those of Gaul, termed duse." Hence
our " demonhill " was the resort of fiends or deuces.

ALL HONOURABLE MEN.

During the reign of Edward the Confessor (1042-1066) the Lin

A HABIT AT ION WITH A NAME. 41

was held in succession by three of the most influential men of that
period : —

(i) Stigand, the Bishop of Elmham, by virtue of his ecclesias-
tical office, claimed the manor of Gaywood, and, moreover, as lord of
that manor, he undoubtedly exercised paramount authority over the
adjoining settlement in the Lin, which was, of course, regarded as
his lay fee. He was, besides, lord of Rising, of the hundred of the
Freebridge — the ancient " Camp of Peace," — of Smithdon (North-
West Norfolk), and also of several other extensive districts. Trouble,
nevertheless, awaited him on the accession of the King. The Anglo-
Saxon Chronicle explains the circumstance thus : —

And Stigand the priest was blessed Bishop of East Anglia. And soon after
the King caused all the lands which his mother possessed to be seized into his
hands, and took from her all that she possessed in gold and silver and in things
unspeakable, because she had before held it too closely with him. And soon
after Stigand was deposed from his bishopric, and all that he possessed was
seized into the King's hands, because he was nearest to his mother's counsel and
she went just as he advised her, as people thought (1043).

Stigand, notwithstanding this, reobtained his see at Elmham,
and, on the death of Alwyn, he succeeded him as Bishop of Win-
chester (1047-8), and was, moreover, created Archbishop of Canter-
bury in 1052.

(2) Ailmar, or Aiglemar, followed as Bishop of the East Angles,
on his brother Stigand's promotion to the bishopric of Winchester
(1047).

(3) Harold, who subsequently ascended the throne, was at this
time Duke of the East Angles and of the West Saxons; he was also
Earl of Surrey, Kent, Sussex, Essex and Norfolk. Further, he was
lord of Great Massingham, Westacre, and what was afterwards
termed South Lin.

Adversity was in store for each of these great men : Harold died
on the battle-field whilst fighting for his crown at Hastings ; Stigand,
the proud Archbishop of Canterbury, was deprived of every
spirituality and temporality by the Pope's legates ; and Ailmar is sup-
posed to have expired in a dungeon. After the Conquest, the lordship
of the Lin passed into other hands.

THE FEUDAL SYSTEM

was certainly practised by the Saxons, though to no great extent.
Its development was due to William the Conqueror, who parcelled
out the newly-acquired territory among his own subservient vassals.
By granting feuds or feoffs he insured not only their future fealty,
but the services of a definite number of armed men, whom they in
return were bound to provide. The number of soldiers furnished by
each knight was clearly and minutely set forth in every enfeoffment.
As the immediate tenants of the Crown, the knights held their lands,
which were retained in a few cases by the direct payment of money,
whilst in others homage, fealty, and service were deemed sufficient.
There were tenures, too, which were purely nominal ; the regular pay-
ment of a grain of cummin or a red rose was enough ; others were,

42 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

however, a few degrees more valuable, and for them a pair of white
gloves, a gold spur, a silver salver or a tun of wine was demanded.
Slight services, almost nominal in some instances, such as the holding
of the lord's stirrups, the keeping of a pack of hounds, etc., secured
other tenures. Of those tenants in capite who held feoffs in the Lin,
mention may be made of : —

(i) Ralf Bainard, lord of Castle Bainard in London, who held
fifty-two lordships in Norfolk, which were valued in Edward the
Conqueror's reign at ;^i20 5s. pd., and in William's Survey at
;£i']2 i6s. id. — figures, it must be borne in mind, representing a very
considerable amount. One of these lordships was in the vicinity of
the Lin.

(2) Ralf de Tony, or Tcdeni, was rewarded with twenty lord-
ships in Norfolk, which were valued at £,60 is. The one to which
he succeeded in the Lin (South Lin afterwards) had been previously
held by Harold before he ascended the throne.

(3) Hermer de Ferrariis, ancestor of the early lords of
Wormegay, was perhaps the largest appropriator of lands in the
district. This tyrant, not being satisfied with the two-and-twenty
manors in Norfolk (valued at ;^6o os. 8d.) from which the Saxon
Turchetil had been unjustly ejected, laid claim to others valued at
;,^2o 19s. pd. He also possessed a township in the Lin, which
included the present parish of West Lynn.

(4) Another lordship in the Lin was held by Rainald, the son
of Ivo. Discontented with fifty-eight lordships valued at ;^ii9
15s. id., he covetously seized eleven other pieces of land belonging
to the conquered people,

(5) Whilst the good abbot of St. Edmundsbury, though pos-
sessing some fifty-three manors, valued at ;^94 iis. id., was equally
as avaricious as the other worldings. A part of the Lin, correspond-
ing with our present North Lynn, was part of his earthly domain.

The land or " fee " allotted to each knight and constituting the
barony of a crown vassal was supposed to be sufficient to maintain
him according to his rank, and to enable him to present himself and
his retainers suitably equipped and ready to fight in any emergency.

Of the five Parliamentary boroughs in Norfolk, only two are
mentioned as burgs in

THE DOMESDAY SURVEY,

whilst " Castle " Rising, Thetford, and King's Lynn are unnoticed.
This, however, in no way proves they were nonexistent. London,
indeed, is wholly omitted, yet there is indisputable evidence to shew
it existed long before the compilation of the Conqueror's survey.
About the year a.d. 275, Tacitus speaks of what the Saxons termed
London-byrig or London-borough, as Londinium ; and Bede, writing
in A.D. 604, says it was " the emporium of many people coming by
sea and land; whilst in the Judicia Civitatis Lundonia (a.d. 924) the
metropolis is classed as a byrig, burg, or town. Notwithstanding the
fact that Lin is mentioned only as a district, it does not preclude
the existence of Lin as a town. The record in question was nothing

A HABITATION WITH A NAME. 43

more nor less than a general register compiled expressly to settle, in
case of dispute, the tenure of estates, etc. It was not an official
enumeration of the inhabitants of the kingdom, neither was it a
parochial survey. But, following the example of Alfred the Great
and Edward the Confessor, the Norman Conqueror had a national
geld or rent-roil drawn up of the particular lands which owed rent,
suit, or service to the Crown.

MATTERS ECCLESIASTICAL.

Through severe affliction the venerable Bisi or Bisus, the fourth
of the Saxon bishops, was greatly hindered in the discharge of his
episcopal functions. The duties would indeed have tried the strength
of a far younger man ; hence he conceived the idea of dividmg the
large East Anglian diocese into two parts. This was effected during
his life (a.d. 637). A suffragan, Bishop Baldwin, was elected for
North Elmham, where the first cathedral church — a wooden structure
— was erected; whilst the superior. Bishop Ecci, continued at Dun-
wich. However, the two sees were reunited by Herfast, the twenty-
second bishop, who was moreover the Conqueror's chancellor (1070).
He was, of course, a Norman, and, like other Norman ecclesiastics, he
heartily despised the old Saxon capital, so dear to his predecessors.
Therefore, he removed the see to Thetford (1075), where it remained
until Bishop Lozinga transferred it to Norwich (1094).

What a zealous, enthusiastic prelate was Herbert de Lozinga !
He made up his mind to erect not only a cathedral in the middle of
the diocese, but smaller churches at each extremity ; he was indeed an
enterprising builder. St. Nicholas' at Great Yarmouth and St. Mar-
garet's at King's Lynn appear to have been both begun about the year

IIOI.

The old burg was now fast merging into a place of importance,
and the church, afterwards dedicated to the memory of St. Margaret,
was erected almost at the water's edge, for the benefit of those living
upon the foreshore of the fast disappearing Lin. With so many
buildings in progress, the bishop's purse, as might be expected, waxed
lighter and lighter, but his ardour did in no wise abate. He boldly
appealed to the inhabitants of Norfolk and Suffolk for money to
enable him to carry on the commendable design upon which he had
set his heart. How was it that during Herbert de Lozinga 's term of
office a second appeal for further funds was necessary? Were our
forefathers remiss in contributing towards this most worthy object?
By no means, and for these reasons : — rThe population of the town
kept on steadily increasing, so much so that before the close of the
12th century it was found imperative to extend the boundary by
enclosing a part of the " new land," formed by the silting process
already explained. Not only was the church of St. Margaret com-
pleted, but a chapel of ease was deemed necessary. When St.
James' chapel was built we cannot say, but it was in existence some
thirty years after the prelate's death. And the money derived from
the second call was rather to erect a seco7id building than to complete
the first.

U HiSTOkY OF KING'S lYNN.

Herbert was followed by Bishop Eborard, who did not interest
himself with this neighbourhood ; but his successor, William Turbus,
of Turbe, proceeded to enclose a part of the sandy marsh to the north
of the town. This important work, enclosing what was styled the
New Londe, must have been undertaken between 1146 and 11 74, that
is, between the year when William Turbus was promoted to the see
of Norwich and the time of his death ; and the reclaiming of this
tract, over which the spring-tides perhaps ebbed and flowed, was prob-
ably finished before the town received its first charter.

There is a parchment roll in our borough muniment room which
throws a little light upon the subject. Although the style of writing
is peculiar to the period when Henry V. lived, yet it is, we are told,
an unquestionably faithful copy of a survey of the town during the
later half of the 13th or the beginning of the 14th century. The
original terrier was evidently compiled for the purpose of recording
the amount of ground-rent due to the bishop for each tenement.
From it we learn that the town was designated Lenne Efiscopi, that is

bishop's lenne

and that the recently-enclosed area was — the Newland. Now,
although the Purfleet ran between the old burg and the newer and
more modern settlement, it was easy to get from one to the other when
the tide was low, by means of the ford or wading-path, where thought-
ful hands had placed stepping-stones among the reeds and sedges.
After a while, and when the necessity for passing from one settlement
to the other became more urgent, the ancient embankment was prob-
ably cut away and the fosse at the Sedge-Ford was spanned by a
primitive foot-bridge, towards the support of which the busy inhabit-
ants were well pleased to pay a small tax or byrig-boot. A rough-
hewn, clumsy piece of joinery it must have been ; yet was it very use-
ful, and utility covers a multitude of sins. The connection between
bridge and byrig, an earth-work, needs no further explanation.
Thomas de Sedgeford, who was mayor in 1306 and again in 1308,
was named, as was usual in the early days of surnames, from the
sedge or seche ford (Anglo-Saxon secg), the locality in which he lived,
and in this case it might possibly be at the west end of Sedgeford
Lane.

The maintenance of bridges and roads was once regarded as a
work extremely meritorious and pleasing in the sight of God. Those
who were compelled to travel from one part of the kingdom to another
were considered objects worthy of charity. Not only, therefore, did
pious Christians leave money to place bridges across the treacherous
fords, where the stepping-stones were often swept by torrents after
heavy rains, but to erect wayside chapels.* A religious order, the
Pontife Brothers (Latin fons a bridge) was founded in the 12th
century, whose sole object was the collecting of funds for the making

** Adam de Geyton bequeathed los. to repair the bridge over the Nar, in South Lenne, and 20s. to the
"causey" (causeway) between Roudcshill (''Spread Eagle Estate") and Gaywood, &c. (1272). Thomas
Thoresby, of Leime, willed that the bridge of Stock Ferry be finished up, at his cost, in coping and other
necessary thiugs for the salvation of the same (15 10).

A /JAB/TAT/ON WITH A NAME. 45

of bridges. As a rule these sacred edifices were erected beside the
bridges, so that with no unnecessary inconvenience the wayfarers
might enter and thank God for His preserving mercy. it was
customary for them to leave a small contribution, if tolls were not
demanded, for the repair of the bridge over which they had just
passed.

All the bridges leading to the older part of the town apparently
had their chapels. Not far from the Gannock bridge was the oratory
now called the Red Mount, which might have succeeded an earlier
building nearer the mill leat ; at the north-east corner of what is still
termed Lady bridge, and near the mouth of the Mill fleet, was a
chapel dedicated to Our Lady, which was taken down to widen
the street (1806); and the bridge connecting the old and new towns
was provided with a chapel, which was at the north-west angle, where
the Coffee Tavern now stands. An etching of the crypt or bassa
ecclesia, discovered when the Purfieet was filled up, was executed by
the late Henry Baines (1865-6). Our Stone bridge or High bridge
had only one arch, but, like the celebrated London bridge, finished in
1209, it was furnished on both sides with houses. When the tenants
of these houses (which were standing until recently) needed water,
they let their buckets down by means of ropes from the windows or
overhanging balconies at the rear, and hauled up a fresh supply from
the Purfieet. Under this bridge, barges, heavily laden with mer-
chandise, passed to supply those dwelling on both sides of the
" common way."

After Bishop Turbus had raised a substantial embankment and
laid out the enclosed land for building purposes, he erected a chapel
of ease, and dedicated it to the memory of St. Nicholas. This he
granted to the monks of Norwich, even as Herbert, his predecessor,
had the church of St. Margaret. The sacred edifice was "in his
own liberty," and although the church in the " Newland " was vir-
tually a chapel of ease to the parent church, yet it was entirely dis-
tinct, because it was without the soke of the monks, standing upon
land reclaimed from the sea — in fundo nostra de Lenna in novo terra
nostra quam de novo ■providimiis liabitandam — '' upon our ground at
Lenne, in our new land, where we from the beginning have provided
a habitation."'^"

In 1204, John de Grey, who was then bishop of the diocese,
expressed the great desire he felt for possessing certain lands and
privileges which Bishop Herbert de Lozinga had made over to the
priory at Norwich. To effect his purpose. John de Grey proposed
to exchange his manors at Sechford and Great Cressingham in Nor-
folk, together with the lands, etc., belonging thereto, reserving only to
himself and his sucessors the advowson of the church at Great
Cressingham, with the knight's fees and services accruing to the said
manor. The priory, accepting the offer, resigned to the bishop and
his successors the whole of the rights and profits arising from the

* Micliael of Lyii, secretary to Edward III., and Archdeacon of Suffolk (1348), was sumamed Newburgh,
.\t a later period Northburg was also applied to the uew settleraeut.

46 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

fairs held at Bishop's Lenne and Gaywood, the market of St. Mar-
garet, and their right in all rents (with one exception) and tolls in the
burg.

To secure even greater ascendancy, the bishop promised to remit
to the priory at Norwich " all spiritualities, tithes, oblations and
obventions," belonging not alone to the church of St. Margaret, but
also those derivable from the chapels of St. Nicholas and St. James,
besides those of the church at Mintlyn. He surrendered with ques-
tionable disinterestedness the tithes received from his demesne lands
at Gaywood as well, upon an easy condition — that the priory was to
supply the necessary chaplains, subject, however, to his approval and
dismissal. He, moreover, reserved to himself the power to erect other
churches in their parishes if he thought fit, but any prospective profits
arising therefrom he notwithstanding relinquished and conceded to the
priory.

Such strangely advantageous terms were eagerly accepted, and
thus the domination of the town drifted once more into ecclesiastical
hands. It cannot be a surprise that henceforth the name it bore
was more than ever applicable,— a name retained until the borough
was alienated to the Crown, some three hundred years afterwards.

EXCHANGE, NO ROBBERY.

During a short but eventful career John de Grey had played
various parts before donning the bishop's mitre ; he travelled the
country as a justice, and had quietly ingratiated himself into royal
favour whilst discharging his duties as the king's secretary. He
became immensely rich and oppressively arrogant. But the worst
was yet to come, for our impecunious monarch so far humiliated him-
self as to solicit assistance from his own servant. The regalia of
England, the king's gilt sword, sur-coat, tunic and numerous articles
of costly apparel, besides the sumptuous coronation robes of Edward
the Confessor, and other priceless relics, were surrendered as pledges
to the usurious prelate for money advanced. Having thus far
achieved his secret purpose, he determined to exercise what power
he possessed in influencing the king on behalf of the town which by
his exceptional astuteness and diplomacy he had secured to himself.
He had already — before negotiating the exchanges with the Norwich
Priory — built for himself a stately palace at Gaywood, which is said
to have stood on the site occupied by the present " Hall." Consoling
himself that one good turn deserves another, he approached the king,
who in abject submission granted his request.

To these circumstances we are indebted for our -first charter,
which King John granted, his motives being primarily to gratify the
wishes of an invaluable favourite rather than to benefit " the good
folks of Lenne," as his subjects in this town were flatteringly styled.
From thence Lenne Episcopi became what was termed a free
borough, " which at that time," write Merewether and Stephens,
"was a distinguishing mark of no slight importance."

OUR GREAT CHARTER. 47

CHAPTER VII.

Out Great Chatter*

In early times royal charters were executed for the purpose of grant-
ing special privileges, exemptions, honours, pardons, rewards and
other benefits the Crown might have to bestow. Thus the term
became restricted to such instruments as conferred some definite right
or franchise. Royal charters and letters patent did not differ much
in form ; they were usually addressed by the king to his subjects, and
were exhibited in some public place, with the great pendent seal at
the bottom. The power of the Crown in granting charters was at
first exercised chiefly in conferring immunities on burghs or boroughs
and municipal bodies ; and the most important was considered to be
the privilege of sending representatives to Parliament. This our
town has done since the reign of Edward III.

We possess an almost unbroken series of charters from the
beginning of the 13th century to the present time.

C. I. THE MAGNA CHARTA*

of our municipal liberty is carefully protected in the new strong-room
adjoining the Town Hall. A portion of the broad wax seal,
attached to the parchment with a silken cord, remains. The deed,
which is in a good state of preservation, was granted by King John
at Lutgershall, in Wiltshire, on the 14th of September in the 6th year
of his reign (1205).

By this charter Bishop's Lenne became what is termed a free
burgh, and its inhabitants thenceforth enjoyed certain advantageous
concessions. Our first charter may be regarded as the basis upon
which all subsequent liberties rested. As a lordship or seigniory,
the burgesses had from that time forward the power of holding plea
of trespass, etc., and also the privilege of fining offenders. They
could themselves try any person accused of theft in the burgh ;
besides, if any burgess were arrested for felony elsewhere, they could
summon him to appear in Bishop's Lenne to stand his trial in the
town to which he belonged. They were free " from all suit of county
court or hundred court for tenures within the burgh of Lenne ; and
that none of them should be impleaded out of the burgh in any plea
but those of foreign tenures, and that all trials of murder should be
in the said burgh, and the burgesses freed from all trial by combat
or duel, and if impleaded in any except a foreign one, they might
traverse the same according to the law and custom of Oxford."
(Parkin.)

The different payments due to the bishop as lord of the burgh
were to be exacted from all strangers visiting Lenne ; from these
levies the burgesses were, of course, exempt, whether they remained
in the town or not. Strangers were subject to passage, a payment for
the use of the roads leading to, through and from the burgh ; paage,

* As reference will be made to our various charters, it is thought advisable thai they should be
designated thus: C. i, C. 2, etc.

48 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

a tax upon all merchandise brought hither by water ; pontage, for
keeping the various bridges in repair ; stallage or ftckage, for break-
ing the ground for the erection of stalls or booths in fairs and
markets ; and sundry tolls for permission to buy or sell. If, however,
a burgess hailing from Bishop's Lenne were compelled to pay for the
enjoyment of similar privileges elsewhere (except in London), the
chief officer, provost or mayor of Lenne could immediately distrain
upon the goods of the offending exacter for the whole amount. To
prevent breaches of the king's peace the community could inflict a
fine of ;^io upon any stranger injuring a stranger whilst a sojourner
in their midst.

The highly favoured inhabitants of this burgh were no longer
liable for the payment, either here or elsewhere, of the obnoxious
Danegelt — a tax of two shillings upon every hide (60 to 100 acres)
of land released by King Stephen. Permission was granted for the
establishing of a self-governing gild of merchants, on the same lines
as the one already existing at Oxford, and for the holding of a
weekly hustings court. Moreover, in future no burgess was forced
to maintain anybody ; he might with impunity disregard an order to
that effect even if it were issued by the Earl-Marshal. Miskenning,
or the fraudulent summoning of a seller to court, under the pretence
that the goods offered for sale were claimed by another, was punish-
able as a crime. A terrified salesman would often part with accom-
modation money rather than appear in court to prove his possession
was legal and thus " justify a sale."

ITS CONFIRMATION —

Now after the king had granted the charter conferring " free-
dom " upon the burgh of the Bishop's Lenne, and received (as is said)
three beautiful palfreys as a slight token of grateful appreciation, it
became necessary for the bishop as lord of the burgh to formally
reiterate the king's words, and thus to definitely acknowledge that
the same met with his concurrence. John de Grey therefore certi-
fied : " That he had granted to his village of Lenne, namely, to the
parish of St. Margaret in the same village, and all men dwelling
therein, all and every the same liberties which the burgesses of Oxford
enjoy ; the king having granted to him " (the bishop) " the power of
choosing any burgh in England, and that his village of Lenne should
enjoy the same liberties that any burgh enjoyed, which he should
make choice of, and that he made choice of the burgh of Oxford."
(Parkin.)

The bishop's choice was a wise one. Oxford was highly
favoured among burghs, and of this the Bishop was cognizant. Its
charter had been granted by Henry IL, not only in recognition of the
city's fidelity to himself when fighting against Stephen, but because
of its friendship to his mother.

Mackerell speaks of having seen this episcopal charter. It was
about 6 by 5 inches, having at that time the seal attached, though
somewhat broken. The historian gives a description thereof. On
one side there was the representation of the Bishop in his episcopal

OUR GREAT CHARTER. 49

attire, mitre on head, and crozier in hand, with the legend :
Johannes Dei Gratia Episcop. Norwicens. On the reverse, a
lamb with a cross, and for legend : Ecce Agnus Dei qui tollit

PECCATA MUNDI.

Mr. E. M. Beloe, who has given considerable attention to this
subject, refers to a series of charters by means of which " the divided
jurisdiction of the monks in the old town and the bishop in the New-
land was obliterated, and the town became one, and under one
authority." The series mentioned may be arranged thus: —

(a) 27th January 1203, King John granted a preliminary charter to the town ;

(h) 24th March 1203, the Bishop gave a confirmatory charter ;

{d) 17th May 1205, a charter of exchange executed between the Bishop and
the Monastery of Norwich ;

(e) 17th May 1205, the Bishop granted considerable endowments to the
Monastery, including the three churches in Lenne, with Gaywood and Mintlyn; and

{/) loth June 1205, a royal charter confirming d and e.

Of these important documents b " was till lately in our muni-
ment room " j it was, however, overlooked by Mr. John C. Jeaffreson,
when investigating for the Historical Manuscripts Commission
(1887). The " two beautiful originals " also in the possession of
our Corporation and marked c above, are duly mentioned in his pub-
lished " Report " (pp. 185-6). In the duplicate the names of the
witnesses are differently arranged, and " Alan Basset " appears in
one, but not in the testamentary clause of the other. The last of the
series, /, is in the hands of the Dean and Chapter of Norwich.*

AND ADAPTATION.

Owing to the vagueness of the phraseology employed in the docu-
ment termed the " Great Charter " many disputes and much con-
fusion arose. The burgesses disagreed with the methods adopted at
the municipal elections ; this difficulty was, however, easily overcome
by following the usage at Oxford; nevertheless " quarrels were con-
tinually occurring with the bishop," as Harrod asserts, " either about
his tolls, about his title to interfere in their elections, or about the
neglect of his duties in repairing wharves and staithes."

The fleecing of strangers was not by any means the introduction
of a new commercial method, but the survival of a very old one, as
is apparent from the following quotations from Adam Smith's Wealth
of Nations : —

In all the different countries of Europe then, in the same manner as in
several of the Tartar governments of Asia at present, taxes used to be levied
upon the persons and goods of travellers, when they passed through certain
manors, when they went over certain bridges, when they carried about their
goods from place to place in a fair, when they erected in it a booth or stall to
sell them in. These different taxes were kno\\Ti in England by the names of
passage, pontage, lastage and stallage. Sometimes the king, sometimes a great
lord, would grant to particular traders, to such as lived in their own demesnes, a

' Vide Our Borough: Ouf Churches; by Edward M. Beloe (1899) ; and Parkin's History of Norfolk
(Blomefield). vol. viii., pp. 483-6 (1808).

The Charter in Latin — Mackerell's Hist. Lynn, C1738), pp. a42-4 ; in English — Blomefield's Hist. Norf.
vol. VIlI., pp. 485-6, or Aikin's Report of the Municipal Corporations (1834), pp. 74-5.

50 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

general exemption from such taxes. Such traders, though in other respects of
servile condition, were upon this account called free-traders. They in return
usually paid to their protector a sort of annual poll-tax. In those days protection
was seldom granted without a valuable consideration, and this tax might
perhaps be considered as compensation for what their patrons might lose from
other taxes.

There can be no doubt but that the inhabitants of Lenne paid
pretty heavily for what were, after all, only nominal privileges. The
poll-taxes were in some places let in farm during a term of years, for
a stipulated sum, to the sheriff of the county or some other person
with adequate means. The king received the revenue without the
trouble of appointing collectors, and the speculating sheriff seldom
struck a bad bargain. At other times, however, the burgesses them-
selves became jointly and severally responsible for the whole amount.

At first the farm of the town was let to the burghers, in the same manner as
it had been to other farmers, for a term of years only. In process of time,
however, it seems to have become the general practice to grant it to them in fee.
that is, for ever, reserving a rent certain, never afterwards to be augmented. Tl e
payment having become perpetual, the exemptions in return for which it was
made became perpetual too. Those exemptions therefore ceased to be personal,
and could not afterwards be considered as belonging to individuals as individuals,
but as burgesses of a particular burgh, which on this account was called a jree-
burgh, for the same reason that they had been called free-burghers or free-traders.

The frequent litigations in which our Corporation were involved,
have, it must be thankfully admitted, contributed to the preservation
of this ancient relic, recording the first enfranchisement of our burgh.
In 1339 a payment of three shillings and four pence was made for
a " hanaper " in which to place " the great charter." A hanaper —
a word recognisable in its modern guise as hamper — was a small
wicker basket in which legal documents were formerly kept. Writs
in the Court of Chancery were kept in such a basket — z« hanaperio,
and the office was until recently called the Hanaper office. The
charter was produced in evidence before the King's Court as late as
the 7th year of Henry IV. (or V.), to establish the fact that no bur-
gess belonging to the free-burgh of Lenne could be legally impleaded
in any place other than the town to which he belonged. Prior to this
it was produced and allowed in the Court of King's Bench in the
case of Margaret the widow of Robert de Wenton and the Mayor of
Lenne (1220).

EARLY DEVELOPMENT.

At the beginning of the nth century, Lenne was a place of some
importance, and owing to its advantageous position, being on a narrow
arm of the sea, it grew in course of time into an opulent mercantile
settlement. As early as the Norman invasion, the inhabitants en-
joyed exceptional pecuniary privileges — duties and customs payable
on the arrival of merchandise, a moiety of which they handed over
to the bishop of the diocese, who was lord of the burgh. Tradesmen
in large towns had their patrons as early as the reign of Edward the
Confessor, under whose protection they traded, and for which they
willingly paid an acknowledgment. If there were no patron, they
found themselves in a most servile condition, as being under the

OUR GREAT CHARTER. 51

power of the king or other influential persons, who could extort money
from them. It was therefore an advantage to the burgesses of Lenne
to have a powerful patron — the bishop of the diocese. William of
Newburg (1136-1198?) a friar belonging to the Augustinian priory
at Newburg, near Coxwell, in Yorkshire, and the author of the
Historia Rerum Anglicarum (the finest historical work by an English-
man during the 12th century), regarded our town as of great import-
ance; he speaks of it as Urbs commeatu et commerciis, that is, "a
noble city, or a city noted for its trade." The origin of " the great
river " in the 13th century, by establishing communication with the
midlands, greatly facilitated the growth of our trade. " Of all the
navigable rivers in England," writes Col. John Armstrong in his
Navigation of the Port of King's Lynn (1756), " the river of the
great Ouse is one of the chief, which for usefulness of it an ancient
author (Spelman) says, via lactea est; qua merces 6^ alia vitce
necessaria cofiose inferunt &" defermit : ejiisque in osiio, instar
clavis, Lenna sedet. In other words, our river was termed " the
milky way, which copiously brings in and carries out the riches and
other necessaries of life, the key of whose worth (that is, the mer-
chants), settled in course of time with (their) vessels at Lenne."

(l) ITS EXTENT.

Towards the close of the 13th century buildings had spread
northward in the Newland, beyond the chapel of St. Nicholas; the
Damgate, corresponding with part of ilie present Norfolk Street, was
populated, and a row of small tenements stretched from the Bishop's
\Iill fleet (Littleport Street) quite up to the drawbridge at the East
or St. Catherine's gate. The whole of the north side of this portion
of the thoroughfare belonged to the Brotherhood of St. Lawrence,
and paid of course a ground-rent to the Bishop. And what is perhaps
still more surprising — there were beyond the East Gates, outside the
boundary of the Newland, two-and-twenty other messuages, twelve
on the north and the rest on the south of the highway leading towards
Gaywood. For the safety of the burgh these messuages, miserable
thatched hovels at the best, were burnt " in the time of war " by
order of King Henry III,

The causeways or dams approaching the early settlement in the
Lin were vastly improved. There were two. The one on the north,
leading from Thorpe, crossed the marshes at Gaywood and passed
by the point where Hob in the Well now stands. " The course of
the road into the older settlement of Lyn between the Purfleet and
the Millfleet is well marked. It entered by the East Gate," Mr.
E. M. Beloe continues, " always the more important one, through
Littleport, then turning to the left southward it ran on a high em-
bankment, lowered in my time for the station and St. John's church,
into Lynn over the Purfleet, there called the Clough Fleet." This
causeway was the High-gate or High-way — a cognomen perhaps also
applied to the Dam-gate or raised way across the marsh which led
to the ferry in the haven. High is derived directly from the Anglo-
Saxon adjectiye hiah, and indirectly from the verb heaf-an, to heave

52 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

up, to raise, or to elevate. How appropriate is this name to the road
running along the raised earth-work. The old embankment has dis-
appeared, it is true, but there is in the neighbourhood a district still
termed " Highgate."

Professor Skeat traces the derivation of high thus : Anglo-Saxon
/leak, Mercian heh, gives the Middle English hey or heh, also hy^ or
hygh, hence hig/i, whilst hey is represented by hey-day, that is, " high
day." The final h in Anglo-Saxon had the sound of the German
ch. This sound was always written gh in Middle English, and still
remains in writing, though always either mute or sounded as /. The
gh is sounded as / in laugh, but is silent in high.

The late Mr. J. D. Thew regarded the " High Hills," as this
embankment near the station was called, as "an old disused dust-
heap," and Burnet piles ridicule upon the term, because the " hill.s "
are not higher, quite forgetting its etymological significance — the
raised or heaved-up " hills."

As late as the i8th century Norfolk Street retained its old name;
it was the Dam-gate. The dams or approaches to the burgh were,
as might be anticipated, originally banks to obstruct the flow of the
incoming waters (Anglo-Saxon demn-an, to obstruct, to restrain, or to
stop by means of a heap of earth).

On the south of the settlement was the Hardwyke Dam, another
important causeway, leading from the hamlet of Hardwick — a name
which signifies, according to Blomefield, " a turn at the point of hard
land." Crossing the ford at the spot where the South Gate was
subsequently erected, it swerved towards the west, and then, after
one or two bends along what was afterwards Coldhirn Street (Friars
Street), the cobble-paved track was struck, which led to the second
ford, spanned ultimately by " Our Lady's bridge," and on to the
old earth-work called the Stone-gate.

(2) THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A MINT.

Another sign of early importance was the fact that Lenne owned
a mint and struck coins. During the Saxon period this coveted
privilege was often relegated to the Church. Mints were, however,
sometimes granted to municipal communities by royal licence, and
thus constituted one of the early characteristics of a burgh. In a
list of the " towns of mintage " for the period corresponding with
the reign of Edgar (a.d. 959-975) Mr. Llewellynn Jewitt, F.S.A.,
includes Lenne ; there is, notwithstanding, no positive proof (although
it seems highly probable) that our town possessed a mint at that early
date. King yEthelstan enacted a law to the effect that " no one is
to coin money outside a port " (that is, a burg owning a market)
" and there is to be a moneyer in every burg " (a.d. 924-941). May
we not infer from the equivalence of the terms that Lenne as an
ancient burg possessed its own mint ?

In 1863 a workman dug up about 500 Saxon pennies at the
corner of the old Butter Market and the White Hart lane in Ipswich.
Though all belonged to the same reign, ^thelred II. (loth century),
yet they were struck at several different places ; London appears as

OVR GREAT CHARTER. 53

LuNDONi or LuNDO, and Lenne is said to be represented by Lvn,
and perhaps Lima, for in the Domesday Book Lvn and Lena are
given. Neither does Ly upon a Saxon nor Lyndr upon a Norman
coin help in this inquiry. Some writers contend that the Stephen-
penny with Stiefne upon the obverse and HwN on Risinge upon the
reverse was struck at Lenne ; but if Rising were a burg it had its own
moneyer in the time of ^thelstan, and, moreover, if the burg was a
fort or market, the greater the reason it should possess a moneyer.

There is indisputable evidence that a mint was established in
Lenne in the time of King John, because a mandate was issued to all
the " moneyers " in the kingdom summoning them within fifteen days
to Westminster, to bring for inspection all their own dies, but not
those of the King (1208). Therein Norfolk, Norwich, Thetford and
Lenne are mentioned. A century later a writ was issued, addressed
to the wardens of the mint at Lenne, directing them under a recent
ordinance — le statut de la jnonoie — not only to seize all prohibited
money, but the chattels of the offending coiners, which were to be
sent immediately to His Majesty's exchequer. No matter how high
the social position of the delinquents, none were to be spared. Out
of courtesy, six silver pennies were handed to the King's messenger
who brought the writ to Lenne (1307).

How long our burgh continued to work its own mint may be
conjectured. Edward III. wisely reduced the various local coinages
to one standard — that of the Tower of London. There was no pro-
hibition ; every mint could withdraw its coining tools from the Tower
after they had been scrupulously adjusted ; but as a profit of only 5s.
was to be allowed for striking coins to the amount of ;^ioo in future,
it is reasonable to suppose that, with other towns, Lenne grew dis-
satisfied, and discontinued the unremunerative business of money-
making (1344)-

(3) THE advent of THE JEWS.

In 1020 Canute issued an order of banishment against the Jews,
who apparently returned to this country soon after the Norman Con-
quest, and many had taken up their abode in this town as early as
the 12th century. Inasmuch as they carried on trade with most parts
of Europe, it may be rightly inferred that Lenne was not wholly un-
known on the Continent. William of Newburg has left on record
a tragic incident which happened here (January, 1190). One of the
resident Jews, who professed to be a Christian, suddenly found him-
self in great danger ; and to save his life he took sanctuary in one
of the churches. Whereupon his enraged brethren broke open the
door, and would have slain him, had not several foreigners rushed
to his rescue. The townsfolk, it seems, were afraid to interfere,
because at this time the King had temporarily taken the despised
race under his protection. This sad adventure quickly developed
into a deplorable riot, which was attributed not to the jealous bur-
gesses, but to the foreign traders who happened to be in the town.
The houses in the Jewry, or Jewish quarter, were plundered and
burnt to the ground, and a general massacre of the Jews ensued, the

54 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

last being a Jewish physician. A monkish writer declares " that
bold and greedy men carried out the work of their own cupidity with
savage joy." To escape the King's displeasure, the strangers
secured their booty and forthwith sailed away.

At this time (William of Newburg continues) there is a street called from
them the Jews' street, where they lived together. They had great mdulgence
which they paid the government for, bought houses and lands which rendered
them hated by the Christians. In many ancient deeds may be seen a form of
warranty against selling land, &c., to th«m, namely, et cuicque dare yendere, ct
assignare value nt prceterquam domij religiosce et Judaismo vel Judxis which
means that lands, &c., may be freely given, sold or assigned to whomsoever a person
wishes, except to a religious house for Jewish purposes or to the Jews themselves.
In the time of Richard I. the persecution of the Jews was
general throughout the kingdom, and our town was implicated in this
early Socialistic movement. Envy and dissatisfaction prompted to
deeds of robbery and murder those who ought to have set an example
worthy of imitation. The Jews were immensely rich ; therefore were
they plundered and their wealth stolen, and where resistance was
offered they lost their lives. The royalists robbed and murdered them
because, as was contended, they assisted the barons ; and the baronial
party followed suit, alleging as a pretext that the Jews were secretly
allied with the King against them, and that they possessed hidden
stores of Greek fire, with which to destroy the champions of liberty.
Norfolk perhaps exceeded every other part of England for the viru-
lence of this fanatical persecution. The brutal work started in Lon-
don, extended to Lenne and other places, and at last reached York,
where a most revolting massacre was perpetrated.

Although our "great charter" held out inducements for
strangers to settle in Lenne, the Jews, it seems, were soon driven
away. Gewys' Lane was a local street-name in the 13th century,
and the lane retained that name until about 40 years ago, when it was
dubbed "Surrey Street." There is still a "Jews Lane Ward,"
although the Jews no longer inhabit the locality. As thrifty, in-
dustrious people, they amassed riches, and were in consequence re-
viled and persecuted by their envious, improvident neighbours. Not-
withstanding this unfortunate, though common occurrence, wherever
a Jewry existed prosperity invariably smiled.

(4) ROYAL FAVOUR.

King John visited Norfolk several times, and is believed to have
been exceedingly well disposed to the inhabitants of this burgh, who
were, it is said, unfeignedly grateful for their charter of freedom.
Although no facts are given in support of this assertion, the burgesses
of Lenne were unquestionably sincere in their loyalty, or John in his
extremity would not have trusted himself in their midst.

On two occasions the disaffected barons assembled at the magni-
ficent church at Bury (St. Edmund) to devise measures conducive to
their own protecdon, and likely at the same time to secure greater
liberty to the down-trodden peasantry of England. The first meet-
ing was convened in May 1205 ; the King spent three days in Bury,
but nothing of a satisfactory nature was the outcome. Later in the

OUR GREAT CHARTER. 8B

same year he was in Norfolk ; on the 8th and 9th of October he was
in Lenne, or rather Gaywood, for he apparently stayed with his
favourite, Bishop de Grey, at his newly-erected palace. The next
conference was held the 20th of November 12 14, when Stephen
Langton submitted a series of proposals to the enraged barons for
their consideration.

Another sign of the importance of the burgh at this period was
the amount contributed in Imperial Taxes. This interesting subject
must, however, be considered in a future section.

THE TREND OF EVENTS.

The student of English history will find no difficuFty in tracing
the course of events ; he will remember the reluctant signing of our
national Magna Charta, as based on Langton's suggestions at Runny-
mead ; the King's subsequent outburst of anger, and his ineffectual
attempt to annul what he had already done ; his crafty intrigue with
the pope,, who, although he had previously favoured the barons in
their commendable struggle, now veered round and promptly excom-
municated those opposed to the King ; the introduction of foreign
troops to coerce the people, who demanded greater freedom ; the King
at the head of a mercenary army laying waste the provinces ; the
baronial party imploring Prince Louis, the son of Philip of France,
to come to their assistance; the landing of the young Prince and his
followers ; the capture of the castle at Norwich, the ruthless plunder
of the city, and the exaction of large ransoms from Yarmouth, Dun-
wich and Ipswich. These familiar events need no lengthy
description.

When hard pressed and fleeing before the enemy, John remembered
his friends in Bishop's Lenne, and sent a message imploring the
authorities to receive and shelter all who might present themselves
with recommendations from Fulk d'Oiry and three other royal ad-
herents. Moreover, His Majesty graciously appointed Saveric de
Malione (otherwise Mauleon) to the captaincy of the burgh. At
length King John sought refuge here himself, bringing with him the
vast treasures he was lay force of untoward events compelled to carry
with him wherever he went. The burghers gave the King a hearty
welcome, feasted him sumptuously during his stay, and presented
him, when he departed, with a large sum of money. Saveric, whom
he sent back to Crowland to capture certain men-at-arms reported to
be in hiding there, though failing to find those whom he sought, yet
brought considerable spoils to Lenne — flocks of sheep, herds of cattle
and a few wretched prisoners, driven from sanctuary within the pre-
cincts of the Abbey. Parkin states that John was in Lenne on the 8th,
9th and loth of October 1216; that he, however, remained here
another day is conclusive, because of the following passage in the
Patent Rolls : — " At Lenn. Know, that we received in our chamber
at Lenn, on Tuesday next, after the feast of Saint Dionysius (Oct.
nth), the eighteenth year of our reign, 100 marks. ""^ Possibly the

'^ Mr. Rider Haggard in his preface to Tht King's Homeland (1904), in following Mason (Hist. Norf.,
p. 53), was led astray in concluding that in the Pbtent Roll our borough was styled — King's Lynn !

56 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

King received on this occasion the ransom Agatha de Trusbutt paid
for the liberation of her husband William d'Albini, Earl of Arundel
and Lord of Rising, who, belonging to the baronial army, was im-
prisoned as a traitor. The amount paid in this instance was loo
silver marks. The day before John granted to Margery (or Mar-
garet) the wife of Walter de Lacey, a slice of the royal forest at
Aconbury (Herefordshire), whereon to build a religious house. She
therefore founded a nunnery of the order of St. Augustine for the
repose of the souls of her father, mother and brother — William de
Braose, junior.

The struggle between the King and his people was exceedingly
severe, but fortunately of brief duration. Referring to this disastrous
campaign. Speed tells us that —

King John setting forth from Lin,* where for their faithful services he
bestowed large franchises and his own sword (?) and a gilt belt for typification of
his affection, with a full resolution to addresse his mighty army, to give Lewis
battle, as he was passing the Wash with his army and rich carriages towards
Lincolne Shire in those lands by reason of ye often changeable Channell ever
dangerous, all his carriages treasures and provision (himselfeandhis army hardly
escaping) were irrecoverably lost.

Matthew Paris describes the disaster as taking place at the
Cross Keys, where the King's waggons, baggage and valuables, in
the words of Shakespeare —

Were in the washes all unwarily,

Devoured by the unexpected flood.

On the left side of the road leading to Long Sutton there was
until recently a dark, stagnant pool of water, known as " King John's
Hole," where the King's treasures were supposed to have been en-
gulfed. Rumour assures us that many articles belonging to the un-
fortunate monarch were dug up, when the land in the vicinity of the
pool was drained.

Notwithstanding this crushing event, John bravely pushed for-
ward, determined to encounter the French army in Lincolnshire ; he
reached Wisbech on the 12th, Sleaford on the 15th and Newark on
the i8th, where his earthly career was brought suddenly to an end.
His death was caused not by poison, as some believe, but by a violent
attack of dysentery, the result of his gluttonous excesses whilst at
Lenne, aggravated perhaps by incessant anxiety. In compliance
with his wish, his body was conveyed to Winchester, and interred
within the precincts of the cathedral (12 16).

CHAPTER VIIL
The King^s Taxes*

After the mysterious death of Prince Arthur, King John was cited
to answer a charge of murdering his nephew, who was a homager of
the crown of France. Contemptuously ignoring the summons, he

•' Tradition points to the Mitre (now the Empress) Inn, Queen Street, as the house at which King John
stayed

THE KING'S TAXES. 57

was, by the decision of the French peers, deprived of all the posses-
sions he then held as vassal of France. Without delay, Philip, the
French king, invaded Normandy ; and in the course of the year
(1204-5) that duchy, as well as Anjou, Maine, Touraine and Poitou,
repudiated their allegiance to the English king. John unhesitatingly
boasted that he would recover all he had lost in one day. To do this
an expedition against France was imperatively necessary, but at this
most critical juncture the foolish monarch was ill-supported. Yar-
mouth and Lenne were among the principal places that came for-
ward to help to provide a fleet. Zealous gratitude seemed to have
biassed the judgment of the burgesses of Lenne ; they were truly more
loyal than discreet in the homage and assistance they rendered this
foolish, licentious monarch.

* -x- * * *

John was succeeded by Henry, his eldest son, a youth about 10
years of age. The Earl of Pembroke was appointed guardian of the
King, — an office which also included the onerous functions apper-
taining to the Regent of the realm. He succeeded in winning over
several leaders in the baronial army ; indeed, it was his wisdom and
courage which prevented England at this alarming crisis from
becoming a tributary province to France.

WAR IN THE ISLE OF ELY.

The fickle-minded inhabitants of Lenne (with whom every loyal
burgess must feel disgusted) suddenly swerved round, and, forgetful
alike of the friendship and the favours of their lately deceased King,
and, moreover, of the allegiance due to their youthful sovereign, they
joined hands with those wicked barons who were still brandishing
their arms. A battle was fought near Littleport, in which the barons
and their allies from Bishop's Lenne were severely handled. The
burning of twenty-two tenements beyond the East Gates, which
followed, happened " in the time of war " ; and though we are told
that the destruction of houses outside the boundary was for the safety
of the burgh, there is no reason why the circumstance may not be re-
garded as a mild sort of retribution carried out under the King's
instruction. Be this as it may, one fact remains indisputable : by
the strange and unaccountable behaviour of these burgesses the
chartered rights of Lenne were forfeited.

The defection was happily of a temporary character. The per-
verse and discontented minority were speedily absorbed by a stanch
and loyal majority. The destruction of a few old houses was nothing
when compared with the rights and privileges so wantonly sacrificed
through such an exhibition of wayward disloyalty. Picture the dis-
may in the faces of the wiser, and perhaps older, burgesses, as they
wended their way to the meeting convened by the Mayor, to consider
the gravity of the situation in which the community suddenly found
itself ; and imagine the impassioned and convincing arguments
addressed to the disloyal town-folk ! Before the congregation dis-
persed, Richard de Oxwikes was unanimously deputed to solicit an

58 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

audience of the King, to tender penitential apologies, and to pray
that Bishop's Lenne might once again be enrolled with the rest of
the free burghs, and that those advantageous terms enumerated in the
burgh's "Great Charter" might no longer be withheld (1216-7).
Though this course of action was humiliating, it was prudent, and,
by-the-bye, very economical, for the out-of-pocket expenses of the
deputation amounted only to seven shillings and eightpence.

Camden says :— " They (the burgesses) recovered their lost
liberties with some bloodshed from Henry III., when /;/ his cause .
they lost a battle against the proscribed barons, in the Isle of Ely,
as the Book of Ely (Liber Elieiisis), and Matthew Paris (Chronica
Majora) testify."

In both engagements the detachment from Lenne suffered
severely. By their atonement they acknowledged the injustice of
visiting the sins of a father upon an innocent child.

REEVE, PROVOST OR MAYOR.

The youthful sovereign generously forga\e the burgesses their
ill-advised transgression, and, mindful of the friendship that had for
so many years existed between them and his father, he granted the
burgh three charters during his reign. They were all more or less
of a confirmatory nature ; his primary object being to reaffirm and
reinforce what his father had already conceded.

C. 2. Dated at Westminster 6th Feb. ; 7th year of his reign (1223).

C. 3. „ ,, Windsor 14th April ; 39th „ „ „ (1255).

C. 4. „ „ Westminster 26th March ; 52nd „ „ (1268).

The first was a charter {insfeximiis) of revision and confirma-
tion ; not only were the privileges defined by the Great Charter (C.i.)
granted 28 years before (1205), acknowledged, but the grant was pro-
longed indefinitely. By the second, entitled Ne quis fro alios
distringator, the King freely granted the self-same immunities, but
he cautiously pointed out that they were in no wise binding upon his
successors. The third formally confirmed the two previous ones
(C.3. and C.2.) and gave the inhabitants permission to elect a mayor
in accordance with the terms of an ecclesiastical charter granted by
the Bishop of Norwich and his Chapter " in former times."

Now the bishop had no power of himself to grant the burgh a
mayor; he might notwithstanding have issued an ecclesiastica^l charter
ratifying, or rather stating his acquiescence in. what the King had
done. Sir Henry Spelman repudiates the generally-accepted sug-
gestion that King John actually granted our burgh its -first mayor,
which he maintains was obtained through Henry III. (C. 4.). There
is indeed no mention of a mayor in our " Great Charter." It is
written in Latin, quoted by Mackerell and Parkin, and, according to
the translation, in A Refort of the pocecdings of His Majesty's
Commissioners inquiring into the state of the Municipal Corpora-
tions, as republished by the late J. W. Aikin (1834), it was
addressed : "To all Archbishops, Earls, Barons, Justices, Sheriffs,
Chief Officers, Ministers, and to all their Bailiffs and faithful
people." The word rendered "chief ofifirers " is in the original

THE KING'S TAXES. 59

the dative plural of the noun prapo situs; further on in the document
propositus de Lenna is encountered, and this also is translated as
the " chief ofificer of Lynn." After the sheriffs — the shire-reeves, it
would be reasonable to anticipate the port-reeves; however, instead of
the Saxon word its Latin equivalent, prcepositi, appears.

The remarks by Messrs. Merewether and Stephens in reference
to London demand quoting, because of their peculiar applicability
to our burgh : —

As we have charters [granted to Loudon] in the reign of William II.,
Henry I., Henry II., Richard I., and three preceding charters by King John (two
in one day) in none of which the mayor is mentioned, it is not assuming too
much to say that there was no charter authorising the change of the name from
reeve to mayov: — and notwithstanding the great importance which has been
attributed to the latter term by authors— lawyers — and even the courts of law —
and Parliament, there seems to have been no necessity for a charter to change
the name, for the office continued the same; and it is obvious that the alteration
of the term could make no essential difference. For, as we have before observed,
the name varied only according to the diflerent language from which it was
borrowed : — veeve being the Saxon term— bailiff the French — prcepositiis the
Latin, afterwards translated into provost — and maire the Norman appellation,
probably borrowed from the Latin term major, not altogether without analogy
to the Saxon term for another office, the elder or ealdorman — the modern
alderman ; but to suppose that any real distinction was intended by the use of
these different terms, or that there was such magic in the appellation of mayor as
to import a Corporation or any connection with it, seems too childish to require
refutation, or even to justify further comment.— [T/ze History of the Bovoughs and
Municipal Covporations, 1835, vol. I., p. 384.]

THE IMPERIAL REVENUE.

On the accession of King John (1199) a duty termed quinzieme
was exacted. The land in this instance was not taxed, but all
movable goods — household furniture, wearing apparel, etc., were
assessed at one-fifteenth of their estimated value. The money was
carefully collected and paid to the King. As Lenne contributed as
much as 13.14 per cent, of the whole amount, the relative position
held by our burgh at this period may be better understood. Boston
paid 15.75, London 16.86 and Newcastle 3.19 per cent, respectively.
Again, in 12 15, when the port of London contributed £,?>Z^ 12s. 2d.
towards the revenue of the nation, Boston paid ^780 15s. 3d.,
Southampton ^712 3s. 7d., and Lenne ;^6oo lis. iid. Our town
ranked then as the fourth port in the kingdom ; its fifteenth {qiiinta-
decima or quinzieme, for both Latin and French ordinals were used),
amounted to two-thirds of what was raised by London alone; and
this commercial prosperity arose mainly through an influx of enter-
prising foreigners, many of whom were Jews. Lenne was eclipsed
by three other ports only !

An unsystematic and somewhat arbitrary levying of these taxes,
or tallages, as they were afterwards called (a word borrowed from
our French neighbours, the import of which must claim attention
presently) caused much uneasiness in Lenne during the early part of
the reign of Henry IIL Without consulting the patient burgesses,
the bishop of the diocese inflicted these burdens whenever he thought

(50 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

it expedient. This was a high-handed proceeding, to which the bur-
gesses submitted unwillingly.

A distinct separation from the jurisdiction of the sheriff of the
county (shire-reeve) was the real basis of the rights of a burgh or
borough. The preliminary measures in the assessing and collecting
of tallages rested with the sheriff and the bailiffs of a hundred ; but
in a free burgh the provost (or mayor) took the place of the sheriff,
and was assisted in his deliberations, not by bailiffs, but by certain
" lawful men " {le gales homines), who to qualify themselves for such
an important position were duly " sworn to the law " in the court leet.
Henceforth were they regarded as " law-worthy " men — the
accredited burgesses of the burgh. As this custom was established
as early as the reign of Richard I., the bishop of the diocese was
unquestionably encroaching upon the rights of the community.

THE MAYOR versilS THE BISHOP.

Like sensible men, the burgesses decided to fix their own assess-
ment and to tax themselves, without consulting an interfering bishop.
The pecuniary burden was perhaps no lighter, and the privations in-
curred by the payment thereof were not likely to be any the less, but,
acting independently and voluntarily, they did not feel it quite so
much. They had, besides, the temerity to create a mayor without
gaining in the mean time the Bishop's gracious assent. The head
and front of their offending had this extent, no more.

His Lordship, the arrogant Thomas Blundeville, looked upon
such a bold usurpation of power not merely as an illegal precedent,
but as an absolute crime ; and fearing, besides, that such irregular
proceedings tended to weaken the feudal hold he had upon his vas-
sals, he reluctantly entered an action against the officious bur-
gesses in the ecclesiastical court, and then, with even greater reluct-
ance, mercilessly excommunicated one and all of the imprudent
offenders (1224).

To be mulcted in heavy damages would be bad, but to have one's
part taken out of the book of life would, especially in a superstitious
age, be inconceivably dreadful. In this awful dilemma our dis-
tracted forefathers appealed to the King's justices, before whom a
legal investigation was instituted at Westminster. The representa-
tives of the Mayor and Burgesses of Bishop's Lenne, as well as those
of Thomas Blundeville, the incensed Bishop of Norwich, were cited
to appear before these justices, who were of course versed in eccle-
siastical law : Robert Lexington, William de York, Ralph de Nor-
wich, William de Lisle, Adam Fitz-William and Ralph de Rokele.
The King, as was then the custom, probably sat at the head of the
justices in the court of the King's Bench. The Mayor complained
that he and his associates were impleaded by his lordship in the
ecclesiastical court ; and, moreover, that they had been most cruelly
and unjustly excommunicated, because, in the first instance, they had
chosen a mayor among themselves, and secondly, because as burgesses
of a free burgh they had ventured to tax or tallage themselves. Sub-
ject to statutory law, the burgesses were striving after self-govern-

THE KING'S TAXES. 61

ment, and the duty the justices were called upon to discharge was
to decide whether their charters were sufficient for these things or not.
To be taxed at the caprice of an autocrat, whether layman or
cleric, was in all conscience a bitter pill for the self-assertive inde-
pendent folk of Lenne to swallow, notwithstanding the declaration to
which they each subscribed undoubtedly invested the bishop with this
extraordinary power. " You shall faithfully pay your tallage,"
commences the form by which they were sworn, " made by the lord
(bishop) at Ids ivill, of all your chattels of your property whatever
they are, and of the chattels of your wife, and all that is your due
to pay." How did they interpret the damning phrase? Like
Wordsworth's river, the bishop moved "at his own sweet will."
Possibly, too, his Lordship was within his rights in summarily excom-
municating the wayward burghers, for Messrs. Merewether and
Stephens write thus : —

Excommunication was threatened to all who in prejudice to ecclesiastical
liberty presumed to burden religious men, clerks, beneficed clergy or their men
living on ecclesiastical ground, with tallages, taxes, murage, tributes, expense- of
fortifications, or of carriage, or other undue and unaccustomed exactions. And
that this threat might operate strongly on all people, notice was directed to be
given by the priests in all churches at Christmas, Easter, Whitsuntide and Saints'
days, in the vulgar tongue. — \Hh\:QYy of Boroughs, 1843, vol I., p 426.]

— There is no evidence, but it is probable, that the burgesses fixed
a tallage U})on some of the clergy then resident in the burgh ; if so,
excommunication was the natural sequence.

In the decision awarded by the court, no reference is made to
the method of assessing the tallage; it might therefore be presumed
that the obnoxious system was not amended. Definite instructions,
however, were given as to the selection of a mayor for the burgh of
Lenne. In future, the burgesses were to nominate " whomsoever
they pleased of their own body," subject only to one easy condition
— that the mayor-elect should be immediately presented to the bishop
or his successors, and that the bishop, on his part, should duly
acknowledge the chosen representative of the people in his official
capacity " without any contradiction." Prior to the formal pre-
sentation the mayor-elect was compelled to pledge himself '^ to pre-
serve as much as in his power [lay] the liberties of the Church of
Norwich."

MEDIAEVAL ASSESSMENTS.

In 1227, Herbert d'Alengon. as sherifl" of Norfolk ;uid Suffolk,
was employed to fix an assessment for the county; again in 1230
another w:is determined by Godfrey de Craucumbe and William de
Haverhill, ft cannot be ascertained whether the mayor or the hisJiop
assessed our town on these occasions. When the King's sister, the
Princess Isabella, was married, our county, with others, was called
upon to provide '' an aid " (1235). The King stipulated the form
this benevolence was to take : the Sheriff of Norfolk, Thomas
d'Emmenegrave and the bailiffs of the various hundreds were com-
manded to furnish ten ships, equipped with well-armed sailors, to
" take his beloved sister across the sea." The inhabitants of Lenne

62 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

unquestionably assisted in providing funds for the matrimonial
expedition.

In our municipal strong-room fragments of two old tallage rolls
are carefully preserved. They constitute the earliest receipts for
money paid. The first contains particulars of the different sums
gathered in one of the constabularies into which the burgh was then
divided. The assessment was unusually heavy, and was fixed at one-
tenth of the estimated value of the goods possessed. It refers to " the
ward of Henry Borehorn," but unfortunately bears no date. The
second, a parchment 15 feet long and 7 inches wide, gives an interest-
ing account of what was collected in the constabulary or wardship of
Henry de Gernemutha towards the payment of a tallage of one-
fifteenth granted by the Parliament to Edward I.

A WOODEN ARRANGEMENT.

Before examining the more important of these documents, an
obsolete way of keeping accounts must be briefly explained. Four-
sided wooden rods or tallies were used. The word tallage is the
English adaptation of the French word tailler, meaning " to cut away
a part out of the whole." On one side of the wooden ledger, notches
were cut, corresponding with the sum for which it w^as a tangible
acknowledgment. The other sides contained in writing, the date of
the transaction, the name of the payer, and other particulars of the
debt contracted. When everything was in readiness, the rod was split
in such a manner that each half contained one written side and the
half of every notch. Whilst one part was put into circulation, the
other was safely deposited in the Exchequer. When a settlement of
the account was desired, the two parts of the rod were placed
together ; if they tallied, or made a perfect tally, all was right ; if not,
there was convicting evidence of fraud, and payment was promptly
refused. In 1298 Reginald de Taverner was indebted to the
community ^15, that is, for three different tallages, but he explained
how he had advanced ;^i5 8s. as a loan for municipal purposes ; he
moreover produced his tally; the counterparts were examined, the
notches were found to correspond, and the payment was thereupon
remitted. Tallies were not finally abolished in the Exchequer till
1834.

Poor men and women, the value of whose movable goods did not
exceed forty pence, were excused, but all in better circumstances were
bound to contribute according to the amount fixed by the public
assessor. This imperial exaction, designed expressly to replenish a
depleted exchequer, was collected just after the ingathering of the
harvest, so that, with the burgesses' cattle, agricultural implements,
and articles for culinary and domestic purposes, there might also be
included the corn crop of the current year. The work of fixing a
value upon the goods and chattels of the tax-payer was deputed to
one person, who was no doubt responsible for the collecting of the
same. It may safely be assumed that Henry de Gernemuth in this
particular ward was far other than a welcome visitor, especially when

THE KING'S TAXES. 63

he called in his official capacity to overhaul the half-secreted belong-
ings of our industrious ancestors. Was there then no impartial assess-
ment committee to which the aggrieved and dissatisfied burgher might
appeal? He might come before the Mayor and on oath declare* that
his pans and platters, bed and bedding, cloak and doublet — that the
marketable value of everything he possessed was below the assessor's
estimate, but seldom or ever was there any alteration made in the
assessor's figures. Exemption and abatement, as we may see, were,
however, by no means exceptional.

THE TALLAGE ROLL (1292)!

to which reference has been made, gives the name of the assessor, a
list of the burgesses assessed, with their respective payments, arranged
in wards, and the name of the ward-constable. This valuable docu-
ment, written in the contracted Latin of the Middle Ages, was trans-
lated by the late Rev. G. H. Dashwood, F.S.A., of Stow Bardolph.
An endorsement gives the total amount as ;^i,5oo 2s. ^^\d. ; this is
believed to be the tallage for one of the burgh wards. In 1290,
London paid ;^2,86o 13s. 8d.

Before an inhabitant could participate in the benefits conferred
by the charters of the town, he must become a full-fledged burgess.
The qualifications for this civic estate were : a continuous residence
of one year and one day in the town ; the possession of a father who
was himself an indisputable burgess ; the faithful service (generally
extending over seven years) as an apprentice ; and the fact that the
applicant was " a good man," or had done something for the weal
of his fellows, which deserved public recognition. When he came
before the solemn conclave, over which the Mayor presided, he was
sworn not only to keep the secrets of the town inviolably, but he
pledged himself as far as his means permitted to secure the Mayor
and the community against loss, injury, damage, or penalty. He
then paid a fee or fine, which was determined according to his circum-
stances. The usual payment, half a mark, that is, 6s. 8d., was
accepted in lieu of the annual tallage for that year. In 1292 Robert
de Lisgate paid 5s. ; in 1297 Robert de Lodesham, a wealthy gold-
smith, paid 26s. 8d., or two marks; and in 1299 Master John
(Johannes Godynge), " the founder of the bells," paid 6s. 8d. for
enrolment on the burgess list.

EXEMPTIONS.

Petev Pauntenayc, having on his oath solemnly declared his inability to pay,
because he did not possess twenty shillings worth of goods in the world, was
allowed his burgess privileges on the payment of sixpence (1292).

John, son of Aitewater, urged as plea tliat he was the son of his father, who was a
burgess. His claim was allowed. In grateful recognition, John advanced
4od. for the use of the burgh, wisely stipulating that the said amount was to
be fully deducted from his first tallage (1298).

" The "corporal oath," administerefl in these cases, was most sacred. The person was required to
place his hand either upon the elements of the holy eucharist or on the fine linen cloth (or corporal) whereon
the supposed body of Christ was placed in the sacrament.

t The Rev. G. M. Dashwood, F.S.A., believed it refers either to the 3rd or the 20th year of Edward I.
See " Remarks on a Subsidy Roll in the possession of the Corporation of Lynn Regis." [Norfolk
Archasohgy : 1847, vol. 1., pp.'334-3.i4-l

HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

Robert de Swaffkam, a mercer, was accepted as a burgess, because, as his some-
time master Ralph Sanby attested, he had faithfully carried out the terms of
his apprenticeship (1299).

Master Andrew Cokiis was enrolled without paying any fee, because he was vir
60HUS, that is " a good man " (1292J. This case is exceptional; the good
men generally paid.

ABATEMENTS

or reductions were made in the case of burgesses who had assisted
with money or kind, either the community or their Sovereign, for
example : —

(i). The Mayor and Burgesses of Bishop's Lenne.

Burgess.

John de Reymer
Geoffrey Trubbot

Roger ; sometime
with \V. de Laken-
ham

John Wysdam

Nicholas de Marslial
Richard le Tav^erner
Thomas de Wainflet

John Gigge
Jordan le Verrer

Thomas de Burgh
and Nicholas

Asst.

Rdn.

6/8

£^

£4/14

10/

20/

10/

13/4

10/

30/

3/4

2/6

44/

18/7

Reason for an Abatement.

Wine supplied during the mayoralty of

Hugh de Massingham (1292).
Sturgeon given to Sir W. de Carleton and

Lord P. de Willoughby, Sic. ; also meat to

the King (1297).
For the value of 2 boards taken by the

community (1298).

For the house in which the plasterer dwells

for the (query, repairing of the) " Wall "

(1299).
For keeping the East Gate of the town

(1299).
For wine supplied to the King's butler by

the community (1299).
For money advanced to a monk of Durham,

who lent it to Godfrey le Faunceys for the

use of the community at Newcastle-on-

Tyne (1300).
For canvas provided for the (town) barge

(1300).
For making a glass window in the south

front of the (town) hall (1300).
For money advanced for repairing the

tov\Ti's walls or earth- works (1297).

(2). King Edward I., towards the war in Scotland.

John de Berney

Simon de Lincoln
John de Welle

12/

10/

26/8

10/

15/

For supplies ; also for money lent to pay
the wages of the members in Parliament
(1292).

To furnish ships for an expedition to Scot-
land (1300).

The town owed him £^ for the expenses of
his ship " Nicholas " in the King's service.
John, however, owed the community the
present and. two previous tallages. The
tally-cutter presented him with a new
tally, shewing that according to the
contra -account the town was still indebted
to him 55/ (1302).

THE KING'S TAXES. 65

(3). King Edward I., towards the war in France.

Ralph Sandy 40/ 13/4 For ships ready for service at Ipswich (1297).

Richard deToftest 30/5 9/6 For a supply of sacks and hair. [Father and
Eustace de Toftes) son, or brothers, in partnership.] (1297.)

Adam de Babingley 5/ 5/ For herring commandeered from his boat

by the French sailors ; valued at 10/ ; the
community, therefore, owed him 5/ (1297).

Among the inhabitants who contributed to the imperial tax, some
came up smiling with the marks in their hands; others, perhaps in
better circumstances, paid, it is true, but they looked other than
pleasant during the transaction ; and there was a third section, com-
prising many shuffling defaulters.

PAYMENT ENFORCED.

When a burgess refused to contribute towards the King's tallage,
and neglected to claim an abatement, the Mayor levied a distraint
upon his goods and chattels ; and the chamberlains at once seized
some of the offender's wearing apparel. In 1298 Hamo de Matlaske,
who was perhaps annoyed at the assessors' valuation, paid 5s. instead
of I2S., the full amount. As remonstrances were thrown away upon
this stubborn individual, his super-tunic, a fashionable kind of over-
coat, was seized ; when, however, he came before the Mayor to pay
what was owing, and to redeem his garment, the chamberlains were
constrained to admit that it had been stolen whilst in their custody.
Hamo's arrears were thereupon cancelled. Goodmen William de Est
Winch and Roger Den, who appear as partners, were charged 30s.,
and being refractory, four pair of hosen, worth 2s. 8d. each pair, had
been seized. They produced a tally shewing that to indemnify the
community they had freely advanced money during the first year of
the mayoralty of Hugh de Massingham. Their hosen were returned,
and the tally destroyed (1297).

Two mazer bowls, a silver wine-cup and a vessel to contain holy
water, were taken from Ralph de Fuldone for his arrears (1306 to
131 2). Henry de Holt and Thomas de Bauseye came forward and
paid 40s., as vadia or bail, and thus obtained possession of the dis-
trained goods. Richard de Docking was assessed at ^^ ; he paid
20s. under protest, and then claimed the sum of ^13 os. 6d. as an
abatement, — that is, los. for excess of payment the previous year, and
the rest as money the community owed him. This was no doubt a
correct statement, for the chamberlains were ordered to pay " his
expenses to Rome " on a pilgrimage as a set-off (r299).

Apropos of this old subsidy roll is a paragraph illustrating —

The Value of Goods.

Among the various articles mentioned, we find the following, which it is
curious to compare with the prices of such things in the present day. To begin
with, what appears a staple commodity, as it occurs under almost every name— -
a last of herring was estimated at ;f 3 ; a cow we find valued at 5/, 6/ and 6/4,
and one " hackeney " as low as 3/4 ; a hog worth 1/6 ; a sheep 1/ ; pewter vessels
valued by weight at iH. per lb. ; brass at 2d. per lb. Nearly all those whose
names occur on the roll appear to have possessed one or more mazer bowls

66 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

or (wooden) cups, varying much in value, from i/6 to as high as 14/1 each, and
several of the more wealthy at the same time possessed silvrr cups. Beer is rated
at 2/6 per barrel, wine at 40/ a cask ; candles at i|d. per lb. ; malt at from 3/6 to
5/ per quarter ; barley at 3/6 per quarter ; wheat at 5/6 and 6/ per quarter ; flour
at 6/ per quarter ; wool at from £^ to £b per sack. Silver spoons are frequently
mentioned at the rate of 1/ each. We also find that articles of dress were taken
into valuation ; thus two man's robes and one woman's valued at £^2/3/4 ; one
man's robe and one tabard (a kind of smock frock) 35/. — (Rev. G. H. Dashwood.)

To meet the heavy expenses incurred by the wars in the reign of
Henry III., frequent appfications for tallages and subsidies were
made. In 1267 every lay person, man or woman, of 14 years old
or upwards, was expected to pay 4d. In Norfolk 88,797 l^Y persons
contributed ;^i,479 19s., Norwich £,6$ 17s. 4d. (3,952), Lynn jQ$2
2s. 4d. (3,127), and Yarmouth ^30 13s. 8d. (1,941 lay persons).

NATIONAL AND MUNICIPAL REFORM.

An important law called the Statute de Talligio de Concedendo
received the royal assent (1306). It was a concession made in order
to subdue the discontent, which had arisen among the commons, in con-
sequence of the King having taken a tallage of all cities, boroughs
and towns without the assent of the Parliament. He was deeply em-
broiled also with the nobles and land-owners for having attempted,
unsuccessfully however, to compel all freeholders above the value of
;j{^2o to contribute either men or money towards his wars in Flanders.
In a measure this statute tended to curtail the arbitrary power of the
sovereign, because Edward I. agreed that in future no tallage or aid
should be levied by him or his heirs without the good-will and assent
of the archbishops, bishops, earls, barons, knights, burgesses " and
other freemen of the land." Thus were the representative freeholders
or knights of the shire united with the representative citizens or bur-
gesses in one assembly. This, the embodiment of a truly democratic
principle, was not a dead letter, because the voice of the people, no
longer to be stifled, would be ever and anon reechoed by their repre-
sentatives in Parliament.

The whole municipal machinery was terribly out of gear; it
needed to be crucially examined and carefully readjusted. To pacify
the burgesses of Lenne, Edward issued letters patent of pardon and
release in respect to trespasses said to have been done by those in
authority (1295).

In assessing divers tallages on the community without the unanimous assent of
the same community and other great sums of money under cover of certain
common fines, heretofore made by them for divers causes, beyond the sums to
which the same fines extended themselves, and in converting to their own use,
and not to the advantage of the said community nor to the reparation of the
same town — [What a happy state of affairs !]• — a great part of the same tallages
and other different sums of money, as well by occasion of the aforesaid as bv
occasion of murage — [a tax for making or strengthening the earthworks of the
burgh] — granted unto them by us, and also in committing divers forestalla de
prisas of merchantable things coming into the same town of their owti peculiar
authority, against the law of our own kingdom, and in establishing and using in
the same town certain corruptions, contrary as well to common law as to law
merchant. — (7 April, 23rd Edw. I.; Letters Patent, dated at Westminster.)

THE KING'S TAXES. 67

The forestalling of goods, that is, the selling them at less than
local prices, was regarded as criminal. John de Walsingham accepted
a bribe from the citizens of Norwich and other strangers forestalling
leather and skins, to the great danger of his neighbours being tanners,
and the whole community. John cunningly acknowledged his tres-
pass and compounded with his accusers by pledging five tuns of wine
and his corporal oath not to offend on these lines any more. For the
trespass he was fined 15s., and was given clearly to understand that
on the next occasion he would have to pay 20s. Four respectable
townsmen came forward and accepted the responsibility of his future
behaviour. The scribe is particular in stating how four tuns were
returned to the offender, but the final destination of the remaining
tun is left for an imaginative, unsympathetic generation to decide.
Thus was justice satisfied, and " all went merry as a marriage bell."
(1299.)

It would be interesting to hear what Messrs. John de Thurendine,
Thomas de Waynflete, Geoffrey Drew and Thomas Secheford (1303-6)
and other influential magnates who occupied the mayoral chair might
have to say, touching those grave accusations in the King's letters
patent. Notwithstanding the legitimacy of our desires, they can
never, we fear, be gratified.

Before setting out upon a hazardous expedition into Gascony
(1230), to recover the lost provinces in France, Henry III. devoutly
bowed his head before the famous shrine of

OUR LADY OF WALSINGHAM.

There is no evidence that Henry passed through Lenne on this
occasion, although it is likely that he did. As our town derived
several royal guests through this preeminent attraction, it might be
wise to make a slight digression in order to spare future trouble.

Not only was this magnificent shrine, with its sacred relics,
deservedly popular in our own country, but it gained quite a contin-
ental reputation. Pilgrims of every description, from every grade of
society, flocked yearly to the " Holy Land of Walsingham." Kings,
queens, nobles, warriors, philosophers, divines — some from the remote
highlands of Scotland, and others from the remoter and more inac-
cessible parts of Europe — all, in fact, whose circumstances would
warrant the undertaking of a tedious and expensive journey, were
sure to be among the prostrate devotees.

The learned Erasmus (1467-1536), who twice visited Walsing-
ham, humorously recounts in his Peregrinatio religionis ergo what he
witnessed ; he tells us, in describing the Virgo Paratlialassia, that the
rich offerings in silver and gold and precious stones shewn him were
incredible, there being scarce a person of any note in Europe but what,
at some time or other, had paid or sent a person to the shrine. He sums
up with these words : " If you look in you will say it is a seat for
gods, so bright and shining is it all over with jewels, gold and silver."
Indeed, the treasures there accumulated were so enormous that Roger
Ascham, the tutor to Lady Jane Grey, remarks in 15 10, that : " The
three kings be not so rich I believe as was the Lady of Walsingham."

G8 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

Although Wells, being seven miles off, was the nearest port, yet
pilgrims from abroad generally landed at Lenne, which is seven-and-
twenty miles from Walsingham. Vessels belonging to our burgh are
frequently mentioned in the pilgrims' passports. Those, too, from
the northern counties either set sail at Boston or Long Sutton, and
crossing the intervening part of the Wash, landed at Lenne. From
thence they probably wended their way past the priories of Flitcham,
Rudham {i.e., Rood-ham), and Cokesford, where food and rest could
be obtained. A road from the south led through Newmarket, Bran-
don and Fakenham, whilst that from the east passed through Nor-
wich and Attlebridge. The ruins of wayside chapels, built for the
accommodation of the pilgrims, are seen in many parts of the county,
as are also the shafts of roadside crosses, which mark the spots where
the devotees used to assemble in large numbers. Company was
desirable, when the " green lanes " were in places hardly distinguish-
able. The old ballad gives an idea of the difficulty of travelling in
those times : —

Gentle heaidsman tell to me

Of curtesy I thee pray,
Unto the towne of Walsingham

Which is right and ready way?

Unto the towne of Walsingham

The way is hard for to be gon,
And very crooked are those pathes

For you to find out all alone.

The chapel at Walsingham is said to have been a facsimile of the
holy house at Loretto, which was the Sancta Casa, — the house at
Nazareth in which the Virgin Mary lived, and which was transported
thence by angels.*

MATTERS MERCANTILE.

Immediately following Henry's first charter a royal licence was
issued, permitting foreign merchants to visit the fair of Lenne, and
as a special inducement their safety was guaranteed (1224-5); this
was merely reaffirming or republishing what had already transpired.
The following clause in the Great Charter (C.i.) is tantamount to
Henry's licence : —

Furthermore, for the imbettering of the aforesaid borough of Lenne, we have
granted that what merchants soever shall arri\e at the borough of Lenne with
their merchandise, of whatever place they shall be, whether strangers or others,
which shall be of our peace, as coming into our land without our licence, may
come, stay and return in our safe peace, yielding the right customs of that
borough.

Whether the inhabitants of Lenne cherished unpleasant recollec-
tions of the unfortunate position in which they placed themselves,
when they were mercilessly mauled by the barons at Littleport, is not
improbable. They seem to have boycotted certain traders belonging
to Ely, and to have refused them the privileges to which they were

'■■ The "Lady chapel" adjoining the prespnt Roman Catholic ehurch in Lynn is a replica of the
chapel at W.ilsingham.

TRE RED REGISTER. 69

entitled. Hence the King commanded the mayor and burgesses to
permit the men of Ely to sell their beer, and, moreover, to trade in
the town (1257).

The wine trade for which Lenne was subsequently noted had
already commenced. The sheriff of Norwich was ordered to convey
50 tuns of imported wine, purchased by his Majesty's purveyor, to
Kenilworth Castle, where, it will be remembered, the King was
besieged by the insurgents (1266).

The King directed that the injuries done to certain Norwegian
merchants by William de Len and Johannes de Bolton should be
made good (1269).

It was during this reign that the river Ouse — " the great river at
Lenne," — assumed its present course; but " that's another story," as
Rudyard Kipling would say, the telling of which demands a
supplementary chapter.

* -X- -X- * *

" After a nominal reign of fifty-six years, — a memorable period,
which owes no part of its interest to the monarch from whose sway it
derives its name," Henry III. died at Westminster the i6th
November 1272.

CHAPTER IX.
The Red Register.

Edward I., the eldest son of Henry III., was proclaimed King
the 20th of November 1272.

* * -X- * *

As early as the Saxon era, there seems to have been a desire on the
part of the various groups of settlers throughout the kingdom to secure
the goodwill of some influential person living in the neighbourhood,
who would not only protect their homes and belongings against the
hand of the spoiler, but exercise a salutary authority in checking those
who by unjust extortions would ruin their trade and industry. For
this patronage or protection, which was an inestimable advantage, the
defenceless burghers were willing to pay liberally. The development
of the feudal system under the Conqueror's regime greatly increased
the number and importance of these local patrons, so that at the end
of the 1 2th century every inhabited nucleus with any pretensions to
wealth was under the direct influence of a powerful noble — the lord
of the manor, who owned the soil, and who in a patriarchal capacity
exercised feudal rights over his vassals or tenants.

Towns, such as Canterbury, York or Yarmouth (1) on the royal
demesne were regarded as national property, and were of course pre-
sided over by the King ; others, such as Morpeth, Berkeley and
Leicester (2) included in a feudal estate, either belonged to a lay
noble, or, when not forming part of his private possession, were often
held by virtue of a special grant from the sovereign ; and lastly those

70 HISTORY OF J^/IVG'S LYNN.

(3) situated on an ecclesiastical or church estate, were the property of
the bishopric, as for example, Wells, which was under the Bishop of
Wells ; Romney and Hythe, under the Archbishop of Canterbury ; or
Lenne, subsequently Bishop's Lenne, under (as the name suggests) the
Bishop of the diocese — the Bishop of Norwich. As an adjunct, how-
ever, to the manor of Gaywood, Lenne was held by the Saxon prelates
of the see, who were therefore in succession lords of the burgh, long
before it received this appellation.

Before proceeding further let us indulge in a brief recapitulation.

Bishop Lozinga, whom Dr. Jessopp distinguishes as '' the
Founder of Norwich," established not only the great Benedictine
Monastery in the cathedral city, but an offshoot or cell at Lenne.
From the foundation charter of Norwich cathedral we learn how the
bishop during his life surrendered nil he possessed to God, making at
the same time especial provision for the future maintenance of the
brotherhood of monks. To them he surrendered the church of St.
Margaret at Lenne, as well as the whole of the little burgh. After
enumerating many valuable donations, he goes on : —

The church of Lynnie [which included the soke or liberty of the burgh
of Lenne] and all my saltworks at Geywode (Gaywood), excepting those which
belonged to the farm on the same manor, I grant, as unmolested and as exempt
from all custom of the aforesaid manor, as they were ever held by myself, or
Arfastus, or Willelmus, as part of our domain. I ha\e ceded to them (the
monks) also my mill which I ordered to be built in Geywode marshes and the
church of Elmhani with all its appurtenances. . . . All the possessions
aforesaid I have given to God and the Church for the food and clothing of my
monks and for the supply of other necessaries to them, so absolutely that none of
my successors shall have the power of changing or diminishing them, but that
they shall be kept for ever for the use of the monks. [Registrum Primum.]

— Then, lest those following in his footsteps should be aggrieved at
this great diminution in the revenue arising from the episcopal
domain, he proceeds to make adequate compensation.

Thus were the manorial rights pertaining to our town transferred
from the Bishop of the see to the Prior of the Benedictine Convent of
the Holy Trinity at Norwich, and to him as future lord of the burgh
had the inhabitants to look for protection. But the land beyond the
boundaries of the old burgh (the Mill-fleet on the south, and the Pur-
fleet on the north) was still retained by the Bishop as constituting a
part of his see. ^^^ dualistic burgh.

In process of time the good Bishop, whom men so cruelly vilified,
"finished the life he had so nobly led,"* and was buried before the
high altar in the midst of his own magnificent cathedral (11 19); and
the monks, too, after whose welfare he had ever been solicitous, passed
away one by one, and were interred in the cloisters at Norwich and
Lenne. Then came there other monks, and other bishops too, but none
could be compared with their revered founder. Eborard had indeed
presented a few small gifts to the convent, the monks were constrained
to admit, yet never could they forget the large and profitable arch-
deaneries conferred upon his own impecunious, undeserving relatives ;

* Prebendary Frideaux's epitaph (1682), which may still be seen on the floor of the presbytery.

THE RED REGISTER. 71

anil when at length he abdicated the see, they rejoiced with exceeding
great joy, but their hearts swelled with envious anger when they heard
how tenaciously he clung to the mitral loaves and fishes. Then came
" brother William," or perhaps it behoved them to say " Bishop Tur-
bus," who once belonged to their number, and from whom they fool-
ishly thought themselves entitled to expect great things. Had he not
enclosed a vast tract of land, bordering upon their own soke or juris-
diction, and in effect created a new burgh? Why should he ignore
their right to the foreshore, and pocket all the ground rent? Would
the venerable father in God, the holy Lozinga, have been so unjust
and greedy? Ah, no; but never, never would there be another
Lozinga.

At the close of the 12th century our town was made up of two
clearly defined though contiguous parts. There was the old, perhaps
the original settlement, between streams of fresh water, and the newer
or more modern settlement by the shore, on land reclaimed from the
sea. Each was distinct, as belonging to different owners. The
" Newland " formed part of the bishop's personal estate, and the
Oldland, if such a term be coined, belonged to the monks of Norwich,
who were represented locally by the monks of Lenne. Between the
bishop and the prior there sprung a feeling of rivalry and estrange-
ment, for, as owners, each endeavoured to reap the greatest pecuniary
advantage from his possession. The prosperity of the town was,
moreover, threatened, because it was like a house divided against itself.
As a twofold settlement it boasted of as many points of resemblance
as a pair of gloves ; there were two churches, staiths, mills, markets
and fairs : one of each two being in the soke of the monks to the south,
and the other being in the bishop's manor to the north. With the
two churches (now in the same parish) all are more or less familiar ;
and, although only one of the once-important fairs survives, we retain
two markets, which are held near the sacred buildings with which they
were at one time closely allied. In the older portion of the town there
is still the King's Staith ; and the Bishop's Staith, which extended
northward from Dr. Stephen Allen's house, opposite St. Nicholas'
chapel, disappeared during the 19th century. The gild of merchants
owned a staith at the mouth of the Purfleet ; also the ''Common
Staith." The water-mill in the " Oldland " was driven by Sunolf's
Fleet, subsequently termed the Mayor's Mill Fleet, to distinguish it
from the Bishop's Mill Fleet, where, in the vicinity of Littleport
Street, one stood the bishop's mill.

To the owners, the monks on the one hand and the bishop on the
other, these were valuable " paying concerns." Targe sums of
money, such as legacies, donations, oblations of various kinds, and
payments for the reciting of masses for the souls of the departed, were
derived from the churches, whilst the dues levied upon those visiting
the fairs and markets, as, for instance, passage, faage, pontage,
pickagc, etc., were even more considerable. Imposts, too, were fixed
upon all goods landed at their respective staiths or stages beside the
haven, as anchorage, tronage, love cop or In f cop, measurage, etc. Mills
were, of course, necessary adjuncts to manorial residences ; hence they

72 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

were, as a rule, erected by the lord of the manor for his own use and
for those living on his estate. To compensate him for his outlay the
tenants were bound to bring their corn to his mill to be ground. They
did not, however, pay in cash for the grinding, but were under an
obligation, termed mill service (secta debita molendini) ; in other
words, they were compelled to leave a portion of their meal with the
bailiff or miller to recoup their patron for services rendered. Before
the enclosing of the " Newland," Herbert Lozinga, you may
remember, ordered a mill to be erected in the Gaywood marshes. All
the profits from these sources belonged to the bishop in the northern
or newer part of the burgh ; and the profits from similar sources in
the southern or old settlement, though collected by the monks of Lenne,
belonged really to the priory of the Holy Trinity at Norwich.

In the second half of the 12th century Bishop's Lenne rose on the newly-won
land along the river bank [query, the sea-bank near the haven] with its great
market-place, its Jewry, its merchant houses, and soon in tlie thick and busiest
quarter by the wharves appeared the " stone house " of the bishop himself, look-
ing closely out on the " strangers* ships " that made their way along the Ouse
laden with provisions and merchandise. Lenne was now in a fair way to
become the Liverpool of mediaeval times. Under King John its prudent bishop
obtained for the town charters granting it all the liberties and privileges of
a free borough, saving the rights of its lords [the Prior of the Benedictine
Monastery at Norwich with the branch of Lenne, and the Lord of Rising], and
then at once proceeded by a bargain with the convent at Norwich [Bishop John
de Grey in 1204] to win back for the see the whole of the lay property in the
old burgh, leaving to the monks only the church and spiritual rights. Once
more sole master of the town, his supremacy was only troubled by the lords of
Rising, who, by virtue of a grant from William Rufus, claimed one-half the
profits of the Tolbooth [query, Blomefield says " one-fourth part "] and duties of
the port, while the bishop had the other half. In 1240, however, an exact agree-
ment was drawn up between the prelate and baron as to their respective rights,
and the bailiff of both powers maintained a somewhat boisterous jurisdiction
over the waters of Lenne, collected their share of the dues paid by the town
traders on cargoes of herring or on wood, skins and wine they imported from
foreign ports, and in their own way made distresses for customs, plaints and so
forth. — [Mrs. A. S. Green's Totvn Life in the Fifteenth Century, 1894, Vol. I.,
p. 283-4.]

THE FAIR AT NORWICH.

During the last year in the reign of Henry III. a serious riot
broke out between the citizens and monks of Norwich. Wherever the
monks were interested in the profits derived from marts and markets,
unpleasantness was likely to arise. Now at this time William de
Burnham, a haughty, overbearing man, was prior of the Benedictine
Monastery. He was usually chin-deep in the hottest of hot water,
because he always endeavoured to increase the monastic domain, re-
gardless of the rights of others, and because, moreover, he tacitly
encouraged his servants to ride roughshod over the patient burgesses.
At the annual fair (1272) some of the merchant hucksters were slow
in removing their booths. Their visit had involved them in a danger-
ous and expensive journey, and during their stay never a day passed
but they were called upon to contribute to the city's revenue- — so much
for the maintenance of the bridges, for the mending of the roads, for
breaking a few holes into the sacred ground, and other extortions ; and

TWE RED REGISTER. 73

now, just when they were signs of the " roaring trade " they had so
ardently anticipated, were they ordered off with pack and package.
Of course they lingered, even as salesmen do to-day. It was surely
excusable ; but the upstart servitors of the prior would brook no in-
solence from runagate strangers. As night follows the day, so did
blows their peremptory commands, only more quickly. The disgusted
townsmen took sides with the unfortunate traders, and William de
Burnham, fearing the worst, sent forthwith to Yarmouth in order to
secure the services of a band of ruffian loafers, who, on their arrival,
converted the bell tower of the monastery into a fortress.

The men of Norwich now considered that they were justified in maintaining
the King's peace by violence ; and forgetting, as a chronicle puts it, that it
is wrong to burn Christians in a consecrated place, they set fire to the tower, and
the whole [query ?] of the monastery and cathedral church, with their relics and
books, were consumed. Nothing could be more calculated to rouse Henry to
indignation. He went down in person to Norwich (loth September) put the
bishop of the diocese on the commission for trying the offenders, and had a jury
of forty-eight knights empanelled from the country round, lest the townsmen
should be too merciful. In this way more than thirty offenders, chiefly young
men, but with one woman in their number, were convicted, and dragged at
horses' tails through the streets to be hanged or burned. But the progress of the
inquiry shewed that the prior and his monks had been at least equally guiltA%
and had set the town on fire in three places. Homicide, robbery and other
crimes were also proved against the prior to such an extent that the I^ing gave
orders to take him into custody. To the scandal of all right-minded men, the
criminal was allowed to escape with a mere ecclesiastical purgation. [Pearson's
History of the Middle Ages, 1861, Vol. II., p. 281.]

This was the King's last journey. After remaining in Norwich
a fortnight he visited, although far from well, the shrine of Our Lady
at Walsingham the 26th of September, and died at Westminster (loth
of November 1272), "after a nominal reign of fifty-six years — a
memorable period, which owes no part of its interest to the monarch
from whose sway it derives its name." Henry III. was succeeded
by his son Edward, the greatest of all the Plantagenets, who was
" one of the best legislators and greatest politicians that ever filled
the throne of England."

* -X- ->«■ * *

After Edward's coronation (1274) he repeatedly visited East
Anglia, the county of Norfolk absorbing much of his attention. The
priories at Walsingham, Castleacre, Cokesford, and other religious
houses, seem to have been attractions he could not well resist. He set
out ostensibly to visit the various shrines for which this part of the
kingdom was famous. Edward was in this county in 1277, 1278,
1280-1, 1284 (Blomefield, but query?), 1285, 1289, 1291, 1292, 1294,
1296, 1298, 1299, 1300, 1302 and 1305, certainly no less than 14 times.
That he sometimes stayed at Lenne is highly probable. For instance,
leaving Ely, the King arrived at Dereham on the 17th of March,
1277; on the i8th and 19th he was at Gaywood, the guest of the
bishop, Roger de Skerning, at the episcopal palace. On this occasion
the King was accompanied by his army, which was most likely billeted
in the adjacent town. The royal retinue reached Cokesford on the

74 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

2oth, Walsingham on the 21st, Thornage on the 23rd, Gimingham on
the 24th, Broomholme on the 25th, Horningham on the 26th and Nor-
wich on the 28th, where Easter was spent. For this expedition
another reason is assigned, namely, anxiety to see that his forts and
castles were well provisioned, and their garrisons thoroughly equipped
and efficient.

FRESH WOODS AND PASTURES NEW.

Again, when Edward visited Norfolk in 1 280-1, he was in an
apparently happy-go-lucky humour. His Majesty tacked hither and
thither like a ship at the mercy of the winds, but whether these erratic
movements were the result of method or madness none but a mediaeval
psychologist would ever venture upon deciding. During this section
of his East Anglian gadabout, which lasted six weeks, he boxed the
compass, halted at half-a-dozen places, and covered about seventy
miles as a sensible crow would fly. He appeared at Burgh, a few
miles from Holt, on Christmas eve ; from thence, after a sojourn of
twelve days, he started on a north-westerly course, and having gone
seven miles, he found himself at Walsingham the 6th of January,
1 28 1. He visited Binham (3 or 4 miles to the north-east) on the 9th ;
from the 14th to the i8th he stayed at Shouldham (27 miles to the
south-west), and at Westacre the 21st and 22nd (8 miles to the north-
east). On the 25th the King was at Docking (some 14 miles due
north), where he continued until the end of the month ; and finally,
on the ist and 2nd of February he was a guest at Rising castle. The
roads were unquestionably bad, and taverns and hostelries few and far
apart, yet were priories and castles plentiful enough. Was, then. His
Majesty, like the modern borid fide traveller, premeditating refresh-
ment every step of the way ? What excuse is there for all this puerile
dodging about? Edward, with all the apparatus of law transported
with him wherever he went, was perhaps dispensing justice ; and
although the king's seneschal or steward was the great justiciar, yet
the chancellor and his clerks who made out the writs and a cart-load
of rolls drawn by a strong horse from the nearest monastery generally
followed in the wake of the royal retinue.

Now John of Oxford, as bishop of the diocese, in taking thought
for the morrow, provided for himself and his successors a terrestrial
mansion — a substantial, pleasantly situated town residence, " on the
sea-bank by St. Nicholas chapel in Lenne, to the west." Soon, how-
ever, the bishop discovered this white elephantine dwelling to be of
little service to him, because the steward, representing him in the burgh
and to whom the bailiffs were responsible, was an astute business man.
who, whether at the staith or the tolbooth, had always his master's
interest at heart. This part of the episcopal estate was therefore
leased to '' Peter the son of Gaufride, the son of Durand of Oxeneford
and his heirs." (Ah, the circumlocution for want of a surname!)
Out of the rent the bishop considerately settled upon the monks a
yearly charge of three silver marks (1187). To be minutely exact —
" the stone house " was indeed let, but the owner prudently reserved
to himself and his successors " one of the cellars that is in the front

THE RED REGISTER. 75

of the house to put wine in," and peradventure to take wine there-
from. Oh "John Norwich," what were thy motives? Were thy
'' intents wicked or charitable." An thou didst this to increase the
importation of

Spanish white and Gascon,

Rose colour, white, claret and rampion,

Tyre, Capric and ISIalvoisin,

Greek, ipocras and new-made clary.®

— To encourage the trade of Lenne, thy unseemly conduct is perhaps
excusable; if, on the other hand, thou didst it " for thy stomach's
sake and thine oft infirmities " thy conduct is in sooth commendable.
Be it that the " stone house " was tenanted by the said Peter's
heirs, was there not a comfortable guest-chamber at the Benedictine
Priory, and had not the brethren access to the bishop's cellar through
the courtesy of the seneschal ? To say that these inducements were
ineffectual might be to say too much. On this occasion we believe
His Majesty called at Lenne before setting out for Bury St. Edmund.

THE MARRIAGE OF PRINCESS ISABELLA,

the King's daughter, to the Count of Holland, was celebrated with
great eclat at Ipswich (i8th of January 1297). The Duchess
Margaret, who had espoused the Duke of Brabant, was present at her
sister's marriage, and for this purpose several vessels from Lenne and
Yarmouth had been engaged in conveying the Duchess and her suite
to England. Margaret stayed awhile, and accompanied her royal
parents on one of the almost annual excursions into Norfolk. Ulti-
mately she set sail from Yarmouth for Flanders. A galley, provided
by the generous inhabitants of Lenne, accompanied the Swan of Yar-
mouth — the vessel in which the Duchess had embarked. On board
the galley were eighty-seven competent Lenne seamen and two con-
stables, who were in charge of the crew.

From the itinerary of this remarkable progress in East Anglia,
the subjoined particulars are of local interest : — King Edward was at
Thetford on the 22nd January 1296, at Castleacre the 25th, at Wals-
ingham the 28th and 29th, at Shouldham the ist of February, and at
Stow Bardolph the 2nd and 3rd. The Court arrived at Ipswich on
the 23rd of December, 1295; the solemnisation of the marriage and
post-nuptial festivities were celebrated the 18th of January 1296, and
following days. Resuming his tour, the King was a guest at Castle-
acre priory from the 28th of January until the ist of February ; he
remained at Walsingham from the 2nd to the 7th, and while there tie
received two iron-bound box bedsteads of leather, which were brought
from Lenne by Henry de Monte, to whom His Majesty gave half-a-
crown. As sleeping accommodation was scarce, and as an influx of
aristocratic guests would sorely tax even the ingenuity of resourceful
monks and friars, two portable bedsteads were welcome acquisitions.

* The Four Elements, a miracle play. An idea of the potency of these wines may be gained from the
tavemer's confession ; —

" For if ye drink a draught or two
They will mak you, ere ye thence go,
By (Jupiter) stark mad."

16 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

From Walsingham the Court returned to Castleacre on the 8th, and
on the 1 2th the city of Ely was entered.

The King and his lords journeyed on horseback for the most part, but they
had also carriages. Nothing gives a better idea of the encumbering, awkward
luxury which formed the splendour of civil life during this century, than the
structure of these heavy machines. The best had four wheels ; three or four
horses drew them, harnessed in a row, the postillion being mounted upon one,
armed with a short-handled whip of many thongs ; solid beams rested on the
axles, and above this framework rose an archway rounded like a turmel ; as a
whole, ungraceful enough. But the details were extremely elegant ; the wheels
were carved, and their spokes expanded near the hoop into ribs forming pointed
arches ; the beams were painted and gilt ; the inside was hung with those
dazzling tapestries, the glory of the age ; the seats were furnished with
embroidered cushions ; a lady might stretch out there, half-sitting, half-lying ;
pillows were disposed in the corners as if to invite sleep ; square windows pierced
the sides, and were hung with silk curtains. Thus travelled the noble lady, slim
in form, tigtitly clad in a dress which outlined every curve in the body, her long
slender hands caressing the favourite dog or bird. The Knight, equally tightened
in his cote-hardie, regarded her with a complacent eye, and, if he knew good
manners, opened his heart to his dreamy companion in long phrases like those in
the romances. The broad foreliead of the lady, who has perhaps coquettishly
plucked off her eyebrows and stray hairs (a process about which satirists were
indignant), brightens up at moments, and her smile is like a ray of sunshine.
Meanwhile the axles groan, the horse-shoes crunch the ground, the machine
advances by fits and starts, descends into the hollows, bounds altogether at the
ditches, and falls violently back with a dull noise. The Ivnight must speak
pretty loud to make his dainty discourse, maybe inspired by the recollections of
the Round Table, heard by his companion. So trivial a necessity has always
sufficed to break the charm of the most delicate thought ; too many shocks
agitate the flower, and when the Knight presents it, it has already lost its
perfumed pollen. — [Jusserand's English Wayfaring Life in the Middle Ages, 1897,
p. 96-9.]

During the sojourn at Walsingham the following offerings were
made by the royal devotees : On the first day, seven shillings during
the Sacrament of the Blessed Mary at the high altar in the
priory chapel, and seven shillings each for the King's son Edward
and for his fair daughters, the Duchess of Brabant and the Countess
of Holland ; the next day similar amounts were offered at the images
of the Blessed Virgin and the Blessed Gabriel. Besides, the sum of
ten shillings was placed upon the altar containing the mysteriously
efficacious reliques for which Walsingham was universally renowned,
the most significant being a sample of the Virgin's milk, and a joint
of St. Peter's finger, said to be as large as that of the colossus at
Rhodes.

How interminable the task of counting a large offertory consisting
of nothing but small pennies ! And was there no gold? Assuredly;
in the outspread heaps of silver pennies several bright specks were
visible — specimens were they of the new gold coins first struck by an
English monarch (Henry III.), but, alas ! they increased the difficulty,
because each weighed only five-and-forty grains, and after ail repre-
sented merely one penny. It did not, however, matter, for, having
secured their own souls' salvation, it was not incumbent upon the
monks to worry their brains about the eternal destinies of others.
Might they not, therefore, as well spend their days in counting small
coins as in doing nothing ?

TTIU REV REGISTER. 11

A RARE MANUSCRIPT.

The so-called " Red Register of Lynn " was apparently com-
menced during this period.* This most important record is made up
of three parts — a register of local wills, a book of remembrances from
1307 to 1379, and an assembly or congregation book, containing the
minutes of the governing body from 1346 to 1396. It consists of 196
numbered pages, and is remarkable as being one of the oldest paper
books to be found in our nation's muniment rooms. As the first in-
stance of the manufacture of paper in this country occurs at Stevenage,
in Hertfordshire, by John Tate (1490), the paper of the Red Register
is believed to have been imported from the Continent. Thick and
coarse in texture, and without water-marks, the paper resembles that
in a book belonging to the Custom House at Bordeaux (1302). Har-
rod therefore suggests that the paper in question was brought from
Bordeaux — a port with which an extensive trade in wine was then
carried on.

This massive folio was skilfully, though inappropriately, bound
in Russia leather by the binder of the British Museum (1861), at a cost
of ;^i3. For some inexplicable reason it was recommended by the
educationists in the Town Council, that the old case in which this relic
had been kept, and which was thoughtfully provided by the late
Daniel Gurney, should be placed in the local museum. What inestim-
able advantages the present generation must derive from a deliberate
contemplation of so wonderful an object !

The back of the present cover is lettered — The Red Register of
Lynn: Temp. Ed. II., Ed. III., and Ric. II. These words, how-
ever, misrepresent the antiquity of the manuscript. Mr. J. C.
Jeaffreson points out that there are palpable indications " that
numerous leaves had perished before the register was committed to a
skilful restorer," and this, too, is borne out by the first fragmentary
record. From the entry, which is in Latin, we learn how Reginald le
Saus, in consideration of a sum of money received, conveyed a mes-
suage in the " Brigge gate " to Richard de Warwyk and his wife
Johanna. In conformity with the custom prevailing, the parties to
this contract met the l\layor, several of the leading burgesses, and
those of the community who chose to be present ; the deed of convey-
ance was publicly read and exhibited; after which the vendor affixed
his seal thereto in the presence of many witnesses, the names of twelve
of whom (including Thomas de Sechford and John the clerk) are
faithfully enrolled. The memorandum ends with these words :
Datum Hemic die Merciirii proxima post fcstum Piiriflcacionis Marie
virginis anno regni Regis Edwardi filii Regis Henrici iricesimo-q^uinto.
This therefore happened in the 35th year of Edward I.

Our earliest parchment records include the Assize-of-Bread Rolls
for three years (1295-8), the Coroners' Rolls (1302-5), and the Gaol
Delivery Rolls (1454-5). Referring to the two latter, Harrod says

" So termed from tlic colour of their bindinj;, e.g., ]\cd Book of Colcliester (1310), hlack Books of
Swailhani, Lincoln, ami Soutliampton, also tlic llViiJc Book of the City of Londou. Our present parliament*
wy reports in 6/uc wrappers are Blue Books.

78 HISTOkY OF KING'S LVNN.

they are the only ancient documents of the class preserved in our
archives.

SIGNS OF THE TIME.

Three charters were granted by Edward I. during a reign of 35

years : —

C. 5. Dated at Westminster, 29tli November, in the 9th year of his reign,
confirming C. i and C. 4 (1280).

C. 6. Dated at Caldstrem, 20th of July, in the 29th year of his reign, reiterating,
as applicable to this burgh, the confirmation of two charters previously
granted by his father to our prototype, the city of Oxford ; they had both
been signed at Westminster and were respectively executed in the 13th
(February 16th) and 41st (March 26th) years of the reign of Henry III. (1301).

C. 7. Dated at Westminster, 5th of April, in the 33rd year of the reign, granting
the burgesses of Lenne permission to found a merchants' gild, similar to the
one already established at Oxford, and reminding them " that they shall not
be impleaded out of the burgh " (to which they belonged) " by foreigners in
respect_ to contracts, demands and other matters done within the burgh " of
Bishop's Lenne. It also confirmed the mayor's right to make reasonable
distresses for the non-payment of tallages and other aids, which might be
levied upon the inhabitants for the benefit of the community as a whole (1305).

The first in this series of Edwardian charters, which was purely
confirmatory and contained nothing original, was granted a year prior
to the King's excursion into Norfolk in 1281 ; the second (1301) was
not only subsequent to his daughter's marriage in East Anglia, and
this expedition into Gascony for the recovery of Guienne, to which
Lenne contributed two ships, the Rose and the Mariole (1297), but also
to two visits during the previous year. From the 12th to the 19th
of March 1300 had been spent at Thetford, Walsingham, Lenne and
Wisbech; and the interval between the 12th and the 28th of May at
Hilborough, Rougham, Gaywood, Tilney, Wisbech, Stow Bardolph
and Kirkstead. Edward I. was in Lenne the i6th of March, and at
Gaywood the i6th of May 1300, during the mayoralty of John de
Merlowe. Unfortunately, however, for the would-be historian, our
local scribes did not feel it a duty incumbent upon them to spend their
savings in purchasing sheep-skins (the supply of w-hich was beginning
to fall short), on which to engross the doings of royalty for the satis-
faction of inquisitive generations, yet unborn. The King's quixotic
adventure afforded them a day's gossip, it is true; let the future pro-
vide for itself — siffficit did sua vexatio — were remarks their in-
difference prompted. The second charter, in itself nothing, was
nevertheless a visible sign of good will and friendly conciliation. The
third and last was issued at Westminster the 5'th of April 1305,
following Edward's visit to Wisbech, Hillington, Walsingham,
Thetford, and probably Lenne (January and February).

MARITIME AFFAIRS.

The King's attention was specially directed to Scotland when
Alexander IIL died suddenly (1286), leaving as his heir a little girl
about three years old. Margaret was the issue of a marriage between
Alexander's daughter Margaret and Eric the king of Norway.
Regents were appointed to govern the country, and it was decided that
a marital alliance should be formed between the youthful princess and
Edward's eldest son. "The Maid of Norway," however, unex-
pectedly expired (September 1290), leaving a vacant throne and a

THE TOLBOOTH. 79

disputed succession. At this crisis claimants were plentiful ; thirteen
at once stepped into the arena, and began brandishing their convincing
pretensions. The nmost popular were, as the student will remember,
John Baliol, Robert Bruce and John Hastings. In this dilemma the
bishop of St. Andrew's solicited the interference of the English king,
and secretly pledged himself to recognise Edward's right of
superiority.

At this juncture " the mayor, bailiff and good people of Lenne "
received a communication to which the privy seal was attached. This
important document was in reality a royal command issued by the
King's admiral; it enjoined them to adequately equip the ships of the
port, so that they might be ready for emergencies in the north. There
was certainly no time to spare, as it was dated the 17th of February,
and the ships were due at Portsmouth not later than mid-Lent. What
excitement this must have caused in the busy streets of Lenne, and
what a dreadful commotion as well as in our snug little haven ! In
return for valuable privileges, the Cinque Ports were expected to pro-
vide 52 ships, each carrying 24 men, which, in the case of a foreign
war, were supposed to be ready and at the disposal of the Crown.
There was no navy other than this, but it was a recognised custom at
any critical moment for rich towns and wealthy land-owners to increase
the efficiency of the force by furnishing ships at their own cost, man-
ning them, victualling them, and maintaining their effective condition
whilst at sea. Hence, when matters of urgency arose, it was not at
all an uncommon procedure to despatch writs reminding them of the
obligations due to their King and country.

Whether the burgh of Lenne had been remiss in responding to
the order, or whether the Admiral in command was dissatisfied with
the ships sent to swell the proposed expedition, there is no evidence;
but about seven months after the receipt of the first writ, our mayor,
Hugh de Massingham, was handed a more peremptory order, dis-
tinctly pointing out that the only way to avoid heavy loss, and the
indignation of their sovereign, was for the inhabitants of Lenne to
follow implicity the directions issued by the King's Admiral and John
de Harsick, and to do exactly what they were advised in respect to the
war in the north (September 1291).

* * * * -K-

Edward I. again set out for Scotland, fully determined to wreak
his vengeance on that defenceless but rebellious nation (1307). He
advanced as far as Burgh-on-the-Sands, near Carlisle, where he
expired in sight of the country he had doomed to destruction.

CHAPTER X.

The Tolbooth*

Edward I. was succeeded by his fourth son, the first Prince of Wales,
who was born at Caernarvon Castle (1284). On coming to the throne
(T307) the youthful sovereign Edward II. was immensely popular,

80 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

but owing to the evil influence exercised by the favourites with whom
he foolishly associated, he speedily sacrificed the respect of the
nation. Moreover, he unfortunately married " one of the greatest
beauties in the world " (Froissart), Isabel, the daughter of Philippe le
Bel, King of France (25th of January 1308), of whom it is said that
" since the days of the fair and false Elfrida of Saxon celebrity, no
queen has left so dark a stain on the annals of female royalty." As
if in expiation of a sinful career, she spent many years in retirement at
her castle at Rising — to this and her connection with the burgh of
Bishop's Lenne reference will be made in due course.

* * * -jf *

THE BARONY OF RISING

fell to the lot of Odo, bishop of Bayeux, the Conqueror's half-brother
(1066), but through ill-advisedly entering into a conspiracy against
William Rufus, Odo forfeited all his vast estates in England (1088),
Rising, with other important manors, was then handed over to William
d'Albini, the royal butler {pincerna regis), in whose family it remained
for many years. Now William d'Albini, the first Earl of Sussex (a
son of the William d'Albini who married Adelicia the dowager Queen
of Henry I.), built for himself a castle, the imposing ruins of which
are yet standing. Included in the possessions granted him by the
King were t.he Hundred of Smithdon (Norfolk) and " the Tolbooth
and Mysteries of Lenne,"* for " all ports and quays under the feudal
system belonged to the " King." (Beloe.) He died in 1176. As
Hugh d'Albini, a scion of the same aristocratic family, unfortunately
died childless, the estates were divided among his four sisters (1243).
Rising was then apportioned to Cecily, who marrier Roger de Montalt,
lord of Montalt or Monhaut. In course of time the barony with its
castle passed to Robert Montalt, steward of Chester, who married
Emma de Stradsett, the widow of a Norfolk gentleman named Fitz-
John. There being no children, the estate was sold to Isabella the
relict of Edward II., in consideration of an annual payment of ;^400
during Emma Montalt's life. The solemn assurance made by Byron,
that " annuitants live for ever," shows how utterly ignorant the poet
was of English history. Robert Montalt's widow did not long enjoy
her annuity.

To the lordship of Rising there accrued certain important privi-
leges, for example, free warren, assize of bread and beer, the profitable
fannage of an extensive chase, and " one-fourth of the Tolbooth," or,
in other words, a quarter of the income arising from the port dues
collected at Bishop's Lenne. The ancient Tolbooth or toll-house,
where traders made their payments, stood, as might be surmised, near
a staith or landing-stage by the water's edge in the old part of the
town. Here cargoes of merchandise were put ashore, and the various
goods were either measured, weighed or counted, and the dues received
by the accredited bailiff, before they were permitted to Be borne up
the haven in boats or carried to the neighbouring villages in wagons.

* Mystery is a corruption of the Middle English mistere, a trade or craft.

THE TOLBOOTH.

Before 1205 the profits were divided (perhaps equally) between the
prior of Norwich and the lord of Rising, but after the bargain effected
by Bishop Grey, between the lord of Rising and himself, the bishop
of the diocese probably received three-fourths of the revenue.

The Harbour.

South Quay.

•<

W >

►4

(/>

33
H

*o
z

The sit« of the Tolbooth, indicated by heavy lines (let in 1832 to Messrs.
Gumeys at £'2/2/6 a year), was sold by our Corporation in 1876 for £125. It now
comprises a garden and the offices of Messrs. Garland and Flexman and Messrs.
Fvson and Son.

After the barony reverted into royal hands in the reign of Edward
III., and the King's bailiff was stationed " at the receipt of custom,"
the place was appropriately called " the King's Staith." It was,
however, in no wise connected with " the Bishop's Staith " in the
Newland, where all the dues were collected by the bishop's bailiff,
who paid them periodically to the bishop's High Steward (capitalis
senescallus episcopi), who checked accounts and presided at the
various courts.

THE COURT AT THE BRIDGE

In 1 3 10 Robert Montalt — with a few of whose antecedents the
reader is already familiar — presumptuously established a court by the

82 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN,

bridge spanning the new-formed river at " St. Germain in Wygen-
hale. ' The position was well chosen, it commanded the road as well
as the river, and here the Lord of Rising arrogated to himself the right
to extort heavy fines from the traders crossing the bridge with their
bales of goods, and from the merchants " rowing and flowing," with
their freights in the Lenne waters. Through Walter Payne, his head
bailiff, they were " summoned in inquests, distrained, attached, op-
pressed and harassed " whenever they came that way. So intolerable
was this persecution, that many " being broken down and greatly im-
poverished," wisely sold their boats and sought congenial employment
elsewhere. Others notwithstanding persevered in their business,
fondly pinning their faith to the anticipated "good time" which
cruelly receded as the years rolled by.

But the baron's despotic usurpation of the prerogatives of the
King's Court indirectly affected a few influential persons,— the Abbot
of Crowland for instance, who, although he failed to receive his cus-
tomary supply of stores from Lenne, was yet expected to provide the
King with victuals and other commodities. How could the merchants
possibly complete their contracts when hindered by the exacting
bailifi's, who either hurled stones at them or slyly dropped great lumps
of earth upon their heads as they glided beneath the bridge ? How
were they to keep faith with their customers " in the county of Lin-
coln and other counties of the kingdom," when they were persistently
being thwarted and hindered and defrauded by Montalt's unscrupulous
partisans ?

Were the merchants evading the payment of these ever-increasing
dues, or were his bailiffs bribed into neglecting their duties? The
trade of the port, as may be learned from John de St. Omer {circa
13 1 2), was more than ever prosperous, and yet there was an alarming
falling-off in the year's receipts. Suddenly Sir Robert Montalt
quitted his baronial residence in the beautiful chase to sojourn for a
while in the insalubrious burgh of Lenne. During his stay in the
town he came in contact with John de Bromholm {circa 1309), the prior
of the monastery near St. Margaret's church. Now Brother John was
disgusted at his lordship's bearing, and, casting aside his usual sedate-
ness, he pounced upon the great lord of Rising and publicly assaulted
him ; and the populace, encouraged by the heroic though unwise be-
haviour of so important a dignitary of the Church, rose against the
intruder who year after year had been deliberately ruining the trade
of their port. They hounded him hither and thither, wounded his
attendants, wrecked the house in which he abided, secured their enemy
and bore him off to prison in triumph.

In that Robert Montalt possessed a conscience, he was certainly
a conscientious man, and for no other earthly reason. His conscience,
it must be admitted, was not of the modern, narrow, strait-laced kind
which coerces its owner into doing the very thing he abhors when com-
promised by a stupid, slippery tongue. His was a good, stout, service-
able conscience of mediaeval construction. Always on the alert, it
prompted him, whenever he was in a dilemma, to say one thing when

TRE TOLBOOTH. 83

he meant another. Thus was Robert, Lord of Rising, securely pro-
tected against the mean advantages people ever take with easy, pliant
natures.

To free himself from the tightening grasp of the infuriated mob,
the victim politely acquiesced in all they said, and agreeably granted
every demand. Traders were never satisfied, and if his bailiffs were
driving the merchants to the other staith, it was bad policy for John
de St. Omer to admit as much to his brother Lambert, who was mayor
of the burgh. But now that his lordship understood their position he
had not the slightest objection to the burgesses appointing a trusty
bailiff who should gather in the dues and share them among the re-
spective owners. Surely their reverend father in God, his dear friend
the bishop, John Salmon of Ely, would raise no objection. It was
unfortunate that they had been misguided by one who ought to have
known better. The prior, supplanted by the bishop, had lost his share
in the Tolbooth ; it was annoying, but as it happened a hundred years
ago it was no use blaming him. Well, well, under the circumstances
he would overlook the strange treatment he had received, and forego
the action with which in his anger he had unwittingly threatened his
dear friends and neighbours, the mayor, Lambert de St. Omer, and
the burgesses of Lenne.

AND A COURT ELSEWHERE.

Sir Robert was immediately set free, but, being as crafty as he
was conscientious, he soon afterwards brought the matter before the
Court of King's Bench (Easter 1314), and the judges decided that
the imprudent burghers must pay the Lord of Rising, whom they had
so grossly offended, an indemnity of ;^^4,ooo, " which was practically
equal to the confiscation of the whole municipal expenditure for about
30 years." (Mrs. A. S. Green.) The verdict greatly exasperated the
inhabitants, so that the mayor, John de Thornech (or Thornhegge) was
constrained to send a humble apology to Robert Montalt, explaining
that owing to trouble and disturbances in the town it had been im-
possible for him to levy the money. Now the first payment fell due
on All Saints' day, the ist of November; only four days elapsed ere
the mayor received a courteous letter from this conscientious Shylock
demanding prompt payment : —

. . . . Sachtez q' coment q la pease soit faites par entve eux, le despit fait a
mm nest pas redress, par quei vous pri chers Seignoiirs q' dentre vous voillez ordiner
q' les ainendcs me soient faites del despit avaundit. A die chers amis q' vous doint
bone vie c longe. Escrit ait Shouldh' le v jour de Novemhre.

Or, in less perplexing words : —

. . . . Know you that though peace be made between them [his bailiffs
and the folk of Lenne], the contempt done to me is not redressed, wherefore
I pray you dear Sirs that you will take order amongst yourselves, that amends
may be made to me for the aforesaid contempt. Adieu, dear friends ! May He

five you happy and long life. Written at Shouldham the 5th day of November

Although this heavy penalty involved our forefathers in terrible
pecuniary difficulties, yet tliey bravely did their best to pay the fine.
as is evident from many acknowledgments and acquittances still

84 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

extant.* In reviewing eighteen (1317 to 1323), it may be observed
that the number of yearly instalments (one to eight) and the amounts
{;£2 IDS. 4d. to ;^i73 6s. 8d.) varied greatly. The receipts v*rere
made at seven places — Chastel de Rysinges (8), Lenne (4), Snetesham
(2), Kenynghale (i), Quornden (i), London (i), and Euerwyk, that is
I3erwick (i).

Mr. E. M. Beloe gives the following translation of one of the
receipts written and sealed at Rising : —

To all those who this letter shall see or hear — Robert de Monhaut, seneschal
of Chester, health in the Lord. Know you that I have received of the Mayor and
Commonalty of the town of Lynn, by the hand of Peter de Elmham [Mayor in
13 19], fourteen pounds thirteen shillings and four pence of money for wine
purchased, in part of a sum of fifty pounds, the which the aforesaid Mayor and
Commonalty are bound to pay me at the feast of All Saints next following the
making of that writing, of a debt of four thousand pounds, the which I the said
Robert and Emma my consort recovered against the aforesaid Mayor and
Commonalty m the Court of our lord the King, before his justices in Banc at
Westmmster, at the quinzaine of Easter in the seventh year of the reign of King
Edwaud, son of King Edward, of which fourteen pounds thirteen shillings and
four pence I acknowledge fully to be paid, and the said Mayor and Commonalty
acquit for all time. In testimony whereof to this letter of acquittance I have put
my seal. Given at the Castle of Rising, the Vigil of St. Margaret, the year of the
reign of the said King Edward sixteenth [igth July 1322]. \Caitle Rising,
Norfolk; the Barony, the Borough and the Franchise, 1894, p. 15. J

This sum appears to be the result of a municipal trading trans-
action, similar to those in which many towns were engaged. Loans
were obtained ; a common barge was built, and, after being properly
rigged, it was publicly launched, and despatched to fish for herring
or to bring home a cargo of salt or wine, which was sold for the benefit
of the community. Among our disbursements in 1374-5 are payments
" for the privilege of maintaining as before the compotus of sweet
wine."

Worn out with persecuting the Lenne traders, Robert Montalt
passed into his long rest, and was interred in the church of Saints
Peter and Paul at Watlington (1329); but, alas ! although the weary
might be at rest, the wicked ceased not from troubling, because his
widow " Dame Emma" immediately appointed Thomas Wolsy and
John Philip to act as bailiffs on her behalf, for she seemed determined
to maintain the court with the concomitant fleecing business so ably
conducted by her late lamented husband. The much-desired respite
was, however, at hand. The estate at Rising was sold ; Queen Isa-
bella entered into possession on the 29th of November 1330; Emma
de Montalt shortly afterwards died, and was buried in the church of
St. Mary at Stradsett, probably beside her first husband, Fitz-John
de Stradsett.

This subject presents to notice another phase. Not only were
the unfortunate burgesses compelled to pay the lord of Rising
;^4,ooo, but they were bound in certain other amercements " by the
summons of the exchequer of the lord of the King " to John Salmon,

* Copies of nineteen " acknowledgments and acquittances," &c., are given in the Report Hist. MSS.
Com. (1887), xi., pp. 240-244. See also Beloe's Casiie i?)s»n^ (1894), pp. 14-17, and Taylor's ^titiV;. CoiUe
iitsirtg (1844}. pp. 33-34.

THE TOLBOOTH. 85

the bishop. This subsidiary case was tried before Ralf de Monte
Hermeri and his legal associates in the Court of Oyer and Terminer
in the county of Norfolk, for trespass done to Robert Montalt. The
fine inflicted was comparatively small, namely ;£i40. In January
the Mayor, Lambert de St. Omer, interviewed my lord the Bishop at
his palace at Gaywood, and tendered him ;^32 iis. as the first instal-
ment. Through the persuasive intercession of the Mayor, and the
influence it may be of his brother John, who was the Bishop's head
steward, the rest of the penalty, ^[,12-] 9s., was cancelled. The
Bishop's acquittance in Latin is dated, " afud Geywode vtij Idus
Januarii " (13 14).

Difficulties with the merchants and the bailiffs at the Tolbooth
were by no means at an end. In the next reign

A DAY OF LOVE

was instituted, so that the men of Lenne might meet the men of Lin-
colnshire, and that by means of a little social intercourse a few com-
mercial rough edges might be smoothed down. The mediaeval " love
days," to which Chaucer and Shakespeare refer, were indeed the sur-
vival of a custom introduced by the Romans. Their solemn feast
termed " Charistia " {caritas, love), celebrated every year on a day
corresponding with our 19th of February, was inaugurated for the
friendly settlement of disputes and quarrels, from whatsoever cause
arising, by means of arbitration.* For many years ill-feeling had
been engendered between the traders at Lenne and Lincoln through
the local bailiffs. In 1334-5 it was necessary not only to station a
custodian near the Tolbooth, but to recoup the bailiff for extra trouble.
In the Chamberlains' accounts are these items : —

rod pro cust' lane apud Le Tolbothe that is tenpence for the custodian of

the lane near the Tolbooth), and
iijs. iiijd. was given for the expenses of the bailiff of the Tolbooth.

Anticipating an amicable settlement of various mercantile dis-
putes, and desiring to be on a more friendly footing with their cus-
tomers, the assembly voted the sum of £,i\ 2s. 4d. to defray the cost
of their delegates' journey to St. Botham, ^6 15s. 9d. for the ex-
penses incurred by William de Brinton (mayor in 1340), and Thomas
the clerk of the burgh, who were present at the Parliament at York
" to assert the liberties of Lenne," and jQ^ 6s. 8d. which was spent
in purchasing a barrel of sturgeon, forwarded as a token of friend-
ship to the Bishop of Norwich.

SOCIAL DISTINCTIONS.

At the commencement of the 14th century a system of oligarchy
and plutocracy prevailed, especially in the sea-port towns throughout

• Friar Daw Topias answers Jacke Upland thus :

" And your tPching in an hour
wil brckc no love-doits
than \ p mowe brynge togiderp
vij ycre after." Poem (1401).

This civic function was fcstablishrd in 1588, perhaps in memory of "the Feast of Rrroncitiation,"
35th Jan., 1555. (See Burnet's Hisl. 0/ i/ic liejormalion : 1850, vol. i., p. 507.) At the end of the i8th
century the "Feasts of Reconciliiition" were almost forgotten. In London, however, the Weavers'
Company still pay ten shillings a year to the Churchwardens of St. Clement, Eastcheap, to provide two
turkeys to be eaten by the parishioners at the annual " Reconciliation," formerly held on Maundy Thursday

86 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

the kingdom, in that the local government was conducted by a few
of the inhabitants, who invariably belonged to the wealthy section of
the community. The laity, the ordinary ignorant inhabitants of
Lenne, other than the professional clerics, of whom there was no
dearth, were divided into three totally distinct, yet mutually
antagonistic, classes, to which certain specific names, which we ask
the reader to remember, were applied : — the Potetitiores, the rich mer-
cantile section of the community; the Mediocres, the tradesmen,
artisans and shopkeepers, who made up the middle class; and the
Inferiores, the poor labouring folk, who constituted the largest and
the lowest class. Caste was far more rampant in our borough than
it is in India at the present time. The classification was perfect, in
that everybody knew not only to which class he belonged, but also
the respective classes to which his fellow townsmen belonged. The
social status of each man being thus clearly determined, he might
enjoy the privileges pertaining to his own order (if, indeed, there were
any), but on no account would he be permitted to usurp or infringe the
privileges belonging to a higher order. Hence, whilst fondly nursing
their grievances, supposed or otherwise, the individual members of
these different sections grew irritable and envious. Thus were mutual
misgivings and petty animosities tenderly nurtured. In the market,
and even in the trade gild, men felt justified in striving their utmost
to outwit and annoy each other ; and as, perforce, they unintention-
ally jostled one against the other in the narrow lanes and ill-paved
bye-ways, the hatred visible in their faces spoke daggers, though their
hands generally refrained from using them.*

^ These deplorable grades clearly illustrate the survival of an
ancient administration. With the Saxons there were three orders —
the wealthy nobles (ei/ielings), the subordinate freemen, and the abject
servile drudges, who could rise to be freed men, and who then were
totally distinct from the freemen or mediocres of a later date.
" Nobles only married nobles, and the severest penalties prohibited
the intrusion of one rank into the other." (Sharon Turner.) The
inferiores (for every man was appraised, docketed and placed in one
of the civic pigeon-holes), were treated in municipal matters as if they
were entirely non-existent. If a man was anxious to alter his posi-
tion, he must get his foot on the first rung of the social ladder by
becoming a recognised burgess, and to do this he must have the free-
dom of the burgh conferred upon him.

Now, if blue blood were required, the mediaeval anatomist must
not probe for it in the arteries of the lower classes. Verily every
drop was in the bodies of the patrician potentiores, who, notwithstand-
ing, were nothing more than wealthy tradesmen — superior mediocres,
whom society had judiciously promoted into ^-higher caste. The

• (i). The Potentiores (derii-ed from the Latin adjective potentialis, powerful, iofluential because

v^ealthy) ; the aristocracy of the towa consisting oijiuncely raerchants belonging to tlie Merchants' Gild of
the Holy Trinity. — w^-

'2). The Mediocres (Latin noun mediocritas, the mean between the two extremes) the democratic
section — plebeians who had risen to be small shopkeepers, petty traders or skilled craftsmen, aud who were
in circumstances more or less easy.

(3). The Inferiores (Latin adjective inferior, lower or inferior, in fact humillimus), the poor
labouring class, who were despised by their wealthy neighbours.

TRE TOLBOOTH. 87

development of cerulean corpuscles was no doubt painfully slow ; the
indispensable physiological process, perhaps involving many genera-
tions, was entirely the outcome of environment. These rare speci-
mens of the genus homo were at lirst humble chapmen or pedlars, then
small shopkeepers, diminutive traders, petty ship-owners, traders on
a larger scale, and in the end merchant princes — the purse-proud mem-
bers of the opulent, omnipotent confraternity known as the Gild of
the Holy Trinity. Arrived at this stage, they transacted their busi-
ness with great decorum, sedulously and severely holding themselves
aloof from the lower grade from whom they or their grandparents
invariably sprang. Conservative to the core, they took particular
care that their accumulated capital should not be lightly squandered ;
hence, intermarrying with potentiores only, they formed profitable
family compacts and alliances, and never permitted domestic relations
to interfere so as to weaken their social standing. In consulting their
own interest, they, of course, generously played into each other's
hands, with a tacit understanding that one good turn always deserved
another. Each advantageous site along the foreshore was coolly
appropriated by them ; every stranger and all who were not of their
own clique they deliberately pushed aside, and thus they established
for themselves a huge monopoly ; as adepts in the art of " cornering "
they waylaid goods coming to the market, and these they either ex-
ported or held back until they could dispose of them at an enormous
profit; they piously admitted " the earth was the Lord's and the ful-
ness thereof," but they as tenaciously maintained that the fleets and the
staiths and the water-ways had He given to the children of the
potentiores.

In return for these small mercies they graciously took into their
aristocratic hands the manipulating of the borough's revenue, the
management of the town's vast estate, and the government of the
plebeian part of the population. Their programme, as may be seen,
was a disgraceful exhibition of unflinching selfishness. Legislation
in their case was quite superfluous, for were not they — the immaculate
potentiores, a law unto themselves? The Corporation — if the term
be yet admissible — was controlled by them. The Mayor, too, was
always chosen from among the jurats or councillors, who were bound
to be members of the dominant fraternity ; if he died, the alderman
of the gild immediately took his place. Masters of the situation,
they " ruled without restraint, and with a high hand assessed taxes,
diverted money from the common treasury, profited by illegal trading
and customs, contrary to common as well as to merchant law, and
bought the King's forgiveness if any complaint were made of their
crimes. . Against their despotism there was no protection for the
burgesses of humbler station." (Mrs. A. S. Green.)

A remarkable instance occurred in 1305, when the deeds of those
in authority became too flagrant and oppressive to be borne. Then,
as there were signs that the down-trodden populace would stand little
more of it, the alarmed delinquents extricated themselves from the
dilemma by adroitly bargaining with the King. They secured letters
patent of pardon and release " in respect to all trespasses, etc., said to

88 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

have been done by them in assessing divers tallages on the community
without the unanimous consent of the same community, and in levying
the same tallages from the poor and but moderately endowed . . .
and other great sums of money under colour of certain fines . . .
for divers causes, and in converting to their own use and not to the
advantage of the said community ... a great part of the same,"
etc. It exonerated them, moreover, from the crime of forestalling
goods and other illegal corruptions (April 7th).

These tempting applications, because of their frequency, became
at length regarded as the lawful perquisites of the Sovereign. How
could a good-natured, obliging monarch be expected to turn deaf ears
to the earnest solicitations of his loyal and devout subjects? The
terms accepted, the threatening storm was temporarily dispersed, and
the culprits, no longer in fear of the punishment they richly merited,
were able to start afresh and pursue the self-same tactics.

Only a few years elapsed ere the inhabitants of our burgh found
themselves in a like predicament. Once more were they suffering
acutely from the unjust oppression of the dominating class. In their
distress, and when almost driven into rebellion, they wisely turned to
the lord of the manor — the reverend Father in God, John Salmon, the
late prior of Ely,— and through his powerful interference an agree-
ment was signed between him, on behalf of the mediocres and in-
feriores — the common people, and the mayor, Richard Hopman, who
represented the ruling potentiores. This deed, termed Comfositio
Lenne, or

THE COMPOSITION OF LENNE,

was embodied in subsequent charters, and thus became, in a measure,
an important item in the liberties of our burgh. It consisted mainly
of two clauses, which related to the levying of tallages and the en-
forcing of the franchise upon townsmen (October, 1309).*

By the charter granted by Edward I. in 1305, the Mayor was
given power to distrain for the recovery of tallages and other reason-
able aids levied for the use of the community (C. 7). The terms of
this charter were, however, utterly ignored ; the tallages inflicted upon
the people being described as "unreasonable grievous." Hence a
needful restraint was placed upon the Mayor and his brethren.
Tallages in strict conformity with statutory law might henceforth
be levied when absolutely necessary. No person could be excused —
every man must pay ; but his contribution was not to be oppressive,
for the assessment was to be governed by his circumstances and social
position. The cruel way in which " the great men of the town " (the
potentiores) treated " the mean people and the poor " (the mediocres
and inferiores) was to be altered forthwith, so that the " grievous dis-
tressing so violently of them " was to cease.

There was, however (writes Mrs. A. S. Green), a disturbing element in the
history of the Lynn corporation which was absent in Southampton, Nottingham
and Norwich. The lord of the manor was close at hand, and the governing
class had to reckon with his claims and expect his interference. Local disputes
magnified his power. Thrown together as natural allies against the potentiores,

• Th«re was a previous so-called "composition" in 1243.

TRE TOIBOOTH. 89

the mediocres and inferiores were forced to rely mainly on the protection of the
Bishop. He, on his part, whether for the sake of increasing the population
dependent on himself rather than on his rival power the Mayor, capitulated —
and this at the very moment when Norwich was compelling all its traders and
artisans to buy its freedom — that the Mayor should not have power to force the
franchise on any settlers, old or new, who might take up house in the town
while preferring to remain free of the charges of citizenship. He won from the
Mayor, moreover, in 1309, a Composition for the protection of both mediocres and
mferiores, which not only became the charter of all their future liberties, but
was also the fullest recognition of his authority. From this time, in spite of
efforts on the part of the municipality to evade the Composition, the mean people,
confident of their legal position and assured of the support of a powerful patron,
formed a society differently compacted from that which we find in other
boroughs, and played a part in the politics of Lynn which was, perhaps, unique
in town history. The " community " of Lynn differed from the " community "
of other boroughs in being made up, as is formally stated in 141 2, not only of
burgesses, both potentiores and mediocres, but also of inferiores or non-burgesses,
(Vol. II., p. 408-9.)-

The town possesses an " illustrated copy " of this Composition.

" THE CHASE."

During a reign of 20 years, Edward 11. visited Norfolk several
times, but his presence did not materially affect our town. On the
9th of May, 13 1 2, he was at Wormegay, and on the 9th of July the
next year he appears to have been at the same place ; from thence, on
both occasions, he repaired to Thetf ord, possibly making a slight detour
to call at Lenne. In May, 1313, perhaps before setting out on his
journey, he graciously granted our burgh a charter, which bore, it is
true, no marks of conspicuous originality, but was, notwithstanding,
an indisputable token of royal remembrance. Two years later Edward
was in Lenne on the 2nd of October, at Walsingham on the 5th, Harp-
ley the 7th, and again in Lenne the 8th (1315). Ten years later he
and his court were at Walsingham from the ist to the 7th of February.
The following day he entered Lenne once more.

Our chase and the plantations in the surrounding district were
perhaps indirectly affected by the King's charter.

C. 8. Dated at Westminster, 16th of May, 6th year of his reign. It formally
confirmed C. 5 and C. 7, and granted freedom thoughout all the kingdom to
the burgesses of Bishop's Lenne, including the right to feed swine in woods
and on common lands without the payment of the usual tax called pannage,
except when called upon by the bishop of the diocese (13 13).

East Anglia was at one period like a primeval forest, covered
with trees and undergrowth, which sheltered innumerable deer and
other animals. From a presentment of Edward L we learn that a
portion at least of " the Great Level " constituted a part of " the
King's forest " (1306). In a legal sense, the word foresta signifies
" without." Accordingly a forest was a liberty outside the jurisdic-
tion of the ordinary law, and subject only to special regulations de-
vised by William I. There was hardly a county in England without
its forest, in fact entire counties were formerly under the cruel forest
laws. Chases, too, were numerous. From letters patent directed to

• Read Mii. A. S. Green's Totun /-i/e i« iht Fifteenth Century (1884) and Mr. E. M. Beloe's Our
Borough (1871),

90 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

Roger Townshend, knight, and others, we learn that in 1543 the chase
at Rising " extendeth from Bawsey Brigge to Gaywoode Brigge, from
Gaywoode Brigge to the See, from thence to Babingley Brigge, from
thence to Hilhngton Brigge, from thence to Brudgate lane,* from
thence to Bonys Brigge, from thence to the saide Bawsey Brigge.
Alsoe we saye that the master of the Game or Ranger have yearely
many yeares used to make a bothe (booth) of the armes and boughes
of oakes atte feaste of Penticost (Whitsuntide), by estimac'on to the
number of Ix loades of woode, to his or their uses." Instructions
were given " that my lords game may be bette' kepte and cherished,
for the kepares suffre ev'y man to hunte there that will yeve (give)
them XX d. or xl d., and so hathe be (been) slayn ther this yer xx dere
and at this tyme y'r w's (there was) not passed iiij xx (four score)
dere of all man ' (manner of) sorts (1293)." To the south-east of our
town is still what is termed the chase, and it is indeed likely that the
one at Lenne and the other at Rising once formed part of the
King's forest in this part of the country. The constable of Rising
was present at the perambulation of the boundaries of the burgh
(1410). There is, however, a difference between a forest and a chase.

A forest was the personal and pecuUar privilege of the King, to whom
alone pertained the right of appointing a justice seat or a Chief Justice, the
existence of which was the insignia of a royal domain. Being his in such ample
possession, he could grant to any person the whole or any portion of this forest,
either absolutely or with such restrictions and limitations as he might think fit.
A forest, however, in the hands of a subject, became a chase, which, except by
special order of the King, was subject to the jurisdiction of the Common Law
and its judges, and was not under the Forest Laws. It had no court of its own,
and the matters affecting the chase were disposed of in the Court of the Hundred
or the County, and not by the judges of the forest. No-one was therefore the
owner of a forest but the King, who provided for its administration, and
appointed its officers. [Inderwick's The King's Peace, p. 141.]

The King possibly granted a part of his forest — " the chase at
Lenne "—to one of his favourite knights, who by special permission
frobablv retained the ancient gallows or gibbet right, with the in-
herent pleasure of hanging any thieves taken therein. The Hospital
field, at no great distance from the Chase, was " the Gallows pasture,"
where criminals were despatched at late as 1587, and clauses were
inserted in leases of the land reserving this exhilarating privilege.
(1680).

When England was in an imperfect state of cultivation, timber
was, comparatively speaking, worthless. The value of wooded dis-
tricts was estimated neither by the area covered nor by the number
of trees therein contained, but by the means afforded for feeding
swine. The pig was then the most important of our domestic
animals ; hence the absolute necessity for plenty of forest products
such as nuts, acorns, mast, etc. Thorpe wood, near Norwich, main-
tained a herd of 1,200 swine.

An officer, the hogman or hogwarden of the burgh, was chosen
every year to look after the swine reared in the common woods and
pastures ; he was paid by the community, who taxed themselves

* Broodgatf v/:%y is iu the manor of Westhall (Gayton): Cutting's Gleanings about Gayten (1889), p. ig

THE TOLBOOTH. 91

according to the size of their herds to raise the amount. It was his
duty to prevent the swine straying too far, and not merely to see that
they sought their respective " dens " at night, but to provide them
when necessary with warm rugs. The granting of free pannage
to the inhabitants of Lenne when the town was surrounded by dense
woods was indeed a valuable concession.

Let us, however, hasten to confess that the foregoing is purely
speculative, and is based on the assumption that our Chase retains its
ancient place-name. The captious reader may have, like Dr.
Jessopp, " a deep distrust for historians, who for every pair of facts
construct a trinity of theories." Publicans, poets and historians,
nevertheless, possess licences, and all our " facts " are stated with
scrupulous regard for the three P's, so useful in cases of historical
emergency — possibility, probability and perhaps-ibiliiy ! Let future
theorists amuse themselves by shewing the utter absurdity of these
suggestions, and they will assuredly deserve to be read once, if not
oftener,

Austin Street, '' the way to the Ert's bridge " (1294), was once
known as Hogman's lane and Hopman's way. In the time of Edward
II. mention is made of Hopeman's gate — a variant perhaps of Hop-
man's way; besides as recently as 1725 Hopman's bridge, a succes-
sor, it may be, to Ert's bridge of the 13th century, is shewn on Ras-
trick's plan of Lynn. And here we face another dilemma, which we
generously leave to the astute consideration of future historians. Is
this interesting place-name derived from hogman, the ancient swine-
herd, or is it a modification of a personal name (Richard Hopman
being mayor in 13x0), or has it any connection with houghinan, the
hangman? Sir Walter Scott writes : " And as many were gibbeted at
Houghmajt's Stares, which has still the name for the hangman work
done there."*

SHIPS — MEN — AND MONEY TOO.

During this unsatisfactory reign there was a continuation of the
struggle in Scotland. To transport the Earl of Ulster and his forces
to that country, every port in the kingdom was called upon to provide
ships of war suitably equipped. The relative importance of Norfolk
as a maritime county is apparent when we remember that 11 vessels,
out of an entire muster of 43, were from our county alone. Yarmouth
was assessed for six, Lenne for four, and Burnham with Holkham
for one (June i6th. 13 10).

Whilst the King was disputing with his barons, Bruce, by taking
advantage, gained ground rapidly, so that in 1313 Stirling was the
only fortress in Scotland garrisoned by English soldiers. The next
year Stirling capitulated, and all Scotland was practically lost. In
13 1 7 Berwick, the important border fortress, also fell into his hands.
At this crisis the custody of our town and its defence against the
attacks of foreigners and the King's enemies generally were placed
(during royal pleasure) in the hands of the Mayor and burgesses.
(Letters patent dated at Walton the loth of July 1318.) Edward

• Houghmanitaycs : See note in the Fair Maid of Perth.

92 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

moreover, sent a writ " to the Bailiffs and Good People of Lenne."
A courteous preamble indeed, but, as usual, a sign of the thorough
squeezing which was to follow ! However — " Hats off gentleman,
if you please!" — the King shall speak for himself: —

For that news has come to us that our enemies of Scotland have laid siege
to our town of Berewick-on-Twede with a great number of people, wherefore
we have need to send thither men and ships for the rescue of our said town and
the safety of our people who are there, we pray and charge you as especially as
we are able that you will aid us sufliciently and with good will and your navy
well equipped with men and victuals in aid, for the rescue of our aforesaid town.
Promise being given of reasonable repayment of the costs to which the bailiffs
and good people shall put themselves in the matter ; order being given for their
ships and men to be at Scardeburgh (Scarborough) on the 12th of next October,
to proceed thence in the company of Simon de Drilby, who has been appointed
cheveteyn de la navie about to be sent for the rescue of the aforesaid town.
(Dated at Eu'Wykes, 28th September 1317.)

Three other privy-seal writs were received by our Mayor during

this eventful period : —

(a). 13 19 (March 28th) from Euer Wyk (Berwick) urging that the request of
John Salmon, Bishop of Norwich, M. Aymer de Valence, the Earl of
Pembroke, and M. Walter, of Norwich, for ships and men, be at once com-
plied with " for the despatch of the war." It is also hinted that for a time
the ships were to be mamtained by the burgh.

(b). 1322 (August ist) from Noef Chastel sur Tyne (Newcastle). Information
had been received that vessels were discharging their freights at Lenne.
This was strictly forbidden, and the owners were commanded to proceed
with their cargoes of victuals " to the north parts for the sustenance of the
king and his host."

(c). 1322 (August 5th) from Goseford. Having heard that vessels laden with
wheat, rye, &c., had entered our haven, the king's commands were reinforced.
Under pain of forfeiture and his further displeasure no vessels were to be
allowed to discharge their freights; they were to proceed promptly north-
ward. Reference was made, moreover, to previous letters, and astonishment
expressed that no replies thereto had been received.
•X- * * * *

A host of unscrupulous partisans, encouraged by a faithless
Queen, led to Edward's overthrow. When the Parliament met at
Westminster (1327), it was thronged with enemies. Alarmed at
appearances, and conscious of his own incompetency, the King, under
pressure from the Queen and her paramour Roger Mortimer, signed
a declaration which was in itself tantamount to a deposition. Eight
months afterwards Edward II. was brutally murdered in Berkeley
Castle, by his keepers — two knights named Gournay and Maltravers.
(September 1327.)

CHAPTER XI.
Isabel the Fair.

Edward III., the eldest son of Edward II. and Isabella of France,
was born at Windsor, 13th November 1312. In 1325 he joined his
mother in France; returned to England with her in September 1326;
was declared guardian or regent of the kingdom about a month
afterwards, and was proclaimed King on the deposition of his father,

ISABEL THE FAIR. 93

January 25th, 1327. When 15 years of age he married Philippa of
Hainault (1328). -ir * -x- -x- *

The Scots, seeking to gain an acknowledgment of their indepen-
dence, boldly invaded the northern counties, and the war that ensued
greatly resembled that in the Transvaal. The English force was well
equipped, and far superior numerically, but whilst they required many
things for their sustenance, the homely Scot was perfectly contented
with a bag of oatmeal slung on the back of his hardy pony. Although
Edward was nominally king, the government was really in the hands
of his mother, " Isabel the Fair," as she was called, and her favourite
Roger Mortimer, Earl of March. In 1328 they committed a folly
which contributed not a little to their speedy downfall. An
ignominious peace, recognizing the complete independence of
Scotland, was concluded.

Taking advice from his nobles, the King, who was treated as a
child, and as strictly guarded as a prisoner, determined upon shaking
off the yoke. After capturing the obnoxious Mortimer at Nottingham
he assumed the lead. Mortimer was taken to London, and hanged at
Tyburn, 29th of November 1330, and the next year Isabella began

"^^ LIFE OF RETIREMENT

at the castle at Rising.

Sir John Froissart, whose Chronicles cover 73 years (1326-1399),
and who was secretary to Queen Philippa from 136 1 to 1366, asserts
that—

The King, soon after (the death of Mortimer), by the advice of his council
ordered his mother to be confined in a goodly castle, and gave her plenty of
ladies to wait and attend on her, as well as knights and esquires of honour. He
made her a handsome allowance to keep and maintain the state she had been
used to : but forbid that she should ever go or shew herself abroad, except at
certain times when any shows were e.\hibited in the court of the castle. The
Queen thus passed her time there meekly ; and the King, her son, visited her
twice or thrice a year. [Johnes' translation ; 1805, Vol. I., p. 84.]

With an ample yearly income of ^"3,000, which absorbed two-
thirds of her son's revenue, Isabella lived quietly at " the goodly
castle " at Rising, built a century and a half before by William
d'Albini, the first Earl of Arundel. By no means a prisoner, she
seems to have enjoyed her life — as well she might^in this
picturesque part of Norfolk. During the first few years of her son's
government the dowager-queen submitted to a mild surveillance, which
w\is perhaps subsequently relaxed. Evidence indeed shows she was
at Berkhampstead and Windsor (1330), Walsingham (1331-2),
Pontefract (1338), Langley and Norwich (1344), Hertford (1345),
and in our own burgh undoubtedly many times. Throughout a
residence of seven-and-twenty years, the burgesses never ceased
demonstrating in a tangible way their sincere sympathy with Isabella
in her adversity. From the 5th to the 32nd year of her son's reign
the pages of the Hall Book bristle with entries of money expended
for valuable presents sent for her gracious acceptance — payments for
wine, wax. bread, lampreys, sturgeon, sheep, etc., and disbursements
for the carriage of goods, and acknowledgments to her steward, cooks
and other servants.

94 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

ROYAL VISITS.

1328. August, Symon de Mepham, the newly appointed Archbishop
of Canterbury, did fealty to the King at Lenne [Chronicles of the
ReigJis of Edw. I. and II., vol. I., p. 342.]

^i?>^-2- June 4th, the King was at Thetford ; 5th Buckenham ;

26th Walsingham ; 27th Cokeford ; 28th Gaywood, from

whence he departed on the 30th to Wisbech (j\I). Isabella was with

Edward at Walsingham — " 20 shillings were paid for bread sent

to Isabell, the old (^ueen, when she came from Walsingham " (J).

I333-4- August 19th, at iMelton ; 20th Rising (query); 21st
Fakenham; 22nd Wymondham ; and 24th Yarmouth (M).
December 14th, at Newmarket; 15th Swaffham; i6th Westacre;
17th Mildenhall (M).

i334"5- ^^^y 7th, at Scottow; 9th Gaythorpe (? Gayton Thorpe);
loth Thornham (M).

1335-6- The King, Queen, etc., at Lenne (J).

1340-1. February 14th, the King, Queen, Isabella, etc., at Norwich;
grand spectacular tournament, which continued until after Easter
(M). The King visited Langley and came also to Lenne — *' los.
2d. spent for wine to sergeants-at-arms in the time the King passed
through Lenne " (H). Richards and Miss Strickland state that
the King was at Rising — query?

1342. The King and Queen are said to have been at Norwich
(Blomefield).

1344-5. November 13th, the King, Queen, Isabella, etc., at
Norwich; celebration of Edward's birthday; 15th Langley; from
whence letters patent were dated ; Isabella was there with her son
(M. and H.). December 17th the King was at Bury St. Edmund;
i8th Thetford; 20th Attleborough ; 21st Norwich, where Christmas
was spent. Edward also went to Thorndenes (Suffolk), the seat of
the Earl of Suffolk (Thorndens). "12 pence were given to the
Earl of Suffolk's minstrels." who, it seems, accompanied His
Majesty to Lenne (J). The King, moreover, visited Rising (J. and
H).

1344-5. January ist at Wymondham; 19111 to 25th at North
Elmham ; . . . February loth Wymondham (M).

1347-8. Lenne and Rising visited; presents given to the King and
Queen, also to the members of the royal household when they lodged
at the Friars (J).

1349-50. Rising again visited; 9s. 6d. paid to the messengers " at
the time the King was at Rising " (H). Lenne was probably
visited.

1352-3. Rising apparently visited; " 40 pence given to the porter
of Rising and his companions coming " — to Lenne unquestionably
— " for horses for the King's use " (H).
Authorities: M = Mason; J = Jeaffreson ; H = Harrod, who quotes

the late Mr. Alan H. Swatman.

Commenting upon Froissart's interesting Chronicles, Lord Hailes

observes, that therein " dates and facts are strangely misplaced and

confounded, as the manner is in colloquial history." Subsequent

ISABEL THE FAIR. 95

writers have, notwithstanding, incautiously followed the lead suggested

by Froissart, and have endeavoured to shew how Edward frequently
visited his mother during her residence at Rising. That she met him
at Walsingham, Langley and Norwich there can be no doubt, as she
in all probability did at Lenne, but she had been at Rising about 14
years before Edward put in an appearance. In our chamberlains'
records we find many presents were sent to the King, but surely it is
unfair to assume they were sent to the King at Rising. In 1344-5
the King visited Lenne and Rising, when payments were made to the
royal messengers and runners, also for the keeping of the King's
palfreys. Richards states that the Court was at Lenne for some
time, " as appears from certain letters which he (the King) sent from
hence to the Bishop of Norwich, then at Avignon, to be there delivered
by him to the Pope." The sum of jQt^ i6s. id. was moreover
forwarded to the King's servants at Thorndenes " at the first coming
of the Lord King at Rysing." This is Jeaffreson's version; Harrod,
quoting Swatman, gives a very similar rendering of the passage;
unfortunately, however, the word first is omitted.

In the above epitome, it will be noted how three writers assert
that Edward was at Rising prior to 1344-5. Let us now decide
whether we shall accept this, or adhere to the statement of our
chamberlains Goodmen Philip Wych, John de Couteshal, Thomas de
Fransham and William de Swanton, who certainly did not wait 500
years before making up their year's account, but who did it whilst
memory held her seat.

According to Mason the King was at Rising in 1333-4; there is
unfortunately no reference to substantiate this assertion, though
authorities are given to support what he writes respecting the visit in
1344-5. Richards assures us that the King was here in 1340, " as
appears by the account rolls of Adam de Reffham and John de New-
land, of Lynn, who sent his Majesty a present of wine." But the
chamberlains for that year were Messrs. John Richwys, Thomas
Belleyetere, William de Sanfone and Henry de Guntone (1339-40);
and Messrs. Thomas de Swerdeston, William de Utterynge, William
de Snorynge and William Erl (1340-1). Adam de Reffham was
indeed a burgh chamberlain, but that was in the year 1347-8, when
many presents were bestowed by the Corporation, — the total disburse-
ments for the year amounting to yC528 i8s. 4^d. The information
on this subject given bv Miss Agnes Strickland in her Lives of the
Queens of England (1844) has been proved in Harrod's Deeds and
Records of Lynn (1874). p. 66. to be untrustworthy. Wherefore,
guod erat demonstrandum— until some unkind busybody disproves
Mr. J. C. Jeaffreson's quotation from the Hall Book.

When Edward and Queen Philippa were in Lenne in 1335-6 we
find among the items under " Expense Navium " the following : —

xxvj s. vj d. f/['i/6/6) priven for the expenses of the Kinp and Oueen when
they crossed over the water, by the hands of Laurence de Fordham and Reginald
de Sisterne.

iiij li X s. (£"4/10) given to Geoffrey Wreke for the freight of a ship called
The Cateyine,

96 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

xxjv li. vj s (£2^16) given to Roger Fanchild and Roger Catour for the
wages of mariners in Lord King's service.

V s. (5/) given for oars to the said ship.

xj li. (£11) given to Roger Fayrchild (? Fanchild) for his costs on either
passage.

xxiij s. j d ({ifili) given to Henry Bataylle for ale and other expenses in
the sliip of Roger de Buttele.

Ivij s. i£2[iy) for xij quarters of wheat for the expenses of mariners in two
ships of the King's use.

After Edward's return from the Continent (1340-1) he visited
Lenne on his way to Norwich, whither he was bound, so that he might
be present at a grand tournament, designed expressly for his gratifica-
tion. These rough sports had been strictly prohibited a few years
before, being rightly regarded as the source of treasonable agitations.
The enterprise in which the citizens of Norwich were embarked was
unquestionably illegal, but, being expert logicians, they subdued their
misgivings with the flattering unction that, as the King couM do no
wrong, they were justified in breaking the law to assist him in doing
what was rig/it. This grand spectacular display began in February
and lasted until Easter, and many were the bones delightfully splin-
tered, but crestfallen combatants did not mind these trifles, because
their pain was neutralized by the exquisite pleasure derived from
suffering in the presence of royalty. Queen Philippa joined the King
to witness the pageants ; Her Majesty was present on St. Valentine's
day.

That Edward came to our burgh there can be no doubt, because
los. 2d. was spent for wine in treating the sergeants-at-arms and
others " in the time when the King passed through Lenne " (i 340-1) ;
but where was Her Majesty the Queen, and why did she shun the
loyal burgesses, who were patiently waiting with uncovered heads to
receive her? Subsequent events may throw light upon the subject;
the student is not, however, to be left in utter darkness, for he reads
that sixty shillings were given to a mediator, one Geoffrey de
Bouresyard, " for his assistance in reforming the peace between the
Lady the Queen and the community of the town."

Miss Strickland suggests that on this occasion Edward visited
his mother at Rising, whilst the Queen remained at Norwich until
Easter. It seems far more likely that the Dowager came to meet her
son at Lenne, and that the entries " 13s. 4d. for wine sent to the
Queen," and " 2s. paid for beer for the men of the Queen at the
Friars' Minors," refer to her, and not to the King's wife Philippa.

When the three years' truce with France was concluded, Edward
passed through Lenne. Valuable presents were made to the royal
usher, the keeper of the King's palfreys, the servants in charge of the
carriages, the sergeants-at-arms, the King's runners or footrnen, and
messengers. £,S was expended on two falcons, 3s. was paid for a
glove, and is. was given William de Lakenham for carrying the birds
to the King, who found capital sport it may be at Rising (1344-5).

In 1347-8 Edward, accompanied, perhaps, by his mother, seems
to have spent Lent in our midst. A payment of " 7s. 2d. for wines
and spices to the household of our Lady the Queen at the Friars where

ISABEL THE FAIR. 97

they were lodged," and another, "22s. 6d. entertainment of the
household of the King in Quintagesima," appear. Separate "house-
holds " are mentioned, and as Isabella was connected with the
Franciscans it might be inferred that the entertainment was at the
monastery of the Grey Friars.

Edward visited "the royal prisoner" at Rising in 1349-50 and
in 1352-3. On the first occasion wheat and eels amounting to ;£()
3s. 2d. were sent to Queen Isabella, and 9s. 6d. was paid to certain
messengers " at the time the king was at Rising." Among the pay-
ments at the second event we may mention : jQ<) 12s. gd. " paid for
a pipe of wine and a barrel of sturgeon sent to Lady Isabell, queen
of England " [what an empty title!], " and for money given to John
le Butelier and for the carriage of the same offering to Rysingge ";
i2s. was also " given to John de Wyndesoner and other men of the
King's servants when he was at Rysynnge," etc.

LAST SCENE OF ALL.

The dowager queen of England died at Hertford castle, 22nd
of August, 1358, in the 63rd year of her age, and was buried near
Queen Margaret, the second wife of Edward I., in the church of the
Grey Friars, London, towards the erection of which she had ably
contributed. A few years since the Household Book of her castle at
Hertford was found, and it is now preserved in the Cottonian Library,
British Museum. The entries extend from October, 1357, to the time
of her death. From it we learn that among the Queen's guests at
this period were the daughter and grandson of the infamous Mortimer ;
and that frequent payments were made to couriers who travelled to
and from the French court, which prompts to the belief that Isabella's
interference with State affairs was not even then at an end.

An excellent diagnosis of the character of this very beautiful
woman, the " She-wolf of France," is given by Mr. E. M. Beloe, in
his Castle Rising: the Barony, the Borough and the Franchise (1894).
He writes : —

The career of Isabella, the heroine of Rising, is not that of a saint ; it is
that of a woman whose ambition, whose cruelty, whose immorality and hard-
ness of character is perhaps unsurpassed in history. Whether the bad qualities
she possessed were entirely owing to her own fault it is not for us to judge.
. . . She was married very early in life to her weak and unfortunate
husband, Edward II. She came to us a bride so beautiful that she was called
Isabella the Fair. Her father was handsome, for he was designated Philip le
Bel, and her husband was as remarkable as both of them for his comeliness
and gentleness. This woman, so young and beautiful, and yet so bad, was of
high ability, and possessed great qualities. During her career as queen, which
lasted 20 years, in its early portions she certainly distinguished herself by great
power of government and by energy in administration. She arranged treaties,
and in her fall, when she lost every moral quality, and became a fierce, cruel, relent-
less, heartless woman, she never ceased to be a queen. She was the daughter of a
king, and in all her associations she never demeaned herself to any of low
position ; her companions throughout, and those with whom she acted in
business, were all the highest barons in the hind. One of her last arts before her
fall was her retirement to France witii Mortimer, but I need net refer to a
connexion which is historic. It is only after being exiled from that country that
she came to England with an armed force and landed on Harwich beach, and
compelled her unlucky husband to surrender the kingdom to his and her son.

98 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

She gave the keeping of the King afterwards to the Earl of Lancaster, her
relative, aid only when the kindness of the earl to his unfortunate prisoner
became apparent, did this wife and the mother of his child take the care of her
husband the King from him, and put it into the hands of two who would do
her will, and who took him to Berkeley, almost certainly by her directions, and
murdered him. This is he heroine of the Castle ! She was now let loose, and
every-one fell at her will. The good Earl of Lancaster, the old Earl of Coventry,
relatives of herself and her husband, were executed. . . . We all know that
she ruled the kingdom in the name of her son (but in reality by the direction of
Mortimer) until the fourth year of his reign. . . .

THE " BLACK PRINCE."

After purchasing the castle and appurtenances at Rising,
Isabella, the Queen-Dowager, became entitled to the usual profits
arising from the Lenne Tolbooth. At her decease (1358) they were
enjoyed by her grandson Edward, Prince of Wales. Early inured
to warfare, the hero of Cregy spent most of h's time in tented camps,
and very little at his com ortable home. The Prince owned the castle
at Rising only eighteen years, for where he gained his honours he
lost his health ; he returned victorious, it is true, but with a broken
constitution ; he died at the early age of forty-six, and was buried at
Canterbury (1376).

During the absence of the Black Prince, when the castle was
most likely in the charge of a constable, unpleasantness arose, and
our burgh became involved in considerable expense in trying to dis-
prove certain grave accusations maliciously made against the com-
munity. Twice during the year 1373-4, the mayor, John de Cokes-
ford, and twelve of the most influential burgesses, with their servants,
were sent to London in order to treat with their princely neighbour
and the Council. The dispute, which related to the payment of dues
derivable from the Tolbooth, led to protracted interviews, which
absorbed much time.* The first visit necessitated a sojourn of seven,
and the second of three weeks. The deputation was, it seems, at last
satisfied with a compromise, though the burgesses could hardly be
expected to applaud their diplomacy, because considerable drafts upon
the civic coffer were immediately made, as, for example, ;^i33 6s. 6d.
a gift to the Lord Prince; ;^4 13s. 4d. for a pipe of red wine given
to Lord William de Swyneflete for aid rendered the community during
the negotiations which resulted in a "treaty," the nature of which
is not recorded. The same year there were " drinkings " of wine by
the Bishop's steward and Edmund Gurney, who acted as legal adviser

* Two examples of Les Custums de la Talboth de Lenn (1243) must suffice ; —
Wynys

Of a tonne wyn yt is clepyd tressel ... ... viij d.

Of a tonne wyn yt is clepyd Dubler ... ... iiij d.

Of ev'y tonne wyn cardon ... ... ... iiij d.

And if it be w'out ye tonne for ev'ry mt ... ... ob.

Of di mt ... ... ... ... ... j qa.

Beneth rizt Bot ... ... ... ... nt.

WOLLE SkYNNYS

Of c v.'oUe skynnys ... ... ... ... vj d.

Of ci c (50) ... ... ... ... ... iij d.

Of XX sxynnys ... ... ... ... ... j d.

Of X skynnys ... ... ... ... ... ob.

Of V skynnys ... ... ... ... ... j qa.

Beneyeriztnot ... ... ... ... nt.

— [Norfolk Antiquarian Miscellany (1883), vol. II.]

ISABEL THE FAIR. 99

to the town. The charges of the deputation amounted to ;^i5
14s. 8d. ; the expenses of Adam Clerk, who rode to Norwich and
Hoxne with the mayor's letter asking Lord William de Swyneflete to
defend the burgesses, came to 4s. 8d. ; moreover, 6s. 8d. was given to
a clerk named Baron and his associates (clerks of the Council of the
Prince) for their advice and trouble in writing about the ^^fine for the
Tolbooth."

In the accounts for the years 1374 and 1376 are these items : —
/'14/15/3 received for the share of the prince for the Tolbooth, as well on

the screen as for tyonage, lovecop and measurage for the time of this

account. *
^8/6/8 paid the prince for rent of the same (1374-5).
^11/13/4 to the prince for his part of the Tolbooth rent to Easter, and
^13/6/8 to Michaelmas (1376-7).

After the duties were collected by the bailiffs, they were at stated
periods taken to the Hall and placed upon the "screen" (Latin,
scrinium, a chest or casket), th;it is, upon the top of the iron-bound
treasury box, the keys of which were held by the town's chamberlains,
who were responsible for its safety. May we not infer that besides
receiving one-fourth of the profits, valued at ^90 a year. Prince
Edward also received an annual rent of ;^25 for the premises?

At the death of the " Black Prince " the castle and manor passed
to his son Richard, a lad eleven years of age, who was crowned king
of England (1377). During the second year of his reign negotiations
for the exchange of the lordship of Rising for the castle of Brest, in
Brittany, were brought about by John de Montford, surnamed the
Valiant, and his wife Joan. Preparatory to acceding to this request

• Tronage was the duty paid when wool was brought to the tron or weighing-beam. The Tron-gate
(way) in Glasgow and the Tron church in Edinburgh were named from their proximity to the public steel-
yards. Tronage was afterwards applied to the duty upon al! weighable goods. The Chamberlains of
London received a writ from Edward I. to make a iron for the weighing of wool " in our town of Len"
(rSth April, 1298). The machine, after being examined and proved at the Gildhall, was sent to the
Exchequer, where it was tested and stamped with the city mark. Then it was delivered "to the men of
Lenne."

Measurnge was likewise paid when certain goods were measured.

Lovecop (otherwise lovecop, lojcop and lujcop) is supposed to be a tax on corn — the right of taking from
every certain quantity (say bushels) a scoop of corn, payable to some superior. \Trans. Phil.Soc. (1855): 33.]
In the Times (of May 27th, 1857, p. 11), there is a report of a case touching the right of H.R.H. the Prince
of Wales, as tjuke of Cornwall, to lojcop, i.e., to one moiety of the charges on exported grain, seeds and
com levied at a certain town upon the coast. (Notes and Queries, 1857, 2nd S., iv. 27.) It is defined in the
Eng. Dialec. Diet, as "an ancient right existmg at Lynn Regis." [querj', "existing"?] Mr. Henry
Bradley, M. A., one of the able editors of the Neiv English Dictionary on Hislotical Principles {igo2), thus
discusses the derivation of this " puzzling " word : " The Dutch lijjkonp, the Old Danish and Old Swedish
litlicilp, and the German leitkauf, all mean what in some parts of England is called a ' lucky-penny,' i.e., a
sum which it is customar>' for the seller to give back out of the purchase-money. The general notion is
that the seller treats the buyer to a drmk in celebration of the conclution of the bargain. The Scandinavian
and German forms as tliey stand may very well mean ' purchase of drink' ; there is an old Teutonic word
Ii(/i, meaning ' strong drink,' which becomes iei( in German. The Dutch word, which on the face of it
would seem to bear the unlikely meaning ' purchase of one's life or body' must be a corruption ; there are
other instances in which the original th in a word borrowed early from some other Teutonic dialect has
become / in Dutch. Further, we have in English dialect (Kent) a very similar word, with a curious variety
of forms, meaning ' an auction sale.' The forms are /ie/fo«/>, /ift)ecAe/>e, litcop, and, in a book dated 1681,
lylhcoup. Here again we have a curious alternation between / and th ; and the difference in meaning from
Continental words is strange. ... I think love:op must be as.sociated with this group of words to this
extent, that the ending is probably equivalent to ' purchase.' The East .\nglian dialect so swarms with
Scandinavian words that the presumplion is that this term is of Scandinavian origin. Now in Old Norse
lofkaup, though the compound does not to my kiiowletlge actually occur, would mean ' purchase of leave or
licence'." This suggestion, however, is offered for what it may be worth. Subsequently lovecop was used
synonymously with lastage, and denoted the payment of one jienny per quarter on corn or grain exported by
any merch;int strangers not being freemen of the burgh (circa Edward VI.). The lastage upon all grain
shipped at the present time is one penny per quarter, one half of which is paid to the Duchy of Cornwall.

Damptol. tliat is. Dam Toll, was paid for the maintenance of the roads upon dams or banks {Inq. Post.
Mort., vol. II. p. 50a : bth Edw. III,).

100 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

Richard directed that a minute valuation should be made. The
proposed exchange was ratified the same year, but Montford retained
his East Anglian possession only about twelve years, because, growing
disaffected towards the Crown, he revolted, and thus forfeited his
estates in England ; whereupon the barony of Rising, with the castle
and all thereto belonging, reverted to the Crown (1391).

Although the exchange occurred in 1379, it appears to have been
suggested during the lifetime of the " Black Prince," because the
Duke of Brittany, John de Montford, was in Lenne prior to the
disagreement with the burgesses. The chamberlains then paid 7s. 8d.
for eight gallons of red and white wine which John and his suite
consumed, 3s. 4d. for ferrying his horses over " the great river," and
20 pence for something or other when the duke landed at West Lenne.
The point, however, upon which attention must be focussed is this, —
that the large solatium voted to our neighbour at Rising was, as is
expressly stated, " for having his lordship in the same (place) again."
Does not this imply that an alteration was anticipated?

QUEEN PHILIPPA.

Between our townsfolk and the Queen there did not exist the
reciprocal cordiality we should have expected, and were desirous of
finding. The cause, however, will shortly appear.

Whenever the King set out on a " progress ' ' through the country,
he was followed by a decrepit army of borrowed carts. Under
stress of circumstances, the official purveyors had power to commandeer
vehicles within a radius of ten leagues ; travellers, indeed, were often
stopped in the midst of a journey and put to exasperating
inconvenience. Forced loans were, it is true, illegal ; hence the
purveyors were emphatic in promising payment, — " ten pence a day
for a cart with two horses, and fourteen pence for a cart with three
horses," according to the terms of the statute in that case made and
provided, but when the day of reckoning came the purveyors were
generally in a pitiable state of absent-mindedness. Their requisitions
included hay, straw, wine, provisions, and in fact everything the royal
retinue needed. Now the country swarmed with caterers, the majority
of whom were other than associated with the King's suite. The
business was a lucrative one ; there was everything to gain and nothing
to lose. These subpurveyors, who were degrees removed from the
official purveyors, commandeered what commodities they thought fit,
purchasing them at alarming prices, and selling them to superior
purveyors, but never paying for them. The King, though cognizant,
was quite helpless, because the government was defective and its
measures were farcical. Trade and tricks go together, but surely the
high-water mark of trickery is reached when the goods, which cost
nothing, are sold, the money pocketed, and a fresh supply obtained
without the outlay of a penny. These greedy caterers were not yet
satisfied; they "bought," or far oftener stole, corn, which was
measured to them by " the heaped bushel," and sold it "by the
strike." In disposing of their hay, wine, etc., other sharp practices

ISABEL THE FAIR. 101

were common; so that on all transactions they secured a profit of 25
per cent. more. Many a time have our forefathers been thrown into
fearful perspirations at the approach of the royal cortege; the poorer
classes — the mediocres and the inferiores were, however, the real
sufferers, because they did not possess the wherewithal to bribe the
purveyors, as was the well-known custom with their neighbours the
potentiores.

The sudden appearance of the bailiffs of the Sheriff of Norfolk
in 1355 took the inhabitants somewhat aback. These worthy
gentlemen, having formally presented their credentials, were of course
hospitably entertained by the mayor, William de Bittering, at the
town's charge. They were not exactly " on pleasure bent," yet they
condescended to sample ten shillings worth of imported wine, which,
no doubt, yielded them immense satisfaction. The object of their
unlooked-for advent may be summed up in a few words,— they were
commissioned to obtain and bear with them on their return " the
Queen's gold." "Ah!" think you, "Her Majesty prudently left
some of her superfluous treasures in the custody of the community
when she last passed through the burgh." Alack-a-day ! an extract
originally penned by one of its burgh-treasurers dispels the fond
illusion.

£■4/13/4 paid to Edward de Cretin^je, Sheriff of Norfolk, for the Queen Philippa's
gold, pertaining to her for lines of the men of Lenn, made before
William de SharushuUe and his associates, justices of the King's Bench
at Norwich, for certain excesses, extortions and transgressions (1355-6).

And had the purveyors of Lenne forgotten how Goodman Kent
committed a trespass against the Mayor and community by selling his
wine at eightpence a gallon, when other taverners were charging but
sixpence, and how he escaped punishment by being bound to forfeit
a tun of wine to the community, if ever he did the like again (1336)?
The burgesses, for whose good behaviour the community was
answerable, had actually been summoned before the justices of the
King's Bench and severely fined for their dishonesty, and the Queen,
a thorough business woman, was determined upon having her rights.
Although the community lavished gifts upon the members of the Royal
Family, our caterers could find no excuse for charging extravagantly
for what the Queen wanted. Were there not ordinances (assizes they
were called), regulating the price of bread, ale, fuel and the common
necessaries of life, and why should not la reine d'' affaires seek redress
and protection? Though the fine? was paid with apparent reluctance,
yet voluntary atonement was made the next year.

/"ao sent to Philippa.Ouenn of England.

£\o sent to her son. *"

£5/6 paid for a piece of wax sent to the said Queen ; i\A paid for the carriage

of same.
40/ given to the Queen's steward, and 3/4 to the said Queen's messenger.
2/ given for a sword, bought and given to a certain minstrel of the same Queen,

viz., to a herald. ~

Prompted by a heart exuberant with gratitude, our mayor,
William de Swanton (may his name be cherished for ever !) presented

102 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

his horse to the Queen. This, if so he listed, he had a perfect right
to do, but it was hardly honest of him to slyly accept 52s. 4d. from
the exchequer of the burgh to cover his benevolence. Not only was
his claim untenable, but the price was excessive.

In 1362 an Act was passed insisting upon purveyors paying ready
money " at the price current of the market," etc. They were, moreover,
no longer to be known by " the heinous name of purveyors " (that is,
providers), but henceforth were they to be termed achatours or buyers.
Honest men, as will be seen, were not then made by Acts of
Parliament. The same year. Queen Philippa, one of her sons and a
large concourse of followers were at Snettisham. Let us not trouble
ourselves with " the why and wherefore," but be content with
examining the still further propitiatory expenses defrayed by the
town. After liberally tipping Her Majesty's treasurer to the tune of
26s. 8d., her avenor, who had charge of the horses' provender, 6s. 8d.,
the avenor 's servant 3s. 4d., her sub-avenor 6s. 8d. and the sub-
avenor's boy 6d, and further treating them to twenty pennyworth of
wine, the loyal and subservient burgesses humbly approached the
Queen with the following appetising offering, — three carcasses of beef
48s., six ditto veal iis. 6d., ditto ditto of mutton 14s. 6d., a tun of
wine ;£^8 13s. 4d., and a quantity of oats amounting in value to
53s. 4d. Moreover, the canvas in which the meat was wrapped cost
2s. 3d., and the carriage 3s. lod. The freight of the oats was is. 4d.,
of which the carter received is. For carrying corn the usual price was
about a penny a mile per ton. To " make assurance double sure "
our treasurers credited the town with 5s., which they handed to the
Queen, because of " defective measure." The invoices were no doubt
carefully checked, and irregularities reported, but whether the Queen
looked the gift-horse in the mouth we cannot ascertain. If she were
dissatisfied, it is a question whether she could sue for damages, because
horses were not included in the assisa: venalium as a common necessary
of life.

To complete their purgation Her Majesty's son must not be
forgotten, hence the community forwarded him two tuns of wine, jQi'j
6s. 8d. ; twenty quarters of oats (correct measure), for which honest
Richard de Houton was paid 60s. ; and, knowing how servants esteem
some slight token of appreciative recognition, they sent them a small
sum — nominally 20s., but which, according to the purchasing-power
at this period, was not less than jQ2o !

ON HIGHEST WING.

The most ancient of sports, almost indigenous to this country, was
by no means ignored by our mediaeval ancestors. Hawking was in
early times practised by the British islanders, and perhaps by a few
Oriental tribes ; the Romans, indeed, were indebted to the conquered
Britons for their knowledge of this fascinating diversion. Edward
III. was passionately fond of the sport, and under his patronage it
became highly popular, so much so that a person of rank was seldom
seen abroad without a hawk or falcon upon his hand. The stealing

ISABEL THE FAIR. 103

of a hawk was indeed felony. Culled from the town's disbursements
are a few of the payments representing presents of birds, etc. : —

;^4/2/6 paid to Geoffrey de Ketelston for falcons sent to the King (1279).

£slo/o for two falcons sent to the King ; 3/ given for a glove with the falcon,

and 1/ paid to Wm. de Lakenham for carrying a falcon to liising (1289).
£9/6/8 given for two gerfalks (ger- falcons) bought for the use of the L-ord King ;

7/6 for jesses, caparisons and turres (straps, trappings. &c.) to the same

(1336)-

For attending to the King's birds, Andrew de Byri, whose name
deserves mention in these chronicles for another reason, received
13s. 4d. this year, besides subsequent payments. This person,
otherwise known as Benedict de Byri, was " a happy man " — though
married, if we credit his sobriquet !

In the Reliques of Ancient Poetry are these convincing lines : —

In summer-time, when leaves grow greene,

And blossoms bedeck the tree,
King Edward would a huntyng ryde,

Some pastime for to see.
With hawks ?nd hounde he made him bowne,

With home and eke with bowe
To Drayton- Basset he tooke his waye,

With all his lordes arowe.

To substitute "Castle Rising" for Drayton-Basset would
certainly not endanger the poet's veracity, although it might upset the
melodious canter of his lines.

To Sir Walter de Cheshunte, the royal steward at Rising, a
falcon, costing ^2, was presented (1339); and a second bird the next
year, the cost of which, ^t^ iis., was likewise defrayed by the town.
Herons, too, were highly prized ; and they were set free for the hawks
to pursue and pounce upon. To ensure success, the trainers were in
the habit of offering wax models of refractory birds upon the shrines
in our churches. The Duke of Lancaster accepted herons to the value
of ^2 in 1366, as also did Admiral Lord Nevill in 1372.

The burgh-bailiffs received a writ bearing the privy seal, which
was dated July 2nd 1360, at Smerdon. This enchanting enigma is
thus worded : —

Si marcham on autres gentz viegnent a la dite ville par nier, ou par terre, od
nuls ostours qui soient a vendre, et vous puissez trover nul de eux qi soit plus graunt
de corps qe autres ne soient communalment, qe ceii facez prerdre a nre oeps, ia soit ce
qil sit les pennes brisces.®

Here is a solution, in the crabbed phraseology of the period : —

If merchants or other people come to the said town by sea or land, with any
hawkes to sell and (if) you can find any of them which is larger than they
commorly are — (then) that you cause this to be taken for Our (that is, the
King's) use, even if it happen that its feathers are broken.

Choice falcons, bred in Norway or in Livonia, a Russian province
on the shores of the Baltic, were often brought over and sold to the

• For the difference between "use" from the Latin usiis, and "use" from the Latin opus, see Profe<iSor
W. W. Skeat's Etymological Dictionary of the English Language (1S82). TIip hitter is often spelt " oeps" in
.\nf!,\o-'Frenci\, as cynk cents quarttrs de furment et trois centz bacouiis <i I'oeps le toi (4 Edward IH., 1331,
Rolls of Parliament, vol. ii., p. 40).

104 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

nobles at high prices. The King was not to be eclipsed by his
subjects ; he would resort to a brusque and effective exercise of the
"divine right" inherent in monarchs. The thieving bailiffs, acting
for a person who could do no wrong, were, of course, morally
irresponsible.

FIRE. FLOOD AND FEVER.

(i) There were two conflagrations in Lenne during this reign.
The first is described as " the great fire." That the ravages were
widespread seems likely enough, when houses were largely constructed
of wood and generally covered with thatch. For carrying water the
chamberlains paid 2S., and a like amount for watching a boat in the
haven. In what a helpless condition the town must have been, when
the fire-hooks used in pulling down buildings, etc., had to be made
whilst the fire was raging ! The construction of these instruments
cost fourpence (1277-8). At the next outbreak the alarming state of
unpreparedness was perhaps three-and-thirty times as great, if the
sum charged " for making and carrying fire-hooks and ladders " to
the fire is any criterion (1282-3).

(2) In 1301-2 " a great flood " inundated the town, and caused
great damage to the buildings, especially those near the shore. There
was spent in repairs ;^i25 i8s. 8id. ; and the next year heavy
additional expenses were incurred for anchors, windlasses, spars,
ropes, pulleys, timber, etc., besides jQt^ i6s. id. to John Schilling for
restoring his quay, which was washed away, ^'j 13s. and ^4 is. 5d.
for repairing the South Gates and the " Dokke " (possibly a dry
dock similar to the old one in the Friars fleet) respectively.

(3) Moreover, a terrible plague visited Europe in 1348, the
effects of which were felt in Lenne the next year. This disease seems
to have originated either in China or India. No plague was ever so
destructive; in Venice 100,000 died, in Florence 60,000, and in Sienna
70,000. The fatality was so great that one-half or one-third of the
human race is said to have perished. This may be an exaggeration.
Nevertheless its ravages quite bewildered and appalled the writers of
the period. Its appearance in England can be precisely fixed.
Parliament was prorogued on the ist of January, 1349, because of
'•' the sudden visitation of deadly pestilence," as the King expresses
himself in his letter to the Bishop of Winchester. The " black
death," as it was called, was particularly virulent in Norfolk. In a
single year upwards of eight hundred parishes lost their parsons,
'■' eighty-three of them twice, and ten of them three times in a few
months, which represents only a portion of the mortality among the
clergy and religious orders." (Dr. A. Jessopp.) The unprecedented
number of vacancies were perforce supplied by inexperienced youths,
who had only devoted themselves for clerks. These novices, " all
shaven and shorn " forthwith became rectors of parishes. " William
Bateman, bishop of Norwich, dispensed with sixty shavelings to hold
rectories and other livings, that divine ser\'ice might not cease in the
parishes over which they were appointed." (Blomefield.) Though
no particulars are at hand respecting the mortality of our town, there

NAVAL AND MILITARY ANNALS. 105

can be no doubt but that Lenne suffered with the rest of the district.
The population of Norfolk was at this period 150,000, of which
number one-half at least died. In Norwich, 57,304 died, " besides
religious and beggars"; and the desolation in Yarmouth was
subsequently described in a petition to Henry VII. in these words:
" In the 31st year of the said King Edward III. by the great
visitation of Almighty God, there was so great a death of people within
the same town that there was buried in the parish church and church-
yard in one year 7,052 men; by reason whereof the most of the
dwelling places and inhabitations stood desolate, and fell into utter
ruin and decay, which, at this day (1502), are gardens and void
grounds as it evidently apeareth : where through the said benefice is at
this day (worth) to the curate scarcely ;£^o a year."

I see no other conclusion to arrive at but one (writes Dr. A. Jessopp),
namely, that during the year ending March 1350 more than half the population
of East Anglia were swept away by the Black Death. If anyone should
suggest that many move than half had died, I should not be disposed to quarrel
with him. . . . The Bishop of Chester looks with grave distrust upon any
theory which ascribes to the Great Plague as a cause "nearly all the social
changes which took place in England down to the Reformation ; the depopulation
of towns, the relaxation of the bonds of moral and social law, the solution of
the continuity of national development caused by a sort of disintegration in
society generally." And yet [the recluse of Scarning continues] this appalling
visitation must have constituted a very important factor in the working out of
those social and political problems with which the life of every great nation is
concerned.

Ten years later (1360) Lenne was in such a dreadful insanitary
state that the Mayor, aldermen and constables were commanded to
inspect the ditches encompassing the town " by reason of its situation
upon an arm of the sea," which were " through the ebbing and flowing
of the tides, filled up with mud and other filth, to the great damage
of the town." (Dugdale). A crusade of sanitary inspectors, headed
by the Mayor, soon vanquished the myriads of microbes which then
infested the town !

CHAPTER XII.

Naval and Militai-y Annals.

As Charles V. of France died without leaving male issue (1328), and
as, according to the Salic law, females were excluded from the throne
of that country, Philip of Valois was chosen King. From this moment
Edward III. cherished hopes of obtaining the crown in right of his
mother, who, it will be remembered, was the daughter of Philip the
Fair, asserting that, although the law of France forbade the rule of
females, it did not apply to their male heirs. And Edward slyly
" winked the other eye," for he knew his claim was as transparent as
"egregious moonshine"; but as circumstances prevented him from
immediately pressing his demand by force of arms, and as Scotland,
moreover, required attention, he was constrained to arrange his

106

HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

countenance in order to render liege homage to Philip for the duchy
of Guienne.

WAR WITH SCOTLAND.

On coming to the throne Edward sent a writ to John Perbroun,
the admiral of what was termed " the north fleet," commanding him
to select 40 vessels to be employed against the Scots ; for not until the
beginning of the i6th century did our nation possess a royal navy.
Prior to this her fleet consisted of a miscellaneous aggregation of ships
provided by the chief ports, supplemented by help from private
merchants, and small fleets hired of the Genoese, the Venetians or the
Hanse Towns for a specified period. Admiral Perbroun, it seems,
visited Lenne, and selected the Katherine, a ship owned by Richard
de Fakenham and Geoffrey Drew. For the use of the same the
community agreed to pay one mark (13s. 4d.), whilst the King paid
the wages of the crew — thirty men at 3 pence and the master and
constable at 6 pence each per day. The armour, a despicable
assortment of worn-out " odds and ends," was furnished by the
townsmen and paid for out of the common fund.

As early as 1181 every adult freeman was compelled by virtue of
the Assize of Arms to provide himself with weapons according to the
extent of his property; this was reinforced in 1252, and again in 1285
by the Statute of Wine lie ster, which commanded " every man to have
in his house harness for to keep the peace according to the ancient
assize." Sometimes the proffered articles were not accepted, as, for
instance, when John Sefouls produced a pair of iron plates, valued at
18 pence, and Adam de Trunch a pair of iron gauntlets, a harqueton,
a bassinet with ventail and a pair of plates with visor, for which rusty
heirlooms he was willing to take 20 shillings. In both cases they
were " received back " (1328).

Another writ gave rise to a repetition of the performance (1334).
The equipment of a ship for Scotland was placed in the hands of
William Jay, William de Hoo, John de Wesenham, Alan Spirling,
John de Somersham and John de Cavendish. Among the offers
received, the following constitute a fair sample : —

Thomas de Fransham
William de Blakene
Robert de Chapel
Adam de Walsoken

Humfrey de Wiken

One pair of plates of horn

A harqueton

One pair of plates

A harqueton

A bassinet with ventrail

Paid.

Accepted.

3/4

10/
5/
6/

4/
0/8

A haubergion

A pair of gauntlets

A bassinet with ventrail Rejected.

A harqueton

In those days the warrior wore a close-fitting leathern jacket ; it was called
a doublet, because the material of which it was made was double, a puvpoint
because it was often quilted or stitched, and an aketon, harketon or (as in the
Lenne manuscript) a harqueton. Over this jerkin a pair of plates were strapped,
the breast-plate in front, and the back-plate haubargeon or haubergion behind.
The head was encased in a bascinet or bassinet, a light helmet with a ventail

NAVAL AND MILITARY ANNALS. 107

(erroneously spelt ventrail,) or movable front, through which the wearer breathed.
Small plates, either of iron or horn, were secondary defences, used as protection
for the joints and the weaker parts of the mail suit. The development of these
detachable pieces at this period resulted in a complete panoply of plate armour,
which ousted the chain or ringed armour called " mail," from the French word
maille, the mesh of a net.

The town provided the Maivdelyn with a springald, which the
owner, Thomas de Melcheburn, was to restore when the vessel came
back, or pay the community thirty shillings.

In 1337 the Sheriff of Norfolk was ordered to supply Sir Walter
Manny, the admiral of the fleet north of the Thames, with provisions
for three weeks. As, however, sufficient ships were not collected for
the King's passage, the Admiral was severely reprimanded and strictly
enjoined to concentrate all the ships capable of crossing the sea at
Yarmouth not a month later than Easter. Even from the scanty
information derived from our Hall Books it is clear the burgesses were
cognizant of the King's order, because 9s. was spent in lampreys and
sturgeon " for the use of the Sheriff of Norfolk " ; also bread (5s.),
a pipe of Rhine wine {^^ los.), two barrels of sturgeon (^7 6s. 8d.),
and other commodities were forwarded to Edward. Upon the Lenne
fleet (which ultimately joined the others at the mouth of the Orwell),
^36 5s. was expended, and a further sum of ;^35 4s. was sent by the
hands of Walter de Ixworth to defray the victualling of the same.

Presently the keepers of the municipal house were set a-trembling
by a surprise visit from the King's larderer. Roger Daketon was the
unwelcome bearer of a writ to which was attached the portentous privy
seal. On the mayor and bailiffs was thrust the responsibility of
instantly providing Edward with a ship capable of conveying 5,000
fish to Euerwyk (Berwick), because the sustentation of the royal
household was in jeopardy. To clear away obstacles, " reasonable
payment " was promised for the use of the commandeered vessel ; but
what about the multitude of fishes? The protestations of the King's
purveyors were generally regarded with mute suspicion (August 8th,
J 337)- Before, however, the civic doves had smoothed their ruffled
plumage and adjusted their innocent heads for the purpose of devising
'' ways and means " which might lead them out of the difficulty, they
were destined to receive another shocking writ, dated the following
day (August 9th) at Euerwyk. The burgesses were now politely
commanded to provide hospitality for Walter de Cotillor and Dame

Isabel de Cotillor (his wife) and their household, consisting of

as many as they might choose to bring with them, who had apparently
travelled from Scotland. The next year " a privy seal mandate "
from Westminster asked for the payment of fifty marks to the bearer,
Roger de Accon, another royal larderer, due for fish consumed by the
royal household (November 5th 1338).

WAR WITH FRANCE.

For several years enormous sums, though represented by what
might be regarded as modest figures, were wrung from the community
and spent in providing ships and men for Edward's expeditions. The

108

HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

effect of this continuous drain upon the limited resources of the towns-
folk must have been severely felt. In the account rendered by Simon
de Veteringe, John de Wesenham, Robert Robat and Simon de
Snoringge, the municipal treasurers, are startling items marginally
denominated " Expense Navium." We learn how our burgh paid the
wages of the men on board three ships furnished by the town, namely,
the Cog Johan* the Seinte-itiaricog (St. Mary Cog)t and the Kaierine,
which amounted to ^15 i6s. id. ; also by a second instalment the
wages of men on board seven ships " in the Lord the king's service,"
to wit, the three already mentioned, plus the Rose, the Margarite, the
Welifar' (the Fare or Go-well) and another Katerine,X which came
either to ;i^66 13s. (Harrod) or ;^66 iis. (Jeaffreson), Moreover,
money spent in the purchase of arms " for France " absorbed jQ^6
more of the burgesses' earnings, besides 35s. spent in the reparation
of old armour, and the buying of other weapons of defence from Paul
Underclif, for which the chamberlains were credited 33s. (1337-8.)
In 1338-9 four fresh chamberlains were chosen — Robert de
Wuttone, Simon de Roughtone, William de Swantone and Stephen de
Kentes. Among their disbursements stands ;£io paid to Thomas
Melchebume for the purchase of a ship called the Magdalene ; besides

£53/^ (query £s5lS) the expenses pertaining to ten ships — the Seintc Mavicog, the
Katevine Major, the Rose, the Margareic, the Welifar', the Katevine Minor
(for all of which payments had previously been made), the Trinites, the
Gracedu, the Blithe, and the newly-acquired vessel the Magdalene ; and

£gli6 (query i^g/iS) a fortnight's wages for " three ships found by the community
. . . going towards Guernemuth (Yarmouth) at the feast of St. Mark
the Evangelist." The money, apportioned as under, was paid to the
constable of each vessel : —

Andrew Kynd

Welifar

16 men

63s

John de Reppe

Katevine Ma joy

20 „

77s

Wm. de Secheford

„ Minor

14 »

56s

The King's fleet set sail from the Orwell for Antwerp in July, 1338,
and the most remarkable entries in the Hall Books during the ensuing
year relate to expenses incurred by the ships and the admirals of the
fleet, Thomas de Drayton and Robert de Morle (or Morley). Appended
is a list of wages for three months : —
Thomas Robyn

Robert Free
Walter Brekheved

Cog Johan
Alargai'et
Katevine Majoy
„ Minov
Gvacedu
Goodyear

men

,07

£^2,^ 9 H

*■ Cog was thfi name applied to a siiiall vessel (Danish and iJutcli Kvg), from whicli is derived
Cuck-hoaX (Kog-hoa.i).

" The Kogges of Ingland was brought out of bandes
And also Christofer that in the streme stands."

Laurence Miuot (circa 135:;).
The painting of tutelar saints on the prow of vessels was the survival of a Roman Custom. (Aubrev.)
t William Haunsard, the ex-sherilT of London, provided a ship which was also called La Suinle Marie
Cogge. His vessel, and not the one belonging to Lenne, did signal service at Sluys. — [London and the
Kingdom (1894), vol. L, p. 182.]

f Subsequently distinguished a^ the Kulerinc major and ihe Katerlnt minor.

NAVAL AND MlLiTARY ANNALS. 109

HANDS IDLE AND MISCHIEVOUS.

Whilst cruising about and awaiting the admiral's final orders,
five of the Lenne vessels found themselves, through no fault of their
own, of course, in serious difficulties. They were manned by bra.ve,
impetuous fellows, who, for amusement rather than necessity,
instinctively boarded certain Dutch vessels with which they
accidentally came in contact, and innocently abstracted therefrom
" divers things." Their recklessness was reported, and the Mayor,
advised by his brethren, addressed a letter to the masters of the Lenne
ships then lying off Hunstanton, summoning them to appear before
the community and the men of Zeeland to account for their piratical
performances. The letter was entrusted to Walter Kellock and
William Baunne, who carried it to Hunstanton and delivered it to
the proper person. For their services they received four shillings.
As dangerous complications set in, Messrs. Henry de Gunton and
Robert Robat were despatched post-haste to the mouth of the Orwell
to have a conciliatory interview with the admiral " in furthering the
business of the community." This journey is revealed through sundry
disbursements, including 20s. id. the travelling expenses of our astute
delegates (1339-40).

During the year Admiral Robert de Morle visited Lenne, on which
auspicious occasion the community was constrained to beg his
acceptance of ;^io. Costly presents were pressed into the reluctant
hands of his son, his knights, his esquires, his clerks, his butlers, his
pantlers (in charge of the bread stores), his chamberlains, his archers,
his coachmen, his palfreymen, and to every person directly or remotely
associated with him. Even Sir Edmund de Gunvile, who was
casually " with the admiral at his coming," must perforce receive a
falcon, which cost 36s. 8d., as a souvenir from the delighted
burgesses. Thus were the offences of our too patriotic sailors
condoned and the favour of the incensed admiral recovered. At the
great naval victory at Sluys, Admiral Morle commanded the northern
fleet, comprising vessels from Lenne and Yarmouth (24th June, 1340).
In 1342, Hugh de Betele, the mayor, received certain credentials
instructing him to place implicit trust in the bearer, John Lambert — a
man remarkable for his probity, who was sent from Westminster to
render minute information concerning the King's most urgent needs.
Edward had just embarked in what is often termed the " Hundred
Years' War," and from time to time, perhaps far oftener than our
limited information goes, was he compelled to ask for assistance.
Prior to the defence of the Duchy of Gascony, he summoned a naval
parliament or a council of shipping. From Norfolk great things were
expected, because it was the richest county in the kingdom, and
because, moreover, the wages paid there were higher than those else-
where. Yarmouth sent four representatives, the greatest number from
any place in the kingdom; Lenne two, whilst many other ports were
allowed but one. A royal commission ordered the immediate seizure
of all vessels in the Thames, for the King's use, whilst our town was
instructed to provide 100 of its most vigorous and soldierlike men

no HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

(December 1345). The writ contained minute specifications as to the
shape and make of their armour. Now it had been enacted that except
under great urgency no-one should be compelled to serve out of his own
county (1272). Later, however, Edward was constrained to issue a
" Commission of Array, ' ' authorising the " pressing ' ' of men into the
service of the nation (1297). In the above instance the men with their
accoutrements were transported to Portsmouth by mid-Lent, from
whence they sailed under the King's command.

The celebrated victory won at Cregy was probably due to the
" vigorous men " of Lenne, led on, it may be, by our brave neighbour
the Lord Rising (26th August 1346). Our town contributed besides
to the success achieved at La Hogue in Normandy (July 1346). The
following items relate to this memorable event :— " For the
conveyance of men-at-arms to Sandwich ;£2i i8s," also various
expenses paid to the masters of the ships at " le Hogges," that is. La
Hogue (Froissart), and later ^10 given to John Howard, knight,
because " twenty men-at-arms at Lenne came not into the King's
service." At the siege of Calais (1347) the total assessment for the
whole kingdom was 14,956 men (748 vessels), and of these Norfolk
contributed 2,470 men (61 vessels), Yarmouth 1,950 men (43 vessels),
and Lenne 482 men (16 vessels). There were, however, 47 ports
which sent less than 100 men each; of these Biakeney provided 38
men (2 vessels). The supremacy of Norfolk needs no demonstration.
Fuller's remark : " No county doth carry a top and gallant more high
in maritime performances than Norfolk," was as applicable in 1347 as
when subsequently written.

Again in 1350 the King's clerk, one Peter de Donewyz, came with
a writ commanding "the bailiffs and community" to draw together
their ships, galleys and all other vessels of their port and coast, and
to promptly put them upon the sea, in order that they might follow
the King's fleet (August 5th). At this juncture Philip VL died a
hostage in England. He was succeeded by his son John. The truce
was notwithstanding prolonged, and not until 1355 was the war
renewed.

A MEDI.'EVAL MAN-OF-WAR.

To increase the strength and augment the efficiency of the fleet,
Edward commanded every port in the kingdom to supply what was
termed " a barge," but what was in reality a war-ship. Our
expenditure in 1373-4 de preparatuunius navis supra mare ex mandato
Regis amounted to over ^250. Mr. Harrod transcribes the following
curious items : —

for 200 ells of canvas brought in London for sails.
,, 264 ells of canvas bought in Lenne for sails.
„ 6 ells of white linen cloth for streamers and fane.
,, painting fane and streamers.

„ 50 oars bought of John Couper, of Puffleet, and i5 short oars at
8d each.
4 7 to Thomas de Moordon and Thomas atte Green, expenses of riding
along the sea-coast to Biakeney for carpenters for the said barge.

„ John de Combes and six other carpenters working four days in the

charnel upon the building of the " caban,"

;f6

£S

£^

NAVAL AND MILITARY ANNALS. Ill

;f I 4 o to 13 bows and 12 garbs of arrows, with a box and lock to same.
13 o „ 39 tables of " popular," bought of John Wyth, to make 39 shields.
32,, for leather for binding the same shields.
£168 „ Thomas Payntour for painting barge and shields In their proper

colours,
/"i 12 6 for 15 yards of white and red cloth for hoods for 60 mariners of same
barge.
2 o given by order of the mayor for drink to the said mariners when they

worked on their hoods in the Gild Hall.
34,, them to drink when the barge first went through the port of
Lenne.

The next year (1374-5) there is a further charge of ^46 15s. 3d.
(or 4), of which " 6s. 8d. was paid to Thomas Drewe junior, and two
others for going by the sea coast to arrest mariners for the barge,
together with the charges of three horses, and 2d. paid for a boat in
the port to divers ships for arresting mariners for the barge." Why
was this press-gang organised? Were the painted shields and red
riding-hoods not sufficiently attractive? Possibly there had been
a wholesale desertion. The reluctant services of the " impressed "
were, however, not long required, because the expensive craft was soon
dismantled, and, after a minute inventory of the fittings had been
drawn up, all were carefully packed away in one of the gloomy vaults
beneath the Gild Hall (1376-7).

PAY, PAY PAY.

The Parliament of 1377 granted the king a capitation tax of
fourpence for every lay person of either sex in the kingdom above 14
years of age. The returns are instructive, as shewing the relative
importance of the towns in Norfolk at this period. Notorious beggars
and the brethren belonging to the four mendicant orders were excused,
but all unpromoted ecclesiastical persons were compelled to pay, and
those who enjoyed the sweets of promotion were charged three times
as much as their less fortunate brethren.

Towns.

Amount.

Paid by

Estimated
population.

Norwich

£65 17 5
^^52 2 4
£30 13 8

3.952
3.127
1,941

23,314

5,928

Lenne

Yarmouth

London

4,691
2,911

34-971

The port of London made liberal grants of two-tenths and two-fifteenths,
besides advancing ^'5,000 upon the security of the customs and certain plate and
jewels.

If these sums were collected fairly and according to the population,
Lenne would then have been nearly as large as Norwich, and almost
twice as large as Yarmouth ; but 30 years before Yarmouth supplied
1,950 men (43 vessels), whereas Lenne only contributed 482 men (16
vessels). The diminution may be accounted for by supposing that the
Black Death was more virulent in Yarmouth than in Lenne.

Faithful promises of speedy repayment were held out like
tempting baits to induce the Assembly to raise loans and to levy
tallages, In the "good time coming," when the King's ships came

112 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

home, were the impoverished householders to be recouped for all these
loyal sacrifices so bravely endured. Continually, however, were their
hopes deferred, until at length their patience was quite exhausted, and
the struggling community grew sick at heart. Was not the trade of
the port ruined because their ships were taken to serve the King?
Had not their sons been seized in the mill and workshop ? How could
those who were left raise more money to carry on a cruel war? Even
the great gild, a brotherhood of rich merchants from whom the town
had repeatedly borrowed sums of money, now refused any further
advances. . . . After waiting twelve weary years the Congregation
through their bailiffs humbly reminded the King of his indebtedness
to the burgh, and the misery of the depleted community. They prayed
for the repayment of jQsS'^ 4S-> ^^^ expenses to which they were put
when providing ships for His Majesty and others " to parts beyond
the sea."

Edward's heart was touched, but having no money wherewith to
meet his numerous obligations, he did what was best under the
circumstances by addressing polite letters to the bailiffs "and good
people of Lenne," frankly acknowledging their manifestations of
affectionate concern for his (the writer's) honour and profit, and also
for the honour and advantage of all his people, and also for the good
despatch de n're guerre Descoce — of our war in Scotland. Direct
reference is, moreover, made to the jQt,2) 12s. o|d. expended the
previous year for armour, bows, arrows, cloth for his archers and men-
at-arms " to and at Berwick " (20th July 1357). At a later date
similar compliments were heaped upon the burgesses for zealously
complying with the King's requirements when waited upon by John
de Swanlonde and William Getour, his majesty's clerk and mariner.
This letter was sent from Windsor Park the 20th of November 1365.

Had the good folk of Lenne grown dilatory and remiss in
supplying the King's insatiable wants ? Were they faint and weary
in well-doing? Or, had those wicked potentiores been once more
** cornering " the markets? It would be unwise to say, but the fact
remains that the Mayor received letters patent despatched from
Westminster granting special pardon to the community (loth
November 1361). Ten years later the over-due and long-expected
season dawned ; the King repaid the burgh chamberlains two hundred
marks (22nd June 137 1). Many other like payments, including the
wages of our impressed seamen, were received at the hands of Hugh
de Fastolf.

OUR FORTIFICATIONS.

Throughout the course of this long and eventful reign, and more
particularly during the war with France and Scotland, the insecurity
of our town was a subject which often occupied a prominent position
on le tapis civique. It would, however, be injudicious to pad this
section, regardless of proportion, with details covering half a century.
Again and again were the ditches scoured or recast, the surrounding
wall and earthwork repaired and the gates strengthened to assist in

NAVAL AND MILITARY ANNALS. 113

repelling an assault. The old stock of battered armour was
refurbished, and a supply of more modern weapons obtained ; new
and powerful engines of warfare were also constructed ; guards were
moreover stationed at critical times in front of the Gild Hall, which
was indeed the armoury, and at the head of the dark, tortuous lanes
leading to our waterway. A few short quotations will amply
illustrate an anxious, busy and expensive period.

In 1337-8 no less than ;£^i 4s. 7d. was spent in clay, gravel,
spades and ditchers' wages for the defence of the burgh; in 1339-40
the amending of the embankment connected with the sluice of the
North Close occupied fifteen weeks. The next year these items
appear : —

£17 15 10^ for making fourteen springals.
£10 14 3 1 for quarrels for them.

£6 12 4J for timber for the North Tower (near Kettle Mills),

£8 5 8^ for timber for the East Gates, and
£43 5 4 for making and mending the clay walls.

Springals (espringalles, espringolds or springolds) were engines
of warfare, which, by means of a po^^'erful spring, were capable of
hurling missiles at the enemy. Stones were first used, but in this
instance massive blunt-headed arrows or " quarrels " were employed.
Three years prior to this, the town possessed only one of these important
defensive weapons, which was fixed at the East Gates, the principal
entrance, but now fourteen were added to the meagre stock (i 340-1).*

Owing to the alarming state of poverty so prevalent in the town,
the Corporation, feeling they could tax the inhabitants no more, resorted
to an unusual method. There were then some eight and thirty gilds in
Lenne, and to continue the fortifications (the work upon which was
probably at a standstill for want of money), the Assembly decided
to levy a tax upon a moiety of their chattels (1372-3). From this
source ;£i6'j 5s. was drawn. The highest contribution, ;£2'j, was
paid by the Gild of the Ascension, whereas the wealthy Gild of the
Holy Trinity paid but 50s., a sum totally incommensurate with their
worldly possessions. Let it, however, be borne in mind that the
merchant brethren had already given a donation of ;£5 towards the
repairing of the church of St. Margaret ; and who will say there was
not a staggering contra account? For it was no phenomenal
occurrence for the burgh to borrow largely of this opulent fraternity.
The community's indebtedness amounted to ;^i6o in 1377-8, and to
over ;^5oo in 1409-10,

• Tlie gates or entrances to towns were protected by wooden towers or bretaches raised upon moulds.
The risin;; ground beyond tlie Soutli Gates, towards the east, whereon one of these temporary defences stood,
may be clearly traced. It was called "the bellasis at Rmtd's Hill" (circa 1173). Bloniefiehl points out that
at the entrance of .Aiidry causeway, in the Isle of Ely, there was a strong tower called a heliosis, erected to
defend the passage across the fens (vol. viii., p. 4')i). Probably there was a similar construction beside the
" dam " or causey " beyond our Kast Gates. Uoudeshill (8tli Henry VIII.), now known as the "S|)read
Eagle estate," marks the forgotten site (Harrod, p. 36). Query : May not Hand's Hill be a name common
to both sites ? It is by no means unusual to mistake an h for a u — Roudes hill, Roud's hill, Rond's Hill.

Bretach, bretask, &c., from the Old French bretech, bretesqiie, &c., Latin, bretechia, a battlement or
rampart.

" .^tte laste hu sende
Al the brutaske withoute."

— Robert of Gloucester,

114

HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

5 13

14 II

7 5

9 14

16 14

14 15

42 II

4 13

19 10

The contribution from the gilds was spent in this manner :

Timber and board

Cement, plaster of paris, sand, &c.

Stone and tile

Iron and smith's work

Lead, resin, oil, "powder," 120 lb. at 4d the lb.

A springal making

Carpenters and sawyers ...

Masons and tilers ...

Ditchers

Porterage

Gifts to officers
Cost of conduit
Balance spent the next year (1373-4)

£167 5 o
Not only was there a transition in the construction of armour, to
which allusion has already been made, but the character of warfare
was beginning to change. Our forefathers in Lenne were early
acquainted with the use of Greek fire (le feu greqnois),
an inflammable mixture, composed of sulphur, naphtha, pitch,
gum, and bitumen, which could only be extinguished by
the application of raw hides or sand saturated with vinegar,
and now this up-to-date burgh purchased 40 shillings'
worth of "powder."* The first account of the composition of this
explosive is given by Roger Bacon in 12 16 (the Chinese are said to have
been familiar with it in a.d. 85, yet cannon were not introduced into
western Europe before the beginning of the 14th century. Edward
certainly made a detour from the beaten track when he employed five
field-pieces against the French at Cregy (1346). The transitional
stage is apparent in the Roman de la Rose, for Chaucer, who lived at
this period, says : —

And eke (also) within the castil were
Springoldis, gonnes, bowes and archers.

By virtue of letters patent dated Westminster, 4th May, 1377-8,
the custody of the town was handed over to the local authorities. The
burgh was to be thoroughly fortified against attacks of the King's
enemies, whether foreign or otherwise. This onerous grant,
reaffirming and enforcing powers given about 60 years before, was to
continue during the King's pleasure, and no longer. A large sum,
_;^ii3 OS. i^d., was accordingly spent in purchasing " a certain
enclosure for the defence of the town," but as the boldest of our
speculative writers have not attempted to locate this " enclosure," we
pause before expressing an opinion — that it was somewhere in the
Newland.

THE FIGHT FOR FREEDOM,

which lasted for more than 200 years, began in this reign. There
were, it is true, many minor differences between the townfolk and the

* Used in bombards or " crak>'s of war," which were formed of bars of iron, bound togetlier with hoops,
their mouths being larger than the chambers. They were similar to tlie embryo cannon preserved in the
castle at Rising.

NAVAL AND MILITARY ANNALS. 115

bishop, and squabbles over certain port dues were not uncommon
incidents, but the great principle for which they contended was the
power to administer justice in the burgh, and the right, moreover, to
share in the responsibility of that administration themselves. Striving,
even as were other towns, for self-government and social independence,
the community was ever in a state of dissatisfaction and unrest.
Always on the alert to defend their " liberties," our forefathers
plunged into many a hard struggle with their manorial lord, who,
setting aside their charters and rudely ignoring their mayor, often
infringed upon the statutory rights of the subject. Why, they asked
themselves, should an ecclesiastical officer preside over their courts
rather than their own mayor? Was it reasonable that their revenue
— their profits and fines and forfeitures — should be pocketed and
carried away by the bishop's steward, instead of being used for the
common weal ? Were all their lucrative privileges and civic
monopolies to be unjustly filched from them? Such were the main
questions at issue. But how could a wretched community contend
with a wealthy prelate? The necessity for financial support, when
the long-threatened climax came, was patent to all. There was
nothing save the principal gild upon which the community could rely ;
therefore, to strengthen their hands, the gild of the Holy Trinity was
thoroughly reorganised, and by means of a special charter, all lands,
tenements and other possessions belonging to the gild in the burgh were
permanently secured to the brotherhood (1305).

Now the next steps were unquestionably hostile, and by no means
likely to please the lord of the seigniory. The mayor sought power
to distrain for sums levied by the burgesses, and the Assembly
presumptucmsly decided that 26 of their number might choose a
committee comprising 12 of "the more sufficient of the town" to
devise a scheme whereby the burgh might be adequately represented
in the King's Parliament and elsewhere (1314). This palpable
aggression terribly upset the episcopal equilibrium. Alarmed at the
approaching outburst, the town sought legal advice from Adam de
Fincham; Thomas, the clerk, was despatched to Norwich to interview
William Ayermin, the incensed bishop ; Robert de Oxwike prudently
enrolled the town's charter in the presence of the King; and John de
Swerdeston, Thomas de Melchburne, Thomas the clerk and others,
appeared before the parliament at York in order " to further the
bishop's business" (1327-8); for the contentions had now absorbed
several years. Much opposition was displayed by London, Lincoln,
York and possibly Lenne, at a proposal to remove the staple of wool
to the Continent. Edward deliberately abolished the staple altogether,
reestablished free trade, and thus subdued the opposition (August
1328).

There was a temporary lull in the seething of the coming storm,
but the brewing was not materially affected; with slight interruptions
the process of social fermentation went on steadily. At this juncture
it was remembered that the " great charter " (C. i.) expressly
stipulated that the privileges conferred upon the community at Lenne

116 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

were to be regulated by the law and customs of Oxford. Who knew
for certain the methods adopted by that far-away city? Would it
not be wise to send some of their number to make direct inquiry at
Oxford, so that these ruinous contentions might be settled once and
for all ? It would be an expensive undertaking in sooth, notwith-
standing it was the best policy to pursue. Whereupon Roger de
Bristole and Thomas the aforesaid — an important acquisition, were
selected for the mission.

The deputation from Bishop's Lenne was graciously received, and
a meeting of the citizens of Oxford forthwith convened, whereat the
visitors asked for advice and instruction upon certain perplexing
matters. The mayor, Richard de Gary, and other influential
burgesses, answered the various interrogations. [Attendant expenses
33s. 6d., which was probably laid out in wine.] During the inquiry
the Statutes of Oxford were diligently consulted [cost 40s.], and being
counselled by the Mayor, the clerk of the city made a copy of the
said statutes for the use of the deputation. After a prolonged
absence, Roger de Bristole and his learned companion returned safely
to Lenne [43s.]. To clench the advantages gained by the outlay, the
liberties of the burgh were formally asserted before the Parliament
held the next year at York, by William de Brinton and Thomas the
burgh-clerk {jQ6 15s. pd.].

The culmination of the present disputes was the purchase of a
brand-new charter from the King, for which, with a duplicate
prepared by Geoffrey de Mumbi and Thomas the indispensable, the
Gorporation paid ;£55, besides a fee of ^20 to His Majesty the King,
costly offerings to Lord de Ufford, which amounted to ;^5, and several
no less valuable presents to the irreconcilable bishop (1335).

C. g. Dated at Nottingham ; ist of April ; gth year of Edward's reign (1335).
It confirmed C, 8, and provided that the wills of the burgesses bequeathing
tenements within the town should be publicly proved and enrolled before
the Mayor and townfolk in the Gild Hall. Further, it provided against
the seizing or detaining of ships and merchandise unless the principal debtor
were a manucaptor or surety.

To prevent encroachments, and to know exactly those affected by
the charter, it was thought advisable to " beat the bounds " — fro
fuhatione I'lhertatis vj pence (1336-7). Legal assistance was again
needed ; hence the next year Sir Edmund de Lenn was engaged to
meet the Assembly in court [13s. 4d.]. Another deputation, the out-
come no doubt of his advice, consisting of burgesses Roger de Buttele,
Geoffrey Drew and the town clerk, appeared before the King's
council in London [;^8 3s. pd.]. The success of this expedition to
the metropolis seems evident, because the self-same year Thomas
Wulsi, on behalf of the town, went boldly to the hall of the bishop's
steward, and then and there openly asserted the " liberties " of
Bishop's Lenne [1337-8].

And now were the burgesses stricter than ever in being well
represented in Parliament wherever it might assemble, whether in
London, or York, or Nottingham. The Mayor, moreover, persisted in
holding a court twice a week in the Gild Hall, where (without consulting

NAVAL AND MILITARY ANNALS. 117

" my lord the Bishop ") he dealt with debts and transgressions not
only within the bounds of the town, but those also arising on the water
between St. Edmund's Ness (Hunstanton) and Staple Weere ; besides
he seems to have laid claim to the view of frankpledge and the
criminal jurisdiction of the Leet Court.

For every municipal aggression, there followed a manorial
retaliation, until

A DOUBTFUL COMPROMISE

was at last brought about during the episcopate of Antony Bek. At
the bishop's deliberate instigation, letters patent were issued by
brother William de Ciaxton, the prior of the convent of the Holy
Trinity at Norwich, which proved to be a reiteration of "' the perpetual
confirmation " of the liberties granted one hundred and forty years
before by bishop John de Grey. This disappointing example of
mediaeval advertising, bearing the authoritative seal of the Chapter,
was unquestionalily exhibited in some conspicuous place, and afforded
the aspiring inhabitants a slight degree of satisfaction (27th April

1343)-

A royal mandate, addressed to '' the mayor and honest men of
Lenne," quickly followed, which was for the purpose of insuring a
stricter observance of the Statute of Warranty. It was intended to
assist those, impleaded respecting lands in the city of London, who
should call a foreigner for warranty. It also enforced the observance
of the provision that, when a plea should have been moved in London
by brief respecting any tenant in the same city, it should not be lawful
for the tenant to make waste the house of the petitioner pending
sentence (1344).

The bishop's successor, William Bateman, was far from pleased
with the arrangement made by his predecessor ; the doings, moreover,
of Adam de Walsoken and John de Massingham, mayors of the town,
caused him additional anxiety. At last the circumstances were placed
before the King, with the result that a writ bearing the privy seal was
issued. In the preamble it stated that certain persons were causing
fear and trouble in Lenne, not to the King's injury alone, but to the
prejudice and damage of "our most dear and well-beloved William,
bishop of Norwich, and seigneur of the town"; and further it
entreated the Mayor and community, under pain of forfeiting the
rights they enjoyed, to alter their demeanour so that they might escape
His Majesty's most grievous anger.

Taking advantage, Bishop Bateman assumed the view of frank-
pledge of the men of Lenne and the tenements formerly held by the
Corporation; his justification being that he was strictly following the
precedent set by his predecessor John Salmon (bishop 1299- 1325), and
more or less perpetuated by his successors. The view of frankpledge
of the men of Lenne and the tenants of the burgh was, he contended,
his prescriptive right, as was also the hustings, with the examination
of covenants, conventions and transgressions, pertaining to the same
place. And, as if this usurpation were not enough to tax endurance,

118 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

he either wholly withheld or threatened to withhold the right of the
burgesses to elect a mayor (1346).

In this dilemma, the Assembly appealed to the King for
protection, and he appointed a Royal Commission to investigate the
grievances between the bishop and the burgesses. The commissioners
— Robert de Thorp, William de Notton and Roger Petygard, were met
by William Bassett, William de Thorp and the burgh clerk, Edmund
de Grymesby, who stepped upon the scene, when the faithful Thomas
sanded his last parchment and made his final exit. After considerable
deliberation, and with the advice and full concurrence of his council,
Edward adroitly shuffled out of the difficulty ; he coolly cut the
Gordian knot by first appropriating the privileges to himself, and then
as was quite within his province, handing the view of frankpledge,
the hustings, liberties, lands and tenenments, to William de Middleton,
the sheriff and escheator of Norfolk.

This alteration was duly ratified by three documents : —

Letters patent, dated at Porchester, 24th June 1346.
A brief, „ Windsor, 6th July ,,

A brief, „ Westminster, 20th August ,,

For six years the partially disfranchised burgesses submitted to
Edward's unjust verdict. An earnest appeal was then made to the
King's Bench, but the subservient judges decided against the town on
every count, including the right of the burgesses to elect their mayor.
To this, however, the inhabitants stubbornly refused to yield, for they
immediately chose among themselves William de Bittering to act in
that capacity.

At length, worn out, it may be, with these obstinate bickerings.
Bishop Bateman prepared

AN INDENTURE OF AGREEMENT,

" For the determination of all disputes and contentions between him
on the one part and the burgesses and community on the other part
respecting the election of a mayor." He was prepared to concede to
them the power to elect a mayor annually — a power, by-the-bye, they
already possessed — on condition " that every mayor so elected and
sworn ... be presented within i/iree days at Geywoode," either
to the bishop, or in his absence to the bishop's steward, " and that the
mayor at the presentation should solemnly promise to discharge his
official duties faithfully, and also to preserve from injury the rights and
liberties of the Church of Norwich " (1352).

This gracious extension of the time-limit seems to have had a
pleasing effect, if such entries as these have any weight : — " Paid for
wine when the mayor and honest men of Lenne went to Geywod to
present the mayor to the bishop, 1 2 pence ; paid pro vno doleo vim
(for one tun of sweet wine) sent to the Lord Bishop, ^5 13s. 4d. j
paid pro laumpers (for lampreys), ^^3 3s. 4d. ; and for canevaces
( ? reed-baskets) in which they were carried, 6 pence. " Besides, to
render their homage indisputable they humbly presented his lordship
with the inevitable lump of wax, which cost ^4 i8s. 3d. (1354-5).

NAVAL AND MILITARY ANNALS. 119

Bishop Bateman was succeeded by Thomas Percy in 1356, whose
steward was Robert Urri. For causes unrecorded a marble cross
[los.] was bought and erected on the Mawdclyn causeway, possibly
not far from the Hospital of St. Mary Magdalen or Mawdelyn. It
was indeed a wayside cross, where pilgrims on the road to Walsingham
might perform their devotions, but it was moreover a boundary mark
placed there to shew the point of division between the liberties of
Lenne and Gaywood (1362). Bishop Percy died in 1369, and was
succeeded by Henry le Spencer or Despencer, who was, as may be
seen, by no means willing to forfeit any of his rights as suzerain of
the town.

When application was made for

THE PROBATE OF A WILL,

the common sergeant of the town went round and made a public
announcement that the testament of burgess So-and-so would be placed
before the Mayor and community in the Gild Hall at a certain hour,
and that if any one wished to contradict the will of the aforesaid
testator, so that the property bequeathed might not be enjoyed by the
legatees, they had better be present to state their objections. If the
public challenge brought forward no dissentients, the mayor, as the
mouthpiece of the community, pronounced the deed valid ; if. on the
contrary, there were objectors, those concerned in making the will were
examined upon oath, after which the decision rested with the mayor
and his brethren. In either case the gist of the will was carefully
entered in the Red Register. For example the testament of Margaret
Frenhge appears among those enrolled. It was executed " on the
eleventh of the kalends of May in the year of the Lord 1352," and
was subsequently " proved " before the Mayor. The following
paragraphs were then appended : —

This will was proved before us the OfTicials of the I.iberty of the town of
Bishop's Lenn, on the second day of the month of October in the year of our Lord
one thousand three hundred and eifjhty-four. And administration of all goods
touching the said will was given to the executor named in the said will, sworn
in lawful form. In testimony of which we have put to these presents the seal of
our office. . . . And we, Thomas de Coutessale, mayor of the town of Lenn,
on 22nd January 1387, A.D., proclamation having been made and this will
proved according to the law and custom of the town of Lenn aforesaid, in the
ways and manners agreed upon, no-one in this matter opposing, we ratify and
approve the present testament, signed with the pendent seal which we use in
the office of the mayoralty, and enrolled in the Rolls of the Testaments at Lenn,
as aforesaid.

The charter merely ratified a custom long in vogue, but it was
necessary inasmuch as it did away with episco{)al probate ; and to this
the lord of the manor, as bishop of the see, most strongly objected.*

• Prior to this the Earls of the Counties had cognizance of the probate of wills, which was a custom
derived from the Romans. \Reliquce SpeUntmniana : 1698, p. 129.]

The /as( jc'i';; was distinct from thp (fs/diiidif. As a rule, the ffs(am<Hf, which gave instruction as to
the disposal of poods and chaUels, was first drawn up ; this was followed by the /iis( will, which related
exclusively to tlic settli-miMit of lands, messuages, he. For instance, Thomas Thoresby executed his
testament and his last will the 2nd of June, i jio. the executors and witnesses being the same in each case.

A lozenge-shaped seal, with the figure of St. Margaret and the dragon between the letters R and .\,
was attached to the episcopal probate of local wills (1303). It was circumscribed thus : —

COMISSAR : CVI : NORWIC : IX ; LliN -.—the Commissioner of the City of Norwich in Lennt.
See engraving in Taylor's Antiq. of Lynn, p. 149.

120 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

WILLIAM BYWESTHALFTHEWATER.

The will of this worthy gentleman was read publicly in 1308,
nineteen years before Edward III. came to the throne; hence (as
already hinted) the charter in question only placed upon a legal basis
a practice already existent in our burgh. The disposal of neighbour
Bywesthalfthewater's property is not so interesting as his peculiar
surname. Harrod contends that the fortunate individual derived this
pretty geographical appellation from the name of a house. Mr. J.
C. Jeaffreson politely disputes the suggestion, but unfeelingly flirts
off with a more bewitching subject, cruelly leaving Harrod or his
readers in the vortex of mental bewilderment.

In cases of intestacy, and when land could be had " for an old
song," it was the practice for the eldest son to claim the western side
or " above the bank" or stream, and the youngest son the eastern
side or " below the bank." In Roman times the western side of the
mark (or bank) was the upper, and the eastern and southern side the
lower half. This custom, which prevailed in Mercia during the Saxon
era, is akin to Gavelkind and Borough English, or is rather a blending
of the two customs. Under the first, the lands were divided and the
sons inherited equally ; under the second, the youngest son inherited,
to the exclusion of all others, unless the father willed or sold his estate.
The reason why the youngest should inherit under the Mercian
customary law — just primcc noctis — must be attributed to ancient serf-
dom. This peculiar custom is said to prevail to-day in Haddon and
Cheshunt, which are centres of copyhold tenure.

" Now midway between Rising and Eynn is a green having an old
bank crossing it to mark the limit of the Chase of Rising." This
" green," Harrod goes on to assure us, is still known as Witton Green.
When Henry VII. visited I>enne (1500) he was met by the
mayor, etc.. "at the Green Athishalf Witton Gapp " (Hall Book,
vol. III., p. 17). The Gap was an opening cut through the old chase
boundary. The same writer construes Athishalf into At-this-half,
which ought, we think, to be At-his-half, because it is quite possible
that some owner left his two sons lands which were afterwards known
as His West- or East-Half.

Similarly, if an estate were traversed by a stream or narrow
haven, the eldest son (the father dying intestate) would take his half
to the rvest of the water, and the other his half to the east of the zvater,
on the opposite bank, and they and their descendants would very likely
be distinguished by the compound surnames : By-west-half-the-water
and By-east-half-the-water.

Such compound names were common in the Middle Ages
especially ; for instance, in connection with Lenne, Geoffrey atte (at
the) Tolbooth (1357). Robert atte Lathe (1375), Christopher
Bro(a)dbank (1501), Stephen Tumblebye (1576), William Makepeace
(1634), Robert Gotobed (1634), Wilifred Turnepenny (1653).

THE TRADE OF THE PORT.

The Custom Rolls from the 25th of February to the 29th
September, 1302-3 (seven months) shew the total value of the exports

THE PEASANTS' RISING. 121

and imports to be ;£2,257 14s. iid., and j[,2,o']g 19s. 6d. respectively,
whilst the duties paid thereon amounted to ^103 15s. g\d. From
these and similar figures it has been estimated that Lenne was then
doing about ^20,000 worth of trade a year. A skilled carpenter or
mason would earn is. 6d. per week (1350), a sum apparently
insignificant, yet quite suflficient in those days to maintain himself, his
wife and family very comfortably. Three centuries later (1580) when
the custom dues of the whole kingdom were farmed at only ;,(^ 14,000
a year, Lenne contributed as much as ;!{^240 to the King's revenue.

Instead of ordering a new assessment, Edward III. appointed
commissioners to treat with the various towns and districts (1334).
They were asked to name a sum upon which a permanent assessment
might be calculated. This met with general approbation ; if, however,
a burgh refused to suggest a reasonable amount, a sworn assessor was
sent to help them over the diflficulty. Villages are said to have paid
only one-fifteenth, whilst towns represented in Parliament paid as
much as one-tenth. For instance : — Norwich paid ;C9'\ 12s. od.,
Yarmouth ^100, Lenne £$0, and Thetford ^16. The following
townships were assessed at ;z^io and upwards : South Lenne (^18),
Babingley, Flitcham, Grimston, Gayton, Castleacre, North Runcton,
Wiggenhall, Tilney, Terrington, Walpole, Walton, Walsoken and
Emneth (1432). A dispute about a piece of common land was the
cause of a riot in Lenne (1348-9).

4f * * * *

Edward III. died at Shene (Richmond) the 21st of June, 1377,
in the 65th year of his age and the 51st of his reign. He was interred
at Westminster.

CHAPTER XIII.

The Peasants' Rising-.

The accession of Richard II., the only son of Edward the Black
Prince, was welcomed by the fervid acclamations of the multitude, and
his coronation was conducted with unusual splendour (i6th July,

1377)-

* * * -x- *

The French, taking advantage of the King's youth, at once
renewed the war ; hence the levying of subsidies to carry on hostilities
was imperatively necessary. As, however, the sums raised were
insufficient to ccpe with the pressing exigencies in France as well as
Scotland, a tax of " three groats per head on every male and female
of fifteen years of age, except beggars," was sanctioned by Parliament,
with this elastic proviso, — " that the suflficient people in every town
were to contribute to the assistance of the less able, so as none should
pay above sixty groats for himself and wife." This heavy impost,
which fell oppressively upon the poor, was farmed out to collectors
in each county (1380).

122 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

DISQUIETUDE IN ARCADY.

For centuries the condition of the lowest stratum of people
throughout the kingdom had been one of villenage, — a social condition
greatly resembling that prevailing in Russia at the present time; but
now a spirit of democratic liberty was secretly germinating in the
breasts of the humbler classes of the community. To sever the cords
which bound them as serfs to their masters, to be free rather than
bondmen, was the motive which governed their actions.

Already do we find that in self-defence the working classes had begun to
form confederate clubs, the prototypes of our modern trades unions, whose object
was to resist with a strong hand the claims for customary labour due from the
holders of servile lands, which it appears the landlords, owing to the scarcity of
labour (caused by the Black Death), were now trying to enforce to the utmost.
In the struggle that eventually ensued, we do not find that the working classes
were left to fight alone, for Walsingham's description of the insurgents as
discaligati ribaldi (shoeless mob), though doubtless true to a large extent is far
from being exhaustive. . . We must admit that the popular party had
obtained the active support and sympathy of a considerable proportion of the
country gentry. (Edgar Powell.)

The infliction of a poll-tax, which was an untimely aggravation
of their sufferings, goaded them into open rebellion. The discontent,
so long smouldering, burst into flame at last. With the rising in Kent
the general reader is conversant. He will call to mind the impulsive
conduct of Wat the Tiler, the march of 100,000 excited peasants to
London, their encampment on Blackheath, and the socialistic sermon
based upon the highly popular distich :

When Adam dalf (dug) and Eve span.
Who was then the gentleman ?

— He will remember how John Ball,* whom they released from
Maidstone gaol, dwelt in his discourse upon the natural equality of
man, declaring men might be equally free and noble, if only the arch-
bishop, the earls, the barons, the judges and the lawyers were
destroyed, and all ranks and grades in society at once abolished.
Memory will conjure up the demolition of the palace of the Savoy ;
the interview with the King at Mile End ; the immediate granting of
the peasants' demands, which, remembering the tuition they had
received, were reasonable ; the preposterous insolence of Wat the Tiler ;
his instant despatch; the heroism of the young King; the dispersion
of the turbulent crowd ; the public proclamation revoking all the
charters Richard had granted, and the wholesale execution of fifteen
hundred delinquents. What an intensely interesting series of
pictures from real life the student may enjoy with the aid of that
miraculous cinematographic mechanism which Hamlet styles " the
mind's eye. "t

'- Simon de Walsingham, prior of Lenne in 1331, was known as Simon Ball, that is. Simon tlie
Labourer, from the Latin Boi/nis, Bq/h/hs, a labourer or porter — Bnjulinorum appellaiione veniunt Priores
(Du Cange). May not "John Ball," the name assumed by the excommunicated priest, lje similarly
rendered?

t Compare Thomas Walsingham's Hhtorta Anglicana (1864, Edited by Thomas Ridley, M.A.) Vol. II.,
pp. 1-4, or, " A tianslation of Thomas Walsingham's Account of Littcster's Rebellion," by Rev. R. Hart,
Norfolk Ai-chceology (1859), Vol. V., pp. 348-352, with John Capgrave's Liber de Illustribus Henrkis (1858,
translated by F. C. Hingeston), part II., cap. 9.

THE PEASANTS' RISING.

123

The risings in the disaffected counties may with advantage be
tabulated : —

County.

Leader.

Outbreak in 1381.

Kent

Essex

Wat the Tiler, of Dartmouth.
Jack Straw, " a riotous priest."

"I June loth, great encamp-
> ment on Blackheath ;
) John Ball's harangue.

Suffolk

John Wraw, of Sudbury, "••■ a
chaplain.

June 14th, at Lavenham.

Cambridgeshire

George Thomas Wrov, of
Wood-Ditton.

June 15th, general
throughout the county.

Norfolk

Geoffrey Lister, a dyer of
Felmingham ; " Jack Lister."

June 17th, Mousehold
Heath, Norwich.

The outbreak in Norfolk was later than in Suffolk, but it spread
with the same rapidity. The principal leaders were Sir Roger Bacon,
knight, Thomas, the son of Thomas de Gyssing, knight, John
Chacchevach (hunt the cow), who preferred to be called John de
Montenay of Bokenham, and the renowned plebeian Geoffrey Lister,
described as a lister or dyer, who resided at Felmingham, not far from
North Walsham.

An isolated attack, it is true, was made on the i6th of June upon
the manor-house of the Duke of Lancaster at Methwold, where the
rioters deliberately burnt the court rolls, but the opening of the
Norfolk campaign really began the next day, when immense crowds
from Lenne, Thetford and Yarmouth flocked towards Norwich, and
"as they came, caused every man to rise with them." Froissart
states that 40,000 malcontents met on Mousehold heath. Access
once obtained, the city was soon a prey to their unbridled violence.
Dreadful scenes of rapine and bloodshed were witnessed in other parts
of the county, as, for example, at Rougham, Wighton near Wells,
Langford and Southery. At Yarmouth the gaol was broken open,
and three miserable prisoners, whose only offence was that they were
Flemings, were summarily beheaded. During the ensuing week
unmitigated cruelty and senseless plunder reigned from one side of
the county to the other.

THE CORDWAINER OF THE GRASSMARKET. f

Several highly-respectable and intelligent tradesmen of Bishop's
Lenne threw in their lot with a small section of disaffected burgesses.
Well may you ask their motives. Even Roger Paxman, the mayor,
who had known many of them all their lives, was never more taken
aback. There were Henry Cornish and Walter Prat, expert glovers;
Thomas Colyn and — Pinchebek, tailors, the " cut and style " of whose
doublets was the talk of the community ; and Thomas Paynot, the

• "Johnny Raw," the nnmr applird to a simiilcton — .1 "Jack Upland" or a "Verdant Grrcn," — is
derived from the Essex agitator John Wraiu.

t Cordwainers were slioomakrrs, wlio worked up tanned goat-skins or Cordovan (first brought from
Cot-i/otxi in Spain, wliere it was made by the Mo(irs). The name as it appears in the indictment was no
doubt intended for Jolm Spayne, or John of Spain, a cnrdonn'ier, cordvtmnnier or cordwainer of that country,
who worked cordovan. At the time wlien sum.ames were in process of being " invented " we note in our
ist of mayors John de Yspania (1280 and 1282), also John Hispania (1289 and 1292).

124 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

well-to-do weaver, who did not care — no, not the snap of the finger —
for his rivals the Flemish websters, just established in the burgh.
There Avas John Coventry, too, the maker of bows, and John Bokeler-
player, the sturdy armourer, and a burgher named Sadlere, whom you
could always find stitching away in the little saddler's shop up
Cokrowe, near Bokenham's place. All were active partisans, but their
enthusiasm was, as we may see, totally eclipsed by the daring energy
of their leader, John Spanye, the shoemaker of the Grassmarket.*

Now it came to pass that John the Bowyer, who was never remiss
in picking a quarrel, was not on the best of terms with the local
collector of the poll-tax. Indeed, on the i6th of June, if the secret be
now revealed, he sent an ungracious message to Nicholas de
Massingham, who was not merely a collector of the king's taxes under
the second commission, but a justice of the king's peace, and a fortiori
an aristocrat of alarming pretensions. John Coventry curtly informed
the great Sir Nicholas that, to avoid the unpleasantness of an uncere-
monious visit from him and his friends, he had better, as their needs
were pressing, forward ;^io to them at once. It is, notwithstanding,
doubtful whether they received it, because John Spanye and his men-
at-arms left Lenne the next morning by the East Gates.

The " Antient Indictments" (No. 128, Norfolk, Smeth),
preserved in the Record Office, throw light upon this subject.

£t quod Johannes Spanye de Lenn Episcopi cordeivaner die lune proxima post
octnvam sancte Trinitatis ultimam pveteritam [17th June 1381] tempore hujus riimoris
principalis diictor et manutentor malefactovuin surgentium in paivia venit usque
Snetesham vi et avmis cum XXX. hoininibus ignoiis et incitavit homines dicte ville ad
surgendum contra paccm doniini Regis ad quevendum homines patrie Je Flaundrcs ad
cos orcidendos et decapitandos et minavit Radulfum Panton ad eiim occidendum per
quod idem Radulfus desperans de vita et membris siiis invenit plegium ad solvenduin
cuidam servienti dicti Johannis X. s. contra leges et pacem domini Regis, &c.

With a threefold purpose the three hundred insurgents posted
from village to village : first, they incited those with whom they came
in contact to rise against the peace and join their ranks ; secondly, by
threats of personal violence they extorted large sums from the wealthy ;
and, lastly, they eagerly ferreted out settlers from Flanders, whom,
when found, they killed. Their antipathy to these inoffensive
foreigners deserves notice. The Flemings, who were craftsmen
notoriously skilful in the mystery of wool-weaving, were encouraged
(and some of them invited, as in the case of John Kempe, " the
patriarch of the Norwich woollen manufacture "), during the late
reign, to settle in this country. Queen Philippa of Hainault was
naturally well disposed to her own countrymen, and the King did not

*■ At the western end of Norfolk street was the old ^rass (or fodder) market, which was a most
mportant institution, when only respectable witches ventured tn risk their lives bestriding resilient broom-
stalks, and lon<jere Roger Bacon's prophecy, that carriages would roll along at unimagined speed with no
cattle to drag them, was literally fulfilled.

Grass-morket (Middle English gi'as, gres : Anglo-Saxon gcers, grces — grass, corn, or vegetables). In
1272 the syllable appears Gree- (? gres), in 1365 Grcss-, in 1352 Cyes-, and in 1473 as Ci-ess-market.
There seems to have been a Io,-al tendency to exchange g and c. for Gannock becomes Cannock ; this, how-
ever, was not confined to Norfolk, because the English word grate comes from the Latin crater.

Ever since 1477 a market has been held in Edinburgh at a spot called the Grassmorkei. adjacent to
which were the King's Stables and the Cmti-gnte (way). Tliere was a Cowgate in connection with our
grassmarket ; its continuation leading to the Ferry, being in West Lenne, opposite the Public Baths.

TRE PEASANTS' RISING. 125

resist the benign influence she exerted on their behalf, especially when
he found he could replete an exhausted exchequer with heavy loans
from the wealthy immigrants. Our nation is indeed enormously
indebted for the unrivalled perfection of its textile industries to these
" men of Flanders," who were at first regarded as interloping
strangers, whose only mission on earth was a needless perversion of
"the good old ways."

Arrived at Snettisham, John Spayne and his men sought diligently
for the obnoxious strangers, who with their new-fangled ideas were
ruining every webster not merely in the burgh of Lenne but the city
of Norwich too. The open-mouthed villagers were either unwilling
or afraid to offer assistance, because the Flemings found in Snettisham
were either struck down or beheaded. There was, however, one person
far more courageous than the rest ; verily was he dcsperans de vita ei
membris, — " reckless of life and limbs." He came to the conspirators
with ten shillings in his hand, which he satirically offered the cord-
wainer of Lenne, as an inducement to liberate his own servants. Can
you not hear the impudent fellow? "You come to us. Master
Cordwainer, urging that we should free our servants ; look you, here
are ten shillings if so being that you will promise to liberate your otvn
servants." Swords were instantly drawn, but whether Paynot, the
infuriated webster, or the ever-ready Bokelerplayer despatched this
victim we cannot say; certain nevertheless is it that Radulfus Panton
lost ten shillings and his head through a mistaken exhibition of
Flemish temerity.

The following incident, preserved in the same indictment, shews
how success attended the efforts of the Lenne agitator; the wavering
were convinced by his oratory, the stubborn were coerced by the rough
usage of his men, and the Flemish weavers, some of whom scarcely
understood our language, were brushed from his path by the flash of a
sword. Having scattered the seeds of discord broadcast, they rode
off to do likewise in other places, expecting to reap a speedy harvest.
In this they were not to be disappointed, because a contingent at
Snettisham was immediately formed. The next day Roger Loksmyth
])aid Simon Wylymot a visit; true, they were neighbours, but
Loksmyth called not necessarily as a friend, but as the chosen leader
of John Spanye's converts. Who knows but (hat Loksmyth owed
the other a personal grudge? He requested, with ample apologies,
a supply of corn for his men's horses. Goodman Wylymot
remonstrated, hesitating to comply with the unlawful demand. To
stimulate his movements, the Locksmith drew a dagger and began
probing him in the ribs in a somewhat unsurgeonlike manner, at the
same time threatening to bring the whole detachment for the purpose
of destroying his goods and chattels. Fearing his end was inevitable,
and listening perhaj^s to the piteous entreaties of his wife and
children, Master Wylymot reluctantly parted with 15 (quarters 2
bushels of the barley he could ill afford.

Disaffection was, however, rampant in the neighbourhood of
Swaffham prior to this. On the 15th the rebels issued a proclamation

126 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

offering a reward of 20s. for the heads of John Holkham and Edmund
Gurney of West Lexham, who were, as Justices of the Peace, a terror
to evil-doers. Thomas Kenman and others tracked them hither and
thither with the tenacious obstinacy of sleuth-hounds. Reaching the
coast, the fugitives boldly put out to sea in an open boat, but were
pursued as far as the port of Burnham. Both escaped the fury of the
mob, but Gurney's house was completely sacked on the 20th. Simon
de Snyterton paid a considerable amount as blackmail in order to save
his life, the day before, at Barwick, not far from Docking; they,
moreover, forcibly ejected Nicholas Mawpas from his free tenement,
and installed Coventry, the valiant bowyer, in his stead. Besides,
in their wanderings, they espied a traveller in a wood near Rising ;
as he bore neither spade nor distaff, they concluded that they had
caught a " gentleman " in whom was there no work, and their delight
knew no bounds when they perceived it was none other than Sir
Edmund Reynham, a controller of the poll tax. As the most vehemerit
expostulations were unheeded the controller innocently produced his
pen and ink-horn, and lastly his book of accounts, to prove he was
indeed a hard-working member of society. Strange though it may
seem, these simple articles were looked upon as convincing evidences
of guilt; and the fact that "he could read and write and cast
accounts " was regarded as a qualification for his immediate
extermination. They were just about to hang him, even as Jack Cade
hung the clerk, "with his pen and inkhorn about his neck,"* when
one of the party remembered their horses needed baiting. A
compromise was thereupon suggested, and Sir Edmund of Reynham,
to secure his freedom, was constrained to forfeit 14 quarters of oats.

Nor was the insignificant proletariat at Hunstanton without a
saviour and champion, who would reorganise society, who would lead
on his shrinking comrades to affluence or — death ! Many, mostly
fools, of course, said it was a forlorn hope, and shook their heads
despondingly, remembering as they did the crushing defeat of the
main body three weeks before. Not a whit daunted, Robert Fletcher
and a few brave fellows forthwith armed themselves as best they
could with bows and arrows and other weapons of a convincing
nature, and set out to turn the stupid folk of Heacham from the error
of their ways. The leader of the Hunstanton detachment was so eager
for the fray, that he so far forgot himself as to curse the reverend
father in God, my lord the bishop, for riding through the country to
chastise the enemies of the King. As there are no indictments against
the Heachamites, Robert Fletcher's efforts were probably ^abortive.

THE CHURCH MILITANT.

An inquisition was held the 15th of July 1381, when the
following twelve witnesses were examined (per sacramentum) upon
their oaths, namely, Simon Roberdeson, Thomas Burgeys, Henry
Baylye of Brancaster, John de Walpole, Robert Rust of Shernbourne,

» See Shakespeare's Wcnry ihc Sixth, part II., Act IV., Sc. 2.

THE PEASANTS' RISING. 127

Richard Aleynesson, John Smyth of Holme, Henry Smyth of Bretten-
ham (near Thetford), Nicholas de Chosele, Ralph Reyner, John de
Stone and William de Docking. Three ancient indictments relate to
Norfolk, namely, the Hundreds of West Flegg, Mitford, including
V/llata de Estderham and the Smeeth, from the last of which the
above facts have been drawn.

The outbreaks occurred almost simultaneously in Norfolk,
Cambridgeshire and Suffolk, and it is remarkable that when the storm
burst the energies of the law were completely paralysed. No local
force could anywhere be found which might be brought forward to stay
the furious fanaticism of the mob. The indictments give indeed no
information concerning the final collapse of the movement ; yet graphic
accounts are found in the chronicles of Thomas of Walsingham (1272-
1381), the scriptorariiis, or historiographer royal, at St. Alban's Abbey,
and John Capgrave (1393-1464), Provincial of the Friars Hermits
in England and prior of the Austin Monastery at Lenne. Both were
Norfolk men, and ought certainly to have been familiar with local
events. The first lived at the time of the peasants' rising, and the
other was born in Lenne some 12 years afterwards. Both attribute
the dispersion of the rebels to Henry de Spencer, the militant Bishop
of Norwich, but in other respects their narratives differ. Thomas of
Walsingham speaks of a fierce engagement at Walsham. Finding
the insurgents in an entrenched position, the warlike bishop,
encouraging his followers by a marvellous display of bravery,
succeeded, after a great slaughter, in capturing the ringleader, " the
king of the commons."

The Bishop therefore took with him the said John (that is Geoffrey Lister),
the idol of Norfolk, that he might be drawn and hung and beheaded ; and,
having received his confession, and granted him absolution according to his
office, he himself accompanied liim to his execution, thus shewing to his
vanquished foe the greatest humanity and kindness, for he even supported his
head as he was dragged to the gibbet. Nor did the Bishop pause till he had
detected and brought to justice malefactors throughout the whole county ; and
thus did the laudable probity and admirable courage of this warlike pontiff not
only reestablish peace throughout the district, but proved eminently beneficial to
the whole kingdom.

Thus wrote Brother Thomas, of Walsingham ; now let us consider
a corresponding passage from the pen of Brother John of Lenne, in
whom Mr. Edgar Powell, in his Rising in East Anglia (1896),
expresses the greater confidence : —

And thus hastening to Walsham he (the bishop) found the opening of the
roads blocked with timbers and towers of other impediments. But by good
management of the bishop and of other men, who had assembled there, the
whole people surrendered, rejoicing that they might withdraw in peace. " Jekke
Litster " (Geoffrey Lister) himself, leaping over a wall, hid himself in a corn-
field. And one of the people perceiving this, announced it to the bishop. The
traitor was sought and found ; he was captured and beheaded ; and, divided into
four parts, he was sent through the country to Norwich, Yarmouth, Lynn, and to
his (the bishop's) mansion, that rebels and insurgents against the peace might
learn by what end they will finish their career.

Sir Roger Bacon was made a prisoner, though where and when
it would be impossible to say; he was tried, found guilty, and

128 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

imprisoned in the Tower, but was pardoned through the fervid inter-
cession of Anne of Bohemia, the future queen. Thomas de Gyssing
was also hberated from the Tower (November 20th 1831). "No clue
is given us as to the fate of John de Montenay ; while the ominous
word decollatus (beheaded), which appears on the indictment of
several of the lesser leaders would seem to show that, at least in the
opinion of the judges of assize, considerable severity was deemed
necessary to firmly reestablish the reign of law. ... It does
not appear, however, that the king cherished any deep gratitude to
his martial prelate (Henry Spencer) for the important services he
rendered to the State, for on his return from an unsuccessful expedi-
tion to Flanders in the autumn of 1383, he was impeached in
Parliament by the King's direction and his temporalities seized for
the payment of a fine." (E. Powell.)

Bishop Spencer's victory is said to have been commemorated by
the erection of the stone cross standing on what used to be the heath,
adjoining the Norwich road leading to North Walsham. Norris
mentions that he was told the marks of the camp were to be seen
in his time. Dawson Turner, who was at school in North Walsham
(1790), when writing in 1842, without corroborating this statement,
contents himself with saying the heath had then given place to corn-
fields.

THE BISHOP AND THE TIPSTAFF.

In 1376 Bishop Spencer, whilst staying at his episcopal manor of
Gaywood, engaged in a serious controversy with the authorities at
Lenne, which Foxe minutely describes : —

The Bishop of Norwich, a little after Easter, coming to the town of Len
belonging to his Lordship, being not contented with the old accustomed honour
due to liim, and used of his predecessors before, in the same town, required with
a new and unused kind of magnificence to be exalted, insomuch that when he
saw the chief magistrate or mayor (Richard Houton) of that town to go in the
streets, with his officer before him, holding a certain wand in his hand tipped at
both ends with black horn, as the manner was, he, reputing himself to be the
lord of the town (as he was), and thinking to be higher than the highest,
commanded the honour of that staff due to the mayor to be yielded and borne
before his lordly personage ; the mayor, with the other townsmen, courteously
answered that they were right willing and contented with all their hearts
to exhibit that reverence unto him, and would do so if he, first of the council,
could obtain the custom, and if the same might be endured after any peaceable
way, with the good wills of the commons and body of the town, or else they
said, as the matter was dangerous, they durst not take in hand any such new-
alterations of ancient customs and liberties, least the populace (always inclinable
to evil) should fall upon them with stones and drive them out of the town ;
wherefore on their knees they besought him, that he would require no such
thing of them, and that he would save his own honour and their lives, which
otherwise would be in great danger. But the Bishop, youthful and haughty,
taking occasion by their humbleness to swell the more, answered that he would
not be taught by them, though all the commons, whom he called ribalds, said
nay. And also rebuked the mayor and his brethren, for mecokes* and dastards,
for so much fearing the vulgar sort of people.

'* Mecoke or Mc<icuik, a spiritless, effeminate fellow. Hence in Beaumont and Fletcher's Wildgoose
Chase. Act \'., scene i . .. i,„^,, ^ ^^^ n,eacocks.

To endure wliat yuu tliiuk lit to put upon them."

THE PEASANTS' RISING. 129

The burgesses, perceiving the wilful stoutness of the Bishop, meekly
answered they would not resist him, but he might do as he thought good, and
only desired him to give them leave to depart, and excuse their waiting upon
him and conducting him out of the town with that reverence he required, for if
they should be seen in his company the suspicion would be upon them, and so
they should all be in danger of their lives. The Bishop upon this, not regarding
their advice, commanded one of his men to take the rod borne before the mayor
and carry the same before him ; which the commons perceivmg, he went not far
in that manner, for the populace runned first to shut the gates, and some-one
coming out with clubbs, bows and staves, others with stones, they let drive
at the Bishop and his men as fast as they could, in such sort, that both the
Bishop and his horse under him, with most part of his men, were hurt and
wounded, "and thus the glorious pride of this jolly prelate, ruffling m his new
scepter, was receaved and welcomed there, that is, was so pelted with battes and
stones, so wounded with arrows and other instruments ht for so great a skirmishe,
that the most part of his men, with his mace-bearer and all, running away from
him ; the pore wounded Bishop was there left alone, not able to keep his power,
which went about to usurp a new power more than to him belonged ; thus, as it
is commonly true in all, so is it well exemplified here, that pride will have a fall
and power usurped will never stand." [^Actes and Monuments 1562, Vol. II,, p. 807.

This amusing, though exaggerated, episode gave rise to two or
three local incidents meriting attention.

(l) A BREACH OF THE PEACE.

The mob is dispersed ; the fervour of the agitation is gently
simmering, but the unguarded indiscretion, which culminated in an
unpardonable insult to the Bishop, is clearly not forgotten. A
stranger landing at the King's Staith will scarcely realise that the
sullen apathy of the townfolk is a thin veneer concealing what may
at any moment develop into reckless rioting. A storm is at hand,
notwithstanding the pronounced calm. The social wire-pullers are
at work, adjusting the limp, lifeless marionettes, which may when
least expected spring into activity. Groups of craftsmen are
loitering in the streets, and the tongues of the gossips are in motion, as
if propelled by internal machines ;

they shake their heads,
And whisper one another in the ear ;
And he that speaks doth grip the hearer's wrist,
Wliilst he that hears makes fearful action,
With wrinkled brows, with nods and rolling eyes.

Clem the Furbisher, with polishing-brush in hand, is holding soft
converse with Hal the Fletcher, who unconsciously is whittling an
arrow into a skewer; Jekke the Chapman, with merry twinkle in his
eyes, unmindful of his unguarded pack, is listening to Ralf the
Bowyer. who now and again brandishes a rough bowstaff, as he
explains how thoroughly he belaboured " his reverence " ; there is the
barber-surgeon with his lance, and the cordwainer with his awl, con-
versing with the listerer, whose bare arms, just taken from the dye-vat,
are reeking as with blood. The ring of the bhulesmith's hammer is
silent, the fulling mills beside the rippling Purfleet are motionless,
whilst webs of half -scoured cloth are lazily floating down Colville
fleet,

130 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

This is the prelude of a municipal tempest. A series of secret
meetings follow, and many burgesses pledge their honour to avenge
the insult offered the Mayor and commons of this free burgh. Is
there not a large stone house with well-stocked cellars in the Newland,
hard by St. Nicholas? And another episcopal mansion at Gaywood,
barely a stone's-throw from Lenne? Could they not find the bishop's
overbearing seneschal at the Steward's Hall yonder, at the corner
of the Jews' Lane,* and waylay the bishop's grasping bailiff on the
King's Staith when he leaves the Tolbooth? And were there not
other insolent retainers of his lordship in their midst? Was it right
that they — the honest burgesses of Lenne, and theirs, and future
generations (always uppermost in the reformer's mind) should submit
to such indignities? The sword of the Lord would be turned against
them, and when wielded by a bishop it would be indeed a destructive
weapon. As punishment would sooner or later overtake them, might
it not be well to remember the difference between the egg and the
falcon ?

Accordingly, as " the most honourable and venerable " the Mayor
of the burgh was meditating in the Tenture Pasture, near the ancient
dovecote, a little bird began slyly whispering in his ear, and the way
in which that bird articulated our difficult language was remarkable.
From information thus mysteriously imparted, Richard Houton, fear-
ful of consequences, drew unto himself a band of men, stalwart, and
loyal withal, and secretly entering a certain house one night, sur-
prised a company " banded against the peace." Overawed by the
commanding presence of the Mayor, and influenced by the respect they
bore him, the conspirators surrendered and were led away to the prison,
there to await an impartial hearing.

The trial of these over-zealous townsmen was conducted in the
monastery of the Whitefriars. Now it was unquestionably the
Mayor's duty as chief magistrate to preserve the King's peace at any
cost, but it was indeed hard to proceed against respectable people,
who, whether strictly right or wrong, were acting in defence of his
honour and also for the preservation of their own privileges. In this
dilemma he sent for Edmund Gurney to hold a session for the delivery
of the prisoners. He, who put out to sea to escape the fury of the
peasantry, was an eminent lawyer, one of the standing council, and
recorder as it were for the City of Norwich, and also for the burgh of
Lenne, his retaining fee for our town being 40/- per annum. The
nave of the church of the Carmes was set apart for the trial, and John
Olkam was engaged as counsellor for the town. The assembly was a
grand one — John de Brunham, the mayor, Roger Paxman, of Lath
Street, John Waryn, of the Saturday Market Place, Walter Dunton,
of the Grass Market, John Colkirke, William Berhard, the " Lord
Prince's steward," John Sewale, the clerk to the justices, the aldermen,

^ A messuage at the corner of Jews' Lane (Surrey StreetK where the Capital and Counties Bank stands,
belonged at one time to Robert Chinnery, and once formed a part of the Steward's Hall. The premises
were in the use of John King, a baker, and alterwards of Thomas Smith {1750). Mary Hill subsequently
purchased the property from Thomas Allen and Robert Buttel, the assignees of Robert Chinnery.

TRE PEASANTS' RISING. 131

common council and the burgh treasurers, besides many other
influential persons were present.

And now, at a most interesting point, the act-drop descends upon
the scene, and the wondering spectator is permitted to fill in the
hiatus as best he can. Whether the prisoners were acquitted or
condemned, and whether the punishment fitted the crime, can only be
conjectured. A few facts, however, in the shape of items of dis-
bursement form a meagre corollary to the narrative. First, the wine
account; for few civic functions were then performed without the aid
of stimulants. A consultation with the recorder, refreshers during
the trial and revivers for the bishop's steward absorbed iis. 2d. Then
for services rendered : 6s. 8d. to the town's counsellor, 3s. 4d. to the
justices' clerk, is. for the delivery of a letter, and 40s. for the
maintenance, it may be, of the prisoners (1376-7).

(2) HENRY DE SPENCER VCTSUS THE COMMUNITY.

The next year the town was put to an enormous expense in
defending an action before the King's Council, brought against the
Mayor and Burgesses, for the assault committed upon the person of
the Bishop and his retainers, when, as Lord of the burgh, he insisted
upon having the mayor's emblem of office carried before him. The
King so far interested himself in the matter as to write to William
Rees, the Sheriff of Norfolk, asking him to do his best to appease the
quarrel. From the first the gentry of the diocese, and subsequently
the Council also, inclined to the bishop rather than to the people of
Lenne.

The two persons who were seriously injured in the melee received
substantial recognition at the hands of the community, as is evident
from the "memorandum" extracted from the Hall Book: — ■

In the time of Jolin Brunham, mayor (1377), that the mayor and community
of the town of I.enne have with one consent granted to William Holnicston and
Thomas Sparham, burgesses, in compensation for certain grave damage to their
bodies by certain of the servants of the Lord Henry Spencer, the bishop of
Norwidi, during a certain controversy between the said bishop and the aforesaid
community, a hundred pounds of good and lawful money, between them to be
equally divided, to be paid to them or their attorneys at Lenne by the Mayor
and Community, or by whomsoever else may be elected in their place in liv-e
years next following, beginning with this first year, and if it should happen that
cither or both of them die, the residue to their representatives.

To conciliate the bishop and to assuage any remaining vindictive-
ness, 13s. 5d. was paid for a huge wax candle, weighing 21 pounds,
which was humbly offered in the church of the Holy Trinity, Norwich.
Thus ended, for a while at least, the cjuarrel between the bishop and
the community, who, for their presiimition in touching "this model
of a Christian prelate," as Dean N.^!^ sarcastically dubs him, had
to pay in costs (including the pejt'fc "sffering in wax) ^515 5s. 5.Jd
(1379)-

(3) ANOTHER BREACH OF THE PEACE

happened in 1384-5, under the leadership of Philip Wyth. " Who
this Philip Wyth was does not appear, but it is likely he was an agent,

132 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

perhaps a bailiff, of the Bishop of Norwich, at that time superior lord
of the burgh, and between whom and the communitas or Corporation
a continued contest of rights was carried on." (The late Daniel
Gurney, Esq.) Thomas Morton was sent to West Barsham to consult
with Edmund Gurney, who subsequently came to Lenne to pronounce
sentence of punishment upon the misguided rioters. The recorder
was assisted in his deliberations by Richard de Walton, Nicholas
Massingham, other justices, and also by Andrew Cavendish, the Sheriff
of the county. The result of the trial is not given, but a list of
incidental expenses is transcribed in the Record of the House of
Gonrnay, 1848, part III., p. 705.

PETITION OF THE TRADERS.

By reason of the unfair exactions of the bailiffs who collected
the port dues at the Tolbooth, great dissatisfaction was evinced. So
great indeed was the bitterness, that a petition was addressed to the
Lord Chancellor, Thomas de Arundel, the Bishop of Ely, praying for
relief from these excessive and extortionate demands.

It begins : Pese a mon Seignor le Chanceller en salvacion de driot heritage de sa
Eglice Dely ct meyntcnance de dvoiture considcveer southescripis a part en ant z a Ics
custutiies de la Tolboth de Lenn levees par Ics Bailiffs extoi'seouscment et saunz
garrant en deshevison des tennantz mon dite Seigner et de touts le comon poeple
illonque repairant.

[Peace to my Lord the Chancellor in safety and just inheritance of his
church at Ely, and in the maintenance of right ; consider the underwritten
relating to the customs of the Tolbooth at Lenne, levied by the bailiffs extor-
tionately and without warrant, in derision of the tenants, my said Lord, and of
all the common people and those who go thither.]

And ends : Mon tvesrevevent Sr, cest' presentement Jul fait al bannk le Roi a la
darrein session en Norjf', affyn qent due correccion diit avoir este faire par le Justic'
sulom driot ct reson mes driot reson et loy sont mys a derev par nn Supersedeas qevient
a le dit Justic sur ce en prejudice de Roi et de vous et de plosours altres Seignors et de
vos tenauntz et de toiite comon poeple.

[My very reverend Lord, this presentment was made at the King's Bench, at
the last session in Norfolk, in order that some alteration should be made by the
Justice, according to "right and reason." My just cause and precept are placed
aside because of a Supersedeas [a writ to stay proceedings] that came to the said
justice after this petition, which is in prejudice to the I'iing and you, and to
many other gentlemen, and to your tenants and to all the common people.]

And it moreover sets forth the recent presentments of the bailiffs
by divers of the hundreds of Norfolk, ending at Easter the same year
in the presence of the King at Norwich. There is no date to what
is only a copy, but the King and Queen were at Norwich and Thetford
in 1383. Harrod, moreover, preserves an extract from a year's
accounts, now lost. It was copied by an antiquary of the 17th
century. From this we learn that the King, and seemingly the
Queen too, Avere in Lenne the same year, when the community
presented him with 100 marks in pure gold, and ^£2^ 6s. 8d., in all
^90. besides six falcons, and the Queen with two gilded cups
(undoubtedly silver gilt), which cost ^71 i8s. 5|d.

During the mayoralty of Simon de Gunton (1360) the dues of the
Tolbooth were divided (in what proportion is not stated) among " the

THE PEASANTS' RISING.

Queen (query Philippa), the [Black] Prince, the Earl of Suffolk and
the heirs of Oiby." Later, other persons participated in the profits.

Receiver.

For Whom.

Marks.

1397-

April 15 : John Merston, on behalf of
Richard Fitz-Nichol (receiver-general).

John Duke of
Brittany.

July I : John Merston.

») )>

1399-

Sept. 20 : Robert, rector of Marlyngford
(near Norwich), receiver in Norfolk.

Edmund Duke
of York.

))

Deer. 20 : Edmund Aleshalle, receiver-
general in Norfolk.

Henry Duke of
Lancaster.

BURGESSES IN PARLIAMENT.

In 1293 writs were issued summoning two knights from each
shire and two burgesses from nineteen of the principal towns in the
kingdom to a parliament in Shrewsbury. The upper house, indeed,
met at Shrewsbury, but the other section, representing the democracy
of the nation, at Acton Burnell, a village about seven miles distant.
" Though very imperfect," writes Hallam, " this was a regular and
unequivocal representation of the Commons in Parliament." The
so-called " Statute of Acton Burnell," to assist merchants in the
recovery of their debts, was passed.

Three Norfolk towns were represented in this assembly : Norwich,
Yarmouth and Lenne. The earliest members, or " burgesses in
Parliament," on record for our burgh are Johannes de Dokkyng and
Recardus de Merlawe, related probably to Johannes de Merlawe, who
was mayor in 1295. They were elected yearly by a committee com-
posed of tweh-e lit and proper persons, but how and by whom the
committee was appointed is uncertain.* '

A PUBLIC BENEFACTOR.

John de Brunham, a wealthy potcniior, cut a significant figure in
our municipal programme at this period. In 1356-7 he acted in the
capacity of chamberlain; in 1379, and again in 1382, he represented
the burgh in Parliament; in 1409 his name appears among those who
were bound to the Gild of the Holy Trinity for the repayment of a
loan of ^"20, used for the repairing of St. Margaret's Church; and
in 141 3 he with eighty others entered into bonds of ;^5o each to secure
peace to the town. He occupied the mayoral chair for the fifth and
last time in 139 1-2. As a slight appreciation of the good feeling
evinced on his behalf, he decided upon doing something to benefit the
town upon his retirement into private life. In conjunction with a
"comburgess," named Richard Dun, of St. James' End, he applied
for letters patent of licence permitting him to give and assign a certain
messuage and a yearly rent of £t, 15s. 7^d., also another rent of 12
pence, and the profits accruing to the passage of a boat out of the port

• For the members, recorders, &c., of Lynn, see the Sv>iM Vffuial Lists (itigoj, hy H. Le Strange.

HISTORV OF KING'S LYNN.

of the burgh, with the appurtenances thereto belonging, to the
community. Licence was, moreover, granted to the Mayor and his
successors to hold the same, " together with other things mentioned
in the grant," strictly for religious purposes. This course was
absolutely necessary; and the licence, overruling the Statute of
Mortmain (1225) was undoubtedly a special favour granted by the
King through the payment of a heavy amount, as was the case in
another of John de Brunham's benefactions, relating to the Gild of
the Holy Trinity, of which more may be said elsewhere. Robert, a
son perhaps of John de Brunham, was a merchant living in Fuller Row
or Clough Lane (1417).

LOCAL FINANCES.

In considering the disjointed array of figures before us, it must
stubbornly be remembered that, although there is a tendency to
consider the prices of commodities ridiculously low, sales were
astonishingly infrequent, which was owing to a painful scarcity of
money. A labourer earning a halfpenny a day would have to work
the same number of days before he could purchase a goose marked
at " twopence " as would a labourer earning half-a-crown a day when
the price of the same article is ten shillings. The purchasing power,
apparently so different, is really after all about the same. The Irish-
man reluctantly quits " a land flowing with milk and honey," not
because salmon may be bought at twopence per pound and chickens
sixpence apiece, but because of the great difliculty he experiences in
securing the twopence and the sixpence. Let us disregard one side
of the equation (the price of commodities) and try to be contented
if we understand the other side aright. To do this, every item must
be multiplied by twenty, or, in other w'ords, every shilling represents
one pound in modern coin. For instance, the revenue for 1377-8
amounted to ^11,000, whilst the expenses may be put down at

Year.

Income.

Expenditure.

1339-40

1347-S

1354-5
1355-6
1356-7
1357-8
1366-7

1371-3

1374-5
1375-6
1377-8

1378-9

1379-80

1380-1

1383-4
1387-8
I 399- 1400

A12 3 2|

/■512 18 41

£176 15 I

-^94 15 7
/266 II li

;^92 1 7'
£^^5 18 5i
/163 II 2

£^io 5 It
i^233 7 si
£550 6 2

/874 15 9i
/772 15 7i
£351 14 10
i:203 15 9|

£304 16 9
/394 18 5l

A61 13 6|

5k-

-61.5

»i

THE PEASANTS' RISING. 135

THE BOROUGH BALANCE-SHEET

for the year 1377-8 is particularly interesting.

Moneys Received £55° 6 2}

Moneys Spent —

(i). For a barge and boat 103 9 6^

(2). For an enclosure for the defence of the burgh 113 o i|

(3). For Transgression done to the Bishop :

" Paid as well to the Lord King matvi sue as
to divers other persons labouring for the com-
munity in respect to the Bishop's said cause " ... £2,^^ 15 3

Expenses of Mayor, aldermen and other honest
burgesses going to London on account of a
certain suggestion touching them and very many
of the community laid before the King's Council
by the Bishop of Norwich for transgressions done
to him in the town... ... ... ... ... £iib

Other items connected with this case ... ... £1^0

(4). Various minor expenses ...

;f874i5_9£

There is a balance of ;^324 9s. 7jd., therefore, on '* the wrong
side," besides an additional sum of ^^17 for extra "labour," made
up of these items: ^10 to Richard Houton, the mayor; j^2 to
Thomas Morton, clerk for counsel ; ^^i to the borough sergeant, Roger
Bailly, for counsel ; and ^£4, that is ^i each, to the chamberlains,
Thomas Curson, John Penteney, William Erl and John Brandon.
The town then owed the " Confraternity of the Great Gild of the
Holy Trinity of Lenne " ;^i6o.

The entry respecting money paid to the King's mother, mairi sue,
refers to Joan of Kent, the mother of King Richard II.

THE POLL TAX

was fixed at the rate of three groats per head (poll) upon every lay
person ; beggars and those under fifteen years of age were alone
excused. In other words, every township had to contribute as many
shillings as there were residents above the prescribed age. Collectors,
armed with power granted by letters patent dated December 7th
1380, were appointed. The whole county of Norfolk, excepiis civiiaie
Norwici et villa dc Lctine, to quote the rompotus, was worked by
eight collectors. Important {)laces like Norwich and Lenne appointed
their own collectors. The two-thirds of the subsidy paid into the
Treasury in June 1380, represented an amount quite inadequate to
cope with the nation's expenditure. Negligence and favouritism on
the part of the official collectors gave rise to a second commission.
The remainder of the subsidy wns paid in June the following year.
The collectors (seven for Norfolk) were in this instance to furnish
statistics relating to population, arrears, etc. A staff of inspectors
was, moreover, appointed to check irreguhirities. Norfolk. Suffolk
and Cambridge formed one district. William Wenlok, clerk, was
inspector for our county.

136

HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

From the returns thus provided, the tremendous decrease in the
population of the country may more readily be understood. At the
time of the visitation (1349) the population of Norfolk is given as
150,000; according to the Lay-Tax Rolls of Richard II., twenty-six
years later, it was 88,797.

Places.

Lay-tax rolls
1377-

First returns
1381.

Lay-tax rolls
1381.

Norfolk

Norwich

Lenne

Yarmouth

88,797
3.925
3.137
1,941

58,714 66,719

3.368 3.833

1.757 1.834
No separate returns.

England

1 896,451

I.355.20I

A special tax was laid upon the clergy ; those belonging to the
higher grade were charged twenty groats, whilst the inferior clergy
over 16 years of age paid only three groats (1381). The returns
yield no particulars about Lenne. In the archdeaneries of Norfolk
and Norwich there were 1,745 regular and secular clergy, besides 168
deacons, acolytes and inferior clerics over the age of 16 years. The
clerical population of England and Wales in 1377 is given as 30,350.
The second of the returns in 1381 gives a remarkable increase in the
lay population, of 8,005, or nearly 12 per cent., whilst the
discrepancy for Lenne under different collectors is only 67, not quite 4
per cent. The imposing of this tax upon the people certainly
encouraged roving habits, because, as no-one could be charged except
at the place where he dwelt, migration to evade the payment of the
tax became general. Hence the great decrease between 1377 and
1381 must be set down principally to that cause.

CHARTER, COMMISSION. ETC.

C. ID. Westminster; 9th February, ist year of his reign (1377). Another
instance of inspeximus, which merely conhrmed C. 9.

Letters patent of inspeximus, Beverley, 3rd September, i6th year of his reign
(1392J granted concessions to the Gild of the Holy Trinity.

The war with France dragged on. Henry de Spencer undertook
to lead an expedition to assist the burghers of Ghent against their
count and his coadjutor the King of France. Temporary success
crowned the prelate's efforts at first, but the campaign terminated
abruptly without yielding any advantage. The bishop was severely
censured by Parliament on his return (as has previously been hinted),
because his fidelity was suspected (1383). Two years later the Scots
ravaged the north of England, being materially assisted by the
French. Richard boldly advanced against them, at the head of
80,000 men. Frightened out of their wits, the enemy precipitately
retired, leaving the southern part of their country to his mercv.
Edinburgh, Dunfermline, Perth and Dundee were burnt to the
ground.

THE PEASANTS' RISING. 137

At this crisis, John Brunham, the mayor, received a royal
mandate, addressed not to himself alone, but to the following
influential burgesses : John Waryn, Richard Houton, Roger Paxman,
Henry de Botele and Thomas Curson. It was indeed a commission
under letters patent, dated Westminster the 17th May 1386. Upon
them devolved the carrying out of the following somewhat onerous
injunctions : — (i) The burgh of Lenne, including South Lenne, was
to be put into an efficient state of defence " against the King's
enemies of France and their adherents and all his other enemies."
(2) A local corps was to be formed, into which all the able-bodied men
of Lenne and South Lenne, between the ages of sixteen and sixty,
were to be " impressed." Power was moreover deputed to fhe above-
named commissioners to levy money upon the inhabitants of Bishop's
Lenne and South Lenne towards the carrying out of the royal com-
mand ; and also to severely punish all persons evading or resisting
their orders.

Besides these serious municipal expenses, loans on two occasions
at least were raised to assist the King. A comparison of the sums in
the last column will help to gauge the relative importance of the
principal towns in Norfolk at this period.

Loans from

1385-6

1397-8

Norwich

Lenne

Yarmouth

;rioo
^100

/■336 6 8

/266 13 4

/66 13 4

Presuming the basis of assessment to be the same, Lenne was four
times as large as Yarmouth, and more than two-thirds the size of
Norwich.

The latter loan was foolishly expended on an expedition to avenge
the death of Roger, Earl of March, the King's cousin, and heir
presumptive to the throne, who had been slain by a party of Irish.
Owing to this imprudent enterprise the country was left comparatively
defenceless. The Duke of Hereford, whom the king had banished
the year before, landed at Ravenspur, ostensibly to recover possession
of his parental estates, because, owing to the death of his father, he
became the Duke of Lancashire. His amazing popularity soon gained
him 60,000 adherents. Unfortunately a fortnight elapsed before
Richard heard of his cousin's invasion ; he hastened back, but was
quite deserted, and his capture was merely a matter of time.

" The parliament, which, it is not unreasonable to assert, was
entirely devoted to the Lancastrian interest, having received thirty-
three articles of impeachment against Richard, in which his tyranny
and misgovernment were detailed, voted his deposition; the throne
being thus declared vacant, Henry (the Duke of Lancaster) was
recognised as king, 3olh September 1399." (Curtis.)

138 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

CHAPTER XIV.

The First Lollard Martyr.

Henry IV., Duke of Lancaster, cousin of Richard II., became King
30th September 1399. From the first he determined to be a worthy
exponent of the martial virtues for which his family had been renowned
until the days of his degenerate predecessor. With the nobility he was
far from popular, but with the people he was a great favourite.

* * -je- * *
To enforce homage from King Robert III. and his barons, Henry
promptly invaded Scotland. Edinburgh fell into his hands, but the
canny Scots would neither fight nor swear fealty, and as his meagre
stock of provisions became "fine by degrees and beautifully less," he
hastily retired southward across the border (1400). At this juncture
our mayor, John de Wentworth, was the recipient of a royal mandate,
couched in the terms of letters patent, insisting upon the speedy
preparation and complete equipment of a barge to serve as a vessel
of war against the King's enemies. The order was issued at West-
minster the nth January, and as the vessel was to be seaworthy and
ready before "the quindene " — the 15th of Easter following, there
was certainly not a day to be wasted.

FOREWARNED — FOREARMED.

About this time, Lord Henry Percy, Lord de la Ware, and a large
retinue were disporting themselves at Norwich. They were, in fact,
borrowing money for the King and making arrangements for the
defence of the city against theScots and the French, who were
supposed to be hovering somewhere in the North Sea, ready at any
moment to pounce upon our shores. Lenne was, of course, in
jeopardy; and its safety absorbed Lord Percy's profound attention.
He came, he saw, and he — was sumptuously entertained at the town's
expense. Among the numerous items in the Chamberlains' ledger
are payments for capons, bustards and herons (4s. 8d.); for pike,
mullet and other fish (7s.); to William Erl for 20 gallons of wine
(13s. 4d.), and to Henry Deye for 40 gallons of "ditto " (26s. 8d.).
Also, as befitting the occasion, to the minstrels who discoursed most
eloquent music (is.). Before taking bis departure the noble Lord
and his attendants not only enjoyed a cruise in the haven, perhaps to
inspect the ships of the port (5s.), but they actually ventured beyond
" the great river." Moreover, the ferrying of their 107 horses to and
from the little township on the opposite side cost four shillings and
sixpence.

Some of the ships of Lenne, when fishing off the coast of Scotland,
near Aberdeen, sighted part of the Scotch fleet (1402-3). The
fishermen boldly attacked the enemy, and succeeded in capturing
certain vessels, which they brought, with their admiral. Sir Robert
Logon, knight, and the crew to Lenne. Later four of our vessels on
a voyage to Bordeaux were unfortunately swallowed by a whirlpool ;

THE FIRST LOLLARD MARTYR. 139

with this, however, the avenging Scots had nothing whatever to do

(1407)-

Shortly after his accession, and during the mayoralty of Henry

Belleyeter, Henry visited Lenne, when the burgh was " so hard hit ' '

that a loan was obtained from the Trinity Gild with which to provide

a royal welcome. The debt, ^58 15s. lod., was standing against

the town in 141 7 -8, that is, after the King's decease.

THE bishop's STAITH.

Owing to the deplorable state into which the sea-wall or staith in
the Newland had been allowed to get, the burgh authorities were at
last compelled to bring an action against Henry de Spencer, the
defiant bishop of the diocese. The dilapidated structure was so
undermined and broken by the tides, that at length it gave way and
fell into the haven, so that instead of there being twenty-eight feet
of water, there was barely six feet (1401). To "make assurance
double sure " they petitioned the King and his Council, praying that
this serious obstruction might be at once removed, and the navigation
of the port restored.

The King issued a summons, dated Westminster the ist of June,
1401, earnestly praying that, without delay or difficulty whatever,
the bishop would attend the Council at Westminster the day after
St. John the Baptist's day next coming, that is, the 25th of June,
without default, to treat with the Council on "very important matters
touching the welfare of ourselves and you and the common profit of
our realm."

On the 2 ist Henry de Spencer wrote from North Elmham excus-
ing himself for being unable to attend. The bishop is "dead and
gone," and can tell no tales, but the letter which survives is
unequivocally interesting : —

I pray you to take excuse of my nonarrival in my own person [he writes,
addressing the King], for I am now engaged in my Visitation in the county of
Norfolk, which only occurs every seven years ; and hearing these unpleasant news
from Wales, I shall be at my manor of Northelmham, and will send two of my
clergy to continue the rest of the visitation, which must be performed until the
Monday next after the Feast of St. John. Whence August is so near that I
cannot continue beyond without loss of said visitation for this time and great
hindrance and damage to my jurisdiction. Wherefore I send to you my dear and
well-beloved in whom I confide greatly in their loyalty, namely : Master Will.
Sanday, Sir Robert Fowlmer, Master Henry Welles, Master James Cole, or three
or two of them, to receive and hear the honourable will of our very trusty Lord
the King, who shall by you shew them in lieu of me to make relation to me as
to those and all other commandments and pleasure of our Lord the King. I and
all the said persons shall be ready to obey them and perform them to my entire
ability, saving the honour of God and the estate of Holy Church and mine — ."

In the course of a letter written the 24th of August 1401, the
King in Council addressed the Bishop, the " reverend Father in God
and our very dear cousin," saying: —

We think, indeed, that those you (being on your visitation) have sent to attend
our said Council at the said occasion have reported to you the matter touched by
them on our behalf by said Council in right of the repair and amendment of one of
our staithes [see Rol. Pari., Vol. I^^, p. 509 a., &c.], in our city of Lenne, which staith
by reason of great inundations and ravages of the sea is very ruinous, and truly

UO HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

if by you (to whom the repair of the said staith belongs,) or by ourselves by fair
treaty (and accord) on the one part and the other, the said staith shall not be the
more speedily repaired and amended, the said our city and our lieges dwellings
therein shall be destroyed and annihilated for ever.

And we, desiring the safety of our said city and of our said lieges, pray you,
counselling that the said our staith you shall repair and amend.

If this be done between the present time and the fortnight of St. Hilary
[frorn the nth to the 31st of January] next ensuing or thereabouts, with all
possible haste, to the full construction of our said staith, to the saving of our
staith and our city, and the conservation and indemnity of our lieges of said
city, that you will certify to our Council in short time what may be your intention
in this matter, and your will, and what you think to do. And we pray you
moreover very earnestly, charging that, all excuses laid aside, you will be present
in your own person with our Council at Westminster on the said quinzain
[fortnight?] of St. Hilary, and without any failure, for certain very important
matters which shall then be shewn to you and declared on our behalf by our said
Council at your coming ; and that you will by no means fail, for love of us, and
as we trust in you. Given ... by the Council of which were Messieurs the
Chancellor, the Bishops of Durham, Hereford and Bangor ; Earls of Northum-
berland and Westmoreland, Lord de Berkeley, &c.*

Ignoring the King's urgent appeal, and being crassly indifferent to
the danger to which the lives and property of the people of Lenne
were daily exposed, the haughty bishop apparently determined to
"take his own time." Why, therefore, oh, agreeable reader,
shouldst thou scamper at break-neck pace through this important
epoch? Festina lente. Bishop de Spencer died in 1408, and the
final settlement of the dispute devolved upon his successor some
twenty years hence. Why, moreover, shouldst thou not seek mental

relief in a brief literary digression ? " It is very rarely that any

laborious study of the smaller area of a country parish can repay the
long microscopic research which it involves. . . We have no
history in the sense of having any sequence of events worth recording.
If we try to construct chronicles, we have often to pass on by great
strides from one stepping-stone to another standing out above the
surface of the stream of time that goes babbling through, our tiny
grains of sand get carried down into the great sea of oblivion — there
they sink, if they do not perish. It is otherwise with the towns:'
(Dr. A. Jessopp.) The philosophy of the Arcadian recluse may
indeed hold good where the would-be chronicler is blessed with
exceptional perseverance, ample leisure, and with what is of the
greatest importance — an inexhaustible purse; otherwise immense
boulders of difficulties will be encountered, enough in themselves to
dishearten the most daring and paralyse the power of the most expert
literary enthusiast.

A MATRIMONIAL AGENT.

Now let us return to our subject, with grateful hearts, rejoicing that
we face a narrow, stride- able hiatus. In 1403 Richard Young,
Bishop of Bangor, also one of the King's council, was entrusted with
an extremely delicate mission, the execution of which brought him

''These Norman-French letters are given in Sir Harris Nicolas's Proceedings and Acts of the Privy
Council, Vol. I., pp. i6j-8. An English translationmay be seen in Uasoa's History of Norfolk (1884), pp.

THE FIRST LOLLARD MARTYR. 141

to Bishop's Lenne. His lordsliip was sent beyond the sea, to nego-
tiate, if it were possible, a marriage between Henry the Prince of
Wales, a lad just 15 years of age (subsequently Henry V.), and the
daughter of the Queen of Sweden, Norway and Denmark. The
acme of economy, as far as time, trouble and ammunition are
concerned, is well expressed by the threadbare phrase — " Killing
two (or more, for economy is illimitable) birds with one stone." Now
it was necessary for the Bishop of Bangor to come to Lenne in order
that he might secure a berth on board one of our Danish-bound
vessels ; why then should he not be commissioned to examine and
report upon the condition of a brother-bishop's staith } Who, indeed,
would exercise greater impartiality or carry out the inspection more
carefully? The Lenne folk were, notwithstanding, stupidly
suspicious. They were by no means predisposed towards bishops.
They were not unmindful of Thomas Blundeville, who
imposed crushing tallages upon their forefathers; nor could they
forget Henry de Spencer, a disagreeable lordling who upset their
tipstaff and involved the burgh in much needless expense. Well,
well; perhaps under the circumstances to which they were bound to
submit, it would be prudent for them to get "the right side" of his
lordship. When, therefore, he cruised about the haven to inspect
the ruined staith and to gauge the depth of the water, the community
thoughtfully placed in the barge a gallon of the choicest red wine;
and besides, when he finally sailed, they provided sufficient money to
pay the wages of the sailors for the outward as well as the homeward
passage.

The matrimonial negotiations were alas ! abortive, because Henry
subsequently married Catherine, the daughter of Charles VI. of
France; but in 1404-5 ambassadors from the Danish court arrived in
England with the object of arranging a marriage between Princess
Philippa, the daughter of Henry IV., and the King of Denmark.
" The King broute her to Lenne, for to take schip there. And in
that towne he laye nyne daies, the two Qwenes, thre sones of the
Kyng, Herri, Thomas and Umfrey; and many other Lordes and
Ladies." (Capgrave's Chronicles of Kngland. This incident is
also narrated in the Chronica Monasterii S. Albani, 1866, p. 420.)

Henry IV. and Joanna the Queen, his second wife; and Philippa
the prospective Queen of Denmark, the daughter of his first wife,
Mary Bohun; also the King's sons — Henry, the Prince of Wales,
Thomas, the Duke of Clarence, afterwards killed at Beauge in Anjou
(142 1), and Humphrey, the Duke of Gloucester, were all at Lenne
on this memorable occasion. Garrulous Capgrave naively asserts : —

I saw the only daughter of the most excellent King (Henry IV.) in the town
of Lenne, where she went on board the ship in which she left England and went
to be married to the King of Norway. [Eric IX. of Denmark and XIII. of
Norway.] Those who knew her say that she so increased in wisdom that during
the continual infirmities which oppressed the King her husband, all the causes of
the Kingdom were laid before her, and that by her prudent counsel she brought
everj'thing to a prosperous issue. She indeed is the offspring of this King, and I
saw her witli mine own eyes. [T/ic llliisirious Henries.]

142 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

Thomas of Walsingham refers to this incident, and mentions
that there were also present at the embarkation, the Bishop of Bath
(Henry Bowet) and Vominus Ricardus, frater Ducis Eboraci, that is,
Richard Plantagenet, Earl of Cambridge, who was beheaded (1415)-
They accompanied the princess, and returned well pleased with the
result of their mission. Through the friendly relation thus brought
about our merchants obtained a warrant sanctioning the appointment
of an alderman (or consul) for Denmark (141 7).

SIR WILLIAM SAWTRE.*

During the latter part of the Plantagenet period, the renowned
John Wycliff (1324-1384) flourished. He greatly distinguished him-
self through his controversies with the most scholarly of the
mendicant friars, as well as by a powerful attack against the extravagant
authority claimed by the Pope. The views he disseminated were
similar to those propounded by the reformers of the i6th century.
The Lollardst (as those who bravely embraced his tenets were called),
were severely persecuted for many years ; nevertheless they succeeded
in laying the foundation upon which the Reformation, like a vast
superstructure, was afterwards reared.

Even before Wycliff, the first sparks of religious enthusiasm,
which culminated in the general enlightenment of Europe, were
kindled in East Anglia. The celebrated Robert Grosseteste (1175-
1253), to whom the reader must be introduced, was indeed a grand
reformer, although his writings are now overlooked. His pen was
ever busy denouncing the prevailing superstitions and corruptions
of the Roman Church. Roger Bacon (1214-1292), a contemporary,
declares he was the only living man who possessed all the
sciences, and in whom the very spirit of action was united to love
of learning. Robert Grosseteste, so preeminent for his scholarship,
was born at Stradbrook in Suffolk ; at the time of his death he was
Bishop of Lincoln. No wonder the eastern counties were among the
first to accept the new doctrine. J

At the close of the 14th century William Sawtre, or Chataris, as
he was as often called, exercised his vocation as priest in the church of
St. Margaret at Bishop's Lenne. Of the parentage and early life of
the renowned " proto-martyr of Wycliffism " (Dean Milman) nothing
definite is known. Whether he was a descendant of the famous
Thomas de Longueville, "the Red Rover" — a Charieris, whom
Wallace conquered, or a plebeian sowtre, whose father stitched
leathern nether garments ; whether he belonged to Chatteris in Cam-
bridgeshire, or Sawtree in Huntingdonshire, none can decide. In

* The title "Sir" was formerly bestowed upon clergymen. The Welsh parson in The Merry Wives of
Windsor is Sir (not " the Reverend") Hugh Evans.

t Lollards (from the Low German lollen, to sing slowly), wpre so called because of their practice of
sinein" dirges at funerals. Akin are our words (o /«// and /ii/;«hy, associated with the Swedish lulla,\.o
sin" to sleep. Bailey, however, propounds a more fanciful though less reliable derivative— the Latin
subltantive lolium, the darnel, because these primitive Reformers were deemed " tares in God's wheat-field."

± He appointed his friend Roger de Wesenham (Weasenham) dean of Lincoln, in the place of William
de Tournay. The remarkable career of Roger de Wesenham may be set forth thus: — Prebendary of
Elstow, Lincolnshire, 1323, Rector of Walgrave 1234, Prebendary of St. Paul's, Archdeacon of Oxford 1236,
Dean of Linco!n,Bishop o! Coventry and Liclifield 1245. He resigned in 1256. \Roberti Grosseteste EpistolcB,
1861, edited by Luard.J

THE FIRST LOLLARD MARTYR. 143

1437, and possibly years before, there was a slight link connecting
Lenne with one of these places. Our Prior remitted, as rent to the
Abbot of Sawtree, the yearly payment of one shilling. Though
unquestionably an obscure priest, William Sawtre was destined to be
immortalised as " the true and faithful martyr of Christ, the first of
all them in Wycliff's time." (Foxe.)

In trying to establish a sequence in the incidents associated with
this deplorable event, it seems more than probable that at the onset
William Sawtre, "being inflamed with zeal of the true religion," and
greatly perplexed concerning certain theological dogmas, and, more-
over, conscientiously wishing to do what was right, boldly took the
initiative, and " required that he might be heard for the commodity of
the whole realm before Parliament." (Foxe.) The request made
to Thomas Arundel, alias Fitz-Alan, the Archbishop of Canterbury,
was, it appears, forwarded to Bishop Henry de Spencer, who, being
bitterly opposed to the Lollards, and "divining the cause," arranged
for Sawtre to be heard before a convocation on the eve of the feast
of Saints Philip and James, at the episcopal manor house at South
Elmham (30th of April 1400). The poor priest, obeying the
citation, repaired to the embattled mansion, which, standing upon the
crown of an artificial mound on the summit of a hill, overlooked a
well-wooded area. Among those present there was Lord Henry de
Spencer, a follower of the "Prince of Peace," strangelv famous for
his military exploits ; and the bold Northumbrian John of Derlyngton,
who by reason of his manifold scholastic attainments had risen to be
Archdeacon of Norwich ; and John de Kinkinsale, professor of
divinity — an envied pluralist, priest of Fressingfield, near Harleston,
nnd master of Gonville Hall. Cambridge ; besides, being one of the
delegates deputed to attend the Council at Constance, he subse-
quently attained the Bishopric of Chichester. In the learned
assembly were also John Diffe, a friar, of whose piety nothing is
recorded, but who was greatly esteemed because of his superior know-
ledge in ecclesiastical affairs; and Walter Carlton, the celebrated
specialist, a "doctor of both laws," the secular as well as the
ecclesiastical ; William Friseby, Hugh Bridham and many other
notaries well versed in legal intricacies.

What arguments were advanced we cannot say, but after a two-
days examination William Sawtre was induced to recant, and was
forthwith ordered to make public renunciations of his erroneous teach-
ing in the churches at Lenne, Tilney, and wherever the bishop might
suggest.

(l) HIS RECANTATION.

The first public renunciation was made on the 25th of May, in the
grave-yard adjoining the chapel of St. James, where the Primitive
Methodist chape-l and the County Court now stand. Here, in the
presence of the bishop, the clergy and the inhabitants of the town,
William Sawtre declared in English that he had been misguided when
he drew up the scroll presented to Archbishop Arundel. The next
day a more impressive ceremony was enacted in the church of the

144 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

hospital of St. John the Baptist in the Damgate (Norfolk Street),*
On this occasion the bishop, John de Kinkingale, William Carlton
and Thomas Bolton, the officer of the Liberties of Lenne, were
present, as were also the elite of the burgh, including (it may be)
Edmund Belleyettere, the mayor, John de Wentworth, Thomas atte
Brygg and Thomas Fawkes, the town chamberlains, as well as
Thomas Ploket and Thomas Trussebut, the treasurers of the Gild
of Corpus Christi, &c. Here Sawtre solemnly pledged himself " on
oath upon the Holy Evangelists " that in future he would not propa-
gate any so-called heresies without a special licence from the bishop.
In rendering loyal obedience to his intolerant ecclesiastical masters
Sawtre unquestionably strove to stifle his conscience, but, as will be
presently seen, his efforts in this direction were unavaihng and futile.
On the 2oth of September the sheriffs of Norfolk and Suffolk
were commanded by the King to issue a proclamation strictly forbid-
ding the promulgation of opinions contrary to holy doctrine and
derogatory to the friars. The next year Sawtre removed to London,
where the people were strongly inclined towards the new religion, and
where a more liberal consideration of his faith might reasonably have
been anticipated. He was attached, as chaplain rather than rector,
to a church dedicated to the memory of St. Osyth, a Saxon queen
(the mother of Uffa, the East Anglian,) who was cruelly put to death
by the marauding Danes. Her name survives in Size (or St. Osyth's)
lane, but the church of St. Osyth was rededicated to St. Benet
Sherehog — Benedict Skin-the-pig ; you may see the little old church-
yard still (1893), black and grimy, surrounded on all sides by tall
houses. (Sir Walter Besant.) It was situated in Wood Street, a
narrow yet important thoroughfare leading from Cheape Market, now
known as Cheapside, to the gate in the wall (London wall) which then
formed the northern defence of the city.

Even in the metropolis the current of religion in the life of this
faithful minister of the Gospel was destined to run other than
smoothly. Although he probably tried to modify the expression of
the convictions which had caused so much trouble in the past, yet
his attempts proved useless. The views he held were regarded as
erroneous, and styled heretical, because they were opposed to those
advanced by the leading scholars of the day. Unfortunately,
moreover, they coincided with the tenets promulgated by Wycliff.
The priest's simple life of self-denial no doubt annoyed the easy-
going clerics, who thought far more of their own personal indulgence
than of the destitution and misery of those among whom they were
supposed to labour. He denounced the bad lives the majority of
the clergy were living, and publicly declared the tithes ought not to
be paid to profligate priests. Like Chaucer's poor parson, his object
seems to have been

To draw folks to heaven by fairnesse,

By good ensample was his business,

'- Mr. E. M. Beloe regards the "Blue Liou inn," viilgo" the Hanging Chains," as now occupying
the site of Hospital of St. John the Baptist.

THE FIRST LOLLARD MARTYR. 145

yet were there busy-bodies on the alert to mar the work he was
doing, and to controvert the doctrines he taught. Rumour
declared he was indirectly implicated in the rising of Thomas
PloUand the Earl of Kent, and John the Earl of Huntingdon, the
maternal brothers of the deposed King, wlio, dissatisfied with the
changes in the government, had entered into a conspiracy to seize
the King at Windsor and liberate the imprisoned Richard. Through
the treachery of Edmund Plantagenet, the Earl of Rutland, the
plot was discovered, and the "little game " soon played out (January
1401). The report respecting Sawtre was ill-founded; it seems far
more likely the news of his recent recantation at Lenne, reaching the
ear of the archbishop, was the cause of the troubles which soon
ensued.

The next month Sawtre was summoned before Robert de Bray-
brooke, the Bishop of London, in order that he might be persuaded
to renounce the errors into which an unguarded tongue had once more
betrayed him. As, however, he saw nothing to abjure, he was next
cited to attend the Convocation of the province of Canterbury in St.
Paul's Cathedral, where, before Archbishop Arundel, he was put
upon his trial as before a court of justice. The Convocation was
adjourned until the next Saturday, when the following definite charges
of false doctrine were preferred against him: —

1. That the sacred cross on which Christ suffered is not a fit
object of worship.

2. That it is more reasonable to worship a temporal prince
than the aforesaid sacred cross.

3. That it is unlawful to worship angels, even more so, than
the worship of truly good men.

4. That going on pilgrimage is unnecessary and useless; that
vows to do so are not binding, and moreover, that the money thus
expended had far better be bestowed in alms upon the poor.

5. That priests are bound to preach the word of God rather
than to say their matins or to observe the canonical hours. And

6. That after the Sacramental words are pronounced, the
bread remaineth the same as before, and that it ceaseth not to be
bread, having in the meantime undergone no transubstantiation.

Sawtre desired to have a copy of the indictment, so that he
might deliberately reply thereto. On the i8th he appeared once
more before the Convocation, when he presented to the Archbishop
and council the subjoined explicit statement of his religious views,
which Robert Hall, Chancellor to the Bishop of Norwich, then read
publicly : —

I William Sawtre, priest unworthy, say and aunswere that I will not nor
intend not to worship the crosse whereon Christ was crucified, but onely Christ
that suffered vpon the crosse ; so vnderstanding me that I will not worship the
materiall crosse, for the grosse corporall matter, yet notwithstanding I will
worship the same as a signe, taken and memoriall of the passion of Christ
adorationc vicavia. And that I will rather worship a temporall Kyng, then the
aforesayd wooden crosse, as the materiall substaunce of the same. And that I
will rather worship the bodycs of Saintes then the very crosse of Christ whereon
he houg ; with this addition, that if the vcrysame Crosse were afore me, as

146 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

touching the materiall substaunce. And also that I will rather worship a man
truely confessed and penitent then the Crosse on which Christ hong, as touching
the materiall substance.

And that also I am bound and will rather worship him whom I know to be
predestinate truely confessed and contrite then an angell of God : for that the one
is a man of the same nature with tlie humanitieof Christ, and so is not a blessed
aungell. Notwithstanding i will worship both of them according as the will of
God is 1 should.

Also, that if any man hath made a vow to visite the shrines of the Apostle
Peter and Paule, or to goe on Pilgrimage to S. Thomas tombe or anye whither
els to obtayne any temporall benehte or commodilie ; he is not bound simply to
keepe his vowe vpon the necessitye of saiuation. But that he may geue (give)
the expences of his vowe in ahnes amongst the poore by the prudent counsayle
of his superiour as 1 suppose.

And also 1 say, that euery deacon and priest is more bound to preach the
word of God then to say ciuiouicall houres according to the primitiue order of
the church.

Also touching the interrogation of the sacrament of the aulter : I say that
after the pronouncing of the sacramentall wordes of the body of Christ, there
ceaseth to be \ ery bread simply, but remaineth bread, holy true, and the bread of
life ; ynd (andj 1 beleuve the sayd sacrament to be the very body of Christ after
the pronouncing of the sacramentall wordes. [Foxe's Actes and Monuments of the
Church : 1563, 3rd edition.]

On every clause of the indictment Sawtre firmly maintained his
opinion, quoting freely from St. John, St. Paul, and St. Augustine;
as to his conduct during the trial, there is nothing on record save the
testimony of his prejudiced enemies, who described it as derisive,
fanatical, and vacillating. Archbishop Arundel tried his utmost to
convince him that he was wrong in his views respecting the Eucharist,
and the next day spent three hours expatiating upon the same theme,
but to no purpose. He then suggested that Sawtre should submit
to the decision of the Church. Sawtre refused, except with the
proviso: "Where such decision be not contrary to the Divine will."
On the 23rd, documents purporting to be his previous adjuration were
produced, and, according to the official account, Sawtre was con-
strained to admit them as evidence. An adverse sentence was the
foregone conclusion, the pronouncing of which was deferred until
the 26th. Sir William Sawtre, of Bishop's Lenne, was then con-
demned as a relapsed heretic; before, however, he could be handed
over to the secular power, it was necessary for him to be properly
"degraded," so that instead of being a priest "in the Pope's
kingdom " and amenable to ecclesiastical law, he might be none other
than an ordinary layman "without the pale." The ecclesiastical
courts had no power whatever to burn, but they could condemn men
as heretics, and thus leave them to their fate.

(2) HIS DEGRADATION

was publicly carried out in St. Paul's Cathedral, before Thomas
Arundel, the Archbishop, who presided, and six Bishops, who,
arrayed in their episcopal robes, acted as assistants, namely: Robert
de Braybrooke (London), Henry Beaufort (Lincoln), John Trevenant
(Hereford), Edmund Stafford (Exeter), Guy de Mona (St. David's),
and WiUiam de Bottlesham (Rochester), When all was in readiness,
the following terrible ordeal, which must have fearfully harrowed the

THE FIRST LOLLARD MARTYR. 147

mental agony of this brave, outspoken man, was minutely carried
out.

First, he was taken into the sacristy or vestry, where he was
completely attired in the robes and furniture of the priest's holy
office. Then he was led into the church, where a large congregation
had already assembled. Sawtre was placed, of course, in a
conspicuous position, and there before them all was gradually denuded
of the various emblems of his pastoral authority. The sacred chalice
and paten were rudely taken from him, so that he could no more
celebrate the sacrament of our Lord's supper; whereupon he was
stripped of his scarlet robe or chasuble, as being unworthy of this
priestly honour. They mockingly handed him a Latin copy of the
Holy Scriptures, merely to snatch it away, in order to shew he was
no longer authorised to read therefrom. They, moreover, removed
his stole, a narrow band of embroidery, which, as a deacon, he wore
over the left shoulder. His girdle was next loosened, and the maniple,
a napkin used bv those officiating, was taken away. He was also
asked to doff his albe, a white linen gown, which he wore by virtue of
his office as a subdeacon.

The ecclesiastical triumph was, however, incomplete ! A candle-
stick holding a taper was placed in one hand and a small pitcher in
the other, but he was instantly requested to give them up, because
of his unworthiness to act even in the inferior capacity of an acolyte.
I^ikewise, he relinquished not only the book of conjurations, because
he was considered unfit to carry out the duties of an exorcist, or holy-
water clerk; but also the book of divine lections or church legends,
because henceforth he ceased to be a reader. The surrender of a
sexton's gown and the church-dnor kev signified that he had in future
no right to act even as a humble sexton. And, finally, as a climax
to this theatrical display, the priest's cap was removed, his tonsure or
hair-lock was clipped off, and upon his head was placed the cap of
the common hangman.

Sawtre 's appeal to the King and Parliament did not avail ; he
was delivered as a layman to the secular arm, and the selfsame day
the king's writ was signed at Westminster.

(3) AND MARTYRDOM.

" Thus William Sawtre, the servant of Christ, being utterly thrust
out of the Pope's kingdom, and metamorphosed from a clerk to a
secular layman, was committed (as ye have heard) unto the secular
power, which so done, the Bishops yet not herewith content cease not
to call upon the King to cause him to be brought forth to speedy
execution." (Foxe.) In compliance with this request, King Henry,
" a compound of ambition, cruelty and hypocrisy " (Burnet), made out
a decree against Sawtre, which concludes thus: — "We command you
as straitly as ye may or can, firmly enjoining you that you do cause
the said William Sawtre, being in your custody, in some public or
open place within the liberties of your city aforesaid (the cause afore-
said being published unto the people), to be put into the fire, and
there in the same fire really to be burned, to the great horror of his

148 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

offence, and the manifest example of other Christians. Fail not
in the execution hereof, upon the peril that will fall thereupon. Teste
rege, apiid Westmonast. 26 Febriiar. an. [secundo] regni sui."

On the evening of the same day, the 26th of February 1401,
Sawtre was led to the Smithfield, a broad meadow beyond the
boundary of the city, whither the inhabitants were wont to repair to
practise with their bows and arrows at the public butts. Here the
valiant though indiscreet Wat the Tiler, the leader of the down-
trodden peasantry, was summarily dispatched by Sir William
Walworth, the I-ord Mayor of the City ; and here, too, Thomas Badly
and many more suffered for conscience' sake. At a secluded spot
William Sawtre was chained to a stake, which stood not far from
the present gate leading to St. Bartholomew's Hospital, and here he
was burned in the sight of many people.

Sawtre is usually spoken of as the first victim of the statute de hcerelico
combnrendo. But it is remarkable that the writ for his execution appears on the
Rolls of Parliament before the Act itself. This order may be merely a
matter of arrangement, but it is observable that if the Act had been
already passed the writ would have been issued as a matter of course
to the sheriff, and would never have appeared on the Rolls at all. It
appears probable, therefore, that Sawtre suffered under a special Act proposed
perhaps by the clerical party in order to ascertain the feeling of Parliament as
to the larger measure that followed. (Dr. W. W. Shirley.)

Commenting upon the legality of Sawtre 's martyrdom. Justice
Stephens observes: —

The clergy proceeded to a measure which can probably not be paralleled in
the history of England. They forged an Act of Parliament, which appears in
the statute-book as 2 Rd. II. c. 5 (1379). Though published as an Act of
Parliament, this measure was not entitled to the name, for as Coke says (13
Coke's Rep. pp. 56-58) it was never assented to by the Commons. . . . The pre-
tended statute gave no other power than that of arrest and imprisonment by the
sheriffs on the order of the bishop, and this proves that before that time no such
power existed. [History of Criminal Law, 1883.]

THE CHAPEL OF ST. NICHOLAS.

An important movement of an ecclesiastical nature was brought
about during the episcopate of Henry de Spencer. At the suggestion
of certain dissatisfied burgesses in the Newland, a local chaplain —
Sir John Peye — forwarded a petition to the Pope, praying that the
privileges for the administration of the sacraments of baptism,
matrimony and purification might be conferred upon the chapel of
St. Nicholas. The complete severance of this chapel-of-ease from
the parent church, and the establishment of a distinct parish, seemed
to be the object at which the discontented parishioners aimed. Pope
Urban VI. granted the application, providing the alteration was not
inimical to the mother church. Great discord ensued, which at
length induced the Assembly to issue a letter patent, bearing the
common seal, and a letter close, sealed with the Mayor's seal, to Sir
Adam de Eston.

The letter patent, addressed to the faithful people of Lenne, and
subsequently forwarded to the Court of Rome, after reciting the

THE FIRST LOLLARD MARTYR. U9

Bull* received from His Holiness, announced that the Bull in
question had been publicly read by John Lombe, master of arts and
licenciate of civil law, who was " the organ ' ' or representative of
Ralph de Martham, prior of the Church of St. Margaret, in the
presence of John de Brunham, mayor, Thomas de Botekesham,
alderman, John de Elmyngton, public notary, and others. It set
forth, moreover, how the precious document had been carefully
returned to Sir John Peye, who formally acknowledged in their
presence that it had not been altered or " injured " in any wise (28th
February 1378). Throughout these transactions the greatest pre-
caution was taken to shew that the Bull had not been tampered with.

The letter close was forwarded to Sir Adam de Eston, a very
influential person then residing in Rome. The "Norwich Cardinal,"
as he was styled, belonged to the Benedictine monastery of that city.
He was implored to do his utmost in restoring peace among the
contending burgesses.

To express clearly the state of public opinion in Lenne, three
separate lists were enclosed with the communication. The first
contained the names of 79 burgesses who were present in the Gild
Hall on the Monday before Ash Wednesday, and who consented to
the sealing of the letter patent directed to the Court of Rome for
resisting the privileges of baptism, etc., conceded to the chapel of
St. Nicholas. The second contained the names of 81 burgesses,
who declared that the Bull had been publicly read in the church of
St. Margaret, and that it had been safely delivered to Sir John Peye,
in the same church, " entire and uninjured, and not in any way
violated or corrupted." And the third contained the 77 names of
those who agreed to the sealing of the letter close, and who stated
therein that the privileges conceded to the petitioners would be
prejudicial to the church of St. Margaret, and that they therefore
renounced the privileges. The mayor, "John de Brunham," appears
in each list.

A second application was made in the reign of Henry VI. It
was addressed this time to the prior of Norwich (Robert Brunham?),
and was couched in the following words : —

Fuhvurshipful and reverent Fader in God ; We your gostly [spiritual]
children the Maior, aldermen, burgeyses and all the Comons of Lynne humbly
recomaund us to your good fadirhod. Brsechyng that it like to your benigne
grace be the avys [advice] of the richt, discret and religious personys your wurthi
birthern of ye covent of Norwiche at ye reverence of God in encresynge of his
lovyng and devocioun of ye pepil, and for ye gret quiete and ese of your
parisshens of ye same toun to graunte yat ye sacrament of Bapteme and ye
sacirimentall of Purificacioun maybe ministrid to your parisshens aforesaid in
your Chapel 1 of Seynt Nicolis in ye said toun, ye richt of your minister ye
Cathedral! cluirche of Norwiche, and of Saynt Margarete ye parissh churche of
Lynne in all yinges [things] alwey, &c. . . whiche goode and holy vew shal

• The capsule of the seal was first callpd the bulla, a word afterwards applied to the document itself.

"A Pope's Bull and a Pope's Rricf differ very much ; as with us^the Great Seal and the Privy Seal.
The Bull being the highest authority the Pope can give, the Brief is of less. The Bull has a leaden seal
upon silk hanging upon the instrument ; the Brief has siit annulo piscatoris [the Fisherman's Seal] upon the
side."— Selden's Table Talk (1716), p. 88.

Fur further i)articulars of the lesser signet, used in documents of minor importance, see W. Jones's
Finger-Ring Lore (1898), pp. 198-9.

150 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

cause you gret merite for ye . . . yat we trist to God shal growe yerof
[thereof]. In Witness herof' to yis present lettir patent We have do sett our
comone seel. Yeven in our Gilde Halle ye xiiij day of January in ye x yeer of
ye reigne of King Henry ye Sext. (1432.)

The chapel of St. Nicholas was notwithstanding denied a font
until 1627, when Bishop Harsnet consecrated the one now in use.
In the inventory of church goods (1628-9) is the entry: " Itm. a little
8 square table to sett the Cover of the ffunt uppon."

THE ANNALS OF THE POOR.

Throughout this reign, our town was in a most unsettled and
distracted state. Years of undeserved oppression at last goaded the
people into reckless rebellion. So furious was the onslaught of the
masses against the classes, that the mayor was fain to acknowledge
his inability to cope with the awful emergency — to check the out-
spoken demands of the long-suffering democracy, who were conscious
that numerically and in strength they could easily crush the dominating
few. Why, they asked themselves, should they submit like belaboured
hounds to such unbearable tyranny? Why starve their children to
swell unjust exactions ?

Unable, perhaps, to obtain assistance from Bishop Spencer, the
mayor was constrained to appeal directly to the King ; but John
Wentworth's entreaty yielded no assistance to him and his brethren
in this dilemma. He therefore addressed himself to the I-Cing a
second time, piteously complaining of certain " outrageous persons
who committed the most horrible crimes and (who) proceeded in the
most riotous manner against their opponents," [the inoffensive
potentiores] " with the intent to spoil and rob them of their goods,
(to) burn their houses and (to) slay and dismember them" (nth
October 1403).

Though there are deplorable breaks in the narrative of these
events, the strife between the opposing factions was still vigorously
carried on. Nine years later, Thomas Arundel. Archbishop of
Canterbury and Lord Chancellor, espoused the cause of the down-
trodden burgesses; he sent " a memorandum " to the King, minutely
shewing how the weak were contending against the strong, and how
might was prevailing over right. His timely interference induced
Henry IV. to issue letters patent, dated Westminster, the 25th
November 141 2. Four months afterwards the King died.

TRAITORS AT HOME.

Henry Percy, the Earl of Northumberland, utterly disgusted at
the K^ing's behaviour after the Scots were defeated and the Earl of
Douglas captured at Homildon Hill, near Wooler, by his own son,
Hotspur (14th September 1402), conspired with Glendower.
Associated with him also were Richard Scroop, Archbishop of
York, Thomas Mowbray, Earl Marshal, and Thomas Lord Bardolf.
A sanguinary battle fought near Shrewsbury ended in the defeat of
the insurgents and the death of the valiant Hotspur (21st July 1403).

A fresh conspiracy, despite this crushing blow, was inaugurated
by Northumberland and his friends (1405), their motive being to

THE FIRST LOLLARD MARTYR. 151

place Edmund Mortimer, Earl of March, upon the throne. By the

astute diplomacy of Ralph Nevill, this second attempt was frustrated.
The Archbishop and the Earl Marshal were taken and beheaded at
York, whereas the Earl of Northumberland and Lord Bardolf con-
trived to escape into Scotland.

The third and last attempt to subvert the government occurred
when Northumberland's forces encountered a small body of troops
under Sir Thomas Rokeby (otherwise Rockley), the sheriff of York-
shire, on Bramham Moor, near Tadcaster, with disastrous results
(14th February 1408). The Earl was slain, and his "head was
streight waies cut off, put on a stake and carried openly through the
city of London and set on the bridge." (Dugdale.) Lord Bardolf,
though severely wounded, was captured alive ; he died, however, soon
afterwards, and was there and then politely quartered, according to
the etiquette and formalities which statutory law provided for the
speedy extinction of traitors and the immediate benefit of the nation.
Samples of his anatomy were sent to London, York, Shrewsbury and
Lenne, his head being specially reserved for the city of Lincoln.
These ghastly " remembrancers ' ' were exhibited publicly upon the
town gates, to deter any visiting these places, as well as the inhabitants
themselves, from following the example set by the misguided
miscreant. It seems highly probable that the enticing proclamation
of the leaders of these rebellions, that " whoso would have libertie
should take up their armour and followe them," resounded through
our streets, and that the insurgent forces were recruited with
volunteers from Lenne. Through the earnest entreaty of Avicia, the
widow, Bardolf "s mangled remains were shortly afterwards removed
and decently buried.

The loyal Llarcourt announces the defeat of the rebels in a
burst of exultation: —

From enemies heaven keep your Majesty

And wlicn they stand against you may they fall

As those that 1 am come to tell you of

The Earl Northumberland and the Lord Bardolf

With a great power of English and of Scots

Are by the Sheriff of Yorkshire overthrown.

(Shakespeare's Henry I V., part II., act IV., sc. 4.)

CONCESSIONS.

Just a few days prior to his death the callous bishop so far
relented as to grant the mayor, Robert de Brunham, " a composition,"
which was almost a facsimile of the episcopal and mayoral arrange-
ment of 1309. It was designed ostensibly to bring about an amicable
settlement of those torturing contentions for which the burgh was
becoming notorious, and was supposed to be mutually advantageous.
What, however, the crafty bishop proposed to give was in inverse
ratio to what he expected to receive (jith August J406).

To the King rather than the bishop the town was indebted.
Henry IV. granted the burgesses

Letters patent, dated at Westminster, 4th October, in the 8th year of his reign
(140b), giving licence to certain persons to establish another gild in connection

m mSTORY OT KING'S LYNN.

with St. Margaret's church. (Harrod's statement that the Foundation
Charter of the Gild of St. George the Martyr was granted in the reign of
Henry VI. is a mistake.) And a charter
C. II, dated at Westminster, 6th March, in the nth year of his reign (1432). It
was a deed of inspeximus and confirmation, formally renewing and
reaffirming C. 10, which was granted by his predecessor Richard II. in 1410.

A MUNICIPAL LOAN.

Anticipating trouble, Henry IV., it may be remembered,
ordered our Corporation to provide a barge or vessel of
war. It was well he did so, because he had soon to
face not only an insurrection, but an incursion of the
Scots. At this juncture, when his resources were severely
taxed, the King borrowed from the community at Lenne ;£333/^/^>
for the loan of which he offered certain tallies as security, which
were delivered at the Receipt of the Exchequer. In the town's
behalf Roger Galyon and Thomas Grey paid the money out of the
customs ot the port, of which they were the collectors, receiving,
of course, a tally from the town (140 1).

The King died in 1413, having appointed Thomas Langley,
Bishop of Durham and Lord Chancellor, Sir John Pelham, knight,
and John Leventhorpe, esquire, executors of his will. Twenty-four
years passed, but the outstanding loan was unpaid. Hence on the
25th of June 1425 the Assembly seriously considered the advisability
of applying for repayment. The services of our members in Parlia-
ment were enlisted. Thomas Burgh and John Copnote therefore
suggested that the Corporation should furnish them with a deed of
attorney, empowering them to act as the legal representatives of the
town in this matter; they also asked for a letter, which might be
forwarded to the Bishop of Durham, presumably the acting executor,
asking that the outstanding loan might be met. The letter drawn
up, according to an enclosed draft, read thus: —

Know all men by these presents, That we John Parmonter, Mayor of Lenn,
in the county of Norfolk, and the whole community of the same town, have
attorned and put in our place our beloved John Copnote, our true attorney, to
ask for and receive, in our name and for us, of the Venerable Father in Christ
Thomas Bishop of Durham, Sir John Pelham, knt, and John Leventhorp, esq.,
the e.xecuters named in the testament of Lord Henry late King of England, after
the conquest the fourth, [that is, " King Henry the Fourth in his 4th year,"
according to the minute in the Hall Book] three hundred and thirty and three
pounds six shillings and eightpence owed to us by the aforesaid late King for
money lent by us for the said King's use, as appears more clearly by a certain
tally delivered to us and levied at the Receipt of the Exchequer on Roger
Galeon and Thomas Grey, then collectors of customs and subsidies in the
aforesaid port of Lenn, on the ninth day of December in the 4th year of the
said late King, &c. Dated at Lenn in our Gild Hall on the 25th June 3 Henry
VI. (1425).

Whether the proverbial "butter" was ever skilfully extracted
from the dog's mouth it would be risky to state; the son, however,
could not be expected to pay his father's debts, because, as will be
seen anon, he was himself at this time involved in even greater
pecuniary difficulties.

THE REVOLT Ot^ TME BVRGESSES. 153

BOROUGH ACCOUNTS.

An important change appears in the arrangement of the finances
of the town. Accounts are now rendered by the mayor as well as
the collector of taxes. Prior to 1402-3, the chamberlains or borough
treasurers drew up their accounts conjointly ; now a separate account
is given by each of the four chamberlains.

A PRIEST OF ST. PANCRAS

named Arreck, who must have been an enthusiastic antiquary, spent
eighteen years in searching for the Life of St. ICatherine. His work
in Greece was a failure, but when in Cyprus he unearthed a very
old manuscript written {circa a.d. 490-7), by Athanasius, Bishop
of Alexandria, who was the pious spinster's tutor. Though
hidden a century, it was in excellent preservation, hence Arreck was
enabled to compile therefrom the saint's history in Latin. Capgrave
wrote a metrical version of the life of the holy maiden, who was
put to death by means of a wheel, like that of a chaff-cutter ; and
from this work we learn that Arreck died at Lenne when Capgrave
was a regular here.

*****

Henry IV. was seized with a fit while at his devotions in St.
Edmund's chapel at Westminster, and died a few days after (March
20th, 1413). He was interred at Canterbury.

CHAPTER XV.

The Revolt of the Bwf§:esses.

Henry of Monmouth, the eldest son of the late King, was crowned
as Henry V. the 9th of April 1413.

*****

The social serenity of our burgh was greatly disturbed at the
commencement of the 15th century by the antagonistic influence of
two wealthy families, headed respectively by John Wentworth and
Bartholomew Petipas. These rivals for municipal honours were the
cause of "divers dissensions and discords." As powerful potentiores,
each had subservient yet faithful adherents. Thus were there two
factions, to one of which every inhabitant at least tacitly belonged.
Need it be stated that between the Wentworths and Petipases no
love was wasted ? What one clique suggested the other as vigorously
opposed, for no earthly reason save that it originated in the wrong
quarter. In comparing the careers of these great magnates, it will
be seen that as one luminary paled or sunk below the municipal

iS4

HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

horizon, the other burst into civic existence, and, notwithstanding
adverse influences, glowed with brighter and brighter effulgence.

John Wentworth.

1 39 1 Member for Lenne

1400 Mayor of „

1401 " " "
1405

Bartholomew Petipas.

141 2 Mayor of Lenne

1413

1426 Member for „

The case of Lynn [writes Mrs. A. S. Green] is of singular interest. Nowhere
else in England was there a corporation more wealthy, or more formidable from
its compact organization and great authority. On the other hand, nowhere else,
perhaps, was there a community of " mean people," burgesses and nonburgesses,
so prosperous, active and united ; sustained as they were in every emergency by
the eifective protection of their lord the Bishop, who, in his jealousy of the
governing class, was forced to become the ally of the subject people, and to
make their cause his own. Under these circumstances the conflict between the
commons and the plutocrats who ruled over them had some original character-
istics, and the problem of the Church and State emerges in a new and subtle
form.*

For at least thirty years, from 1404 to i434j local affairs were
irremediably upset by the aggressive plutocrats and their turbulent
partisans. The climax was almost reached when Roger Galyon, the
nominee of the Petipas party, was for the second time chosen mayor.
To achieve this distinction, Galyon threw in his lot with the people —
the embryo democracy just struggling into being. In tracing the
course of events which led up to a revolt against the squirearchy of
Lenne, we will consider —

(l) THE ELECTION OF A MAYOR.

After public notice had been given by the sergeant-at-mace, a
meeting was held in the Gild Hal! on the 29th August — the Feast
of the Decollation (or beheading) of St. John— a month before the
expiration of the mayoralty (1411)- The mayor for the ensumg year,
commencing of course on the 29th of September, was chosen by a
committee of twelve. The president or " alderman " of the local
Gild of the Holy Trinity, by a kind of prescriptive right, always
named the first four of the elective committee. They were invariably,
need it be said, of his own social kindred — potentiores to the back-
bone. The four aristocratic electors followed suit by taking unto
themselves four others, and the eight then chose the remaining four.
If, however, through any unavoidable cause the alderman were absent,
the jurats,! or members of the council, took his place, and, officiating
in his stead, named the first quartette.

Now when the time drew near and it was necessary to select
some one to take Roger Galyon's place, the burgesses found them-
selves in a unique predicament. The alderman was absent; this
was annoying, but it had assuredly happened before, and in this
there was consolation; when, however, the names of the "jurats"
were called, there was no reply. How the burgesses stared at each

® Read Town Life in the Fifteenth Century, by Mrs. A. S. Green (1894), '^ol- U-. PP- 409-426.

t Jurats- not jurors; simply burgesses who had been sworn. L&tm, jurat, he swears or lakes an oath.

THE REVOLT OF THE BURGESSES. 155

other in blank dismay! But Roger Galyon was equal to the emer-
gency. Disregarding this palpable insult, he quietly asked the
assembly whether it was their will to proceed with the election.
Their answer being an affirmative, he next desired iJiose who were
present to name the first part of the committee. This was readily
done, and the other eight members were selected according to the
usual custom. The committee thus constituted retired, and after
a while announced that they had chosen Roger Galyon for the second
time to act as mayor of the burgh of Bishop's Lenne (141 1).

An inspection of the Hall Book wherein these minutes are
recorded reveals two or three remarkable features. For the first
time a complete Hst of those who were present is entered. Of the
one hundred and forty-eight some were non-burgesses, who had not
yet taken up their "freedom," and for the first time in the annals
of this burgh non-burgesses were permitted a voice in municipal
matters. It was in sooth "a still small voice " crying in the wilder-
ness of democracy. They could only vote for four — and there their
voice apparently ceased; but step by step the influence of the people's
nominees was felt until it culminated in the choice of their major.

The four-and-twenty councillors were, of course, disgusted with
this lowering of the social standard, and indignant with the high-
handed policy of Roger Galyon; they lodged an appeal with the
privy council, and before long the Mayor received an order to
produce the charters of the burgh in court for the determination of
the dispute and to justify the course taken.

There was great commotion in the municipal dove-cote, and
whisperings of the wrangling spread from the precincts of the Gild
Hall to the market of St. Margaret, where idle gossips found unspeak-
able pleasure in outpouring an exaggerated account of the childish
doings of the venerable fathers. Oh shameful sight, for civic birds
m their snug little nests to "fall out and chide and fight! " Yet
were those potent, grave and reverend signiors no whit worse than
Dryden's " unfeathered two-legged things," which centuries afterwards
succeeded them.

On Monday the next after the Feast of St. Faith the Virgin
Martvr (6th October), a common court was nominated and elected
in accordance with the precept of the Mayor and the assent of the
Congregation (141 1).

(2) A MOMENTOUS JOURNEY.

The deputation chosen to attend the Court at Westminster
consisted of Bartholomew Petipas, John Bilneye, William Baret,
William Hallyate, John Tilneye junior, James Nichassone, William
Palmer and the town chamberlains — John Bucworth and William
Walden, each of whom, if so he listed, might be attended by a
servant. There were besides John Meryell and Thomas Middleton,
with one servant between them, and moreover, William Cook and
John Denver, who, without the aid of any domestic acquisition,
managed somehow or other "to do for themselves." If the social

156

HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

status of these representatives be gauged by the servants who accom-
panied them, it will be consistent to assume that the deputation was
made up of members belonging to the three different castes.

Having prudently executed their last wills and testaments, and
wisely provided themselves with reliable weapons of defence, and
devoutly commended the souls and bodies of those they loved
to the safe-keeping of God and the community respectively, these
two-and-twenty liege burghers mounted their steeds and trotted boldly
to the ford at the Mill Fleet, past Allhallows church and the monastery
of the Whitefriars, over the intervening meadows and on to the
South Gates, where, after receiving a fervid benediction from the
populace thereabout assembled, a start was made upon what was
indeed a perilous venture. They had not gone far before they were
overtaken by William Walden's servant, but, " the more, the merrier,"
especially when number constitutes safety.

Their itinerary was precisely the same as the one adopted by
the stage coaches of old, before the more recent route through Ely
and Cambridge came into vogue.

Bishop's Lenne.

Miles.

s. d.

Wednesdaj

Brandon Ferry
Newmarket

24
I7i

dined

stayed the night

7 3
II 9i

Badburgham (Babrahani)

Barkway

Ware

12
Ik

9i
iH

breakfasted

dined

stayed the night

4 4

7 2

10 61

Waltham (Cross)
London (St. Paul's)

" baited "

3
6 2

The deputation arrived in London about noon on Friday, and
remained there nine days. On starting they took with them j£^4
6s. 8d., which was thus made up : ;^30 13s. 4d. from the town stock,
including a donation from Bartholomew Petipas " on the part of
eighteen persons on the Mayor's side," and ^3 12s. iid. from John
Maseye, one of the town-treasurers. A satisfactory account of the
manner in which the money was expended is given in the Hall
Book : —

Food, &c.

The Saturday next ensuing

Wine for our men and for those of the learned in the law of our
counsel ... ... ... ... ... ... ..•

Cooked food ; Sunday next following

For little cups, hens (poulets), sauces, candles, water, pepper,

saffron and powdered ginger, the same day
For bread, cooked food, oysters and cheese (Saturday following)
For bread, beer and firewood ; 32 men for 9 days , ..,

£ s. d.

5 10

3 2

7 5

8
6

III

THE REVOLT OF THE BURGESSES. 157

I '*

8 5i

I I

3 "
7 4

1 o

4 8

2 4

2 I

6 8

o 4

3 4
o 7

Food, &c., continued. £

For 13 men for food on Sunday » 4

„ „ supper and wine on Sunday

For ground pepper, saffron and powdered ginger

For breakfast with our counsel ; bread, wine and cooked food

For two cheeses and wheat (or white bread) for oysters ...
Travelling, &c.

For the keeping of 22 horses 9 days, and beds and candles

For the keeping of i horse 17 days at Ware

For crossing Brandon Ferry

In going by water to Westminster, two days

Boat hire to Westminster and food (Monday) ... _ ...

Boat hire to Westminster and Lambeth hythe and wine...

Boat hire to Westminster and sweet wine

To John Denver for riding to London

Other Items.

For a chest in which to keep the evidences

For writing copies of the different evidences

Charity to poor men by the way

Many legal men were retained on behalf of the mayor and
burgesses of Lenne. The list includes: —

Sergts. ( Richard Norton ] Who subsequently rose to be chief justices
at \ John Burton \ of the King's Bench.

Law ( William Skrene j
William Lodyngton (afterwards sergeant-at-law and justice of the King's Bench.
William Cheyne (afterwards chief justice of pleas).

John Babyngton (afterwards Attorney-general and chief justice of the Exchequer).
John Franke (afterwards Master of the Rolls and Chancellor-Keeper of tlie Great

Seal).
William Gascoigne, junior (probably the son of Sir William Gascoigne, chief
justice of the King's Bench).

John Conyngeston, I Martin 1 Robert Paston, 1 John Alderford,

Averay de Manston, I William Champeneys, I Ralph Walsham, 1 and others,

John Crosse, of Lenne, instructed the counsel, who were paid
as follows : — The three sergeants-at-law received 20s. each, nine
13s. 4d. each, and the rest 6s. 8d. each. The total amount expended
in lawyers' fees alone absorbed ;^35 12s. 5d., that is, ^i 6s. 2d.
more than the sum with which the deputation started. Gifts and
other payments were, moreover, made to these assiduous gentlemen.
As for instance : —

;^i o o To Richard Norton, sergeant-at-law.

6 8 To Richard, Secretary of the Lord Chancellor.

2 o o To the Clerk of the Rolls in Parliament.
150 For sealing the Exemplification.

3 13 4 For writing „ „ and for record of same.

14 2\ To William Hallyate, one of the deputation, " a counsel learned in
the law, and retained by the Assembly" (Mason), and his servant,
for riding from London to Norwich, from thence to Lenne, and
again to I.ondon.
6 8 For sweet wine for our counsel, and common wine.

(3) THE DECISION OF THE COURT.

After careful consideration it was decided that the Mayor and
his plutocratic brethren, as well as the mediocres and inferiories,
some of whom were well-to-do citizens, should submit to the arbitra-
tion of 18 inhabitants of the town. Twelve " com-burgesses " were

158 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

to represent the recognised grades of society ; there were to be
four potentiores, four mediocres and four inferiores or freemen of the
burgh. The remaining six, also inferiores, were nonburgesses, and,
what is more surprising, they were to be "strangers," representing an
important class who had not enrolled themselves as citizens or freemen.
To make this arrangement effective, and for " the faithful fulfilment of
the decrees and ordinances of the said eighteen persons," the court
insisted that 172 of the inhabitants, whose names are recorded,
should be bound to forfeit large sums of money in case of their non-
compliance (15 December 141 1).
06 Burgesses :

22 potentiores ii'ioo o o each

84 mediocres and inferiores or "freemen" ... ... £50 o o „

66 NoN-BuRGESSES:

Ordinary inferiores, or "strangers" ... ... ... £^ 11 2 „

The " writing of submission " was, indeed, a conciliatory scheme,
because all grades, from the highest to the lowest, were included, and
we are inclined to the belief that each was proportionately represented
too.

The signing and witnessing of the obligatory ordinances and
decrees of the majority was carried out the 20th of May, and received
the assent of the mayor and community the same day, whilst the
obligatory bonds were executed by the various individuals concerned
on 1 6th, 1 8th and 21st of July. When all was in order, the common
seal of the town was affixed to each. (15th of December 141 1.)
The burgesses and nonburgesses having thus agreed to submit to the
verdict of the committee, however adverse it might be to their private
opinion, nothing remained but for the committee to carefully
consider the subject in abeyance. Large committees are generally
believed to be unworkable, and thus it proved in this instance; the
members were "hindered in coming together and unable to do so."
It was thereupon resolved, with the assent of the mayor and the
whole community, that the award of the greater part, consisting of at
least fen persons, should be equally valid and binding as though the
whole number had been present (8th April 141 2). An agreement
having been executed to this effect, the committee met, and shortly
afterwards presented their verdict. From their report, we learn how
the mayors were in the habit of expending money extavagantly during
their term of office, expecting to recoup themselves sooner or later
from the burgh exchequer.

(4) THE arbitrators' AWARD

is said to have been determined by the narrow majority of one; in
the case of eighteen — an even number, two seems more reasonable.

(a) The following claims for money alleged to have been spent
for the benefit of the community were declared to be unjust, and
were therefore disallowed : — •

Executors of the late Robert Botekesham

Mayor in 1395

£^9

Thomas Watirden

,- 1397

John Belleytere (? Edmund)

„ 1399

John Wentworth

„ 1400

Thomas Bridge

„ 1402

122

THE REVOLT OF THE BURGESSES. IS^

{b) They, however, granted a quit-claim to John Brunham,
Edmund Bellevettere, Thomas Watirden and to the executors of Robert
Botekesham and to John Wentworth of the party of the potentiores
and formerly mayors in respect to a certain sum of ^457 19s- 7^-,
which sum, in addition to very many others, was spent against the late
Bishop Spencer, the aforesaid John Brunham, Edmund Belleyettere,
Thomas Watirden, Robert Botekesham and John Wentworth, whilom
mayors of the town, from the ist to the 13th year of Henry IV.,
"disbursed without the consent of the aforesaid community, unjustly
and inordinately, to the serious prejudice and extreme depoverishment
of the said community."

(c) It was decided that in future the mayor was to receive a
fixed fee of ;,^io for service rendered to the commonalty during his
year of office "in accordance with ancient custom," and, moreover,
any further sum the community, " namely, the potentiores, mediocres
and inferiores (being) nonburgesses," might put aside according to
his merits or demerits. The reward for good conduct might not,
however, exceed ;£io.

{d) The mayor was to be personally i-esponsible to the
community for all arrears which ought to have been received for the
benefit of the community during his mayoralty. He was invested
with power to chose a committee of nine persons who were to have
authority to deal with the rents accruing to the community. The
committee in question was intended to be also representative, in that
it was to consist of three potentiores, three mediocres and three non-
burgesses (inferiores).

{e) Further, it was "decreed" that the inferiores not being
burgesses who hitherto had been unjustly deprived of their rights
were in future to enjoy the privileges granted to them by virtue of
the composition made between the Bishop of Norwich and the
community of Lenne. It is not, however, clear whether allusion
is here made to the composition of Bishop Salmon (1310), or to
that of Bishop Spencer (1406). The subjoined passage is from the
earlier document: —

The Mcyr also and comonalte befor seid have graunted that all taskes and
tallyages unleeful (unlawful) and unresonable grevous which that by the grete
men of the towne aforesaid upon the mene peple and the povere (French pauvre,
poor) to their oppression and hyndryng, ofte tyme they have be (been) putte
upon, and by grevous distressyng so vyolently of hem (them) take with owte
cause and depauperacion gretly of the towne fro(m) hens forward it shall
no more be do(ne), but whan prohte or node aske it resonably and mesurably it
should be do(ne), and hove (have) suche contribuciouns redyly after the faculte
myght and power of every man with owte any excepcioun of any persone.

Thomas Fitz-Alan, or Arudel, the Archbishop of Canterbury
and Lord Chancellor, made a decree for the confirmation of the
ordinance (17th of November 141 2), and letters patent embodying
the burgesses' decision were issued on the 25th of the same month,
but inasmuch as Henry IV. died the March following, his successor
issued letters patent of exemplification to the same effect, dated the
10th of April 1413.

160 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

Throughout these struggles the strong desire on the part of the
democracy to be heard in municipal government is prominent.
Long enough had they been ignored by the wealthier classes, and
treated merely as providentially provided tax-payers, but now, with
Roger Galyon as their leader, they at last obtained recognition, for
those who were not burgesses in the sense of having their freedom
were in future to share in the management of the burgh in which
they lived. A marginal note in the Hall Book says: "Galyon, at
his own charge, bravely defended himself and ruled like a mayor
indeed." The great interest and appreciation of the people in these
matters is conclusive, because when the mayor was next elected no
less than four hundred were present in the Gild Hall. Roger Galyon
courageously continued the innovation of the previous year. The
fiTst four burgesses were chosen by the mayor and community, and
not as formerly by the alderman of the Merchants' Gild. It was a
day of indescribable excitement, because the baneful influence of the
squirearchy was by no means eliminated from the elective body. For
twelve weary hours were the members of the committee impaled in
the council chamber, whilst the crowd, surging around the chequered
gable of the Trinity Hall, grew more and more anxious to glean
tidings of the fierce struggle in their behalf. But when the shades
of evening absorbed the flecks of rosy light upon St. Margaret's
hallowed fane, many " of litde faith ' ' turned despairing faces towards
the broad Gothic window, and with heavy hearts sought their discon-
solate homes, assured the brave champions of liberty were
overpowered and that Might was once more triumphant. . . As
the clock in the belfry struck ten, the great doors unexpectedly
sprung open and the jaded combatants appeared; and then — the
madding voices of those who had patiently watched and waited rent
the air, for with them indeed was the victor>\ Their hero —
Bartholomew Pedpas — was mayor! How they feted the dear old
man and his friend brave Roger Galyon. Again and again they
revived their resounding cries, and shouted, as only those who had
suffered could shout, until their jubilant rejoicings were heard from
the Deucehill to the bellasis at the South Gate, and from the
Gannock to Lenne St. Peter beyond the haven.

(5) THE LORD chancellor's INTERVENTION.

But the letters patent of Henry V.— patent in that they were
open to the perusal of all, in contradistinction with closed or private
letters — did not pacify the people as was expected, because we find
Bartholomew Petipas writing piteous letters to some of his friends
and complaining bitterly of John Wentworth and " his adherents and
assentaunts " for perversely opposing him in the discharge of his
mayoral duties. He besought his friends to acquaint the Bishop
with the deplorable state of affairs in Lenne, either verbally or by
letter, and he earnestly implored them to solicit his influence in
suppressing what would sooner or later result in a serious breach of
the peace (1413). Receiving no redress, the writer repeated his
complaint next year.

THE REVOLT OF THE BURGESSES. 161

In 1415-6 John Wakering, the Bishop of Norwich, was the
recipient of a remarkable communication from " his own humblest
tenants and devout bedesmen the Mayor and good men of his town
of Lenne Bishopp: " —

We (are) wryten to yow in our symple man'r, preying yow yt (that) Barth.
Petipas, Will. Hallyate, Thomas Middleton taylor, Thomas Harrington gold-
smyth, Thomas Monethe, Thomas Beckham, John Balders, Thomas Littleport,
Thomas Hardell, John Blome, Rich. Baxter, Andrew Fourbe abide out of yo'r
(your) towne of lenne unto the tyme of yo'r (in) stalling at Norwich, the whiche
schalle not be longe be the grace' of God, — atte which tyme we schalle mete with
yow & fulliche (fully) declare to yow all man'r of hevynesse ye which yay han
(they have) wrought to us and yt to yo'r worschipfuU person disclose and
fulliche in hye& in lowe, put it in gov'nance of yow and of yo'r counsayll and for
truly sire sithen (since) ye tyme yat they wenten out of ye towne of Lenne, of
which ye shun (shall) sone be lord of, be ye grace of God stode never in beter
reste and pees than it hath done sithen that tyme and yet dothe atte this day, &
be yo'r good governance, these persons above wretyn sett an syde, we tryste in
God to have reste and pees for ever more in yo'r towne and in our persons
ye shal fynd us as lowly tenants as any that (be)long to yow within yo'r
lordshippes & wt (with) our bodyes and our goodes, be as lowly to yow
worschipful and rev'rend fader in God, we preye ye holy trinite, keep yow body
and soule and fullfiU your desires as ye can yo'r self devise.

This interesting demonstration of servility was penned the 9th
of March, just prior to the installing of Richard Courtenay's
successor, which happened on the 31st of the same month. Some
of the most aggressive burgesses had, it seems, been driven from the
town. The social upheaval in the mean time quite precluded the
possibility of electing a mayor in the usual way. Hence in this
dilemma, the Lord Chancellor temporarily settled the matter by
appointing Thomas Hunt to act in that capacity. The quarrelsome
burgesses had sacrificed, for the time being, their right to elect a
mayor. This, however, was exceptional, and is the only instance in
the history of our burgh.

The new bishop was not apparently disposed to interfere in the
dispute, or, if he did, his action was useless ; hence Thomas Hunt
wrote to John .Spencer, "the Viscount de Norfolk," the sheriff of
the county, piteously describing "a rysing and a ryot" in the
town. From his letter it appears that Thomas Felwell, a goldsmith,
was the instigator of the disturbance, and that he was abetted by
Thomas Hardell (of whom complaint had already been made in the
letter to the bishop), and Thomas Enemethe. The writer refers
moreover " to very many of the misdoers resorten and drawen again
in counsailles to Bartholomew Petipas in sustenance of his partie."
Possibly to induce the Sheriff to espouse the cause of the almost
effete potentiores, he offered him a young he-bear as a present. It
may therefore be premised that John Spencer was a sportsman, and
not averse to the baiting of animals.

PLEDGING "a SACRRD HONOUR."

Henry V. resembled his father in that he ivas often in want of
money. Before embarking 30,000 men to besiege Hnrfleur he did
not hesitate to pawn the Crown jewels, for he was thfu in pecuniary
Straits (1415)- Among other things he pledged a great garnished

162 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

circlet of gold — uniim magnum circulum garnisatum — for i,ooo
marks; it weighed four pounds, was estimated to be worth ;£,8oo,
and was richly inlaid (says Mason, quoting the Fcedera), with 56
balas, rubies of a peach colour (Harrod 54 carbuncles), 40 sapphires,
8 diamonds, and 7 great pearls (Harrod gives 47 — a slight difference).
To the amount, which was wholly raised in Norfolk, our town
contributed four-tenths. It has been stated that the King wore
this coronet at the famous battle of Agincourt; which, however,
must be wrong, because it was surrendered on the 14th of July,
and the battle was not fought until the 26th of October.

Mayor, Sheriff and community of Norwich

500 marks

/'333

Mayor and community of Lenne

400 „

£2b^

Master Nicholas Somerset*

10 „

f,^

Master William Westacre of Lenne

¥^£

£a°

Master William Walton of Lenne

io£

£20

1,000 marks

£bbb

Neither of the Corporations was anxious to advance money on
the security offered. The Mayor of Norwich interviewed Bishop
Wakering, Sir John Erpingham, and John Wodehouse, the King's
esquire in the city, but his efforts were ineffectual. On the 3rd
March, St. Wynwald's Day, it was mentioned at the Congregation at
Lenne, that one of their number, Thomas Brygge, was not yet
returned from London, where he had, it seems, been sent to make
inquiries about the "jewel." He arrived, however, the next
Wednesday. A meeting was called, and after hearing his report,
three of the jurats were chosen to visit the bishop and John
Wodehouse, in order to explain that, by reason of their poverty,
they were totally unable to raise the amount required.

On Monday after Palm Sunday, 9th Henry V. (query 3rd
Henry V.), the deputation reported that they went to the bishop,
at his manor of Thorpe, next Norwich ; and, to be brief, no grace
or help was to be got from him. He only said that " he wished
them joy of such sufficient security for money," and they were
silent; but John Wodehouse very honestly and wisely reasoned with
the said reverend father, and declared the poverty of the town,
but did not prevail ; and he pointed out that the money might be
raised by chevancy,t to be made by the bishop's authority. This
the bishop at once refused. And it was clear, that as to this circlet
pledged to Norwich and Lenne, he would not interpose one way or
another. Whereupon Thomas Brygge reported to the Hall that the
circlet was safe locked up in Norwich; one key being at Lenne.
(Harrod.)

An indenture was therefore properly executed between Henry
Chicheley, the Archbishop of Canterbury, and John Wakering, the

* This surname i^ transcribed in various ways : Jeaffreson v/rites Somevat, Harrod ScoHSit, and Mason
quoting Rymer, Scounjet.

t Chevisimce, an asroeiripnt to borrow money ; Chrtnsauncev, a usurer, oftpo a great extortioner,
Chaucer, in describing the merchant, says : —

" With his bargeines and his citevisance,
Fotsothe he was a worthy man withalle."

Canterbury Tales,

THE REVOLT OF THE BURGESSES. 163

Keeper uf the King's Privy Seal, of the one part, and the several
parties abo\e named ot the other part. Now in case the circlet were
not redeemed by the King, his heirs, or his assigns, " within one
year, half a year and a month from the day it was received in pawn,"
the creditors were empowered to sell the article, and thus recoup
themselves, but the surplus, if indeed there were any, was to be
refunded to the King or his representatives.

After a lapse of twelve years the circlet was still held by the

Corporation of Norwich on behalf of themselves and the other

mortgagees, when the Lenne Congregation was called upon to consider

a communication from their burgesses in Parliament. Regret was

first expressed because the Friars Preachers had cunningly

" contrived a certain malicious bill complaining to the King about

the community in respect to divers transgressions"; the writers

next asked whether on behalf of the town they might take ;£ioo

for the money the town advanced in 141 5. What a stroke of bad

business, to be fined as it were ;!^i66 13s. 4d. for impoverishing

themselves to do their King a kindness ! As our members explained

how impossible it was to get more, the Assembly felt at last

constrained to accept the offer (17th November 1427). After a

while John Wodehouse delivered into the Treasury the circlet

pledged so many years since by Henry Chicheley, the Archbishop

of Canterbury, and John Wakering. The money wa.s accordingly

paid into the hands of John Wood (sic), whereupon Philip Frank,

who must have been a frivolous member of that profound Assembly,

stood up and sarcastically inquired whether the money should be

received for the use of the community (i6th April 1428).

Further, about this time a warrant was given to William
Alnewick (who followed Bishop Wakering in 1426), the Keeper
of the Jewels, to deliver the jewels to the lords, knights and others
in the King's expedition, which opened with the siege of Orleans,
" in pledge for the payment of a second quarter's wages." (Rymer.)

Now the dates given in regard to this event are superlatively
irritating. Compare the statements of three otherwise reliable
writers a^ to when the loan was granted :

1887. Mr. Jeaffreson (p. 159) gives 3rd Henry VI. (1425).

1866. „ Harrod (pp. 105, 107) „ H-gth „ V. (1420-2I
1884. „ Mason (p. 91) „ 3rd „ V, (1415).

The late Mr. R. H. Mason, who worked independently of the
transcripts made by Messrs. Jeaffreson and Harrod, appears to be
correct, because the circlet was actually redeemed after fourteen
years. These discrepancies are, notwithstanding, meritorious rather
than unpardonable, because Mr. Jeaffreson himself sagaciously
pointed out how erroneously our Assembly Book No. i is lettered
at the back, and how it is but a collection of more or less imperfect
year-books stitched together with insufficient care. (See nth Report
Hist. MSS. Commission, part iii., pp. 158-9.)

In this, as in sundry other matters, we are cruelly left to grope
a way through the dark, guided at times by the tiniest ray of light.
Those lazy brickmakcrs in Egypt complained liecause they could

164 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

not make bricks without straw. What a lame excuse, when the
acme in the plastic art is reached by the workman who produces
his tale of bricks without clay! Surely this is on a par with
moulding history without facts. What an alarming tendency there
generally is for History to degenerate into Romance immediately
the supply of facts decreases. To interpret correctly, and to read
between the lines, especially when they are not only defective in
themselves, but in some cases decades apart, would circumvent the
ingenuity of the most accomplished historiographical clairvoyant.
However, in all hazardous interpolations, our clues, microscopic
though they be, shall be faithfully recorded, so that in after years,
if any enthusiast would presumptuously sweep away our deliberate
conclusions (remembering of course how we have carefully dis-
criminated between fact and fiction), we shall not demur so long
as the truth prevails.

THE GAYWOOD OAK,

At the installation of John Wakering, who succeeded Bishop
Couftenay (1415-6), the chamberlains were instructed to send "the
reverend father in God " four tuns of wine. This, ordered of
William de Hereford, was forthwith despatched. Money was scarce
in Lenne ; the inhabitants indeed were in no humour for parting
with what they could so ill afford. How many applications the
merchant made for payment is not apparent, but three years passed
and the indebtedness remained. Then the clerk received an urgent
request for the money — " lest the matter should reach the ear of
the bishop." This the reader may paraphrase: "I have waited
patiently long enough ; behold the last appeal I shall make ; if
therefore you fail to pay me the money, I will let the bishop know
the wine he received came from burgess Hereford and not from the
community." To preserve the honour of the burgh, the merchant
was undoubtedly paid (1419-20).

Bishop Wakering was a remarkable man, not undeserving the
homage of the town over which he presided ; he was a Master in
Chancery, Master of the Rolls, and for eight days the Keeper of
the Great Seal. He was, moreover, one of the English delegates
at the Council of Constance, when " Europe saw for the first time
three pontiffs contending for the chair of St. Peter." (Lingard.)

In 1420 John Spicer was chosen mayor. The Saturday
following the election the so-called "Bishop's man" was solemnly
presented by William Paston, steward of the liberties of Lenne, to
the bishop's deputy or steward at Gaywood.* According to custom,
sacred promises of fealty to the bishop and the bishop's church
were made under the oak, otherwise known as " the Oak of
Gaywood." This venerable tree was used as a rendezvous for the
Court of the Hundred of Freebridge in 156 1. It has disappeared,
but as late as 1755 a gigantic oak was standing "at the entrance
through the rampart on the north side of this (Gaywood) hall."
(Norfolk Tour; 1795, p. 275.) Inside, for it was hollow, was a

• The same year the Council received an Award from Bishop Wakering, which formally gave effect to
his decision respecting the method of electing a Mayor (1420).

THE REVOLT OF THE BURGESSES. 165

table, around which eight or ten people might conveniently seat
themselves. ^'^

AUGUST VISITORS.

On the Monday before the nativity of the Blessed Virgin, 141 3,
John Botiller waited upon the mayor, Bartholomew Petipas, and
informed him that his master, Thomas Duke of Clarence, the
King's brother, and the Duchess Margaret, the daughter of Thomas
Holland, the Earl of Kent, with 300 horse, would arrive in time
for supper, and that the distinguished visitors proposed taking up
their residence at the monastery of the Augustine Friars. The
Assembly, hastily summoned, promptly decided upon presenting the
Duke with jQ^o, and his amiable wife with 20 marks, as a small
token of the town's esteem. Possibly the duke and his suite were
ferried across the river, because the community flocked on Tuesday
morning to the Common Staith, where it was agreed that the
members of the Corporation, attired in their red official gowns,
should reassemble at 3 o'clock in the chapel of St. Nicholas,
there and then to make their presentation. Despite the usual
amount of vociferous contention among the members of the
Congregation, the clerk felt constrained to add a rider to his entry,
— that " every-one, after this, proceeded to his home in the patience
of Christ."

The duke was unfortunately slain at Beauge, in Anjou, whilst
fighting against the troops of the Dauphin (22nd March 142 1). The
King therefore thought it expedient to hasten into France; on his
way Henry V. entered Lenne, and was also a guest at the Augustine
Friary. Now, although the burgesses were smarting under the
remembrance of how they had been forced into advancing money
upon the King's golden trinket, they met their sovereign with a beatific
smile. Their welcome was expressed in exaggerated phrases, and, as
if this were not convincing, they implored his acceptance of over ^150,
(for which read ^3,000,) as a slight mark of undying loyalty (9th April
1421).

LETTERS PATENT.

1413, April loth. Exemplification of Letters patent, dated at Westminster 25th

November 14 12 (Henry IV.).

1414, May 20th, at Leicester. Inspeximus and confirmation of Letters patent,

dated at Westminster i6th March 1410 (Henry IV.).
1416, June 2nd, at Westminster. Exenipliiication of a certain instrument for
the revocation of divers nev\' ordinances and the reestablishment of the
ancient constitutions and customs for the election of oflicers, &c,
(A governing charter.)

* * « » *

Henry V. married Catherine, the daughter of Charles VI. of
France, but in the summer following her coronation he died in France
during the war against the Dauphin (31st August 1422). His embalmed
body, after feeing conveyed with much pomp to Paris and Rouen, was
interred in Westminster Abbey, near the shrine of Edward the
Confessor.

• Hundred Courts were also held »t Flitcliam Burg (a tumulus) and at Fitton Oak, Wiggerdiall St.
Germaus.

166 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

CHAPTER XVI.
The Hansa.

The son of Henry V., an infant barely nine months old, was
immediately proclaimed king (ist September 1422), whilst the
government was vested in his uncles; Humphrey Plantagenet, the
Duke of Gloucester, being appointed regent in England, and John
Plantagenet, the Duke of Bedford, on the refusal of the Duke of
Burgundy, regent in France. The demented monarch of that country
only survived his son-in-law a few weeks, and on his death (21st
October) Henry VI. was also proclaimed King of France.

* -x- ■«■ -X- *

During the Saxon dynasty, every able-bodied member of the
community was expected to assist willingly in protecting property and
preserving life; and this system continued, with slight modifications,
until the establishment of a paid constabulary. Even now a peaceful
citizen may be suddenly impressed to aid a policeman in the discharge
of his duties. To maintain

THE king's peace

in the town wherein they dwelt, our forefathers assisted personally,
and by paying subsidies they indirectly contributed to insure the
King's supremacy, not only upon the high seas, but throughout the
whole realm. In mediaeval times, if you — presuming, of course, that
you are reasonably advanced in years — were waylaid by one or other
of the bands of sturdy beggars who roamed about the country, or were
violently assaulted when on your way to the gild, the market, or the
church, by some sneaking cutpurse, there were then, you will remember,
no civilian soldiers in blue uniform standing at the street corners to
whom you could appeal for timely help. Nevertheless by means of
a well -understood system peace generally prevailed, because by virtue
of this mutual arrangement every able-bodied man in the burgh or
hundred became for the nonce a member of a kind of reserve police
force. Irrespective of social position, every man was bound to
provide himself with arms according to his circumstances. No one
with impunity might evade the law — neither the substantial freeholder
nor the meanest son of the soil ; none were exempt save those under
fifteen or above sixty years of age. Officers were instructed to call
periodically upon every householder, when all weapons — the rude iron-
clad stake of the tiller, the rough bill of the thatcher, as well as the
sword and spear and richly-plated coat-of-mail of the wealthy
merchant, were carefully inspected.

Constables, too, were chosen in every town ; their duty being
primarily to keep an accurate list of the various members of this
important reserve force, and not to hale suspected persons to prison.
Every man was bound to obey the constable when summoned to active
service, or incur severe penalties. In case of a flagrant breach of the
peace, the whole force would be put in motion; the " hue and cry "
would be raised, and the criminal chased from place to place with a

THE HANSA. 167

dogged earnestness proportionate to the enormity of his offence.
There was, then, as must be admitted, a simple yet effective
organisation available for the preservation of peace.

The nation at large was in a state of great unrest during the " Wars
of the Roses," and our town, although it luckily escaped the ravages
of battle, was in this respect no exception. Besides manifold
anxieties of a domestic nature arising from the unrelenting contention
for supremacy between the mayor and the bishop, and the poignant
differences between the burgesses relating to the ascendancy in local
government, there was the hourly dread that the burgh might have to
participate in the war which was raging at no great distance. Surely
these were causes sufficient to upset the serene gravity of any
terrestrial city, however imi)erturbable it might usually be ! .As far
greater precaution was thought necessary, the burgh was divided into
nine wards or constabularies,* each being under the supervision of a
captain or constable, — words then indeed synonymous, the captain of
a vessel often being styled " the constable of the ship."

(l) WATCH AND WARD.

The respective constables were chosen by twelve, or in some cases
by eight, comburgesses, and not by the whole Assembly ; the mayor, if
needful, giving the casting vote. Before entering upon his onerous
duties, the constable-elect was solemnly sworn " to maintain and sus-
tain the king's peace." He pledged himself to see that the janitors
faithfully secured the town gates at the right hour, and that the night-
watch was regularly on parade as directed by the Statute of
Winchester (1285). Any stranger demanding admission during the
night was to be placed under arrest until the morning ; if the imprudent
miscreant attempted to flee, the watchmen were instantly to levy " hue
and cry," so that the fugutive might be taken and delivered to the
shire- reeve.

Nine so-called aldermen were also selected from the councillors,
one of whom was to preside over each constabulary. They were
empowered by the Assembly to decide controversies and disagreements
of every kind, and by their own persuasive eloquence to induce the
lamb to live with the wolf and cajole the kid and leopard into enjoying
the same diet. Admitting the possibility, the Assembly notwith-
standing acknowledged the thankless difficulty of the task, because it
was slyly hinted that any person objecting to this coercive treatment
would not be permitted to carry his grievance to either a spiritual or a
temporal court without having first obtained a special licence from
the mayor. If threatened by any serious insubordination, the alder-
men might restore tranquillity by pointing to the campanile or bell-
tower, built with the money freely given by their fathers (1432), from
which an arousing alarm might at any moment be sounded, t

* Thp niiiP »/d wards correspond with the nine constabularies. Although the "South Lenne ward" was
subsrniiently added, Simon Baxter iuid others were chosen captain and constables of the Soktn. that is, of
South Leniir, to defend the township from the South (iates to tlie Hundred House. (Henry VI.)

An alderman presides over each of tlie three modern wards.

t In an engraving, T/ic Weal Vva-ipcct nj Kini;'s I.ynii (lyv). "Sold by Howies iS: Son, Hlack-HnrsP in
Comhil," two " towers" and a " turret " are represented south and one " tower" north of the Purflee t : they
are denrjted by the letters I.M.Oaud P.and being other than ecclesiastical structures, they might have bcea
tiected as bell towers.

168 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

Owing to inexcusable neglect, the Council determined to tine every
captain the sum of 40s. whose ward was not in a state of thorough
efficiency within seven days ; and every person who exhibited the
slightest reluctance in obeying his captain was to pay 3s. 46. for each
offence (1442).

Battles between the Yorkist and Lancastrinn factions were fought
at Barnard's heath, St. Albans {1455), Blore heath (1459),
Northampton (1460), Wakefield (1460), and finally at St. Albans
again (17th February 1461), where Queen Margaret defeated the
Yorkists under Richard Neville, the Earl of Warwick. She rescued
her husband, it is true, but her success was the harbinger of his down-
fall. Just five days prior to this the military organisation of our
town was perfected. The Assembly appointed iwo captains to watch
in every ward " for a certain time " (12th February 1461).

(2) THE TWO BURGH CORONERS

played a subsidiary, though no less important, part in sustaining the
King's peace. Their election to office was similar to that of the
constables, but it was needful for them to be formally certified by the
King's bailiff, " or other honest men of the country." Having
received a report that some one was unfortunately wounded or slain,
the coroner must go at once to the place, and summon four, five or six
persons from the same, or, if necessary, adjacent town-ships, to appear
before him as witnesses. Then, after the jury had solemnly sworn
to record a true verdict, he must inquire whether they knew where the
person Avas killed, and whether it happened in a house or field, etc.
If the person were merely wounded, the witnesses were detained until
it was clearly established whether the injury was mortal or otherwise.
" And if he die the defendant shall be kept. And if he recover
health, they shall be attached by four, or five, or six pledges or sureties
after, as the wound is great or small. If it be for a main, he shall
find no less than four pledges ; if it be a small wound two pledges
shall suffice. Also, all wounds ought to be viewed, the length, breadth
and deepness, and with what weapons and in what part of the body
the wound or hurt is, and how many wounds there be and who gave
the wounds, all which things must be enrolled in the Placita CoToncs
or the Rolls of the Coroner." (Statute, 4th Edward I.)

It was, moreover, the Coroner's duty to make inquiries respecting
treasure trove.* Concealment of treasure trove was a misdemeanour
at common law, and it is still incumbent upon any one finding treasure
to make it known to the Coroner at once.

The only ancient documents of this class the town possesses are
the Coroners' Rolls 30th to 33rd years of Edward I., and the Gaol
Delivery Roll of the 33rd of Henry VI.

OUR BYE-LAWS IN I424-5.

A thin vellum quarto of 67 folios, in the keeping of the
Corporation, contains much valuable information. It is made up of

• "Treasure trove is where any gold or silver in coin, plate or bullion is found concealed in a house or
in the earth or other private place, the owner tliereof being unknown, in which case the treasure belongs to
the King or his grantee having the frEinchise of treasure trove." ChiW)' on the Prerogative (1820). This is
substantially Coke's definition.

THE HANS A. 169

a calendar, various short extracts from the four Gospels, the oaths
administered to the different members and olTicers of the burgh, a bst
of the ordinances or bye-hiws, the lines or penaUies enforced for non-
compliance with the same, and complete lists of the freemen of the
town under each mayoralty from 1440 to 1662. On the fly-leaf is
written : —

Mem. This book, evidently the property of the Corporation of Lynn,
having, by some unknown means, got into the hands of Mr. Thomas Martin (an
antiquary of Norfolk and Suffolk) in or before the year 1748 ; and afterwards
through other private hands into a London bookseller's catalogue (in which it
was published for sale in the year 1820), was bought from that catalogue for £4,
and restored to the Corporation records in my possession as Town Clerk.

Rt. Whincop, Town Clerk.
20th October 1820.

The thirteen bye-laws are thus described : — " Ancient laws
renewed and other new laws (made) by the Council of the town of
Lenne in the time of John Parmonter, INIayor in the 2nd and 3rd years
of the reign of Henry VI." (1424-5.) A free translation of the
Latin headings may be acceptable,

1. Mandate concerning the gift of holy bread (panis benedicii).

2. Punishment of those who as prisoners are brought to the hall.

3. Punishment for those who are sureties (mamicapiorcs) of
those breaking the liberties of the town.

4. Punishment of butchers selling meat other than in the
market on the Sabbath.

5. Punishment of the chamberlains or treasurers who absent
themselves from the hall.

6. Mandate to the judges concerning the registration of the fines
paid by those taking oaths.

7. Punishment for butchers slaughtering animals in the King's
highway {via\ rcgia).

8. Punishment of irreconcilable burgesses, not having the
mayor's licence.

9. Mandate respecting the enrolling and admission of appren-
tices (to the freedom of the town).

10. Punishment for not being present at John Burghard's obit,
and the order in which the twenty-four jurats are to sit, during the
principal (feast) days, in the chancel of St. Margaret's church.

11. Punishment for those who are ordered to behave themselves
in the hall, but who disobey.

12. Penalty for favouring a person contrary to the liberties of
the subject.

13. Punishment of the chamberlains who refuse to carry out
the mayor's t)rders.

It is surprising that these bye-laws contain no regulations
respecting the sanitary condition of the town, the paving and lighting
of its streets, the maintenance of the jwor, nor the repair of the
l)ridges, staiths and public buildings. Commerce is wholly unnoticed,
and the crafts and mysteries, with one solitary exception, are severely

170 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

ignored. Butchers, it will be observed, were not allowed to slaughter
animals from Easter to Michaelmas, in the principal thoroughfare or
the King's highway ; neither were they to sell their meat on Sundays,
except in the market, under pain of forfeiting their freedom.
Punishment was to be meted out to those burgesses who refused to
submit to the ward-aldermen and failed to obtain the mayor's per-
mission to bring their grievance before a higher tribunal. The first
and tenth of these bye-laws, however, deserve more than a passing
reference.

(l) HOLY BREAD.

Our Corporation at this period were responsible, not only for the
salaries of the clergy, but also for the efficient celebration of divine
service ; hence there is provision for the equitable assessment of every
householder for providing a weekly supply of holy bread, which was
given away to the congregations at the Lenne churches. Referring
to the Holy Loaf (pafiis hcnedictiis), Dr. Daniel Rock writes : —

As soon as mass had been ended, a loaf of bread was blessed, and then,
with a knife very likely set apart for the purpose, distributed among the people
who went up and received it from the priest, whose hand they kissed. This
holy loaf or eulogia was meant to be an emblem of brotherly love and union
which ought always to bind Christians together, and its use lasted in England
up to the woeful change of religion, and still continues to be kept up in France
as well as the Greek church. The wafer was wholly different from the eulogia.
[The Church of our Fathers, Vol. 1., p. 135.]

An entry on one of the misplaced leaves of the Assembly-book,
No. I, confirms what appears in the vellum manuscript. From a
memorandum headed Forma Donacionis Panis Benedicti, a mandate
concerning the gift of holy bread, we learn that at a Congregation held
the 6th of October 1428, it was decided that all tenements which were
leased to farm for 20s. or more a year, and were inhabited, should
give penam hcnedictum ctnn candela cerea, " holy bread and wax
candles," even though the tenement in question were intersected by the
King's highway.* But if the chief tenement consisted of several
distinct tenements under one roof, then the principal should make
the necessary contribution ; otherwise the tenements annexed to the
value of 20s. amongst themselves, so that each of them, if of the
yearly rental of 6s. 8d., should give holy bread amongst themselves
according to the rate of their farm. And if there were three tenements
lying together, the occupiers should give pa?iem henedicUim in propor-
tion to their rent. But if any refuse to contribute as directed by the
bye-law, the common sergeant-at-mace or other officer, at the mandate
of the mayor or his lieutenant for the time being, shall enter the tene-
ment and levy distress upon all the goods and chattels, and shall bring
the things so taken in distress to the Gild Hall, there to remain until
the person or persons who refuse to give bread shall make satisfaction
or pay 20s. sterling to the use of the community for the offence
committed. These fines were to be strictly reserved for the purchase
of holy bread.

• Compare Norfolk A nhceology (1864), Vol. VI., p. 231, with 11 th Report, Hist. MSS. Com. (1887), par
iii., p. i6i.

THE HAIVSA. 171

The following minute appears 120 years afterwards in the
Assembly-book, No. 5 : —

Friday, in the Vigil of Saints Peter and Paul, 3rd Edward VI. This day
it is agreed and establyshed by Mr. Mayor, aldermen and cotnen counsaill that
Mr. Mayor on Sundaie ncxtcomyng shall in recompens of the wyne and brcade
for the communyon and for the offering, offer and give unto the curat of the
church of St. Margaret viij d. for all iij churches, and that every inhabitaunt of
this town oon (one) after an othr every Sondaye shall doo likewise as the turn
shall come about in manner and forme as heretofore the Holy Breade Loffe hath
ben yeven, provided allway that yf the hows (house) wherein such inhabitaunt
dolh inhabit and dwell be not of the value of xx s, yerely or so leaten that then
ij or iij of the next shalbe joyned unto hym and to paie porcion lyke towardes
the charges of the communyon and offering aforesaid (1550).

The sacramental bread, possibly marked as our Good Friday
kot cross(ed) buns,* and the wine were at one time provided in a
similar way.

(2) burghard's obit.

The tenth ordinance directs the townsfolk to accompany the
Mayor and Corporation to the church of St. Margaret upon the Feast
of the Assumption of the Virgin, 15th of August, in order to pray for
the repose of the souls of John Burghard, of Alice his wife, and of
Margaret his daughter.

Burghard was a successful merchant, who amassed considerable
property in Lenne ; besides filling many minor offices, he was mayor
in 1326 and again in 1331. jNIargaret inherited the estate at her
father's decease (1379); she, however, granted it to the town
conditionally, and appointed her husband, Thomas de Kenynghale,
and three influential neighbours, namely, Thomas Drew (mayor in
1362 and 1368), Geoffrey Tolbooth and Walter de Walsoken, as her
executors. They at once entered into a covenant with Thomas
Bolekesham (chamberlain in 1345-5) and fifteen other trustworthy
persons, who represented the community, concerning John Burghard's
estate, which is described in one document as consisting of " fourteen
and a half messuages." In this indenture it is, however, thus set
forth : —

A messuage and four shops in Stonga1e,one opposite St. Margaret's Church
next Folkard's, three on the west side of Briggate (High Street), five in Mor
Lane, one tenement in Grass Market, one in Damgate (Norfolk Street) at corner
of Pakker's Lane, twenty shops in Pakker's Lane, two messuages in Webster Row
(Broad Street), two next Purfleet and one in Burghard's Lane.f

There was besides an annual income of 53s. 4d. arising from the
rents of tenements in Stonegate, Skinners' Row (St. James Street),

• Our "Hot cross buns" were at first made of the dough kneaded for the host, and were marked
aiTordinj^ly. Good Friday buns are said to keep for 12 nionths witliout turnin;^ mouldy, and some persons
btill hang up a bun in their houses as a charm against evil. lu the Roman belief the host is supposed to be
divine, and therefore imperishable.

The cross, however, is not exclusivciv a Christian symbol, nor did it originate at the crucifixion of
Christ. Two crossed buns were found at tlerculancuni, similarly marked cakes appear in Grecian sculp-
tures, and the same sacred device was employed by the ancient Egyiitians.

t Burghard's Lane, otherwise I'iiicham Street, was in the New Conduit ward, and corresponded with
the present New Conduit Street (i,s8q). On the north side there was the " mansionhousr " (sut)sec|uently a
house belonging to the late Mr. William Seppings) of Jeffrey liurgliard or Hurchard. who married .Mice the
daughter of Matthew nerlew\n, to whom aii rued the miumr of I'iiuhnm'i in West Winch; hence Kincham
Street.

New Comiuit was an appellation which referred to the conduit carried over the Stone bridge in High
Street to the east side of St. Margaret's Church (i j8i).

172 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

Briggate (north part of High Street), Purfleet, Mercers' Row (south
part of High Street), Rotten Row, and Damgate.

In the reign of Richard II., the Corporation agreed to the pro-
posed terms ; they accepted the property for the community, and
entered into a covenant to pay John Burghard's son-in-law ^13
6s. 8d. as an annuity, besides ^10, the yearly stipend of two charnel
priests, who were to olificiate in the chancel of St. Margaret at
Burghard's obit or " anniversary day " of his death (1379)-

To shew their appreciation, the inhabitants were expected to l)e
present at the service. Associated with this bye-law is a strangely
digressive clause which insists upon the attendance of the whole
Corporation at church on feast days generally. Special permission
was accorded the Mayor and Jurats — twenty-four only — to sit in the
chancel (1424-5).

STRANGERS AND SOJOURNERS.

Several attempts from time to time were made to induce the
foreigners living in Lenne, by becoming citizens, to pay their propor-
tion of what was really a " borough rate." On the ist of April 1430,
eight persons appeared before the Assembly, seven of whom were
forced to contribute towards the town's expenditure; the eighth, being
leprous, was given a fortnight in which to quit the burgh, under a
severe penalty of forty shillings. The defaulters, respectable trades-
men, included a beer-brewer, a hardwareman, a cloth-scourer, and
two cordwainers, one of whom paid a fine of los., whilst the other,
luckily " having a wife of great stature," escaped with paying one-
sixth. Every alien householder in 1439 was called upon to pay 16
pence, and every alien who was not a householder 6 pence. This was
a national tax, and the money thus raised was spent in carrying on the
war in France.

From the decrease in the number of those fined, it is clear that the
alien population were beginning to throw in their lot with their
neighbours the burgesses. When the list of strangers was compiled
for the county during the 15th century, the following are given as
dwelling in Lenne : — Reginaldus Kascolm, Nicholas Symondson,
Simon Johnson, Henricus Godfrey, A. Roberdson, Thomas Herrison,
VVillielmus van Flotelyn ; and in South Lenne, Henricus van Stater.
In 155 1, nineteen strangers appear on the Burgess Roll, 13 of whom
were Dutch, 3 P'rench, i Flemish, and 2 Scotch.

MERCANTILE COOPERATION.

The Hansa, or Hanseatic League, a celebrated trade alliance,
derives its name from the old German word /lanse, which signifies an
association for mutual support. Hamburg, Liibeck and Bremen were,
in the Middle Ages, vast depositories for the manufactures of Germany
and Italy, from whence the northern countries of Europe drew
supplies in exchange for their own raw products. The enormous
wealth amassed in course of time by this cooperative confederacy
excited the envy and rapacity of kings and princes and nobles, who
tried to ruin their trade by augmenting the tolls, and devising other
unnecessary exactions. Besides pecuniary obstacles, the merchants

THE HANSk. 173

were beset by scores of cut-throat adventurers who continually roamed
the seas ; hence they wisely determined to maintain ships and soldiers
expressly to protect themselves in carrying out tlie commercial enter-
prises in which they were engaged (1241). A century later as many
as eighty-five European towns were enrolled as members of the
association, which became so powerful an organisation that their
armament defeated the kings of Norway and Denmark (1348); it
deposed Magnus, king of Sweden, whose crown was handed to a
promising nephew; it equipped 40 ships and 12,000 troops, exclusive
of seamen, during the war against Eric IX. of Denmark; and before
the close of the same century it compelled our own sovereign, Edward
IV., to restore all the property he had injudiciously attempted to with-
hold from them.

Nowhere was the Hanseatic power so great as in England. Of none of its
connections do we possess more ample records. . . England was one of the
first depots of " the common German merchants" long before these combined
under the generic name of Hanseatic. Erom early days the EngHsh Kings fiad
protected these rich foreigners, who helped them out of many a pecuniary
difficulty. Indeed they accorded them such privileges and monopolies as could
not fail to rouse the jealousy of their own people. . . . Edward I. and his
followers extended these prerogatives, for the Plantagenets fc>und the Hanseatic
Rothschilds even more useful in aiding their war schemes than the skilful
alchymists whom they had summoned to their court, and who knew how to
shape the rose noble (the money of the period), out of artificial gold. Then,
too, the Hanseatics were considerable creditors, who did not press undul\', and
even overlooked a debt if some favour were extended in default of payment.
yihe Haiisa Towns, by Helen Zimmern, 1891, pp. 179, 181.]

As a mercantile centre the importance of Bishop's Lenne was
early appreciated by observant merchants, for a considerable trade
was established between Lenne and certain ports in Norway at a
remote period. Rightly has our own town been styled

(l) THE KEY OF NORFOLK,

because the county could only be entered on the west by the road
leading through Lenne, which was unquestionably the outlet for the
produce of the surrounding district, comprising seven counties.
Here was held the largest cattle fair in the kingdom, yet this luxuriant
grazing area could not produce sufficient sheep ; hence they were driven
hither from the moors of Yorkshire, the highlands of Scotland, and
the verdant slopes of the Pennine and Cheviot ranges. Enormous
quantities of wool, fells, hides, etc., were sent from Lenne every year,
and many other remunerative enterprises were conducted with Gascony
(south-west France), the Rhine provinces, Zeeland (Holland), Ger-
many, North Berne (Bergen in Norway), Prussia, Dacia (Denmark),
and the various Hanse ports.

As early as 127 1 the German merchants had some sort of a local
organisation here, under their Alderman Symon, a citizen of Lenne,
of whom we are told that he gave a pledge to the amount of ;^2oo on
behalf of some Liibeck merchants (Cunningham). A Latin letter
written by Bartholomew, the Norwegian chnnrellor, and addressed to
our mayor, respecting Tlunklll and other traders, proves that at Bergen
an immigrant colony of Lenne merchants had already settled. In

174 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

1284 the King of Norway applied to Edward I. for a renewal of the
alliance between the merchants of the two nations ; he nevertheless
bemoaned the injuries and losses sustained by his traders through the
bailiffs of certain English ports, especially from those of Lenne.
(Rymer.)

Our merchants were apparently great in their own estimation,
and wherever they went unpleasantness was sure to accompany them.
In 1389 there were immense differences between the English and the
Prussian traders. To appease these growing contentions a commercial
embassy, headed by the Lord of Prucia (Prussia), visited Lenne. Now
it was arranged that the lord and his suite should be graciously enter-
tained. Sweet are the uses of diplomacy ; to soothe the ruffled
feelings of the foreigners what could be better than for them to dine
with the holy father in God, brave bishop Spencer, to sit cheek-by-
jowl with our most honourable mayor, Roger Paxman, of Lathe
Street, and to have an agreeable tcte-a-Ute with the magnates of so
royal a burgh. What could better tend to ameliorate any vindictive
feeling his lordship might cherish against our thoughtless, seafaring
townsmen ! Elaborate preparations were therefore begun ; an
ecclesiastical cook and other of the bishop's servants came from
Norwich to superintend the repast ; but alas ! as gods deign not to
feast with mortals, even so my lord of Prussia turned his back disdain-
fully upon the sumptuous tables steaming in the Gild Hall, and
hastily set out for London just as the town orchestra, augmented by
professional musicians from distant places, began to outpour a most
symphonious overture. What marvellous instrumentation ! The
plaintive murmur of the melodious vielle, the moaning drone of the
guttural bagpipe, the shrill phrasing of the talkative clarion, and the
throbbing cadence of the emphatic guitar, besides harp, and sackbut,
and psaltery, and all other kinds of music, each contributed to
enhance the volume of that sensuous, seducing prelude ; but the voice
of the charmers, though charming never before so harmoniously,
could not induce his lordship to prolong his stay. How terrible the
disappointment ! But the bishop and the mayor exchanged signi-
ficant glances; the sympathising guests who were present vigorously
attacked the tempting viands, and the feast was consummated, Avith-
out perambulating the highways and hedges. Truly was it a season
of exceptional jollification after all, for 40s. is charged for a pipe of
Gascon wine, iis. 8d. for a series of mysterious culinary operations,
and 1 8s. 4d. for ten quarters of oats — not for the guests, but for his
lordship's hungry horses.

(2) HOME-RULE ABROAD.

The English merchants staying in parts of Norway, Sweden,
Dacia and the Hanse towns were advised by letters patent of the 6th
of June 1404 to meet together at some convenient place in order to
select governors and to concoct ordinances for their self-government
in mercantile affairs, and for the better execution of their important
projects the governors were invested with power to punish any E:nglish
seamen disobeying the merchants' laws. The document, which is

THE HANSA. 175

among those relating to our burgh, was probably addressed to the
mayor. Henry V., moreover, granted a warrant for the election of
an alderman or consul for Denmark and Norway (141 7), because
Iceland as well as Norway became subject to Denmark (1380).
Mackerell gives a copy of the King's warrant, addressed to the Lenne
traders. There is evidence that it is not original, but the confirmation
of an earlier one.

Ye have an ancient custom [it reads] to have an alderman cliosen by
election among you to be the ruler or governor of your company in the said
countries and to see good rules and order kept among you there, which we woll
(will) be content to help and see to be hnlden for the increasing and augmenta-
tion of the commonweal and prosperity of you and all other of our true subjects.

These measures, though well devised, did not allay the friction
between the Lenne traders and their rivals of the Hanse. Hence
Henry VI. addressed himself tO' the pro-consuls, consuls, judges,
etc., of Eric XIII. the King of Norway, Sweden and Dacia (Eric
IX. of Denmark), respecting the sad disagreements between the
traders "who were using mercatorially the parts of North Berne"
(13th December 1424). Four years later he confirmed the letters
patent issued by his father, but his action was ineffectual (20th June
1428. Negotiations to pacify the contentious merchants were again
set on foot, when the Assembly selected John Salus to accompany
the King's ambassador and John Muriell, who were to interview the
King of Scandinavia (1431). An embassy was afterwards
desi)atched to Bruges (Flanders) to remonstrate because of the
grievances, damages and other harms the men of Lenne had suffered
at the hands of the Dutch Hanse. On this occasion the mayor,
Thomas Burgh, was unanimously chosen to represent the town ; he
was to be accompanied by " two proctours " — Walter Curson, clerk
to the mayoralty, and John Bampton, clerk of the commonalty, who
respectively guarded the interests of the potentiores and inferiores.
The expenses of the delegates, who were to demand restitution and
reformation of " Master Pruce " (query — the Lord of Prussia), were
to be levied upon the Lenne merchants (1435).

(3) THE STEELYARD AT LENNE.

In 1469 the English quarrelled with the German traders in
London, summoned them before the courts, and imposed a fine of
^13,520, while members of the steelyard were thrown into prison
and the Corporation was nearly broken up. The answer of Bremen,
Hamburg and Danzig, was given in a fleet which gathered against
England undt>r the leadership of Charles the Bold. But just at this
moment came the English revolution by which Edward IV. was
driven out of the country, and all the great trading bodies, the
Hanseatic League and the Flemish and Dutch Corporations, seeing
the danger which threatened their commerce from the new political
situation, cast aside all minor quarrels and united to set Edward
again on the throne. Such a service demanded a great reward, and
in 1474 a treaty was signed at Utrecht by which the Hanse was given
back all its earlier privileges, and secured in possession of its Gild

176 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

Hall and steel) anJ in London and its houses in Boston and Letine.
(Mrs. A. S. Green.)

There was, in this solemn treaty, one condition which affected
our port. It was agreed that the steelyard in London, to its utmost
extent, should be confirmed to the German merchants, and not only
the one at London, but that at Boston also ; and moreover, it was
decided that a similar house should be provided near the water-side
for their accommodation at Lenne (1474). Harrod says the letters
patent of 1428 permitted the erection of a warehouse or steelyard at
Lenne; It seems therefore that their house and yard were merely
restored in 1474.

A steelyard was not necessarily a balance with a steel arm, but a
weighing machine, so-called from the one previously used in the
factory or si/ll-y ard in London; hence the expression " the merchants
of the Hanse or still-yards " (State Papers). The premises
belonging to these foreign traders in Lenne may be found by dividing
the square plot between College Lane and St. INLargaret's Lane into
two almost equal parts by an imaginary line running east and west :
Thomas Thoresby's two houses with their staiths, etc., occupied the
northern half, whilst the Steelyard — a quadrangle with warehouses
and staith facing the river, embraced the other half. Probably the
two premises were separated by a narrow thoroughfare called Leaden-
hall, which extended between the church and the foreshore. From
the churchwardens' accounts we learn that 60 yards of " the street
of the church sid (side) agaynst the stylyerd " were mended at a cost
of three-halfpence a yard (1591).

There were at this time similar factories at London, York, Hull,
Bristol, Ipswich, Norwich, Yarmouth and Boston.

(4) A LIST OF IMPORTS

may be culled from a 14th century poem, The Libel of English

Policie (1346).

Prussia (Prucia or Spruce), " High Duchman and Estcrlings " — beer, bacon,

osmonde (refuse from Swedish pig-iron), copper, bow-staves, steel, wax,

pewter ware, greys (grys, badger skins), pitch, tar, boards, flex, Coleyne

threde, fustian, canvas, carde (the head of the teazel, used in carding), boke-

ram, silver plate, wedges of silver, metal, &c.
Spain. — Figs, raisins, wine (" bastard"), licorice, Seville oil, grain, white Castelle

soap, wax, iron, wadmall (coarse cloth), goat and kid fells, siffron and quick

silver.
Portugal. — Wine, oil, osey (vin d' ^ assay, a sweet French winej, wax, grain, figs,

raisins, honey, cordewain (Cordovan, i.e., goat-skin leather), dates, salt and

fish.
Genoa, the ''Januays" or Genoese. — Cloth of gold, silk, black pepprr, wood

("grete plente "), wool, oil, wood ashes, coton,* roche alum, gold of

Jene, &c.
Venice, Venetians and Florentines.— Sweet wines, spicery, grocery ware, drugs, as

scammony, spurge (" euforbe "), rhubarb, senna and correctives, monkeys

and nicknacks.

* Professor Rogers, in his Hislory of AgrictiUure and Prices, mentions the sale of three-quarters
of a pound of cotton, then worth i/ per lb., as early as 1303. The same year a merchant, Nicholas
de Dees, brought to Lenne 4 bales of cotton, i bale of cotton-thread, 2 bales of sugar in bags, 2 bales
of verdigris, i bale of Talingfer cinnamon and other spices, i bag of tartar (?), 12 lb. of silk and 5
barrels of vinegar. The value of the cargo was estimated at £1000. The cotton thread (fD/nM)i fihic)
was used for candle-wicks.

THE HANS A. 177

Flanders. — Fine cloth of Ipre, " that named is better than oure is," cloth of

Cur try ke of all colours (made of English and Spanish wool), ffustayne and

linen cloth.
Brabant, Zeeland and Hainault. — Dyes, as madder and woad,* garlicks, onions

and salt- fish.
Ireland (Irelonde). — Irish woollen, linen cloth, fish, as salmon, hake and herring,

skins and hides, as those of the hart, otter, squirrell, hare, sheep, fox, kid

and rabbit.
Iceland (Yselonde). — Stock fish.
Brittany, or Little Britain.— Wme, salt, canvas and creste cloth (fine linen).

Referring to the traders of Brittany, the anonymous poet above
referred to exclaims : —

They are the grettest rovers and the grettest thevys,
That have bene in the see many oone yere . . .
In Northfolke coostcs and othere places aboutte
And robbed and brente and slayne by many a routte.

THE IMPERIAL REVENUE.

The old assessment, fixed as far back as 1334, continued in force,
but it became intolerably burdensome owing to the deplorable state
into which the country had drifted (1449). The parliament, however,
did not institute a reassessment, but, fully aware of the general de-
pression, allowed certain deductions to be made upon the old list.
The revenue amounted to rather more than ;^38,ooo, and upon this
a proportionate deduction of ^6,000 was permitted. Norfolk ranked
in wealth as the second county in the kingdom in 1341, and as third
in 1435. It contributed in 1449 ^3,486 14s. 6d., or about one-
eleventh of of the entire amount, hence the county was entitled to an
abatement of one-eleventh of the ;^6.ooo, or say about ;^545- The
sum — ;!^543 I2S. 4fd., actually granted, was split up, and deductions
according to the prosperity of the burghs or townships were allowed.
Yarmouth was permitted to go scot free, whilst abatements of ten-
seventieths and seven-seventieths were granted respectively to Nor-
wich and Lenne. Hence, whilst Lenne was increasing in wealth and
prosperity, Yarmouth, " an impoverished town," was degenerating
at a rapid rate. No further alteration of the tax was made ; it was
finally discontinued in 1623.

ROYAL VISITS.

Henry VI. was no personal stranger. He was in Lenne the
second week in Lent, 1434, when special preparations Avere made for
his entertiiinment. The mayor's motion on this occasion, " that an
order should be taken for ^100. and that those who had been chosen
to assess ^30 should assess ^100. the ^30 being omitted," was
adopted. Again, " this devout King, in the course of the solemn
pilgrimage he made to the most holy places, received into his favour

• Woad or wad, used in dyeing, has been superseded by indigo. Fourpencc was charged upon
every ton, and "frayel" (frail, a rush basket; O. Krendi jra'wl^ of wad imported, two pence upon
half a "travel" and thus in proportion, l.ts cit^lunn de la Talbotli de Lenne (i:!34).

The Trinitv Gild moreover charged a toll called "key-age'' (quay-age) "for every pipe of wad
lying there (upon the quav) beyond a dav, one penny and do more for a week" (1343).

Read the following articles bv Mr. Charles U. Plowright, M.D. :— "On the Arclixology of Woad ;
"On Woail as a Prehistoric Pigment." Journal oj Royal Hort. Society, Vol. XXVI., parts i and 2,
pp. 33-40: and "Woad as a Blue Dye, with an Accouut of its Bibliography" O'lans. Norfolk and
Norwich Naluraliats Hociely. Vol. \'1I., jip- 138-146).

178 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

the place of the Hermit Friars of St. Augustine in the town of
Lenne." (Capgrave.) It was on this visit that he directed the issue
of a grant to the prioress and nuns of Crabhouse, near Wiggenhall
St. Mary Magdalen, and directed that the mayor's sword should be
borne before him (ist August 1446). The next year he was at
Norwich on the 29th of August. In 1449 Henry was entertained by
Bishop Lyhert at the episcopal palace in Norwich, when he perhaps
came to Lynn. The Queen, Margaret of Anjou, was at Norwich
(1453), and in North Walsham (1455).

LETTERS PATENT,
(a). Tu the Community : —
1423, July 3rd, at Westminster, " by consent of Parliament." Inspeximiis and
confirmation of letters patent dated at Leicester 20th May 1414
(Henry V.).
1427-8, Let ers patent granting the town a Steel-yard.

1441, December ist, at Westminster. Inspeximus and confirmation of letters
patent dated at Leicester 20th May 1414 (Henry V.). It cost 8 marks,
two shillings and fourpence.
(b). To the Gild of the Holy Trinity : —

1423, July i2th, at Westminster. Pardon and release to the alderman (William

Trewe), the brethren and tlieir predecessors.

1441, February 14th, at Westminster. Inspeximus and confirmation of letters
patent dated at Beverley 3rd September 1392 (Richard II.).

1448, February ist, at Westminster. Licence granted to Marmaduke Lumley,
Bishop of Carlisle, Sir Thomas Scales (knight) and Imaine his wife, to
empower William Goderede to give and assign " Scales' mylle," — also
to Master Adam Gerard (clerk) and Henry Wryght (chaplain) to give
and assign two messuages and six acres of land in South Lenne to the
Gild.

1456, January 29lh, at Westminster. Pardon and release again granted to the
aldirman and brethren.
(c). To the Hanse Merchants : —

1424, December 13th, at Westminster. Exemplification of certain Privy Seal

le;ters addressed to all the Proconsuls, &c., of Eric Xlll., "King of
D >cia, Norwegia and Swecia," for the settlement of all discord.
1428, June 20th, at Westminster. Inspeximus and confirmation of letters patent
the 6th June 1404 (Henry IV.), endowing the English merchants staying
in Prussia, Norway, &c., with self-government.

CHAPTER XVII.

The Bishop and the Sword.

Perplexing difficulties generally beset those lords and bishops who
as feudal patrons were responsible for the king's peace within the
burghs in their respective manors. As time advanced, the inhabitants
of important towns like Lenne openly expressed their willingness to
accept these cares by taking the reins of municipal government into
their own hands. In many cases they were anxious even to pay for
what they once begged and paid their superiors to befriend them in
taking. The Bishop of Norwich, as lord of a large ecclesiastical
manor, was, though weary and ill at ease, in no wise desirous of being
relieved of his worldly burden. His stubborn conduct- was peculiarly
annoying, because long ere the struggle for democratic government

THE BISHOP AND THE SWORD. 179

began, every town with any pretensions to greatness on the royal
demesne had been freely granted the self-same privileges the lord
of the manor persisted in withholding from the burgesses of one of
the most prosperous towns in the kingdom.

ANTAGONISTIC INFLUENCES.

If the respective powers of the mayor and the bishop be
examined, it becomes indisputably patent that the mayor of the
bishop's town was an automatic foufcc, whose movements were skil-
fully manipulated by his reverence behind the scene. The mayor was
therefore irresponsible, you suggest. By no means ; his duties might
be nominal, but his responsibility to a higher power was terribly real,
because he was supposed to administer statutory law impartially.
Moreover, on the one side there was a powerful baron, the lord of
Rising ; on the other, a no less powerful prelate, the bishop of the
diocese — who, like rival tradesmen, were both selfishly interested in
the commercial prosperity of the town. Besides, there was another
social factor, an ever restless democracy, the avowed enemies of the
" upper classes."

If not the actual nominee of the bishop, our mayor was unques-
tionably in what would now be regarded as a servile condition, in that
he was' compelled to obtain an episcopal ratification before entering
upon his lease of office, which might be terminated at any moment
should he fail to render respectful homage to the lord of the manor.
The mayor was almost a nonentity — a figure-head and nothing more !
The bishop presided not only at the Hall Court, but also
at the Court Leet ; he usurped also the view of frankpledge,
that is, the right to scrutinize the feudal pledges tendered by the
inhabitants of the town, by which they became answerable for the
good conduct of others. The custody of the burgh was another
ecclesiastical, or more correctly, manorial adjunct ; hence the mayor
had nothing whatever to do with the town defences, except on rare
occasions and by special mandate from the king ; neither had he
power even to close the town gates without permission from the
bishop.

To lighten the burden of tallages, the mayor tried to compel the
strangers in Lenne to take up the franchise, as was the custom in other
places, because, sharing in the advantages derived from living in a
free burgh, they ought, as he reasoned, to contribute towards the
municipal expenditure. The bishop, however, insisted upon the
withdrawal of the mayoral decree ; hence those refusing to accept the
claims and duties inseparable from true citizenship — an absolute
condition of settletncnt in Noncich—co\x\d shirk these responsibilities
by coming to Lenne. Having a lucrative interest in the Tolbooth,
the bishop was supremely anxious to increase the trade of the port,
and to do this he encouraged the immigration of wealthy strangers
by providing a town where they would be excused paying a " borough
rate."

There were sundry other piercing quills in the mayor's " downy
bed of ease," to which we must briefly refer. The baron of Rising,

180 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

defying alike the lord of the manor and the mayor of the town, estab-
lished a court of his own, and dispensed justice, the quantity of which
greatly exceeded the quality. Then, too, the people, oppressed
beyond endurance, by the governing body, were so short-sighted as
to seek protection f/om the prelate. At the time of the peasants'
insunection the lower secular clergy unwisely joined the movement,
and went about the country declaiming against the tyranny of
artificial distinctions and the aggrandisement of the rich. Without in
the least intending, the followers of Wycliffe, by their revolt against
authority, encouraged the general spirit of lawlessness ; the successive
steps of which may be traced in the struggle by which our borough,
AS others were doing, fought its way to self-government and indepen-
dence. ' ' The question which lay behind all minor struggles was that
of the administration of justice in the town, — the question whether
it was the mayor or an ecclesiastical officer who should preside in the
courts, and whether their profits, fines and forfeitures should go to
enrich the treasury of the bishop or of the municipality." (Mrs.
A. S. Green.)

' MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING.

History, like a skilled teacher, owns to the excusable knack of
slyly repeating itself. To this infirmity of old age there ought to be
no objection, because, on the authority of Francis Bacon, histories
make men wise. Now it will be easily remembered how strongly
Bishop Spencer objected to a simple wand being carried before the
mayor (1376). Then the town paid heavily for an exhibition of dis-
respectful temerity, yet were our forefathers stubborn in adhering to
what they considered right ; instead, therefore, of foregoing so repre-
hensible a practice, they clung to it with redoubled tenacity. More-
over, about the year 1388 they provided themselves with a highly-
polished sword and a scabbard of crimson silk, as a more suitable
symbol of mayoral authority. This insigne of office was the source
of constant expense, for, whether in active service or not, it required
furbishing, which cost 2S. every time. John Algar, the bearer,
received five marks a year as salary. Then, too, there were pay-
ments extraordinary for providing new " scales," for worsted and
silk and velvet used in re-covering the sheath. During the mavoraltv
of John Couteshall, one of the chamberlains, William Erl by name,
was entrusted with the silver zone of the mayor's sword and a silver
mace, which were to be re-made, and the next year 2s. 5d. was paid
" for a scabbard to the sword of the mayor with goldsmith's work
to the same " (1388).

What a painful eyesore was the smart, glittering object to the
haughty, pride-inflated bishop ! Yet he could scarcely complain,
because the awe-inspiring bauble was always borne with religious
solemnity before him whenever he was in Lenne, and invariably
behind his vassal the mayor.

When the King visited Lenne in 1446, Thomas Salisbury
ventured to explain to His Majesty the degradation to which the
mayors of this loyal burgh were forced to submit, in that the insigne
of office was always borne behind them, contrary, of course, to the

THE BISHOP AND THE SWORD. 181

custom in London, Oxford, and all other good towns in the kingdom.
He entreated Henry to permit his successors to have the sword carried
before them, because the burgesses at large, who were as leal as any
in the country, sincerely felt the slight thereby put upon them.
Touched with the earnestness of the appeal, the King, " from his
great zeal, love and goodness, and out of his special favour," then
and there granted the mayor's request. He forthwith commanded
the sword to be carried before the mayor in future, puncto erecto (with
the point upwards), and further warned the swordbearer " to have
his hat upon his head," — not that he was ever likely to place it upon
any other member of his body, but to shew how unworthy he was to
uncover in the immediate presence of so august a personage. To
prevent misgivings, Henry gave the mayor a letter duly setting forth
his behest, on parchment, sealed with his private signet, to deliver to
Adam Molins, the Bishop of Chichester, the Keeper of the Privy Seal,
or his accredited deputy.

On the 5th of August, the exultant Assembly publicly announce
the sword will in future be carried as directed by the King. Just
four days pass, when their order is strangely repeated {9th August).
Was not this owing to the bishop's intervention? Again — it may be
after further opposition in the same quarter — a Congregation is con-
vened in the afternoon of the 28th of September. Ah ! it is the last
day of the burgh -year, hence the hall of the Gild of Corpus Christi
is requisitioned for the special meeting, because the town clerk is no
doubt busilv engaged in the Trinity Hall, administering the customary
oaths to the mayor-elect, the new chamberlains and the other officers
of the Corporation, whose duties begin on the morrow. At this
meeting the previous minutes are confirmed, and then the councillors,
turning deaf ears to the bishop's threats, recklessly plunge into greater
difficulties. It is agreed to pay the sword-bearer once more a reason-
able stipend, and to confer upon him the freedom of the town without
exacting the usual fine. To-morrow the most noble and venerable
Thomas Salisbury will vacate the mayoral chair, when the sword and
the bearer must play a conspicuous part. Let the appointed officer,
therefore, hurry off to the Gild Hall, for there is no time to waste, so
that he may comply with certain formalities and subscribe to the
necessary oath.

Persecution succeeded the pageants of the mayor's day. The
bishop, though refraining from storming the town with his men-at-
arms, was highly incensed ; so that when the Congregation met, there
was apparently one item only to engross their consideration, — it was
the old threadbare discussion about the method in which the mayor's
sword should be carried (4th November). To convince his lordship
that the town was in the right, it was thought expedient for the ex-
mayor and one of the chamberlains to go to London in order to have
the privy seal attached to the King's letter.

There was silence deep as death,
And the boldest held his breath,
For

a fortnight. Then the sword-bearer and John Pygott, the new

182 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

mayor, strutted boldly up and down the streets of Lenne, past the
Steward's Hall and the White Stone House ! Dark clouds, however,
were gathering in the east, and the silence was ominously oppressive.
At length the crashing fury of the storm was heard, and the attractive
W'eapon was prudently concealed. . . . On the 20th of November
the councillors were suddenly summoned to the Gild Hall. What !
Upon the Sabbath? So vitally important were the issues that our
pious forefathers thought themselves justified even in desecrating a
holy day.

It was in the end decided that the new mayor, Henry Thoresby,
William Hardy, William Wareles and others should immediately set
out for London to meet the Bishop — of London ? Ah, no ; William
Lyhart, the lord of Bishop's Lenne, the cause of all their trouble,
because he professed to rule not only as feudal lord of the soil, but
as guardian of the patrimony of St. Peter, " holding property in
trust for a great spiritual corporation, and exercising an authority
maintained by formidable sanctions." They soon discovered how
easy it was to attain the get-at-able or right side of a king rather
than that of a bishop ; and when, as was often the case, the secular
and spiritual interests clashed, the people had a rough time in their
struggle between the upper millstone of the Church and the nether
millstone of the Court.

The second deputation returned visibly crestfallen. Hence on
Monday the 5th of December, the Council, despite the bitterness of
their rebellious feelings, were forced to submit to the inevitable. The
minute recites how Thomas Salisbury, at his own instance, desire or
request, obtained the consent of Henry VL for the bearing of the
sword as in other places, how a letter with the King's signet was
safely delivered to the Bishop of Chichester, and how at the instiga-
tion of William Lyhart the King annulled what he had already done.
It was indeed a terrible blow to the town, but after the clerk had read
the following document, bearing His Majesty's privy seal, there were
none who dared to gainsay its meaning : —

By the Kyng. Trusty and welbeloved, We be enfourmed by the Worshipyfull
Fadir in god the bisshop of Norwich, Lord of the burgh and towne of Lenne,
that undre colour of youre suete late made unto us at our beyng there, to have a
sword and a mace to be boren byfore the Meire of the said burgh for ye time
being, Ye the Meyre of the said borough have a swerd and a mace boren before
you, otherewise than was done byfore oure beyng theyre, notwithstandyng ye
have no lettres patentes of our graunt so for to do the which is ayenst the fourme
of oure lawe, and prejudicial to the said Worshipful Fadre in God, and to the
Chirche of Norwich as [we] be enfourmed, And who be it that we were wele
enclyned to your desire in this behalf, yit it was not, nother is not, oure entent,
to prejudice any partie, and namely the Chirche for by oure oth made at oure
coronacioun We be bounde to supporte and maynteyn the Chirche and the ryght
thereof, And therefore We wol and charge you Meire straitely that all
execusacions left ye ceese from hens forwarde to have any swerde or mace to be
bore before you, otherwyse than was used before oure beyng there. And We
charge you straitely the Commoinalte of ye said borough that ye suffre not the
Meire that now is, and that for the time shalbe, to have any swerd or mace to be
boren before him in the said borough otherwise than was used also before our
last being there. Yeven under oure Privie Seal at Westminster the viij. of
November [1446].

THE BISHOP AND THE SWORD. 183

Wherefore was the sword carried behind the mayor ; but three
years afterwards the Mayor of Lenne was permitted to bear the sword
before the King.

Because of the alarming scarcity of silver coins, the people of
England petitioned the King to permit none, save his own officers, to
carry silver maces either in cities or boroughs (1344). Hence wooden
staves tipped with silver or copper became fashionable in civic circles.
This order was reinforced ten years later with the assent of Parlia-
ment ; then were maces of brass, iron, or tin adopted, and in some
instances rods of wood tipped with latten, an alloy much like brass.*
The mayor's wand was a rod tipped with buck-horn (1376), and the
bailiff's mace, probably of wood, was repaired and gilded, at a cost
of two shillings (1373-4).

At a later period our town was the happy possessor of another
sword, — one probably " made in Germany," a seal of office, and two
large silver maces, and two smaller ones. Of the so-called " King
John's sword," which is borne before our chief magistrate at the
present time, nothing further need here be said.

MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT.

The constant bickerings among the people of Lenne induced the
Assembly to concede certain points, hoping thereby to pacify the most
progressive members of a primitive democracy. They were quite
willing for the election of the officers of the Corporation to be regulated
by the usages in London. The experiment w-as hardly fried when
" grievous discords, strifes, controversies, riots, dissensions and
(juarrels .... sprung up and increased amongst the comburgesses
and others .... by reason of certain new ordinances and constitu-
tions concerning and about the election of the mayor and the rest of
the jurats, officers and ministers (servants) of the aforesaid town."
The document from whence this quotation is taken minutely describes
not only the new method which seemed impracticable, but also the old
method with which we are now somewhat familiar. It would be
redundant therefore to expatiate upon "the ancient custom," but
there is one point in this descriptive recital which is apparently neiv:
the alderman of the Gild of the Trinity nominated the first four of
the elective committee, but he was supposed to choose " four more
worthy and sufficient of the burgesses ?iot being of iJie state and degree
of the aforesaid jurats.^' If this be a true exposition of " the ancient
custom," it must have been most wantonly disobeyed for many years.

The committee of twelve, having selected a mayor from the four-
and-twenty jurats, then chose four chamberlains or treasurers, the
common clerk, the sergeant-at-mace, the constables, the coroners, the
janitors, the bellman and the waits or members of the town band, who
skilfully extracted soul-animating strains from clumsily-shaped
instruments.

*" Robert Smith who lived in tlie Daingate, made certain latten gonnes (gims) for the town, which were
valued at j8,6 (1452-3). These formiJable weapons, juouii ted on wooden stocks or tillers, occasionally
vomited stones or j^elleis of lead.

184 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

And what part did the ordinary people play in these elections?
True, they were summoned to attend, as if their presence was indis-
pensable, but they were mere spectators — supernumeraries who formed
a picturesque background for the actors posing in front. Instead of
sweltering in the crowded room, these " mute inglorious Miltons " had
far better have enjoyed their leisure sauntering through the Tenture
Pasture, basking upon the sunny Sands of Lenne, breathing the pure
air beside the tidal Haven, or counting the Prior's birds as they
popped in and out the Dovecote near St. James' Chapel.

When the old method, as amended in Roger Galyon's time, was
in vogue, angry disputes arose between the mayor and his friends and
certain aspiring burgesses who impudently asserted that they ought
to be elected jurats of the burgh. Surely these ignorant plebeians
were as devoid of modesty as of manners. This, at least, was the
honest opinion of the aristocratic section of the community. Through
some indiscoverable medium the lamentable grievances reached the
ear of the King, who sagely hinted that the burgesses could better
settle these " ancient discords not cordially put to rest " themselves,
without any outside interference. Whereupon the Assembly, with
"unanimous consent and mere free and unforced free will," decided
upon adopting the ways pursued by the enlightened citizens of
London.

(l) A NEW METHOD.

The election of the mayor and other officers of the Corporation
was to be yearly, at which time all the inhabitants were to have free
access to the Gild Hall, but nobody, under pain of imprisonment, was
allowed to take part in the proceedings unless he were a burgess or
an official servant of the town. The meeting should then and there
nominate two jurats or councillors from the present four-and-twenty,
or from those who had already risen to the rank of jurats, — not, of
course, having been discharged from office through dishonesty or any
other disgraceful cause. It was important to remember that those
selected should be personally adapted for carrying out the duties of
the mayoralty, and that they should belong to " the more discreet,
more sufficient and more useful of the community."

At this juncture the services of a person termed the frelocidor
were indispensable. He was chosen by a majority of the burgesses
on St. Bartholomew's day, the 24th of August. All burgesses, except
jurats, were eligible for this office. The newly-elected prelocutor
must be present at the mayoral election, and though chosen possibly
by the inferiores, he acted on behalf of the potentiores, carefully
scrutinizing the action of the common clerk, and, moreover, watching
everything which happened.

When all is in order, the clerk gauges the feeling of the meeting
by asking whom of the two already nominated they prefer for their
next mayor. Having in the mean time been " firmly sworn," the
clerk and the prelocutor listen patiently to the various suggestions
advanced ; then, after a while they go round asking every man, begin-
ning with the mayor and his coadjutors first, for whom he is disposed
to vote. The answers are written down by the clerk " severally and

THE BISHOP AND THE SWORD. 185

secretly " in the presence of the vigilant prelocutor. If the two
candidates gain an equal number of votes, the difficulty is solved by
counting the mayor's vote as two instead of one.

In the case of the four chamberlains, the mayor and the jurats,
or the greater part of them, select two burgesses (other than jurats),
whilst the other two (other than jurats) are chosen by the burgesses
themselves. If during the year a chamberlain die or be removed,
a successor is at once chosen by the burgesses — two being named and
the vote recorded " without fraud," as already described, by the
common clerk in the presence of the prelocutor.

If a vacancy arise among the jurats, the burgesses name two
likely persons other than jurats, who must, of course, be " more
discreet, faithful and more sufficient, to take the state and degree of
jurats to God's praise and the town's advantage and honour." After
the votes are carefully taken the result is handed to the remaining
twenty -three jurats for their approval ! Regardless of the ability
and popularity of the candidate, they, and they alone, finally decide
whether he shall be raised to their own degree and status. If the
jurat-elect be considered socially below the proper standard, he is
promptly discarded, and the meeting is asked to nominate two more,
who must be not merely competent, but, like the others, freemen of
the burgh, owning property in the town the rent of which must amount
^^ £5 '^ year. A retail victualler would be ineligible, because in
fixing the assize or price of wine, etc., he might be influenced by
{jrivate motives. If elected, he must promise to relinquish his busi-
ness or be " omitted " by the elective jurats. This is no plutocratic
caprice, but is clearly set forth in the letters patent, and in this Henry
VI. follows an earlv custom, embodied in an Act of Edward II. In
1388-9 the city gilds objected to vintners and fishmongers taking part
in the government of London, on the grounds that, l)eing common
victuallers, they were precluded by an ordinance passed in 1378. If,
however, a duly elected or accepted burgess wished to be excused from
serving, a meeting would be called and the reason assigned
deliberately considered : if deemed plausible, he would be discharged ;
if otherwise, he would probably be fined ;^io, as was the case with
Alderman William Pilton (1455).

Respecting the offices of common clerk, sergeant-at-mace,
janitors (at the Kast, the South and the St. Anne's Gate), the bellman
and the waits, there was to be an annual nomination by the mayor and
jurats immediately after the choosing of the four chamberlains. The
forms of oath prescribed for the prelocutor and the town clerk, etc.,
are given, and the document also sets forth that if either of these
servants be proved unfaithful and be duly convicted of infidelity to
his oath, he is to forfeit his office as well as the franchise of the town,
both of which were never to be regained.

(2) ABANDONED FOR " ANCIENT CUSTOMS."

The new method soon ])roved objectionable to the inhabitants;
it might suit the citizens of London, but it was obnoxious to the bur-
gesses of Lenne. " Observing how immense charges, losses and in-
tolerable damage have arisen through the administration of these

186 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

ordinances, and fearing lest tliey (should) redound to the final
destruction and depauperisation, but also the desolation and probable
overthrowing of all that town " — the townsfolk addressed a petition
to the King praying that the order respecting the adoption of the new-
fangled customs might be rescinded, so that they might reestablish the
old methods of the burgh, which, though imperfect in themselves,
were far superior to those of the metropolis.

Henry V. issued letters patent complying with the request, but
" with no intention that by colour of the premises there should be in
any respect any derogation from the right of the cathedral church of
the Holy Trinity of Norwich, or the Venerable Father and Bishop
[John Wakering] of the same place, who was Lord of the town of
Lenne. "

C 12. Dated at Westminster 2nd June, 4th year of the reign of Henry V. (1416).
Termed, as already stated, "letters patents of exemplilication of the tenor of
a certain instrument for the revocation of divers new ordinances and consti-
tutions, and for the reestablishment of the ancient customs at the election of
othcers for the town of Bishop's Lenne." It is to all intents and purposes a
governing charter.

Was not this a melancholy example of " putting the clock
back "? Their great desire at this crisis was not primarily to share
in local government, but " to rest happily under the sweetness of
peace." For many years, however, their social condition was
destined to be otherwise. The London programme was a sad experi-
ment, and now their rest was broken and the sweetness of their day-
dreams soured even by ancient customs. Five troublous years rolled
slowly by,, and the democracy of the burgh were still strangers to the
social sweetness so relished in bygone times. At a time when they
were again at their wits' end, Bishop Wakering came forward with an
opportune proposal, " for the determination and perfect settlement
of differences long existing among his sons in Christ and tenants of
his town of Lenne."

(3) AN INDENTURE OF AGREEMENT.

To facilitate a better administration of the law, the town had
already been divided into nine "constabularies." The astute
bishop, who was cognisant of the trend events were taking in other
places, suggested that each of the constabularies should choose three
burgesses every year (peaceful, law-abiding, competent men must they
be, having a tenure in the burgh, but not necessarily in any particular
constabulary), who should constitute a committee for the management
of the finances of the town. In these property-owning burgesses,
elected by the people themselves, should be vested power to fix all
taxes and tallages (tenths or fifteenths), also all allowances, whether
presents of wine to the bishop or of falcons to the baron ; to repair
the property belonging to the community, including walls and
bridges ; to recast the ditches, fleets and watercourses ; and generally
to decide on all payments. But if in any constabulary there were
found a deplorable dearth of discreet and peaceful burgesses, then
might the depleted constituency select three from a prolific

THE BISHOP AND THE SWORD. 187

constabulary where they abounded. Moreover, if any of " the
twenty-seven " proved " less than duly sufficient, discreet and peace-
ful," the majority of the twenty-four jurats, plus the twenty-seven of
lower degree, might paralyse the constabulary whose judgment had
been so defective by asking them to amend their choice.

Thus, whilst the upper house, consisting of the twenty-four
jurats, or aldermen as they may henceforth be called, represented the
well-fed, contented section of the community, the members of the
Congregation from the various constabularies, or the twenty-seven,
constituted a lower house, who represented the hungry, grumbling
democracy. More than ever was the House divided against itself;
nevertheless. Bishop Wakering's commendable proposal when
tormulated as an indenture of agreement was gladly accepted."

Devised and established in the interest of municipal peace though they were,
the new ordinances and constitutions made matters so much worse, and especially
so by rendering quarrels fiercer and spites more rancorous, that in the opinion of
the townspeople, or at least in the judgment of the prevailing party of the
borough, it was needful to abolish them utterly, in order to recover the town
from evils that threatened it with quick destruction. A few years later a better
remedy for the insolence of jurats and the passionate discontent of the poorer
burgesses and other inferior inhabitants of the town was devised by the Bishop
of Norwich, when he established the annually-elected common council of " the
twenty-seven " in order that, in respect to taxes for the sovereign and tallages for
local charges and necessities, the populace of the nine constabularies should not
be left completely at the mercy of the jurats, who were invariably drawn from
the overbearing potentiores. If they were not wholly wanting in the virtues, it
is manifest from earlier records of the community that the potentiores were not
wholly exempt from the failings of a dominant class. (John C. Jeaffreson.)

The specific duties relegated to the two sections of the Assembly
may be gathered from

(4) THE SACRAMENT OR OATH,

to which each assented before taking a seat in the administrative
chamber.

The four-and-twenty jurats (aldermen) pledged themselves —

To be ready and obedient to the mayor when they are reasonably and
honestly warned by the sergeant or called by the mayor for the needs of the
town ; to well and truly advise the mayor and council ; to help well and truly,
and to make a true assize (or assessment) touching the freehold (property) within
this burgh, and truly deem (or judge) between the king and between party and
party, when lawfully clepid (or called) thereto, and duly warned by the common
sergeant ; and honestly deal with their fellows in right treating [kindly read
" treatment,"] judging and verdict yielding.

The seven-and-twenty common councilmen, or councillors, the
direct representatives of the people, sincerely promised with their

" Duplicates were written upon the same skin, and were afterwards severed in a wavy, zigzag or serrate
manner, so that tlicy necessarily fitted together. Keplicates were done in the same v. ay, for although old
documents were verbose, yet was the writing squeezed info small compass, so that there could be no
didiculty in writing several on one skin.

The deeds with eil|_;es so cut were called indenlurcf, and the verb "to indent" soon came to imply the
making of a deed or compact. Latin in into, and rfriis, a tooth. The omission to indent a deed was
formerly deemed suflicieut to invalidate it. But a stop was put to this by a judu'C of uncommon common
sense, who, when this objection was taken to a deed produced iu court, remedied the defect himself by
cuttiug a notch or two in the parchment with a penknife.

188 niSTOUY OF KING'S LYNN.

hand — not their lips, mark you, — upon " the book," to come to the
Gild Hall whenever duly warned, and —

To true counsel give for this town, and for needs that touch this town ; to
see all taxes, tallages, iifteenths and loans collected ; to superintend all repara-
tions — amending of houses, walls (sea-banks), bridges, fleets and ditches in
respect to expenses, and to yield a true account after making allowance for
charges and discharges, as often as it is necessary.

(5) THE ELECTION OF MEMBERS.

In some towns, whose municipal mechanism was of the simplest
order, the selection of members to serve in Parliament was
apparently transacted by the leet court or leet jury. In others the
process was complex. Many years elapsed ere the deserving commons
at Lenne were allowed to interfere when the election of " burgesses
in Parliament " was on the municipal agenda. These annual
episodes gave a dash of variety and excitement to the grand yet
wearying epic of their civil existence; but although the exercise of the
local franchise was purely a matter of local arrangement, and rested
with those in authority, the masses were then rigorously excluded,
and thus indeed it remained " until the cognisance of elections was
claimed and recognised a's a right and duty of the House of
Commons." (Stubbs.)

The 7nodus oferayidi in Lenne was indeed complex. The mayor,
who could always boast of a long potentioric pedigree, named four
jurats of potentioric descent, who in turn also chose jour jurats,
collateral branches of the same opulent family, who likewise coopted
four more. The elective committee consisting of these twelve
potentiores ultimately decided who were to represent the enlightened
burgesses of the ancient and loyal burgh of Bishop's Lenne in the
King's Parliament.

On the 17th of June 1432-3, the Mayor, as usual, named the first
quartette, but in this instance he took two from among the jurats,
henceforth alderjnen, and two from the twenty-seven or common
councillors. Then the four, a half-and-half mixture, chose four, who
also chose four, who collectively elected John Watirden and Thomas
Spencer. As far as the method went, it was satisfactory. However,
when Richard Frank and Walter Curson won their seats, the mayor
wantonly ignored the people's representatives from the constabularies
(loth of January 1442). Let us imagine rather than describe the
angry altercation which ensued ; for the people, in a measure conscious
of their power, w-ere not disposed to be snuffed out of existence. In
the end the whole Congregation, including of course the aldermanic
brotherhood, were apparently constrained to agree to two resolutions :
— their members were to receive 2s. each per day, but " no more in
any manner" whilst attending to their Parliamentary duties; and
it was unanimously agreed " that the mayor for the time being, at the
pleasure of his will, shall name for the election of burgesses of Parlia-
ment any four persons it shall please him to name, that is to say, tivo
aldermen and two of the common council, being present at the con-
gregations whenever burgesses of this kind shall in future be elected
for Parliament."

THE BISHOP AND THE SWORD. 189

This seems to have been faithfully observed, because on the 31st
of March 1453, the mayor, who named the twelve electors, took them
from the twenty-four and the twenty-seven; and again on the 31st of
July 1455 the elective committee consisted wholly of aldermen and
the members of the common council.

CALL TO ARMS.

When the French were about to attack Calais, Henry sent letters
to Bristol, Newcastle, Dartmouth, Plymouth, Falmouth, Fowey and
Letine, asking the inhabitants to supply shipping —

— To occupy the sea in suche wise as we shall mowe have the rule and gouern-
aunce thereof, and withstande the malicious purpose of al oure adversaries and
enemyes, to the plesire of God, and to the worshipe and welfare of us and of this
oure lande (28th March 1452).

Before bringing this section of the history of Bishop's Lenne
to a close, it behoves the conscientious chronicler to give a few notes
in reference to the

SPORTS AND AMUSEMENTS

of our forefathers. In reviewing the past, it must be frankly
admitted that, although there was plenty of trouble, when
floods and fires were the rule rather than the exception, when towns
and villages were often decimated with the plague, when wars were
frequent and food was extremely scarce, and when oppression was
the order of the day, our country was truthfully termed " Merry
England." Each season ushered in a variety of pastimes, which
added brightness to the otherwise dull and monotonous lives of the
town labourers as well as the villnge peasantry. Christmas festivi-
ties. May-day revels, the pageants of the oft-recurring saints' days,
the mystery plays of the craft-gilds, all tended to lighten the burden
of daily toil and to render their lives pleasurable.

(i) The game of Ball, either bandy-ball or cnmp-ball,* the
earlier form of football, was played beyond the Deucehill Gate, upon
the " sands of Lenne," the foreshore of the New land. On one
occasion a dispute arose between the players, and John Godesbirth
drew his dagger and fatally wounded Adam the son of Richard Oter
of Wells (1305). The culprit fled to the chapel of St. Nicholas for
sanctuary, but after nine days, and without formally abjuring the
realm, he escaped. Peter the son of Alan of Geywode, however, saw
him, and immediately " raised the hue and cry." The murderer
was, of course, captured, but as pledges were forthcoming for his
future behaviour, he was permitted to go about his business. The

* Camp-bail, that is field-ball, is derived from the Latin word campus, an open space, a plain or a field
This game was RPnerally plaxrd (111 llie Siibhath, in fioltls adjoining the parish rhurch, the kick-off being
administered by the priest from the church-yard.

These campin({ matches were fouijht witli fjreat violence, which quite eclipsed our modern " Rugby,"
and often resulted in wounds, broken limbs, and death.

"To this dav wr hear of camp close and campittf; close at Klsing, Hevingham, Maltishall and Kressing-
ficld: of eiimpiii'g lieUl at .\shfiehl Magna; of camping ground at Denver; of camping land sometimes
londe] at Swalfham, Oarboldisham.Wliissonsett and Xeedham Market, and of camping meadows at Harleston
and other places."— Charles Mackic's Early Football in Norfolk (1893).

1§0 BlSTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

game was probably played, too, in the fields near the Haven, for the
Boal was at one time known as Le Balle (1455-6).*

(2.) There is sufficient evidence to show that Tennis, the
fashionable French game, not its feeble namesake " lawn tennis," was
sometimes played in our burgh, for a fine of threepence was inflicted
on " Bryncklowys, a tenyse pleyer " {circa Henry IV.).

(3.) The Baiting of Bulls, Bears and Apes was not neglected.
In a " composition " executed at Eccles, between Bishop Ralegh and
Hugh d'Albini, Earl of Arundel (1243), a tax of forty pence was
stipulated to be paid at the Tolbooth upon every bear bought and led
out of the franchise, but an ape was admitted free of toll. The
Mayor of Lenne, you may remember, offered the Sheriff of Norfolk a
present, which, when licked into shape, turned out to be a young he-
bear (1416). Bruin was sent to London, his fare, 5s. iid., being
defrayed by the town. A " ber man " — one William Gun, is
incidentally mentioned (1315).

(4.) The Joust or Just was practised here, and possibly the
Tournament too, although prohibited by the Pope in 1228. The
joust differed from the tournament, because in the latter lances were
used, and only two knights could fight at once. Sir Hugh de
Hastings came to Lenne to arrange for a display of local prowess at
the "justes," and was entertained at a tavern with three shillings'
worth of wine (1362). The chamberlains provided " the chief men
of the justes " with wine, which cost the enormous sum of ^^8 los.
Marvel not, therefore, because our champions went forth like giants
newly refreshed.

(5.) Archery, a favourite pastime with the populace, was greatly
encouraged by the government. Edward III. issued a mandate,
" that every one strong in body at leisure on holidays should use in
their recreations bows and arrows, and learn and exercise the art of
shooting, forsaking such vain plays as throwing stones, hand-ball,
foot-ball, bandy-ball or cock-fighting, which have no profit in them
at all." It is positively indisputable that the three greatest battles
in this epoch — Cregy (1346), Poitiers (1356) and Agincourt (1415) —
were gained through the undaunted courage of our yeomen and the
marvellous skill with w"hich they used their bows and arrows.

Another serious dispute, between the aristocratic and plebeian
sections of the inhabitants of Lenne, occurred respecting a narrow
strip of land between the town wall (East Gates to the Purfleet) and
the fresh-water rivulet branching from the Gaywood river. Here
butts had been set up for the practice of archery, but the public were
excluded from the enclosure. What a terrific outburst of indignation
there was ! Why should a select few use the butts, whilst ordinary
townsmen were prohibited? What were the people's representatives
doing to sit placidly in the Gild Hall whilst their rights were filched

Bole (1465-7), Bouif-mills (1614), but more recently termed the World's End — a common name for an
oiit-of-the-wav public house, the door of which was often protected with a spiked hatch to ward off the
constables. The sign generally depicted a man and woman walking leiburely together. Beneath was the
affectionate distich : —

"I'll go with my friend
To the World's End,"

THE BISHOP AND THE SWORD. 191

from them in so audacious a manner? They would talk to the seven-
and-twenty — and talk to them they did most emphatically, but alas !
to no purpose. There was William Fletcher, an expert arrow-maker,
and Henry Mason the tailor, and John the osteller, and John Curlew,
and Robert Barbour, and his brother William — but they could hardly
pin their faith to him, for he was known to be as plastic as potter's
clay. There were at least five brave burgesses who were prepared at
any risk to fight the people's battle, to test the legality of the case,
and settle the question once and for all. Not a whit undaunted, they
clambered over the railings, and a rare day's sport they had at the
sacred butts. How splendid the flight of Jakke Curlew's arrows, and
the Barber's also; but none could approach the skill of the Fletcher,
who might, if so he listed, put them each up to a wrinkle or two.

For this flagrant offence Fletcher and his companions were appre-
hended, and, like good citizens, they quietly submitted. Henry
Thoresby, the mayor, as the mouthpiece of the incensed Congregation,
preached an impressive homily upon the enormity of their offence, and
wound up by fervidly exhorting them not to transgress any more.
They listened attentively and retired politely, but ere long they were
again enjoying themselves in this potentioric paradise.

When brought before the tribunal a second time for trespass, the
Fletcher and his comrades boldly advanced their right to the use of
the butts whenever they thought fit, and the Mayor, not knowing what
to say, adjourned the trial, promising an answer after the next meeting
of the Assembly. In the mean time there was what is described as " a
great commotion." The municipal parliament, as previously stated,
consisted of two antagonistic parts. As contending sections, each
privately retired to discuss the subject, and this from distinct stand-
points. The potentiores decided that the commonalty might have
the use of the butts till Michaelmas for the payment of four shillings ;
the elected representatives of the plebeian inhabitants were of opinion
that the people were entitled to the privilege free, providing no
damage was done to the adjacent ditch, upon which the town was
dependent for its supply of fresh water. A remarkable compromise
was at last effected ; the community were to have easement of the
butts until Michaelmas, the proposed payment being carefully
abstracted from the town's store, and formally entered as reni by the
chamberlain (1426-7). This is serious, though funny; wherefore,
appreciative reader, it would be iniquitous to laugh.

During the next reign (Edward IV.) all towns were ordered to
set up public butts for the use of the people, and every man, no
matter how elevated his social position, was commanded to have a
buw his own height always ready for use; he was, moreover, to train
his children in the art. Under a penalty of one halfpenny (a power-
ful consideration in those days) everybody was compelled to shoot
" up ond down " at (he butts, not only on Sundays, but feast-days as
well.

(6.) Angling. — Our earliest treatise upon this taking subject
was written by a woman. Dame Juliana Berners,* in the Book of St.

* Prioress of Sopwell Nunnery, St. .'Mban's, the ruins of which are still extant.

192 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

Albans, which was printed by Wynkyn de VVorde (1496). Prior to
this our local records yield an instance of a lady fishing — for fish !
Lady Margaret de Beaufort, the daughter of Sir Thomas Nevill, of
Hornby (Lancashire), and the wife of Thomas Beaufort, the Lord
Chancellor, was known to be a thirsty subject, as most anglers are.
When, therefore, her ladyship was fishing at Bawsey pond, the
sympathising chamberlains thoughtfully provided nine pints of red
wine for her delectation, and like quantities when she was on her way
to Wormegay, at Hardwick and Blackburgh hill. Moreover, when
she visited Lenne to witness the miracle play, this bibulous nereid, un-
conscious of the tantalising tortures of "the black list," consumed
(surely not without some slight assistance) four-and-twenty pints

(1409-10).

# * * * *

The " Wars of the Roses," which lasted 30 years, began in this
reign ; the cause in a measure being the startling incapacity of the
King to govern the nation. The Plantagenets, who strove for the
supremacy of the world, were soon almost forgotten ; their glorious
crown, besmirched with blood, was bandied hither and thither by the
Yorkists and Lancastrians, whose respective emblems were a white and
a red rose.*

Queen Margaret won the second battle at Barnard's Heath, near
St. Albans (17th February 1461), and rescued her husband, but
Edward, Earl of March, the heir of Richard, Duke of York, easily
entered the capital. He laid claim to the crown, alleging among
other things that Henry was altogether unfit for performing the duties
appertaining to the sovereignty of England. The Parliament
admitted his pretensions, proscribed Henry VL and his family, and
proclaimed Edward King (4th of March 1461).

CHAPTER XVIIL

The Fugitive Kingf.

When Edward IV. assumed the title of King, his tenure of office was
very uncertain, for considerable forces in favour of the Lancastrian
branch of his family were still in the field, eager to dispute his right
to the throne. It was therefore absolutely incumbent upon him, if he
wished to retain his position, to unsheath the sword (1461). Fully
realising this, he unhesitatingly engaged in active warfare. The
country suffered severely whilst passing through this sanguinary
ordeal, in which 12 princes, 200 nobles and 100,000 yeomen and
commoners perished. " All we can distinguish with certainty through

'■■ " In the year of our redemption 1399, the ist of January, Kin? Richard the Second, in this county,
near to the town of Harwood, ye river Ouze suddenly stayed her course and divided itself, so that for the
space of 3 miles the wonted channell thereof laye dry, to the great ama/.ement of the beholders, and ever
since observed as a prodigious token of foreshowing of that great and lamentable division in the kingdom
betwixt the families of York and Lancaster which the next year followed and continued the time of 90
whole years (?) together with bloodshed and loss."— A/a/) 0/ Bedfordshire (i5io).

THE FUGITIVE KING. 193

the deep cloud which covers this period is a scene of horror and blood-
shed, savage manners, arbitrary execution, and treacherous dishonour-
able conduct in both parties," (Hume.)

*****

Fortunately, however, the civil war did not penetrate into the east
of England; yet the inhabitants of Norfolk, in common with other
favoured districts, were by no means unmindful of what was going
on. There was

GREAT UNREST

in Lenne, though the townsfolk felt the effect in a less degree, but
being bitterly antagonistic to the Lancastrians, they were quite willing,
should a chance arise, to throw in their lot with the opposing faction.
The compilers of local records were reticent, because it was un-
questionably diplomatic in those days of strife and carnage for
towns to be keenly secretive respecting their political predilections.
That the burgesses of Lenne were on the side of the Yorkists will be
clear after a while.

A letter, without either date, name or address, written by one of
John Paston's sons soon after the accession, gives a vivid picture of
what was going on in our immediate neighbourhood. The writer

says : —

And also there is, at the castle of Rising and in other two places, made
great gathering of people and hiring of harness, and it is well understood they
be not to the King ward but rather to the contrary, and for to rob.

A HAZARDOUS " PROGRESS."

On the 19th of June 1469, Edward IV. was at Norwich, and,
riding from thence through Hellesdon, he arrived at Walsingham on
the 2ist. Hearing the King purposed coming to Lenne, great pre-
parations were hurriedly made to accommodate him and his suite.
Entering the burgh on the 26th, he was politely entertained by Walter
Coney, the mayor. Whether the Queen accompanied him is uncer-
tain ; she was, however, in Norwich later in the summer.

Ingulph describes Edward's subsequent journey to Crowland
Abbey in these words : —

Having by way of pilgrimage visited Edmund the Martyr (that is. Bury
St. Edmund,) the King hastened lo the city of Norwich. After this he passed
through Walsingham to Lenne, and thence through the town of Wisbech to
Dovesdale ; whence he rode, attended by two hundred horsemen upon our
embankment, and the barriers having been opened and all obstacles removed, at
last arrived at Croyland.

Edward IV. was in Norwich in 1474, and in Walsingham in
1482 (September), where he was joined by Lord Howard. On both
occasions he visited many places in the county, and possibly came
to Lenne. But the most important of the royal visits to our town
happened in 1470 ; it was due to unpardonable offences given to
Richard Neville, the Earl of Warwick, subsequently known as the
" Kingmaker." On the ist of May, Edward married the young and
beautiful widow of Sir John Grey, better known by her maiden name,
Elizabeth Woodville. This marriage incensed the nobility, especially
the Earl of Warwick, who had been sent to negotiate a match between

2 B

194 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

the King and Bona of Savoy, the sister-in-law of Louis XI. It was
an unpleasant surprise ; but the Earl was still more offended when he
learnt that the young King had secretly brought about a marriage
treaty between his sister Margaret (whom Warwick had destined for
one of the French princes), and the Duke of Burgundy. Annoyed
because the King had married one so beneath him in dignity, dis-
gusted with the inordinate favours heaped upon the Queen's relations,
and smarting at the thought of having been thus wantonly befooled,
Warwick entered into an alliance with Margaret of Anjou, the wife
of Henry VI. He sullenly accompanied George Duke of Clarence,
who had married his eldest daughter, Isabel Neville, to the court of
Louis XL, where he was graciously received, and an accommodation
was effected by that wily potentate between these hitherto mortal
enemies. By this convention, known as the Treaty of Amboise, it
was stipulated that Anne Neville, Warwick's second daughter, should
marry Edward, the son of Henry VI., that they should unite their
forces to reinstate the deposed King, and that in failure of male issue
by the prince, the crown should descend to the Duke of Clarence.

At the time when Edward was putting down a revolt in the north,
raised by Lord Fitz-Hugh (Warwick's brother-in-law), the earl and
the duke landed without opposition at Dartmouth. The popularity of
Warwick was so great that in a few days a prodigious army flocked
to his banner. Henry was proclaimed King, and walked from the
Tower to St. Paul's with the crown upon his head. Warwick pro-
ceeded without delay to Doncaster, where the royal forces were
assembled, and Edward, fearing their fidelity, thought it wise to
retreat.

Gloucester : Brother, the time and case requireth haste.

King Edtvard : But whither shall we then ?

Lord Hastings : To Lynn, my lord.

(Shakespeare.)

Remembering his friends at Lenne, he determined, in this critical
emergency, to test their loyalty. It is affirmed by certain writers
that Edward, emulating the example set by his predecessor King John,
approached Lenne by crossing the Wash, and good-naturedly per-
mitted the in-coming tide to walk off not only with his baggage, but
his money too. Worn threadbare by long service, this locally
seductive tradition may be dismissed for what it is worth.

(l) THE king's escape

is thus given in the Chronicles of Croyland: —

All the English in the neighbourhood [of Dartmouth] felt compassion, as
always is the case, for the exiles, who had just returned, and, not so much
joining them as waiting upon them to shew them every attention, increased their
force to such a number that the troops of King Edward, for which he was
waiting at Doncaster, withdrew from a contest so doubtful in its results. There
was then living in the neighbourhood, at his own mansion at Pomfret, John
Neville, brother to the Earl of Warwick, who at this time had the title of
Marquis of Montague. Although he had sworn fealty to King Edward still on
hearing of the arrival of his brother, he had recourse to treachery, and entered
into a conspiracy the object of which was to seize the King's person by means of
a large body of men, which by virtue of the royal proclamation he had levied.

THE FUGITIVE KING. 195

As soon as this reached the King's ears by the secret agency of a spy, he found
himself compelled to consult his own safety and that of his followers by a
precipitate flight to the port of Bishop's Lenne in Norfolk. Here finding some
ships, he caused himself and his followers, nearly two thousand in number, to be
conveyed across the sea to Holland, a territory of the Duke of Burgund. —
(Ingulph).

About lo o'clock on Sunday evening the 30th of September, the
startled janitor at the South Gates lowered his draw-bridge and raised
the heavy portcullis {port Colyse) to admit " Lord Edward the
Fourth, the late King of England," who was accompanied by the
second Earl Rivers (Sir Anthony Woodville, the Queen's brother),
Lord Hastings the King's chamberlain, William the second Lord
Saye,* Lord Cromwell (Humphrey Bourchier) and many other
knights, esquires and valets, with about three thousand men. This
statement from the Hall Book (No. IL, folio 284) completely nullifies
what Hume, who follows Comines, the French courtier, affirms in
saying that Edward was attended by a small retinue.

It would be interesting to learn how the authorities coped with
such an unexpected influx of visitors at so untimely an hour. This,
however, is impossible, because the compilers of our records wisely
refrained from saying more than was strictly needful. As zealous
adherents of the Yorkists, they did all they could to further Edward's
interests, but at the same time they discreetly kept their own counsel,
for well enough they knew how their loyalty to one rival made them
traitors to the other.

Fully realising the superiority of the forces pitted against him,
and the futility of his present prospects, the King stayed in Lenne
the next day ; and, as no mention respecting the embarkation of his
troops is made in the minutes of the Assembly, we are inclined to
believe — not without tendering polite apologies to the shade of Father
Ingulphus — that Edward temporarily disbanded his followers.
During his stay, he judicially interviewed a small coterie who sided
with his opponents, and graciously pardoned his old friend Walter
Coney, the ex-mayor, Robert Gregory and several others.

In the morning, the Council assembled in the Gild Hall to devise
measures for the safety of the town. Only one item of what
happened at that momentous gathering is recorded. A special watch,
composed of the most vigilant and accredited burgesses, was selected.
This the Mayor and his colleagues were justified in doing, because
the defences of the burgh had previously been relegated to them.

What an anxious time it was to the inhabitants of Lenne,
anticipating, as they must have done, the hourly approach of the
renowned Warwick ; but no thought had they of abandoning their
royal guest and his trusty followers in such a grave dilemma. Would
that long, dreary October day never come to an end ? The suspense
grew almost unendurable. The welcome sound of the curfew was
heard at last ; lights were never more willingly extinguished, and the
overwrought burghers retired to sleep, fitfully dreaming perchance of

• Lord Saye became vice-admiral to the Earl of Warwick ; he was slain at Bamet, i+th April 1471.

196 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

enemies scaling the walls and exultantly parading the streets, dragging
men and women, aye, and children, indiscriminately to prison, to be
hung, drawn and quartered in the near future, as traitors to their
liege sovereign. And what about the watchmen, in whose hands
rested the destiny of a King and the safety of the burgh? How
noiselessly they glided up and down the haven in their clumsy barges,
afraid lest the plashing of their oars might contribute to the catas-
trophe they dreaded. With what patient, noiseless steps they paced
the rampart and peered with straining eyes through the loop-holes in
the gates and battlements.

Verily weeping may endure for a night, but of a surety joy
Cometh with the morning. The shivering sentinels descend from
breezy pinnacle and church tower, exulting in the grand assurance
that the Lord of Hosts was indeed on their side, for had He not
answered their prayers and sent them a night of " gross darkness,"
so Egyptian in density as to be in sooth a hundred and forty-four
times darker than ordinary, every-day darkness.

The long protracted vigil was over ; the sun shone brightly, and
at an early hour the streets and water-ways by which the little burgh
was intersected were thronged by anxious town folk, all eager to
expedite the departure of their hard-pressed monarch. All was in
readiness by 8 o'clock, when the tide served. Then the fugitive
King, with his stanch companions (Lord Cromwell alone excepted),
after sincerely thanking the inhabitants for their kindness, and taking
the mayor, Edmund VVesthorpe, and the burgh officials affectionately
by the hand, stepped on board the vessel and set sail for Flanders,
whilst the cheering breezes whispered: "God speed, God speed,"
and the people of Lenne murmured with tears in their eyes : " Fare-
well, farewell King Edward, until we meet again (2nd October
1470).*

When well out at sea the Lenne vessel was chased by a small
fleet belonging to the Hansa, which was then at war with France and
England. The King and his friends, however, luckily escaped, and
arrived safely in Holland. The statement that Edward fled with
such precipitation that he had nothing with him to bestow upon the
captain save a sable-lined robe which he could ill afi'ord (Hume),
ought to be well shaken before mentally taken.

(2) TRANSPLANTING THE WHITE ROSE.

After an absence of nine months, Edward returned witTi a small
body of troops provided by the Duke of Burgundy. Where the
descent upon the coast of England was actually made is a matter of
conjecture. Ravenspur in Yorkshire, as well as Lenne and Cromer
in Norfolk, have entered the competition, the result of which the
reader must decide for himself. Historians generally regard Raven-
spur in the Holderness with favour. There seems, however, to be a con-
fusion of events. Edward IV . is said to have effected a landing there

• Neither do facts warrant Ihe assertion that Edward " luckily found some ships ready, on board of
which he instantly embarked." (Hume's Hisioiy oj England, i8ij, Vol. III., p. ;4i.)

THE FUGITIVE King. 19?

(14th of March 147 1), but the Duke of Hereford, afterwards Henry
IV ., under similar circumstances landed his forces at the same place
(4th of July 1399). Richards contends that the King landed at
Lenne on the 9th March, but Harrod points out, the incident is not
even mentioned in the town records. Finally, a writer in the Norfolk
Archeology states, the King arrived off Cromer on the 12th, and sent
Sir Robert Chamberlain (a Norfolk man), Sir Gilbert Debenham (a
Suffolk man), and divers others, to ascertain whether the people in
those parts were well affected towards him. As the convoy is said
to have steered for Hull, it may be presumed the fickle-minded people
of Norfolk had cast aside the white rose and were now foolishly
toying with the red.

On this point Hume writes as follows : —

Edward, impatient to take revenge on his enemies and to recover his lost
authority, made an attempt to land with his forces, which exceeded not 2,000
men, on the coast of Norfolk, but being there repulsed, he sailed northward, and
disembarked at Ravenspur in Yorkshire.

To this shall be appended a further extract from the same
authority : —

There is no part of English history since the Conquest, so obscure, so
uncertain, so little authentic or consistent, as that of the war between the two
Roses.

At the onset Edward met with little success, but his army
gradually swelled during the march ; he encountered the Lancastrian
forces at Barnet, where a most obstinate and bloody battle ensued,
and the Earl of Warwick was slain, with ten thousand of his brave
followers (14th April). The Yorkists were once more victorious.
Edward overtook the heroic Margaret and her French auxiliaries at
Tewkesbury (4th of May) ; and here the Lancastrians were
ignominiously defeated. The day following the conqueror's
triumphal return to his capital, the corpse of Henry VL was publicly
exhibited at St. Paul's. It was strenuously reported that the deposed
monarch died of grief, but sagacious writers who flourished under the
next dynasty assert that he was murdered, and several of them attri-
bute the deed to Edward's brother, Richard, Duke of Gloucester
(1471). No further attempts were made to unseat the Yorkist King,
and his position was rendered more secure by the birth of a son (after-
wards Edward V.). in the Sanctuary at Westminster, whither his wife
had fled for refuge.

THE REPAYMENT OF A LOAN.

The new governing body sprung at once into popularity, because
it was more tnily representative. It consisted of twice as many mem-
bers, and embraced two distinct classes, whereas one only was repre-
sented before. In no stinted measure were the demands for which
the inhabitants fought at last granted, including greater freedom of
trade, a more equitable adjustment of tallages, and seats in the council
chamber for those elected by the constabularies.

A further instance of the recognition the humblest were receiving
occurred at the repayment of a loan. When money was needed, it

1^8 HlSTOkY OF itlNG'S LYNN.

was borrowed either from the Gild of the Holy Trinity or from
private indi,/iduals, without any formal application to a Local Govern-
Board. In 1363 our town was indebted to divers burgesses the sum
of ;£38 14s. 4d., which had been borrowed in the name of the com-
munity, and was no doubt expended in strengthening and increasing
the town defences. To John Martyn and his associates a further sum
of ;£6 was owing for money spent in defraying the wages of
" subordinate persons " or workmen. As there was £^ in the
scrinium or town money-box, it was thought advisable to tax the
inhabitants to raise the necessary ;Q2i^. For this purpose an im-
partial assessment committee was chosen, but the manner of its
operation is omitted. Nevertheless, a complete list of those who
served is given. Of the eighteen burgesses, six belonged to the
"number of the twenty-four" (potentiores), an equal number were
from the common council (mediocres), and the remaining six were de
communitate, that is "of the community." Here we find the lowest
and least influential class taking a share in assessing a tax for the
repayment of a loan (nth February 1463).

A VAGUE TRANSACTION.

In 1461-2 John Burbage handed to the chamberlains certain
deeds and a book (a valuable asset belonging to the late John Asse-
burne), to be by them deposited in the town coffer, but whether as
security for the repayment of money or merely for safe custody is not
apparent. The " charters," as they were called, related to tenements
belonging to the following deceased burgesses : John Curson, of
Baxter Rowe (Tower Street) ; John Flete, of Brigge Gate (High
Street); and John Massingham, the brewer, of Damgate (Norfolk
Street).

John Burbage was well versed in law ; he was recorder in 1476,
and probably much earlier. After the receipt of these documents, he
was sent to consult with John Fyncham " on divers matters " in which
the community was interested. As eightpence only was charged for
the hire of two horses, his destination could be at no great distance.

Prior to this we find the burgh indebted to the Gild of the Holy
Trinity the sum of ;^8, for money advanced by William
Waterden and John Curson (1409). Of John Curson little
can be gleaned ; he seemed to belong to a wealthy family ;
beyond this we cannot go. William Waterden, as a
mediocre, was bound in a sum of ;^5o when the townsmen
revolted (1413); he served on the committee appointed to elect the
burgesses in Parliament (1426 and 1433); he acted as scabin or
treasurer (1423), was entrusted with a silver-gilt cup and cover
weighing 36^ ounces, belonging to the Merchants' Gild (1430), and he
rose to be an alderman (1433).

Later Burbage was sent to London by the Assembly (1474),
during the Hilary term (expenses 39s. 2d.), and again the next year,
when he was accompanied by William Nicholasson (part payment
40s.).

THE FUGITIVE KING. 19^

Despite the failure of 1482, another equally unsuccessful attempt
was made during this reign to do away with the bishop's exclusive
right to preside over

THE LEET AND HUSTINGS COURTS.*

Leei is really a contraction for " the Court Leet and View of
Frank-pledge " ; it is also applied to the district subject to the juris-
diction of this particular Court. Under the system introduced or
perfected by King Alfred, all free male residents above 12 years of
age were enrolled and divided into decennaries, made up of ten men,
who were jointly responsible for the good conduct of each other. The
one chosen as president or superintendent of each batch was known
as the chief-pledge, the frank-pledge, or the headborough. The
different decennaries were bound to assemble at stated times to con-
sider the adequacy of their military defences, to repress offences
against the King's peace, to enforce the removal of public nuisances,
to inflict punishments according to law, and to exercise the functions
of the police with regard to criminal delinquents. When summoned,
every one was compelled to appear before the chief-pledge either
personally or by proxy. The chief was accompanied by four good
and lawful men, or affeerors, whose duty was to determine what fines
were to be inflicted.

The form of oath administered to the chief-pledge at Lenne runs
thus : — " Sir, ye shall truly and duly inquire of all manner of articles
that belong to the leet, and not spare for love nor hate, but truly
present, after ye have truly inquired ; so help you God at the holy
doom." To the affeerors (Anglo-Norman affeurer, to tax or assess),
the four who attended with each chief-pledge, the following sacrament
or oath was administered : — " Sirs, ye shall duly lay this leet that
the headboroughs have presented and truly upon your discretions
' officially fix the fine ' {affeeren) after their presentment, not sparing
for love nor for hate; so help ye God at the holy doom."

The words leet and lath are derivatives from the Anglo-Saxon
lathian or gelathia-n, to assemble, and are both used to denote places
where the freemen gathered together to transact business at the Court
Leet. There are at the present time five laths or divisions, similar to
hundreds (originally ten decennaries), in Kent.f

At the Hustings Court (Scandinavian hus, a house, and thing,
an assembly), deeds were enrolled, outlawries sued out, and replevins
and writs of error determined. This court, which dates at least from
the beginning of the nth century, had exclusive functions for the
recovery of land.

For a list of the town's Leet Rolls, Headboroughs' Books and Husting Court Rolls, see nth Report
Hist. MSS. Com. (1887), pp. 210-211.

Until the middle of the iqth centun,', Nelson Street was Lath or Lathe Street, a name often spelt
according to the caprice of the writer; for example, Lathe (1535), Liith (1645), Lay (1809), and Ley (1845),
all variants of the original Lath. Robert the Mayor (1375) was distinfjuished from other mayoral Roberts
of whom there was no dearth, by being surnamed Atte Lath (at the Lath or Leet). Doubtless he dwelt
where the folk-mote or leet assembled. Thomas Lathe, buried in Stradsett Church (1418), was a great
favourite of Henry IV., who bestowed upon him forfeited lands and houses in South Lenae.

200 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

The result of this movement was the issue of letters patent, dated
at Westminster 6th of December, 13th year of this reign (1473),
granting exemplification and inspeximus of —

(aV Letters patent, Porchester, 24 June, 1346. \

(b). A brief patent, Windsor, 6 July, 1346. l Edw. III.

(c). A brief patent, Westminster, 20 August, 1346. )
A charter was obtained the next year.

C. 13 ; dated at Westminster, i6th July, 14th year of his reign (1474) confirming —
(a). Charter (C. 10), Westminster, gth February, 1377. (Richard II.)
m). Letters patent, 14th May, 1377-8. (Edw. III.)
(c). „ „ Walton, loth July, 13 18. (Edw. II.)

— and granting to the mayor and burgesses the custody of the town
against hostile attacks by aliens, etc., the power to assess subsidies for
the defence of the burgh and to distrain for the payment of the same ;
reservation being made of all rights pertaining to the Bishop of
Norwich and his successors.

Other letters patent, dated at Westminster i6th December, ist
year of this reign (1461), were issued, confirming letters patent of
Henry IV. (1406), and granting licence to certain persons to establish
the Gild of St. George in connection with the church of St. Margaret.

BURGESSES IN PARLIAMENT.

At the election in 1467, the elective committee consisted of six
potentiores and an equal number of the secondary classes. The
mayor, Ralph Geyton, chose

four viz., two aldermen \ v, v,

two common-council men ) "^^'^^ ^^°^®
four viz., two aldermen

two common-council men \ "*^^° ^^^^^
four viz., two aldermen

two common-council men

Hence, through the ward or constabulary members, the people
had now an indirect interest in parliamentary elections.

The members having discharged their parliamentary duties, met
the burgesses in the Gild Hall, " declared the acts of Parliament,"
namely, " certain acts in writing and certain by word of mouth," and
received their pay.

During the first year of this reign, the borough was favoured
with the presence of several distinguished guests, all " graced with
polished manners and fine sense," which considerably swelled the
chamberlains' disbursements. Prominently appear the names of

LORD AND LADY DE SCALES.

As early as the 12th century Middleton became the principal
seat of this illustrious family, through the marriage of Roger de
Scales (a descendant of Harlewin de Scalariis, Lord of Waddon, in
Cambridgeshire) with Muriel, the daughter and coheiress of Jeffrey
de Lisewis. Here the family settled, and, owning much property in
the vicinity, wielded almost limitless power. Upon the site of the
Castle, which for many years was the chief seat of the Scales, " the
Towers " were subsequently built.

THE FUGITIVE KING. 201

Be it remarked inter alia, that Robert, the eldest son of Robert
the 6th Lord Scales, succeeded his father as the 7th Lord de Scales
(1402), and dying without issue (1418), the estates reverted to his
brother Thomas, who also resided in Norfolk.* He was one whose
factious disputes occasioned a visit from the Duke of Norfolk (1452).
He died in 1 460-1. His son Thomas is believed to have died a
minor; his daughter Elizabeth was, however, twice married: first to
Henry Bourchier, the second son of Henry, Earl of Essex; and
secondly to the Queen's brother Anthony Woodville, who was the 9th
Lord Scales by virtue of his wife. In 1469 he became Lord Rivers.

Grossly impolitic it would have been for any town to have
slighted such important neighbours ; hence as soon as Lord Anthony
entered into the possession of the estate at " Middelton," the Assembly
voted Lady Elizabeth a congratulatory present, which cost siimma
totalis seven shillings, including as it did six flagons of red and sweet
wine (1461-2). Later in the year, Lord Scales visited Lenne for the
first time, and was soon drinking wine in the house of Arnulph
Tixonye, an hostelry to which the mayor and his friends resorted.
Mindful of her ladyship, the Assembly sent two flagons and one
bottle of red and two flagons of sweet wine to the Whitefriars'
monastery, where she was staying.

After a while Lord Scales left the town and "rode to the King "
(1461-2). It seems indeed probable that the King was in Lenne this
year, and tRnt, attended by a princely retinue, he witnessed the annual
spectacular miracle play performed at the Feast of Corpus Christi.
Seldom did our old nobility travel unattended by their minstrels ; and
payments we find were made to the King^s jninstrels, as well as to
those of Humphrey Bourchier the Lord de Cromwell, Richard Neville
the Earl of Warwick, Sir John Howard the Duke of Norfolk, Lord
Scales and other illustrious persons. Rewards, too, were given to a
sergeant-at-arms, the bearer of a message from the King, and to
another of His Majesty's servants, who brought a letter to the mayor,
asking him to provide a supply of wheat. Wine was purchased to
allay the thirst of William Fitz-Alan, the Lord Arundel ; Sir William
Langostrother, the master of Carbrooke in Norfolk, and one of the
famous Knights Hospitallers of St. John of Jerusalem, besides the
" dearest dear " wife of John Twier, who was a great favourite.
The mayor and the sword were actually trotted out on this auspicious
occasion, and the preparatory cleaning — of the sword, not the mayor —
cost four pence, whilst eighty pence was spent in covering the scabbard
thereof with " cremesyne velvett."

The Duke of Norfolk and Lord Scales were not whollv bent on
pleasure, if reliance be placed on the Paston Letters. " Sir John

• Carvings of the arms of Robert de Scales, (gules, six escallop shells, argent) and those of Robert
Ufford, the Earl of Suffolk fsable, cross engrailed, or) whose daughter Catherine married Robert de Scales,
may be seen in the chancel of St. Margaret's rhunh. Though public benefactors, the "good" they did, in
many instances, is " interrred with their bones."

The scallop, a frequent bearingon escutcheons, intimates that the bearer or his ancestors had undertaken
some long sea voyage or been a crusader.

2 C

202 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

Howard is come home," says the writer (he had been engaged in the
war in Brittany, 1462), " and it is said that the Lord Scales and he
have a commission to inquire why they of this county came not
hastilier up after they were sent for." Were there any delinquents
in Lenne? For the honour of the burgh, we trow not.

OUR VICTUALLERS.

Monasteries as places of accommodation and entertainment were
only accessible to the very rich and the very poor. The first were
tolerated, because as " paying guests," they augmented the friars'
income by gifts and endowments. The squalid wayside taverns were
too utterly wretched as abodes for persons of respectability and high
social standing, hence the absolute necessity of not closing the
monastic doors against them. The poor gained entrance through
Christian charity alone, for the cheapest hostelries were far too
expensive for their flaccid purses. Besides, inns were then by no
means common, and knights were often constrained to sleep in barns
and outhouses with their horses. They — the houses — not the knights
— were known by their long projecting poles, at the end of which
was a tuft of small branches. Believing in the proverb that " Good
wine needs no bush," the English discontinued a practice that is still
in vogue in Belgian villages. An idea of the exorbitant charges to
which travellers submitted may be formed by carefully re-reading the
expenses of the deputation to London (141 1).

Besides the few decent and necessary hostelries to which we
might have invited the less fastidious of our weary readers, there
were, we blush to own, several taverns most infamously famous. The
flagrant reputation of those frequenting these houses caused
the Congregation much uneasiness. The rank Augean stables wanted
a thorough cleansing, and Messrs. Caus and Company were not the
men to shirk the Herculean task. Not only did they pass resolutions
which were unusually drastic, but they instructed the common ser-
geant to make public proclamation for the enlightenment of the be-
nighted dwellers in this wicked town, so that the taverner, who never
heard the curfew and whose doors stood open at " unsealable " hours,
and the habitual tippler, whose maudlin songs disturbed the slumber
of more respectable burgesses, might have no excuse, if so be they were
detected.

Be it therefore known to all and sundry, that the will and
intention of the Congregation is to clear the town of drunken prowlers
and common tapsters, to wit " misgoverned women." Henceforth
a master employing such an one is liable to a fine of forty shillings
for every offence, as is also the landlord who harbours such a tenant
after friendly admonition from the mayor. Moreover, to stop pro-
fane trading, the Congregation ordains that during harvest and in
cases of unquestionable need the wine taverners may sell meat and
victuals upon the Sabbath ; but if the butcher, the baker or the candle-
stick-maker venture to supply even strangers whose credentials are un-
impeachable, they shall each and all be fined eighty pence (30th
October 1465).

THE FUGITIVE KING. 203

During this period the names of two or three inns are
mentioned : —

(i) The Bull, in the Chequer ward, occupied the site of what
has within a few years past been rechristened the Earl of Beaconsfield
tavern, High Street. It bore a bull as a sign, and was assessed at
;^io in 1752. Here Lord Thomas de Scales stayed when he
examined Master William Leech, otherwise known as ^^ le pelour,^' or
robber (1457-8), as also did John de la Pole the Duke of Suffolk

(1474-5)-

In the Household and Privy Purse Accounts of the Le Stranges

of Hunstanton two entries relate to this hostelry : — " Itm p'd to my

host of the Bull at Lyn by the hands of the forsayd Robt. for a cagg

of els, vs.... the xvij daye of Februarye for xxvj dosen candle,

xxxijs. vj d. (1533-4)-"

(2) The Bell was in the Kettlewell ward. The sergeant-at-
arms was entertained here when he was the bearer of a writ ; a charge
of 4s. 7d. for " horsemeat " was entailed (1446-7). John Cooper
was " the innkeeper " in 1599, and Edward Kynton supplied
" muskedyne " for the communion in 1639. The house was assessed
at jQ2 13s. 4d. in 1752. The old sign of the Bell remained in
Norfolk Street not many years since.

(3) The Swan may be located in the Grassmarket, where an
assault was committed, as given in the Gaol Delivery Rolls (1454-4).

MUNICIPAL WINE-BIBBING.

At times our records resemble a vintner's account more than
anything else, yet many of the entries are justifiable. The expendi-
ture was an investment, which was supposed to yield in some shape
or other a good return. Not only was wine given to John de la Pole,
the Duke of Suffolk, but to Sir Robert VVyngefeld the mayor pre-
sented uno vase vini del Ricne (1473-4). Surely no burgess would be
so captiously inclined as to object to a friend (who, by-the-bye, was
the Controller of the Royal Household and a Knight of the Shire
for the county of Norfolk), imbibing " a deep, deep draught of good
Rhine wine," even though it cost the community thirty shillings, five
of which was paid for the carriage to " Harley," or East Harling.
Sir Robert VVyngefeld, or Wingfield (our forefathers and foremothers
never displayed greater ingenuity than when spelling surnames),
married the widowed daughter of Sir Robert Harling, and now pro-
posed spending a while with his newly-adopted father-in-law. That
magnificent specimen of mediaeval art, the east window in the parish
church at East Harling, perpetuates the lineaments of Sir Robert,
who died — and we cannot disown it — after drinking the alcoholic
beverage sent by the well-disposed, though short-sighted folk of Lenne
(1480).

Other instances of wine-bibbing occurred when William Caus, the
mayor-elect, presented himself at Gaywood before accepting the cus-
tody of the town (1464);* when, as a duly installed Mayor, he, with

* In 1688-9 the chapel-reeves of St. Nicholas paid " to Grace Smyth 3/ for two quarts of Clarrett at
Gaywood Cort." Was not this " a custom more honour'd in the breach than the obser\'ance " ?

204 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

his brethren, went about " to see the tenements of the community,"
in order to abate nuisances and check encroachments ; when Lord
Cromwell passed through the burgh (1461-2); and when on the 13th
day of December the Feast of the Virgin St. Lucy was celebrated,
possibly by a miracle-play, at Middleton (1465).

This deservedly celebrated maiden, the patron saint of
Syracuse, was sore distressed because of a nobleman who was enrap-
tured, if not mesmerised, by the amazing brilliancy of her eyes.
Without hesitation Lucy tore them from their sockets and gave them
to him, saying : " Now let me live to God." Sequel — heaven restored
her eyesight ; the rejected lover thrust a sword through her neck
because she lacked faith in Christ, and the virgin died. Lucy is
represented in mediaeval paintings as waving a palm-branch and
bearing a platter on which are two infatuating eyes. Other accounts
attribute her martyrdom to the effects of red-hot pincers (a.d. 305).

ALDERMANCY.

Each of the nine unequal areas into which the town was divided
for the advantages of local government was under the control of a
superior officer, who was known as the captain or constable ; he was
responsible for the maintenance of peace in his own district. At this
time many of the townsfolk were dissatisfied and rebellious. To help
these worthy officials, who were almost driven to desperation, the Con-
gregation decided to appoint coadjutants from the influential " four-
and-twenty " of the upper house. Nine jurats were chosen; some
perhaps of whom were infants in the discriminating eye of the law,
yet were they all to be henceforth dubbed Aldermen (eldermen).
Every

(l) WARD ALDERMAN

was to work in conjunction with his own captain, their sole object
being to quell disturbances and to pacify the riotous. They were —
and in this they ought to be sincerely pitied — to listen patiently to
all controversies and debates, and to speak a word in due season ;
moreover, the effect of this magical word must " reduce " the raging
disputants " to peace," rather than pieces as some deserved.
Realising, perhaps, the truth subsequently expressed by Butler —

He tliat complies against his will
Is of his own opinion still,

the Congregation earnestly besought the unruly to submit to the judg-
ment of the aldermen and constables, but. anticipating difficulties,
and, like the war-horse, " scenting the battle from afar off, the thunder
of the captains and the shouting," they determined to debar the
recalcitrant from taking their grievances to any court. To the
spiritual as well as the temporal court their pleas should be inad-
missible unless the applicant were armed with a special licence from
the Mayor (12th March 1479). Ten years prior to this, when a
constable was wanted to fill the place of John Blanche, an elective
committee of eight was thought sufficient. The first four were chosen
by the Mayor, and the complement by those first selected. Two,

THE FUGITIVE KING. 205

however, in each quartette, be it noted, belonged to the Upper and
two to the Lower sections of the Assembly (13th December 1369).

(2) GILD ALDERMAN.

Just a month before the curtain was once again rung down on
another of the many acts in the historical drama the varying scenes
of which were laid in Lenne and the neighbourhood, it was necessary
to elect another mayor (29th August 1476). William Nicholasson,
whose year of office had nearly expired, stepped modestly upon the
dais to nominate the first four of the elective committee. In so doing,
he was merely following Roger Galyon's example, and complying
with a custom established five-and-sixty years before. But he was
quietly relegated to the obscure background, whilst the president of
the Gild of the Holy Trinity stood prominently forward in a halo
of municipal lime-light, asserting his right to do what the worthy
mayor essayed to do. Surely this could not be legitimate business,
yet we are told it was " in accordance with the form of an agreement
in that respect made and exemplified under the king's great seal."
Now Walter Coney was a favourite with the people, and deservedly
so, for he added the beautiful Trinity chapel to St. Margaret's
church, and had just commenced at his own cost the erection of the
cross-aisle. With good grace William Nicholasson gave place to the
benevolent veteran, but the burgesses were fearful lest their right
should be infringed by the election of four potentiores.

Walter Coney nominated four, who nominated four, and conjointly
the eight nominated the remaining four. By careful comparison the
status of six out of the twelve members can be determined. Four
belonged to the common council, one was an alderman, and one is
described as "of the community." Though Walter Coney did what
the mayor had usually done, he certainly conformed with the usages
of the time, because two at least (John Trunch and William Rawlyn)
of the four he named were unquestionably of the twenty-seven who
represented the constabularies. Of the other two — John Ernesby and
Edmund Bawsey, the waterman — nothing definite shall be said, but
as their names occur neither in the mayoral list nor with the potentiores,
the chances are in favour of their being either outside burgesses or
members of the common council.

So far, well and good ; the anxiety of the populace is assuaged,
for the retrogressive movement, to which they deferentially
submitted, has resulted in no curtailment of their rights.
Mutual gratulations, from rich and poor, are heard. Every-
body is delighted ; the haughty merchant grasps the humble artisan
by the hand, because, though moving in different social planes, they
have one common object at heart — the moral and commercial prosperity
of the town in which they dwell. As the excited burghers burst from
the narrow confines of the Trinity hall, they are surrounded by inquisi-
tive crowds, who, hearing how the merchant alderman had supported
the democracy, raise a prolonged cheer. And now may the curtain
slowly unwind, whilst the throbbing bells outpour a sonorous yet
emphatic benediction. Inarticulate hubbub, say you ? By no means,

206 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

my friend. To those of the folk of Lenne who listen aright, the
message of St. Margaret's bells, so fraught with meaning, is well
expressed by the words from the lips of a modern singer : —

Ring out false pride in place and blood,
And civic slander and the spite,
Ring in the love of truth and right,

Ring in the common love of good.

# * * * *

Edward IV. visited Walsingham in the middle of September
1482, and made a progress through some parts of Norfolk and Suffolk,
Unfortunately attacked by a slight ailment, which was disregarded,
but which developed into a serious disorder, he died on the 9th of
April 1483, and was buried at Windsor.

CHAPTER XIX.

Ooi" Lady of the Mount.

Edward V. had scarcely attained his kingly inheritance, when, by
the cruel machinations of his "dear uncle " Richard, Duke of
Gloucester, Protector of the kingdom, he was deposed, dethroned,
and with his brother Richard, the Duke of York, murdered in the
Tower. He reigned but a few months, being only thirteen years of
age when he came to the throne (9th April 1483). The two brothers
are believed to have been put to death in August, by Forest and
Deighton, the subordinates of Sir James Tyrrel.

*****

Edward V., who was probably at Ludlow, did not hear of his
father's death until the 14th. On the i6th he addressed a letter to
the Mayor and his brethren at Lenne, which was read at the Con-
gregation held on the 24th.

THE king's letter.

, . . Trusti and welbelovyd We grete you well, and where as it hath
pleased [God] to take out of this transitory lyf the most victorious Christen
Prince of famous memory King Edward the iiijth our kynd loving lord, and
fader, whos soule God of his infinite mercye pardon, The lamentable and most
sorowfuUe tydinges therof was shewed unto us the xiiij daye of this present
moneth, which stered us to alle sorowe and pensyfnes (pensiveness), yit remem-
bryng that we be alle mortal 1 and nedely must obey goddes ordenaunce and take
it therfor as we shalle doo al thynges obeisantly after his will, And where (as) it
hath pleased hym to ordeigne and provide us to succede and enherite my seid
lord and fader in the preemynence and dignite Royalle of the Crowne of
Englond and Fraunche, We entend by hym that sendeth alle power with the
feithful assistence of you and other our true and lovyng subgettes so to governe,
rule and protecte this our Realmo of Englonde as shalbe to his pleasyr oure
honor and the wele (weal) and suerte of all oure subgettes in the same and to be
att oure Cite of London in all convenient haste by goddes grace to be crowned
at Westminstre, Willyng and charging you to se that our peax (peace) be surely

OUR LADY OF THE MOUNT. 207

kepte and good governaunce had within the tovvn of Lynne, Not fayling to
excute our commandement and your auctorite in that behalfe favour or dewte
of eny persons what estate or degre he be offe as ye entende our singler pleasure
and your trewe acquittal therin ye shal deserve of us speciall thankes, Yeven
undre our signet at our Castell of Ludlowe the xvj day of April [1483].

* * * # *

On the 26th of June 1483 Edward V. was deposed; the next
day the arch-hypocrite Gloucester hastened to Westminster, and,
seating himself upon the throne, coolly declared himself King by
inheritance and election. He and his wife, the widow of Prince
Edward (killed after the battle of Tewkesbury), were crowned on the
6th of the next month.

During this short but eventful reign nothing of importance
transpired in Lenne. It seems uncertain whether Richard III.
visited our burgh at all ; he was at Rising, however, on one occasion,
for a letter he then addressed to a friend is extant. Therein he
confesses : " I am not so wel purveide of money as it behoves me to
be, and therfor [I] pray you, as my specyal trust is in you, to lend
me a hundreth pound " (until the following Easter).

CHARTER.

The usurper's policy was a conciliatory one; his earliest acts
were to bestow rewards on those who had assisted him in securing
the crown, and in several instances he shewed himself superior to
petty feelings of revenge. Neither was he remiss in bestowing
charters. As a rule, the benefits conferred were as nothing when
compared with the effusions of kindness and friendship therein
expressed. Our town was one of the grateful recipients.

C. 14. Dated at Westminster, 21st February, the first year of his reign (1484).

It merely reiterated and confirmed that of Edward IV. (C. 13 ; 1474).
Letters patent dated 21st February, 1484.

" THE RED MOUNT, ' '

or the Chapel of St. Mary on the Hill (the Gannock), now claims
attention.* " If other buildings attract notice by their magnitude,
this deserves it from its peculiar smallness. It is so well proportioned,
yet so extremely diminutive, that it seems like a beautiful model for
a much larger edifice, or it may not improperly be denominated
a cathedral for Lilliputians." (Rev. E. Edwards.) Dedicated
to "Our Lady the Virgin Mary," this wayside oratory, built in the
fashion of a cross, is enclosed in an octagonal shell of red brick.
Between is a double staircase, which afforded easy ingress and
egress to the throngs of worshippers, who entered by one door
and departed by the other. The building, buttressed at each
angle, is made up of three storeys. In the upper, is the beautiful
cruciform chapel (18 feet by 14J feet, and 13 feet in height),
which is a unique specimen of the later Perpendicular style, the

• The church of St. Mary Magdalen, at Woolwich, is near " Our Lady Hill." The original building is
believed to have been dedicated to " Our Blessed Lady the Virgin " ; but the second to St. Mary Magdalen
by which name it was known as for back as 1455.

208 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

ornaments and panelling being of the most florid character. " The
fan tracery is on the same principle as that of King's College,
the works of which were then going on; and it may be that masons
from Cambridge were the carvers, though that building does not
shew such refinement in the mouldings and carved wood as this."
(Mr. E. M. Beloe.)* The walls are pierced with square openings
filled with elaborate tracery ; thus, when there was not room in the
chapel, those crowded in the adjacent passage could witness the
elevation of the host. The floor of the lower chapel (bassa ecclesia),
which is now bereft of plaster and pavement, is on a level with the
Gannock. Between these chapels are two rooms, vaulted in brick
and communicating with each other, which were used by the
officiating priests.

(l) ITS ERECTION.

Short, yet interesting, is the story of the rearing of this
sacred edifice. With commendable motives, William Spynk, the
prior of Lenne, determined upon building a small oratory for the
accommodation of the multitude of pilgrims who wended their way
through Lenne to the miraculous shrine at Walsingham. The site
chosen was an ancient embankment, beyond the eastern boundary
of the burgh. Without further ado, the prior commenced the
projected building, but the Corporation, disputing his right, ordered
William Yates, one of the chamberlains, to warn Robert Curraunce
(a name spent in many ways) that he was wrong in appropriating
the land without having first obtained the consent of the Mayor
and Commons (24th April 1483). Thus was the work abruptly
brought to a standstill. The Congregation, however, approving the
the prior's laudable intention, appointed a small committee, consisting
of the mayor, Thomas Thoresby, the church-reeves, William
Nicholasson and William Burbage, to interview and " commune
with the prior for the ground of the hill called [prospectively and
for the first time] the Lady of the Mount, for the weal of the
Commons " (June i6th). The work was, notwithstanding, suspended,
and the enterprise remained in abeyance until the 25th of January
1485, when the Congregation unanimously agreed to grant Robert
Curraunce licence to build the proposed chapel on " Ladye Hylle," —
on the ground belonging to the community, providing he found
sureties satisfactory to Henry Spylman and M. Fyncham, and that
he moveover pledged himself not to deprive the people of their
common grazing ground. At the best this was a vague agreement.
However, during the mayoralty of Thomas Wright, the following
resolution was passed : —

Agreed that the prior shall have al the grounde that the Lady of the mount
stonde upon with the Grasing round the barr from the gannoke on to the clowe
[sluice at the Purfleet] as long as it pleaseth the Meyer and the Comons, for the
whyche Lese [lease] the Prior of Norwiche and the saide Prior shall give to the

* The late Rev. R. Hart was inclined to treat this as the only specimen in the county {Antiq. Norf.,
1844, p. 30], there are, however, vestiges of fan tracery in the arch (south side) at the South Gates. May
not these fragments be some of the discarded materials from St. Mary's Chapel in the Chapel of St.
Nicholas (1413), which were used, more than once, when rebuilding the " Gates " ?

OVR LADY OF THE MOUNT. 209

said Meyer and Comons a medow plotte lying at the Mille called the Mille
Medow as the ferme rent thereoffe'(6th May 1485).

There was a further stipulation, that the prior should find
four tapers for the two great candlesticks at the high altar.

Harrod says Robert Curraunce began the building, which was
completed by the prior. We are, however, inclined to agree
with Mr. Beloe, that Robert Curraunce was a local builder engaged
in carrying out the prior's design.

To the popularity of the shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham we
are indebted for this remarkable edifice. By far the greater number
of the devotees passed through Lenne on their way thither. Those
from abroad cast anchor in our haven; those from the northern
counties took ship at Long Sutton and crossed the Wash to Lenne ;
and those from the west came by the only road by which the
county could be traversed and that led through our burgh. It
seems likely there was a modest chapel on this site before tTie
erection of the "Red Mount," because William March gave 6/8 to
the fabric of St. Mary the Virgin upon the Gannock Hill, and his
will was proved the same year (1480) in the Prerogative Court, that
is, three years before Robert Curraunce started building.
Subsequently, in a survey of the town, we meet with Mount House,
"a cundytt of recept," that is, a receptacle for the storage of
water (1577)-

Vulgar minds suggest there was profit to the prior, for the people made
great offerings to this altar. But was that to his profit ? The prior was the
promoter of the work and the receiver of the offerings. By the rules of his order
there could be no children of his to whom he could leave his substance ; he
accounted for every farthing to his superior at Norwich ; he at least was
unselfish. He, by his work, expressed and led the religious feeling of the time,
and it is impossible to judge the ideas of the 15th century by Ihose of the
19th. (Mr. E. M. Beloe.) *

(2) A PROTOTYPE IN FRANCE.

The Red Mount at Lynn is — " so far as we know, unique in this
country," writes the late Mr. G. Webster in Hunstanton and its
Neighbour Jiood, " but at Amboise, in the south of P'rance, the
travelk-r may see one of similar construction, dedicated to St. Hubert.
It is somewhat larger, and even more beautiful, and we are ashamed
to add, that it is far better cared for than our elegant relic."
Messrs. Feasey and Curties refer to the same structure in Our Lady
of Walsingham (1901), p. 18.

At first sight it appears remarkable that our Red Mount
should be the replica of an oratory in the south of France. How
conies it that two buildings practically alike are situated in different
countries and so far apart? What constituted the bond of affinity
between the people of Amboise and those of Lenne? It must,
we think, be primarily attributed to the widespreading propaganda of
the order of St. Benedict. For five or six centuries the growth

* For an excellent dctailpd ficcouiit of this extraordinary buildinj;; read Our Lady's Hill and the Chaptl
Ihei-eon (1884), by Mr. E. M. Beloe ; also see Harrod's Deeds and Records vf Lynn, pp. 49- jj, and an account
by the l^ev. li. Edwards in Brilton's Archiltctural Antiquitiei (1807).

2 D

210 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

and development of this brotherhood was most rapid. St. Augustine,
whom Pope Gregory sent hither, was prior of the Benedictine
monastery of St. Andrew at Rome, and was accompanied by several
Benedictine monks (a.d. 596). In course of time, as the
outcome of this important movement, many monasteries were founded
in this country, and all our cathedral priories, with one solitary
exception, belonged to this order.

Amboise, a small manufacturing town of about 5,000
inhabitants, is situated upon the left bank of the Loire, some
12 miles east of Tours. To the west of Amboise, however, is a far
more important place, namely Angers. As our gleanings anent
Amboise are lamentably scarce, let us consider a few facts, which
go to prove that Angers was well known in this part of England,
and then, by a sort of narrowing process, try to shew the connection,
if any really existed, between our town and Amboise.

(i) In 1075 Ivo Taillebois derived great satisfaction from
cruelly persecuting the inoffensive people of Crowland, and
particularly the monks belonging to the abbey. Connected with
this brotherhood was a cell at Spalding with a wooden chapel
dedicated to St. Mary, which was at length abandoned because of
the intolerable tyranny of this powerful Norman. Taking even
greater advantage, Ivo wrote to Natalis, the lord abbot of
St. Nicholas at Angers, entreating him to send brethren to take
possession of the deserted place, promising to build and richly
endow a convenient cell for the accommodation of a prior and
five monks. " Accordingly the monks of Angers came and took
possession of our cell," writes Ingulph, "and thus before our very
eyes do foreigners devour our lands." Sixteen years later the abbot
of Crowland appealed to the king respecting the ownership of the
marsh of Crowland. Richard decided in favour of the abbot (iiqi),
but Jocelyn, abbot of Angers, appealed during the next reign, when
the scales were turned and the previous decision reversed, " to the
no small detriment of the church of Crowland " (1206),

(2) For seven years (11 77-1 184) Henry II. held his court
at Angers, when he built the magnificent Hospital, which forms
an important link between the architecture of England and France.
From the north flocked the nobles of Normandy, and from the
south the prelates of Guienne, to the King's court, where they
met multitudes of august visitors from England. There was,
moreover, at this time an alarming famine in Anjou, and our
King generously undertook to feed the starving people of that
province for six months. No wonder the French and English were
then friendly.

(3) Allen de Zouche founded a cell to the monastery of
SS. Sergius and Baccus (Angers) at Swavesey, ten miles from
Cambridge (circa 1075). There was a Benedictine nunnery, too, at
Denny, near Waterbeach, in the same neighbourhood, to which
belonged the presentation of the vicarage of Godeston (Gooderston
in Norfolk).

OUR LADY OF THE MOUNT. 211

(4) William Anger (or Aunger), the vicar of Godeston,
exchanged livings with Henry de Basser (or Basset), the vicar of
All Saints, South Lenne (1352). Anger was his paternal name,
the family no doubt belonging originally to France, but he was
oftener called William of Swavesey, "from the place of his birth."
(Blomefield.)

(5) John Norris, vicar of All Saints, South Lenne, bequeathed
13s. 4d. to Dame Alice Spicer, " nunne of Denny," to pray for his
soul, and i6s, 8d. to the nuns generally; also to the nuns of
Blakeburgh (near Middleton) 6s. 8d. for the same purpose (7th March

1503)-

(6) Anger (or in modern spelling Ainger) as a surname is
common; for example, 1298, Anger de Lenne; 1271, Anger de
Rysing; 1573, Edward Aimger (smith); 1685, John Aunger (baker);
and John Ainger of Friars Street, who faithfully served his Queen
and country during the Russian war (1855).

From the foregoing scraps of inform.ation it may be seen
how closely Crowland, Spalding, Swavesey, Denny (Waterbeach),
and indirectly perhaps Gooderston were connected with the
Benedictine brotherhood at Angers, just in the same way as was
the priory at Castleacre affiliated with the convent at Caen in
Normandy. We learn besides how the vicar of All Saints' church,
whose family no doubt migrated from Angers, was born at Swavesey,
and how the nuns of Denny presented the youthful scholar — their
"William of Swavesey" with the living of Gooderston, near
Swaffham, and how he ultimately settled in Lenn. It seems feasible
that the monks at our priory might have been introduced to the
monks of Angers or Amboise through William Angers, the vicar
of South Lenne.

What is still more convincing is the existence of a deed executed
in 1390 and now in possession of our Corporation. By this
remarkable instrument the abbot of the monastery of SS. Sergius
and Baccus at Angers appointed John Tournedon prior of the
cell at the priory at Swavesey in Cambridgeshire, which was an
offshoot of the French monastery. The new prior belonged to an
influential Lenne family ; for Peter de Thurendine (or Tourenden)
wa.s mayor in 1288 and again in 1309. John de Thurendine was
mayor in 1303, and moreover a certain John de Thoryndeyn witnessed
a deed in 13 16.

Enough has been said, without referring to the already-
mentioned convention known as the Treaty of Amboise, which was
ratified by the Lancastrian parliament (1470)? to shew that the
beautiful oratories at Bishop's Lenne and Amboise owe their origin
to the friendly intimacy between the English in this part of the
kingdom and the French living in Angers and the surrounding
district.

(3) THE fiddler's FATAL VENTURE,

Opinion is somewhat divided about the existence of a
mysterious subterranean passage leading to the castle at Rising (!)

212 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

It is said that an adventurous bacchanalian fiddler once determined
to explore the gloomy passage: —

A bottle of grog

He took, and his dog,
And fiddled right merrily ;

And a lantern, light,

With a cord tied tight
Around his waist, had he. *

• — On entering the vault he struck up a lively tune, and those
assembled to see the wager fairly won were positive they heard
the fiddle distinctly enough to trace his underground course for a
mile at least. Then, as they affirmed, the melody suddenly ceased.
How patiently they waited for the return of the intrepid
explorer ! but from that day to this the heroic Curtius never emerged.
The rescue party, who courageously attempted to follow, were, alas !
compelled to retrace their steps, or they, because of the overpowering
effect of the foul air, must assuredly have succumbed to a like fate.
Strange, however, to relate, the intelligent dog found his way back,
seemingly none the worse.

We are reminded of the celebrated Dog's Grotto, not far from
Naples. Here carbonic acid gas (carbon dioxide) is freely discharged,
and being heavier than common air, a dense stratum settles upon
the floor of the cavern. A person tall enough to breathe the
air above may enter with impunity, whereas a dog is instantly
affected. Asphyxia, however, quickly passes off if the dog be
exposed to a cuirent of pure air. In the story just related, things
are crassly reversed; there is, indeed, no accounting for the
startling instances of topsy-turveydom encountered in the misty
realm of romance. Similar underground passages are said to extend
between the Gild Hall and the old Carmelite monastery near
Blakeney church, and between Binham and Walsingham, where a
bank called "the Fiddler's Hill" commemorates a like remarkable
event. The climax — the eternal disappearance of the too
venturesome musician — is the same as in the Lynn tradition. t The
veracity of the incident in the second example is, however, proof
against the assaults of those who would expunge from our memories
the valiant deeds of bygone generations, because "Jimmy Griggs"
and his canine friend "Trap" were characters well known to the
great-grandfathers of many of the unimpeachable inhabitants of
Binham.

Granted (protests the reader) that the narrative of the Lynn
fiddler is far-fetched — fetched, it may be, all the way from Blakeney,
but surely you will not presume to demolish the facts that Queen
Isabella traversed the damp, gloomy passage (only four and a-half
miles long!) when she came up to worship at the Red Mount,
and that Edwnrd IV., when put to flight by the Earl of Warwick,
was constrained to "put up for the night "in this wayside chapel.

* A ballad by Charles Utting, entitleU " The Fiddler among the Imps " (1885), treats this local tradition
poetically.

See

J An underground passage at Bury St. Edmunds was similarly entered bv a too presumptuous fiddler.
Gillingwater's Hist. Account of Si. Edmund's, Bury (1804), p. 93.

OVR LADY OF THE MOUNT. 213

By no means. We leave the iconoclastic process to other hands,
merely adding that when the Queen came, she undoubtedly preferred
the " low road " to the high road, but her visits must necessarily
have been rarer than angels' footsteps, because she died 146 years
before the building was erected ; and that the King visited Lenne
fifteen years prior to the laying of the foundation stone.

Recent excavations indisputably prove that the awful passage
of our schoolboy days, the entrance of which is now bricked up,
only led to a door on the west, through which the pilgrims were
admitted to the lower chapel. This portal, once flanked with low
walls, is beneath the embankment.*

THE ICELAND FISHERY.

When the nation at large was in a great measure dependent
upon a supply of stock-fish, the fishery off the coast of Iceland was
of incalculable importance. P'rom time to time quarrels arose
between the Icelanders and the fishermen of Lenne, who in their
tiny open boats fearlessly sailed into latitudes which would now
appal the most plucky Northender.

To avoid national complications, our Assembly decided, it would
be wise to restrain these aggressive fellows from pursuing their calling
in such dangerous parts. Whereupon the Assembly ordered them
to desist, under pain of forfeiting their liberty as well as their
goods. To strengthen their hands, the community sent a petition
to the King's council, praying that, before anything more serious
happened, " the navigation to Iceland '^ might be entirely prohibited
(13th February 1426). Their suit was successful. A letter from
Thomas Beaufort, the Duke of Exeter, was placed before the
Corporation, authorising them to restrain any ships likely to sail
(15th April 1426).

After a lapse of nearly sixty years, however, the animosity
had not subsided; hence Richard issued a proclamation that none
were to venture into troubled waters without a royal licence.
Having obtained their permits, the fishermen of Norfolk and Suffolk,
" wele harnyssed and appareled for suretie," were to meet in the
Humber, and proceed from thence under the protection of the
King's ships. Thus the fishermen of Lenne set sail, and we trust
the King's command was not forgotten : —

Remember that ye dessever not, without tempest of weder compelle you,
but that ye keep you togeder, aswele going into the said parties as in your
retourne unto this our realme, without any wilfull breche to the contrarie, upon
payn of forfaiture of your shippes and goodes (1484).

* * * * *

Henry, Earl of Richmond, a lineal descendant of John of Gaunt,
put out from Harfleur with forty ships, intending to dispute

• Prior to 1862 the west window of the upper chapel contained portions of stained glass, upon one of
which was depicted in bold outlines a female head with a radiating nimbus (yellow and white); also, in
one section of the quatretoil was the merchant or trade mark of William de Bitterini;, mayor in 1352 and
1353- -^ similar design was in a window in the south aisle of St. Nicholas' chapel near his grave (Cooper
MS.). During the middle ages, glass windows, constructed in wooden frames, were carried with the family
when travellmg as movable furniture. [Hallam's Middle Ages, 1853, Vol. III., p. 353.] The stained glass
was probably brought from liittering's House in Hopman's Way (Austin Street) and placed in the Red
Mount after his decease.

2U HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

Richard's right to the throne; he landed at Milford Haven, but the
King, not knowing where his enemy might disembark, repaired to
Nottingham because of its central position. The rival armies met
at Bosworth, in Leicestershire (27th of August 1485). Richard III.,
in the midst of the fight, rushed forward to slay his antagonist, but he
was himself overpowered and despatched. His remains were interred
in the Grey Friars' monastery at Leicester.

CHAPTER XX.

The Building of the Temple.

The accession of the Earl of Richmond to the throne, as Henry VIL,

brought to an end the long and sanguinary contest between the Houses

of York and Lancaster (22nd August 1485). The following year the

King wisely married the Princess Elizabeth, the daughter of Edward

IV. and Elizabeth Woodville, thus founding a dynasty which for

more than a hundred years guided the destinies of England with ability

and success.

* * -x- * *

At the outbreak of the insurrection in 1487, when a youth named
Lambert Simnel was induced to personate the Earl of Warwick, the
son of the Duke of Clarence, then a prisoner in the Tower, Henry
undertook a solemn pilgrimage into Norfolk, in order to implore the
assistance and protection of " the Lady of Walsingham." The
King's progress through East Anglia may be clearly traced by the
writs issued during his journey. Accordingly, he is found at East
Harling the 9th February, . . . Bury St. Edmunds the 4th, 5th,
and 8th of April, Walsingham the i8th, Thetford the 19th, and at
Cambridge on the 20th.

The next month Simnel was crowned at Dublin as Edward VI. ;
shortly afterwards he landed at Furness, upon the coast of Lancashire,
the 4th of June, and on the i6th his rebel army was completely over-
thrown at Stoke in Nottinghamshire. Henry, attributing his success
to the divine interposition of the Blessed Virgin, sent the royal banner
as a votive offering to her shrine at Walsingham.

SANCTA CASA, WALSINGHAM.

A second impostor caused much trouble for five years. This was
Perkin Warbeck, the son of respectable parents living in Tournay.
With consummate effrontery he declared himself to be none other than
Richard, Duke of York, whom most persons believed to have been
murdered in the Tower. A glance at the history of our nation reveals
a career of unbounded impudence : — Warbeck's unexpected landing
at Cork, and his hasty retirement to France, where he met with
encouraging assurances from ISLargaret, the dowager duchess of
Burgundy, who insisted that he was indisputably the " White Rose
of England " (1492); the summary execution of Lord Fitz-Walter, Sir
Simon Mountford and other zealous adherents ; the disastrous descent

THE BUILDING OF THE TEMPLE. 215

upon the Kentish coast, coupled with the despatch of one hundred
and sixty-nine rebels (1495); the indiscreet protection accorded by
James IV. of Scotland (1497); the Pretender's visit to Ireland, and
the siege of Exeter, so quickly terminating in a search for sanctuary
in the New Forest ; and — the final scene in the historic intermezzo —
Perkin Warbeck's surrender, confession and the mock triumph which
awaited him in London.

As the crisis slowly drew near, Henry became more and more
mindful of how, endowed as it were with superhuman strength, he
had vanquished Simnel. He therefore determined to revisit Walsing-
ham. Let us patiently retrace his footsteps. This " progress " is
of great importance because the royal itinerary included the burgh of
Bishop's Lenne.

Henry instructed Richard Fox, the Bishop of Durham, to treat
wath the Scots for the surrender of Warbeck (5th July 1497); and
a month later, when the impostor landed in Ireland, he addressed a
letter to the mayor of the city of VVaterford, commending the burgesses
for their former loyalty in informing him when Simnel landed at
Cork. The next day Henry and his suite arrived at Thetford, from
whence they at once proceeded to Norwich and Walsingham. On the
nth the King entered Lenne, where he seemed to have stayed two
nights. Besides 3s. 4d. given at the altar of " Our Lady of the
Mount," other gifts amounting to 13s. 4d. were moreover bestowed. A
letter dated the 12th, and most likely written in Lenne, was sent to Sir
Gilbert Talbot, ordering him to repair at once to Woodstock " with
six score tall men on horseback," as Perkin had landed in Cornwall.
On the 14th the King was at Bury St. Edmunds, the i8th at Thetford,
and the night of the 20th was spent with Edmund Knyvett (whose
son Thomas was knighted in 15 10), at the castle of Old Buckenham,
from whence the King must have written the letter to Oliver King,
the Bishop of Bath and Wells, respecting the siege of Exeter. A
halt was made at Norwich on the 21st, and the next day the King
was entertained at Blickling by Sir William Boleyn and his son
(or son-in-law) Thomas, who had recently been fighting against the
Cornish rebels. Thomas Thoresby (the second son of Thomas
Thoresby, of Lenne, of whose good deeds notice must ere long be
taken), who married Anne the doughty knight's fair daughter. The
next day found his Majesty a humble suppliant before the transcen-
dent shrine at Walsingham.

In the annals of Lenne, Saturday the 25th of August 1498, was
destined to be evermore distinguished as

A RED-LETTER DAY.

The clatter of hurrying footsteps and the mumbling of suppressed
voices roused many a drowsy sleeper, and those who could not appease
their inquisitiveness sprang from their beds, threw open the casements,
and Brabantio-like ilemanded : "What's the matter there?" The
answer, curtly given, did not, however, allay the confusion. The
news spread from street to street with the velocity of wildfire, and
before the trailing curtains of the night were well tucked back, the

216 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

sergeant might have been seen fitfully rushing hither and thither
summoning the somnolent members of the Assembly to an extra-
ordinary meeting. His Majesty the King, on the way from VValsing-
ham to Ely, graciously deigned breaking his journey at Bishop's
Lenne ; the Mayor therefore called his brethren in council together at
an unusual hour to consider how they could most fittingly entertain
the royal guest and his attendants.

The most cordial unanimity prevailed ; hence, at noon, as pre-
arranged, the civic fathers, accompanied by the more influential of the
burgesses, set out from the Mercate of St. Margaret, just opposite the
palatial residence of the late Walter Coney, to meet their lord and
sovereign — by the grace of God and his own perseverance — the seventh
Henry, " King of England, and of France, and Lord of Ireland."
Through the Mercers' Row, over the Purfleet, along the Briggate, and
then turning sharply to the right, a crowd of loyal burghers wended
their way across the Grassmarket, and following the course of the
Damgate, emerged from beneath the dilapidated arch at the East
Gate into the sparsely peopled district beyond the walls of the town.
Along the Mawdelyn Causeway the eager procession pursued its
course, passing the bretask at Roude's Hill, the Hermitage of St.
Katherine and the Bordin Bridge* which, spanning the Gaywood
rivulet, led to Goldsmith's garden and the salince or salt-pans (Salters'
Road), on the left ; and the Marble Cross (a landmark between the
burgh and the township of Gaywood), prostrate before which was a
group of Walsingham pilgrims, and the Hospital of St. Mary
Magdalen, from the lattices of which the brethren and sisters stared
with surprise, on the right. After awhile, the road bearing abruptly
towards the north and leading to the Chase at Rising, was taken.

The richly apparelled cavalcade halted at Witton Gap, where the
bridle paths diverged, and then Thomas Trewe, the mayor, arranged
his company, adhering strictly to the unwritten rules of precedence.
First, that is, next to himself, came Thomas Thoresby, deputy-mayor
by virtue of being alderman of the Gild of the Holy Trinity, then
the members of the august Congregation — the four-and-twenty alder-
men, and the seven-and-twenty councillors — next followed the four
chamberlains, the burgh clerk John Tygo, and the other minor officers,
with a score or more artisans and tradesmen, more or less disguised in
robes of State, representing the various gilds.

It was a sombre autumnal day, yet the grey vista of trees, into
which the crowd continued to peer, seemed sprinkled with gleams of
scattered sunshine. It was, however, only a beautiful freak of the
season — tiny patches of new and brighter foliage, which had burst
forth since midsummer, and which still retained the brilliancy of
spring, though embedded in yellow, withered leaves.

After a while the gorgeous pageant appeared, heralded by a
blast of trumpets which startled the expectant throng. Slowly and

5= Bordin Brigge (1629), boarding brigs (1631) and board bridge (1641) appear in the churchwardens
books. Possibly this word comes from board, board-en ; similarly wood, wood-en ; there was, however, a
Saxon Freeman named Bordin, from whom Hcrmerus de Ferraiis grabbed 60 acres of laud in Gayton.

THE BUILDING OF THE TEMPLE. 217

with courtly grace the King saluted the Mayor and those who were
with him. On one side was his mother, Margaret, Countess of Derby ;
on the other the queen, the beauteous Ehzabeth of York. In the
royal suite were John de Vere the Earl of Oxenford, Edmund de la
Pole the Earl of Suffolk (beheaded alas! in 15 13), Henry Bouchier
the Earl of Essex, Edward Courtenay the Earl of Devonshire, Henry
Algernon Percy the Earl of Northumberland, Oliver King, formerly
of Exeter, but now Bishop of Bath and Wells, Thomas Savage, the
Bishop of London, lately translated from Rochester, Lord Daubeney,
who succeeded the unfortunate Sir William Stanley as Chamberlain
of England, Lord John St. John of Basing, Lord Zouche (whose
forfeited honours had been but recently restored), and many other
gallant knights, who not only swelled the number but added to the
prestige of the royal escort.

After mutual congratulations the journey was resumed, but
although the distance was short, progress was tediously slow, because
the track through the undergrowth was almost lost in places. At
length the joyous company entered the town by the East Gate. Can
you not hear the voice of Thomas Trewe, proud man that he was,
describing the points of interest as they passed along ? ..." To
the right, your majesty, is the Hospital of St. Lawrence, and some
of the brethren, you may observe, are visiting the lepers on the Lazar
Hill ; and here is the Mill Fleet which drives my lord the Bishop's
mill, for we are in the Newland ; and to the left, your majesty, is the
Chapel of St. John the Baptist ; and now we cross the bridge and turn
from the Damgate into Hopman's Way. . . . Ah, here we are,
your majesty, at last — the Convent of St. Augustine, and yonder
stands the prior with the deacons, and the brethren, and the acolytes,
their faces all aglow with welcome."

What a grand reception awaited the royal guests. For the
Assembly determined with one voice to eclipse the generosity of their
predecessors, if, indeed, it were possible. The bill of fare was
varied and abundant, and included the following significant items : —
" Ten great ])ikes, ten tenches, three couple of breams, twelve swans,
two oxen, twenty sheep and thirty dozen bread," for the adequate
cooking of which " two loads of wood " were provided. Moreover,
" a tun of wine, two tuns of ale and two tuns of beer " were
already broached. For the Mayor's friends a pipe of wine was
specially voted by the Congregation.

How the King and Queen and courtiers spent the Sabbath we are
left to surmise ; perhaps they attended St. INLargaret's church and
were delighted with the service conducted by prior William Berdeney.
On the Monday, his Majesty, accompanied by the Mayor and elite of
Lenne, went hunting in the fields at Middleton and East Winch. No
further time, however, could be given to pleasure, for Henry was well
aware how Simnel and his adherents were diligently devising mis-
chief. The royal guests, with their cortege, therefore departed the
next day, Tuesday, the 28th, by the South Gate, en route for Ely and
Cambridge, accompanied by the Mayor and throngs of loyal burgesses
as far as Hardwick church, where, " with great laud and thanks of

2 E

218 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

the King and his astutes " the companies separated. Passing through
Oxborough, the King arrived at Brandon Ferry on the 29th . . . and
Exeter the i6th of October.

The King and Prince Henry visited Walsingham in 1505.

THE HOUSE OF GOD.

It is highly probable that the church built by Bishop Lozinga,
and dedicated to St. Margaret, etc., occupied the site of one smaller
in size, and of a much earlier date. From the Domesday Survey we
learn that in the Hundred of Freebridge, which now comprises 36
parishes, there were only 8 churches, namely, Acre (Castleacre),
Aplettina (Appleton), Congeham (Congham), Pentelei (Pentney),
Phlicham (Flitcham), Rynghetona (North Runcton), Waltuna (East
Walton) and TJwrp (Gayton Thorpe) ; whilst in the Freebridge Half-
hundred, an area embracing 17 parishes, there was one solitary church
at Isingetnna (Islington). No mention is made of any church in the
Lin. It must not, however, be rashly concluded that it contained no
place for religious worship, because it is now generally admitted that
the number given in the Domesday record is far less than the number
then actually existing. At the death of Edward the Confessor
(1066) as much as one-third of the whole kingdom was devoted to
religious purposes, yet only a few more than 1,700 churches are given
in the Conqueror's survey. In the 13th century Sprott boldly main-
tained there were 45,011 parish churches when that survey was taken;
and Higden, in his Polyclironicon, a century later, estimated the
number to be 45,002.

" The silence of the Domesday Book is not absolute proof of
the nonexistence of a church " (Sir Henry Ellis), because William's
sole object was to secure an accurate list of all the taxable property
in his newly-acquired kingdom ; hence churches to which no glebe
lands were attached were, as a rule, ignored as being irrelevant. Some
are indeed mentioned, but this seems to have been quite optional. In
Norfolk, seven churches are casually referred to as sine terra — with-
out land^ — whilst several are known to have existed, of which no notice
whatever is taken, although the priests are incidentally mentioned.

The proof is overwhelmingly conclusive where a succession of
churches has been found at the same place. For instance, under the
central tower of the Cluniac Priory at Much Wenlock (Shropshire),
the circular apse, with the square eastern wall on the east side (a
unique feature of Saxon workmanship), was discovered. Further
towards the east, the eastern wall of a Norman church was unearthed
(1900).

The priory at Lenne and the adjacent church, of which few
traces remain, were built about iioi. The two western towers are
supposed to have been added between 1146 and 11 74. In 1429 parts
of the church were in bad repair, and ^25 was urgently needed for
its restoration. Instead of levying the customary rate, the inhabitants
voluntarily subscribed more than was necessary. It was, however,
during the 15th century that important structural alterations were
effected through the generosity of four townsmen.

THE BUILDING OF THE TEMPLE.

219

EAST.

(

D D

E E

O
O

X
H

WEST.

Chancel :-
A South Aisle
B

C North

D Transept : —

Nave : —

North and South
Clearstories
F South Aisle
G North

H Proposed pinnacle
or steeple

St. Stephen's chapel
"South isle"

Trinity Chapel

" Cross isle"

" Pepyr's side "

For the " Clocher
Slepill," or bell
tower

? Henry Thoresby
Thomas Thoresby
[Richard Scowle, 1494]
Walter Coney

[Thomas Thoresby]

Edmund Prpyr
Thomas Thoresby
Walter Coney

Circa
1472

1472-6
1476

1480- I

1483
1502-10

1485 t

1494)

220 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

Before introducing our readers to these local "worthies," a con-
sideration of the accompanying plan and table may assist in a due
appreciation of their noble work.

(l) WALTER CONEY,

the descendant of an ancient family seated at Walpolq and Westacre,
was a wealthy merchant; he was mayor four times, in 1453, 1460,
1469 and 1470, and as alderman of the Gild of the Holy Trinity (an
office he held for 40 years) he acted as mayor on the death of Thomas
Leighton (1476). With his friend Henry Thoresby he represented
Bishop's Lenne in Parliament in 1455 and again in 1461. His resi-
dence was a timber-framed house of the period ; it stood, facing east
and west, at the corner of High Street, on the site now occupied by
the publishing offices of the Lynn Advertiser. The house, which pre-
sented no regularity or uniformity of design, was taken down (1816);
if still standing it would have compared favourably with the " Ancient
House " at Ipswich and the Shodfriars' Hall at Boston. It was
built about the middle of the 15th century.*

The gable-ends and windows were of different sizes, and did not range
precisely over each other, or with the arches and brackets below. The joists and
beams were of unequal bulk, and placed as chanced to be most convenient in the
construction of the floors. In short, utility was the main object ; a solid, useful
structure the result proposed — not the fulfilment of a contract, not the imitation
of an earlier style, not the masquerade of an external fagade either superior to
or unaccordant with the construction of which it formed part. The house itself
was framed upon principles of utility and durability, and the portions admitting
of ornament were at the same time adorned with no sparing hand ; but no parts
were incongruously clapt on or in pretended ornament where they did not
actually and appropriately belong to its construction, How different is this
system to that of the a?ra of false pediments and mock gables, empty niches and
blank shields. [Gentleman s Magazine, March 1843, p. 268.]

About 1472 Walter Coney, as was then the custom with rich
people, built for himself a tomb chapel on the north side of the
chancel. The beautiful structure, which faced the house in which
he dwelt, was dedicated to the Holy Trinity, though afterwards
termed " Coney's chapel." This venerable burgess, who died the
29th of September 1479, and was interred according to his request
before the altar in his own chapel, erected the cross-aisle or transept
with a high roof {circa 1476). At the time of his decease the
clearstories on both sides of the nave Avere being added at his cost.
This important work, which included the glazing of the new windows,
was successfully carried out by his executors, — Thomas Thoresby, the
son of his old friend, generously supplying the necessary lead for the
completion of the design (1481). The sum of ;j^2o was, moreover,
left to assist the parishioners in finishing the bell-tower.

The rebuilding of the towers connected with St. Margaret's church
is a subject which encourages a diversity of opinions, but rather than

* Engravings of the house and the carved comer post now in Runcton Hall may be found in the
Gentleman's Magazine (1843), Vol. xix., p. 267; also tlie house, with various details, iuTaylor's Antiq. uf
Lynn, pp. 150-1.

On the right-hand spandrel of the carved entrance to Hampton Court (Nelson Street) is a merchant's
mark, greatly resembling that of Walter Coney.

THE BUILDING OF THE TEMPLE. 2^1

mislead we frankly admit that what we advance might well be re-
garded as sincere speculation rather than indisputable fact. The
towers erected during the 12th century are spoken of as " great "
and " little," and as each contained bells they were both termed
" belfries." This may help in interpreting the following extracts
from the Corporation records : —

1419. " The little belfry is very weak, and its fall was to be feared." (E. M. B.)
1432. February : It was decided either that the little belfry should be

strengthened with " two arch buttants," or that a new bell-tower should

be built. (F. L., H. and E. M. B.)
1444. Feb. 14th: "Ordered yt ye neiv clock shall be made to strike against the

great bell in the belfry of St. Margaret ; " and the same year, Nov. 13th,

" Ordered yt ye clock shall be removed from ye new belfry to the lantern

where it was formerly placed." (F. L.)
1485. George (or John) Burton, on behalf of Coney's executors, is willing to pay

£20 " for a pinnacle to the great steeple," that is, " the Clocher Stepill or

Bell Tower." (E. M. B.)
1496. A silver gilt cross weighing 178 ounces and a banner were accepted in lieu

of the;f20 promised for the erection of the pinnacle. (F. L. and E. M. B.)
1550. " The live little bells in the little steeple to be sold to buy ordnance and

artillery for ye defence of ye town." (F. L.)

[References : F. L., the late Frederick Lane, town clerk, quoted by Taylor ;
H., the late Henry Harrod ; and E. M. B., Mr. E. M. Beloe.]

It seems likely enough that, although " the little belfry " — the
south-west tower — was in a ruinous state, yet the north-west tower was
the first to be rebuilt. This happened certainly before 1444, and
probably in 1432. At that period it was so far finished as to contain
bells larger perhaps than those in the other tower, but it was
apparently not in accordance with the original design ; hence Walter
Coney, to encourage the parishioners to complete the work, gave his
executors power to pay ;z£,2o from the proceeds of his estate, as soon
as the work was " onward " or progressing (1485). But the pro-
posed pinnacle or spire was never erected ; hence, after waiting about
ten years, the executors offered in lieu of the ;^20 a beautiful silver-
gilt cross and banner, weighing 178 ounces (Lane). This, worth
;^24, was accepted (1495-6). The little bells in the smaller steeple,
which were probably not used, were subsequently sold (1550).

A spire on the south-tower is, however, shewn on a map of Lenne,
the date of which Harrod fixes as 1589; it is, moreover, mentioned
by the churchwardens in 1592: — " Ite(m) p'd ffor nayls for the
west dore 2d. & an yron pynn ffor ye trenetye [bell] 2d. & apayer of
gymers [hinges] for the mayor's stat(e) dore 6d. And a key for the
sfiar steplc dore 4d. & for 2 newe loks and keys & stapls for the clock
dore and the lantorne dore i8d."

Walter Coney's tomb-stone, of Purbeck marble, was beautifully
inlaid, with a canopied figure and various chaste ornamental devices.
It was removed from the chapel he had built to make room for the
interment of George Hogge (1701), and was afterwards i)ut down in
the south aisle of the chancel, under the superintendence of Dr.
Charles Bagge (vicar 1755-1777)- At the restoration of the little
that was left of the Trinity chapel, the stone, now unfortunately
shorn of its elaborate brasses, was placed in the most suitable of all

222 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

positions — before the altar in the chapel made by the man whose
memory it was intended to perpetuate.

(2) EDMUND PEPYR.

Before the Reformation, and when fasts were rigidly observed
not only in England but throughout Europe, fish constituted a most
important article of diet. Being ignorant of refrigerators and of the
method of preserving with ice, our forefathers kept the Hsh intended
for their present use alive in artificial ponds or " stews," which were
neatly paved and divided into compartments. References to them
may be found in the diaries of Samuel Pepys. John Evelyn, etc.
Fish ponds are shewn on Bell's Ground Plat of King's Lyn (? 1561)
and on Rastrick's Plan of our borough (1725). According to scale
they are about 154 yards long and 22 yards broad, and are divided
into 10 equal compartments. Situated near the haven to the north
of Fisher fleet, they were perhaps provided with a supply of running
water, as was often the case.

Edmund Pepyr was the piscenarius, or the keeper of the local
" stews "; dying in 1483, he was buried, as were his wives, in the
nave of this church, which was partly built with ;^8o specially left
by him for the purpose. As late as 1608 the south aisle was known
as " Pepyr's side." Mackerell gives the inscription upon a brass
plate attached to the wall ; this, however, would hardly be the " monu-
ment " mentioned by the churchwardens : — " It(em) : p'd him (the
painter) for now [or new] wrightinge Edmund pepper his moneument
in the church, 00 : 13 : 04. It(em) : spent in Ryding to norwich to
go to Cort about Edmund pepper's moneument, 00 : 06 : 00 (1608)."

(3) THE THORESBY FAMILY

is supposed to have taken its name from Thoresby in Lincolnshire.
The father, the son and the grandson claim notice, not because they
were successful merchants, but because they were great benefactors
to the town.

(a) JoJm TJioresby, connected with Lenne, was one of the
committee of eighteen to whom the turbulent townsfolk were bound
(1413) ; he was one of the scabins of the Trinity Gild (1406), and was
chosen mayor (1425), and acted as deputy-mayor during the absence
of Thomas Burgh, who went to Flanders as the King's Ambassador
to rectify the grievances between our traders and the aggressive
merchants of the Hanse (1436).

(b) Henry Thoresby (probably the son of a). His place of
business was apparently in the Damgate. He was mayor four times,
in 1439, 1442, 1443 and 1453; with Thomas Burgh he was member
for Lenne (1444-5 ^"^1 1450), also with Walter Coney (1455); he was,
moreover, alderman of the Trinity Gild (1443 and 1448). About
the year 1457 he (rather than his son) erected a magnificent tomb
chapel. This, though afterwards known as Thoresby 's chapel, was
dedicated to St. Stephen.

(c) Thomas Tlioresby (son of b), owned land in West Lynn,
Fincham, Dersingham, Gay ton Thorpe, Congham, Roydon, Mintling,

THE BUILDING OF THE TEMPLE. 223

etc. ; also in Northamptonshire. He lived in a house next that of his
father, opposite the west entrance of St. Margaret's Church, " betwixt
the common (way) of the north and the Stillyard on the south " ; he
also owned a mansion called Harlewyns, with 40 acres of pasture in
South Lenne, West Winch and Hardwick. This building belonged
to Matthew Herlewyn in the time cf Edward III., but was then
known as " The Hall Place," a name subsequently given to one of the
manors of West Winch. Thomas Thoresby — a star of the first magni-
tude in the firmament of philanthropy — was mayor in 1477, 1482 and
1502. His testament and will, from which valuable information
may be gleaned, were drawn up on the 3rd of May, sealed the 2nd of
June, and duly proved on the 23rd of October 15 10.

(d) Thomas Thoresby (son of c) lived at Haveless Hall,
Mintlyn, inheriting a fair slice of the surrounding district. As a
country gentleman, he did not trouble himself with municipal affairs ;
his attention seems to have been exclusively centred upon his own
estate. He differed greatly from his father, yet it would be unfair
to summarise his character by means of a few recorded facts. Many
a praiseworthy action finds no place in the historic page, whilst deeds
of evil are so tenacious of life th;it they survive the erring author.
Thomas Thoresby 's conduct respecting the free school founded
by his father will be reviewed in another place. Here we
must content ourselves with the brief mention of two incidents in his
life. According to the annual accounts or compotus of our prior,
Edmund Norwich, this wealthy landowner detained a payment of
30s., " the rent of Mintlyn," due to the church, although the poverty
of the Lenne cell was almost proverbial. Through his inexcusable
parsimony neither our prior nor his superior at Norwich received one
penny of their yearly stipend (1535). The same year Adam Foster
and others were constrained to forward t bill of complaint to the King
because of his overbearing conduct. The said Thomas " came with
about twenty armed men in a rintous manner and cut down forty-
three loads of wood " on land belonging to Geoffrey Cobb {Proceed-
ings of the Star Chamber, xv., pp. 197-205).* . . . And now,
neighbour Thoresby, farewell ! Notwithstanding the wayward
peculiarities of thy disposition, let us not upraid thee, but, when
next we wend our way through Mintlyn's sylvan retreat, pause awhile
before the ruins of St. Michael's sacred fane and murmur, ere we
tread over thy forgotten grave : " Sit tihi terra levis " (May the earth
lie lightly on thy head).

(4) RICHARD SCOWLE.

Our knowledge of this benevolent burgess is saved from the im-
penetrable oblivion into which the memory of so many of our fore-
fathers has drifted by a bequest of ^^40 towards the adding of a

• The estate was in the possession of the same family in 1634, for the OBicers of the Navy, anxious to
repair certain decayed ships at I'ortsmouth, iiifornipd the Lords of the Admiralty that there was to be a
great sale of timber at Mr. Thursby's, within four miles of Lynn, the next year. -Cii/^Niior o/ State
(Domestic) Papers, 1634-5 I'P- 231 and 242.

1639-40. " Itm p'd Mr. Thursby, Lord of the Mannor of Gaywood, for quitt rents of Gaywood Lands
00: 0203.' C.W.A., St. N. [Church Wardens' Accounts ; St. Nicholas.]

224 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

south aisle to the chancel of the parish church. After his death,
which happened in 1494, his executor, John Taillur, promptly came
forward with the money demised. It was left for a specific purpose,
for which, however, it could never be used. Hence the money was
given to Thomas Thoresby, who had already carried out the pro-
posed alteration.

ST. Stephen's chapel.

In the chancel of most churches were three altars, against the
eastern wall — the High Altar in the middle, and altars dedicated to
St, Mary and Jesus, one on each side. Emulating the example set
by Walter Coney, who constructed the north aisle, Thomas Thoresby
senior added one on the opposite side of the chancel, which was
"over the I.H.S. altar" (Lane). Perhaps the altar to Jesus
was moved a few feet southward into the new aisle. This was
Thomas Thoresby 's great work, and here he " caused an altar to
be made " to our Lady, at the north end of which he wished to be
buried, " adjoining to the place," he says, " where my father lies
buried in the church of St. Margaret."* Now the place wherein
Henry Thoresby was buried was most likely the chapel he probably
erected, which was dedicated to St. Stephen. We use the word
" probably," having no direct evidence as to who actually was the
builder of this interesting side-chapel. In Thomas Thoresby's will,
although reference is incidentally made to what he did, there is no
mention of the building of this chapel. f It is described by subse-
quent churchwardens as the " Round Chapel," although exteriorly,
at least, it must have been hexagonal, and was seemingly erected on
the site of the old Chapter House. With a beautifully arched ceiling
and room above, it must have been a magnificent structure. This
wealthy burgess, moreover, left an endowment for the maintenance of
two secular priests, who were " to sing and do service divine
perpetually and daily . . . within the church of St. Margaret at
an altar there edified " {built by the testator) " in worship of our
Lady," for his soul, and for the souls of his wife, children and
friends.

But the sacred edifice was by no means finished, hence Thomas
Thoresby instructed his executors to spend ;!{^6o in purchasing a
pardon from Rome, .so that those who attended the church upon
certain feasts might share in a general remission of sins. What a
grand inducement to sinful man ! Yet those who put in an appear-
ance must be " confessed and contrite," and they must " do their
charity towards the church works and chancel works " (15 10). Half

* The will of Thomas Thoresby. preserved in the Registry of the Prerogative Court, Canterbury, is
given in Eller's Memorials of West ]Vinch (i86j), pp. 133-140. Thomas (the son of Henry) Thoresby
married Elizabeth. Their rliiklren, as mentioned therein, were Thomas, Elizabeth, Elyn, Beatrice, and
Margaret who married John Grindell and had a son named John. This upsets the pedigree in Blomefield's
Hist, of Norfolk (1868), Vol. VIII., p. 421.

John de Thouresby received a present from the town in 1347-8. Robert Thoresby, perhaps brother to
the testator, was member for Lynn in 1462-3, 1482-3 and 1487 ; he with a John Thorisby signed a deed of
feoffment concerning 56 acres of land in Fincham (1489). See Engmvings jrom Aucient Seals . . . in
Muniment Room at Stowe Bardolph by (1847 and 1862) Sir Thomas Hare.

t A patent to found a chantry was granted in 1408, and Parkin seems to think it was built by one of
the Thoresbys,

THE BUILDING OF THE TEMPLE. 225

the money thus collected was to be handed to the " curate " for the
reparation of the chancel, and the other half to the churchwardens
towards the reparation of the church, that is the nave. The old
division is strictly observed, the chancel being under the direct juris-
diction of the prior, whilst the nave is vested in the people. George
Hyngham, the last of the priors, and one of the witnesses to the will
from which these quotations are taken, is termed the curate. From
1472 each prior is described in the Rolls not as the prior, or de
■prioratu, but as custos celli Lemic, that is, the " curate," keeper or
guardian of the cell at Lenne.

Thomas Thoresby seemed to have been apprehensive that his
end was approaching, because a few months before his death he
arranged minutely for the consummation of the praiseworthy schemes
which were then being carried out. His testament and will reveal
the incompletion of two grand designs, for which ample provision is
made. First, we learn that a new aisle upon the north side of the
nave was being built at the testator's expense. " I will," he says,
*' that the battlements .... be finished up at my cost, according
to my covenants with the workmen of the same." Secondly, he was
building a home for the accommodation of the thirteen priests in
whose hands the spiritual welfare of the community rests. " I will,"
he goes on, " that the college that I have began be finished up of my
goods and chattels to the sum of 500 marks .... or more.'"

" THE COLLEGE OF LENNE,

though dedicated to the Holy Trinity, was subsequently known as
Thoresby's College (Queen Street), 'it was built upon land which
belonged to the Gild of Jesus, his executors being instructed to pur-
chase land which might bring in 40s. a year " to recompense the
fraternity," and thus effect an equitable exchange. But why did
Thoresby select the site? Because of its central position? Cer-
tainly, but there was a more important motive. He owned the
tenement opposite, adjoining the Trinity Hall to the west. This
tenement he bequeathed to the master of the college to make " a garden
place thereof." The house referred to was perhaps never wholly
demolished, because the remains of an old building 66 feet long and
24 feet wide were at the beginning of the 19th century converted into
the Tailors' Anns, a public house near the brewery established by
the late Mr. John H. Knights. Hence the founder not only provided
for the completion of the college, but he left them a garden in which
to grow vegetables, besides ten acres of well-wooded land at East
Winch from whence they might obtain an ample supply of fuel. He.
moreover, directed that certain other lands should be bought, bearing
a nett income of 40s. a year, so that the master's stipend might be
increased; and to his " gostfather " (priest) Peter Drayton he
bequeathed ;£20 to assist him in taking degrees in divinity.

Priests, friars and anchorites are all remembered. New vest-
ments are to be provided for the clergy in the neighbourhood ; the
bridge at Stoke Ferry is to be repaired; the church of St. Mary at

2 F

226 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

Feltwell is to have a rood-loft, and the religious houses at Black-
borough, Marham and Crabhouse are to participate in his bounty.
Friends, relatives, servants, shepherds are carefully enumerated, and
every poor man, woman or child in the town is to receive something
at the hands of his executors.

The educational endowments of Thomas Thoresby may be better
considered in another place, but a few bequests are too interesting to
be omitted : —

lOo marks to the commons (community) towards the maintenance of the town
and for a perpetual remembrance.
4 „ to each of the four orders of friars for the repair of their churches,
loo shillings to the church works at St. Margaret's,
4° .. >> ,, St. James', and

£40 for a suit of white vestments with copes for the church of St. Margaret.

THE CHARNEL HOUSE,

a beautiful specimen of 14th century work, once stood at the north-
west angle of St. Margaret's church, its site being now partly occupied
by the Shambles. An engraving of the so-called " Charnel and
Chapel of St. John," taken from a memory-sketch by the Rev. E.
Edwards, is given in Taylor's Antiquities of Lynn.

(l) TO WHOM DEDICATED.

Writing in 1738, Mackerell observes : " There are three chapels
of note in this (St. Margaret's) church, ... the first is on the north
side of the quire (chancel), dedicated to the Holy Trinity ; the second
on the south side of the same, dedicated to St. John ; the third known
only at present by the name of Thoresby's chapel, but to what saint,
martyr or confessor dedicated I know not as yet." Later on, in
speaking of the " very handsome fabric," the Charnel, he says : " I
am apt to believe (it) was a chapel, and probably the very same St.
John's chapel mentioned in the story of Sir William Sautre."
Referring to the Charnel Hall (?) Blomefield (1808) cautiously
reiterates Mackerell's suggestion : " Quere, if not St. John's chapel?
probably that mentioned in Sir William Sautre, the priest's case,"
and Richards (1812) enumerates these chapels thus: — "One dedi-
cated to the Trinity, one to St. John, and one, if we are not mistaken,
to St. Stephen, only one or two of which remain. That of the
Trinity was taken down in the progress of our Paving-Act improve-
ments." How pleasantly vague! Either one or two was taken
down, wherefore either two or one remains. What need is there for
all this irritating speculation, when Foxe (1562) distinctly states that
Sawtre's recantation was in " the church of the Hospital of St.
John;" not, mark you, in the church or chapel of the Charnel of St.
John. A legacy, too, is left to St. John's Hospital by Adam de
Geyton (1276), and another to the Hospice of St. John by Margaret
Frenghe (1352).

There are no means of determining, as far as our investigation
goes, to whom the Charnel was dedicated, because it is invariably the
Charnel or the Charnel houst.

THE BUILDING OF THE TEMPLE. 227

On Saturday 14th February 1325, the brethren of the Trinity
Gild ordained that their scabins or treasurers should pay the sum of
^4 to the custodians of the Charncl for the fabric of the same ; and
when the Gild Hall was burnt down (23rd January 1420-r) the
Assembly met in the Charncl the next day. The same year the
Trinity chapel underwent a series of repairs, and there is this entry,
to which attention will be directed after a while — " Item, 2s. (paid)
for making a gutter at the College." As Thoresby's College was
built circa 1510, Harrod, as a thoughtful student, asks where tliis
pre-Refermation college could be.

Turning to the churchwardens' books, we find: — " Itm, to Robt.
Hartt for makeing a dore into a little house vnder the schoole house
to laye Lime and sand in to the vse of the Church, and for makeing
a paire of gates, sette in the west wall in the churchyard, vj s. vij d.
(1622). Itm paid for building the wall in the Schole Lane vnto
Allexander Becroft, Ivj s. v. d. (1632-3)."

Richards speaks of a writing school being established in the
chamber over the butchers' shambles (1629); it is, however, doubtful
whether the lower part of the old building was used for that pur-
pose. The old meat market was held on a strip of land skirting what
was the King's Way, north of the church and adjacent to the grave-
yard, from which it was separated by a wall. This piece of land,
68 feet by 9 feet, opposite the entrance to High Street, belonged to
Sir Thomas Beaupre, of Outwell. In 1365 it changed hands and
was conveyed successively to Richard Rede senior, to Robert Light-
wise, and lastly to the Corporation. It now forms part of our
Saturday market. The bye-laws prohibited the slaughter of
animals in the highway beside the market during the summer months

(1424-5)-

(2) CHARNEL PRIESTS.

Though in close proximity to the church, the Charnel must be
regarded as extra-parochial ; the advowson rested not in the hands
of the bishop or even the prior of Norwich, but with the Corporation
of Lynn. Hence the priests were appointed by " the Mayor and
Burgesses." The names of the following charnel-priests are
preserved : —

1530 Thomas Person

1 5 10 Robert Burgh (?)

151 1 Thomas Rix

I J13 Thomas Pokering

1534 William I.eyton
1339 Richard Hall

1479 John Wells
1484 Thomas Gray, D.T).
1494 John Whiting, M.A.
1509 Thomas Cirant

Apparently there were two priests in 1379. (John Burghard's bequest.)

The income attached to this chantry was derived from lands and
tenements left by pious townsmen as a kind of quid pro quo for
propitiatory prayers and masses for the health of their souls. The
yearly salary of the officiating priest in 1479 and 1530 is given as
^8 4s., and it probaljly remained the same during the whole inter-
vening period. The duties were clearly set forth when Thomas Gray
took office (1484); he was to make special intercession for certain
persons whose names are given, and, moreover, to say prayers, perform
requiems and masses, and to provide torches and wax candles for the

228 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

altar. The functions were greatly altered, as will be seen in 1510,
and again when, to the inexpressible disgust of the monks, a friar
named Thomas Person was made charnel priest (1530); he was,
indeed, licensed to preach sixteen sermons during the year.

Coming now to the Inquisition of 156 1, disappointment must be
expressed at the strange report the commissioners presented. What
little they knew is obscured by what " they knew not." It contains
a remarkable paucity of information. There was a Charnel house, in
fact, a school house, " but to what use it was founded they knew
not;" it once possessed a bell, but the year in which the bell was
abstracted from the turret "they knew not;" it was endowed with
certain lands and tenements in King's Lynn, which were valued at
;;{^io per annum, but the names of the various tenants, of course,
" they knew not." They mention, moreover, Thomas Thursbye,

Walter Coney and Locke, whom they designate the founders.

Walter Coney died, as we know, in 1479; John Lokk (or Locke) was
a burgh chamberlain in 1385-6 — William Lok, a descendant of his,
being member in 1407. The first of these merchants augmented
the priest's stipend by a will proved in 1510. The building
could not be " Thoresby's chapel," as some writers contend,
because, when Thomas Gray was chosen Charnel priest,
there is no mention of Thomas Thoresby in the rhinutes
of the Congregation, although Walter Coney, John Lok and
his wife Margaret are specified as particular subjects for prayers and
masses. Besides various sums to the four churches, Margaret Lok
left ;^5 to the Charnel (4th January 1408).*

(3) COMMISSION OF INQUIRY.

At the beginning of the i6th century a commission was
appointed to investigate the state of the possessions and to obtain
information respecting the ornaments pertaining to this chantry. Sir
Thomas Grant, the priest, produced a balance-sheet, covering three
years (probably the terms of his office), and shewing the income and
what had been expended upon the building (1509). The commis-
sioners were ai:)parently satisfied, but there were others who regarded
his account suspiciously, and in that they were justified, as must be
soon seen. The next year Thomas Thoresby executed the will already
mentioned, in which was embodied a special bequest to the Charnel
house. " Special " because the testator assumes that Thomas Grant
is leaving, and " special," too, because he nominates Sir Robert
Burgh as a successor. Thomas Thoresby died the same year, but
whether the Corporation, considering his generosity, agreed to appoint
Robert Burgh, cannot be determined. Perhaps, having too many
ecclesiastical irons in the fire, the nominee of the testator declined the
appointment. This is suggested by the fact that when Thomas Rix
accei)ted the cfiice, it was distinctly stipulated that he was to receive
no other oifice (151 1). Not yet, however, must Thomas Grant be
dismissed from our minds, because some time after his departure it

* Cecilia, daughter of John Maggersson of Lenne, conreyed to Margery the widow ©f Joha Lok and
William her son, an acre of land in bhouldham (1398). See Seals at Stow Bardolph.

THE BUILDING OF THE TEMPLE. 229

was discovered he had removed a box from the Charnel containing
important documents relating to the " livelihood " or endowment of
the place. His conduct was most reprehensible, and prompts the un-
charitable suggestion that they were abstracted to prevent defalca-
tions being ascertained in the return made in 1509. These important
" evidences " were afterwards " redeemed " from him by a Mr.
White (i2th July 1513).

{4) A FOURTEENTH CENTURY " COLLEGE."

The chapel or chantry, otherwise the Charnel, no matter to
whom dedicated, was a construction in two storeys — a style generally
affected in episcopal residences (as St. John's chapel, or the " Gram-
mar school " near Norwich Cathedral and the chapel at Lambeth,
where (he lower floor is a crypt), or royal residences (as Saint
Stephen's at Westminster and the Sainte Chapelle in Paris). To
France, indeed, must we look for choice examples; as, for instance,
the present archiepiscopal chapels at Laon and Rheims.

In our own almost forgotten Charnel there were, perhaps,
originally two chapels — the upper and the lower,- — the second being
subsequently changed into an ossuary, a consecrated vault, wherein
were reverently deposited the bones disturbed in digging new graves.
The chapel of St. Peter, associated with the old manor house at
Auckland, bears a striking likeness to the Charnel at Lenne. It
contained two chapels, the high and the lower, also termed the college
(middle of 15th century), a place where people assembled to read
together. At the Reformation the "college " bells at Auckland were
sold, — " and in the lower part of the same Colledge, where Divine
service had been duly celebrated, he (Bishop Pilkington) made a
bowling alley." The word Charnel was applied to the building at
Lenne as early as 1479, '^ "o*^ earlier, whilst the gutter of the college
was repaired in 1420; hence, we may infer that service was conducted
in the upper room rather than the lower. Our Mayor, too, sold the
bell between the years 1547 and 1561.

(5) THE FREE GRAMMAR SCHOOL.

As early as the year 994, instructing the young was regarded as
the special duty of the priesthood. " Mass priests," says the canon,
" ought always to have a school of learners in their houses, and if
any good man will commit his little ones to them to be taught, they
ought gladly to accept them, and to teach them at free cost. Ve
should consider that it is written — ' they that arc learned shall shine
as the brightness of heaven, and they who persuade and instruct men
to right as the stars for ever and ever ' ; yet they ought not to demand
anything of their relations for their learning, but what they of their
own accord are willing to give."

The free education of the young had been seriously neglected in
Lenne, henrc Thomas Thoresby founded one of the many Grammar
schools which sprung up during the period. This " noble impulse of
Christian charity," Dr. Samuel Knight regards as "one of the provi-
dential ways and means for bringing about the English Reformation."

230 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

" Within 30 years before it (the Reformation) there were," he declares
in his Life of Colet, " more Grammar schools erected and endowed
than had been in 300 years preceding ; and after the Reformation was
established, the piety and charity of Protestants ran so fast in this
channel that in the next age there wanted rather a regulation of
Grammar schools than an increase of them."

The clause in Thoresby's will relating to the Free Grammar
school reads thus: — •

Item, — I will that when Sir Thomas Grante, now being charnel-priest in
Lenne, do leave the same service, and Sir Robert Burgh, priest, come into the
same service and the same Sir Robert do teach and learn six children freely at
grammar [that is, Latin] and song, sufficiently to maintain the choir in St.
Margaret's church in Lenne in divine service, then 1 will immediately that the
same Robert Burgh shall enter into the said service that my lands [four pastures]
lying in Gaywode besides Goldsmith's Garden, late Wynter's, which I bought of
the executors of one Ade, shall remain in the Feoffees' hands to the use of the
said Robert and his successors after that, being priests of the said charnel, upon
condition that he or they that after that shall be chosen into the said service be
an honest and learned priest in grammar and song sufficiently to maintain the
said service in the said church as aforesaid and so to endure for ever. And for
default of any of the said priests made in teaching of the said six children freely
[that is gratuitously] as above written, contrary to this my last will, then I will
that my right heir or heirs at the time being shall enter into the said lands
to have them and to their heirs, this gift notwithstanding.

We learn, moreover, that the charnel priest, assisted by two
secular priests (the anchorites of the Whitefriars' monastery and All
Saints' church, for whom suitable quarters were to be reserved in
the new college) were "to do service divine perpetually and daily,"
after the testator's decease, and those whom the charnel priest taught
were to pray at his tomb and sing " for ever more as long as the
world shall continue," and the gratuitous teaching of the young was
also "to endure for ever." How little did this good man imagine
what was to happen in the near future 1

An attempt was certainly made to carry out the intention of the
will, because the Corporation chose William Leyton as charnel priest,
who was to hold office " from our Lady day next coming during his
life natural, except causes reasonable, and he (was) to perform f-he
testament of old Mr. Thoresby, and maintain a grammar school,
and further, to keep his houses and tenements in sufficient reparation
in all things so near as he could (can), according as it has been
used " (1534). Again, Thomas Person was appointed at a salary of
^8 4s. a year. He was licensed to preach four times every quarter,
and was to teach six children gratuitously.

But the conditions being broken, the son and heir, Thomas
Thoresby, of Haveless Hall, Mintlyn, seized the four pieces of
pasture in Gay wood (1543). However, on the ist of October an
indenture was drawn up between the mayor and burgesses and the
said Thomas Thoresby, whereby he covenanted to surrender the
endowment upon the fulfilment of the provisions of his
father's will. The Corporation on their part agreed to
appoint a master of the Charnel, a priest of or above
the degree of Master of Arts, and one, moreover, born

THE BUILDING OF THE TEMPLE. 231

within the county of Norfolk or Suffolk, " who should instruct six
poor children in grammar and song without any reward ; which
children should daily on their knees before the (testator's) tomb pray
for the souls of the donor and other persons, and repeat certain
Psalms."

Changes of a drastic nature were to follow. The time-honoured
practice of praying for the dead was denounced in terms positive and
unmistakable, and lands set aside by pious persons for such " super-
stitious uses " became thenceforth vested in the Crown. The build-
ing was, notwithstanding, used as a school-house until taken down
(1779). For keeping the place in repair, the Corporation reserved
the right of sending four children to be instructed in what Sir
William Curtis termed the " three R's." The shambles were built
on the site (1793), and the school continued to be held in the upper
room until 1843, when the present Grammar School was erected.

REFERENCE TO SIDE CHAPELS.

If not otherwise stated, the following notes are from the church-
wardens' books.

(i) The Trinity Chapel, that is, Coney's Chapel, erected 1472-6.

1603 p'd to Thomas Reade, carpenter, with the xxxs. before charged for Timber

& workmanshipp done about Trenitie Chappell, v li.
1608 (paid) for mending the Chappell called Connye's Chappell 01 : 15 : 06.
162 1 Itm (paid) to Edmond Eaton for work done about the Archt seeling in both

cbappells [the Trinity and St. Stephen's] lij s. vjd,
1673 The church books to be kept in a chest in a chappell called Conies Chapel.

There was, however, a "Trinity Chapel," which was repaired
and refurnished (1439-40). It belonged unquestionably to the
Trinity Gild (Harrod's Deeds and Records, pp. 30-31).

(2) St. Stephen's, that is Thoresby's Chapel, sometimes
denominated the " South chapel."

1592 Ite(m) p'd ffor a lok & akeye and gymers (hinges) ffor a dore in the stayers
by saint Stevens chapell, i6d.

1593 Ite(m) p'd to wyllm pylock for haynynge (raising) of the tfloore of the southe
chappell & pavynge of it again, and p'd to robert kelke for glasinge
as appeare by his byll, 42s. 9d.

1608 Ite(m) p'd Tho : Reade the Carpcnder for 6 daies work about the Rownd

chapell [margin : — " or St. Stepen's chapel "] 00 : eg : 00. Repairing roofe of

ronnde chappell called Steven s, 03 : 15 : 00.
1660 Paid to Buship for making clean Thnrsbies chappell, 00 : 01 :oo.

Memorandum that in the year 1632 there was Two Drains made in the
Church for avoyding of the water that did annoy itt. The one beginneth in tlie
Midle Ally, Close to the stolls (stools) in the north syde thereof, leading to the
west dore & be vnder the Alley in the Church yard and thorowgh Leaden Hall
I.ane into the Havon.

The other beginneth att the Sawth Chapell att the East end of the Church
and Commeth vnder the South Alley, Close by the wall to the Sowth dore and
from thence to the west dore unto the Draine aboue mentioned.

(3) St. /ohfi's — Generally located at the east end of the south
chancel aisle, probably termed the " south-east chapel."

1592 Ite(m) p'd ffor ... a lok for Saint John's chappell, 2S. 6d.
1590 [Mention is made of the "south-east chapel."]

1608 Itm, p'd to Ro : Kelke for ix foote glasse in ye little Chappell (?) ye
27 June, 2s. 3d.

232 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

(4) St. Leonard's — An inventory of the furniture belonging to
the altar in this chapel is given in Taylor's Atiiiquities of Lynn, p.
120. The date is supposed to be between 1538 and 1550.

(5) St. Peter's — See Harrod (pp. 30-1) for a list of goods pur-
chased for this chapel, including 9 pence for rushes to strew upon the
floor and 7s. for garlands used at the Feast of the Trinity (1389).

(6) St. Michael's — Bartholomew de Belvaco (or Beauvais), a
distinguished foreign merchant, who held the chief manor in West
Winch, demised to his wife Richeman his donation or presentation to
this chapel. He died in 1256 (Lane). His son James, left under
the guardianship of his uncle Stephen Beauvais, was mayor in 1271
(Eller and Harrod).

(7) Davy's Chapel — Supposed to have been over the north porch,
which, before the alteration, jutted into the market-place.

The Davy family was connected with Lynn. In 1608 Williim
Davy, gentleman, was acting as attorney to the Corporation ; he
received his freedom on the understanding that he collected all post
fines which might be escheated. James Davy, too, of Lynn, who as
the assignee of Robert Gawsell, presented James Davy, A.M.; with
the living at Watlington (1670).

1608 It(em) p'd them for whiting davies chappell 00 ; 17 :j[oo.

1617 Work done over Mr. (William) Leeds his studdye. (" North porch " in the

margin.)
1632 The porch on the north (is) fitting to be a Library loft (for) ye p'ish :

og : 14 : 08.
1648 Inquiry to be made for diners (divers) bookes missing and lost out of the

Library over the Church porch.

At this period the Corporation catered for the religious needs of
the borough, appointing the churchwardens, paying the ministers and
keeping the churches in a state of repair. The prior's disused
"Chapel on the Mount" they converted into a study for Thomas
Howes, the curate or vicar (1586), but during the ministry of William
Leedes a room over the north porch of St. Margaret's church was set
apart for .this purpose (1617). The Red Mount chapel was after-
wards used as a powder magazine (1638) and styled the " Mount
Fortress " (1643), and the study in the church became a parochial
library (1632). notabilia.

i486. — John Getyus appointed bailiff of Risyng with the part
of the Tolbooth belonging to the Crown (4th February).

i486. — A letter from the King commanded the mayor to institute
search for " vacabowndes and valiant beggers." Thomas Wodhous
made comptroller of the great and little customs and of the subsidy
of wool, leather and woolfels; also of the subsidy of tonnage and
poundage with the custody of the cocket — the official document
wherein goods were entered (22nd October).

1487. — Letters patent of inspeximus, dated loth May 1487 at
Westminster were received, confirming letters patent of Richard IL
(21st February 1484).

1488. — Letters patent of pardon and release were granted to the
alderman, scabins (wardens) and brethren of the Gild of the Holy

THE BUILDING OF THE TEMPLE. 233

Trinity (dated at Westminster, 6th August). Another sign indicative
of the injustice exercised by the rich against the poor !

1493. — There is said to have been " a great fray " between the
townsfolk and the under-sheriff acting for John Wyngfeld, the high-
sheriff of the county.

1495. — Randulphus Thorsby appointed searcher for the port of
Lenne.

1496. — The King's letter (23rd March), addressed to the
" maistre," was laid before the Assembly. It related to the Diet
about to be held at Antwerp, between the Easterlings, the Stedn and
Henry's ambassadors. A second letter to the mayor and brethren
was also considered ; its object was to establish a bond of amity and
peace between certain aggrieved merchants. The Assembly unani-
mously decided that the proposed bond should be sealed with the
common seal publicly at a stated hour in St. Margaret's church. The
bond was to be engrossed in John Assheburn's book, which had been
deposited in the town-box {screnium) for safety, thirty-five years
before.* William Off' was deputed to convey the original deed to
London.

1496. — Alderman John Gryndall and William Horwode (late
members of the parliament summoned the 14th October 1495)
attended at the Gild Hall and explained the new Acts placed upon
the statute book. John Gryndall " read them openly afore all the
congregation " (8th January).

1 501. — The town wall was thoroughly repaired.

1504. — There was a parliamentary by-election, as the late
elected burgess, Thomas Guybon, refused to serve. A committee of
twelve therefore chose William Trewe and William Grebye (5th
January).

1506. — Service was suspended in the nave of St. Margaret's
church and christenings were therefore performed in the " Charnel
house," because the parishioners ignored certain episcopal orders.
Bishop Nix is invariably described not merely as an ordinary bad
man, but as "a very vicious man." A victim of his displeasure, one
John Curatte, who expected every day to be publicly cursed, declared
that he was " a devilish man." Possibly George Hyngham, the prior
of Lenne, was justified in the course he pursued.

Henry VII died of consumption in his palace at Shene, near
Richmond, in his fifty-second year (21st April 1509). He was
interred in the magnificent chapel at Westminster, intended as the
resting-place for the remains of his uncle Henry VI. This noble
monument of the architectural genius of the period, diverted from
its original purpose, became his own chantry and tomb. In his will
signed a fortnight before his death, Henry refers to "an ymage of
silver," which he had " caused to bee made to be off'red and sette
before Our Lady at Walsingham. "

• WiUiam Asshebume was town-clerk (1419-25).

2 G

234 HISTORY OR KING'S LYNN.

CHAPTER XXI.

Church and State.

Henry VIII., the second son of Henry VII., ascended the throne on
the 22nd of April 1509. " At his accession to the Crown he was in
the prime of youth and manly beauty. Had he lived in a more
poetic age and died before his divorce, he might, without any great
stretch of the imagination, have stood for the hero of an epic poem.
He possessed just those qualities which Englishmen admire in their
rulers at all times — a fund of good temper, occasionally broken by
sudden bursts of anger, vast muscular strength and unflinching
courage. In stature he towered above all his contemporaries."

(Brewer.)

* * * * *

The memory of the gorgeous pageants witnessed at that grand
spectacular display, deservedly termed " The Field of Cloth of
Gold," failed to extinguish the jealousy existing between the Kings
of France and Spain (1520). Open hostilities broke out between
them, and after an unsuccessful attempt at mediation Henry espoused
the cause of his nephew, Charles I., and declared war against the
French King, Francis I. Subsidies, loans and benevolences were
now in frequent demand. A survey of the whole kingdom for a
systematic extortion of money was ordered, and it was proposed to
assess the movable goods and rents of the laity to one-tenth and those
of the clergy to one-fourth of their value, as a voluntary aid or bene-
volence. To lull the storm of opposition, the project was, however,
abandoned, — to be succeeded by persuasive influence and milder
measures.

To the loan of 1522 Bishop Nix contributed ;£i,ooo, the Prior
of Norwich ^500, and the Prior of Walsingham ^336 6s. 8d. The
subsidy granted in 1523 was for four years, and the mayor, Thomas
Miller, William Conysby, Thomas Gybbon, John Grindell and
Richard Bewshere were selected to collect the money in Lenne. In
1524 Norfolk raised ^11,579, of which ;£S'T3S (including ^i.ooo
from " My Lady of Norfolk " and ^500 from the bishop) was the
loan of the spirituality.

RAISING AN ASSESSMENT.

In the mean time " the King's commissioners " received
instruction to fortify the town, in order to resist the landing of a
hostile foe, should such an attempt be made. The payments due to
the burgesses who sat in Parliament being in arrear, an assessment
was fixed to cover the deficiency. Before, however, the first instal-
ment had been collected, the Congregation determined upon the issue
of fresh demand notes, " so that every man that was (as)sessed by
the first bylles at ij d. shall paye nowe at this second gatheryng of
every of them iiij d." In other words, the rate of assessment was
doubled. Further, all those inadvertently omitted and the new
settlers whose names were not yet enrolled were entreated to bear a
part of the burden, according to reason and good conscience. The

CHURCH AND STATE. 235

crisis was urgent, because the money had to be forthcoming within
eight days. Lucky, in sooth, was it, that the new gate, defending
the road from London, the southern entrance to the burgh, was com-
pleted and provided with drawbridge and portcullis (1520), but much
still remained to be done. The town must be made thoroughly
" fensaybyll (defensible) with gunstones, gunpowder, bulwarks and
other artillery." Everything was undertaken '' in all haste." The
services, too, of trustworthy John Alaltby and his long-winded horse
were secured. Ever on the alert, he was to scour the neighbourhood
to glean intelligence, or spread an alarm at a moment's notice. Upon
" the post " depended the safety of the town, therefore should this
responsible officer be well remunerated ; for the maintenance of the
steed the Congregation voted eighteen pence per week, and for the
rider one shilling per day — when on active service ! (5th November
1523). The East Gate, defending the Walsingham or Norwich
entrance, was subsequently repaired, and the King's arms appropri-
ately placed above the arch, so that all might perceive they were
about to enter a royal burgh (1541).

EPISCOPAL PERQUISITES.

Henry graciously issued letters patent of a private character to
Richard Nix, the Bishop of Norwich (dated Westminster, the 24th
of November 15 12, and preserved in our muniment room),
acknowledging the examination and confirmation of a long and tedious
series of episcopal charters and letters patent previously granted to
the various bishops of the diocese. From the last to the first they
run together like threaded beads, so that their recital soon becomes
monotonous and uninteresting. Skipping many links in this chain
of augmented privileges, we may determine its course by noting three
points. The culmination, the letters patent dated Westminster the
9th of May 1488, confirms the letters patent of Edward TV., dated
Westminster the 8th of December i46i> which confirms, — which
confirms — (ad uauseam), and which finally confirms the charter
granted by William IL to Herbert de Lozinga and the monks of
Norwich.

What a magical effect there is in well-sustained circumlocution !
How forcefully it reminds one of the subtle association of ideas so
aptly illustrated in that sublime jingle — " The House that Jack
built," which we reverently refrain from quoting, but which is indeed
a variant of the parable of the past and future preserved in the Jew ish
ceremony of the Passover —

Then came the Holy One ; blessed be He !

Who killed the Angel of Death—

That killed the butcher,

That slew the ox,

That drank the water,

That quenched the fire,

That burned the staff,

Thtit beat the dog,

That bit the cat,

That ate the kid,

That my father bought

For two pieces of money.

236 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

The present letters patent (15 12), stripped of wearying verbiage
and superabundant iteration, amounted merely to this : What your
predecessors have enjoyed in the past you shall assuredly enjoy now
and hereafter. An impressive illustration of " much ado about
nothing !"

Once more, however, the King found it necessary to issue letters
patent setting forth in unmistakable terms the ancient tolls and cus-
toms of the port which pertained to my lord the bishop. The end
of the tether was, however, nearly reached, because these lucrative
privileges were soon destined to fall into the municipal coffer.

OIL UPON TROUBLED WATER.

A dispute of a serious nature was fermenting between the prior
of Christ Church (as the Cathedral, although dedicated under the
avowe of the Holy and Undivided Trinity, was often called), and
the Corporation of Norwich. To appease this unseemly contention
Cardinal Wolsey visited the city (15 17); as, however, the friction
continued, he returned in order to administer potent and effective
measures (1520). On this memorable occasion he came to Lenne,
where he remained two nights.

" The Reverend Father in God, Thomas Lord Cardinal, Legate
a Latere, Archbishop of York, Primate and Chancellor of England,"
attended by Nicholas West the Bishop of Ely, a bishop'from Ireland
and many well-equipped knights and esquires, was met just beyond
the Gaywood bridge by the mayor, Robert Gerves, the Corporation
and the minstrels of Lenne on Monday the 20th of August 1520.
The princely retinue was entertained at Hulyn's Place,* the bur-
gesses providing a tempting and substantial bill of fare, which
absorbed ;^2 2 os. 6d. It comprised 20 dozen of bread, 6 soys of
ale, 15 barrels of beer, i tun 12 gallons of wine, 2 oxen, 20 sheep, 2
cygnets, 12 capons, 3 botores (bustards), 3 shovellers (ducks), 13
plovers, 8 pike, 3 tench, etc.

Well pleased with the reception, the Cardinal and his suite
departed " with gret laud and thanks " by the road to London, the
mayor and many of the inhabitants joining the company as far as
the church at Hardwick (22nd August 1520).! In after years the
haughty prelate did not forget the kindness received on this occasion,
because through his diplomacy a permanent reconciliation was effected
between an aggressive bishop and an obstinate burgh. Through him
the old feud was successfully healed, and the town rather than their
episcopal lord, as wnll be seen, reaped the advantage.

The effete subject relating to the proper carrying of the Sword
was again brought forward when Thomas Miller was chosen mayor
for the first time (1520). In him Bishop Nix discovered a firm and
intrepid opponent. Influenced by their mayor's advice, the Corpora-
tion launched a suit at law to establish the legality of mayoral pre-
cedence, and apparently gained their cause. As expressive of their

* Place is often used as an abode or residence, asBolcenham's Place (1381) and Mr. Coe's place (i 527-8). May
not Hiilyn be a variant of Harlewyn ? Thomas Thoresby mentions in his will " ray place at Harlewyns " ( 15 10).

t This church is supposed to have stood near the " Hardwick farm ; " many pieces of worked building
stone, some probably of the Decorated period, may be seen in the garden.

CHURCH AND STATE. 23T

gratitude, the community elected their champion to the mayoral chair
six tirnes — in 1520, 1521, 1522, 1523, 1529 and 1546 — four times,
you will observe, in succession.

Notwithstanding all the burgesses had done and suffered to
maintain their rights, the bishop was not disposed to submit, but
opposed them inch by inch. The manner in which he retaliated is not
explained. It was the old see-saw game — bishop up, mayor down,
and vice versa — of which, reader, thou art almost as weary as were
thy forefathers. With the commendable object of healing the rankling
grievances and stopping this puerile " tit-ma-torter," Cardinal Wolsey
concocted an Indenture of Agreement, the give-and-take nature of
which must be explained.

It proposed that the bishop on the one hand should relinquish to
the burgh the yearly Court Leet, with all the perquisites thereto
belonging, and the right to hold the Steward's Hall Court as well as
the Tolbooth; besides " such fairs and markets, waifs and strays as
the bishop had or ought to have in the burgh and also his liberty and
franchise of return of all the King's writs." Whilst the town, the
other party to the agreement, should pay a yearly rent of one hundred
and four shillings to the bishop and accept the terms on lease for thirty
}ears.

Through the persuasive mediation of the Cardinal this compromise
was ratified (20th of November 1527). For nine years, the adjustment
proved satisfactory. Friction ceased ; everything worked smoothly
and, but for the interference of " the sceptred sway," Wolsey 's scheme
might have continued in operation to this day.

THE RECONSTITUTION.

Henry was not slow in recognising that the old social system was
being completely revolutionised by the new democracy. The leaven
of equality was slowly permeating the whole community, and the hard
and fast lines prescribed by intolerable class distinctions were being
gradually obliterated. Hence, instead of tinkering with a series of
almost useless charters and letters patent, he determined upon a course
of action which differed from that adopted by his predecessors. His
charter embodied the entire reconstitution of the burgh. The dark
days of confirmation and inspeximus and patching were happily at an
end, and the bright, dawning rays of hope, contentment and social
equality were playing fitfully along the threshold of the future. To
this, by far the most important of our so-called " governing
charters," attention must now be directed. Avoiding the wearisome,
yet necessary, tautology which abounds throughout this document, we
purpose placing before our readers a few condensed notes, rather than
a series of long and perplexing extracts.
C. 15. Dated at Westminster the 27th June, in the i6th year of his reign

(1524)-

Under the scheme of reconstitution, Thomas Miller was appointed
the first mayor, and he was to continue in office for one year. The
election of succeeding mayors was vested in the Common Council.
Every year at the Feast of the Decollation of St. John the Baptist (30th

23§ tilSTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

xVugust), the common councilmen were to select an alderman (who had
not filled the mayoral chair for five years), from the body of the twelve
then existing aldermen to be mayor from the Feast of St. Michael
(29th of September) until the Michaelmas next following.

The first batch of aldermen was also settled by the charter ; each,
if he behaved with decorum and ran not into debt, was to retain
his elevated position for life. The component parts in the creme
de la creme of Lenne society were:

John Grindell, Richard Brice,

John Burd, Cristofer Brodbank,

Richard Bewshere, John Water,

Robert Amfles, Edward Newton,

Thomas Leighton, Richard Pepper,

William Castell, Robert Parmonter.

At the death or the removal from office of any alderman the
common councilmen elected another burgess to fill the vacancy, and,
what is more, to fill it for life, provided he were not in the mean
time morally " dead in trespasses and sins." Power was given Thomas
Miller and his aldermanic coadjutors (or their successors) to meet
at the Gild Hall, whensoever and as often as they pleased, to choose
eighteen burgesses of the burgh to form a common council. These,
members of a lower house, were also chosen for life, yet might be
removed at the discretion of the Mayor and aldermen. In case of
a removal, avoidable and otherwise, the Mayor and aldermen elected
a burgess to fill the vacancy. Provision was also made for the election
and "swearing in" of the recorder, the town clerk, the nine
constables, the two coroners, the four sergeants-at-mace, the clerk
of the market, and officers for the conservation of the sea and river
from St. Edmunds Ness to Staple Weere. The Mayor was graciously
permitted to have a sheathed sword borne before him whenever he
took his walks abroad. Never, however, was the awful symbol of
distinction to be carried beyond the boundaries of the town. The
choice of the sword-bearing functionary rested with the Mayor and
aldermen.

All the liberties within the burgh were for the exclusive enjoyment
of the accredited burgesses. The right of "making burgesses"
belonged to the Mayor, aldermen and common councilmen, and every
man foreign to or outside the pale of freedom was strictly prohibited
from buying or selling " in gross " to any like stranger, except during
fair-time, under pain of forfeiture to the King of the goods thus
bought or sold. Full power was accorded the Mayor, aldermen and
common councilmen to devise and levy taxes upon the inhabitants for
the defence of the town against enemies, the protection of property
against floods and inundations, and for any other necessary purposes ;
and to punish at their discretion every person resisting the collection
of such needful money. No taxes, however, "to the prejudice or
charge or in derogation of the Bishop of Norwich or his successors,"
were ever to be laid. Exemption from service was granted to every
member of the "body corporate," so that none against their wills
might be put upon assizes, juries, attaints, recognizances or inquisi-
tions outside the confines of the town; neither could any-one be

CHURCH AND STATE. 239

made to serve as sheriff, justice, coroner, escheator, assessor, crier,
surveyor, constable, bailiff, comptroller, collector of tenths or fif-
teenths or other subsidies, or indeed any taxes.

Largely emancipated from episcopal thraldom the importance of
Lenne as a borough was at last recognised as in similar towns. New
duties and greater power were vested in the Corporation. Its mayor
held office for one year, and his successor was determined by a majority
of the aldermen, who constituted at this juncture an elective com-
mittee. The aldermen and common councilmen were nominally
appointed for life, but the power of displacing was reciprocal, because
possessed by each. A majority of aldermen could expel a councillor
and fill the vacancy as easily as a majority of councilmen could
supplant an obnoxious alderman with a more agreeable or useful
burgess. Even then, as now, effective pretexts were easily engendered
by biassed minds, and the supply generally exceeded the demand.
Another point deserves emphasis. The new Corporation was endowed
with certain admiralty powers to which special attention will be
devoted at a later period. They were constituted surveyors of the
water and inspectors of the fishermen from Staple Weere (a sewer
about 8 miles above the town) to St. Edmunds Ness (Hunstanton).

(l) AN UNPROFITABLE SERVANT.

This was only the beginning; the complete reconstitution of the
burgh was yet to follow, and we find it embodied in a second charter
granted some 13 years after the first (C. 15). For many valuable
privileges therein contained our town is indebted to Henry VOL
Indebted? — but scarcely so, because, as must be patent further on,
it was, forsooth, the ratification of what had been brought about
primarily for his own personal aggrandisement rather than anything
devised expressly for the benefit or enfranchisement of the people of
Bishop's Lenne.

Before examining the sequel to the charter of 1524, it may be
profitable to inquire into the causes which prompted the King to so
remarkable an exhibition of royal liberality. Notorious among our
bishops was Richard Nix, or Nykke, who was consecrated to that
office the i8th of April 1501. His overbearing arrogance and priestly
despotism caused him to be cordially disliked, yet when blind and
decrepit he grasped the crozier more firmly than ever, and never
ceased lo crush those who inadvertently incurred his displeasure. The
last act in the life-drama of this hateful prelate was connected with
Thetford. The authorities there made a presentment upon oath that,
according to the ancient liberties of that burgh, none of the burgesses
ought to be cited to appear either at Norwich or any other spiritual
consistory other than the one under the jurisdiction of the Dean of
Thetford. The Bishop was indignant; he instantly summoned Richard
Cockerell, the mayor of Thetford, and other townsmen, to appear at
his court at Norwich, and threatened them under pain of excommuni-
cation to immediately cancel their insulting presentment. But the
brave Thetfordians were not to be coerced into obedience like affrighted
children. A prosecution in the King's Bench was the result, and the

240 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

haughty prelate was declared in the end to have incurred the penalties
of prcemunire. His estates were seized, and he was imprisoned.
Owing to the painful infirmities of old age he was mercifully liberated
some time afterwards upon paying a fine of 10,000 marks, which is
said to have been spent in adorning the King's College, Cambridge,
with new windows. It seems, moreover, feasible that Bishop Nix
was constrained to acquiesce in the appointment of suffragans, in
order that he might be pardoned and spared the indignity of appearing
before a Parliamentary tribunal, because he certainly nominated four,
from whom the King selected two, namely, John Salisbury, the prior
of Horsham St. Faiths, near Norwich, and Thomas Manning, the prior
of Butley, who were created suffragan bishops of Thetford and
Ipswich. The release of Bishop Nix was brought about by a private
Act of Parliament (25th Henry VIII.).

During the incarceration of the Bishop the King took into his own
hands the management of the see, which he retained until the appoint-
ment of a successor. In 1535-6 the Parliament sanctioned a measure
to place the bishopric upon a new foundation. It set forth " that his
Majesty minding to advance to the same see one such person, who, both
for his knowledge of Scripture and honest conversation in history, shall
by setting forth of the true, plain and sincere doctrine of Christ, and
good examples of life concordant to the same, much edify his loving
subjects of the diocese." Now the King had in mind the existence of
William Rugg (or Repps), the humble and subservient Abbot of St.
Benet-at-Holme. He was a fellow of Gonville Hall, and whilst at
Cambridge had played a prominent part in persuading the University
to pronounce in favour of the divorce between Henry and Queen
Catherine. Hence the grateful King, " having plain and perfect
knowledge and experience of William, now Abbot of Bene^ " (to quote
the Act) was anxious to bestow upon so deserving a cleric the dignity
of a bishopric (1536). Tempted by the glittering bait, William Rugg
clutched at the episcopal dignity, ere long, however, to discover " empty
praise " rather than " solid pudding," for the cruel Act insisted that
the King and his successors should have the Lordships and Manors of
Lenne, Gay wood, Thornham, Langham, Thornage, North Elmham,
Bristow, Beetley, Hevingham, Marsham, Thorpe, Blofield, Beighton,
RoUesby and Eccles, in Norfolk ; and the manors of Hoxne, South
Elmham, Becton, Batesford and Wyke, in Suffolk; and the manors
of Terling and Lyghes, in Essex — which belonged to the bishopric.
Besides which his Majesty was to enjoy —

All those Meases, Landes, Tenements, Rentes, Rev'cions, Meadowes,
Leasues, Pastures, Woodes, Waters, Com'ons, Fysshings, Poolys, Lib'ties,
Francheses, Wayffus, Strayes, Viewe of Frank plages, Courtes p'fights (profits) of
Courtes Haryetts, Relets, Eschets, Patronages, Advowsons of Churches,
Chapelles, Chaunt'es, Hospitalles, Knyghtes' Fees, and singular other temporall
possessions and hereditaments with their appurtenaunces in Lynne Epi.,
Gaywood and [as aforesaid] which belonge or in any wyse apperteyne to the
said bisshoprick.

The greedy sovereign found no difficulty whatever in assimilating
these things, for, like the Moor's revenge, his avaricious extravagance
" had stomach for them all." But what was the newly-installed

CHURCH AND STATE. 241

bishop to have? For the proper maintenance and sustentation of the
episcopal " dignity " there was allotted to Bishop Rugg the Palace at
Norwich, the Benedictine Monastery of St. Benet-at-Holme, about
nine miles from the city (valued at ^677 los. 8|d.), of which he and
his successors were to retain the Abbacy, and the Priory of the Austin
Canons at Hickling (valued at ;^ioo i8s. 7fd.), with all the lands
thereto belonging, at a yearly rent of ;^33 6s. 8d. ; besides the patron-
age of four Archdeaconries, with all presentations to benefices, and
after the death of the then occupant, the house reserved to the Arch-
deacon of Westminster in Canon Row, Westminster.

The necessary Act was passed (4th of February), and William
Rugg was consecrated Bishop of Norwich and Abbot of St. Benet-
at-Holme (nth of June 1536). "From him that hath not shall be
taken away even that which he hath." Bishop Rugg was, in sooth,
an unprofitable servant. " By his improvident leases he had so
reduced its available revenue that it was insufficient to maintain the
episcopal office with that state which his predecessors had maintained,
and his attempt involved him in debt and difficulties, and consequent
unpopularity, to such an extent that he had to make a second bargain
with the King, upon the remonstrance of the county, which resulted
in his resignation on a pension of ;£200 a year " (Mason).*

The ecclesiastical yoke under which the burgesses had groaned
so many years was cast aside, and having deposed the episcopal patron
Henry took the patronage into his own hands. Henceforth, indeed,
was Lenne — The Royal Borough.

(2) THE DOWNFALL OF THE SUZERAIN.

Mindful of his own, Henry pressed upon the Corporation the
rights and privileges he filched from the bishop ; these, embodied in
letters patent, may be regarded either as supplementary to, or a second
edition of, the charter of 1524.
^. 16. Dated at Westminster the 7th of July in the 29th year of his reign

(1537)-

The preamble briefly recites and confirms (a) Ihe letters patent
of Henry's first charter, and (b) the Act of Parliament vesting the
temporalities of the Bishop of Norwich in the Crown. " And
whereas afterwards by a certain Statute, late in our Parliament in
London, holden on the ist day of November in the 21st year of our
reign (1529), and from thence adjourned to Westminster and there
holden, and from that time continued by prorogations until the 4th day
of February in the 27th year of our reign " (1536).

Forthwith the charter ordained :

(i) That the town be no longer called Bishop's Lenne {Lenne
Episcopi), but King's Lenne {Lenne Regis).

(2) That two courts be held every week in the Gild Hall, pre-
sided over by the Mayor and Recorder or their deputies, for hearing

" As Bishop of Nonvich and Abbot of St. Benet-at-Holme (for the abbacy is still annexed to
the bishopric) the prelacy is exceptional, in that the bishop has a dowb/e c/aim to a seat in the House of
Lords. Twenty-six abbots and two priors were thus honoured. (Coke.)

2 H

242 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

and determining pleas and plaints " in as ample manner and form as
the same late bishop in his courts of the same town." They were
invested with power to adjudicate upon " all manner of Pleas, or
Plaints of fresh force, and other Plaints, as well real as personal and
mixed, without our (the King's) writ, as well for Messuages, Lands
and Tenements, being within the same burgh, as of and for sums of
Debts, for what person soever to what soever sum or sums they do
extend ; and also of all Trespasses, Ditenues, Accounts, Covenants,
Contracts, Causes and Demands whatsoever . . . according to
tlie Law and Custom of our Realm of England."

(3) That the Tolbooth Court be held by the same or either of
them or their deputies within the burgh or the limits of St. Edmunds
Ness and Staple Weere for hearing and determining plaints and pleas
done and debts arising by water. " And we have granted to the
Mayor and Burgesses ... all and singular Issues, Profits, Fines,
Amercements, Customs, Tolls, Tronage, Warfage, Groundage, Stall-
age, Piccage, Anchorage, Tonnage, Poundage and Lastage (Lovecop)
and other Emoluments whatsoever arising, due, or forfeited, or to be
forfeited by reason of the aforesaid Court and the Bailiwick of the
waters within the limits aforesaid." Power was also given for
appointing one or two persons to act as bailiffs,

(4) That a Court Leet be held yearly within the burgh for view
of frankpledge, with power to amend the assize of bread, beer and
other victuals exposed for sale, and to punish offenders. The profits
arising from this Court were to belong to the mayor and burgesses, as,
for example, fines, pains, redemptions, forfeitures, amercements and
other perquisites. Also " waifs and strays " — the goods and chattels
of felons, " felons de se," fugitives, outlaws, and those convicted,
attainted and condemned.

(5) That the Justices of the Peace consist of the mayor, the
recorder and those of the aldermen who have served in the office of
mayor, thus excluding county justices from interference within the
burgh, and prohibiting the Sheriff of Norfolk or his officers from
executing writs in Lenne.

(6) That two six-days' fairs, or marts, be held yearly ; the first to
begin on the day after the Feast of the Assumption (x5th August),
and the second on the day after the Purification of the Blessed Virgin
Mary (2nd February).

(7) That two weekly markets be held on Tuesday and Saturday
" in the place there accustomed, with stalls and shops there for the
same fairs and markets framed and built (unless the fairs or marts
aforesaid be to the damage of the neighbouring markets and neigh-
bouring fairs), with all Tolls, Profits, Emoluments whatever due and
arising " from them.

(8) That a Court of Pie Powdre be held in the time of the fairs
and markets so that rogues and vagabonds from other places might be
summarily punished.*

• Pedlars and hawkers were once called " dusty feet," or pied poudreux, the French terra for vagabonds,
from whence this useful but now obsolete court received its quaint appellation. In Bunyan's Pilgrim's
Pngress (1678), Christian and Faithful were summarily dealt with by a court of Pie Petudre.

CHURCH AND STATE. 243

(9) That the town may have a prison or gaol for the special
accommodation of '' all and singular Felons or Thieves, or other Male-
factors whatsoever," and have cognisance of all pleas in the courts
of common plea and exchequer upon paying into the Exchequer 20
marks (^13 6s. 8d.) yearly.

(10) " And further of our more abundant grace," the document
ends, " we have granted to the aforesaid Mayor and Burgesses that
these our present letters, when and as tliey be sealed under the great
seal, be delivered to the said Mayor and Burgesses or to their certain
Attorney, without fine or fee, great or small, in the Hamper (hanaper)
of our Chancery or elsewhere to our use for the same paying or doing."

It is to be regretted that Henry's reconstituting charters contain
no provisions for the regulation of the Parliamentary elections. The
old " committee . of twelve" chose Thomas Guybon and Francis
Mondeford when two members wished to retire — William Gerves
because of " extreme perell of sykenes," and Thomas Wyth through
service of James Stanley, the Bishop of Ely (7th January 15 10).
The election, too, of 15 12 was conducted on the same lines, when
Francis Mondeford and Thomas Wyth (being free from ecclesiastical
service and having already accepted the mayoralty) were chosen (28th
January).

An alteration in the mode of procedure is recorded in 1523, when
the election did not depend on the votes of twelve persons. The
minutes of the 31st of March begin with a list of those present. Out
of a possible 52 — " the twenty-four " (aldermen) and " the twenty-
seven " (common councillors) — only 31 (including the mayor) put in an
appearance. As, however, the mayor, Thomas Miller, and his
colleague, Robert Bewshere, were nominees, the voting strength was
reduced to 29. Who the other candidates were we are not told. The
result of the election was disappointing.

Majority one: (15 4- 14) = 29, the total number of votes. As
the election was ultimately determined by the votes of 22 persons,
whose names are carefully recorded, we suggest that a dispute arose
l)ecause of the narrowness of the majority and that in this dilemma
others were induced to attend in order to record their votes. The
second trial yielded this result :

Majority eight: (22 -f- 14) = 36, total number of votes. The
second list of the twenty-two for Messrs. Miller and Bewshere contains
the fifteen who voted in the first instance and seven not included in the
minority.

Here, then, a committee of 12 is superseded by 36 voters, who
to a man belong to either the twenty-four or the twenty-seven, and we
feel justified in concluding that the election was entirely in the hands
of the Town Council. In the protracted struggle for municipal
emancipation, the democracy was slowly, yet inevitably, gaining
ground.

THE DISSOLUTION OF THE MONASTERIES.

The monastic orders, and especially the mendicant fraternities,
which almost to this period had been regarded as centres of virtue and

244 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

learning, began to exhibit unmistakable signs of declension. This
social deterioration was owing to the pitiable calamities through which
the kingdom had passed, the gradual relaxation of their rules and an
ever-increasing dearth of eminent men. The depleted ranks were
indeed filled, but filled, unfortunately, by a promiscuous multitude of
young men who had no sympathy with the ascetic strictness of former
days. This was deplorable, but besides there was the struggle waged
between the regulars and the seculars.* As holders of extensive pro-
perties in trust for the poor, the friars had in many instances become
the makers of the towns in which their orders were located ; they not
only reclaimed waste lands, but unconsciously created and maintained
a monopoly of the trade upon which the prosperity of the whole com-
munity depended. Whether the friars or secular clergy should be
preeminent was now the crucial question. After many futile attempts
had been made to solve this important problem, bluff King Hal stepped
forward and did it effectually by sweeping away the lesser and then
the greater monasteries. To the utilitarian the cure was as bad as the
disease — the operation was a perfect success, but the patient died !
The land was filled with beggars, and for the Domus Dei was substi-
tuted something akin to the Union Workhouse. There followed, too,
that infinite loss to learning and literature which attended the whole-
sale destruction of those rare tomes and rarer manuscripts, so tenderly
treasured in the monastic libraries.

Bale, writing in 1549, observes : —

A number of persons, who bought the monasteries, reserved of the libraries
books thereof, some to serve their jakes, some to scour their candlesticks and
some to rub their boots ; some they sent over-sea to the bookbinders, not in small
numbers, but at times whole ships full. Even the universities of the realm were
not all clear of the detestable fact. I know a merchant man who bought the
contents of two noble libraries for forty shillings a-piece. The stuff thereof he
hath occupied instead of grey paper by the space of more than these ten years,
and yet hath store enough for as many years to come. Our posterity may well
curse this wicked fall of our age, this unreasonable spoil of England's most noble
antiquities.

The King, before resorting to extreme measures, appealed to his
council. Some honestly acknowledged that monasteries were scarcely
other than receptacles for lazy, worthless persons ; they advocated
measures likely to bring about a thorough reformation in the manage-
ment and organisation of religious houses ; whilst others, admitting
that the monks and friars enjoyed one-fourth of the revenue of the
kingdom, suggested a great reduction in their number, so that there
might not be more than two or three establishments in every county.
Secretary Cromwell was in favour of universal suppression. After a
lengthy consultation, commissioners were appointed to visit all the
religious houses. The result of an unfavourable report was a measure
entitled, " An Acte whereby Relygious Houses of Monkes, Chanons
and Nonnes whiche may dyspend Manors, Landes, Tenements and

A Regular (Latin regularis, from regiila a rule) was a member of a monastic order or a congregation ;
a Secular (Latin secularit, from seculum a generation, the world) was not bound by monastic vows or rulet.
The first, isolated from the world, was living in religion ; the second was— of the world, worldly.

CHURCH AND STATE.

245

Heredytaments below the cleare yearly value of ij c li. (^200) are
given to the Kynges Highnes his heires and successours for ever."
[27 Henry VIII.]

By this Act all monasteries with incomes below ;^20o per annum
were suppressed, and their revenues, with their goods and chattels,
including, of course, the valuable plate so many possessed, were granted
to the King (1536). As many as 376 suffered confiscation at " one fell
swoop," whilst a "conscientious " sovereign became the recipient of
a lump sum estimated at ;^ioo,ooo and a yearly income of ;^32,ooo.
Hodgson, however, believes " the King and the cardinal (Wolsey) went
snacks and divided the money betwixt themselves, the cardinal having
first deducted his expenses." At the dissolution of the lesser monas-
teries ten thousand homeiess friars were turned adrift. (Holinshed.)
The greater monasteries were dissolved in 1539, when their vast
revenues fell into the King's hands.

Norfolk was particularly rich in religious houses ; at the time of
the dissolution there were 256 monastic institutions — nearly one-eighth
of the entire number in England and Wales. Covering an area equal
to about one-twentieth of England and Wales, the diocese of Norwich
contained one-sixteenth of the whole, or one-eightieth more than it
ought proportionately to have done. Of the 79 houses seized in
Norfolk, the following 10 were in Lenne : —

Benedictine Priory Priory of de Sacco

Priory of Blackfriars College of Secular Canons

„ Greyfriars St. John Baptist's Hospital

„ Whitefriars St. Mary Magdalen's Hospital (Gaywood)

,, Austinfriars Lazar House in Cowgate.

South Lenne (Setchy Parva), Hospital and chapel.

West „ Leper House.

Hardwick, Hospital.

Gaywood, ,, {Valov Ecclesiastictis.)

The accompanying table shews at a glance when the surrender of
each house was effected, the value of their emoluments, the number of
brethren (including the respective priors), and into what hands the
building in the first instance passed : —

Institution.

When.

Value.

Brethren

To Whom.

Benedictine Priory

1539
ID. Oct.

(iranted to the Dean &
Chapter of Norwich.

Priory of Greyfriars

—' !-• c; "

Purchased

afterward by : —

Corporation

Priory of Whitefriars

30. Sept.

35/8

»»

Priory of Blackfriars ...

18/I2

T3 C 3
2 (L> CO

Private persons

Priory of Austin Friars *

»5

24/6

-^ C i-

Ninety years prior to this, there were connected with this monastery 30 priests besides :6 subordinate

officers.

246 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

The presentation of the Priors of Lenne was in the hands of the
Prior of the Benedictine Convent, Norwich, and the last of the order
ceased when William Castleton was made the first Dean of Norwich
(2nd May 1538). As the Priory at Lenne had been granted to him
and his successors, the presentation connected with the Perpetual
Curacy of " St. Margaret with the Chapels of St. Nicholas and St.
James " has always continued in the hands of the Dean and Chapter
of Norwich, notwithstanding that the Corporation subsequently pur-
chased the impropriation and thus acquired the parochial revenues.
The " curate " (vicar) was entitled to receive for his services the sur-
plice fees for christenings, marriages and burials, and a few insigni-
ficant perquisites as herbage and dole-fish, etc. The " lecturers," or
preachers, were, until the passing of the Municipal Corporation Act
in 1835, chosen and appointed by the Corporation ; they received ^100
a year from the town treasury, and were permitted to hold other
livings.

Attention will elsewhere be given to the Priory and the Four
Great Orders of Friars in Lenne, hence a few words concerning the
other houses which succumbed may not here be out of place.

(i) T/ie Priory de Sacco (Sackfriars), whose patron was St.
Anthony. To this stern brotherhood other terms were applied, as
Friars de Pcenitentia (Friars of Repentance or Penance), Friars of
the Penance of Jesus Christ (or of God), and because their dress was
formless like a bag of coarse sackcloth, they were also called the Fraties
de Sacco, or Friars of the Sack. They first appeared in London, and
at one time had nine houses. Their spread is indicated by the estab-
lishment of various offshoots — London (1257), Cambridge and Nor-
wich (1258), Oxford (1262), Newcastle (before 1272), Leicester (1284),
Lincoln and York (query date).

The houses in England were affected by an Act passed by the
Council at Lyons which suppressed all except the greater orders (1274).
Some of the buildings and sites were either granted to other religious
houses, as at Norwich and York, or passed into private hands. The
prior at Lenne at this juncture was Roger de Flegg, — an important
person in that he was also Vicar-general of the whole order of Sack
Friars in England.

The position of this priory has been determined. It was the 12th
tenement north of St. Nicholas' chapel on the east side of the way, and
it bore the following inscription : — " The brethren of the Sack hold
an area in which their church and habitation are constructed, of the

gift of Lord John de Vaux, R de Westacre, and Richard, son of

Adam de Wigenhale, and the heirs of Alexander Fitz- Parson acquitted
them of their rent to the Bishop " (Survey, Edw. I.).

(2) The College of Secular Canons was Thoresby's gift to the
town. It was quadrangular in shape, with the principal entrance in
Queen Street. The beautifully-carved door (15 10) and quaint dormer
windows are objects of interest. The first originally bore the legend —
Orate fro anima Magistri Thome Thoresby fundatoris hujus loci, that

CHURCH AND STATE. 247

is, " Pray for the soul of Master Thomas Thoresby, the founder of this
place." The inexcusable fanaticism of the times prompted some
enthusiastic iconoclast to mutilate the inscription by nearly cutting
away the first three words.* This building came into the possession
of the Corporation, who sold it to a person named Houghton ; this was
prior to 1561, when the Commissioners reported that to what use it was
established they "knew not." " Thoresby 's College" was subse-
quently converted into " a brew-house." Part of the building is now
occupied by Mr. J. Oliver as a private dwelling, and the rest is utilised
as a young ladies' seminary, conducted by Mrs. and Miss M. Powley
(1906).

(3) The Hospital of St. John the Baptist has already been men-
tioned in connection with the recantation of Sir W. Sawtre (1399). It
is supposed to have stood on the site of the present " Blue Lion " —
formerly the Hanging Chains — Inn. As described in the 13th cen-
tury, it consisted of a church, a hospital, a hall, chambers, a court,
and various houses with their appurtenances, and was the gift of
Richard de Brecham to the master and brethren — and we will presume
to add sisters, who are subsequently mentioned. A ground rent of
5s. a year was charged bv the bishop.

In 1234 the prior strenuously objected to the celebration of mass
in their church. t Margaret Frenghe bequeathed xij pence to the
poor people of the Hospice of " St. John of Lenn " (1352). Robert
Newman was presented to the rectory at Bawsey, which was thus
united to the mastership of this hospital, by William Stratwhayt
(1532). At the surrender in 1536, the Hospital of St. John the
Baptist was valued at jQi 6s. iid.

(4) The Hospital of St. Mary Magdalen. — As early as 1141 a
priory dedicated to the above saint existed at Gay wood. This, how-
ever, gave place to a more pretentious building, erected by Petrus
Capellanus (1174). The new edifice was designed to accommodate
the presiding prior or chaplain and twelve brethren and sisters — three
of whom were to be leprous. Interesting particulars about " the
'spital on the causey" may be gathered from other writers. J

The founder, without doubt, was a very rich and influential per-
son. He was known as Peter Capellanus, or Peter the Chaplain, but
whether he was actually a chaplain or the son of a chaplain (surname)
it is impossible to say. Notwithstanding the adage, multi clerici sunt
laid, or as Fuller renders it, " many clerks by name are no clerks by
profession," it may be safely assumed that Peter was intensely
interested in the religious discipline of the little community, even if
the duties of the chaplaincy were relegated to another. Conscious,

• Possibly William Dowsing, or some iconoclastic agent of the Earl of Manchester, was guilty of
this and other needless desecrations.

"Lowestoft. In the same year (1644), alsoon the 12th of June, there came one Jessop, with a commission
from the Earl of Manchester to take away from all gravestones (and) all (brass) inscriptions on which he
found Orate pro anima—n wretched commissioner not able to read or find out that which his commission
enjoyned him to remove" (Cole's MSS.).

t See Beloe's Our Churches (iSgg), pp. 74-5.

X Sec Mackerell's Wist. Lynn, pp. 194 and 244-9 ; Richards' Mht. Lynn, Vol. I., pp. 530-552
Blomefield's (Parkin) Hist. Norfolk, Vol. VUl., i>. 146; Report (11 th) Hht. MSS. Com., part 3, pp. 235-8
and Aikiu's Charities of Lynn (1843), p. 8.

248 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

perhaps, that his end was approaching, he may have hurried on the
work to its completion, because he died on St. Paul's day (25th of
January), the same year that the episcopal acknowledgment was
executed (1174).

The foundation deed of the Hospital of St. Mary Magdalen was
granted by Bishop Turbus. It bore, of course, the new seal of the
fraternity, but because this seal was not well known, the seal of the
dean of Lenne was also affixed thereto.*

From this document we learn how the hospital was granted cum
ecclesia et sepultura, that is, "with the church and burial ground."
Near the building was the grave-yard, where tjie inmates were interred,
not in wooden cases — a comparatively modern device — but wrapped
merely in their winding sheets. Coffins were then exclusively
reserved to the rich. Solid blocks of stone, often brought from places
many miles distant, were hollowed out to receive the body — a small
circular cavity being cut at the broad end for the head. In the
bottom were generally one or two holes to drain off the moisture.
These coffins, never deep in the ground, were often so near the surface
that the stone lids were visible. They belong to the nth and 12th
centuries, but very few are found earlier than the 12th century.

For four centuries this beneficent institution flourished, and even
after the statute passed expressly for the suppression of hospitals,
colleges, chantries, etc., the fraternity at Gay wood was not dispersed
neither were its lands seized, though nominally belonging to the Crown.
At the present time its possessions are vested in the Charity
Commissioners.

While excavating for the foundation of the new (King Edward
VII.) Grammar School, generously presented to our borough by
W. J. Lancaster, Esq., several skeletons were unearthed, awaiting,
with their feet towards the east, the " Dayspring " and the
"Resurrection." The workmen came upon a stone coffin about
3 feet beneath the surface, 30 feet from the road and 30 feet
from the wall of the present alms-houses. Cut out of a solid
block, it measured 6\ feet in length, the breadth at the head being 2
feet and the foot 18 inches; it was, moreover, 14 inches high and 12
inches in depth. The cavity for the head was elliptical, 15 inches by
10 inches (i8th January 1904). The stone greatly resembles " Clips-
ham," and was perhaps brought by water from the Clipsham quarries,
about 10 miles from Oakham, in Rutlandshire, through Market
Deeping, Crowland and Spalding, and on to the mouth of the Wel-
land, at Fossdyke Wash, from whence it was shipped to Lynn.
Mackerell mentions three similar stone coffins in connection with St.
Margaret's church.

After remaining in the ground seven hundred and thirty years
(as we believe) the stone is very friable. The stone lid had given
way, and the osseous remains of others buried above had fallen in.
With the skeleton of a tall person, about six feet in height, was
another skull and many bones.

* Thf dean assisted the piioi, as the archdeacon assisted the bishop.

CHURCH AND STATE. 249

Describing the coffins washed away by the sea from the church-
yard at West Lynn the author of Lennoe Rediviva {circa Edward IV.)
observes : —

Such coffins as this age affords none such,

But com'on were for conquerors in every church,

They made out of freestone, engraved as decpe

As to containe the body, and it to keepe.

A hollow place for tli' head cut in a round.

Narrow for necke, broader for shoulders round,

In one word they are shaped to the full

Proportion of a body with its skull. (Ben Adam.)

In conclusion, we accentuate certain points : —

(i) The coffin belongs to the 12th century, rather than the nth ;
it contains the remains of a wealthy, rather than a poor person, who
was in some way connected witli this ancient hospital, or the interment
would have been elsewhere.

(2) Peter Capellanus was unquestionably wealthy ; he founded
the Hospital of St. Mary Magdalen, died during the 12th century
(1174), and would be buried, according to the custom of the period,
either in the chapel or graveyard belonging to this beneficent
foundation.

Thus far we go, but no farther ; yet, if thou, courageous reader,
wilt venture to assert that the stone coffin, deposited in our museum,
contains the crumbling remains of good Peter Chaplain, we will con-
tentedly refrain from uttering any protest.

(5) The Cowgate Lazar House. — The dreadful scourge of
leprosy, now happily almost unknown in this country, is said to have
been introduced by the Crusaders on their return from the Holy Land.
Those afflicted with this and similar loathsome cutaneous diseases were
isolated from their fellows and compelled to dwell in lazar houses (so-
called from Lazarus, the beggar mentioned by St. Luke, who being
" full of sores " was probably a leper), which were built and supported
by the benevolent. The unfortunate inmates were not permitted to
go abroad without ringing a bell to announce their approach or shaking
the lid of their wooden clap-dish to shew it was empty. Generally,
however, an accredited joregoer, whose duty it was to beg for the sup-
port of these incurable outcasts, was appointed at each house.

It was customary in Lenne to report to the council those who were
susjiected of being thus afflicted, so that their infirmity might be con-
firmed or denied by " discreet |iersons, having knowledge in this
respect." For exami)le, John Selander, T. Taylnur and Edmund
Mundy having been duly " nominated," were cited to appear before
the mayor and his brethren (17th of March 1429), to be minutely
examined in their presence. The judges, however, were uncertain
about John Selander, because the next year, when the council met to
levy fines or contributions upon the aliens who had not yet accepted
the burden of citizenship, the Dutchman's name appears upon the
list. From John Selander, however, nothing was demanded, but now
being unquestionably leprous, he was ordered to quit the borough
within a fortnight under the heavy penalty of forty shillings (ist
April 1430).

2 I

250 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

Margaret Frenghe bequeathed twelve pence to the lepers of the
Cowgate, and a like amount to those of Herdwyk or Hardwick
(1352); John de Grantham, of Lenne, left " 3s. 4d. to each of the
seven leper houses about Lenne" (1384); and Stephen Guybon, of
North Lenne, demised twelve pence ' ' to every leper house about
Lenne," namely, Cowgate, Herdwyk, Seche Hithe, Mawdelyn, West
Lenne and Gaywood (1434)- Hence there were seven infectious
hospitals in 1384, but fifty years later there were but six.

It will be noted that these retreats were some distance from the
town. The one at Hardwick is supposed to have stood on the south
side of the road, at the foot of and just beyond the " Hardwick
bridge." It was burnt down in 1477, when Edmund Bedingfeld, the
lord of the manor of Hall Place or Seche Parva, a hamlet of South
Lenne. granted the site of the Hospital of St. Lawrence, as it was
called, to John Norris. the vicar of All Saints' church. There was
a corresponding settlement of the brotherhood of St. Lawrence in the
Newland, their house being affiliated with the monastery of St.
Lazarus of Jerusalem, at Burton Lazars (Leicestershire). This
hospital was in the Damgate. nearly opposite the chapel of the
Hospital of St. John the Baptist. The brethren owned a row of
messuages extending from the Bishop's Mill Fleet to the Drawbridge
(East Gates). The site of the Kettle Mills Water-works, know'n in
the 13th century as " Lazar Hill," belonged to this fraternity.

Of the leper house in West Lenne, and the leper hospital in South
Lenne, nothing is known.

ANCHORITES AND HERMITS.

An ancJiorile was a being who lived a solitary life, secluded from
the world, and who practised the severest austerities, never leaving his
cell, and depending for his living upon the thoughtful benevolence of
others ; whereas a hermit, though more or less a recluse, was permitted
to wander at large. Cells or destincc were provided for these pious
persons in monasteries, churches, churchyards, over church porches or
town gates, and in lonely and almost inaccessible places. Many bur-
gesses of Lenne left money for the support of these religious devotees.

Anchorites are mentioned in connection with South Lenne (1367),
All Saints' church (1385 and 1510), Whitefriars' monastery ("John
with the Broken Back" in 1367 and William Clays in 1510); there
were " recluses " of All Saints' (1276 and 1408); Lady Alice Belle,
a member of the Gild of SS. Fabian and Sebastian, may also be
included. To the " anchorite recluse " of All Saints', Margaret the
widow of John Lok left twenty shillings (1408).

Hermits, too, were plentiful. Dwelling in or near the church
of St. Margaret were John (1406) and Thomas (1428) ; the chapel of
St. Nicholas, John (1367 and 1428); the South Gate, Thomas (1386),
all of whom were accordingly surnamed "Hermit"; and Anne
Whyote, of the East Gate (1385).

In 1349 the town, through the medium of the mayor, John de
Couteshale, presented a petition to William Bateman, the Bishop of
Norwich, begging that John Puttock might be accepted as a hermit.

CHURCH AND STATE. 251

He lived at that time in a cave on the western side of the haven at
a desolate spot particularly dangerous to our early mariners, and here
at his own cost the good man erected a " remarkable cross," no feet
in height. This land-mark, subsequently known as the Lenne Crutch
or Cross (a name retained in the 17th century), was of great service to
our sailors. John Puttock seems to have been a wealthy man, because
he proposed building himself " a proper mansion," and looked upon
the cave as a temporary dwelling. Here, then, he desired to spend
the remnant of his days in the service of God and for the good of his
fellows. Hence the townsfolk to further his commendable conduct
applied to the Bishop for permission and licence.

The Hermitage of St. Catherine was beyond the East Gates on
the north side of the common way against Roude's Hill {Spread Eagle
Estate). The abuttals are mentioned in a deed, 8th of Henry VIII.
(Harrod p. ^t^). The building apparently belonged to the Corpora-
tion in 1 5 14, when Sir William Knight, a priest, presented " to the
commons " a pair of double gilt silver chalices which were to be used
in the Hermitage. The subjoined quotation from the chapelwardens'
cash book helps to decide the position of this forgotten building: —
" It'm : for somuch rec'd viij small Shrub trees growing on the dike
sides upon an Acre of Grownd in Gaywood [a i)art of St. Nicholas'
Chapel Estate] next the hermitage called St. Katherins jQi iis.
(1616)." In other words — eight shrubs growing upon the Chapel
Estate were sold for ^£1 iis.

St. Catherine's Chapel, defaced before 1560, we are inclined to
regard as none other than St. Katherine's Hermitage, because John
Consolif desired " there to live a solitary life upon the alms of the
good people." Bishop Spencer wrote to Roger Paxman, the mayor
and burgesses, on his behalf, asking that for the love they bore him, —
which was truly a negative quantity — they would surrender their part
in the house to accommodate dear brother Consolif, who was none
other than his brother's worn-out servant (1382).

llie Greenland Fishery, a public house in Bridge Street, is said
to have been built on the site of a nunnery, but the nuns of Lenne (if
there ever were any) were removed to Thetford in 1 176 (W. P. Burnet).
Gasquet says the Benedictine nuns were removed to Thetford from
Lynge, about 7 miles from East Dereham {English M&nastic Life:
1904, p. 288). The present building is of the timber-frame order, the
spaces being fdled with herring-bone brick work. It is reputed to
have been the residence of a merchant named Atkins. John Atkins
was mayor in 1607 and 1615, and William Atkins in i6iq. The date
1605 is visible on the north gable, and 1674 was at one time to be seen
upon a corbel on the south. Some rude mural paintings, encrusted
with whitewash, were discovered in an upper room (1834) ; they repre-
sented Faith, Hope and Charity, and the ])aral)le of Dives and
Lazarus. The following poetic inscriptions were deciphered : —

Thou in thy life thy pleasure had, but Lazarus he felt pain,
Now therefore ho comforted is, with heavenly food above.

Which when he bogjpcd but rrumbs of thee, did'st him disdain,
Wherefore thou now tormented art, and from thence cannot move.

252 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

Alas ! how short the pleasure is, and vaine

Woe and alas ! that such delights which haste
Should men repaye with everlasting paine

In chaines restrained from out the blissful place.

On the east wall were these lines : —
As nothing is so absolutely blest

But chance may crosse and make it seeming ill ;
So nothing can a man so much molest

But God can change and— (seeming good) — He will.

And over the window, Psahn xvi. 2 :—

Thou wilt shew me the path of life ; in thy presence is fullness of joy ; at
thy right hand there are pleasures for ever more.

NO ADMITTANCE.

There was a fresh outbreak in 1516 of the " sweating sickness,"
which had never really quitted the country. It became so prevalent
at last that it was almost disregarded, except when its virulence
decimated huge areas. About this period the scourge \yas severely
felt in London and other of the larger centres of population, and the
civic authorities, alarmed at the mortality around them, tried their
utmost to mitigate the evil. Among other measures, they inaugurated
the wholesale expulsion of beggars and vagabonds. Driven beyond
the boundary of the city, they might go where they chose, but were
not permitted to return; hence they sought an abiding place in the
smaller burghs, which were soon completely overrun with unwelcome
refugees, who were by no means averse to living upon the industry of
others. The influx here was so alarming that the Assembly were
constrained to examine the roll of burgesses, and, in their wisdom, it
was decided that all the unemployed and questionable inhabitants of
Lenne were to present themselves for hire every morning at the usual
time of going to work, at the corner of Chequer Street (now King
Street), either near the King's or the Common Staith, where labourers
were usually in demand. Here these unfortunate loafers were to
remain one hour, if the piteous cry " We've got no work to do " were
not in the m.ean time silenced, or be punished as hypocritical vagabonds
who preferred idleness to industry (1520).

The closing of the monastery doors, a scheme devised by Wolsey,
greatly aggravated the mischief, not only here, but elsewhere. Hordes
of infuriated beggars, turned adrift from these temporary shelters,
tramped from one part of the kingdom to another, committing crimes
of every description. To guard against a further ingress from
neighbo;uring places the town gates were closed punctually every
evening at six o'clock, and thus they remained until six the next
morning. The keys of the locked-up burgh were delivered to the
mayor, whilst a strong corps of armed men guarded every entrance.
The peace, within the municipal pale, was secured by means of a
night watch, consisting of the ward constables and twenty stalwart
men. who were under the command of one of the aldermen. Their
duty it was to parade the streets and to lock up after ten o'clock every
disreputable person they met. To assist the guardians of the peace
in these nocturnal expeditions every householder, having received
notice from the bellman, was bound to suspend a light in front of his
dwelling, or forfeit fourpence whenever he neglected to do so (1536).

CHVRCti AND STATE.

26a

An abortive attempt was made to revive the suppressed orders at
Walsingham. The inhabitants, influenced by homeless friars, con-
sidered that the dissolution of their priory, with the cessation of pil-
grimages to the Virgin, would in a great measure ruin the town. A
tumultous mob therefore assembled to oppose the King's officers ; their
dispersion, however, was inevitable. Fifteen are said to have been
condemned for high treason, of whom five were executed. William
Gisborough, a friar, of Lenne, and his father, who belonged to
Walsingham, were hanged in the Lenne, as was also a Carmelite friar
named Peacock (ist June 1537).

There can be little doubt that the people suffered greatly, for
some few years at least, after the suppression. In four statutes
passed between 1535 and 1544 there appears a list of decayed towns;
Lenne, Yarmouth and Ipswich are conspicuous in that of 1541, but
as at that period there was scarcely a prosperous town in the King-
dom, it would be unfair to attribute the alteration to one source.
Besides, a local Act was passed in 1535 for the rebuilding of houses in
Lenne (26th Henry VIII., c. 9), and similar Acts affected Norwich
and other towns, for " there hath been in times past many beautiful
houses which are now falling into ruin."

For the brutal and shameful methods emplo} ed to sweep away the religious
houses — much that they stood for and all that they were — it is impossible to offer
any excuse. But it is not a little noticeable that, in much less than a century
after all were gone, they were hardly missed ; very few men, wise or simple,
seriously regretted their suppression, and very much fewer wished them back
(Dr. A. Jessopp).

THE CLERGY SUSTENTATION FUND.

The following interesting items occur in the accounts rendered
by John Ffornesete (1438) and George Hvngham (1509), priors of

Lenne, to John Hewrynglonde and R Latton, the respective

priors of Norwich : —

lal tithes for the whole burgh

I34«

1509

Persot

£bo 12

;C2i

Offerings : —

(I).

On feast days for requiems, churchings, wed-"
dings and holy bread :

1438 \ 1509

£68

£i2,

1 r

St. Margaret s ... 44 24 10

St. Nicholas' ... ... 10 10 8 640

St. James' 13 9 6 2 6 9_

(2).

hi the boxes before tlic images of the saints in all]
the churches and chapels the account for 1509 ■
includes tliat of St. Mary on the (I.ady) Bridge..

£?> --

£0

(3)-

For annual masses, including the stipend of the).
Trinity Gild *

r^' 7

£--

(4)-

For mortuaries

£0

(.5).

At the cross in the church-yard of St. Margaret.

£3

(6).

At the chapel of Our Lady at the Mount

! -

£16

\£u^ 6

£n

^64 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

A positive statement as to the fixing of the amount of personal
tithes and feast-day offerings, in contradistinction to the voluntary
payments, cannot be given ; yet it seems likely that the plan adopted
in London was widespread and was probaliiy in vogue here. From
" time out of mind," according to the curates' book of articles, the
occupiers of houses in the metropolis were assessed upon their rents.
Each householder was bound to contribute one farthing upon every ten
shillings (and in like proportion) upon every saint's day. Now, as
there were exactly one hundred days in the year set apart for the col-
lecting of this parochial house-tax, it will be patent to the observing
arithmetician that the rate amounted to 4s. 2d. in the pound upon
the gross rental. Inasmuch as this form of payment was felt to be
inconvenient, the parishioners and the curates, or " vicars " as we
should say, entered into a mutual arrangement whereby the rate was
fixed at IS. 2d. upon every noble or 6s. 8d. paid as rent, that is, 3s. 6d.
in the pound, thus constituting, as it did, an abatement of 8 pence in
the pound. This, howex'er, was regarded as a " dowry " or gift to
the parish church, hence the curates demanded according to law, that
all merchants, artificers and as many well-to-do burgesses as possible,
sh(juld also pay personal tithes upon their "lucre and encrece " or
yearly income, as every " well conscyoned " burgess had been in the
habit of doing in times past.

But in 1528 the Court of Aldermen decided that the assessment
based upon the noble should give place tf) the older form — that based
upon the half sovereign as set forth in the Bull of Pope Nicholas.
Instead, however, of calculating upon one hundred saints' days, the
householder might in future ignore eighteen saints altogether and pay
upon eighty-two. This works out at 3s. 5d. in the pound gross rental,
and shews a decrease of one penny per pound. Six years afterwards
the King's Council insisted that every occupier should pay " without
grudge or murmur" at the rate of 2s. gd. in the pound, and. more-
over, that every man's wife, servant, child and apprentice, receiving
the Holy Sacrament, should contribute two pence on each occasion
(1534)-

An examination of the above statistics shews how the prosperity
of Lenne was waning; and that commercially the town was starting
upon the down grade. Not more than a century was to elapse ere it
was to be deliberately styled a " decayed burgh."

In seventy years (between 1438 and 1509) the personal tithes, or
" income tax," and the annual payments for masses, had both de-
creased to one-third, the "inhabited house-duty" to one-half, whilst
the contributions voluntarily slipped into the boxes had dwindled
down to one-ninth. Only one item shews an increase, and it amounts
only to I2S. lod. There is, however, a slight redeeming feature in
what in all conscience is depressing enough — the offertories at the
Chapel on the Mount and the churchyard cross; the first was built
in 1485 and the second, no doubt, between the years under discussion.
Omitting these sources of income, the total for 1438, ^138 6s. 8d.,
is represented in 1509 by ^57 13s. 5d., or by less than one-half. If
a comparison be made between the payments of the householders, say,

CHURCH AND STATE. 255

at 4S. 2d. in the pound (gross rental), the aggregate rent-rolls stand
roughly at ^326 and ^158 respectively !

THE DEEP SEA FISHEKY

in which several Lenne vessels were engaged, was still the cause of
vexatious trouble. In 1507 Tycho Vincent interviewed Henry VII.
at Abingdon, touching certain depredations attributed to the English.
The result of this conference was faithfully reported to James IV. of
Scotland. Coming to 1522-6, the residents along the coast of Norfolk
and Suffolk were in a state of nervous apprehension lest the Scotch
and French marauders should enter their creeks and havens and
decamp with their vessels. ]^\ery man from the age of 16 to 60 was
expected to hold himself in readiness either to repel an attack or to
prepare inflammable beacons, so that distant places might at any
moment read disaster in the face of fhe sky. The fishermen of Nor-
folk and Suffolk offered to equip a ship of war for their own protection
if the King would assist them in the emergency, for it was widely
rumoured that the Scots intended intercepting the Iceland fleet on its
return. Hence. Thomas Howard, the Duke of Norfolk, following
a precedent to which we have before adverted, placed the ships from
the North Sea at their disposal.

The mercantile importance of Lenne at this j)eriod may be judged
from the subjoined returns : —

152S. Iceland, North Sea. Scotland,

Ships. Crares. Crares,

Yarmouth ... ... ... 30 ... 20 ... 8

Cley, Blakeney and Cromer ... 30 ... 10 ... 3

l.enne ... ... ... ... lo ... 4 ... 6

Wells ^^ ... 6 ... — ... —

The "sluggish crare," to which Shakespeare also refers {Cymbeline, Act IV.,
scene 2), was a slow unwieldy trading vessel.

SO NEAR, AND YET SO FAR.

The King's precipitate marriage with Anne Boleyn, a fascinating
Norfolk beauty (25th January 1533). might be considered of local
interest. As doubts are entertained about Blickling being the queen's
birthi)lace, and as she seldom favoured her Norfolk relatives with her
presence, the romantic life and tragic death of Henry's second wife
would find a far more fitting place in the general history of the nation.

Although Henry was at first a smcere patron of " Our Lady of
Walsingham," yet he never, as far as is ascertainable, visited Lenne
en route. He contributed liberally towards the support of the shrine,
paying in 1509, and for several years, ^^5 every six months for the
wages of a priest " to sing before Our Lady." besides 46s. 8d., a half-
yearly donation for the " King's candles" burnt at the altar. In
151 1, if we credit the story given by Sir Henry Spelman,* the King

* Sir Henry Spelman, of Congliam, (156.^ ?— 1641) purchased the leases of the abbeys of niackboroiigh
and VVorinefray in 1594. riirouj;h this trnnsartion he became involved in proceedings in the Court of
Chancery, wliich lasted many years. Tnpleasant recollections of this trouble prompted him to copipile liis
IlisLiry and lute 0/ SatrUfge. m which he declares himself to have been "a |»reat loser and uot beholden to
fortune, yet happy in this, that he is out of the briars, and especially that he hereby discerned the
infelicity of meddling with consecrated places."

256 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

walked with bare feet from Barsham, a distance of two miles (as was
the custom of pilgrims, who removed their footgear at a wayside
" shoe house "), prostrated himself at the shrine, and left a rich
offering, including a necklace of " balas rubies " (19th January). On
his visit to return thanks for the birth of an heir, the exultant father
gave, in two instalments, ;/^43 us. 4d. towards the glazing of the
chapel, and ^i 13s. 4d. as an offering (1537). A few years later
(4th of August 1538) he " disestablished and disendowed " the
monastery, appropriated to himself all its movable treasures, gave or
sold to his courtiers the extensive estates and revenues, and caused
the famous image of Our Lady of VValsingham to be burnt at Chelsea
barracks.

(Jueen Catherine was at Walsingham in 15 12. There is, more-
over, a letter in the Record Office, by Charles Brandon, the Duke of
Suffolk, to Cardinal Wolsey. It is dated at Rising, March 17th
151 7. The writer says he met the Queen (Catherine), his mistress, on
Friday last (13th) at Pykenham Wade (near Swaffham), and con-
ducted her to Walsingham. He was accompanied by his wife, Mary,
the sister of the King (the dowager-queen of France), who also met
the royal pilgrim and bade her good cheer. Mary died at the manor
house of Westhorpe, and was buried in the church of St. Mary, Bury
St. Edmunds. In 1731 her body "wrapped in lead" and bearing
the inscription, '' Mary (^ueen of France, 1533," was discovered.
(Gillingwater.)

BURGH ANNUITANTS.

Following the King's example, municipal bodies laid hands upon
everything which they deemed sui)erfluous. We have two gentle
reminders in the annual issue of the borough accounts of what was
done more than 250 years ago, in llie shape of two small annuities.

Imbued with sacred devotion, the Corporation made an order that
the greater portion of the plate belonging to the chapel of St. Nicholas
should be sold, and the money arising therefrom u.sed to the general
advancement of the commonweal of the town. The sih'er, sold at
about 3s. 3^d., an ounce, realised ^73 (2nd September 1543). A
good excuse was found the next year for the appropriation of all the
unnecessary plate belonging to the chapel of St. James. The town
had recently suffered considerable damage through " the raging of the
sea," hence the plate was sacrificed in order to repair the broken sea-
walls (17th December 1544). The Corporation, who honestlv thought
this within their province, although the charter merely gave them per-
mission to tax the inhabitants for that purpose, pledged themselves
to pay ^i 6s. 8d. in each case as an annuity. The money is still
p)aid ; the amount to St. Nicholas being subsequently increased to ^£2,
whilst the sum due to St. James' chapel is now paid to the church-
wardens of St. Margaret's church. In their accounts we read: —
" The mayor & burgesses paye twooe several! Anewities, the one of
fowertie shyllyngs ayere for Saint Margret's church [on behalf of St.
Nicholas' chapel] And ye other xxvj s. \iiij d. for the late church
of St. James & now payd to the church of saint margrets (1592)."

CHURCH AND STATE. 267

KISSING THE BOOK.

Though blissfully ignorant of the pernicious effects caused by
too familiar an acquaintance with microbes, our forbears preferred
when taking an oath to place their right hands upon the sacred
writings. An innovation, however, happened about this period, as is
evident from the erratic conduct of Thomas Palmer. Whether he,
as a scrupulously veracious man, had conscientious objections to oath-
taking in anywise, who can say? When, however, he was requested
to make the usual declaration as a member of the Common Council,
he obstinately refused, observing " he had as lyff be drawn abought
the towne with horses in a cart as to blowe on a book here " (28th
January it^io).

•' J ^ y FRAUDULENT TRADESMEN.

It was necessary during this reign to enforce certain ordinances
or assizes, regulating the price and quality of various articles publicly
offered for sale within the burgh.* This was merely the survival of
an old custom, which originated in the reign of John. Bread, beer,
wine, cloth, etc., were at times subject to assize. The quality of the
bread, for instance, w'as supposed to be stated ; if then an inferior
article were substituted the seller was liable. Among the delinquents
were those selling sine signo, that is " unmarked " bread, and others
whose bread " weighed less than assize." Bakers were prohibited at
this time from exposing manchets for sale; they might, indeed, make
them, but they were only to be made to order (1546).!

RAISE OR RAZE.

In 1534 many edifices, particularly those near the haven, were in
a ruinous state, and no protection against " the fludde and rage of the
see." Hence the mayor and commonalty appealed to the King,
asking that the owners of those buildings " a longe tyme in greate
decaye and desolacion " should be compelled to amend the same.
Parliament (]uickly responded to the prayer of Henry's " obedyent
subjects." The negligent owners were allowed a year in which either
to repair these " dyvers and many messuages and tenymentes of olde
tyme buylded," or to enclose the ground " wythe walles of morter
and stone." In default " the Chief Tordes " might re-enter on the
fee and do the work. After the lapse of a year, if nothing were done,
the Corporation might undertake the same ; they were, however,
granted two years' grace. If both failed to comply with the Art (26th
Henry VIII., c. 9), the first owner, subject to no forfeiture, might
inherit his own again. Thus was " ruyne and desolacion " checked.

THE TUG OF WAR.

In 1542 Henry issued a manifesto insisting upon his " true right
and title " to the sovereignty of Scotland, when Thomas Waters, of

" " May 26th 1646. Levied more vpon the said Richard Paule, alehouse-kcepcr, for breaking the
assize of beere for six qiiarts, six pounds (£ii), ronvicted by oathes of Jno. Gibson woollcomber, 06 : oo : oo.
And vpon Katlierin, the wife of the sd Rich, paule, for swearing ten oathes, 00: 10:00." C.W A.St.M.

t Manchet, prob.ibly from the French vtanagtr to eat, was a small loaf of fine bread.

"Of bread made of wheat we have sundrie sorts dailie brought to the table thereof the first and most
excellent is the mainchet, which we commonlie call white bread." Holinshed's Description of England.
U., c. 6 (died about 1580).

2 K

258 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

Lynn, was commissioned to supply the garrisons in the north with
I. GOO quarters of wheat and 4,000 quarters of malt (29th January),
and, besides, to victual the two ships of war furnished by the borough,
and to pay the captains, soldiers and mariners their wages from time
to time (4th March). During the war which ensued, William Overend
captured eight vessels, supposed to belong to the enemy. The Privy
Council instructed Robert Soome, the mayor, Mr. Derham and Mr.
Beningfilde to investigate the circumstances (7th June 1545)- Another
prize was taken by the ships of Lynn, but the mayor, Edward Baker,
Thomas Waters, John Beningfilde and Mr. Kenete, upon application
from Peter Meyres, were ordered to release the same (21st July 1545)-
William Overend, who was more zealous than discreet, captured a
vessel belonging to Stralsund, which he alleged " contained Scots and
the goods of Scots, the King's enemies." The Privy Council, after
receiving a letter from Christian IIL the King of Denmark, decided
that Overend should pay ^20 and the incidental costs (26th October
1545). The goods of Frauncis Clays, of Bruges, and Nicholas Berte,
of Antwerp, were spoiled upon the high sea by William Robyns, of
Lynn. The mayor, Jeffrey Stele, was ordered to forward a surety for
the pirate (nth April 1546).

Charles of Spain and the King of England formed an alliance
against France. Henry crossed the Channel with thirty thousand
men (July 1544), captured several frontier towns and invested
Boulogne. Shortly afterwards liberty was accorded to our customers
to provide grain for Boulogne, whilst, at the same time, Sir Roger
Townshend and Sir William Paston were to inquire into the deceit
practised by the Lynn maltsters (i8th September 1545).

OLLA PODRIDA.

1510. A law-suit between the Corporation of Bishop's Lenne and Cam-
bridge respecting the tolls at Stirbitch (Stourbridge) Fair.

1523-4. An Act passed concerning the worsted weavers of Lynn and
Yarmouth.

1535-6. An Act passed concerning the insurances of all the Temporalities
belonging to the Bishopric of Norwich unto the King and his heirs.

154O. The mart was not permitted because the town was greatly affected
with "hot burning agues and fluxes" ; three years later the " sweating sickness "
was raging in London.

1 540- 1. An Act passed for reedifying decayed houses in sundry towns.
Lynn was included in the list.

1540-1. Bishop Rugg was chargeable with the collection of the King's
tenths (32nd Henry VIII., c. 47).

1542. The weavers of Lynn and other places were restricted to buy
worsted yarn at Norwich (33rd Henry VIII., c. 16).

1547. The town clerk, the sword-bearer and the four sergeants-at-mace
were arrayed in fashionable liveries, as were also the waits or town musicians
and the borough porters, the cloth costing 5/ and 4/4 per yard respectively.

-X- * * * *

During the latter days of his life Henry VIIL required to be
moved from chamber to chamber by mechanical means; this kingly
Falstaff succumbed to disease and obesity (28th of January 1547),
"at hys most pryncely howse at Westminster, comenly called Yoike

IKE HAND OF THE SPOILER. 259

place or VVhytehall," the palace Cardinal Wolsey built for himself,
and which Henry coolly appropriated. He was interred at Windsor,
the rites of sepulture being in strict accordance with the practice of
the Roman Catholic Church.

CHAPTER XXII.

The Hand of the Spoilei*,

Henry VIII. was succeeded by his only son, Edward, a fragile
yet phenomenally precocious lad of nine years (28th January 1547)-
During Edward the Sixth's nonage a Council of Regency, " a gang
of greedy and shameless self-seekers," superintended the administra-
tion of Government affecting both Church and State.

* ■«■ w w -X-

"To him that hath shall be given," said the King, and gifts
amazing in value were accordingly bestowed. The recipients, indeed,
had "more abundantly"; at the same time, however, there were
those who already having less had less "more abundantly," which
was, it will be admitted, superfluous. This flagrant tendency to
augment the wealth of the land-owners at the expense of the rest of
the community caused great dissatisfaction, because whilst the rich
grew richer the poor waxed poorer. How changed, alas, the times 1
The monasteries — sold ; the monks and friars, those lenient and indul-
gent landlords — outcast wanderers; and not only the monastic lands,
but the valuable common rights pertaining to hundreds of manors
were filched from the struggling populace. Farms grew larger by the
absorption of the adjacent holdings, from which many an unlucky
tenant had been summarily ejected. The system of encroachment
or enclosure was highly repugnant to the masses, who held, as they
thought, an inalienable right to free pasturage over the vast stretches
of waste land which then abounded, and which for generations had
been enjoyed by their forefathers. To the unskilled labourer the
prospect was incredibly alarming, because the area of arable land,
now so largely converted into pasturage, had enorriiously decreased.
The amount of necessary employment diminished also, and fierce
competition changed a bad condition into one a hundred times worse,
so that those who worked at all were glad to accept the barest
remuneration ; yet, whilst wages dwindled towards invisibility, rents
swelled apace.

INSURRECTION AGAINST THE GENTRY.

The spirit of democratic freedom engendered in the breasts of
the East Anglian peasantry in 1381 was other than lifeless; true,
it was quiescent, dormant, unseen and its existence unsuspected, but
there it abided nevertheless, and, like a smouldering fire, was ready

260 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

at any favourable moment to burst once more into flame. Those
immediately associated in the ensuing revolt, which was purely social
and not religious in its nature, were earnest, hard-working men,
goaded to desperation through dear provisions, slackness ot work
and insufficient wages. In an ever-increasing destitution, they failed
to see any prospect of making the proverbially refractory " ends
meet. To preserve their own lives and the lives of their children,
they were spending far more than they earned and the day of
reckoning must come sooner or later.

(l) THE CAMP ON MOUSEHOLD.

On the 2oth of June 1549, serious riots occurred at Attleborough,
Eccles, Hethersett and other places in Norfolk. Two brothers
essayed to lead the disaffected people of Wymondham. Robert and
William Kett were respectable, well-to-do burgesses — the one a
tanner and the other a butcher. Those who sought "redress by
constitutional agitation ' ' were neither " infamous rebels ' ' nor " cursed
caitiffs," as some writers would induce us to believe. Despite this,
it must be admitted that the ranks of the honest, down-trodden poor
were fringed with "a rabblement of rude rascals" — the loafing,
unsolicited promoters of every social movement, who, then even as
now, had everything to gain and nothing to lose. Throngs of lawless
and defiant yokels tramped to Norwich, which became the centre of
commotion, committing terrible depredations on their way. The
newly-erected fences surrounding "enclosures" were thrown down;
flocks of sheep and herds of cattle were coolly requisitioned; and,
converting the Earl of Surrey's mansion, on the site of St. Leonard's
Priory, into a prison, they confined therein many of "the gentlemen "
with whom they came in contact. As every village through which
the procession passed contributed a quota of recruits, it is quite
possible that the encampment, on the heath overlooking the city,
numbered twenty thousand.

The discontented, the desolate and oppressed, those for whom no man had
caved, had now their camp ; and hearing this, great numbers from Norfolk,
Suffolk and other parts joined them daily ; blazing beacons and pealing bells
spread the tidings that the men of Norfolk had raised a standard round which
ail might gather, and far and wide was the rumour sent, and thronging
multitudes came pouring in from quiet villages and market towns, — the peaceful
abodes of humble rustics and simple-minded farmers, hitherto content tvith
complaining, and now roused to action, as the distant beacon sent the glare
across the landscape, or the village bells, hitherto associated only with days
of holy rest and happy times forgotten now in the wild storm of social excite-
ment in which they were living, summoned them away to join the bold spirits on
Mousehold Heath. (F. W. Russell.)*

The innocent, unlettered plebeians placed implicit faith in the
power of numbers and what to them was the irrefragable justice of
their cause ; never for a moment suspecting, when starting upon this
mad enterprise, that indisputable Rig/ii could be of no avail, except
supported by invincible Might.

" Read /fcti's i?c6cn!o» hi Norfolk,by Rev. F.W. Russell (1859), also Mason's Hist. Norfolk (1884),
pp. 132-140.

THE HAND OF THE SPOILER. 261

(2) ENCAMPMENTS NEAR LYNN.

Besides the great camp at Norwich, there was a minor one at
Rising Chase; to this rendezvous flocked many from Lynn and the
neighbouring villages. The insurgents were here stimulated into
action by four aggrieved tenants of the lord of the manor of Burnham.
Plans were devised to surprise and capture King's Lynn, but their
march was intercepted, and the safety of the borough secured through
the wisdom and tact of the governor, Sir William Willoughby — the first
Lord Willoughby of Parham. By the prompt and spirited exertion of
the county gentry, " the rebels ' ' at Rising were dispersed ; they,
however, reassembled at Watton and employed their leisure in block-
ing the passage of the river at Thetford and Brandon Ferry. After
loitering in this neighbourhood about a fortnight, they received orders
to join the main body at Mousehold.

Thomas Fermer, or East Barsham, was slain, and Geoffrey
Comber, John Water, Robert Palmer and Walter Buckham, the
ringleaders, were in the mean time captured by our governor and
lodged in the Lynn gaol, where they remained for 15 months. At
the trial, they were charged with unlawfully having in their possession
swords, clubs, arquebuses, arrows, coats of mail and other weapons,
and with supporting the King's enemies by force of arms.

After the breaking up of the camp at Rising, Lord Willoughby,
at the head of 1,100 men from Lincolnshire, 400 from Lynn, Marsh-
land and Cambridgeshire, and 120 light horse, marched to
Walsingham, in order to join John Dudley, Earl of Warwick, the
Lord Lieutenant of the county (19th September 1549).

There was a camp, too, at Ryston, near Downham. About 300
yards from the "Hall " stands "Rett's Oak " (1904), where Coniers,
the rector of the church of St. Martin-at-Palace, Norwich, and the
chaplain of the insurgents, read prayers and preached. Here an
improvised court sat to administer justice and regulate disorders.
That some of the intractable were hanged upon a convenient
''Reformation Oak" seems likely, if reliance be placed on the
rhyme : —

Surely the tree that nine men did twist on
Must be the old oak now at Ryston.

(3) THE BATTLE OF DUSSIN DALE.

In the mean time deputies or "governors," as they were
absurdly styled, arrived at Mousehold from at least twenty out of
the three-and-thirty hundreds, where a hastily organised court dis-
pensed corrective doses of everyday justice beneath an umbrageous
canopy formed by the outspread arms of "the Oak of Reformation."
William Heydon and Thomas Jacker represented the peasantry of
Fieebridge.

The list of grievances formulated by Kett and his adherents
assumed the guise of a petition to the King. Tt rnnsisted of twenty-
nine distinct clauses, and was signed by Robert Kett, the leader
of the alienated democracy, Thomas Cod, the mayor of Norwich,
and Thomas Aldryche, an alderman of the city. The document,

262 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

which is far too long for insertion in these pages, is preserved in
the British Museum. The manner in which historians have ignored
what every fair-minded person must admit were reasonable demands,
is as reprehensible as inexcusable.

Edward, in a conciliatory humour, pledged his word to bring
about a reduction in rents, the cessation of plurality in benefices and
farms, and the extinction of landowners who, as farmers and clothiers,
were other than landowners pure and simple. As the people were
mistrustful and obstinate, the Privy Council despatched a herald to
proclaim his Majesty's gracious forgiveness to " all that wolde
humbly submit themselves and depart every man to his howse to
enjoy the benefit thereof"; the offer was, however, scornfully dis-
regarded. In this dilemma the Council instructed William Parr,
Marquis of Northampton (brother of the sixth wife of Henry VIII.),
to collect an army as best he could to suppress the widespread out-
break. Accompanied by Lord John Sheffield, Sir Richard Southwell,
Sir Thomas Gates, Sir Thomas Fasten and Sir Henry Bedingfeld,
he led the men of Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire, Huntingdonshire,
Northamptonshire and the loyalists of Norfolk against the peasantry
(loth August). The King's troops investing the city were hard
pressed during the night. Inspired by desperation, the " Norfolk
Furies " refused to yield even when severely wounded, "but half
dead, drowned in their own bloud," according to a contemporary
writer, " even to the last gasp furiously withstood our men ' ' [the
royal army], " when they could scarce hold their weapons. Yea,
many also strooken thorow the brests with swords and the synews of
their legs cut asunder yet creeping on their knees were mooved with
such furie as they wounded our souldiers lying amongst the slaine
almost without life." Remembering the unjust and iniquitous
abridgment of their rights, the suffering cottars retaliated with
frenzied impetuosity. Denying the imputation of being "rebels,"
and bravely maintaining that, as loyal subjects, they were fighting
in the King's cause as well as their own, the despised, poverty-
stricken peasants of Norfolk were indeed faithful unto death.

After this reverse, in which Lord John Sheffield was slain, John
Dudley, the Earl of Warwick, was summoned from an expedition
into the North ; he arrived at Intwood Hall with an army of eight
thousand men, largely composed of Swiss mercenaries (23rd August).
Four days later the royal army gained a decisive victory in Dussin
Dale. The insurgents were foolishly induced to vacate a strong
position on Household, through a superstitious belief in what was
regarded as an old prophecy —

The country gnoffes, Hob, Dick and Hick,
With clubbes and clouted shoon,
Shall fill the vale of Dussin's Dale
With slaughtered bodies soon.

Possibly they were, as some writers contend, misdirected to
what they supposed to be Dussin's Dale or Ossian's Vale. No such
places, however, are marked on the large plan of Mousehold dated
1586, which is preserved in the Record Office. Now, had the

TRE HAND OF THE SPOILER. 263

impressible peasants been studiously cautious, they would have dis-
covered in the same metrical concoction other lines which might
reasonably have been interpreted as favourable encouragement —

The heedless men within the dale,

Shall there be slain, both great and small !

The effect of Warwick's cleverly directed assault was as
unexpected as disastrous. Three thousand five hundred were slain,
for the soldiers, imbued with the revengeful spirit of their commander,
felt their mission was not merely to subdue, but to exterminate.
Though Kett escaped, considering their cause to be hopeless, a few
continued fighting most desperately. Sheltered by carts and wagons,
they stood doggedly to their guns, determined to sacrifice their lives
at the utmost cost ; but when Warwick came to them in person and
promised to spare all who survived, they reluctantly yielded, crying,
" God save king Edward " (27th August 1549). Robert Kett was
taken the next day at SAvanington, ten miles north-west of Norwich,
and sent to London, from whence, after an imprisonment of about
three months, he was brought to Norwich and hanged at the Castle
(29th November). His brother William was also hanged, and his
body afterwards suspended on one of the pinnacles of Wymondham
church.

Thus the revolt terminated, yet, notwithstanding W\irwick's fair
promises, three hundred are said to have been executed (5th
September). In April 1555 the body of Robert Kett fell from the
iron frame-work in which it was publicly exposed. As this circum-
stance gave rise to other prophetic rumours, the ghastly relic was
ordered " to be hanged up again, if it was not wasted," whilst the
authors of the inciting tales were to be forthwith imprisoned.

(4) THE king's journal,

— a manuscript in the Cottonian collection, British Museum, furnishes
this account : —

The people suddenly gathered together in Norfolk, and increased to a great
number, against whom the lord marquess of Northampton was sent with the
number of one thousand and sixty horsemen, who, winning the town of Norwich,
kept it one day and one night ; and the next day in tlie morning, with the loss
of one hundred men, departed out of the town, among whom the lord Sheffield
was slain. There were taken divers gentlemen and serving men to the number
of thirty ; with which victory the rebels were very glad ; but afterwards hearing
that the earl of Warwick came against them, they began to stay upon a strong
plot of ground upon a hill near to the town of Norwich, having the town
confederates with tliem. The Earl of Warwick came with the number of six
thousand foot and fifteen hundred horsemen, and entered into the town of
Norwich ; which having won it, was so weak that he could scarcely defend it ;
and oftentimes the rebels came into the streets, killing divers of his men, and
were repulsed again ; yea, and the townsmen were given to mischief themselves ;
so, having endured their assaults three days and stopped their victuals, the
rebels were constrained for lack of meat to remove, whom tlie earl of Warwick
followed with one thousand Almains [German hireling^;] and his horsemen,
leaving the English footmen in the town, and overcame them in plain battel
killing two thousand of them and taking Ket their captain, who in January (?)
following was hanged at Norwich, and his head hanged out ; Ket's brother was
taken also and punished alike.

264 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

(5) A DOUGHTY NEIGHBOUR.

Although the county gentry were loyal in doing their utmost to
quell this extensive rising, yet Sir Nicholas Le Strange,
of Hunstanton, who had also a residence in Lynn, was
suspected of secretly encouraging the insurgents. He vehemently
denied the aspersion, yet he undoubtedly sent " ordenaunce ''
to Norwich, though for what purpose may not be clear,
besides several of his retainers were recognised at Norwich
after the final suppression. In his Household Accounts we read : —
"Ite(m): p"d the same day [15th July] to Mr. Powte that brought
to Dounam campe . . . iiij d." Something was sent to the " rebels "
at Ryston, but what the writer carefully omits. Desirous of securing
the friendship of the King's attorney, Sir Nicholas addresses a letter
to " Master Cycell " — Sir William Cecil — in which he says: —

Butt as I gather theye seeke to make me the begynnare of the Commocions
in Norff, whyche as you know was begonne before my comyng owght of Hamshyre
in two severall placys [Norwich and Rising] and yf I had benne a manne
meanyng the commocj^on I neyther nedyd to have putt my selffe into a cocke
boot to have passyd the sea into Lyncolnshyre nor yett to have cravyd the lord
Wyllowbye nor the subtyll gloryous Husseye to make their repayre unto Lynne
for the defence bothe of the town and allso of the jentylemen, whyche takyng the
town for reskewe [sought protection in the town] were dryven owght ageyne and
from thense as you know I came to London sekyng meanyes at the councells
handes to quyett the rebells of whome I recevyd letters to declar unto theme,
whyche once declaryd they therwith nott beyng contentyd to dessevare them
selevys I came my way to Lynne and waytyd upon my lord Wyllowbye ther with
fiftye menne, untyll the end atte Norwyche and for the manner of my servyce I
wyll reffer ytt to the judgement of all menne that were there . . . Thys
cravyng your erneste frendshype att thys my neede whereof my poor Ancestors
for thys thre hundryd yeres hath nott towchyd with eny suche charge but the
heppe of papystys [heap of papists] were lefte behynd att Lynne to kepe the
towne who never cowld fynd eyther leyser [leisure] or tyme to mquyre of eny of
their own faccyon [faction] nor yett of eny of eyther the cheff constables or under
constables whereof some never seassed untyll the laste daye. Wrytten in parte
at Lynne this xvth of September, a° 1549.

Yours who cravythe your friendship,

Nycholas Lestraunge.

WHOLESALE SPOLIATION.

The degeneracy of the monastic system, so painfully apparent to
an ordinary 15th century observer, was generally acknowledged.
It was quite effete and as unnecessary as a prodigious parasite, which
absorbed the life of the tree upon which it clung, but yielded no fruit
in return. Not to the honour and glory of God, but to appease his
own insatiable extravagance, did Henry sweep away the monasteries.
Shortly before his death, a Bill was placed before the Commons for
a like dissolution of —

(l) THE GILDS OR CHARITABLE CORPORATIONS,

the chantries, or side chapels, endowed by pious individuals, the
hospitals or homes for the aged and infirm and the colleges, — those
small fraternities of clergy, who were bound to conduct religious wor-
ship in extra-parochial churches, and in many cases, moreover, to
instruct the children of the poor. By the reenactment of this

THE HAND OF THE SPOILER. 265

deplorable measure (November 1547), which a dutiful, though ill-
advised, youth carried into effect, these inestimably useful institutions
were doomed, and their vast possessions (for in such towns as Nor-
wich, Yarmouth and Lynn they represented not only social influence
but enormous wealth) were to be given to the King.

The burgesses, through their members, Thomas Gawdy, esquire,
and William Overend, merchant, violently opposed this measure, as
did also the representatives of Coventry. " None were stiffer,"
affirms the minute of the Privy Council, " nor more busily went about
to impugne the said article than the Burgeois of Lynne . . . alleging
that the Gild lands, belonging to the said town, were given for so good
a purpose (that is to say for the maintenance and keeping-up of the
pier and sea-banks there, which, being untended to, would be the loss
of a great deal of low country adjoining), as it were (a) great pity
the same should be alienated from them as long as they employed it
to so necessary a use."

At a meeting of the Privy Council at Westminster on Sunday the
6th May 1548 it was resolved that certain of the King's Councillors
belonging to the Lower Houses should persuade the burgesses of
Lynn to " desist from further speaking or labouring against the said
article, upon promise to them that, if they meddled no further against
it, his Majesty, once having the gild-able lands granted upon him by
the Act, as it was penned unto him, should make them over a new
grant of the lands pertaining then unto their gild-able lands, etc., to
be used to them as afore." Having submitted to this compromise,
the mayor, William Overend, and the burgesses besought Edward
Seymour, the Lord Protector, that the promise might be performed.

It v^^as therefore ordeined that letteres patentes shuld be made in due form
under the Kinges Majestes(ireat Scale of England whereby the landes perteyning
to the Guvld of Lynne also grauntcd unto that towne for ever to be used
to siche like purpose and intent as afore tymes by force of their grauntes they
were limited to do accordingly. (Minute of the Privy Council.)

Perhaps wishing to conciliate the good folk of Lynn who clung so
tenaciously to their gilds, and dreading, for aught we know to the
contrary, a fresh outburst of popular indignation when the statute
should be put into force, Edward had already tried to soothe them
into mild submission by ostentatiously acknowledging the reconstitu-
tion of the borough as brought about by his father twenty-three years
before. Letters patent to this effect were formally issued at West-
minster (6th of December 1547). Six months did not elapse before
the lands, tenements, rents and chattels of the two important gilds
were partially restored. The Trinity Gild was a most opulent
fraternity, whose resources for centuries had been at the service of
the Assembly; it supported 13 chaplains, assisted in every public
enterprise ; and many a time had granted enormous loans when the
burgh was unexpectedly confronted with otherwise insurmountable
difficulties. It seems reasonable to suppose that the possessions care-
fully enumerated and granted in fee-farm to the town by letters patent,
dated at Westminster the 21st of ^Lay 1548, constituted an insigni-
ficant part only of its real estate. The King's promise, " as was

2 L

266 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

easily foreseen, was very ill-performed ; many of these revenues were
seized under the plea of them being free chapels or chantry endow-
ments." [Taylor's Index Monasiicus.~\
The grants were —

(a) Holy Trinity — lands, tenements, etc., — chattels (including
a stock of mill-stones) valued at ;£^o.

(b) St. George the Martyr — lands, the yearly rent of which was
estimated at ^13 i6s. ; chattels valued at ;!^3o.*

(2) THE COMMON STAITH.

By virtue of the charter of the izist of May 1548, the Corpora-
tion acquired possession of the lands and tenements belonging to the
Trinity Gild, including the Common Staith and the various buildings
adjoining, to wit, " seven houses called warehouses with six chambers
over them on the north side of the port called the Common Staith, and
nine houses called warehouses with chambers over them on the south
side of the Common Staith."

The nine houses on the south of the lane, south of " Gurney's
Bank," would unquestionably contain the interesting fragment of
14th century flint work which is still preserved (1906). This rubble
wall, 63 feet 8 inches long and 12^ feet high, faced with worked black
flints, runs fnmi east to west ; the western end terminating with stone
quoins. It evidently extended farther in the direction of the market-
place, because the original string-course is continued along the front
of the modern brick buildings subsequently added thereto.

In the flint wall are three Gothic doorways — 5 feet, 5 feet and
5 feet 10 inches wide, and each 8 feet 10 inches high. At the finished
western end is a perfect Gothic arch and traces of the moulding of
another; they are side by side, each being 5 feet 4 inches in width.
Possibly there were two corresponding doors at the eastern end.
Between these groups of doorways are two openings (10 J feet and 7
feet wide), which were cut through the flint wall at a much later
period. Each has red brick dressings. There are, besides, two
square windcnvs with mullions at the western end. Towards the east
is a modern door leading to a bonding vault, once in the occupation of
Messrs. Nelson and Coller, and the ofiice of the late INIr. I. O.
Smetham.

It has been erroneously hinted that these ruins were part of the
Lazar House in the Cowgate, an important thoroughfare, which led
in a straight line from the forgotten fodder or grass-market (Norfolk
Street) to the old ferry at the Common Staith, but after mature con-
sideration we must regard this precious relic of a fast- vanishing past
as the back exterior of a substantial private dwelling.

The three arched doorways, side by side, constitute in themselves
a remarkable criterion, styled by Professor Willis " the triple arcade."
Purely domestic and in no wise ecclesiastical, it denotes the normal
arrangement of a mediaeval manor house, and was reproduced in most
of the older colleges in Cambridge.!

* For a complete list of lands and tenements granted to the town, see Blomefield's (Parkin) Hist.
Norfolk, Vol. VIII., pp. 5o5-jio, or Richards' Hist. Lynn, Vol. I., pp. 467-472.

I See Historical Essays by Dr. J. B. Liglitfoot (1896), pp. 201-2,

THE HAND OF THE SPOILER.

267

Examine the accompanying roughly sketched ground plan.
Descending the steps which led from the long dining-hall (upon a
higher level), we pass along the passage and through the middle of the

WEST.

^^^**

Di
D

STORE

—

ROOM.

BUTTERY

1 ^

; X

Id ^
i z

— .

D3
D

1-4

CELLAR

PANTRY.

STORE

ROOM.

s 1

]

EAST.

D = Door ; S -— Stairs.

j-j M Stairs up to the minslrcls' gallery,

D 3 Passage to the dining liall.

The remains now standing arc in heavy lines (1904). The l^itchcn or out-
houses, to the right, are not shewn.

three doors, and on, if so disposed, to the kitchen or out-houses beyond.
Of the other members of " the triple arcade," one door leads to the
buttery and the other to the cellar or pantry.

268 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

Allowing for the usual, though inexplicable, expansion and con-
traction to which walls are subject, we conclude that the three
arched doors were in the middle of a wall originally about ii8 feet in
length. This is borne out, not only by the ancient string-course
already mentioned, but by measurements from the middle of the cen-
tral door, namely, 59 feet on one side and 6o| feet on the other, the
last reaching, as does the string-course, to a line of demarcation
between two existing buildings. In reconstructing the original block,
we venture to suggest 118 feet as the length of the dwelling, whilst the
breadth might be about 45 feet, for from the plan and elevation of the
buildings on the western side of the market-place in 1626, the build-
ings at this corner had then that frontage. It has, however, since then
contracted to 35 feet, hence the Cowgate (Ferry Street) was further
south, and more in the straight line leading from the Grassmarket to
the ferry. There was, besides, to the south and in front of the flint-
built dwelling, the usual quadrangle or court, with buildings on each
side. The soler, the room where the host and hostess slept, or in
larger mansions the minstrels' gallery, extended over the cellar,
buttery, etc., and overlooking the spacious dining hall, was approached
by stairs at either end at the back of the house.

A new warehouse was built in the Common Staith yard to the
southivard in 1582 (Mackerell); it was then possibly that the old flint-
faced building was converted into the present warehouse. At the
beginning of the 19th century the building was rented by the Corpora-
tion, as a wool warehouse to John Catlin, the uncle of the late Daniel
Catlin Burlingham. At the back, in Ferry Street, was the house in
which the eccentric historian of the Fens, William Hall, alias
"Antiquarian Hall, Will-Will-be-so, and Low-Fen Bill" (1748-
1815?) conducted his business.

It would be impossible to identify this building. In the north of
the town was Boyland Hall, the baronial residence of Sir Richard de
Boyland, a famous itinerant judge, who flourished about 1173. There
was, moreover, a tenement called " Bunchesham," in the Cowgate,
which belonged originally to Thomas de Acre, who, with his wife
Muriel, founded a chantry at West Lenne. As he left the patronage in
the hands of the parishioners, the priest Sir Adam Outlawe bequeathed
it to "the bell town," of that place (1501). Besides, he demised to
the parish clerk of Lenne three acres of land, minus the agrarian
cow, "so that he do ring in pele on the vigil " of Sir Adam's year
day. Outlawry was prevalent and outlaws plentiful, if surnames be
trustworthy tokens. Possibly the priest was a descendant of Thomas
Outlawe (the son of an outlaiv) who purchased the right of a little ferry
boat for 13s. 4d. from the Gild of Corpus Christi (1399). No one
would doubt the respectability of the priest, nor ought they that of
John Outlawe, the son of Richard Outlawe, upon whom was conferred
the freedom of our burgh (1456).

These buildings belonged respectively to the 12th and 15th
centuries.

THE HAND OF THE SPOILER. 269

(3) THE CHURCH GOODS.

Our parish churches, now to so great an extent convenient places
for congregational worship, were at one period the religious treasury
of the people, the aggregate value of the furniture alone being almost
incalculable. Glass resplendent in colour, depicting the legends of
the saints or the triumphant death of the martyrs, filled the Gothic
windows ; choice canvases, or beautiful tapestry, representing scenes
in the lives of the apostles and evangelists, covered the grey walls ;
delicately carved sculptures, pourtraying the Blessed Mary with the
infant Christ, or our Saviour upon the cross, found suitable abiding-
places in the various niches ; whilst altars laden with artistic ornaments
in gold and silver and precious stones reflected the dazzling splendour
of the western sun. Alas, the glories of our churches were soon to
pass away ; the gilds and chantries were already gone, and the privi-
leges the parliament conferred upon a spendthrift father were handed
to an inexperienced child, who, too easily influenced, quickly exercised
the right of ecclesiastical desecration.

After appointing commissioners in 1552, the King declares
that—

Whereas We have at sondry tymes heretofore by our speciall Commyssion
and otherwyse commaunded that ther shuld be takyn and be made a just veu,
survey and inventory of all manner (of) goodes, plate, juells, vestyments, bells,
and other ornaments within every paryshe belongyng or in any wyse apperteyn-
yng to any Churche, Chapell, Brothered (Brotherhood), Gylde, or Fraternyty
within this our Realme of Englond, and uppon the same Inventory, so taken,
had, or made, our commaundement was and hathe ben that ail the same goodes,
plate, juells, vestments, bells and other ornaments shuld be safely kept and
appoynted to the charge of such persons as shuld kepe the same safely and be
ready to aunswere to the same at all times, accordyng to our Commysyons and
sundry Commaundements.

The commissioners for Norfolk were Henry Ratcliffe the Earl of
Sussex, Lord Robert Dudley, Sir William Fermour, Sir John Robsart,
Sir Christfjpher Heydon, Osbert INlountford, Robetr Barney and
John Calybotte.

In the third commission the King proceeded to extremities. The
new commissioners were enjoined to take possession of all the articles,
before directed only to be kept in safe custody.

The ready money, plate and jewels are to be given to the Master of the
King's Jewel-house, with the reservation of two chalices for the service of the
Holy Communion in every cathedral or collegiate church or great parish, and of
a single one in every small church. Of the linen, a sufficiency is to be left for
the " honest and comly furnyture of coveryngs for the communyon-table and
surplesses for the mynysters ; " the rest is directed to be distributed among the
poor " in suche order and sort as may be most to Code's glory and our honor."
The copes, vestments, altar-cloths and other ornaments whatsoever, are to be
sold to the use of the King, excepting only such articles as the Commissioners
maj' appoint to be left or distributed to the poor ; and the same course is to be
followed with all " parcells or peces of metall, save the great bells and the saunse
bell," which are to remain till the royal pleasure shall be farther made known
respecting them. (Dawson Turner.)

The Commissioners who visited I.enne, as will be seen, carried
out their instructions minutely. Without wishing to aggravate the
reader's forbearance, we venture to give an exact typographic

270 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

representation of the " return " of the goods pertaining to the church
of St. Margaret (a) : —

Lenne Reg. ) This inventory indented made the 17th day of September
Saynt Margavetf s\- in the vjth yeare of King Edward the Sext witnessed that

l^'isshe ) ther remayneth in the custodye of John Stokes, dark, parson

there, and Tho : Bowsey, Robert Palmer, John Hall and Will'm Judy the
following churche goodes of the said parissche : —

First, ij chales wyth ij patents of syluer, all gilt weyng
XXXV. ouncs di [denti that is a half] at iiij s. iiij d. ye
ounce: Sum'a ... ... ... vij xj viij

It'm, ij coopes of tyssue, colo'red red, p"ce [price] iij li.
vj s. viij d. [£"3/6/8] & a vestim't of red tyssue wt' ij tunycles
iij li. vj s. viij d. : Sum'a vj xiij iiij

It'm, a vestim't of silke, wt' oke leves, decon and
subdecon to ye same ... ... ... ... ... ... — x —

It'm, a vestim't of blak vellett embrothered wt' flowers,
decon and subdecon to ye same. ... ... ... ... ... — xl —

It'm, a vestim't of whyte damaskc, wt' one decon to ye
same ... ... ... ... ... ••• -.- ••• — x —

It'm, iij old vestim'ts of whyte and blak btistyan wyth
an old vestim't of grene ... ... ... ... ... ... — x —

It'm, an old vestim't of clothe of sylu' [silver], deacon
and subdecon to the same ... ... ... ... ... —

It'm, a vestim't of purple silke with decon and subdecon —

It'm, vj other vestim'ts —

It'm, an old vestim't of blak vellett, wt' decon and
subdecon embrothered with gold floweus ... ... ... —

It'm, ij coopes of blue damaske

It'm, iiij coopes of whyte damaske ... ... ... —

It'm, ij coopes of red sylke embrothered wyth girdells of
gold —

It'm, j cope of red sylke wt' camells —

It'm, ij coopes of red sylke embrothered wyth swannes
of gold —

It'm, ij coopes of red sylke wyth spotts of vellett ... —

It'm, j coope of blue vellett embrothered wt' steers ... —

It'm, j coope of grene silke embrothered wyth whyte birds

It'm, j coope of red damaske ... ... ... ... —

It'm, a vestim't & ij decons of red silke embrothered wt'
girdells and birds of gold ... — xxx —

It'm, a crosse clothe of (red) silke embrothered with
th'ymage of Mary Magdalen ... ... ... — iij iiij

It'm, fyve steple bells weyng (by estimac'on) iiij xx x C
[that is 90 cwts.], whereof the first x C ye ijde xiiij C, ye iijde
xviij C, ye iiijth xxij C and the vth xxviij C at xv the
hundred [weight] : Sum'a [query : 90 cwts] Ixvij x —

It'm v clapps to the same bells, weyng by estimac"on
C C weyght (2 cwts.), price — xv --

Wherof assigned to be occupied and vsed in th' administrac'on of Divine
suyce (service) ther, the sayd ij chales and bells of x C and xviij C.

In wytness therof the sayd Commiss'on's and others the sayd psons have to
thes psents alternately the daye and yeare aboue wreten.

Thomas Bossey P me Joh'em Stokys.

John Hall

P me Will'm Judye.

Of tho valuation, which amounted to £92/3/4, £28/10 (?) was allowed.

Before proceeding further it will be advantageous to divest these
interesting manuscripts of their antique attire, in order to present them
in a more appreciable, though, it may be, less imposing costume.

VIIJ

viij

llj

iiij

—

xiij

iiij

—

xiij

iiij

xiij

iiij

viij

—

THE HAND OF THE SPOILER. 271

(b) The Inventory of the goods belonging to the Chapel of St.
Nicholas, taken on the 6th of September 1552, was signed by the
following Commissioners : — John Dynpdayall, John Lovell, Thomas
Taylor and Robart Bewchard and by four parishioners, namely, John
Dynsdale, Thomas Daye, Robert Vessye and John Bovell, two of
whom were perhaps chapel-reeves. Therein were faithfully
enumerated, in a style similar to that with which the reader ought to
be acquainted, these articles : —

2 Silver gilt Chalices with their patens, used in celebrating the Sacrament of the
Lord's Supper ; weighing 24J ozs. (double gilt) at 4/4 per ounce, and
10 ozs. (" p'cell gilt ") at 3/4 per ounce.

29 Copes, semicircular cloaks worn over surplices and used for processions,
festivals, &c. ; they were of divers colours, for example "purple velvet with
bells," " black silk velvet " also the same with " white swans."

5 Vestments, tlie eucharistic robes of the sub-deacons ; one was embroidered with
red and green flowers.

10 Tunicles — a kind of narrow scarf worn on the left arm, over the alb or surplice,
and hanging down about 18 inches ; described as of black satin, blue and
white damask, changeable (or shot) silk embroidered with swans.

2 Altar-cloths, one of l^audekin — a fabric of silk and gold thread, — and the other
of white damask.

1 Altar-cross (antepeiidium) of "red and blue satin cloth."

2 Curtains — hangings of tapestry or other rich material, behind the altar, or

depending from the canopy, here described as being of red sarcenet (the

finest silk, first woven bv the Saracens).
2 Bells, namely the steeple bell, 16 cwts. at 15/ per cwt., and the sance or sacring

bell valued at 2/.*
I Bell-clapper, 40 ft at id. per lb.

1 Lectern of latten for the Gospel, il cwt. at 2d. per 1T>.

The whole were valued at ^49 13s. lod. The two chalices and
the bell weighing 16 cwts (query, valued at ;£^g 2s. rod.) for the
administration of Divine service, were not taken away.

(c) The Inventory relating to St. ] antes'' Chapel was compiled
on the 6th of September 1552. The signatories w'ere Thos. Waters,
mayor, John Stokes (clerk) " parson," John Hyll, churchwarden and
John Kynge ; another parishioner Xpofer Creche was also present but
did not sign the document,

2 Chalices with patens, (" p'cell gilt ") ; 24 ozs. and 2i| ozs. at 3/8 per oz.

15 Copes of blue velvet, white damask, white damask embroidered with gold,
blue silk embroidered with shells, silk with white and blue worsted,
coloured changeable silk' and dorneck.

14 Vestments of red baudekin, red and blue velvet, diaper silk, red silk, blue
silk with shells, " braunched " silk, black, red and white damask, " douned "
fustian, fustian in napes, red satin and blue linen cloth wrought with silk.

20 Tunicles of bluo velvet, red also blue silk with shells, white damask, red
baudekin and "douned " (? with down) fustian.

I Altar-cross of satin embroidered with gold.

I Bell ; 20 cwts. at 15/ per cwt.
Miscellaneous latten articles — A Stoup for Holy Water,t two cross staves,
perhaps, for the precentors, two thuribles or censers, two large and two
small candlesticks, weighing in all 125 lb. appraised at 2d. per ft.

" The little bell, rung to give notice that the "Host" was approarhin<j. was called the Sanctus bell
from the words ".'^nMc/iis, sniirdis, sniirdis, Pomiuus Deus Sabaolh," pronounced by the priest. Sacring comes
from the French sncrer. Old English sacre to consecrate

The ringing of this bell during Divine service, except before the sermon, was prohibited by the Injunctions
of 1547.

The use of the stoup was optional and lawful, though no longer compulsorj', by the Proclamation of
the i6tli of February 1547. It was abolished in 1549,

272 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

The total value amounted to £^g is. 8d., of which the bell and
the two chalices, representing £,2^ 15s. 2d. (?), were allowed.

(d) Lastly, the " Church of All Scynts, Sought Lynne " (1552).
The Commissioners were Wm. Fermor, John Robsart and Chr. Hey-
don, all full-fledged knights, besides Osbert Mondeford, Robert
Barney and John Calybut, who were humble esquires. The parish
was represented by the churchwardens — John Knap and Thomas
Spryngale, also by John Clark, Henry (?) Baker and Herry
Blesbye (?).

2 Chalices with one paten, silver gilt, weighing 15I ozs. at 4/4 per oz.

I Pyx, a box-shaped vessel for holding the altar bread ; silver gilt, weighing

82 ozs. at 4/4 per oz.
8 Cope's of white damask, red, crimson, tawny and blue velvet, and silk with

gold heads (beads).
5 Vestments of red, crimson and tawny velvet.

3 Tunicles of white damask and red velvet.

3 Altar-cloths.
I Carpet.

5 Bells, in the steeple the " great " bell, 36 cwts., the third, 10 cwts., the second,
8 cwts., and the " lyttel " bell, 6 cwts. The sance bell weighed ]. cwt.

4 Bell-clappers — 208 lbs.

4 Candlesticks — 2 pair "great " and "lyttel" of latten, weighing i\ cwts.

From the valuation, amounting to ^^53 6s. 8d., the sum of jQ6
was returned as " Church Stock." To this parish there were assigned
the chalices with the paten, one little bell — [query : W'hich?] — and one
clapper; also the aforesaid altar-cloths, the carpet and actually the
two towels omitted in the inventory. What unexampled generosity !
But in this instance, the wardens were compelled to account for the
money in their custody, hence this remarkable memorandum : — •

Church Stock

£1 ) remaining in the ( John (?) Baker.

/5 i" hands of ( Henry Bleashery (?)

The document ends thus: —

In witness whereof the said Commissioners and others the said persons
alternately have put their hands the date and year above written.

P Joh. Gierke (S. Lynne)
P me Henr. Baker, Kt.

The appropriation of the church plate by the municipal authori-
ties was thorough (1543-4). As being absolutely necessary only two
chalices and patens were left. The only piece of plate discovered by
tTie commissioners was the pyx in All Saints church. It was of silver
gilt; weighed 8| ounces, and was scheduled at £1 i6s. lod.

SHARP PR.\CTICE.

A remarkable incident happened one year and eight months after
Edward's accession. The King's officers demanded the sum of £ig
13s. from the mayor and burgesses. The members of the Congrega-
tion, naturally struck with consternation, promptly inquired " why "
and " wherefore." The claim, it appeared, consisted of two distinct
items, both of which were fee-farm rents, for the two years ending
Michaelmas 1548. The first, £,12, 6s. 8d. was for tronage, measurage

THE HAND OF THE SPOILER. 273

and "lowcope" (otherwise lovecop or lastage) arising from the tolls
of the port of Lynn. The second item in the amount was £^6 6s. 4d.,
an acknowledgment rent for the right of farming the waters of
Wiggenhall. These ancient privileges connected with the Tolbooth
went with the Barony of Rising.

The town wisely refused to respond to so unjust an exaction.
Hence, on the 8th of Dcrcniber the mayor, John Marcanter, "sup-
ported " by a few valiant champions of the liberties of our burgh,
appeared at the Court of Augmentation and Revenue to defend the
position taken. Standing as they did in the august presence of
William St. John, the Lord Chancellor and General Surveyor, how
could they refrain from exchanging significant glances, being, as they
were, confident in the grand coup dc grace, which, despite all that
might be said, must assuredly disarm the proud dignitaries before
them. At length the time comes, and after a few introductory
formalities the Mayor of Lynn nervously indicates, in brief, jerky
sentences, the line of defence. Can you not see Robert Houghton,
the town clerk, like a well-seasoned limb of the law, slowly raising the
lid of the hanaper beside him, and from a bundle of documents
selecting what was wanted? How methodically he runs his eyes
over the parchment, and with imperturbable grace does he hand the
charter to the excited Mayor, placing a finger upon a certain

pertinent clause A moment later the clerk of the

court is pouring forth a droning recitative : — " And we have
granted, and by these presents do grant, for us and for our heirs,
to the aforesaid Mayor and burgesses and their successors " — John
Marcanter and the other members of the deputation bow politely —
" all and singular issues, profits, fines, amercements, customs, tolls,
tronage, wharfage, groundage, stallage, pickage, anchorage, tonnage,
poundage and lastage, and other emoluments whatsoever arising, due
or forfeited, or to be forfeited by reason of the aforesaid Court of
Tolbooth, and — the Bailiwick of Waters within the bounds and limits
aforesaid." . . "And you are quoting?" interrogates the presi-
dent. . . "The letters patent, 7th July, 29th year Henry the
Eighth of famous memory, late King of England, my Lord." .
" Permit me." . . The Lord Chancellor scans the priceless docu-
ment with trained eyes. A benign smile acknowledges his defeat,
and, finally, he orders the arrears standing against the burgh of King's
Lynn in the Court Book to be forthwith cancelled (September 1548).

The first of the letters patent (1524) of Henry VIIL was con-
firmed the 6th of December 1547, and the above incident led to the
inrollment, if not the confirmation, of the second letters patent (1537)
for the charter in question is endorsed thus : — " Inrolled in the Office
of Thomas Mildemay, Auditor for the Fee Farms within written
among the Inrollments of the same office of the Second year of King
Edward the Sixth." To this charter (C. t6) is attached a paper
signed Thomas Mild(e)may, which contains the gist of the previous
paragraphs, besides a memorandum which deserves quoting : —

It appears by a Bill exhibited by the Mayor and burgesses of I.ynn {tncerti
tempovis), but at a considerable distance of time against Webb and Forster in the

2 M

274

HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

Court of Exchequer for not paying the custom of one penny per quarter upon
corn exported by unfree men, that the mayor and burgesses alleged to the said
court that for all the time whereof the memory of man is not to the contrary the
tenants and proprietors of the Port of King's Lynn, among other tolls and
customs for and towards the sustenance and repairing the said port have had
and received, and of ancient right ought to have, take and receive a certain toll,
duty or payment called by the name of Lovecope, alias Lastage, that is to say, of
every quarter of corn and grain exported out of the said port by any merchant
stranger not being freeman of the said borough, in any ship or vessel by water,
the sum of one penny as to the said port of ancient right appertaining and
belonging.

This circumstance conduced to the reinrollment of the second
charter of Henry VIII., because upon it is the endorsement : —

Inrolled in the office of Thomas Mildemay, Auditors for the Fee Farms
within written, among the Inrollments of the same office of the second year of
King Edward the Sixth [1547-8J.

ALL SORTS AND CONDITIONS.

The early subsidy rolls often yield very valuable information.
The following particulars are culled from the Return of a Fourth
Payment of a Subsidy in 155 1. It contains a list of the 79 burgesses
who contributed, with their assessments, the payment being one-
twentieth of the amount, or at the rate of one shilling in the pound.
The assessments range from ;^8o to ;!^2o.
Examples : —

Thomas Wayters (Waters) maiore iiij li.

Thoma : Guybon, armig : (? excused) ... —

Wm. Lovering, m'rc'r ... Ixxvj li.

Vincent Johnson, Ducheman ... ... ij li.

QUALITY AND QUANTITY.

2 Brewers

iiij li. —

iij li. XV j s.
— ij s.

Mayor

I
6

Esquire
Merchants

Mercers

3
I

Drapers

Fishmonger

Bakers

Gentlemen

Yeomen

I
I

Innkeeper
Shoemaker

Butcher

Mariners

Roper

Currier

Farmer

Widows

Dutchmen

Frenchmen

Fleming

Scots

T Undescribed

Mr. Thomas Waters and Sir Richard Corbett were elected
burgesses in Parliament (20th January 1553).

LICENSED MENDICANTS.

To counteract the inconveniences caused by a wandering
mendicancy, numerous statutes were devised between the years 1349
and 1547. The laws of Henry VIII. were particularly severe. If
an able-bodied man, one neither aged nor infirm, were caught soliciting
alms, he was vigorously whipped at the cart's tail ; if caught a second

THE HAND OF THE SPOILER. 275

time, his ear was unmercifully slit or bored with a hot iron ; if this
failed to produce the desired effect, he suffered death as a felon, unless
peradventure some sympathetic person, having ^lo in goods and 40s.
in land, or some kind-hearted householder, approved by the justices,
would take the incorrigible loafer into his service and enter into an
agreement to forfeit ^10 if he went astray during the probationary
period. Notwithstanding the harshness of these laws, vagrancy
appears to have greatly increased, hence the statutes remained un-
repealed. In Elizabeth's reign they formally received the sanction of
the two legislative Houses, the members expressing their conviction
that it was far better for a man not to live at all, than to live the life
of a wandering loafer.

The closing of the monastery doors was a severe blow to the
indigent, many of whom were respectable burgesses, who, through un-
fortunate circumstances, were compelled to beg rather than starve.
The Assembly at Lynn were sorely perplexed when the knowledge of
the appalling destitution in their midst suddenly dawned upon them.
They were armed with a rough-and-ready method for exterminating,
if necessary, the prowling idlers, but how were they to succour the in-
firm and aged poor? The cure of this social plague spot was a
problem demanding the closest attention ; it taxed their superior in-
genuity. But why not do as did the civic authorities in London when
the epidemic was raging fearfully some 40 years since? Did they
not, with due regard to " the first law of nature," first rid themselves
of alien beggars and vagabonds, and then, having but their own poor
to consider, did they not distribute hundreds of " beedes " (Anglo-
Saxon bead, a prayer) or little plaques of tin stamped with the city
arms, for the poor to wear upon their shoulders? Armed with similar
credentials, why should not the poor of Lynn wander from door to
door in order to solicit assistance? Happy thought! Forthwith the
Assembly unanimously agreed that leaden badges should be struck
bearing the letters E and R (Edvardus Rex), separated by a full-blown
Tudor rose. These licences were distributed by the Mayor and the
alderman and constables of the respective wards, to the blind and
impotent townsfolk who were unable to labour for their living, so
that, as bedesmen, they might solicit alms in the ward to which they
each belonged.* To preserve their heads, let the loafers henceforth
take care of their ears !

CHARTERS.

C. 17. Dated at Westminster, 6th December, the ist year of his reign (1^47).
In the form of letters patent of inspeximus confirming C. 15, letters patent
of the 27th June 1524 (Henry VIII.) for reconstituting the borough.

C. 18. Dated at Wanstead, 21st May, the 2nd year of the reign (1548). Letters
patent of a grant in fee farm to the Mayor and Burgesses of the lands and
tenements belonging to the Gild of the Holy Trinity and St. (George the
Martyr, also the goods and chattels of those gilds for the maintenance
of bridges and the general benefit of the borough.

•"Till tlif breakinj; out of the civill warrcs Tom o' Bpdiains did travel 1 about llip rounlrry. They
liad broil (loorr distraitcil mPii tlial had biru jnilt ii\to liedlani, whrre rrrovrrlng to "iiiiiie soberncsse thrv
were licentiated to goe abeRginj; cf they had on tlieir left arm an aniiilla of tiiin, printed in some workes
about four inelies long : they could not gett it olT . . . Since tlie warres I do not remember to have
SMn anyone of them." — hiemajnes of Ijentilsme,

276 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

Letters patent 1552, granting the Corporation leave to invest £100 a year in
purchasing land and tenements. The income therefrom was to be spent in
protecting the town against the inroads of the sea.

A local Act regulating the making of hats, dornecks and coverlets
in Norwich and Norfolk (5th and 6th Edward VI., c. 24) affected the
inhabitants of Lynn (1552-3).

ACTS OF THE PRIVY COUNCIL.

Thomas Waters was summoned before the Privy Council to
answer Osbert Mountford's letter, complaining that contrary to orders
he had sent grain from the port (5th March 1550).

The mayor, Thomas Waters, received a letter authorising him to
commit Joan Smith to ward (23rd March 1552).

William Overend was summoned before the Privy Council (25th
March 1552).

Henry Kirby (Kyrbie) was ordered either " to fall to some
honest composition " with the agent of Christian III., the King of
Denmark, or else appear before the Court of Admiralty to answer
according to law such things as were laid to his charge by the agent
(14th May 1552).

Sir Thomas Wodehouse of Kimberley, the High Sheriff of
Norfolk, was instructed to cause a writ to be served upon
Saundenon, of Lynne, at the suit of Andrew Anoryetin, a Frenchman,
to whom AudrcsoH (query, Saitnderson) owed money (23rd May 1553).

These persons were appointed Commissioners of Lieutenancy for
the county : — Henry Ratcliffe, Earl of Sussex, Lord Robert Dudley,
Sir William Fermour and Sir John Robsart (24th March 1553).

INSTRUCTIONS TO THE OFFICERS OF CUSTOMS.

(i) To prevent :

The sending of cloth away from the port, until notified of the
King's pleasure, and to say how many " clothes " were shipped since
the last July (nth October 1552).

(2) To permit :

The men of Harwich to have 180 quarters of malt for the use of
their town and those ships about to join the expedition to Ireland (26th
February 1550). Ralph Downes, the mayor, also received
instructions.

The merchants of the staple to transport 200 qrs. of wheat to
Calais, the officers taking bond and surety of them not to carry any
more, nor to land their cargo at any other place (loth December 1551).

Mr. Phillips, of the Privy Chamber, to carry away 10 fodders of
lead, after paying the usual duty (25th January 1552).

The transportation of victuals from Lynn and Burnham to Calais
(24th April 1552).

Acelyne to carry from the port 40 fodders of lead (2nd December
1552).

(3) To pay :

Thomas Graver for malt delivered at Berwick, £()0 (20th June
1550), Thomas Waters for providing grain for Lynn ;^5oo (4th June

HER lADysniP " THE QUEEI^." 277

1551), and Richard Duke, the Master of the Marie Jermyn, £6
4s. 4d. for service rendered at Holy Island (5th June 155 1).

* * * -x- *

Edward VI. succumbed to pulmonary disease at Greenwich the
6th of July 1553, and was buried at Westminster.

CHAPTER XXIII.
Her Ladyship '*The Queen/*

Mary, the eldest daughter of Henry VIII., by his first wife Catherine
of Arragon, succeeded her brother Edward VI. on the 6th of July
1553. She espoused Philip, the eldest son of her cousin Charles V.,
who became King Philip II. of Spain at the abdication of his father
in 1556. From the date of their marriage, the 25th of July 1554?
they reigned as King and Queen of England.

*****

By the will of Henry VIII., which was sanctioned by Parlia-
ment, Mary was excluded from the succession. This induced John
Dudley, the Earl of Warwick, recently created Duke of Northumber-
land, to persuade King Edward that it was his duty to insure the
progress of the true faith by making a new settlement of the crown;
not that Northumberland cared aught about religion, but he was
convinced that if Mary ascended the throne, his authority would be
abruptly terminated, if in the mean time he did not lose his head upon
the scattold. Northumberland's conspiracy. .

Arguing that if Mary were set aside her sister Elizabeth could not
justly inherit the kingdom, because she had already been stigmatised
as illegitimate, he naively suggested how the young King ought to
ignore his bigoted sister, and how he would be justified in giving the
crown to the heirs of Henry's youngest sister, Mary Duchess of
Suffolk, a family strongly averse to Catholicism. In compliance with
Northumberland's wishes, Edward resolved to name her grand-
daughter the Lady Jane Grey, as heir to the throne. The judges,
however, refused to draw up letters patent embodying the King's
request, because by thus invalidating an Act of Parliament they
rendered themselves liable to the penalty of treason ; but Chief Justice
Montague, intimidated by a threatening baron and influenced by an
importunate Sovereign who faithfully promised to obtain a
parliamentary ratification of the proposed scheme, at length consented.
Whereupon 15 lords of the council, 9 judges and other civil officers
pledged themselves in writing " to observe every article contained in
his Majesty's own device respecting the succession." In May,
Northumberland brought about the marriage of his fourth son, Lord
Guildford Dudley, with Lady Jane Grey; the King's will was signed
the 2 1 St June, about a fortnight before his death, 6th July 1553.

Northumberland endeavoured to withhold the news of the King's
death from the nation until he should succeed in getting the Princess

2?8 H/STORy Of KING'S tVNN.

Mary into his power ; but she, having been privately apprised of the
event, for which she was not wholly unprepared, hastened with her
faithful retainers into Norfolk. From Cambridge she hurried to
Sawston, where for one night she accepted the hospitality of Mr.
Huddlestone, but she had barely set out the next morning ere an
infuriated mob set fire to his mansion ; from Sawston she rushed to
Bury St. Edmunds, where she partook of a hasty meal, attributing her
unceremonious departure to a sudden outbreak of plague, for tidings
of Edward's death had not yet reached the eastern counties; and then
from Bury to Kenninghall, near Eccles, which she entered on Sunday
night the 9th of July.

The disconsolate Princess was, however, no stranger in this part
of Norfolk, because on the attainder of Thomas Howard, Duke of
Norfolk (1546) her father had given her the manor of Kenninghall ;*
here, too, expecting every day to be her last, Mary had slowly recovered
from a painful illness (1549). By hiding she thought to gain time
and thus afford her friends an opportunity to assemble; and if the
worst came, could she not easily escape by sea from Yarmouth?
Immediately on her arrival, Mary addressed a letter to the Privy
Council, asserting her right and title to the throne, and calling upon
them as liege subjects to proclaim her Queen of England. The
Council, notwithstanding, forwarded a reply denying her right, which
was signed by Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas
Goodrich, Bishop of Ely, then Lord Chancellor, Henry Grey, Duke
of Suffolk, John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland, and seventeen
other influential persons.

As Kenninghall Palace was quite unprotected, Mary, accepting
the advice of Sir Henry Bedingfeld, Sir John Shelton and Sir Henry
Jerningham, removed to Framlingham Castle, a moated fortress
nineteen miles north-east of Ipswich. Hearing that Northumberland
had despatched six vessels to intercept her escape into France, Sir
Henry Jerningham proceeded to Yarmouth to rally friends. His
mission was crowned with success, for he prevailed upon the captains
and the mariners to join his cause. The Roynl Standard was hoisted
upon the ramparts of the stronghold at Framlingham, where a force
of 30,000 volunteers, who refused to take payment for their services,
soon gathered, under the auspices of Lord Thomas Howard, grandson
of the Duke of Norfolk, Sir William Drury, Sir Thomas Cornwallis
and Sir John Tyrrel.

(l) THE PROCLAMATION AT LYNN.

A well-known person in Norfolk was Lord Robert Dudley, the
fifth son of the Duke of Northumberland. Having married a Norfolk
lady. Amy the daughter of Sir John Robsart of Syderstone (1550), he
became joint steward of the manor of Rising (1551), joint commissioner
of lieutenancy (1552), and lastly knight of the shire, that is, member
for the county (1552-3). On the death of the King, Lord Robert
used his influence in aiding his father and brothers in their attempt
to place his sister-in-law upon the throne.

'■ Kenninghall, seven miles north-east of Diss, is supposed to have been the seat of the heroic
Boailirea and the East Anglian Kings. Aarient mounds are believed to mark the site of the royal castle.

HER LADYSHIP " THE QUEEN.'' 27$

Lord Robert, whose head quarters were at Wisbech, rode over to
Lynn on Tuesday the nth of July, and tried to win over George
Reveley (otherwise Rewley), the mayor, but seemed to have failed,
because at night he went back to Wisbech ; returning the next day, he
expressed a desire to lodge in the borough, but the townsfolk were not
disposed to afford him shelter. Before, however, he set out once more
for Wisbech, he met Thomas Karrylls, who had been sent into Marsh-
land to purchase grain and provision for Mary's forces. The pur-
veyor wrote from Wiggenhall St. Mary to his father-in-law, Sir Henry
Bedingfeld, at Oxborough, deploring that " there never was less store
in Marshland," and stating, moreover, how Lord Robert had promised
him he would be in Kenninghall by Thursday night " to do his duty,"
in other words, to render homage to the Princess by taking the oath of
allegiance, acknowledging her his sovereign. The writer, nevertheless,
placed little faith in these assurances, because he knew how Lord
Robert was secretly inquiring about the strength of the town watches,
and whether the drawbridges were raised during the night. The
purveyor hinted that under excuse of visiting the castle at Rising, of
which Lord Robert was constable, he might soon be in Lynn again.

At the same time Mary was trying to secure the allegiance of the
people of Norwich. On the nth she sent asking the mayor and
Corporation to proclaim her queen ; this they refrained from doing,
because they were not yet convinced of Edward's death. However,
the next day they not only complied with her request, but sent men
and weapons to assist her. Hence to Norwich belongs the honour of
firs/ proclaiming Mary Queen of England (July 12th).

How often Lord Robert found it necessary to visit Lynn is not
clear, but, from the indictment which ultimately crowned his ill-judged
efforts, we learn that on Tuesday tlie i8th he took forcible possession
of the town in the manner of war, that he audaciously proclaimed
Lady Jane Grey Queen of England, * and endeavoured to persuade the
mayor and other of Mary's liege subjects to transfer their allegiance
and join the Duke of Northumberland and the conspirators. The
Privy Council were, however, fully cognisant of what was likelv to
happen in Lynn, On the i6th they sent a warning to Sir William
Drury, and four days later a post was hurriedly despatched to inform
the burgesses how Mary was yesterday proclaimed (lueen in London,
and to rec^uire them to apprehend Lord Robert at once and to lie in
wait for the Duke of Northumberland, who would certainly flee to
Lynn as soon as he heard the news (2otIi July).

Tn the mean time Lady Jnne Grey, an intelligent girl of sixteen
summers, prevailed uj)on by the entreaties of her ambitious relatives,
reluctantly agreed to assume the perilous role, atlhough she had no great
desire to supersede those whom she believed to have precedence of
herself. Conducted from Richmond to London, she was on the loth
proclaimed Queen. Orders were immediately issued to the lords
lieutenants, despatches were sent to foreign countries, and a proclama-
tion announcing the accession was publicly exhibited, each bearing the
signature — ^' Jane, the Queen." So obnoxious, however, was

^ At Berwick a similar public proclamatioo was made

280 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

Northumberland to the people, that even Protestants stubbornly
refused to encourage any-one introduced through his instrumentality.
Signs of undisguised coldness were everywhere to be seen, and the
would-be queen passed through the city amidst a dead silence.

Aware of the danger of the approaching crisis, Northumberland
led what troops he could muster against the princess, but so unpopular
was he, rather than his protegee, that the soldiers under his
command actually shouted " Long live (^ueen Mary." Learning how
the princess Avas in turn proclaimed in London (19th July), he decided
to make a virtue of necessity by causing her to be proclaimed in Cam-
bridge, where he then happened to be quartered. Simulating
enthusiastic devotion, he loyally threw up his cap, but his duplicity
was beyond di.sguise, and orders were accordingly given for his
apprehension.

A despatch had already been sent to the inhabitants of Lynn,
detailing the turn of affairs and commanding them to aid in suppressing
the rebellion. The following batch of conspirators was accordingly
arrested : — Lord John Russell, Anthony Brown, of Essex, John Lucas,
John Cocke. Nicholas Gyrlyngton, Chrystopher Holforth, Denys
Thymelhye, Thomas Spenser, John Crygtoste. Edmunde Gore, Davye
Apeel, Richard Hoorde, Richard Fynne, Renarde de Labor, Robert
Walpole, Roger Broome, Edward Pegge, Edmunde Nell, John Graye,
a groom of the stables, Tyrrey Walpole (son of Edward Walpole, of
Houghton), and William and George Wodhouse (39th July). Edward
^L^nners. Earl of Rutland, was in the cust<idy of Sir Henry Beding-
feld, whilst Clement and John, the sons of Sir William Paston, were
ordered to " depart to their father's howse and there to remayne "
during the (Queen's pleasure. The Rev. Richard Gatefield, the rector
of West Lynn, was, moreover, lodged in gaol, the bill of his accusation
being delivered to Anthony Gybbon, of Hanelose, * who was to give
evidence against him (3xst July).

The prisoners were not all secured at the same time, because on
the 25th our Mayor was urged to bring up " the reste of the
prysoners remaynyng ther apprehended," including Thomas Waters
and William Overend, two townsmen. At the same time Osbert
Mountford received instructions concerning his stay in Lynn and the
promotion of better order in the borough.

The seeds of discord sown by Lord Robert were apparently
taking root, for George Beaupre, of Outwell, was constrained as a
loyal gentleman to indite a letter, dated the ist of August and
addressed to " my singular good lords the Earl of Sussex, the Earl of
Bath and the Lords of the (lueen's Highnesses most hon'ble Privy
Council." wherein he informed them of his having heard of a pro-
jected disturbance in which 5,000 persons intended to encamp at
" Gylney Smithe," near Wisbech, and how they meant to " take all
gentlemen into their rule and custody until redress were had of their
wrongs done at the Queen's Majestys hands." This movement was
occasioned through the issue of an order from the council, instructing

* Hanelose, Hagnelose, Haclose, was subsequently known as Haveless (Mintlyn).

HER LADYSHIP ''THE queen:' 281

Thomas Karrylls, Edmund Beaupre and John Dethicke to take
possession of the castle at Wisbech in the name of the Queen. As
nothing further is heard of the conspiracy, we may assume that it
collapsed prematurely.

(2) A ROYAL COMMISSION AT NORWICH.

was appointed to inquire into the doings of the conspirators in Norfolk
(January 1554). It comprised the following local magnates : —
Richard Southwell, Christopher Heydon and Edmund Wyndham
(knights) ; Thomas Gawdy, serjeant-at-law ; and four justices of Oyer
and Terminer, namely, Robert Holdich, Henry Hubberde, Osbert
Mountford and Nicholas Rookwood. At a meeting in the Shire Hall,
Norwich, on the 9th of January, an indictment was found against John
Dudley Duke of Northumberland, his sons — John and Robert Dudley,
William Parr, Marquis of Northampton, Sir John Gate, Sir Thomas
Palmer and Sir Andrew Dudley.

Mary entered London triumphantly and was cordially greeted by
her half-sister Elizabeth, who prudently made common cause with her.
The old Duke of Norfolk was at once released from his long imprison-
ment, whilst the Queen graciously restored to him his forfeited
possessions, including the manor of Kenninghall. He was, moreover,
chosen to preside at the coming trial, even " as his father forty years
before sat in judgment on the Duke of Northumberland's father "
(Mason). It was arranged that the charge preferred against the con-
spirators by the justices of Norfolk should be tried by a court at the
Gildhall, London (19th January). The prisoners were arraigned and
convicted of high treason. Northumberland pleaded piteously that
his life might be spared, but the craven, who remorsely sacrificed so
many lives in suppressing the peasants' rising, was, nevertheless,
beheaded on Tower Hill, and with him suffered Sir John Gates and Sir
Thomas Palmer (22nd August). Lord Robert Dudley was pardoned
and released after six months' imprisonment (i8th October); created
Earl of Leicester (1563), he played a conspicuous part during the next
reign, being held in the highest estimation by Queen Elizabeth. He
died in 1588.*

Lady Jane Grey, her husband Lord Guildford Dudley, and two
of his brothers, Ambrose and Henry, besides the aged Thomas
Cranmer, were examined on a charge of high treason in the Gildhall
(19th November). Each of the accused pleaded guilty with the
exception of the Archbishop, who afterwards withdrew his plea of
" not guilty." Upon all was passed sentence of death. The
execution was, however, delayed owing to rebellions in various parts
of the kingdom, the object being to place ^Lary's half-sister, the
Princess Elizabeth, upon the throne. Their failure sealed the fate
of those in jeopardy. Lady Jane Grey, the " sometime unfortunate
Queen of England " (Strype) was beheaded within the Tower whilst
her husband suffered outside on Tower Hill. Her father, too, the

• The Countess of Leicester, nee Amy Robsart (1530-1560), died under suspicious circumstances at
Cuninor Place, near Oxford, and was interred with stately funeral rites in a vault below the chancel of the
church of St. Mary the Virgin. Upon the story of Amy Robsart, of Syderstone, Sir Walter Scott based
Ijis ooyel AVjii/jcoifA (j8ji),

2 N

282 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

Duke of Suffolk, was also beheaded. The last to suffer was Sir
Thomas VVyatt, who faced the block on Tower Hill (nth April). For
some time Elizabeth was suspected of complicity in Wyatt's plot. She
was imprisoned (i8th March) and entrusted to the custody of our
neighbour Sir Henry Bedingfeld, then governor of the Tower, " who
ranks among gaolers who have derived a lasting infamy from the fame
of their prisoners." Foxe, effervescing with religious prejudice, has
much to say about the unnecessary harshness of his treatment, and
Burnet fiercely denounces him as " the chief instrument of her
sufferings." It is difficult to accept these statements, because when at
the first court Sir Henry came to pay his devoirs, the Queen pleasantly
observed : '"' Whenever I have a prisoner who requires to be safely and
strictly kept I shall send him to you." Moreover, in the " Royal
Progress," a visit to her " Jayler " at Oxborough figures in the
itinerary. There was evidently nothing which evoked resentment.
Commenting on this subject, Mr. E. M, Beloe pertinently remarks : —
" It is difficult to believe as an historical fact that Sir Henry Beding-
feld, a man of sufficient strength of character to retain his old religion,
a Norfolk gentleman of somewhat inore than middle age, should be
unkind to the young Royal Lady given to his charge, and who must
ultimately in the course of nature be his Queen " {Oxhojough (1890},
P- 17)- / \

(3) A PAIR OF EARS.

Indirectly associated with Lynn and the neighbourhood is an
insignificant incident which occurred in London when Lady Jane Grey
was proclaimed.

Gilbert Potter, a pot-boy employed at an hostelry in Ludgate
bearing the fascinating though morbid sign of St. John's Head,
ventured to express an opinion that of the two candidates for the
English crown, Mary had by far the better title. His master, Ninian
Sanders, an earnest supporter of " her ladyship " Jane Grey, hearing
this, publicly denounced the lad. Brought before the Compter for this
outspoken delinquency, the boy was nailed through his ears to the
pillory at Cheapside. After awhile he was set free, but the price of
his liberation was the loss of both ears. The Queen, hearing of this
exhibition of fearless loyalty, made a grant awarding Potter several
messuages, etc., in South Lynn, which he was to hold by knight's
service, as a recompense. The property in question once belonged to
Blackburgh Priory, and was afterwards in the tenure of Thomas
Winter (30th May 1554). Potter obtained a licence and alienated the
messuages, land, etc., to George and Thomas Eden, and George Eden
followed suit by alienating them (with 22 acres of land called Colton
Dale in Wiggenhall. also once belonging to the aforesaid priory and
late in the tenure of John Reynham and Gilbert Potter) to John Knapp,
of South Lynn (1554-5), who conveyed them to Hugh Pratt and
Edmund Houghton (1586-7).

During the evening of Potter's arrest his master was drowned
whilst passing in a boat beneath London Bridge. The untimely fate
of Sanders was regarded as an instructive demonstration of
Providential retribution.

HER LADysniP " THE QUEEN." 283

IN THY NAME.

During this reign the Roman Catholic religion was reestablished.
The rood-lofts were replaced ; the broken images of the saints were
mended and painted ; superb tabernacles were reared, and new censers
purchased. This invohed many towns in great monetary difficulties.
On the 8th of April 1558 our chamberlains paid " Thomas
Clabourne's wife for the Rowde of [rood wif/i] Mary and John for
St. Margaret's 42 shillings;" they also "paid to the churchwardens
for the behoof thereof ^3 15s."

Later in the year the town became the resort of one Huntingdon,
who vehemently protested against the revival of the old religion.
Licence to preach had been obtained for him and Dr. King, of Nor-
wich, through the influence of Mary Fitz-Roy, the Duchess of Rich-
mond, who petitioned Sir Thomas Smith, the Secretary of State, on
their behalf (4th May 1547). Having received information that
Huntingdon had composed " a rayling ryme " against Dr. John
Stokes, the priest at St. Margaret's, the Privy Council ordered Sir
Christopher Heydon and Sir William Fermour to apprehend " the
seditious preacher," who was believed to be lurking somewhere between
Lynn and Walsingham.

MERCHANT AND MARTYR.

The Marian persecution commenced in 1554, and continued with
slight interruptions to the end of the reign. The Queen " grieved
over the separation from Rome as a sin burdening her own conscience,
and she believed with all her heart that the one path to happiness,
temporal and eternal, for herself and for her realm, was to root out
heresy in the only way in which it seemed possible, by rooting out
heretics " (Gardiner). As many as 277 are said to have perished at
the stake during this short reign. Because of the bitter feeling enter-
tained by John Hopton, Bishop of Norwich (who was chaplain to Mary
during her illness at Kenninghall), against the reformers, the number
of victims in this diocese was proportionately large. " Of all the un-
human wretches," exclaims Bishop Burnet, referring to the Bishop and
his Chancellor, Michael Dunning, " not one could be compared for
cruelty to these two tyrants. Other tyrants would be content with
imprisonment and death, but these were infamous for new invented
tortures."

One of the burgesses of Lynn suffered for conscience' sake ; he
was a merchant named Simon Miller, who was perhaps a son of
Thomas Miller, mayor in the reign of Henry VIIL (1524). Foxe
describes him as " a goodly and zealous man in the knowledge of the
Lord and his truth." With the express intention, it would appear, of
protesting against the enforced religion, Miller travelled from Lynn
to Norwich, and whilst the congregation was leaving one of the city
churches, he l)f)ldly {)rotested against their " popish service," and
asked where /le could go to receive communion. The multitude were
greatly surprised at his effrontery, and one more evil-dispnsed than the
rest answered that "if he would needs go to a communion he would
biing him thither where he should speed of his purpose." Miller was

284 ni STORY OF KING'S LYNN.

soon afterwards arrested and brought before Chancellor Dunning, who
detained him in custody. When under examination a piece of paper
was seen obtruding above his shoe ; this proved to be a confession of
faith, which he had placed there for safety. The paper was
abstracted, the confession read, and in reply to their question. Miller
stated firmly his willingness to abide by the same. He was therefore
" committed " to the care of a keeper named Felow, and was kept a
prisoner in the Bishop's house.

Whether through the clemency of the Bishop or the kindness of
the keeper is not stated, but Miller was permitted to come back to
Lynn. However, after the merchant had " set all things in order,"
he returned to Norwich and honourably surrendered himself to his
keeper, and as nothing could change his convictions or prevent his out-
spoken honesty, " the Bishop and his Chancellor " condemned and
committed him to the fire about the 13th day of July 1557.

With the Lynn merchant was burnt a pewterer's wife, Elizabeth
Cooper, of the parish of St. Andrew, Norwich. When the flames
began to scorch, she shrank, crying " Hah !" whereupon her comrade
stretched out his hand behind him as far as he could, beseeching her
to be strong and of good cheer, " For, good sister," said he, " we shall
have a joyful and sweet supper." Miller's exhortation seems to have
imbued her with fortitude, because, in the words of Foxe, " she stood
as quiet as one most glad to finish that good work which before most
happily she had begun. So in fine she ended her life with her
companion joyfully, committing her soul into the hands of Almighty
God."-

THE PIRATES OF KING's LYNN.

In his capacity as governor of the borough, Osbert Mountford
applied for ;£400 for supplying the county with grain, and requested
that Johnes (or Johns), a mariner, should be examined by the Privy
Council (7th August 1553). The governor was asked to attend the
court, and to bring with him evidence in writing, or witnesses, if
necessary, to bear out the charges against the person named (23rd).
Twelve sailors were chosen, namely, John Millet, John Harryson,
William Mackinson, Richard Cowper, William Fenne, Edmond
Church, Robert Harrison, John Morys, William Danyell, Richard
Carre, Thomas Reade and George Lee, but they were dismissed by
" My Lords," who forwarded a letter asking the governor to receive
them home again.

Owing to repeated complaints respecting certain unlawful
proceedings upon the high seas, of which the above instance seems to
have been one, the mayor was warned, and at the same time requested
to " stay Woodman, who robbeth the Frenchmen and other of the
Queen's enemies " {13th March 1554). A year later the Assembly
received specific instructions on this subject from the Court of
Admiralty (25th March 1555).

Thomas Waters was summoned before the Privy Council the loth
of October 1554; the next year he was again summoned, and with

» See Acts and Monuments (1839), by John Foxe, Vol. VllL, pp. bjybf;.

HEit LADY SHIP " THE QUEEN.'' 285

him William Overend, to whom letters of appearance had already been
sent. Both, respectable merchants and ship-owners, were ordered to
present themselves without delay (loth June 1555). In 1542 and
1545, Overend has fleeced the King's enemies, and although in the
present instance the specific charges are omitted, " piracy " may be
suggested and accepted in each case.

The Court of Admiralty investigated a charge against Thomas
Jones, of Lynne, who had " spoyled at sea " a foreigner — Peter
Dumoshell. Judgment was given for part of the goods seized.
Weary with the law's delay, Peter besought Mr. Coke, the learned
exponent of the " science of hocus-pocus," to proceed to a final
judgment (21st March 1555). Robert Palmer, the mayor, was there-
fore summoned (6th July) to appear within 14 days to account for the
discharge of Tom Jones's piratical cargo. The mayor arrived on the
i8th, and in justification presented a letter dated 2nd May 1554, and
addressed to the Mayor and Aldermen of Lynne by Sir Richard South-
well, authorising them to permit the delivery of the goods, which were
of a perishable nature, previously, however, accepting bonds from
Jones. On the 2nd of August the case was again before the Privy
Council, the Lord Chancellor on this occasion presiding.

May not /ohnes, Johns and Thomas Jones, each being " of
Lynne," represent one person?

INCORPORATION OF SOUTH LYNN.

Prior to 1546 South Lynn was a separate parish or hamlet, subject
to the jurisdiction of the sheriff of the county ; it was then, according
to Richards, incorporated by means of a special licence from Henry
VI n. There is, however, no reference to this in the charters granted
by Philip and Mary, nor in the record as quoted by the church-
wardens, which reads thus : —

"They (the king and queen) did by their letters pattents Grant and
Annex the parish and hamblett of South Lynn to the Burrough of
King's Lynn, and that the Inhabitants there should perticipate of the
priviledges of the Inhabitants of King's Lynn, and have the like
Liberties that the other Burgesses have, and for this annexion the
Mayor and burgesses pav vearly to the Crowne a ffee-ffarme Rent of
Tenn shillings" (C.W'.A., St. M.).

CHARTERS OR LETTERS PATENT.

C. 19. Dated at Westminster the 27th February in the ist and 2nd years of their
reign (1555). Letters patent, granting during pleasure the annexation of
the parish of South Lynn to the borough.

C. 20. Dated at Westminster the nth August in the 4th and 5th years of their
reign (1557). Letters patent (after reciting C. 19, and declaring it null and
void) granting to the Mayor and Burgesses the parish of South Lynn, in
fee-farm at a yearly rent of ten shillings, and further granting the manor
of King's Lynn and the quit 'rents in the borough, then, by virtue of an
arrangement made between Richard Nix, the Bishop of Norwich, and
Henry VIII. (statute, 4th February 1536), being in the hands of Philip and
Mary, to hold the same as pertaining to the manor of East Greenwich of
the said King and Queen, and of their heirs and successors, at the yearly
rent of £"13/13/6.

286 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

Letters patent, dated at Richmond the nth August, in the 4th and 5th years of

their reign (1557). Contirming : —
(i). Letters patent, 6th December 1547 (C. 17, of Edward VI.), of inspeximus

and confirmation of —
(2). Letters patent, 7th July 1537 (C. 16, of Henry VIII.), reaffirming the

reconstitution of the borough.

The boundaries of the enlarged borough were to extend to the
utmost part of South Lynn, as far south as the Pulver
Drain. A separate Leet Court was to be held by the
mayor and burgesses in South Lynn as in King's Lynn,
the sheriff having no right to interfere. Musters might be
raised when necessary, and offenders punished exactly as in the
other part of the town. " For the better maintenance and defence
of the borough against the flowing of the sea," the Corporation was
already permitted to purchase land and tenements to the value of, but
not exceeding, "^'100 by the year" (letters patent, 1552), The
great necessity for a provision of this kind is enforced by the fact that
the plate belonging to St. James' chapel was sold and the money
applied towards the repairing of the wall of the town against the rage
of the sea (1543), and also by a clause in the charter of 1557, wherein
mention is made of a very useful stone wall, 340 feet in length and
9 feet in breadth at Its foundation, which had been seriously neglected
since the Bishop was deprived of his temporalities. Attention is drawn
to this subject because the sea " doth spread abroad and pour in his
waves within the said wall," and because the town was threatened with
"a most lamentable depopulation." The authorities are therefore
urged not only to mend this important sea-wall, but to keep it in future
in a state of repair.

THE GUINEA TRADE.

The Privy Council requested the Assembly to warn the merchants
of Lynn "to forbear to traffic with the Myne {sic) of Gynney or
Bynney," which was under the jurisdiction of John IIL, "the King
of Portuigale," or Portugal (29th July 1556).

THE PLAGUE

made its appearance in 1556. and during " this most dangerous time of
sickness " none but those holding licences from the mayor were per-
mitted to sell fish, and three local brewers were fined because they left
off brewing so that the King and Queen's subjects lacked a beverage
which was regarded as medicinally necessary. The highest point in
the death-rate came in 1558, when great numbers succumbed. The
mayor and four aldermen died during the year ; another account says
they were successive mayors, which is hardly correct. There were
three mayors in 1557-8, two of whom died — Henry Bleisby in
January, and William Overend in May; Thomas Waters, however,
survived.

THE NORTH SEA FLEET.

At the suggestion of the King. England joined the Spaniards in
hostilities, against the French (7th June 1557). The following towns
were ordered to furnish thirteen ships to serve in the North Sea under
Sir John Clere :— Yarmouth, Hull and Newcastle, two each; Lynne,

THE BATTLE AND THE BREEZE. 287

Boston, Ipswich, Alborough, Loiwestoft, one each ; and Blakeney and
Cley, and Southwold and Dunwich, one each between them (T3th
July 1557). At the battle of St. Ouentin the best blood of France
flowed like water (loth August), but the part taken by our nation in a
struggle, in which it was not politically concerned, was signally
punished by the surrender of Calais (7th January 1558).

* -X- -X- -Jf *

After being in the hands of the English for over 200 years, the
loss of Calais greatly troubled Mary. Disappointed both in her
public and domestic life, and afflicted with dropsy, the sad and lonely
(^ueen passed away (17th November 1558), " wondering why all she
had done on God's behalf had been followed by failure on every side —
the desertion of her husband and the hatred of her subjects."
(Gardiner.)

CHAPTER XXIV.

The Battle and the Breeze.

On the death of Mary, her sister Elizabeth, daughter of Henry VIII.

and Anne Boleyn, ascended the throne. The succession was

undisputed, and Elizabeth was crowned at Westminster the 15th

January 1559.

* -X- -x- * *

In every country there is, unfortunately, a constantly recurring
fraction of the population which the prosperity of a nation does not
visibly affect. As true as when first written is the assurance: "The
poor shall never cease out of the land." Lynn, changed though it be
beyond recognition, has still an undesirable substratum of townfolk
even as it had in the Reformation days ; it has, besides, a heavy poor-
rate, of which it was then profoundly ignorant." At the numerous

religious houses

THE SUBMERGED TENTH

sought hospitality, and when they — the- religious houses be it under-
stood — were swept away, the deserving and undeserving, the unable
as well as the able, received succour and assistance from the Church.
Laws, disgraceful because of their injustice and inhumanity, were
passed, but no amount of sweeping would rid the country of the social
sediment. " The poor shall never cease out of the land."

Once upon a time every parish possessed a "church house"
wherein the secular business of the district was transacted ; it was
provided with ovens for baking, tubs for brewing, spits for roasting,
and furnished with a supply of platters, crocks and other articles of

*• There was, however, a tax for the support of the poor about the time of Richard II. " John de
Spalding bequeathed £4 to the community of Lcnn to abridge the tax of the poor of Lenn." {History of
Soroughs and Mwikipal Corporations, by Messrs. Mevewethcr and Stephens, Vol. II., p. 7fio.]

288 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

a culinary description. As one or other of the festive seasons
approached, gifts in kind from benevolent parishioners came
mysteriously pouring in — a baron of beef, a bag of malt, a gammon of
bacon, a peck of flour, a dozen eggs, and other welcome comestibles.
Then the wives of the wealthier members of the community cooked
the food and the churchwardens brewed the ale, and when at last the
anticipated day of rejoicing arrived there was a good, substantial meal
provided for all who chose to come, and those who did not join in the
festivity were fined for their non-attendance. When the feast was
over, the young, whose faces were beaming with excitement, amused
themselves with dancing, bowling, racing in sacks, grinning through
horse-collars, or shooting at the butts, whilst the dear old folk, who
were too stiff or serious for such puerile diversions, would

Laugh at the jests or pranks that never fail,
Or sigh with pity at some mournful tale.

There were Church Ales, Clerks' Ales, Whitsun Ales, Hocking
Ales and other harmless festivals, named from the enlivening beverages
thereat largely consumed. An arbour of boughs was erected in the
churchyard, where a group of bewitching maidens, each the pink of
perfection, collected money, which was scrupulously set apart for the
maintenance of the poor and afflicted. Moreover, in every church,
and in many a hostelry too, was a " poor man's box," into which
donations could be secretly slipped.

It is to be regretted that the earliest of our church records starts
just after these sylvan scenes had been prohibited, because, having
degenerated in character, they were thought unworthy of the
countenance of the Church.

Connected with the chapel of St. Nicholas were three houses
which in 1618 and for many years afterwards were tenanted " rent
free." They were occupied by the sexton (east side of Pilot Street),
the clerk (west side of Chapel Street), and the lecturer (corner of Wool-
pack Street and Chapel Street). The sexton's house, behind the
chapel, stood next to what is now the Grampus public house. On the
south side of the passage separating the present tenements are traces
of early work. After passing the timber-framing of a more recent
dwelling, the explorer will find a bricked-up Gothic doorway (42 by
76 inches), a stone niche (22 by 36 inches), and the stone-work of
a mullioned window (46 by 68 inches). This house is given in
William Newham's survey (1834), as that of the chapel sexton,
W'hich was, according to the report of the Charity Commissioners,
let to Thomas Stacey, milkman, for £6 a year (8th January 1876).
May not these remains be those of the ancient "church house"?

At the closing of the monasteries an Act was placed upon the
Statute Book for the gathering and distribution of money to the poor
(1536). Henceforth all " good Christian people" were expected to
give A their substance ever>' Sunday and Saints' day. The church-
wardens not only went round every Sunday during the Communion
service collecting alms for the poor, but were supposed to keep the able-
bodied at "constant work." If any penurious parishioner refused

TRE BATTLE AND THE BREEZE. 289

to give voluntarily, he was first gently admonished by the parson or his
colleague; if this failed to loosen his purse-strings, the bishop sent for
him ;ind earnestly exhorted him, perhaps under threats of future pain,
to perform his duty towards " those who were left to such relief as
the humanity of their neighbours would afford them." Any parish
neglecting to enforce the Act might be fined twenty shillings a month.
The voluntary system was not, however, very effectual. I'o overcome
the difficulty in Lynn, a tax of fourpence per chaldron was levied
upon all coal brought into port by strangers (1545). This source of
income, supplemented by gifts from the charitable, proved inadequate ;
hence, as alrealy mentioned, the Council provided the poor with a
distinctive mark or licence to solicit alms.

Aft sr intermediate legislative experiments, the principle of
compulsory taxation was introduced by Elizabeth (1563), and was
brought into full operation a few years afterwards (1572). It formed
the basis of the subsequent statute which, though modified, has been
in operation from the date of its enactment in 160 1 to the present day.
After reading what Richard Hakluyt wrote in 1584, the urgent
necessity of such a measure must be admitted :

Yea, there be many thousandes of idle persons within the realme having no
way to be set at worke, whereby afl the prisons of the lande are daily pestered
and stuffed full of them, where either they pitifully pyne away or els at length
are miserably hanged, even xxj at a clappe out of some one jayle.

Under the new Act, justices were to assess all dwellings, and the
churchwardens and overseers were to provide work, build poor-houses
and apprentice the children of paupers. In the parish of St.
Margaret, the parish clerk, Edward Davis, collected what was levied
in " the booke of Sessament " (1602). The total amounted to £^x
i6s. 4d. Shortly afterwards the town was assessed in two parts
(1606) : " Item, payde to Robet. Parker for wrightinge the order about
the Sesmentt betweyne St. Nicho. parishe and St. Margreett, iij s.
iijd." [C.W.A., St.M.'].''

ST. JAMES' WORKHOUSE.

The Dean and Chapter of Norwich surrendered possession of the
church of St. James to the Corporation in 1566. Eor several years
nothing is heard of the neglected edifice, which subsequently figured
conspicuously in the annals of our poor. A notice in the Hall Book,
October 1580, refers to the establishment of a workhouse. It was
thought that many could earn an honest livelihood by making baize,
and it was admitted that St. James' church might be turned to good
account. Hence a committee was appointed to make any required
alterations, the Council generously voting ;£6oo to defray the cost
(2nd December). The next year was spent in making preparations
for the introduction of the new industry.

Through some cause or other, the manufacture of baize, though
then successfully carried on in Norwich, came to an untimely end at

• " The Church-rate was determined by the churchwardens and the major part of the parishioners."
"The Poor-rate was made by the rhurcliwnrdcns .ind the overseers without the assistance of any other
purishiouers ; they taxed themselves and the other parishioners." {fitrrkh on Parish Rates, Vol. IV., p. 7.

2 O

290 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

Lynn, for in 1586 the able-bodied poor \Yere employed at the work-
house dressing hemp and twisting tows for the fishermen. Even
this occupation was doomed to failure. At this crisis John Lonyson,
a goldsmith, of London,'* by a deed of feoffment dated the 9th of
October 1584, gave ^200 in trust to the Mayor and burgesses, so that
lands and tenements might be purchased, and the rents and profits
therefrom arising could be bestowed upon the poor " in the New
Hospital in Lynn, called the New House for the poor." The money
was spent in buying of Charles Cornwallis and George Nicholls: —
" Seventy-six acres of land, meadow or marsh, more or less, in South
Lynn, West Lynn and South Clenchwarton, or some of them, namely,
in breadth between the marsh of the said Mayor and burgesses (of
Lynn) on the east, a marsh called Baly Marsh in part and the great
river called Lynn Haven in part on the west, and abutting upon a
marsh called Scalishowe (Scale's How) Marsh towards the north, and
upon the marsh of the said Mayor and burgesses towards the south."

In 1729 the rents amounted to ^88 (Richards), but about seventy
years afterwards, by some mysterious upheaval, these 76 acres slipped
completely from the face of the earth ! The more bewildering is this
when the inquirer seeks in vain for record of earthquake, volcanic
eruption, or phenomenal subsidence in the neighbourhood. In an
abstract of our charities placed before the Royal Commissioners in
1833, the whole 76 acres were " supposed to have been lost." What
a lusus natura:!

John Titley also benevolently subscribed ;£ioo "to set the poor
to work " (1591).

A FRIEND AT COURT.

A month after Elizabeth's accession, the Council met to consider
a remaikable request from Thomas Howard, the fourth Duke of
Norfolk, who was a kinsman of the Queen and the greatest and
wealthiest of English peers. He coolly asked permission to select
somebody to represent the ancient and loyal borough of King's Lynn —
and, entre nous, himself — in Elizabeth's first Parliament. Stifling
their surprise as best they could, the Council, after a while, meekly
consented (27th December 1558). Thomas Hogan and Alderman
Thomas Waters were accordingly " returned " in January, the first
being the ducal and the second the municipal nominee.

The Queen's peace was seriously threatened the next year through
a series of quarrels between the fishermen of Lynn and those of
Wolferton, who raided a mussel scalp which was supposed to be an
inalienable adjunct of the borough. To maintain their supremacy
over the "muskell scalpe," the members of the Corporation decided
upon accompanying the fishermen. Messrs. Ralph Downes, Robert
Mowthe, Robert Ger\es and Bunting were at first selected, but everv
alderman and every councilman was either to go in person or provide
a substitute, the Council having in the mean time agreed that whosoever

Wilham Lonyson, a burgess of Lynn, purchased his freedom for £^ in 1538 ; he was a goldsmith
and, perhaps, the father of John Lonyson, of London. This surname was spelled curiously. In the S.James'
Hospital Booke (16S2) we find Lonistoiie, Louiiiston, Lonorston, &c.

THE BATTLE AND THE BREEZE. ^.3

entered into any bond for the peaceful settlement of the disputes by
arbitration should be freely indemnified by the town (19th February
1559)- ^ut " seeing fair play " was no easy task, because the
Wolfertonians, having once tasted the forbidden fruit, were not to be
restrained from gathering those popular bivalves. Hence the
Assembly launched a series of actions against the daring mussel-
poachers, and, moreover, deputed Messrs. Bunting and Gerves to call
upon to the Duke of Norfolk " to entreat his Grace's favour in the
town's suit concerning the mussel scalp." Realising how one " good
turn " must upset the social equation, they sought another to restore
the equilibrium. The Duke probably exerted himself to help the town
in the piscatorial dilemma in which they were involved. On the 12th
of May, Robert Ger\'es applied to the Council for the payment of a
few preliminary items, amounting to jQ"] 15s. 6d., including incidental
expenses of the deputation when in London and legal fees arising from
the suits at law against the fishermen of Wolferton.

In the beginning of July, the Council, anxious to secure witnesses
to substantiate their case, asked John Reeve to " commune " with the
inhabitants of Marshland and other places, whilst Robert Gerves was,
with like intention, exploiting North and South Wootton. If reliance
be placed on some of the depositions, the light-fingered Wolfertonians
must have indulged in nefarious " dydling," because the scalp in
question was a mile-and-a-half from the shore, and could only be
approached at full sea by boat, and a laden " crayer," drawing 7 feet
of water, mjght sail over the alluring bed.

The friendly relation between the borough and the Duke was
brief, but it existed to the end. His lordship owned a mansion in
Norwich, where he generally resided. This magnificent quadrangular
edifice, purchased by his ancestors in the reign of Henry VIII., stood
near the Blackfriars' bridge, on a site now covered with modern
buildings. Possibly the Duke was desirous of altering or enlarging
his pahice, and for this purpose stone was necessary ; hence, with the
consent of the Corporation, he quarried and removed 20 loads of
freestone from the disused chapel of St. James (1568). Whether this
supposition fits the context or not is immaterial ; the Duke lost his
head, as we shall see, speculating upon other designs (1572), leaving
his eldest son Henry to rebuild the ancestral mansion upon more
elaborate lines (1602).

It was an age of shameless desecration; the profane spoiler
clutched the most precious ecclesiastical treasures, and, as a rule,
greedily turned them into money. Even the prior's little oratory on
"the Mount" was pillaged; six loads of thack tiles,* being carried
from thence to the Common Staith, where they were doubtless sold ;
three loads of spars were also removed and laid in the store-house
(1570-1). Women were employed two years later in carrying bricks

» '[hack or thatch tile (Old FriPsic, dekka, to tliatrh) in contradistinc-tion to wall-lile or flat brick. The
Anglo-Saxons styled brick-work tigel gewenrc (tile work), and the Normans, like the Romans built with
wall-tile. In the statute of lidwaril IV. mention is made of picintilc, otherwise thaklile, roftile or crestile,
coriievtile and gtilleriile, which were all used in roofing houses (i\y/).

292 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

from Our Lady's chapel to the Gannock bridge, which perhaps needed
repairing.

In 1562 the Assembly elected Sir Robert Bell, the recorder of
the town, for one member, and modestly stipulated that the other should
be a burgess. To place this on record was an unnecessary exhibition
of puerile duplicity (14th December). The meeting was adjourned in
order to learn whom the Duke's nominee might be. On the 29th our
obligingly subservient Council elected Richard Le Strange, who was
made a freeman the same year.

The services of a High Steward were subsequently deemed
necessar>'; the Council therefore ordered John Pell, one of the
members, and Thomas Waters, to wait upon Sir Robert Bell_ in
London, in order to obtain his advice. If he concurred, the appoint-
ment either of Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, or of William Cecil,
Lord Burleigh, was left in his hands. Though a High Steward was
first mentioned in the Charter of the 17th year of Charles IL, Robert
Dudley was appointed the i8th of June 1572. As " Lord High
Steward," he was the town's representative in the House of Lords;
he was not supposed to interfere with the business of the Corpora-
tion, being merely the customary channel for the delivery of their
communications.

There is evidence, too, of an alteration in electoral tactics in
1572, when the Council chose both members themselves, "according
to the tenor of the statutes in that case made and provided " (i6th
March). Once more was the Recorder reelected, the other member
being an alderman and resident burgess named John Kynne. To
account for this change, a retrogressive step must be taken. In
October 1569, Thomas Howard was committed to the Tower,
because of his implication in an intrigue to marry Mary, Queen of
Scotland. During his imprisonment, which lasted nearly twelve
months, the Earls of Westmoreland (Charles Neville) and Noxthumber.
land (Thomas Percy) took up arms, avowedly to reestablish the
religion of their ancestors, but really to place Mary upon the English
throne. At the approach of Thomas Ratcliffe, Earl of Sussex, they
disbanded their troops and fled from Bramham Moor in Yorkshire
(November 1569). Westmoreland escaped to the Netherlands, but
Northumberland was taken and executed (August 1572). In the
mean time, the Duke of Norfolk, who was regarded as an accomplice,
was again arrested (7th September 157 1). A charge of treason was
preferred against him ; he was tried and convicted by a jury of
twenty-five peers, and after the death-warrant had been thrice
countermanded by the Queen, he was beheaded (2nd June 1572).

"the invincible armada."

It was preeminently important to keep a jealous eye upon the
coast defences whenever the country was threatened with inivasion by
a hostile nation. Comparisons are indeed odious, notwithstanding
they are at times instructive; and the maritime and commercial status
of Lynn cannot be better gauged than by comparing it with other
places in Norfolk. The examination of an abstract from a schedule

rnn battle and the breeze.

293

of the survey made in the ports and havens in Norfolk, with returns
of shipping, mariners, &c., in 1565, will undoubtedly be profitable:

Ports, Havens, Creeks,
and Landing Places.

House
holders.

Ships for
Iceland.

Crares & Ships
of Burden.

Mariners.

150
6

Fishermen.

Yarmouth
Winterton

553
24

104

250

Hemsby
Waxham

27
II

—

4
9

Palling
Eccles ...

• .

29
10

—

I
I

3
3

Hasboro'

—

Bromholme

—

Mundeskv

—

Cromer

117

—

Sheringham
Waborne

136
35

—

69
14

Salthouse

—

• —

Cley ...

Wyveton
Blakeney
Wells ...

100
80
80
90

5
8

35
30

^5
53

18
60

Burnham

Hitcham

— .

Snettisham

—

Dersingham

—

Lynn Regis

542

Total ...

^.273

i?>

164

333

655

Apprehensive lest the Spaniards might carry out their threat of
invading the country, a more minute examination of the coast was
undertaken (1568). The commissioners divided the Norfolk coast
into parts, and appointed competent persons to draw up reports
thereon. The deputy commissioners for the Lynn section, which
stretched as far as Dersingham, were Robert Hulyard, Robert
Houghton, John Barker and William Fenn.

To Thomas Colshill, surveyor to the port of London, we are
indebted for a return of the merchant ships of Engkind (1572). The
total number of vessels in the sixteen principal ports was 1,383. Lynn
possessed 60 merchant ships, whilst London had 162, Ipswich 179,
and Yarmouth 193, the largest number of any port.

Lynn Vessels.

ICO tons
80 „
60 „

50 M

ships

30 tons =

25 M

20 „ =

16 „

10 „ ==

10 ships

5
2

It York,

40 .. = 14 n 10 " = 5

In 1602 the merchant adventurers had connections
Hull, Newcastle, Lynn, Norwich, Ipswich, Exeter, Southampton, and
all other ports and towns trading beyond the seas, by virtue of their
corporations.

294 mSTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

Again in 1577 the coast was the subject of inspection. From
a general survey of the landing-places in England and Wales we learn
there were in all 489 (or 504 as given in another official record),
including i in the Isle of Ely, 12 in Norfolk, 29 in Suffolk, and
134 in Essex. Ten years later, Norfolk, a maritime county offering
what were regarded as exceptional facilities to the enemy, was even
more cautiously and minutely surveyed. Stimulated by advice from
the most skilful pilots and sailors of Lynn and Snettisham, the deputy
lieutenants of the county, Sir Edward Clere and Sir William Heydon,
paid a visit to Lynn, having received orders to reorganise our local
musters or forces, and to observe the greatest caution in the selection
of captains.

After minutely surveying the coast, a report was forwarded to
Henry Carey (Lord Hunsdon) the Lord Lieutenant. It was
suggested that the haven of Lynn should be protected by the erection
of a fort near the Crutch or Crotche, a serviceable channel about
a mile from the town, and that a strong bulwark should be constructed
extending to Weybourn Hoop, Mandeley (Mundesley), Bromwell, and
Winterton. Great attention was deemed necessary at Yarmouth
and Lowestoft, and they recommended the preparing of beacons to
spread alarm in case of danger, and insisted that application should
be made to the pri'vy council for the supply of twenty pieces of ordnance
(20th October 1587).

Exactly when the drain upon the resources of the county was
enormous, Lynn and Yarmouth were asked to provide vessels of war
for the Queen's service. The Mayor and Corporation forwarded the
following reply, in which the patriotism of our forefathers is brought
into high relief when contrasted with the stingy meanness of the
inhabitants of Wells and Blakeney : —

Right Honorable, after we the Mayor, Aldermen and company of the
Burrough of Kyng's Lynne hadd receyved your Honorable L'res (letters) w'ch
were directed to this Towne of Kyng's Lenne and the Towne of Blakeney, con-
cernyngc the furnyshyng of twoo Shippes of warr, either of them of the burthen
of LX. tonnes att the least, and one Pynish [pinnace] fitt for that service we
hadd conference with some of the chefest of the saide Towne of Blakeney, and
with some of the Townes of Claye and Wyveton w'ch be members of the same
Towne of Blakeney, and we fj'nde that they are \nwillynge to be att any
chardge neare the furnyshyng of a Shipp. We sent also to the Towne of Wells
w'ch is a member of our porte, a Towne ver)' well furnyshed with shippynge
w'thin w'ch there be many Ritch men inhabitynge, butt they have denyed
altogether to contrybute to our chardge, and we made diligent enquiry yf any of
our porte hadd sent forth any Shippe of warr or taken any goods by way of
reprisall, but we cannot fynde that there is any such. And we rec yo'r H's saide
L'res [receiv^ed your Honour's said letters] the vij th of this moneth before w'ch
tyme there were gone out from hence for Iselond [Iceland] sixe of the best Shippes
of o'r Towne and dyvers others into Holland and other plac's, so that we were
left destitute of all Shippes fitt for that service except one called the Mayefloiver
of Lynne beynge of the Burthen of One hundred and ffyftye Tonnes of w'ch we
have made choyse, and we entend God so p'mittinge to furnysh the saide Shippe
and Pynish w'th 100 men and all other things fitt and necessary for her Ma'ties
warres. Howe be itt, the trueth is, that our Towne is very vnable to beare the
chardge thereof without assistance. Wherefore, we humble crave yo'r H's L'res
to be directed to the Townes of Claye, Wyveton, Blakeney, Wells and other the
Coast Townes towards Lynne, and to the Dealers w'th Corne, Merchundizes and

THE BATTLE AND THE BREEZE. 295

Maryne causes in the Townes neare adiacent, comaundynge them to ioyne herein
in the chardge w'th vs, and we shall accordynge to our bounden Dueties pray to
god for yo'r H's preservacion. Kyngs Lynne this 12 of Aprill, 1588.
Yo'r H's in all humblenes

Thomas Sandyll, Maior Thomas Sverend

Robart Hullys Richard Clark

Thomas Boston.

Alex. Musgrave, Capt. of the May Flower to have £100 from the loth
April to the ist July 1588. [A pencil note].

Five vessels from Lynn are said to have formed a part of Drake's
squadron, tiieir names being tlie Antelope, tlie Clayborne, the
William, the Mary, and the James ; this, however, is not confirmed
by Foljambe's manuscript. The Mayf.ower, 150 tons burden, with
a crew of 70 men, is mentioned in his " Book of Musters 1588," as
one of the coasters ser^'ing under Lord Henry Seymour; he inchides
ukewise the Revenge of Lynn, 60 tons, with 30 men, and the
Jacob of Lenne, 90 tons, with 30 men, among the Lord Admiral's
coasters. Two Antelopes are given; the one of 400 tons, with 160
men, however, belonged to the Queen, and the other of 120 tons,
with 60 men, was supplied by the city of London.

That Foljambe's list is defective seems feasible, because a little
incident, preserved in the State Papers, yields the name of another
of our vessels. Robert Huylor, acting as deputy mayor, con-
siderately placed before the Lord Chancellor, the Lord Treasurer, and
the Lord Admiral, the case of a deserving though unlucky seaman^
John Atkins. He was captain of the Ereegifi of Lynn, when that
vessel served against the Spaniards, but was too ill to follow his
vocation ; moreover, his old master Nicholas Sabb was dead, and the
Freegift had been unfortunately wrecked within twelve miles of our
haven (1598).

Another vessel probably belonging to Lynn is mentioned in our
"List of Freemen." The entry reads: — "John Waynforth marin
^20 released 10 1. & to discharge ye Towne of the other 10 1. due
for service as master's mate & man in late ship o' War called the
Expedition, &c." The applicant was charged ;!^2o, but whether
he paid ^to or nothing must be left an open question. Note, the
Expedition is termed the " late ship o' War " (1597).

At the time of the Spanish Annada, England had only 14,000
sailors; her ships were small, and there were only four merchant
vessels in the kingdom which exceeded 400 tons. Our Royal Navy
numbered twenty-eight.

In a general combat off Gravelines the English scored a great
victory, humiliating the much-vaunted prowess of the Spaniards, who
came to chastise presumptuous England, to dethrone Elizabeth, and
to restore a wandering nation to the fold of Rome (29th July). The
Duke of Medina Sidonia, realising how desperate was his condition,
attempted to return by sailing round Scotland and Ireland. He was
pursued by Lord Howard as far as Flamborough, when a storm,
stranding the greater part of his vessels upon the shores of Norway,
Scotland, and Ireland, completed his discomfiture. Philip received
the news of the disaster with the composure of a stoic, obser\'ing

296 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

that he sent his armament to fight the English, not the tempests of
heaven ! EUzabeth, too, regarded the storm as a timely inter-
position of Providence; she struck a commemorative medal with the
legend, " Tu Deus magniis et magna facts Tii solus Deus."

Because of threats from Spain, our nation was for many years
in a state of apprehensive suspense. On the 7th of August 1599
the following letter was despatched by the PriVy Council to Thomas
Baker, the mayor of L) nn :

You are not ignorant of the daily advertisements that are brought hither
of the great preparations the King of Spain doth make by sea not only of ships
of war, but of a good number of galleys, to invade some parts of this realm ;
and therefore you can consider how behoolful and necessary it is to have certain
intelligence of their approach in the Narrow Seas, and what course they do hold.
For which purpose we do in Her Majesty's name, will and command you forth-
with to set some two or three nimble vessels unto the seas out of that [the Lynn]
harbour that may go and ply up and down between the coast of France and
ours, to learn what they may discover of the coming of the said Heet, and use all
diligence to advertise the same unto you that we may by post receive from time
to time such news as you shall understand from them. Herein requiring you to
take present order, we bid, &c.

Postscript. — We think it meet that you should keep these pinnaces and
vessels at sea, as you are directed for the space of 6 weeks — [Foljambe MSS.J.

So alarming was the crisis that similar letters were sent to Perin
[Penryn, Scotland], Plymouth, Portsmouth, Dartmouth, and
Southampton.

AQUATIC AND PISCATORIAL REGULATIONS.

The Corporation were not likely to overlook any of the valuable
concessions conferred by the charter of Henry VIII. (1524). Not
only were they then made surveyors of the haven and adjacent waters,
but accredited inspectors of the local fisheries, to whom the fishermen
were responsible. What they tilnidly ventured to do was now an
acknowledged right rather than an uncertain privilege. Conscious
of how their jurisdiction extended beyond the boundary of the town,
they began to hanker after Admiralty powers. This is indicated in
a series of bye-laws drawn up in Elizabeth's reign, concerning " the
keeping and preserving of the haven of Lynn and the fish thereof."
Having adopted these bye-laws, the council selected six persons,
possibly members of the Assembly, to supervise the working of the
scheme. A summary of a few of the more salient of the fifty-one
orders may prove helpful.*

First : To prevent the main stream from being polluted. No
obstructions to navigation were permitted, such as weirs, dams,
stakes, etc. ; and nets fastened to posts were not to remain ; no
rubbish might be thrown into the water, and the piles driven to
preserve the banks were not to be remoived, nor was gravel or sand
at the water's edge tOi be taken away. Six persons, living near the
main stream, were appointed to watch and report any infringement
of the orders of the Council.

Second: A series of regulations to be observed by the Lynn
fishermen.

* See Mackerell's History of Lynn (173S), pp. 257-270.

TRE BATTLE AND THE BREEZE. 297

(a) Relating to orderly behaviour when fishing; for example —
" It is ordained that every Man that goeth to the Sea that shall first
come to an Anchor shall hang his great Anchor without Fraud and
Guile and his Boat that cometh next to him to go up with the
Drag each of them both together, and four must go up with the
Drag if there be so many, under the forfeiture of is." The general
fine was 3s. 4d. ; the highest, however, being 8s.

(b) For the preservation of spawn and the fry of fish. No brood
was to be destroyed; no salmon or trout were to be taken out of
season ; the kind of nets and the sizes of the meshes were specified.
The length, too, of fish to be retained was given, — pike or pickerel
not less than 10 inches, salmon 16 inches, trout 8 inches, and barbel
12 inches. No truncks or nets might hang across the haven. As
there was great danger of the oyster scalp in the haven being ruined
through "the greedy desire" of certain persons "seeking present
gain," it was decided that nobody should use scrapes, rakes, or
drags armed with iron. Fine 3s. 4d.

(c) To retain a sufficient supply of fresh fish for the town
market. All the fish caught were to be brought home to the Douce
(Fisher) fleet. None might be sold to strangers to be carried away
without the permission of the four overseers (fishermen), who first
assigned what was necessary for home consumption. Fines 3s. 4d.
to 6s. 8d. The Mayor appointed these overseers, who were to act as
inspectors of the fishery. They were, moreover, to make diligent
search and inquiry about wrecks. Goods cast into the sea to lighten
a vessel, which remained under water {jetsam), those which floated
after the ship had sunk {flotsam), and goods fastened to a buoy and
sunk in the sea to be found again {ligan). Derelict comprised
flotsam, jetsam and ligan cast by the sea upon land. Notice in every
case was to be given to the court, in default the payment of 3s. 4d.
as fine.

Third: Directions for conducting the Court and the payment of
three officers. Processes under the Mayor's seal were directed to the
water-bailiff for summoning a jury of sixteen — merchants, sailors,
mariners, fishermen, and others trading upon the river, each one to
be an inhabitant of Lynn. If any refused to serve they were to be
fined, the Mayor fixing the amount. The decision of the jury was
final, and those refusing to pay were to be committed to prison.

(a) The Steward of the Court received, over and above his
ordinary stipend, one- sixth part of the fines derived from offenders,
and one-sixth part of the value of the wrecked goods found ; also
six pence for each process against an offender and six pence for every
case dismissed.

(b) The Water-bailiff was paid six pence out of every penalty
amounting to 3s. 4d. (or more), but if under, only two pence, and at
the same rate (say three-twentieths) from the value of all wreckage.
For the arrest of a person, also for taking bond, he was paid four
pence, and two pence upon dismission.

Z P

298 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

THE SLAUGHTER OF THE INNOCENTS.

The wretched, insanitary state of the town was the cause
of many deplorable "visitations," as they were absurdly termed,
and there is ample jusification in concluding that Lynn was rarely,
if ever, wholly exempt from diseases of a virulent and contagious
nature. Except, how^ever, when the death-rate was alarmingly
high, no notice was apparently taken. Beyond the bare fact that
the plague was prevalent in 1547, we can go no further. A nomadic
population contributed largely to the spread of epidemic diseases,
and our annual fairs were productive of much mischief. Hence in
1584, recognising that more were dying than usual, the authorities
decided upon moving the February fair from the afflicted Damgate
to the Tuesday market-place, where it has continued to be held
ever since. Moreover, to check the danger, ^^ i8s. was spent in
setting up four large booths near the Town Wall for the relief and
isolation of those afflicted. On the 24th of May, the Council
ordained that all " dogges and yappes " and " cattes " should be at
once destroyed, to prevent the spread of the infection. Persons
were chosen to enforce the decree, where affectionately -obstinate
burgesses objected to sacrifice their canine and feline pets. Those
possessing "dogs of account," who promised faithfully to prevent
them from leaving their own premises, were excused, as were
strangers ignorant of the new bye-law. In this our Council were
following a wise precaution taken in London, where all dogs other
than hounds, spaniels and mastiffs specially kept to guard houses,
were either removed or killed.

For three years, from 1569 to 1599, the plague decimated the
population of Lynn. Parkin states, 200 were buried in St. James'
grave-yard in the year 1591, which must be an error for 1597. In
our parish registers are curious entries about this "visitation." Every
wedding, christening, and burial had to be correctly written in a book
by the minister, under pain of 3s. 4d. for every time an omission
occurred. The parishioners were enjoined to provide "one sure
coffer wuth two locks and keys, whereof one (was) to remain with the
parson, vicar or curate, and the other with the churchwardens "
(1547). In this coffer the register was to be safely kept.

A fair and accurate copy was sent every year to the Bishop;
for writing this copy the churchwardens of St. Margaret's paid 6d.
the year prior to the visitation, but in 1598 the entries covered
" fyveskore and seventene leavs," for which the copyist was paid
thirty shillings. In St. Margaret's register we read: "About this
tyme the plague Avas knowen amongst vs in this towne " (Feb. 1597).
There is a similar note in that of St. Nicholas : — " here begins the
Lord's uisitation August 26: 1597 and lasted till the month of May
1598." During this period, the sick were sent to St. James' chapel,
or the "new house," as it was termed after the structural
alterations.

Ite(m) p'd for a new beare to Cary Uie infected pepole that dyed and payntinge
of it black, 6s. 2d.

TTiE BATTLE AND THE BREEZE.

299

Ite' p'd ffor the old Chest that caryed the sik enfected before, to edward davys

who bought it, 2s. 2d.
Ite' p'd to mr Johnson for buryenge 3 pore peple i2d. and fur perfume to thonias

stanclyfe, 5d. [C.W.A., St. M.]

As those dying of the infection are not specified, the annexed
table shews the total number of deaths during three years : —

From the C.W.A.

1596-7-

1597-8.

1598-9.

St. M. St. N.

St. M.

St. N.

St. iM.

St. N.

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

5
9

7
13
12

4
5

9
5
5
5
5
3
10

I
4

8
12

51
18

4
12

4
8

7
7
7

3
10

26
18

4
I

8
7

Total

299

180

From the Survey of the Ports and Harbours of Norfolk (1565)
we learn there were 542 householders at that time in Lynn.
Assuming that an average of five persons lived in each house, the
population would be represented by 2,710, say 2,700. With this
datum, the death-rate would work out thus: —

1596-7= 56.6 per thousand.
1597-8=153.3 „
1598-9= 92.2 „

HAIRBREADTH ESCAPES.

No mention is made by our historians of the great earthquake
en the evening of Easter Wednesday, April 6th 1580, although it
was said to have been felt throughout the kingdom. The great
clock at Westminster struck at the shock, and the bells of the
various metropolitan churches began jangling. The alarmed
audiences rushed from the theatres, etc. To assuage the terror
manifested in every part of the kingdom, the Queen issued a special
form of prayer to be used by all householders, with their whole
families, every evening before retiring to rest. Earthquakes were,
however, noticeable at I-ynn in 1574-5, and again in 1602. The
town with parts of Marshland was "drowned" in 1564 and again
in 1669-70. The inundations caused considerable loss; on the
second occasion not ten roods of the bank stretching from Lynn to
the bridge at Magdalen were left. From 2Tst to 24th of September
1594, the town was swe])t by a most violent storm.

The storm of 1571 is thus described by a contemporary writer: —

This year (1571) the fifth of October chanced a terrible tempest of wind
and rayne, both by sea and lande. In the county of Norfolk the sea brake in

^00 MlSTOky OF klNG^S LtNN.

between Wisbiche and Walsoekene and at the Cross Keyes drowning eight
towns and Jarman's at Stowe brigge. At the Cross Keyes Inne the walls of the
houses were broken down. In the bishopricke of Ely — Wisbiche, Guyhorne,
Parson Drove and Hobshouse, being an almshouse, were overflowen. In
Wisbiche was a garden, a tennis play and a bowling alley walled about with
bricke (which was worth 20 li. by yeare to the owner) was quite destroyed by
the water. [Holinshed's Chronicles : 1577.]

The harbour was seriously damaged in 1586, when the Queen
benevolently contributed towards the repairs.

IN DUE SEASON.

Concerning the election of a Mayor, the following curious
communication from the Privy Council was addressed to " the Mayor
(Christopher Graunt) and his brethren": —

Some, to whom the election apperteyned, had not so good consideracion as
they shold have had ; but without regarding their Lordships advice [they had]
made choice of one that had lately been noted before them in the Sterre (Star)
Chamber, for some undutifull misdemeanours within that towne much to their
sclaunder ; and yet, for that by their second election their Lordships find that
error acknowledged and a better choise of one more meter for her majesties
service and the quiett governement of the towne, their Lordships were contented
to allowe of their doinges and to beare with the former falte of those persons to
whom the election apperteined requireng them to indevour themselfes to remove
all dishonest factions and to attend to the quiet governement of the towne
(5th September 1576).

The "better choice" refers to the recent election of Gregory
Baker on the 29th of August, who was to succeed Christopher Graunt
on the 29th of the next month.

THE STRIFE OF TONGUES.

The greatest excitement prevailed during the term of William
Killingtree's mayoralty (1581), which was brought about by the
factious behaviour of John Pell, an ex-mayor and a former justice
of the peace, and his son, Jeffrey Pell, aided and abetted by Robert
Hullyard (or Hullyer), also an ex-mayor, and others, who diligently
circulated scandalous libels and rhymes, incriminating not only the
mayor and aldermen of the borough, but two worthy ministers —
William Leedes, vicar of St. Margaret's, and William Sanderson,
vicar of Terrington St. John's, who, having the year before received
from the Queen a licence of non-residency from his vicarage, was
probably an assistant, or, as we should now say, "a curate," in
Lynn.* The nature of the charges against the characters of these
men may be ascertained from documents preserved in the Public
. Record Office, but being, it is feared, like Gratiano's reasons — two
giains of wheat hid in two bushels of chaff — we, with apologies
for inadvertent levity, decline the search, especially remembering
that the libel against the mayor is said to have been based upon
certain letters said to have been found by an attentive servant
named Parker.

In December, William Killingtree, on behalf of himself and
the other aggrieved members of the community, was constrained to

*> Buried in St. Margaret's graveyard :— William Sanderson, October 3rd 1598 : William Leedes
November 3rd 1628 [P.R. (Parhh Register) St. M.].

fllE BATTLE AND THE BREEZE. 30l

place the particulars of the case before the Privy Council, for the
town was in such an uproar that they went about in fear of bodily
harm. John Pell and his associates were summoned before the
council; they, however, behaved with such "great boldness" after
their return that the Mayor petitioned the council that they might
be "called to account'' (March 5th 1582). The same day the
libelling offenders addressed a petition to Sir Francis Walsingham,
the most influential of the Queen's counsellors, desiring that if the
complaints preferred against them were heard (decided) by the
council, they might be discharged of the impending suit in the
Star Chamber.

THE QUEEN IN NORFOLK.

The Queen made several provincial tours. She visited Suffolk
(July 1561) and Norfolk (August 1578), when her "progresses" were
unusually extended. At the end of July 1578 she stayed at Long
Melford and Hawsted; on the 7th of August her Majesty entered
Bury St. Edmunds, and Euston on the 10th. Great preparatioiiis
were made at Norwich for her reception, and workmen were brought
from Lynn and Yarmouth to assist. Thomas Churchyard, in the
service of Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, was for three weeks busily
engaged arranging the m.asques, ceremonies, and festivities. He
says: —

The Norffolke Gentlemen hearing how dutifullle their neighbours had
receyved the Princess prepared in lyke sort to shewe themselves dutifull, and so
in most gallantest manner assembled and set forward with five and twenty
hundred horsemen whereof, as some affirme were sixe hundredth Gentlemen, so
bravely attired and mounted, as indeede worthy the noting, which goodly
company wayted on their Sherille a long season ; but in good sooth (as I have
heard credibly spoken) the bankets and feastes began heere afresh, and all kinds
of triumphes that might be devised were put into practice and proofe. The
Earle of Surrey [the famous poet] did shewe most sumptuous cheere in whose
Parke were speeches well sette out and a speciall device much commended ; and
the rest as a number of gentlemen, whose names I have not, were no whit
behinde to the uttermost of their abilities in all that might be done and devised.

The Queen arrived on the i6th and remained with the citizens
six days. The Corporation presented her with a silver-gilt cup, con-
taining ;^ioo, and other loyal townships sent similar costly offerings.

Subject to the approval of the Earl of Leicester, the steward
of the borough, the Council at Lynn determined to shew their dutiful
obedience and good will by asking her to graciously accept a finely-
wrought purse, adorned with pearls and gold, containing one hundred
old angels,* towards which ;^45 los. was taken from the common
treasury and handed to John Ditchfield, the mayor. The nomi'nal
value of the town's offering was ;^5o. Of its intrinsic worth we
refrain from speculating, and rest contented that according to the
calculations of others its worth was somewhere between ;£2oo and

• .-liigcN, lialf-angcis (arifjlcts) and qiiartcr-ai!j;cls were first struck in Eii;,'IaiHl by Ilfiiry \'I. (14JJ-
1461) and were thus called because on the obverse side there was a winged aud nimbed figure of the
.•Vrcliangel Michael, wounding a dragon a la St. Margaret.

302 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

After Elizabeth's departure, a serious outbreak of plague
occurred, which raged for two years, and is said to have been caused
by her Majesty's infected train of attendants.

" OYEZ, OYEZ, OYEZ."

By the second charter of Henry VIII. two marts or fairs were
granted to the borough (1537), providing they were not inimical to
the interests of any existing fairs in the neighbourhood. Each was
to last six days, and they were to begin respectively on the day
following the Purification (February 2nd) and the Assumption
(August 15th) of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Fairs were then conducted on hard and fast lines, and any
infringement of restrictions resolved itself into fines, confiscation,
and perhaps imprisonment. All shops were closed under pain of
forfeiture of the goods exposed for sale, and if the local tradesmen
were not contented to be idle they must carry their wares to the
mart. Thus a large attendance was insured, and the lord of the
manor, or in this instance the town itself, secured considerable profit
after paying for the erection of "stalls or shops." To these centres
people came from distant parts of England, and from the Continent
as well. Harrison places the "Lin Mart" among the fairs which
were not inferior to the greatest marts in Europe (Description of
England, 15T]). The greater part of England depended upon
Stirbich for a supply of hops, which came from Kent.
Huge pockets of hops were carried from " the fair field ' ' to the Cam
and conveyed in barges to Ely, and from thence to the port of
Lynn, where they were shipped to Hull, Newcastle, and Scotland.
Rivalry between fairs was general, and disputes respecting the pay-
ment of tolls, customs, etc., were common occurrences. These
differences were, as a rule, settled by arbitration; there was, how-
ever a suit at law between Lynn and Cambridge (1510).

(i) Stirbich Fair, that is, Stourbridge, near Cambridge. — Serious
contentions were in 1547 settled by arbitration, and the indenture
of agreement was signed by William Coke, sexgeant-at-lavv, the
recorder of Cambridge, and two aldermen, namely, John Fanne and
John Ruste of the one part, and Thomas Gawdy, recorder of Lynn,
and two aldermen — Thomas Waters and Raffe Downes, of the other
part. A similar procedure was necessary in 1552.

(3) Boston Fair. — Articles of agreement were signed by the
representative recorders, Stephen Thumblebye, of Boston, and Robert
Bell, of Lynn (20th May 1576).

(3) Newcastle-upon-Tyne. — The arbitrators on this occasion were
Sir Henry Hobart, the attorney-general, and Sir John Jacksonne, the
recorder for Newcastle. The dispute was between the mayor (John
Bassett) and the burgesses of Lynn of the one part, and the
Mayor and burgesses of Newcastle, plus the governor, stewards and
brethren of the Fraternity of Hoastmen, of the other part. The
special function pertaining to the merchant gild of Newcastle was the
receiving of &ixzr\gex?,—hoasts , or oasts, as they were then styled.
The hoastmen transacted business for strangers, and for their trouble

THE BATTLE AND THE BREEZE. 303

levied a certain duty. The Corporation of Hoastmen is at the present
time the premier incorporated company in Newcastle, and election to
membership is a coveted honour. The seal upon the Lynn document,
dated the 15th of November 1609, shews a member of the fraternitv
in his official robes receiving a stranger. " Welcome my oste ' ' serves
as legend. Some writers contend that the traders were compelled to
board and lodge with the hoastmen, who took the meanest advantage
of their "paying guests," and, moreover, that the civic authorities
shared the spoil.

By Statute and Charter the Lynn Mart was put upon a firm basis.

LEGISLATION.

(l) LOCAL ACTS.

1559 (ist year of the reign). For holding a mart or fair once a year in the

borough.
1558-9 (ist year). For regulating the price of corn exported from Norfolk and

Suffolk (c. 77, s. 77).
1 57 1 -2 (13th year). Concerning the forfeiture of vessels anchored upon the coast

of Norfolk and Suffolk (c. 7 7, s. -7).
1585-6 (27th year). ! or repairing the sea-walls or banks of Norfolk (c. 24).

(2) CHARTER.

C. 21, Dated at Westminster the 6th of July in the ist year of her reign (1559).
Exemplification of a statute called the Mart Act (" begun the 23rd of
January 1559 ") respecting the renewal of a fair to be held yearly, " on the
next day after the Feast of the Purification of the Virgin " (February 2nd)
and to continue for six days.

(3) LETTERS PATENT.

1576 (19th year). Dated at Westminster the ist of December. Exemplification
and confirmation of : —

(a) Letters patent (C. 20) of August nth 1557 (Philip and Mary),

(b) Letters patent (C. 17) of December 6th 1547 (Edward VL),

THE nation's food SUPPLY.

Owing to a succession of unfavourable seasons, corn was at one
time alarmingly scarce, and famine threatened the country; the
difficulty was enhanced because speculating merchants bought largely,
intending, of course, to sell when the price had risen abnormally
high. The hardship was felt acutely in 1565, when Elizabeth wrote
a letter to Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk, complaining how
certain merchants, strangers and others, depleted the markets for
private gain ; she, moreover, instructed him to inform them that they
should answer presently for their selfishness according to law. Com-
missions were appointed to check the excessive exportation of
corn ; they were^ to meet monthly and send in certificates or returns.
These precautionary measures did not prevent large quantities being
smuggled through the port of Lynn, The University at Cambridge
experienced a taste of inconvenience when their supplies ran short;
hence Dr, Robert Beaumont approached the Privy Council, com-
plaining about the exportation from Lynn, and requesting authority
to commandeer all corn within five miles of Cambridge (June i8th).
Thomas Wakefield, of Chesterton, also pointed out how the produce

304 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

of the district was conveyed by water to Lynn (August 7th). Edward
Scambler, the Bishop of Peterborough, too, was on the alert;
writing to the Privy Council, he wished to know how much grain had
been conveyed from Northamptonshire to Lynn via Peterborough,
and whether any had gone "beyond the sea " (22nd June 1565). We
next find Osbert Mountford with a body of honest and faithful
followers at " Germanes Bridge," preventing the shipping of corn
brought from Cambridge and other places. Assisted by the Justices
of Peace, he was to guard the exportation of corn from Lynn, and
to report the quantity stored in the town granaries, and to say how
much had been shipped, with or without licence, other than to
Berwick (20th September 1565). Checked at St. Germans, corn
smugglers were soon thriving apace in the Isle of Ely. The Bishop
of the diocese (Richard Cox) and the justices were therefore requested
to form a committee to examine the havens and creeks in the district.
The cargo provided by Sir Valentine Browne at Lynn, ostensibly for
the garrison, was seized; after a while he was, however, allowed to
leave the port, but the Bishop was strictly enjoined to ascertain that
the corn was delivered at Berwick. The committee were, moreover,
to draw up monthly returns of the total amount exported from Lynn
to Berwick (25th November 1565).

These restrictions greatly impoverished the inhabitants of Lynn,
whose livelihood depended largely upon a carrying trade. They
therefore petitioned the Privy Council in 1570, pointing out how
heavily they had been taxed in maintaining the banks or sea-walls,
which protected their haven. The Lords of the Council, in reply,
did " very well like and allowe of their [the burgesses'] forwardnes
in performinge those necessary reparacions, for which respect the
said lycense was graunted." They accordingly instructed the officers
of custom to permit, in future, the transportation of the proper
proportion of grain from Lynn, namely, 7,000 quarters of barley and
malt and 600 quarters of wheat (29th May).

Owing to this relaxation famine threatened the city of London,
and Lynn was particularly mentioned in the clamorous complaint of
the citizens. As will be anticipated, Elizabeth immediately issued
a proclamation entirely prohibiting the transportation of corn (17th
September 1572). This, however, did not prevent the crafty traders
from smuggling. Hacker, a fishmonger, detected the vessel of
Shipton, of Lynn, at Sluys, with a cargo of 200 quarters of wheat;
and Foxe, the servant of Alderman Bonde, reported another vessel
from Ljnn or Yarmouth at Ostend with 400 quarters. Inquiries
were at once instituted at the two English ports (25th November
1573), and returns demanded of the quantities of grain stored in
their warehouses (6th December). Three months later the Commis-
sioners allowed Sir Valentine Browne to carry 1,000 quarters of
wheat, 1,000 quarters of rye, and 500 quarters of malt to the
garrison at Berwick (2nd March 1574).

Again was the exportation of grain most strictly interdicted in
1586. Towards the end of the year, the mayor, Robert Gerves,
reported that notwitlistanding the prohibition issued in June, the

THE BATTLE AND THE BREEZE.

305

prices were alarmingly increased through " the great engrossing, not
only of stangers, but of our own countrymen " (7th December).
Warrants were granted permitting the exporting of certain specified
quantities, but thev were at any moment liable to temporary suspen-
sion. In 1586 two hundred quarters of wheat, and in 1588 four
hundred quarters, were shipped per warrant to the Low Countries,
the place of discharge being Elbing in Prussia. Archibald Douglas
applied to the Lord Treasurer for a licence to permit a Scotsman,
who had delivered a ship-load of herring at Lynn, to carry back
barley, peas or beans (6th March 1588).

The accompanying table shews a three-months supply, from
Michaelmas to Christmas 1596, for London: —

Places.

Wheat Ors.

Oats Ors.

Malt Ors.

Milton

996

—

Faversham

1,061

.56

Son

Sandwich

350

4.130

Maldon

770

Rochester

—

Yarmouth

470

Lynn

440

530

Colchester

Dover ..

—

36a

Sliorcham

—

100

Ipswich

—

Blakeney

180

Total ...

2,594

1,326

6,818

During the time London, however, sent 1,210 qrs. of rye to other ports.

In reply to Lord Burleigh's inquin', John Owen the collector,
Robert Ashwell the comptroller, and John Richardson the deputy
surveyor of customs at Lynn, stated that only one licence for the
transportation of beer, cloth and grain remained unexpired (6th April
1597). It belonged to Boston, but they could not certify how much
remained unexpended, as the factor of that port, William Gamocke,
had passed all kinds of grain except wheat when it was at a low
rate in accordance with the statute price. The licence was with the
Mayor of Boston, who would cause a certificate to be made of what
had been passed, and also of what remained unspent. " You require
payment of all sums due to her Majesty last Michaelmas," the
report goes on, " but I have no money in hand due to her Majesty
having paid it every half-year according to your orders. What
customs remain due since last Michaelmas 1 will discharge
next term.'' At the same time the custom officers at
Boston received orders to forbear further output, although
the ports held an unexpired warrant or licence for 40,000
quarters of all sorts of grain (wheat excepted), which was granted in
1578 for twenty years. Much of the aimual output remained
unshipped, but nothing defmite could be stated, becau.se a great
portion of it was assigned to Lynn and other places, only 5,000

2 Q

306 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

quarters being reserved for Boston, and of this not 800 quarters had
been " vented " since July 1549. The interest on the remnant was in
the hands of Anthony Doughtie, custom officer, by assignment from
the mayor and burgesses, but it was unknown in whom the interest of
the rest was vested.

Later in the reign, Humphrey Guybon, of Thursford, the High
Sheriff of Norfolk, wrote to Lord Burleigh explaining how the daily
excess of the carriage of corn to ports and other places, under pretence
of being provision for gentlemen's families in different parts of the
kingdom, had so increased that he feared there would not be enough
to satisfy the wants of their own country. The prices, such as were
never known before, were still rising — wheat 53s. 4d., meslynne
{melsm, a mixture of different sorts of grain) 48s., rye 46s., barley
42s., peas and beans 32s., and oats 24s. per quarter. He pointed
out how averse the common people were to the continual drain upon
their food supply, and mentioned that in three different places in
Norfolk the inhabitants were on the verge of rebellion, for instance,
at Hatcham (Heacham) where twenty-four rioters had boarded and
forcibly unloaded a vessel bound for Gainsborough. He moreover
asked for instruction concerning the ringleaders, whom he held in
custody (30th April 1597)-

With his letter the Sheriff enclosed a communication received
from John Curtis, of Magdalynn (Wiggenhall St. Mary Magdalen),
who was cognisant of a proposed rising in Marshland. On the 23rd
of April, Thomas Welles told Curtis, the poor had risen in the west
country, and would be with them in ALarshland in a fortnight, and
that four or five persons from St. Germans would come to him and
would go to a justice of the peace and ask for cheap corn, and
failing to get it at a reasonable price, " they would arise, would knock
down the best first, and that they only waited for a drum," a noisy
though perhaps inciting acquisition.

THE WIDE, WIDE SEA.

Complaints of piracy became so frequent that special articles
were at length devised for repressing delinquencies along the Norfolk
coast. The following " sea-ports — Lynne, Snettesham, Burneham,
Welles, Walsingham, Blackney, Sherinham, Cromer, Hasboroughe,
Wynterton and Yarmowthe," were placed under the control of four
commissioners, namely. Sir Edward Warner, Sir Christopher
Heydon, Osbert Mountford and William Paston (8th November

1565).

A few years later, an exchange of piratical civilities between the
Scotch and East Anglian traders grew quite indispensable. The
seamen of Lynn politely pillaged the Scots, who promptly retaliated ;
then, boith complaining, sought redress, our townsmen from Mr.
Ranulph, one of the four ambassadors and special correspondents in
Scotland, and the other sufferers from Sir Francis Walsingham, the
English Secretary of State. Robert Scott's vessel was boarded
between Lynn and Leith (January 1581), as were also those of the
n'erchants of Edinburgh, near Lynn (27th June 1585). Jeffrey
Pell, George Farely and Robert Ashfield, of Lynn, lost their ship

THE BATTLE AND THE BkEEZE. 307

and cargo, tor which they thought that James VI. the King of Scot-
land ought to recompense them (May 1586).

Our Mayor, Christopher Graunt, received instructions from the
Privy Council respecting goods taken at sea by Englishmen serving
fc reign princes. He was also informed how Messrs. Vigxier and
Tiratt, the owners of the Botiaveniure, of Marseilles, had sold some
Frenchmen as slaves to the Turks (24th December 1575). The
Warder of the Fleet was ordered to take John Pell, of Lynn, into
his custody, whom he was to detain until further directions were
given (27th May 1576). A bark laden with oranges and lemons,
believed to have been captured off Dartmouth by Sir Humphrey Gil-
bert, was bound for Lynn. The Privy Council requested William
Heydon, the Vice-Admiral of Norfolk, to detain the mariners in case
they reached Lynn, but to permit the owner, Gonzago de la Villa,
to depart with his vessel (1579).

WISBECH CASTLE.

The " Virgin Queen ' ' grew quite as intolerant in the matter of
religion as her sister Mar}\ At first those who clung to the ritual
of the Romish Church were permitted to obey the dictates of their
consciences provided they worshipped privately in their own houses,
but after the rising in the north, and a series of "Popish plots," the
law was stringently enforced. An Act, too, was passed, distinctly
prohibiting the solemnisation of rites pertaining to the Church of
Rome. Forfeiture was meted as punishment for a first offence, a
year's imprisonment for the second, and imprisonment for life for the
third. All, moreover, who failed to subscribe to the Act of
Supremacy were as "recusants" guilty of high treason. In 1577
the bishops were asked to furnish returns of all recusants in their
respective dioceses. Among the forty-nine "worth notice" included
in Bishop Freake's list, are some with whom we have already become
acquainted, as for example, Sir Henry Bedingfield and his wife, of
Oxborough, and Francis Bastard, of West Winch, who was made a
freeman (1565). William Gibbon, of Lynn, whose lands were valued
at JQ260, is classed with those " partly of papist and partly of the
peevish preciser sort."

To reconcile any person to the Romish Church was declared
treasonable, and those lukewarm Christians who absented themselves
from the parish church (unless they heard the English service in
their own homes) were liable to be fined ;£2o per month. The next
year many "passive resisters," blessed with intractable consciences,
found themselves participating in what Burke would term " royal
servitude and durance vile."

By order of the Privy Council, a number of seminary priests —
refugees from Douay, with certain English recusants, were imprisoned
in the Bishop of Ely's castle at Wisbech (1580), which for centuries
had been used as a common gaol.* The cleverest controversialist

• Richard Lambert of Lenne, brought an action af^ainst William le Bolfwere, a merchant and
oth<>rs, forronspirin-^ to imprison him unlawfully. Hr had brrn attaclird by the Slieriff of Cambriiliieshire
and " thrown in the dppth of the gaol of Wysbech among thievp<;, where by toails and other venomous
vermin he was so inhumanly gnawn tliat his life was despaired of."

308 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

of the period, Dr. William Fulke, was sent thither to argue with
the prisoners and to convince them, if possible, of the error of their
ways. Carleton, the governor of the castle, incidentally describes
the great Protestant champion as " a man of holie life, learned and
able to give accompt of his doctrine stronglye." Despite the
spiritual exertion of this zealous divine, " the twenty papists in a
cage" remained obdurate. "The disputacon," continues Carleton,
" held by the space of two houres, the Lord be thanked [was] to the
great profitt of us and such as stood by, thougli to them a
hardeninge." A full account of the theological discussion in Wis-
bech castle, entitled Conferentia cum pontiflciis in castro Wisbicensi,
4/// Oct. 1580, as well as an English version, was published (1581).

A charge of two shillings was made by the wardens of St.
Margaret's church " for sending a certyfficate to my L(crd) Bishopp
(William Redman) to certyffy concerning recusants" (1598); but at
the end of Elizabeth's reign, although there were 800 communicants,
no-one expressed scruples about accepting the sacrament.

In 163 1 the Corporation voted Hester Ogden, a married
daughter of the late Dr. W. Fulke, who resided in Lynn, the sum
of ^5, towards "the new reprinting of her father's books" (i6th
December). He was deservedly popular as a scholar, and " his
voluminous writings are monuments of that industry and love of study
which alone prevented his advancement in the Church."

THE people's prayer.

The borough members, John Pell and Thomas Grave, were
requested to solicit the Queen's consent for making cloth in, and
exporting the same from Lynn (2nd May 1572). In June they w'ere
urged to persevere in their suit, and to apply to her Majesty's
Council for " liberty of cloth and corn according to the bill exhibited
by (Robert Dudley) the Lord of Leicester," High Steward of Lynn
(1572-1588). To defray the expenses of these important negotiations
the Corporation voted ;^ioo.

The Flemings and Walloons living in Norwich sought permission
to move to Lynn in order to join in the new industry, but they were
informed through Sir Christopher Heydon and Sir William Buttes
that the Queen would in nowise permit any of them to dwell in Lynn;
if, however, ihey conformed themselves to order, her Majesty would
be pleased to suffer them to abide in Norwich, if not, they might
obtain passports and quit the realm (8th November 1574). Thetford
l)etitioned tor the introduction of a staple trade in order to induce
people to settle in the town (1580).

Moreover, it was agreed that John Pell and Edward Flovverdew,
the recorder, should humbly make suit to the (^ueen for the advow-
sons of the parsonage of King's Lynn and the vicarage of Allhallows
in South Lynn (27th February 1575).

So great was the necessity for money, that the collectors of
tenths and fifteenths were unreasonably pressed, not in Lynn alone,
but in other towns. Here the Mayor was ordered " to bind them in

THE BATTLE AND THE BREEZE. 309

good bandes (bonds), in treble the sommes to make payment of all
that is by them due to the exchequer within 15 days " (ist December
1558).

GOOD RHINE WINE.

As the Queen had Uttle money to lavish upon her favourites,
she was in the habit of rewarding them with grants of monopoly ; in
other words, the exclusive privilege of selling certain articles. They
were thus able to ask and also to secure a higher price than they
could have obtained in an open market, because they were not
amenable to competition. Sir Walter Raleigh (1552? — i6i8),
a poor gentleman adventurer, who rose to be one of the most wealthy
of Elizabeth's proud courtiers, was at one time the recipient of
bounties and favours to an extent which caused much envy and
scandal. Among other patents and monopolies he was granted that
of wine licences, which brought him in from ;!^8oo to ^^2,000 a year
(May 1583). With his suite he visited Lynn in 1587 "upon the
Queen's affairs," and granted Thomasine, the wife of Christopher
Puckering, a Lynn merchant, and Elizabeth her daughter, a licence
to keep a tavern and sell wine— " Renysshe Wyn " (2Tst September
^592).

According to long-standing custom our mariners were permitted
to land a certain quantity of wine for themselves without paying
import duty. This was prohibited in 1582-3; hence they
petitioned the Lord Treasurer to continue the ancient custom of
"portage wine."

LE BEAU MONDE.

As a visible sign, distinctive of the high rank held by the
governing body, the Council decided that the mayor and recorder
should array themselves in scarlet whenever they presided at the
.sessions ; and to magnify the importance of the otitices to /which their
husbands had attained, the wives of our haughty aldermen were to
bedeck themselves in gowns of scarlet, and, moreover, the wife of
the mayor and the wives of all ex-mayors were to don French hoods.
This costume was specially designed for Sundays, and every-one
negecting the behest of the Council paid a fine of forty shillings.
Common councillors and their wives were, of course, too insignificant
for the services of the local costumier (1580).

A similar order, that all the aldermen's wives should wear velvet
hats, was in force at ^'armouth. It was revoked in 1632. This
was applying an " Ordinance for the Regulation of Gentlewomen's
Head-dress," passed about the middle of Elizabeth's reign. The
head-gear of the women required as much attention three centuries
ago as at the present time. After being curled or frizzled or crisped,
the hair, arranged in wreaths or borders, was spread out from ear
to ear, and underpropped with forks or wires to prevent its falling.
The whole, after being plentifully beset with wreaths of gold or
silver, rings, pieces of glass and other trinkets, was finally surmounted
by a French hood, a hat or cap of velvet. None, however, save

310 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNV.

"gentlewomen born, without arms," might legally attempt to place
an ermine or lattice bonnet upon their towzled heads.*

MEN OF RENOWN.

In Lestrange's list of the members for Lynn in this reign may
be detected some who were born great, some who achieved greatness,
and some upon whom greatness was unceremoniously thrust. Several
did not belong to Lynn ; hence were their bonds of attachment of the
weakest description. According to the statues of Henry IV. and V.,
the knights or members of shires, and those who elected them, must
both reside within the prescribed county. The boroughs were sub-
ject to the same rule; their members, and those by whom they
were elected, were com -burgesses or co-citizens. " It was after the
rise of political jealousies of the Tudor Times that strangers began
to covet and canvass for the borough membership " (Stubbs).
Not being burgesses, they were of course ineligible. To evade the
Act of 14x3, and to obviate the difficulty, they were created bur-
gesses; in other words, the Corporation embraced them, as it were
with outstretched arms, and exclaiming, "Free — gratis," conferred
upon them the freedom of the burgh. Sir John Peyton, of Dodding-
ton, in the Isle of Ely (1579), and others w^ere adopted in this way.

Richard Clarck (1535-1602), for thirty years searcher and col-
lector for this port, was mayor in 1583 and member from the 9th
of November 1584 to the 29th of January 1593. Conceiving that
the health of the town depended primarily upon the purity of its
water-supply, he had the Gay wood river recast from the Kettle
Mills to "the furthermost bridge" at his own expense; he paid,
too, for the renewing of St. Margarets conduit, to w^hich 580 feet
of new pipes were added. He erected state seats in St. Margaret's
church for the mayor, aldermen and common councilmen, and pro-
vided, besides, a new scabbard of crimson velvet richly decorated
with the Queen's arms, the arms of the borough, and other silver-
gilt trappings. His son, Matthew Clarck, M.A. (1564-1623), was
mayor in 1605 and 1613, and member from the 6th of March 1614
to 22nd January 1623. A painted monument with ten kneeling
figures in St. Nicholas' chapel records their death and that of other
members of this benevolent family.

Sir Robert Bell was recorder (8th December 1561 to 22nd
January 1574) and member for Lynn from 14th of December 1562 till
his decease; he was succeeded by John Peyton (6th November 1577).
He was chosen speaker (1572), knighted and appointed Lord Chief
Baron of the Exchequer (1575). His third wife, whom he married
in 1559, was Dorothy, the youngest daughter of Edmund Beaupre,
of Outwell. Whilst at Oxford Assizes, at the trial of Rowland Jenks
for uttering scandalous words against the Queen, he was, with

* Lattice, letlice or letuse fitalian latizzo) a kind of grey fur resembling ermine, was one of the articles
upon which duty was paid at the Tolbooth, in 1243 : —

"Of ev'y tvmb, leluse ... iiij d.

Of di. ty'mb. (half) i] d.

Of j qiiart'r j d;

Benethe : for ev'y skyn ob. (id),"

THE BATTLE AND THE BREEZE. 311

others, suddenly seized with a malady arising from the stench of
the prisoners. It is remarkable that one of the judges of the Exche-
quer, Baron Flowerdew, of Stanfield Hall, and member for Rising,
met his death through a similar cause (1586). Chief Baron Bell —
"a sage and grave man and famous for his knowledge in law"
(Camden), died at Leominster (25th July 1577).

Sir Robert Mansell (1573-1656), knight and vice-admiral of
Norfolk, was related to I-ord Howard of Effingham. He was
appointed commander of an expedition against the Algcrine pirates
(1620), and represented the following constituencies: Lynn (9th
October i6or to 6th March 1604), Carmarthen (1604), Carmarthen-
shire (1614), Glamorganshire (1623-5 ^^^ 1627-8), and Lostwithiel
(1626).

PAROCHIALIA :

ST. Margaret's church.

The first entry in the earliest of our churchwardens' books
relates to property in the town belonging to the church rather than
to the parish of St. Margaret. The manuscript, made up of a
series of cahiers, covers about eighty years (1592-1672). To the
following extracts are appended a few explanatory notes.

Annuities belonging to St. Margaret's church in the year of our Lord God
1592, to be gathered by the churchwardens : —

(1) R (received for) the tenements and pasture called paradise in webster-
rowe (Broad Street) in the ocupation of george gybson, pays by yere (£4) iiij li.

A few small annual quit rents were paid by the Corporation
to Robert Fincham, the lord of the manor of West Winch, per-
taining to certain lands which previouslv belonged to the Gild of the
Holy Trinity (1557)- Prior to 1562 these emoluments were con-
veyed to Francis Bastard, a Lynn merchant, who purchased his
freedom in 1565. He resided at Islington (Tilney-cum-Islington),
where his ancesters once farmed the Countess of Richmond's manor
of Newhall, which at one period was in the possession of the Prior
of Westacre. To the Bastard family belonged the Hospital of St.
John in the Damgate.

Upon the church estate in Broad Street, subsequently contain-
ing a dove-house, an annual payment of 2s. was due to the lord of
the manor of Newhall*. "Ite(m): p'd to ffrances bastard ffor
the rent of paradise dewe to the manor of newe hall in heslyngton
ye my'hellmas last past 1593. .. 00:2 :oo." [CPT^.^.]

The Corporation attempted to treat with Henry Bastard and
his wife Elizabeth ( ? Mary) for the purchase of these rents, but did
not succeed (34th September 1600). The payment on the Paradise
estate was discontinued in 1795.

Formerly the vicar lived in a "parsonage house," in Broad
Street, which was built, perhaps on the church estate; whether,
however, it belonged to the Corporation or the Dean and Chapter of

" Fir<!t called "Broad street" in 1629. " Itni rec. Robt. Syms for an Orchard in Broad street called
little Paradise . . . j:x:o" (£1/10). " Broad street " is crossed, and above is written in a different
band " Webster rowe " ('C.tr..4., S(. ^l,). Subsequent entries give " Broad Street,"

312 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

Norwich was the subject of inquiry. Dr. Prideaux decided it had
never been in the possession of the Dean and Chapter (29th August
1705).

(2) R the tenements in baxtcrrowe & ffuller rowe (South Clough lane
granted in feo farm to Thomas myller and nowe in the hands of John Palemer
of Germands wygnall pays bye yere (25/-) ... ... ... ... ... xxv s.

In other entries a garden is mentioned, and one of the
tenements is denominated "the brewhouse." Part of this property
--2 1 Tower Street and the opposite corner of South Clough Lane —
was rebuilt in 1839.

(3) R the Tenement late in the ocupation of wydowe bryggs between
the myll & John Wrench house And nowe in the ocupation of John Fearnie the
myller pays by yere (26/8) xxvj s. viij d.

This was adjacent to the Town Corn Mill, which stood near the
entrance of the Walks, and was driven by the waters of the " Mill "

fleet.

(4) R the lytell pytlle or close in Saint James End granted to ffarme to
m. Hulyor & nowe in the ocupation of John Spense pays by yere (6/8) vj s. viij d.

Wholly omitted in the Church Terrier.

(5) R the two tenements And allytell gardin the end of Skynners Rowe
(St. James' street) late in the ocupation of mr. Iverye & nowe in the ocupation
of peter Smythe, dark ; pays by yere (6/8) vj s. viij d.

The position of these tenements is discussed elsewhere.

(6) R the mayor & burgesses paye twooe severall Anewities, the one of
fowertie shyllyngs ayere for saint Margrets churche And ye other xxvjs. viijd. for
the late church of saint James & now payd to the church of saint margrets
(^3/6/8) ._ iij li. vj s. viij d.

To the whole some of the rents and aneueties belonginge ) , ,

toyechurchyerely i:io/ii/8 ^ x n. xj s. viij d.

In 1632 the Corporation began paying the rents accruing from
(0 ^6, not £^, (5) and (6).*

SNIPPETS FROM STATE PAPERS.

1563. — Visitation of Norfolk made and taken by William
Hervey, Clarencieux King of Arms.

1565. — Three livings were vacant in Lynn, the cause being
attributed to general poverty.

® Compare with the Terrier, .A.ugust 31st 1896.

1. For a piece of land in Paradise Ward, King's Lynn, called Paradise, now forming part of the Cattle
market, in the occupation of the Mayor, Aldermen and Burgesses of King's Lvnn payable by them
(yearly) £b.

2. For a tenement in South Clough Lane, late of William Gushing, now of Thomas Taylor, 3/6 : for
several tenements in South Clough Lane, now forming part of Daniel Nutliall's estate, 18/ (and) for a
tenement in South Clough Lane, late Hubbard's afterwards of Jonathan Munton and now of his
widow, 3/6. [In all J 5/.]

3. For a piece of land abutting upon each side of the London Road in King's Lynn, intermixed with
Land of Sir William Hovell Browne Ffolkes, Baronet, whereof William ."Vyre's Executors are Lessees, 6/8
[not 26/8].

4. [Omitted.] ^ , . ,

5. For two pieces of land at the south-east [? north-west] corner of Tower Lane, late Codlin Lane
payable by the Mayor, .Mderinen and Burgesses,. 6/S.

6. An annuity granted to St. Margaret's paid by the said Mayor, Aldermen and Burgesses £2, and an
annuity formerly to St. James's paid by the said Mayor, Aldermen and Burgesses £1/6/8. [In all £"3/6/8.]

[7. By virtue of Francis Kennett's Will, dated 14th February 1584.]

For a tenement near Littleport Bridge, late Woodbine's now Archer CoUisoD, 5/-

THE BATTLE AND THE BREEZE. 313

1 57 1. — At the request of the Privy Council a list of all strangers
or foreign residents was drawn up (May 20th).

1573. — A Certificate of Musters for the town and liberties of
Lynn was forwarded to the Privy Council (September 3rd).

1575.— The officers of the port of Lynn supplied Lord Burleigh
with information respecting the quantities of butter, malt and other
provisions shipped for Ireland by Henry Underwood, deputy to
Henry Sekeford (October 20th). The Irish were at this time oppos-
ing the English Government.

1584. — Overtures were made by the customers (collectors) of
the ports, for the farming of the customs of Yarmouth, Boston and
Lynn (February 2).

1584. — A ship belonging to Francis Shaxton, a Lynn merchant,
was wrecked at Havodporth, Glamorganshire. Henry Herbert, Earl
of Pembroke, restored most of the goods saved from the wreck,
but Sir Edward Mansell retained part, until a suit pending between
him and the Earl should be settled. The Privy Council ordered
the goods to be sequestered until the determination of the suit.

1584.— Christopher Kervyle petitioned the Privy Council to
direct Sir John Haydon, Mr. Nicholas Bacon, Richard Clarck, the
mayor of Lynn, and others to procure certain evidences, leases and
other documents wrongfully detained by John Baxter, William Parke
and John Prentis.

1589. — Robert Cooke, Clarencieux King of Arms, visited
Norfolk.

1595. — The town petitioned to be allowed to muster its own men
according to their charter (October i6th). A person (unnamed)
was sent to interview Lord Burleigh to urge the suit. Complaints
made to Lord Burleigh because of the ingrossing of barley
(October 25th).

1598. — Charges were preferred against certain patentees who
engrossed the sale of white salt and beggar the country (June loth).

1599. — Cornelius Lambred, a merchant of Calais, was captured
with his vessel, the Golden Dragon, by three Dunkirk men-of-war
near the Lynn Deeps.

1600. — Lynn claimed exemption from musters.

1601. — Jeffrey Peel, merchant and owner of the Valentine and
the John of Lynn, arrived at Plymouth (August 7th), and reported
preparations of war. The Lynn vessel was ten days coming from
Rochelle. Sir John Gilbert forwarded the intelligence to Sar William
Cecil.

1602. — The masters and owners of ships petitioned the Queen,
pointing out that they paid is. per chaldron for wharfage upon coals,
whereas the Newcastle traders at Lynn and Boston paid nothing,
and praying that a like contribution be levied upon them at New-
castle.

* * * * *

Elizabeth died at Richmond early in the morning of the 24th
of March 1603, to the sincere regret of the nation at large, and was
buried in Henry VII.'s Chapel at Westminster,

2 R

3U HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

CHAPTER XXV.

Out Herhagfe — The Sea.

Elizabeth's death was the prelude to a new era. The Tudor

dynasty ended ; the succession passed to the Stuarts. James VI.

of Scotland became James I. of England, France and Ireland (24th
March 1603). He was son of Mary Stuart, Queen of Scotland, by

her murdered husband, Lord Darnley, being lineally and lawfully
descended from Margaret, daughter of Henry VH,

*****

An ethical writer of repute coolly maintains a king to be " a
mortal god on earth." If, instead of "rushing jnto print," the
philosophic Francis Bacon had patiently waited until after the
accession of James, say ten years, he might have concocted a more
reasonable and convincing definition. The .sycophants by whom that
specimen of kingly humanity was surrounded, though consummate
adepts in the art of flatter}-, were yet satisfied with styling their
stolid, besotted master "the British Solomon."

OUR LIBERTIES MENACED.

Of his wisdom, two samples shall be submitted. In the
proclamation summoning his first Parliament, James told the
electors what sort of men they were to chose, and he threatened
corporations, failing to comply with his wishes, with the deprivation
of their liberties and privileges. This was not the course an ordinary
wise man would have taken, but the speech of this " God upon
earth," when Parliament assembled (19th March 1603), was more
like a wearying Presbyterian harangue than anything else: —

What God hath conioyned then (he exclaims) let no man separate. I am
the Husband and all the whole Isle is my lawfuU wife ; I am the Head, and it is
my Body ; I am the Shepherd, and it is my Flocke. I hope, therefore, no man
will be so vnreasonable as to thinke that I that am a Christian king vnder the
Gospel should be a Polygamist and husband of two wiues, that being the Head
should haue a diuided and monstrous Body, or that being the Shepheard to so
faire a Flocke (whose fold hath no wall to hedge it in but the foure Seas) should
haue my Flocke parted in two. But I am assured that no honest Subject of
whatsoeuer degree within my whole dominions is no lesse glad of this ioyfull vnion
than I am. [The Workes of the Most High and Mighty Prince lames: 1616,
pp. 418-9.]

Was not the Duke of Sully far nearer the mark when he
described this egotistic and pedantic monarch as the most learn id
fool in Christendom!

As the liberties and privileges of our borough were increased
rather than curtailed, we may well assume that our representatives
were men "after his own heart," in a Parliamentary, if not a
Scriptural, sense.

James was frequently in Norfolk, but it is doubtful if he ever
visited Lynn. He wrote glibly upon the duties of a king in his
Basiliccn Doron, but be was not one who wore a crown everv day.

OUR HERITAGE— THE SEA. 315

Unluckily for the people of Thetford, James found good sport in
the neighbourhood, and, eagerly dismissing the affairs of State, he
there cultivated a life of pleasure — hunting, hawking and drinking to
his heart's content.

"three men in a boat."

The Lord High Treasurer, Robert Cecil, was the recipient of
an important communication, dated the 12th June 161 1, from
Berwick. The writer, Sir William Bowyer, having heard of the
escape of Lady Arabella Stuart, prudently caused John Bright, the
master of the Thomas of Lynn, then lying at Berwick, to be closely
questioned.

John Bright, who was probably a Lynn man, told a highly
interesting story.* He said that, whilst at anchor in the Lee road-
stead off Blacicwall, in the Thames, on Monday evening, the 4th
of June, two boats approached ; one containing two women, and
the other three men, one of whom it may now be confessed was Lady
Arabella in disguise. They immediately hailed him and asked
whither he was bound. He replied: "For Berwick"; whereupon
he was offered any amount of money if he would serve them. John
Bright, however, bravely withstood the temptation, saying he w^as
bound to his merchant and could not break his word. They then
a-sked if there were not a French vessel near, but he answered he
did not know; there might be, if so it was about a mile and a half
up the river. After a while he saw them all aboard a vessel. These
adventurers he described, admitting that one of the women he took
to be Moll Cutpurse, and naturally thought that, having committed
another of the crimes for which she was notorious, she was anxious
to escape detection.

King James and Lady Arabella Stuart were cousins; the first
was descended from Margaret, the elder daughter of Henry VH., and
the second from Mary Tudor, the younger daughter of the same
Sovereign. As the daughter of the Earl of Lennox, the youngest
brother of Lord Darnley, Arabella stood in the line of succession.
It will be remembered how she was arrested in consequence of a
rumour that a marriage was arranged between her and William
Seymour, the grandson of Catherine Grey, the heiress of the Suffolk
line; how James, disbelieving the report which associated her with
the plot in which Cobham and Raleigh were implicated, treated her
with marked favour; how she privately married William Seymour,
and how the secret slyly leaked out, as those kind of secrets
mostly do.

On the 9th of July 1610 she was entrusted to the fatherly
surveillance of Sir Thomas Parry, whose house was in Lambeth,
whilst her young husband remained in the Tower. Subsequently she
was given into the charge of William James, the Bishop of Durham
(nth March 161 1), but her health gave way, and, though unfit for

• Elizabeth Cooper, in her l.ijc and Letters nf Arabella Stuart (i86rO. quoliiiK thp State Papers, gives
" John Briggs" (Vol. II., p. 175) ; but the Calendar of State Papers (Domestic 1611-8) has " John Bright "
(p. 4.').

316

m STORY OF KING'S LYNN.

such a journey, she was at length actually moved as far as Barnet,
from whence her escape was made. The intelligence derived from
John Bright did not aid in her capture, because she was taken in
mid-channel long before that good seaman arrived in Berwick. Her
husband succeeded in landing at Ostend, but "the fair Arabella"
was confined in the Tower until her death (25th September 161 5).

THE PREVAILING OF THE WATERS.

Lynn, as well as the Marshland villages, suffered considerably
from occasional floods and inundations. There was " a mighty tide "
which swept away a part of Catt's bank. Clenchwarton with the
immediate neighbourhood was submerged (1st April 1607). After
the waters abated a survey was made, and the inhabitants of Lynn
were accused of being negligent in maintaining certain sea-walls.
There was, however, a far more dreadful inundation on the ist
of November 16x3, brought about by a violent north-east wind
meeting a heavy sprang tide. The King's Commissioners conducted
an inquiry at Lynn (7th of December). Terrington suffered severely;
among the losses were — 1,876 sheep, valued at ^58; 120 beasts,
;^322; 480 acres of corn, ;^72o; corn in barns, ^^700; grass in
fields, jQso; 13 houses completely ruined, together with 1,042 greatly
injured, ^j,ooo; besides bedding and household stuff valued at

Dugdale, in his History of Imbanking and Drayning of divers
Fenncs and Marshes (1662), says: —

In this distress the people of the town (Terrington) fled to the Church for
refuge ; some to Haystacks, some to baulks in the Houses till they were neer
famished ; poor women leaving their children swimming in their beds till good
people adventuring their lives went up to the breast in the waters to fetch them
out at the windows, whereof Mr. Browne the Minister did fetch divers to Church
upon his back : And had it not pleased God to move the hearts of the Mayor and
Aldermen of Iving's Lynne with compassion, who sent Beer and Victual thither
by Boat, many had perished ; which Boats came the direct way over the soyl
from Lenne to Terington.

Here is an abstract of the losses in general as they were
presented by the jurors of the several hundreds at the Session of
Sewers, gth December: —

" The Marshland Rixg "

Within.

Without,

Terrington

* • •

10,416

Gay wood

... 205

Walpole

3,000

South Wootton

••• ^^z

West Walton

• * •

850

North Wootton

... 810

Walsoken

» . •

1,328

Watlington

... 500

Emeneth

• . •

150

Totnell-cum-Wormgays

... 60

Wiggenhall and S.

Lynne

6,000

Holm-cum-Thorpland

Tylney & Islington

4,380

Stow Bardolf

... 100

Clenchwarton

6,000

West and North Lyi

ine ...

4,000

^35.834

i:2,038

The total amount is given correctly as ^'37,862 ; there must therefore be
an error in the items of the first column.

OtJit HERITAGE— THE SEA. 3l7

Bold attempts were subsequently made to prevent similar disasters
in the future. The Privy Council received a petition from the Court
of Sewers for the counties of Cambridge, Norfolk, Huntingdon,
Lincoln, Northampton, and the Isle of Ely, complaining because the
work in hand was so greatly hindered (19th June 16 18). Their main
object was to provide sufficient outfalls for the Nene, Welland, and
Great Ouse, and to take care of Lynn, Wisbech, and parts of
Holland. Now, as there was an insurmountable difference of opinion
as to how this could be effected, the petitioners requested the
presence of a Clerk of the Council at their next sessions, who might
act as umpire; at the same time pledging themselves to abide by
his decision. The Lynn Council petitioned also to have their haven
confined. In August the inhabitants of Sutton and Mepal, Isle of
Ely, complained because the Suttoin Lode, the only good outfall
for the Ouse up to the Lynn haven, was not opened. This, they
contended, was prejudicial to their interests.

ADMIRALTY JURISDICTION.

In the Crown is vested the jurisdiction of the British seas; the
protection of his subjects being a royal prerogative, which the
Sovereign exercises through the Lord High Admiral or those lawfully
deputed for that purpose.

For some time past the loyal inhabitants of King's I,ynn had
ventuied to put into operation a salutary yet limited authority over
their haven and the waters connected therewith, although their earlier
charters and letters patent did not warrant such a usurpation of
powers distinctly belonging to the King's direct representative, the
Lord High Admiral. They aspired not only to have the powers
they already assumed put upon a proper basis, but to exercise even
greater maritime privileges. During the previous reign, the Council
authorised John Pell, one of our burgesses in Parliament, to
supplicate her Majesty "for the uniting of the admiral jurisdiction
unto this town " (31st January 1575). As a suitor John Pell did
not succeed. Two years later the Corporation were in communica-
tion with the Lord Admiral concerning the proposed liberties.
Thomas Overend, the mayor, received a letter from him, together
with a supplication to the Queen. These our members, Messrs.
John Peyton and John Pell, were asked to present. They were to
prosecute the matter as might to them seem meet, and by their good
discretion secure a grant confirmed by Act of Parliament (27th
February 1579). But Elizabeth and her council were not disposed
to accede to the request.

In appreciation of the great losses and expenses which our
borough had so repeatedly sustained in maintaining and preserving
the town against the inroads of the sea, King James graciously
bestowed upon the Mayor and Burgesses the right to exercise the
privileges accruing to " the Admiralty of the port and harbour of
Lynn." They were made Lord Admiral of the district, but their
powers were to test in abeyance until the death, forfeiture or
suspension of Charles Howard, Lord of Effingham (Surrey) and Earl

318 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

of Nottingham, the then Lord High Admiral of England. After his
resignation of office, in lieu of the sum of ^3,000 and a pension of
;^i,ooo per annum the Corporation enjoyed Admiralty control over
a definite area (6th Feb. 16 19), and were responsible to the King and
to no intermediary person. The charter describes the limits of their
jurisdiction in these words : —

the Borough, and the Port of the same Borough, and also all and

singular the Deeps, vulgarly called the Lynn Deeps, and also all and all manner
of place and places, and course of Waters extending from the Borough aforesaid
unto a place called St. Edmund's Ness, otherwise Gore end (now Gore Point),
and from thence north and by, west, to another place of sand called Long Sand ;
from thence to another sand called Whiting Sand, from thence to another place or
sand called Terrington Brest, otherwise Terrington Brest Sand ; and from thence
to West Lynn, and from thence to another place or sewer called Staple weere ;
And all and all manner of places and parts within and upon the aforesaid sands
and to the utmost flowing and reflowing of the Waters within the limits and
bounds aforesaid.

Gore Point is near Holme-next- Sea, about three miles west of
St. Edmund's Ness. The irregular figure enclosed by these bounds
somewhat resembles an isosceles triangle with its apex at Staple
Weere (weir, a dam), a sewer on the left bank of the Ouse about
2^ miles abfjve Magdalen bridge. These were old boundaries: a bull
of Innocent III. directed that all persons drowned between St.
Edmund's Point and Staple Weere were to be buried in the church-
yard of the monks of Norwich at Lynn (i 198- 12 16). At a court held
twice a week in the reign of Edward III., debts and transgressions
arising between the same places were tried in Lynn.

After reciting the grant made to the Earl of Nottingham as
Lord High Admiral of the Seas in 1585, permission was given the
mayor and burgesses of our borough to hold a Court of Admiralty
of Record every Thursday if necessary, the members of which were
to be the mayor, the recorder, and two or more aldermen, whereof
the mayor and recorder must be one. Though strictly local, this
court, a miniature facsimile of the High Court of Admiralty, was
to be conducted with scrupulous regard to maritime laws and
customs. No High Admiral could have any power or jurisdiction
in the prescribed area, neither could he sue, or cause to appear
before his court, any burgess "or any other of the borough," nor
could he preside as judge at the Lynn Court, except in cases of
piracy, but he might enter the borough in times of war and board
any vessel in order to impress sailors and fishermen into the King's
service. Hence the maintenance of the King's peace rested entirely
in the hands of those constituting the Lynn court. They had power
to decide any matters arising either in foreign parts ox upon the
high seas, if one of the disputants were a resident of the town, and
not only could they put into execution the laws against forestalling
on the seas, but enforce the statutes regulating the nets and
"engines" used in taking fish. They could imprison aggressors,
levy fines and distrain upon those who refused to pay ; they could,
moreover, make forfeitures, seize wrecks, demand royal fish, levy
the following dues — anchorage, beaconage, ballast and lastage, and

OUR HERITAGE— THE SEA. 319

enjoy the liberty of ballasting and lasting all ships coming into port.
But the emoluments derived from these concessions were to be spent
upon the borough and the port. Besides, as justices of gaol
delivery, they could punish drunkards, and arrest and hang felons
upon the town gallows.*

The perquisite of royal fish previously enjoyed by the Chief
Admiral was now transferred to the Corporation. " Sturgeons,
whales, porpoises, dolphins, riggs, graspecyes and all other fishes
whatsoever having in them great and large thickness or flatness "
were comprehensively termed by the charter "Royal Fishes." A
fisherman named Norris caught a sturgeon weighing 12 stone (2nd
August 1858); this was claimed by the Corporation the next day.
The man, however, compounded for his sin by paying the Mayor the
nominal sum of one penny !

The duties devolving upon the Common Council, comprising the
mayor, aldermen and common councilmen, were accentuated. They
could meet whenever they chose, and either the whole or the greater
part of them could devise bye-laws for the rule, good government,
profit and benefit (including the adequate victualling) of the borough ;
but their enactments were not to be " repugnant to the laws of the
realm." Those who disobeyed these injunctions might be fined or
imprisoned at their discretion. They were expected, as trustees of
the town's estate, to let the various plots of land and tenements to
advantage, and when necessary to repair the drains, scour the fleets,
and do all in their power for the commonweal.

At a meeting of the Commissioners of Sewers held at the Gild
Hall, Lynn, it was agreed that the suggestions in the report con-
cerning the banks necessary for the preservation of Marshland should
be adopted. The banks, therefore, were constructed, and taxes
enforced under penalties of double fines, distraints, etc., the expense
being estimated at ;^289 los. (2nd April 1622).

LYNN versus WISBECH.

Delighted with their new privileges, our Corporation slyly
assumed the right to exercise jurisdiction over the town of Wisbech.
Through the officers of customs, orders were issued prohibiting vessels
to unload in Wisbech, except at certain specified places. Having no
desire for their town to be absorbed by the port of Lynn, the Wisbech
burgesses firmly refused. The Corporation of Lynn entered a suit
in his Majesty's Exchequer against the inhabitants of the refractory
port. At the instance of a Commission of Inquiry our Corporation
was nonsuited and the independence of Wisbech thoroughly
established {circa 1647).

A NEW INDUSTRY

was inaugurated for the express benefit of the poor. An indenture
of agreement, entered into between Francis Gurney, a merchant
tailor of London, Ambrose Thompson, a glover, of Thetford, and

* Prior to this the town possflssed gallows. At an Admiralty Court, comprised of commissioners and
justices, Sir Robert SoutliwcU, kiii<,'ht, presided at the trial of sixteen pirates, most of whom were hammed
iu the •' Gallows Pasture," that is, the " Hospital Field " (1587).

330 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

Martin Hill, a wool chapman, of Ellingham of the one part, and the
Mayor and Burgesses of the other part, was signed. The persons
named proposed to instruct the poor children of Lynn in the art of
spinning worsted yarn, * not only providing what wool was necessary,
but employing the poor generally in the same industry and paying
them reasonable wages. The indenture stipulated that the children
were to receive no remuneration for four months ; the three partners
were, therefore, to reap the benefit for that period. It was further
arranged for the experiment to be tried in St. James' workhouse, the
Corporation liberally advancing ;£2oo for three years without the
payment of interest. Each of the three partners, together with Sir
William Yelverton, of Rougham, and Sir Hamon Le Strange, of
Hunstanton, "who had both married near relations of the Gurneys,"
were bound ;£ioo each for the security of the loan (nth October
1622).

Sir Henry Spelman (i564?-i6i6), the famous antiquary of
Congham, observes : —

He [Sir John Eyre] in his life conveyed the four first Monasteries [in Lynn]
to a Priest, from whom the Corporation of Lynn purchased the Carmelites and
Minorites and being thus enter'd into things consecrated to God [the Corporation]
purchased the Impropriation of the Church of St. Margaret's there, and defacing
the Church of St. James perverted it to a Town-house for the manufacture of
Stuffs, Laces and Tradesmen's Commodities, whereby they thought greatly to
enrich their Corporation and themselves. Great Projects and good Stocks with
a Contribution from some Country Gentlemen were raised for this purpose two
several times of my knowledge, but the Success was that it came to nought and
all the money employed about that new building and transforming the Church
hath only encreased Desolation ; for so it hath stood during the whole time
almost of my memory till they lately attempted by the undertaking of Mr. Fr.
Gurney and some artizans from London to revive the Enterprise of their
Predecessors but speeding no better than they did, have now again with loss of
their Money and Expectation left it to future ruin. [History of Sacrilege : 1698.]

St. James' chapel was in the hands of the Dean and Chapter
of Norwich, who voluntarily surrendered their right to the Corpor-
ation (1566). The people of Norwich stubbornly opposed the intro-
duction of this new industry; they were jealously apprehensive that
it might tend to ruin their own manufacturing prosperity. In the
petition placed before the Privy Council it was pointed out that
whereas Lynn was not only a seafaring place, but the centre of an
agricultural district, Norwich, wherein a numerous class was verging
on mutiny, depended wholly upon one resource. Their fears were
groundless; our scheme proved unsuccessful; hence Sir William
Yelverton and Sir Hamon Le Strange were called upon to forfeit an
equivalent for the borrowed loan (3rd October 1625).

LETTERS PATENT.
A. To the Borough : —
C. 22, termed Letters patent, dated at Westminster the 19th of November in the
2nd year of the reign (1604), granting admiralty jurisdiction on the death
of Charles Howard, the Lord High Admiral, with confirmation in general
terms of previous charters.

* There were three methods of spinning wool, viz., woollen yam upon a great wheel, Guernsey or
Jersey yam upon a smaller one, and worsted yam (first practised at Worsted in Norfolk) upon the lOcVi,
The last method was adopted in Lynn,

OUR HERITAGE— THE SEA. 321

B. To the Hospital of St. Mary Magdalen, Gaywood : —

1. Letters patent dated at Westminster the 22nd of April, 9th year (1611), for the

reconstitution of the hospital, with governors, a warden or master, and ten,
nine, eight, seven, six, or five poor brethren or sisters.*

2. Letters patent dated at Westminster the 27th of January, 15th year (1618),

appointing Sir Le Strange Mordaunt, bart.. Sir Hamon Le Strange, kniglit,
John Richers, Owin Sheppard, John Founteyne and William Armiger
commissioners to ascertain by witnesses the bounds and limits of a
" faldecursus " (fold-course, i.e., sheep-walk) in dispute between the
governors of the hospital and Henry Bastard and others. Their finding
was to be forwarded to the Court of Chancery.

C. To a burgess : —

Letters patent dated at Westminster the 4th June, 5th year (1607), granting to
Thomas Battie the office of governor or guider at the Spitle (Hospital)
Howse of Goworth, Norfolk, in consideration of the " service heretofore
done in the warres " — and of " his maymes sustained therein." The Battle
family belonged to Lynn : Richard Battie was " drowned and buryed,
Dec. 9 1573" [P.R., St. N.].

THE BIRTH OF A BELL.

John Draper, of Thetford, was engaged to cast a great bell for
the chapel of St. Nichohis, and for that purpose he was to use " the
twoo smalest bells." The weighing of the new bell from the Thet-
ford foundry shewed that the metal supplied had not all been used,
hence the founder paid the chapelwaxdens _;,^5 in lieu thereof. At
the same time a great bell was also ordered for St. Margaret's tower,
the chapelwardens accepting the responsibility of this and sundry
other expenses (1616-7). For "overplus metal" in this case ^10
was demanded. As the bell-founder refused to pay, an action was
instituted for the recovery of the same. Let the wardens Michael
Revett and Richard Goodinge tell the story. Is it not strange that
one of the chapel reeves should be Richard Goodinge, a descendant
probably of the renowned Johannes de Godynge de Lynne — one of
the earliest bell-founders in Norfolk?

Chardge of suite against Jo : Drap [for p read per or pro] w'th other abatem'ts

(.£■2/5/8).

Itm they crave to abate for chardge of suite paid to Mr. Willm May ageinst John
Drap about the recourie of the x li ... ... ... xjx s.

Itm that was answered to the said Drap for the bell clapp, stock and whele
claymed by him vpon the paym't of the said pts w'ch bell clap, stock and
whele was left at St. M'garett's church and by the churchwardens their
deteyned ... ... ... ... ... xxv s. viij d.

Chardge laid out about the bell (^"3/5/8) : — It was agreed betwene the said
accompt and Jeames Edberry, bell-founder, that he should newe cast one bell at
the Towne of Jermans [Wiggenhall St. Germans] and we should dcleyvcr the said
bell their at o'r chardge for castinge whereof no more to paie vj li. x s. (£6/10).

paid him in pt (part) at the match (?) makinge ... ... xij d.

paid more for bringinge the bell from the church to the comon stathyard ij s.

paid for wayking the said bell their ... ... ... xvj d.

paid for makinge the oblig'n (agreement) for p'formance thereof xij d.

paid to the belfownder at severall tymes ... ... ... ix s.

paid to Robt. Symes for caryinge the bell to Jer(mans) ... iiij s.

■' See Richards' History of Lynn (1812), Vol. I., pp. 533-40 ; also various ancient grants, Tith Report
II.MSS. Commiiiion, part 3 (1887), pp. 235-8.

2 S

322 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

paid for horse hire that afternoone it was carriede, to se it safe laide vp
into a howse xvj d., and to two fellowes to carry it into the said
howse viij d. ... ... ... ... ... ij s.

paid more for horse hire at sevrall tymcs tgethr iiij s iiij d and spent in the said
iornies (journeys) ij s ... ... ... ... vjs iiij d.

paid more to the belfownder at two sevrall tymes ... ... xx s.

paid more for a furnace makinge at Jermans to cast the said Bell ... xjx s.

After the disagreement with John Draper, the wardens decided
upon placing the next venture in the hands of James Edberr}', who,
though nomadic in his professional habits, belonged, it seems, to this
part of Norfolk. The church bells at St. Germans were cast by John
Draper, nevertheless there were Edburys at Walpole St. Peters (1736).
He was reputed to be a good workman, but the wardens did not know
perhaps how friendly he was with John Draper, and that this friend-
ship might turn out prejudicial to their own interests. Now John
Draper often entered into partnership with other bell founders. This
is evident from the initials upon certain bells, as for instance:

I.D and I.B (John Draper and John Brend of Norwich) upon bells at
Hindolveston and Great Witchingham.

I.D. and A.G (John Draper and Andrew Gurney of Bury St.
Edmunds) upon bells at Lidgate and Hinderclay
(1621), Thurston, ist and 2nd (1630) and Bildeston,
Suffolk, 3rd (1624).

I.D and I.E (John Draper and James Edberry or Edburv) Worlington,
Suffolk (16 14).

I.D and I.E (John Draper and James Edberry) or according to
Dr. J. J. Raven, "John Dryver and James Edbere,
founders, Bury St. Edmunds," Wickham Skeith (1615).

T.C and I.E (Thomas Cheese and James Edbere) Hargrave, Suffolk,
ist (1622).

After this the bell mescarried in the casting thereof (10/4)
Imps'mis paid for carryinge the mettle into the storehouse at Jermans viij d.

Itm for a lock to hange on the said storehouse dore while the mettle laye their iij d.
Itm paid to Mr. oxburgh his dark [the Recorder's clerkj to make a warrant to

bring ye said Edberry before him iiij d. and for horse hire to serve

ye same warrnt xx d ... ... ... ... ij s.

Itm for boate hire to bringe the said mettle back ageyne to Lynne v s, and to

men to carry itt into ye boate there xij d. ... ... vj s.

Itm for carryinge vp the said mettle out of the boate into comon stath yard xv d.
paid for helpe of waiynge it their ... ... ... ij d.

Since his comynge to Lynne (£1/13)
Itm paid him at sevral tymes for chardge of his diett here since his beginninge of

his worke ... ... ... ... ... xvj s.

Itm paid him more ... ... ... ... ... iiij s.

Itm paid for one thousand Brick to make the furnace to cast the bell with

chardge of taking them vp into common stath yard ... xiij s.

Charges about casting the Bell in comon stath yard (^^5/13/1).
Inp'mis paid to Thomas Lam that he was to have of the bellfownder for

howseroom duringe the tyme of his worke ... ... vj viij d.

Itm paid to Robt. Symes for thre loades of sand and a loade of clay iiij viij

Itm paid to Kilborne for the hundred billett ... ... vij s.

Itm paid to Rich : Waters for halfe a thousand billett ... vij s.

Itm paid for 400 brick for the furnace vj s. and half a thowsand billett more

xj s. vj d., in toto ... ... ... ... xvij s. vj d.

OUR HERITAGE— THE SEA. 323

Itm paid to Saunder for makinge the furnace to cast the bell ... viij s.

Itm paid to Tho : Dix for exchannge of lay (? alloy) mettle w'th pewter bought of

him and iij s. iiij d. govern (given) for the candlestick for the pulpitt xij s. v d.
Itm paid more at sev'rall tymes to the bellfownder whilst he was about the

worke ... ... ... ... ... xviij s, iiij d.

Itm paid for breakinge vp the furnace and leavelinge the grownd ... xviij d.

Itm paid to Jo : Smith for xxj dales that he attendid vpon Edbury at Jermans to

gett home o'r mettall ageyne ... ... ... xxv s.

This bell beinge caste was carried to the church and hanged (12/6).

Itm paid for wayinge and carryinge the said bell to the church ... iiij s.

Itm paid for stockinge the said bell ... ... ... viij s.

Itm for takinge downe tlie bellfrey dore and for pinninge it vp ageyne

to gett itt in ... ... ... ... ... yj d.

This bell not beynge tunable was after put to Jo : Drap of Thetford by him

to be cast ageyne their (^^7/3).
Inp'mis paid for makinge the obligac'on for him for pformance of covennty xij d.
Itm paid Robert Symes for carryinge it downe to the waterside vj d.

Itm paid for wayinge the same, to him ... ... ... ij s.

Itm paid to pickringe for his paynes to breake the bell & helpinge to se it

boated ... ... ... ... ... ij s.

Itm paid for two kind (?) to putt in the mettle when it was sent to Thetford ij vj.
Itm paid for carryinge and recarryinge the bell from Lynne to Thetford xx s.
Itm for carryinge it from the waterside to the church & carryinge itt heare iiij s,
Itm paid to hart for hangingc the bell ... ... ... x s.

Itm whereas we were to pay vnto him for newe castinge the said bell vij ]i xij d
(i.7/1) wedid abate him for want of mettall inour bell xls. so paid him v li. j s.

The above particulars are copied from the earliest of the chapelwardens'
accounts for St. Nicholas' (1618 to 1719).

Prior to the altercation, John Draper had cast five or six bells
for our churches, and a passing acquaintance with James Edberry
taught the wardens a lesson they were not likely to forget. That
they were satisfied with the great bell for St. Nicholas' may be
assumed, because in 1627-8 John Draper recast another of the peal;
moreover, "the minister," Mr. Emmt-tt, and the wardens of both
churches entertained him at a supper, whan he came to receive
payment.

In 1608, the clock-bell of St. Margaret's church was recast in
the foundry at Thetford. Draper was to receive -Q^ ; there was,
however, a rebate foT 43 lbs. of metal at 5d. per lb. The " small bell "
was also recast (1613-4).

"most horrible treason."

The miraculous escape of the King from the machinations of
Guide Fawkes and the other conspirators was faithfully observed in
Lynn, as tw^o extracts will confirm: — " 1616-7. Itm. paid for breade
and bcare on St. Jeames day xvij d., the 5 of No(vember) iij s.
iiij d. and on the day of the King's entrance into the Kingdome the
24th of mrch xvj d." (C.W.A., St. N.). " 1618-9. Itm, for parch-
ment to Wright the statute in ; that is to be read ev'y vth day of
Novemb'T at morning prayer for Gunpowder treason iiii d."
[C.W.A., S. M.].

The bread and beer, an oft-repeated item, was for the susten-
tation of the ringers, and not for the officiating clergy.

324 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

GENERAL MUSTERS

were common in times of national emergency. By virtue of com-
missions under the Great Seal, the gettin-g together of all the " fencible
men " occurred at intervals during the reign of Henry VIII. To
obtain arms, moreover, the residents in towns were compelled to pay
upon what they possessed. The preamble of a special Act passed in
1557 to facilitate the "taking of musters" reveals some abuses in
"the royal press." It declares that "the most likely men for the
service have been, through friendship or rewards, released, and
others not being able or mete taken and chosen thereunto."

At the commencement of this reign a general muster throughout
England and Wales was undertaken. Lynn accounted for 260 able
men, 85 armed men, 30 pioneers, and 3 high horses, demi-lances
being conspicuously absent. The King's purveyor claimed 100 ling
and 100 cod out of each ship-load caught by our fishermen. A few
years afterwards, Henry Howard, the Lord Lieutenant of the county,
complained because the local forces were inefficient. As Norfolk
was one of the richest counties, he was surprised there were 500 less
horse soldiers than in 1591 ; he therefore authorised his deputy
lieutenants to make a new muster, in order to meet the deficiency
(161 1). Thomas Howard, the Earl of Arundel, succeeded him the
next year, and the survey of the local forces w'ent on under his
administration.

Commanders in 1615: —

Foot-soldiers.

Places.

Horse-soldiers.

Sir Philip Wodehouse
Richard Hovell, Esq.
Humphrey Pryme, Esq.

King's Lynn
Freebridge Lynn
Freebridge Marshland

■ Sir Le Strange Mordaunt.

With the horse-soldiers were bracketed those of Clackclose, Yarmouth and
Christchurch (Norwich).

Owing to Raleigh's unsuccessful attack on St. Thomas, in
Guiana, the Spaniards were displeased (16 17), and, perhaps, fearing
an invasion, the local forces were again examined. A fresh enrol-
ment of all able persons between 16 and 60 years of age was pushed
forward, and measures were devised to circumvent any attempt to
land upon the coast of Norfolk (16 18). The instruction circulated
comprised twelve clauses: six to prevent an enemy landing, and
six giving advice, presuming the enemy had landed.

Frederick, the Elector Palatine, who had married the Princess
Elizabeth, was chosen King of Bohemia by the people of that
country, who refused to acknowledge their new emperor, Ferdinand
II. James, solicitous to presence his friendship with Spain, sent
an insignificant and quite inadequate force of 4,000 men to aid his
son-in-law. Frederick was defeated at the battle of Prague, and
driven not only from his newly acquired kingdom, but also from
his hereditary dominions (1620). Remembering how Raleigh, one
of the cleverest and deservedly renowned men of his age, had been
judicially murdered to conciliate the court of Spain, the people of

OUn HERITAGE—THE SEA. 325

England were more than ever disgusted; hence a sum of ^300,000
was voted to carry on the contest. Knowing this, James reluctantly
assisted the Elector Palatine. In 1624 our Lord Lieutenant received
orders to impress 600 men in Norfolk, to recover the inheritance of
the King's children. They were to be " able, strong, and healthful
bodies, and of years meet for this imployment, but none of them
(were to be) taken out of the trayned bands," which were still to
be kept entire. This impressment was carried out locally by Sir
Charles Cornwalleys and Sir Henry Bedingfeld, of Oxborough — the
deputy-lieutenants to the Lord Lieutenant, Thomas Howard, the
Earl of Arundel and Surrey. Twenty men were enrolled in Lynn,
30 in the hundred of Freebridge Lynn, and 30 in Freebridge Marsh-
land. The press caused general dissatisfaction; many quitted their
homes rather than serve, and three were convicted by law and
sentenced to be executed.

In 1625 an army was despatched under Ernest, Count Mansfeld,
one of the most brilliant generals of the age, but half the soldiers
perished through the transport vessels being overcrowded. He was
defeated by Wallenstein at Dessau, and died the next year (20th
November). from the state papers.

1603. Lord Buckhurst wrote to the officers of the port prohibiting
the exportation of corn and beer beyond- the seas, Scotland
excepted (5th July).

1604. The Mayor received an application, dated 30th June, Green-
wich, from Robert Murray, requesting to be made a free
merchant.

1607. John Pell died, and was buried at Dersingham ; on a black
marble slab are two incised figures also six sons and three
daughters.

1608. Grant to Thomas Vause (the Groom of the Confectionery),
of the office of prior, guide or governor of the Hospital of
St. Mary Magdalen, Gaywood (15th June).

1609. Lord Salisbury received a letter from William Butler in
favour of Mr. Violet, of Lynn, the assignee of a bond of his
for ^"5,000. He had transferred it to the King for more severe
prosecution, but he begged his lordship " to besprinkle with the
dew of his comfort the withering Violet " (26th October).

i6ii. A letter, dated Royston, 8th April, was received by Lord
Salisbury from Sir George Bruce. In recognition of his long
service in manufacturing white salt and in memory of love to
his late brother, Lord Kinloss, he urged Salisbur\- to favour his
petition to furnish Hull, Boston and Lynn with salt.

1613. Visitation of Norfolk by John Raven, Richmond Herald,
Marshal and Deputy to William Camden, Clarencieux.

1619. Grant to Godfrey Havercamp and Robert Davy, of London,
on the surrender by Sir Francis Jones of the office of Collector
of Imposts at Sandwich, Ipswich, Berwick, Carlisle, Newcastle,
Hull, Yarmouth, St. Botolph (Boston) and Lvnn (Westminster,
6th July).

3^6 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

1620. Grant to Nathaniel Maxey, on surrender by Matthew Clarck
of the office of Searcher in the port of Lynn (6th June).

162 1. Certificate by the Officers of Customs of all native goods and
merchandise brought into the port of Lynn from the United
Provinces since midsummer last (17th September).

WORTHY OF HIS HIRE.

A desire was expressed by Sir Robert Hitcham, of Framlingham,
in Suffolk, to represent Lynn. As Attorney General to Anne of
Denmark, the Queen Consort, he was an able and gifted candidate.
His rise was remarkable; he held a patent of precedence next after
the King's counsel; he became a serjeant-at-law, and was knighte'd
(]6i4); and two years afterwards he was promoted to the office of
King's Serjeant. So' anxious was Sir Robert to enjoy the sweets
of Parliament, that he offered to serve the town without payment
(1603), and was then and there accepted, but was asked to qualify
himself by coming to Lynn to receive the freedom of the borough.
In 16 ID he proposed breaking his journey at Lynn, when on his
way from the assizes at Norwich to Ely, where he was expected to
preside as judge. The Council agreed to present him with ;!^2o as
an acknowledgment of his valuable services. The mayor, John
Barret, entertained him, and the charge thereof, together with " horse
meat," was afterwards defrayed by the town (23rd July).*

On the 27th of February 1613, letters were received not only
from Sir Robert Hitcham, but from Sir Henry Spelman, of Nar-
borough, offering their -services. They were accordingly elected.

The Assembly appear to have honestly complied with the Act
of Henry V., when two dona fide inhabitants were elected (1620).
Possibly their conduct in this respect was inimical to the views of
the wealthy candidates seeking constituencies, because a motion was
subsequently made against the admission of the mayors of boroughs
into parliament. To whom this directly applied is not certain, but
the cap may have fitted Thomas Gurlin, who was mayor in 1621,
and possibly one of the town's representatives, as he certainly was
in 1625-6. Be this as it may, our mayoral member vigorously
defended his position, urging that Lynn had large shipping interests
which were entrusted to him, and that he necessarily understood
local affairs far better than a stranger, and, moreover, " as no one
else had come up," he was more than justified in accepting the
office. As no writ was issued, let us unhesitatingly assume that, like
Goldsmith's ruined spendthrift, the mayor of Lynn— " claim'd kindred
there and had his claim allowed."

AS POOR AS — A KING !

The King and the church mouse had changed places, and the
distinguishing feature of this reign was chronic destitution. The King
and an empty purse were inseparable ; no one perhaps knew the
inconveniences of poverty better than James L, but the knowledge
thereof did not turn his grief into joy. Like the Roman general,

* Sir Robert Hitcham died at Framlingham, leaving his money for pious and benevolent purposes (1636),

OUR HERITAGE— THE SEA.

327

the English king was troubled with an " itching palm," and an
incurable propensity "to sell his offices for gold to undeservers." A
new hereditary title, that of baronet, was created for supplying the
King with money to quell the rebellion in Ireland; * knighthoods,
too, were placed upon the market. Loans from private persons were
also in great request. Parliament determined to raise ;£i6,430 in
Norfolk alone, and demands were therefore made upon 730 persons.
Lynn contributed ;£7oo towards the amount, which proves how
wealthy one section of our townsmen must have been (161 1-2). Some
who did not contribute enough were called upon for a suj)plementary
loan. From two lists are selected a few local contributions: —

Athowe, Thomas

Lawson, Roger

—

Barker, Thomas

Mace, William

—

Butler, John

—

Oxborowe, Thomas

Bacon, John

—

Sendall, Thomas

Baker, Thomas

Spence, John

Claybourne, Thos.

—

Violett, Henry

Clarke, Martin

Stratton, Hellen

—

Carew, Symond

—

Pigott, Alice

—

Cartwright, Peter

—

Reave, John

I3i-

Elmes, Esmond

—

Pell, John

Fenn, William

—

Wayte, Henry

—

Grave, Katharine

100

—

Walleis, Edmund

—

Guibone, Thomas

—

Wallis, John

—

Gibson, Thomas

i3i

Warner, William

—

Hood, William
Kircher, John

20
20

—

700

156I

The county was called upon to contribute money in 1620 and
money and plate in 1614.

PAROCHIAL NOTES.

No apo'ogy is needed for a few extracts from our churchwardens'
books.

(i) St. Margaret's Church.

A vestry meeting was held on the 2nd of July 1617, to consider an assess-
ment to cover the expense for repairing the lantern, roof and glass windows,
which were in decay. Here is a copy of the questions, which the meeting was
supposed to answer.

1. Whether the houses, Lande and Tenements together with the p'sonall
estates of the p'ishoners ar to be rated or only one of them, and then wch of the
same, and whether may the best of them be chosen accordinge to the (as-)
Sessors' discretion ?

2. yf the owners of Lande and Tencm'nts assessed to this charge dwell out
of the Towne, some w'thin the Dioces, some w'tliout the Dioces, and refuse to
pay, Then what course (is) to be taken for recoveringe their sev'rall assessm'nts ?

3. what course is to be taken against the p'ishioners beynge Inhabitants
refusinge to pay, whether their assessm'ts be by Ten'ts or by their goods ?

4. yf the Tenant be compelled by distress or otherwise to pay the Assess-
ment of his Landlord, what mcane> hath he to recover the same agayne ?

5. yf the p'sonall estate of a p'ishoner be to be assessed, howe shall the
same be rated, whether by so much only as is in view w'thin the p'isse (parish

"^ The title of Baruncl was offered to all who would pay the Exchequer £i,o8o in three annual
inslalnieuti, being the sum required for the pay of loo foot-soldiers for three years. Gardiuei,

328 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

or by that he is concyved by the Sessors to be worth, though the same be in
mony or debts and if the certaynty thereof nott easely to be knowne ?

6. yf a p'ishioner inhabitmge there hath an estate only of lande in other
places wch is there chargeable to the like kynde, whether may he be rated for
that estate in Lande, he lyvinge in Lynne only upon his Revenewe ?

7. whether may a p'ishoner be rated for any fee at profitts wch he
receyveth by any office in that towne or ells where ?

8. whoe ought to be Sessors, what nomber, by whome are they to be
chosen and in what manner, And what other things are necessary to be observed
in the ratynge or coUectinge of this Assessem't ?

9. yf a house be void w'thout a Tenant what assessem't shall be made for
that house ? [C.W.A., St. M. 1591-1672].

For the guidance of the churchwardens in making an assessment
" Jeffreyes Case in Law" (31st and 32nd Elizabeth) is quoted, and
the following answers, signed "Tho: Talbot," the spelling of which
shall be modernised, are given: —

The contribution is to be rated by the yearly rents of houses and land
within the parish, and all that have houses and land in their occupation within
the parish are to be taxed.

The parishioners only are to be taxed by their houses and land in the
parish, and such as resist to pay are to be cited at the suit of the churchwardens
to the Ecclesiastical Court or to the Consistory of the Bishop.

The tenant that is compellable to pay the assessment by the preceeding
Ecclesiastical, for no distress lieth in that case, he must remedy himself by his
covenant with his landlord in another court.

The personal rate is not considerable in such rates, but the rent of houses
and land, saving that stock of cattle feeding and lying in the parish, if any be,
may be rated.

Parishioners are to be rated by the houses they dwell in, within the parish,
and no estimate (is) to be made but by houses, lande and cattle within the parish.

The possessor is to be rated though he keepeth it shut up and dwell not in
it nor letteth it.

The rate is to be made by the churchwardens giving knowledge generally
in the parish for a meeting of all the parishioners at a time and place certain,
where and when every parishioner may be present and either consent thereunto
or be rated by the greatest numbers there present.

(2) St. Nicholas' Chapel.

The first chapel-reeves' book begins in 16 16 and ends 1719. It
consists of about a hundred separate parts bound together. The first
entry, which we purpose quoting, relates entirely to the land and
tenements belonging to the chapel.

(7) Land : Renls £51 : ID : 0.

one pasture lyinge next the cast gates, cont : (containing) by estemacon two

Acres and a halft letton to Symon Thackcr ... viij li. x s.

one pasture lyinge neare vnto Borden bridge, cont : two Acres and a halft letton

to Jeffry Saltar ... ... ... ... vij li. x s.

one pasture "lyinge at the east side of St. Katherines, cont : one Acre letton to

Michaell Revett ... ... ... ... iiij li. xix s.

one pasture lyinge on the east side of gouldsmithes gardeyne, cont: one Acre

letton to Richard Goodinge ... ... ... •■• iiij li.

one pasture lyinge on the north side of Salters waie, cont : ij Acres and a halft

letton Henry Gooddyne ... ... ... ... viij li.

one pasture lyinge on the Sowth side of Salters waie, cont : iij Acres di (3! acres)

letton to Tho. Tidd ... ... ... .;• x li.

one pasture lyinge on the sowth side of Salters waie, cont : iij Acres di letton to

Willmwayte ... ... ... ... ... ix li-

OUR HERITAGE— THE SEA. 329

(2). Tenements : Rents £23 : 13 : 0.

Henry Bullock for his tent (tenement) ... ... ... xl s.

Widow Tayk)r for her tent ... ... ... ... xxiiij s.

Richard Lynam for p't (part) of a tent ... ... ... xvj s.

Wid : Bright for one other p't ... ... ... ... iiij s.

Mris Gibson for her mesuage or tent... ... ... ... iiij li.

Thomas Morgan for p 'cell (parcel) of a tent ... ... ... xl s.

Wid : Chacc for one other p't of a tent ... ... ... xx s.

Willm Clark for his tent ... ... ... ... ... xx s.

Gyles Green for his tent ... ... ... ... ... xxiiij s.

Willm Bullock for his tent ... ... ... ... xxiiij s.

Emanuell Osborne for his tent ... ... ... ... xxx s.

Mr Ray for rent ... ... ... ... ... —

Tents heretofore sould by the churchwardens ... ... ... ix s.

Willm Brown for one half yeares rent of the corner tent ... ... xxx s.

Henry Sisson for the other half yeares rent of the same tent ... xxx s.

Willm Salter of the chappell for his tente ... ... ... nil

Mr Emott curate of the same chappell for his tent ... ... nil

wid : W^ood for rent of the little howse in the churchyard next the

church porch ... ... ... ... ... x s.

wid: Ridinge for rent of her ortchard ... ... ... xxx s.

John Hutchynson for rent of a gardeyne ... ... ... ij s.

of the Maior and Burgesses for an annytie heretofore graunted by them

to the chappell ... ... ... ... ... xl s.

[C.W.A., St. N.].

OUR TOWN CLERK.

Thomas Valenger (1575-1611), the son of Thomas Valenger, a
gentleman of WatHngton, was educated at the Lynn Grammar school
by Alexander Roberts, A.JNI. When 18 years of age he was admitted
pensioner to the bachelors' table at Gonville and Caius College,
Cambridge. He accepted the office of town clerk the 20th of iNIay
1597, and continued to discharge the duties thereto belonging until
the 29th of August 1606. In 1605 he built an alms-house in Finkel
Row ■* (now Vaiinger's Rocul) for four poor men, and by his will
(7th May i6.[o) and its codicil (4th October 161 1) he provided a
small endowment. Five acres of pasture land were accordingly pur-
chased in VViggenhall St. Germans for ^55/5, plus ;£6 for
conveyancing (1641). From the rent roll (1642-1770) we learn that
the lowest sum received was ;i^2/4 in 1691, and the highest ;^5/ii
in 1699. In 1898 the income was ;^4/ii.

The original edifice was rebuilt in 1806, from plans prepared
by Samuel Newham, for which the wardens paid los. 6d. The
present building was erected on the site of the old hospital by
voluntary subscriptions (1826).

The South Lynn benefactor was buried beside his wife in the
aisle of All Saints' cliurch (13th October i6ii).t His will was
proved the 19th of May 1612.

* Finkel frnin tlie Scandinavian fink, angle or corner. The roto at the village "green " was near
the bend in Coldhirn Street — where Friar Street now joins All Saints' Street. There is a Fiuketgnte in
Norwich and a Finkel Street in Hull.

t He was probably a descendant of Henry VallenOTr (circa 1581), the printer, who was condemned by
the Star Chamber to lose his cars and pay a fine ui £iuq, [One Geiieration of a Xorfolk House (1878) by
Dr. A. Jesaopp, pp. (ji ami luj.]

330 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

THE SLEEP OF DEATH.

With a polluted water supply and no system of drainage it is
surprising that the to.wn only suffered intermittently. Plague was
again prevalent in 1604. " The first supposed to die heare buried
of the visitac'on (was) Barbara the wife of George Cow'p (Cowper)
the 3(rd) dale of June 1604 " (C.W.A., A.SS.). Seven other burials
arising from this disease are given in July. In 1610 we note " two
cases from visitac'on."

*****

James I. died at Theobalds, near Cheshunt, the 27th of March
1625, either from tertian ague or gout in the stomach; he was
interred in Westminster Abbey.

A learned divine once preached before the King, announcing his
text thus — " James the First and Sixth : ' For he that wavereth is
like a w^ave of the sea driven with tne wind and tossed ' " (James i.
6). The fearless discourse, however, failed to reform the vacillating
monarch to whom it was pointedly addressed. Whilst the bishop of
Lincoln (John Williams) delivered a remarkable funeral oration from
what was considered an appropriate text : " And the rest of the acts
of Solomon, and all that he did, and his wisdom, are they not written
in the book of the acts of Solomon.? " (i Kings xi. 41).

CHAPTER XXVI .
Neafing the Crossways.

Charles I. succeeded his father when 25 years of age. He married
a Catholic princess, Henrietta Maria, the daughter of Henry IV.
of France and Marie de Medicis (23rd June 1625). Of the Queen's
dower ;£^g2 13s. 8|d. was derived from Norfolk: —

The manor of

East Dereham ...

Terrington

West Walton, Walsoken, Emneth and Tilney

Wymondham

The farm of

the manor of Stockton Soken ... ... ... 52 o 6

the hundred of Mitford, granted for life to Sir
John Hobart (nth James I.) at ^9 4s. id-,
but worth ... ... ... ... ... 85 2 o

*****

In the great fight for political and religious liberty the eastern
counties stand foremost, although the actual scenes of the decisive
engagements, during the civil war, were beyond the confines of East
Anglia. Our stalwart yeomen, with the redoubtable Cromwell as

£ s.

55 10

45 9

79 10

NEARING THE CROSSWAYS. 33i

the guiding spirit, constituted a potent factor in the cause of Puri-
tanism and representative government. An important, though
somewhat inconspicuous part, was played by our own ancestors in
the great movement wliich terminated in the temporary subversion of
our monarchy and the martyrdom of a despotic king.

The incidents which brought about this deplorable tragedy are
well known — the issue of warrants for forced loans, arbitrary exactions
and illegal taxes, the summary imprisonment of those refusing to pay,
the levying of troops and the employment of the press for land and
sea service, the billeting of soldiers and mariners on private individuals,
open hostilities between the King and his people, a series of obstinate
battles, the surrender of Charles to the Scots, the trial at Westminster,
and the scaffold at Whitehall.

RAVAGES OF " WATER RATS."

The issues of the conflict between the King and the Parliament
were complicated not only by the objectionable impost of ship-money,
but by the sharp contrast between the simple Puritanism prevailing
in this part of England and the ecclesiastical tendencies of the times.
The inhabitants of Norfolk might naturally join in the Puritan protest,
yet they could not reasonably object to the levying of ship-money,
because it was unquestionably necesisary to protect their fishing
industry and the coast trade generally.

" Ships are but boards, sailors but men ; there be land rats and
water rats, water thieves and land thieves," and to their cost the
sea-faring folk discovered the truth of Shylock's assertion. The
piratical " water rats ' ' of Dunkirk and Ostend had long been scouring
the eastern coast; the Iceland fishery was crippled and our shipping
menaced. For example, "the ships of Lynn" were chased and
boarded by the Dunkirk fleet near the mouth of the Tyne (2nd
November 1625). Two of the masters, John Raven and John Albert,
advisedly complained to the Mayor of Newcastle, who reported the case
to Secretary Conway, but redress was out of the question. The vessels
belonging to Lee were also chased, but, luckily gaining Scarborough,
escaped. In 1628 these pirates effected a landing at Tunstead, and
the North Sea fishery was compelled to sail under the protection of
an armed convoy. Great difficulty, too, was experienced at Yarmouth
and Lynn, because the laden boats were intercepted so that the fish
could not be carried to I,ondon. The Unity of Friends, another
Lynn vessel, was captured by the Great Bear, of Amsterdam ; the
master, Giles Tatsell, having lost all, except a wife and six children,
petitioned the Lords to assist him in his sad dilemma (19th November
1636). It was generally admitted that ships of war were greatly
needed, yet those who contributed " ship-money " were fearful lest
the money raised for a specific purpose should be squandered on less
meritorious objects.

So terrible was the havoc caused by these pitiless free-booters,
that "the poor mariners and sea-faring men " between London and
Berwick, having already placed a recital of their grievances in the
hands of the King, approached the Privy Council, praying for relief.

332 HISTORY OF KING'S LYnM.

The Lynn fishermen and their families were in a state of wretched
destitution; i,ooo men, upon whom 3,000 depended, were out of
employment. If they ventured into "the Deeps," the Dunkirkers
surrounded them, and either burnt or scuttled their vessels. More-
over, for thirteen months the ships of some of the petitioners had
been engaged in the King's service, for which the owners had as
yet received nothing (1626).

At this crisis, as if to aggravate their misery, " the Mayor and
Aldermen of Lynn, Wells and Burnham " were called upon to provide
two warships, which were to be at Portsmouth by the 20th of iNIay
1627. The inhabitants of Wells protested against what they regarded
as an unwarranted imposition. Hitherto they had been charged as
a part and parcel of the hundred of North Greenhoe, and not as a
member of the port of Lynn. When two ships were required for
the expedition to Cadiz (1597), Wells contributed ^5 towards the
sum of ^22, at which their hundred was assessed. The Privy
Council received a petition also from Lynn (April 1627), pointing
out how the borough had already lost 25 vessels, worth ^9,000,
through the depredations of the Dunkirkers; how ^1,200 was spent
in fortifying the town against the King's enemies, how they im-
poverished themselves by advancing His Majesty ;^42 5, and how they
were paying ^'350 yearly towards the support of the poor and infirm.
In consideration, Thomas GrinneJl, the mayor, and others prayed
that the community be excused sending ships to Portsmouth. The
Corporation was anxious to wriggle out of the difticulty and tried to
saddle the county with the expense, but the Lords-lieutenant advised
the Admiralty that, having an annual income of ;£^t,ooo derivable
from land, the borough might very well perform this service without
extraneous assistance ; and to extort a contribution from the county
at this juncture would prove, as they believed, a great impediment
to the question of future supply.

(l) LICENSED RAT-CATCHERS.

Trinity House certificates were freely issued in response to
formal applications from shipowners, addressed to George Villiers,
Duke of Buckingham, the Lord High Admiral. This was the
preliminary step, before obtaining a warrant from the Privy Council,
for " laying aboard " the applicant's vessel certain pieces of ordnance
to protect the crew and freight against merciless sea-rovers. The
owners of the undermentioned ships sought the protection derived
from the employment of "great guns " :—

" Of Lynn."

The Edward and Thomas
„ Desire
„ Truelove ...
,, Globe
„ Answer
„ Love's Increase ...

Tonnage.

Certificate dated.

140

1626,

March

24.

160

)»

27-

100

Julv

100

»>

22.

120

26.

1627,

May

16.

The Globe was built at Great Yarmouth, and the Love's Increase at Whitby.

NEARING THE CROSSWAYS.

333

Letters of marque, or special commissions to capture pirates,
were subsequently granted to these ships: —

" Of Lynn."

Tonnage.

Owner.

Captain.

Date.

Violet ...

Mary

ilaaJmai 1
Desire ...

1 20

30
150

Theo. Wright, &c.
Thos. Soame, &c.
Abraham Clai-ke.

Edwd. Ack\vorth,&c.

John Barker.
Abraham Clarke.
Edwd. Ackworth.

1627, March 7.

„ May I.

162B, March 11.

„ II.
1629, April iG.

(2) ENGAGEMENT OF A " WHELP."

The carrying of gunsi with special licence to take pirates did little
good, because within three years and a half our shipping trade was
sacrificed. To preserve what remained, the merchants, mariners and
owners of Lynn, Boston, Wells, Burnham and " other creeks within
that bay," besought the Lords of the Admiralty for the loan of one
of the ten Lion's Whelps for twelve months, the petitioners being
quite willing to man and victual the gunboat in question at their own
expense (20th January 1630).

The services of His Majesty's .ship the Fourth Whelp, com-
manded by Captain Thomas March, were therefore granted " to
convoy and guard " the vessels of Lynn and the other places, towards
which our port was expected to pay two-thirds (nth March 1630).*
Money was alarmingly scarce, and, as an instahiient had to be paid
in advance, the sailing of the expedition was delayed. The boatsman,
Abraham Sampson, and the gunner, William Caine, were offensively
importunate; they actually appUed to the Admiralty, who decided
that ^15 J 6s. 9d. was indeed due to them. Captain March was still
in the harbour on the 28th of April, because he then suggested that
letters should be addressed by the Admiralty to the Mayors of Lynn
and Boston, and also to Sir Hamon Le Strange, asking them to call
the defaulters to account.

Prior to this the captain asked for permission to exchange four
guns on board the Fourth Whelp for four already lent to the town
(30th March 1630). The Officers of the Ordnance raised no objection
if the Lords of the Admiralty granted a warrant to that effect; they
thought those offered, which weighed less by 8 cwts., would be more
effective for town defence, being not so cumbersome (ist May 1630).
The exchange was probably made about the 12th of August, when
the Whelp returned after a trip to Llamborough. Early the next
year, Thomas Soame, the mayor, received a deputation from the
shipmasters and seamen, who wished him to convey to the Admiralty
their hearty thanks for the valuable assistance rendered by H.M.S.
Fourth Whelp. The shipping, especially at Lynn and Newcastle,
had considerably improved (26th February' 1631).

Having faithfully discharged his part of the contract, and brought
his vessel safely to Chatham, Captain March was anxious to receive
his money. He therefore suggested the propriety of sending letters

The gunboat was apparently employed before this, for Lynn " paid £ii,o for two months' victuals
for the Fourth Whelp, September 3bth 1629." [Calendar oj State Papers : Domestic, 1629— 31, p. 68.]

334 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

to the Mayors of Lynn and Boston, entreating them to interview those
merchants and owners who were behind in their payments, and to
report to the Admiralty why they did not conform with the terms of
the agreement (19th March 1631). A month passed, and the settle-
ment of arrears was beginning to assume a serious aspect. In the
mean time, the captain intimated, through "My lords," his willing-
ness! to attend upon the Mayors and others " for their more full
satisfaction." , ,

(3) CERTAIN DEATH.

Exaggerated rumours of a foreign foe making a descent upon
the eastern sea-board caused the members of the Congregation to
shake in their municipal robes. They forthwith determined to repair
the neglected fortifications, and to make the town as impregnable as
possible. An application was made for a dozen culverins and demi-
culverins from the King's store. But George Carew, Earl of Totness,
the master-general of the Ordnance Department, vigorously opposed
the request, first insinuating that iron guns of such a description were
not in stock, and then pointing out how his Majesty's ships were only
provided with demiculverins and sakers. He, however, hinted that
the King's founder had suitable pieces in reserve, and could supply
the petitioners' wants at an outlay of ;;^i,i09, which ought to be
forthcoming before the despatch of the guns. (24th April 1626.)!

A thousand pounds ! The. Mayor looked blue ;

So did the Corporation too.

For Council dinners made rare havoc

With Claret, Moselle, Vin de Grave, Hock ;

And half the money would replenish

Their cellar's biggest butt with Rhenish.

The rats were swarming the coast, and not having heard of the
magical skill of the Pied Piper, the burgesses constructed a citadel,
afterwards dedicated to St. Anne, to guard the entrance of the haven.
A citadel and no guns ? What a mockery ! The bargain was
suddenly struck. Ten pieces of ordnance, culverins and sakers, were
voted, much to the ill-concealed disgust of the noble Earl, who felt
in duty bound to point out what a multiplicity of demands the Lords
of the Admiralty might now expect from all the other coast towns,
and the inconceivable danger which might arise if the ordnance
specially provided for the ships were missing when urgently needed.
But the town of Lynn, though " calling the tune," paid the Admiralty
as much as the Corporation of Hamelin paid the marvellous piper.

In 1630 Captain INLarch prevailed upon the Admiralty to sanction
an exchange of guns. Four demiculverins from his ship were replaced
by four of the town's powerful culverins. For many years the pirates
of Ostend and Dunkirk continued their depredations.

DRAINAGE OF THE GREAT LEVEL.

The exact year when the Great Ouse first began to discharge
its waters into the haven at Lynn cannot be given; it was, however.

The culverin (Latin, colubrinus, a serpent) was a long slender piece of artillery which carried balls a
great distance ; the saker (French sacret), and the fakon (French faucon) or falcone were lighter pieces
each deriving their names from hawks.

N EARING THE CROSSWAYS. 335

prior to 1294. In the reign of Edward III., the Marshlanders com-
piled a doleful petition, complaining of heavy losses sustained through
floods and inundations; the "river going to Lynn," which used to
flow between banks 12 perches apart, but which was then, in 1362,
a mile in breadth, is incidentally mentioned. After the dissolution
of the monasteries, the water-ways, maintained chiefly at the expense
of the religious houses, fell into serious decay. Hence the Commis-
sioners decided that some provision should be made for straightening
the Lynn haven (1566), which, being much broader, caused the tide
to rise a foot higher at Salter's Lode than it did 20 years before
(Dugdale); the}', moreover, ordered all the drains and sewers to be
scoured three times a year (1574). This the people neglected to do,
and as there were no means of compelling them, a bad condition
soon gave place to a worse. To prevent floods in their immediate
vicinity, the people of Lynn petitioned to have the waters of their
haven confined by sea-walls (16 18). Here, it seems, the matter
rested, until 1630. when a gigantic scheme for draining the whole
level was devised. A contract was signed by Sir Cornelius
Vermuyden, who- was to carry out the undertaking at his own expense,
and receive as recompense 95,000 acres of land. Owing, however,
to the unpardonable jealousy of the fen-dwellers (for Vermu)den was,
alas, a foreigner), the work was obstructed and the contract aban-
doned. The following year an agreement was entered into with
Francis Russell, Earl of Bedford, an Englishman. He was to have
95,000 acres, but of this allotment 40,000 acres were to be devoted
to maintaining the bank*?, etc., whilst 12,000 acres were to be given
to the Crown, thus finally leaving the Earl only 43,000 acres. To
this proposal all were apparently willing to submit, but to protect
their own interests the following resolution, subsequently termed " the
Lynn Law," was sanctioned at a Session of Sewers held at Lynn the
13th of Januar}' 1631 : — •

(l) "the LYNN LAW," OR ACT OF SEWERS.

A true coppie of the provisions made in the great law of Sewers touching
the preservation of Lynn haven and the Port there & of the Navigation in all
the Navigable Rivers within ye great Levell intended to be drained by that
law. Provided allways, & it is further ordered, enacted, adiudged & decreed,
that the Port & haven of King's Lynn shalbe preserved, and the Navigation,
passages and highways in upon and about all & every the Navigable Rivers
within the tract of this Commission ^^ namely: Grant, the River of Owse,
Neane, Wei land and Gleane shall be likewise preserved, and no preiudice,
annoyance, hurte or hindrance be done to them, or any of them, by any of the
means aforesaide. And if it shall happen that any such preiudice, annoyance,
hurte or hinderance shalbo comitted or done, in upon or about any the said
Navigable Rivers, contrary to the true intent and meaning of this law, Then
upon complaint thereof it shall & may be lawfull from tyme to tyme for eight of
the said Commissioners — whereof the Vice-chancellor (of) the Universitie of
Cambridge for the time being, and the maiors of King's Lynn aforesaide and
Cambridge for the time also being, shalbe three, if they will be present — to
reforme, abate, prosterne and amove all such preiudices, annoyances, hurts,
hindrances and every of them, so yt the ancient navigable passages & highways
may be restored and continued in upon and about the said navigable Rivers as
heretofore have been used and accustomed, anything in this law in any wise
notwithstanding.

336 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

This specimen of consistently unique spelling was "examined,"
and signed by Francis Parlett, recorder for Lynn (1630-43).

On the 14th of July, Thomas Cecil the Earl of Exeter intimated
his willingness for the suggestion from Lynn to receive royal assent
and "pass the Great Seal." Charles accordingly issued letters patent
giving his assent to an Act of Sewers made at King's Lynn for
draining the Great Level — a marshy expanse lying within the Commis-
sion of Sewers for the counties of Northamptonshire, Lincolnshire,
Norfolk, Suffolk, Huntingdonshire and the Isle of Ely — and more-
over commanded those concerned in the undertaking " to maintain
the Act and punish any who should presume to stop or hinder its
progress." (26th July 1631.)

(2) THE king's dissatisfaction.

The work was completed in about seven years. The leading
"adventurers," Francis Russell, Earl of Bedford, Henry Lord
Maltravers and Edward Lord Gorges then approached the King and
presented a decree of sewers asking the royal assent to the accep-
tance of the 12.000 acres (13th February 1637). At a Session of
Sewers held at St. Ives on the 12th of October, it was decided that
" the fenny, low and late surrounded grounds of the great level
were both well and sufficiently drained." The allotment
of 95,000 acres, less 40,000 acres, was accordingly made.

No mention is made of the 12,000 acres which were to be set apart for the
King. Indeed the whole adjudication (continues Mr. S. B. J. Skertchly) is a most
singular proceeding, for it is certain that the works executed did not fulfil their
object and that the omission of the adjudication of the Iving's acres was not
according to the Lynn Law, but it is rendered still more singular from the fact,
ihat His Majesty's surveyor-general assisted in the work and yet allowed
the royal rights to be infringed. [Geology of the Fens, 1877, p. 45.]

The Attorney-general and the Attorney of the Court of Wards
reported that the decree of sewers relating to the 12,000 acres might
be prejudicial to the king in point of tenure, so that the law was
dead and fruitless. The petitioners prayed the King to assent to the
decree and a grant of the lands in free and common socage, not
in capite or by knight's service. An endorsement reads thus : —

His Majesty much desiring the perfection of this work and finding that
notwithstanding the judgments above referred to, the same is so imperfectly
performed that the country and His Majesty remain much unsatisfied therein,
and knowing the great advantage that would redound if the said levels were
made fit for culture, what the petitioners have refused to undertake, commands
the Lord Treasurer, calling to his assistance the Attorney, Solicitor, and
Surveyor-General, to certify which is fit to be done for perfecting the level which
His Majesty desires and is resolved to accomplish. — Whitehall, 13th February
1637-8.

(3) THE FEN RIOTS.

The gross mismanagement of the operations, the regrettable com-
petition amongst the adventurers and the frequent abandonment of
works already commenced inflicted great losses upon the inhabitants
of this district, and aggravated their anxiety for the future. Serious
disturbances occurred in several villages because tfie people felt their

NEARING THE CROSSWAYS. 337

rights were being invaded and their livelihood endangered. The
Privy Council therefore instructed Sir John Hare and Sir Thomas
Dereham, justices of the peace for Norfolk, to punish those who
opposed the Act of Sewers made at Lynn. His Majesty's special
command was couched in these words : — " That you put in execution
the Statute of Northampton, and that you imprison some of the
offenders and bind over others amongst the more refractory and best
able to attend this Board, providing by the most effectual means you
can to quiet the country." (31st May 1637.)

At Wretton nine were accordingly bound in recognizances of
;!^2oo not to hinder the work. The next year Francis Parlett was
favoured with the report of a meeting of the Queen's tenants at
Walsoken and Walpole. They declined to treat with the commis-
sioners appointed by the Queen to inquire respecting improvements
in the drainage of the marshes in that neighbourhood, yet claimed
common rights according to the custom in the respective manors
(1638).

THE POOR AND NEEDY.

An exceptionally bad harvest increased trouble in 1630, for
wheat (50s. per qr.), rye (36s.) and barley (30s.) were sold at double
the prices charged two years previously. Throughout the whole
kingdom excellent measures were devised to alleviate the sufferings
of the poor. " Makings were restrained; the brewers were not per-
mitted to make, or the ale-house keepers to sell, strong beer. Stores
of corn were collected in the towns and sold to the poor at less than
market price ; relief was given freely ; public works were promoted ;
children whose parents were too poor to provide for them were
apprenticed, and men who came into the country to buy up corn were
driven away." (Mason.) From the justices' certificates forwarded
to Francis Mapes, the county sheriff, we learn what was done in
Lynn. Not only had the authorities supplied victuals, but provided
the indigent with employment, thus " not suffering to their knowledge
any poor to starve, or travel or beg in the streets." By means of
private contributions adequate relief was given, so that there was no
likelihood of complaint. Ten warders were regularly on duty during
the day, and the night-watch was regulated by the Statute of
Winchester. Drunkards, habitual loafers and disorderly ale-house
keepers were fined ; the sums forfeited being appropriated to the
relief of the poor. Rogues and vagabonds were systematically
whipped ;* malt-houses were suppressed ; and the streets and high-
ways were surveyed and repaired " with such care as was
convenient." These returns were signed by John Percival, the
mayor, and Francis Parlett, the recorder.

In the hundreds of Freebridge Lynn, Freebridge Marshland
and Clackclose, Sir John Hare. William Berners and our recorder
certified that 250 children had been apprenticed to husbandmen and

• Two young women whose unwelcome children became chargeable to the paiish, were whipped
according to the law and custom of the borough," 14th April 1634. (Mason.)

2 T

338

HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

artificers, and, moreover, that four maltsters only were now carrying
on business

Hexe are a few extracts from our records: —

Itm giuen a poore . . . wch had a licence to receaue benevolence, xij d.
Itm giuen a prechers widdowe, whose husband was slain in Ireland, x s.
Itm giuen a poore man whose child had the Kinges Evell, ij s.
itm giuen John Devorax, an Irishman who had Lres (letters) from the
Councell, whose losse was /"goo, ij s. vj d. [C.W.A., St. N.]

In St. Margaret's " account," five, convicted of drunkenness,
contributed 26s. 4d. j whilst fourteen highly respectable parishioners
subscribed ;;^i4 is. lod. with which twelve lads were apprenticed —
the highest premium being ;£^, and the lowest los. To William
White " a poore lad in Bridwell " was given sixteen pence. At a
meeting of the parishioners after appointing overseers for each ward,
the Mayor and justices elected Humfrey Ashe and Amos Goddard
" overseers for ye poor of the p'ishe of Suth Lynne within the
Burgh " (1632-3).

In consequence of an outbreak of plague, the mart was dis-
continued (1625). The wholesale traders of London, who frequented
Lynn, petitioned the Privy Council praying that as the epidemic had
abated in London and ceased in Lynn, their goods sent for the
February fair might now be sold (January 1626). A recurrence of
"the pestilent sickness" happened in 1636. The first to succumb
was John Smith, the servant of William Read, who was buried the
27th of August 1636. Edmund Caston, junior, minister and
preacher, was interred the 5th October. The annexed statistics are
culled from St. Margaret's parish register; those dying of this
dreadful disease are distinguished in the record by "p."

1636-7.

Plague.

Plague
" pest house."

Deaths
not marked " p."

August

September

October

November

December

January

February

March

April

153

During the outbreak the Corporation engaged the services of
Samuel Barron, to whom they paid £30. With this slight
remuneration " the doctor of physic " was dissatisfied. What he
considered commensurate with his attendances during the plague is
not stated. The Council were, however, willing to pay him ^70
more before next Lady Day (31st January 1639). How the dispute
was settled is not clear, but the physician, the recorder and others,
went to London to consult the Privy Council.

N EARING THE CROS SWAYS. 339

There was another visitation in 1645-6 ; twenty-two cases appear
in the burial list of this parish, of which fifteen happened in May.
The bells were rung the 14th of October — a thanksgiving day,
because the plague had ceased in the kingdom.

THE king's navy.

The system of waylaying and forcing men to enter the King's
service was a source of great vexation ; many quitted their homes, and
those who obeyed did so with undisguised reluctance. The numerical
value of volunteers and " pressed " (or etymological ly " ready ")
men is proverbial. Of the truth of this. Viscount Wimbledon, to his
utter dismay, was conscious, when he set out with eighty vessels
against Spain (1625). With his crew were seventy kidnapped from
Lynn and thirty from Wells, all sullen, taciturn fellows, far more
willing to return than to face the foe. The expedition proved a
gloomy failure; the sailors permitted the enemy's vessels to escape
from Cadiz, whilst the soldiers, sent ashore to begin the land attack,
coolly invested the wine-cellars, from whence they emerged incapably
drunk.

When an armament was necessary to defend the Norfolk coast
against pirates, the unpleasant task of impressing was entrusted to
Thomas Miller (otherwise Milner), a justice of the peace for our
borough. The system, as will be seen, was open to grave abuses.
Certain men whom Miller impressed he afterwards freed from their
obligations, and induced others totally unfitted to take their places.
He was cited to appear before the Lords of the Admiralty to answer
serious charges preferred against him (9th May 1635). John
Howson, Christopher Addington and Jeffrey Dobbin (or Dobbs), sea-
men belonging to the James, whom Miller apparently " cleared,"
were strictly examined (nth May), as were also John Davis {alias
Dawes), Thomas Hambleton, Thomas Woodes and Richard Seeker,
persons physically unfit for service, who were, nevertheless,
impressed.

Sir Henry Palmer, who went on board to muster the company,
observed a lad named Howson. Upon inquiry. Sir Henry learnt he
was a glover, a home-faring youth who had never been to sea, and
that he had been persuaded to take the place of an able seaman on
board the King's ship for five shillings. Similar admissions were
made by Christopher Addington and Jeffrey Dobbin (17th May).
After being in the custody of one of the King's messengers for ten
days, Miller forwarded a petition praying that his defence might be
heard at once, or that his examination might be referred to the Com-
missioners (28th May). Two days afterwards the Officers of the
Navy reported the result of their inquiry to the Admiralty. The
accused denied impressing ineflicient men, and bitterly complained
because the charges against him were injurious ; he could not, how-
ever, deny that he released some who were masters of ships, *' and
purposely prested as a punishment for conveying their men out of the
way." The report concludes: "He cannot free him from, just
blame, but he protested that his future diligence to advance His

340

HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

Majesty's Service should be his aim to redeem any error by him
committed."

Thomas Miller was mayor in 1628; he died during his second
term of office in 1638. The following entry relates to this person : —
<< 1620. — Paid to Tho. Miller to answer a citacon for the church-
wardens (of St. Nicholas) at Norwich . . . xij d. paid more to
him for chardge of dismississinge the Court . . iiij s. iiij d."
[C. W. A.]

SHIP-MONEY.

The commencement of the nation's trouble arose through the
levying of a tax, termed ship-money, which in several parts of the
kingdom was considered unjust. Writs were directed to the sheriffs
of- every county, directing them to provide a thoroughly-equipped
and well-victualled war-ship, which was to be at a specified place by
a certain date. Each sheriff was also informed stib rosa, how
" instead of a ship he might levy upon his county such a sum, and
return the same to the treasurer of the navy for his use." Besides,
he was instructed how to proceed against those who refused to pay.
Thus for several years a sum of ^200,000 poured into the King's
ever unreplenished coffer, A crisis was imminent ; Charles and his
subjects were slowly approaching the crossways.

The assessment of the five corporate boroughs in Norfolk was
first settled at a joint meeting of their respective magistrates ; after-
wards, the remainder of the money required was apportioned to the
various hundreds. For comparison, the ship-money returns covering
three years are given : —

Corporate Boroughs, &c.

1635-6

1637-8

1638-9

Norwich

Great Yarmouth

King's Lynn

Thetford

Rising

i:"740
220
300

220
200

30
10

£150
80

72
12

The County Hundreds

6,700

6,940

2,382

Norfolk (Total)

£8,coo

£7.800

;f 2,700

1635-6. — The citizens of Norwich strongly objected to an assess-
ment of ;^740, and petitioned the Privy Council (19th September),
pointing out how in general musters they were invariably assessed
at something under one-fifteenth and not at so excessive a rate as
one-tenth. They were quite willing to contribute, at the usual rate,
the sum of ;£496, leaving the county to raise ;^6,944. There was
much cavilling, too, among the people at Lynn about their ;^3oo
assessment. The subject was debated at a general meeting of the
county magistrates. Those belonging to Norwich and Thetford
were in favour of a reduction of ;!^5o, whilst those of Yarmouth and
Rising generously advocated an easement of ;^ioo, but in the end
they assented with the others to ^£^0 only. The sheriff of the
county, William Paston, of Appleton, cruelly insisted that Lynn

NEARING THE CROSSWAYS. 341

could well afford the whole, notwithstanding the admitted poverty
of the place, brought about by the terrible ravages of the plague,
and the serious decline in trade through the loss of many ships. In
reply to his unfavourable comments, the Privy Council urged him to
get in the full amount as pre-arranged, although the borough was
then jQ2)'^2 in arrears (nth July 1635).

1637-8. — A demand was made upon the county for jQ'],Soo.
Sir Francis Ashley presided at the magistrates' assembly held in the
Gild Hall, Norwich, when the proportionate payments already stated
were fixed. Clergymen were now compelled to pay upon their
ecclesiastical as well as their temporal estates. Prior to this assess-
ment the burgesses of Lynn " having paid ;^25o and been always
ready to perform anything commanded for the King's service, prayed
for the mitigation of ^250 de fuhno.'^ At a later date, the chapel-
reeves recouped the tenants from whom the collectors had taken the
tax. For example : —

1642-3 : paid George Bonne of Gay wood att twoo sev'all tymes for the
400,000 li. subsidy for the Lands in Gaywood. ... ... ... 00 : og : 3

paid Mr. John Barrett one of the Collectors for Association mony and for
5: p't of the 400,000 li. as by his receipt appeare for the Chappell lands and
howses in Lynne ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 00:14:10^

paid ffrancis Dawson to Thomas Revett, Collect'r, for the iMoyetie p't
of the 400,000 li. for Paradize gardyn ij s. And to an other, for the same before,
other ij s. 00 : 04 : o

paid John Bellerby Sub Collector for the second moyetie of the 400,000 li.
and p't of the first moyetie the rest 00 : 07 : 10

paid to Widowe Singleton wch she paid to wards the said Subsidy for the
Tenem't she lyveth in 00:02:02

1643-4 • Psi"^ t*' George Browne the 24th of June 1643 for the 5 p't of the
assessm't of 400,000 li. assessed vpon the Lands in Gaywood ... 00 : 02 : 3.^

paid Cuthbert Champney 26 of June for the howses in Jewes Lane
Ward] ... 00 : 02 : 3

[Many similar entries.]

1644-5 : paid the 2ith of January 1644 to Lionell Goldsmorth and Stephen
Sandey for the first vj monethes for and towards the maynteyninge of the
lirittaneshe Armye in Ireland begun the j of September 1644 for the Lands
in Gaywood 00:01: 11

[Many Irish refugees relieved.]

1642-50 : P'd to Thomas Symmes for 12 monethes assessm't (for his ground)
to Thomas Lord ffaircfaxe ... ... ... ... ... ... 00 : 04 : 08

{C.W.A., St. N.]

1638-9. — The difficulty of raising enormous sums was now felt
worse than ever. John Buxton, the sheriff of Norfolk, admitted
when writing to Edward Nicholas, the clerk of the Privy Council,
that upon his credit, as an honest man, the work was so extremely
trying that he must have sunk under the burden if he had not been
graciously supported. Because of the severity he had been forced
to use, he was regarded as the most odious and despicable man in
the county. At the same time he paid the treasurer ;!{^2oo squeezed
from the people of Lynn, who could, from bitter experience, give
indisputable evidence of his callous persistence.

The impossibility of filching further large sums from the
inhabitants of Norfolk was at last recognised, yet was another ship-
of-war of 450 tons burden demanded, which was to cost ^5,500.

342 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

The amount was to be raised by two counties instead of one ; Suffolk
;^2,8oo, and Norfolk ;^2,7oo. The vessel was to be ready and at
Portsmouth by the 15th of March 1638-9. The proportional pay-
ments were determined at a meeting convened by Augustine Holl,
the sheriff of the county, and John Toly, the mayor of Norwich.
To comply with these exorbitant enactments the authorities resorted
to measures, which may at first sight seem rather discreditable.
Unwilling for any lish to escape the net, they tried to abstract
mulctuary payment from Sir William Heyrick, of Beaumanor, in
Leicestershire. In May 1635 ^^ '^^^ ^^^ ^^'^^^ visited Lynn, lodging
first at John Wharton's and afterwards with Captain Hovell. The
weather being tempestuous in September, and travelling across the
fens quite impracticable, at great inconvenience they were compelled
to prolong their stay. Sir William Heyrick owned no land
in Norfolk, and had always been assessed by William Shuttle-
wood for the hundred of West Goscote towards providing
ships for Leicestershire. But now the Lynn collector demanded pay-
ment, which was stubbornly refused. On the 13th of October Sir
William was ordered by warrant to meet the Privy Council. Being
seventy-five years of age, and physically unfit to undertake at that
season a journey of eighty miles, he wrote a respectful letter " to the
sacred board," which his son, who was willing upon oath to justify
his father's assertions, presented. And here the current fails and we
are left in the dark, only expressing a hope that the brave old gentle-
man, who resisted the unscrupulous claim from Lynn, escaped scot-
free.

A MYSTERIOUS DOCUMENT.

was picked up by Robert Symmes in one of our streets near the house
in which Sir Thomas Coventry lodged. It was dated from Gray's
Inn, London, and was addressed by " Your country's friend, A.B."
to "all English freeholders," and tended to withdraw people's
hearts from agreeing to any payment of the loan demanded by the
King. Not only did it insist u\ion the great danger of recklessly
establishing a precedent, but revealed the names of many noble-
men, who, as was asserted, refused to pay. This dangerous missive
was carried to Thomas Grinnell. the mayor; he at once despatched
the finder with it to Lord Keeper Coventry (23rd February 1627).
On the 25th, Secretary Conway, writing from Newmarket, instructed
the Mayor to strive to discover the author. The loan required from
Lynn had already been paid in, and the defaulters reported.

PARLIAMENTARY NOTES.

On the 13th of March 1639, the Mayor, Aldermen and Common
Council elected two senior aldermen — Thomas Gurlin and William
Doughty — to represent the town in what was afterwards termed " the
Short Parliament." It was, moreover, decided that for their services
each should receive 5s. a day, as much as was paid to the representa-
tives of Cambridge. The next 3'ear a courteous letter was addressed
to the Council by Charles Villiers, Earl of Arundel, the Lord General,
humbly requesting that one of the members for the next Parliament

N EARING THE CROSSWAYS. 343

should be a person whom he might nominate. It was, however,
unanimously agreed to accept none other than those " resident and
inhabiting within the Corporation " (12th October 1640).

Wages at the usual rate of " fyve shillinges a piece for every
daye " was eliminated from our expenditure when Sir John Hare was
returned (1627), though it recurs in 1639. The payment was formally
voted, but the severe drain upon the town's resources precluded any
likelihood of fulfilment. On the 2nd of January 1643 the Assembly
considered an order from the House of Commons (dated the 15th
October 1642), asking them to " pay and allowe out of the Towne
Stock as formerly, unto John Percevall (otherwise Percival) and
Thomas Toll their Burgesses For this present (that is ' the Long ')
Parliament as lardge an allowance fer diem as they have heretofore
Rllowed any of their Aldermen that hath bene Burgesses in
Parliament for that towne, Notwithstandinge the Freemen of that
towne had their voyces in the choice of John Percevall and Tho.
Toll. If the Mayor of Lynne can shew any cause to the countrary
we shalbe ready to heare him." Whereupon the municipal body
requested Edmund Hudson the mayor, Miles Corbet the recorder,
William Doughty the ex-member, William Leake and John May to
concoct a suitable reply. On this occasion, be it noted, the burgesses
at large shared in the Parliamentary election — a procedure " resented
by the superior people of the town as an offensive novelty and a
dangerous intrusion on the ancient privileges of the House. ^^
(Jeaffreson.)

Li their answer (3rd January) the Council tried to evade these
pecuniary obligations by making excuses. The Parliament was not
yet ended, and, as men of business, they were not in the habit of
paying for work before it was done. Besides, to be honest, was
there any prospect of their ever paying? The extraordinary expense
incurred through providing for the safety of the town and the king-
dom had long since crippled their resources. Moreover, whenever
their members were remunerated the money was not taken from the
town's stock ; nor was it, they might have added, furnished by them-
selves, the Mayor, Aldermen and Common Council, who arrogated to
themselves the sole right of election, but by the freemen and
inhabitants with whom they were terribly offended.

The Assembly besought the Commons to issue a writ when John
Percival died (1644), so that his place might be filled, but the House
refused to accede (8th December 1645). A letter was next sent to
Miles Corbet, who was in London, asking him to use his influence,
because the town, as was generally believed, was suffering for want
of another member (15th February 1646). Ultimately a writ was
obtained, and Edmund Hudson duly elected. As he was chosen by
the freeholders of the borough, there is no record of his election in
the Hall Books. The Commons were displeased, and promptly
decided that the new member was disqualified from serving through
delinquencies against the Parliament, in "having assisted at the
rising of L}nn." Edmund Hudson was therefore dismissed (5th

344 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

July 1647), and a fresh writ for another election issued. It was,
nevertheless, suspended, so that the recalcitrant borough might be
mortified by contemplating a vacant chair. Alderman Thomas Toll
retained his seat until the dramatic dissolution of the " Long
Parliament" (20th April 1653); he was, however, joined by William
Cecil, Earl of Salisbury, who was elected (8th September 1649) to
till the vacancy caused by the decease of John Percival.

ECCLESIALIA.

As a new bell was necessary at St. Nicholas' chapel, Thomas
Draper was asked to meet Messrs. Groome, Thomas Revett, Michael
Revett and the churchwardens, who represented the parishioners.
After careful deliberation and an expenditure of one shilling and
ten pence in lefreshment, a bargain was struck. For ^6 the founder
agreed to recast the bell and pay the carriage to and from Thetford.
If the new bell, however, weighed less than the metal which was
supplied, the founder was to allow eightpence per ft), as rebate (1626).
Accordingly the old (it may be cracked) bell was removed from the
belfry (5s.) and drawn to the crane upon the Common Staith (8d.),
whilst porters brought the scales and weights (is.). The bell,
weighing 13 cwts. 3 stone 4ibs., was next lowered into the boat (is.)
and was carried up the river via Brandon Ferry to the Thetford
foundry, where it was broken and carefully recast. Afterward
being brought back, it was reweighed (is. 4d.) and found to scale
2 Bbs. less than 13 cwts. Bernes the smith having made the necessary
ironwork (2s. 66.), the bell was hauled up the tower (8d.) and placed
in position (5s.).

The sonorous booming of the new bell yielded satisfaction, and
Thomas Draper was asked to come and receive his pay. He was
entertained at a supper (9s. lod.) by the Rev. Richard Emmett " the
preacher," Thomas Revett, Michael Revett, Mr. Wharton and
" myself " — the writer to whom we are indebted. The whole
transaction was an amicable one — John Draper receiving ^^4 6s. 8d.,
that is ^6, less ^i 12s. 4d., the deduction for 48^ hs. of metal, at
8d. per ft).

The Bishop of Norwich, Samuel Harsnet, visited Lynn soon
after his installation (1620), and again when the font, at last granted
(j£^ IIS.) to the chapel of St. Nicholas, was consecrated (1627).
This font, the one at present in use, was carved by Edward
Coverstoune of Tyllney (;£i3 iis.). The chapel-reeves, who went
to see how the work was progressing (los.) were so delighted with
the design — " a singular struggle between the Gothic and Renaissance
periods " (Beloe), that in the end they paid the sculptor ten shillings
more than his agreement, "as he did deserve." For the stone upon
which the font rested 5s. was paid, for a chalder of lime and the
carriage of the font 6s. 8d., for mason's work 20s. lod., and to
Beany, who lined the cavity with lead, 26s. 8d. An ornate cover
was carved by Gooderman Shawe (33s. 4d.), its two " ryngles " cost
is. 3d., whilst a table upon which the cover might be placed was also
provided (9s.). The whole undertaking therefore amounted to

NEARING THE CROSSWAYS. 345

jQz^ 4S. gd. The present cover, designed by Mr. Olrid Scott as a
replica of the one just mentioned, was presented by Mr. E. M. Beloe
(1902).

The ministers of the town, namely, John Home, Edmund
Almond, Thomas Hoogan, Nicholas Toll and Thomas Leech, who
were then dependent upon the Corporation for their stipends, placed
a petition before the Town Council, the gist of which is not apparent.
As the nature of their communication was couched in " dark sentences
and words not well understood," they were asked to meet the Council
and explain their meaning (9th December 1646).

AN ENGLISH NUNNERY AT LISBON.

The appearance of a quarto pamphlet, " published by
authoritie," created a sensation — the Puritans in Lynn being con-
siderably shocked, because it was dedicated to the mayor, Thomas
Gurlin, and his aldermanic brethren, and was, moreover, as we
suspect, written by a native of the town. Entitled — The Anatomoie
of the English Nunnery at Lisbon . . . dissected and laid open
by one that %vas sometime a yo7iger Brother of the Convent, etc., it
was printed in London by G. Purslowe for R. Mylbourne and P.
Stephens (1622). A second edition — " To be sould by R. Milbourne
and P. Stephens," — was published the next year.

The author, Thomas Robinson, was a mariner, who, having
" often occasion to travel beyond the sea," became acquainted, when
at Lisbon, with Joseph Foster, an English friar. Father Seth, by
which name the friar was better known, employed Robinson for some
time as secretary, and having deprived him of ordinary apparel, tried
to induce him to become a mass-priest. Despising the subtle
entreaties of the friar, the hardy son of Neptune contrived to escape
and to publish certain revelations, which, if true, reflected discredit-
ably upon the character of the inmates. Among the many " reliques "
the nuns possessed, reference must be made to a piece of the old
Tyburn gallows, " which the Jesuites stole away out of England,
because," as Robinson declares, " it had been honoured by so many
of their brethren, which is had in little lesse esteme then the holy
crosse, for (they say) as the ALister died on that, so his disciples died
vpon this; and these are all set in siluer and richly adorned."
Besides the father confessor, two priests and a " familiar," or lay
brother, there were thirty-two sisters — of whom 27 were English, 3
Portuguese and 2 Dutch.

That the Robinsons of Lynn belonged to the sea-faring, mercantile
class there can be no doubt. The surname is common enough. For
instance, Thomas Robinson, a merchant, the eldest son of Thomas
Robinson, deceased, obtained his freedom (1647) ; a Thomas Robinson
was mayor (1667). Edward Robynson, apprenticed to John Berners,
a ship-master, was awarded his freedom (1611). Many other Robin-
sons appear in the list of freemen, but whether the aforesaid Thomas
Robinson, the author (1622), was the freeman (1647) and the mayor
(1667), who will say?

346 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

Reviewing the names of the inmates which the writer gives, we
note : — Lucy and Briget Browne, the daughters of Sir Anthony
Browne, Viscount Montacute; also Anne Wharton, " the treasuress "
of the institution. This Sir Anthony Browne was the grandson of
Anthony Browne, who was created Viscount Montacute (1554). That
this family was connected with our town seems clear, because their
arms were among those emblazoned in the lantern of St. Margaret's
church. The arms, tocj, of Captain John Wharton, who defended
Lynn against the Cromwellian forces, were also once exhibited in the
same building. William Wharton was mayor (1663), and we are
tempted to believe that Anne Wharton, a resident at the English
nunnery at Lisbon, was a relative.

About this period there was a college of English Jesuits at
Seville, where a Norfolk man, Thomas Hunt, was a secular priest.
Sent upon a mission to England, he was imprisoned in Wisbech
castle, from whence he escaped, but was recaptured and executed
{1600). Daniel Piatt, alias Needham, another Jesuit missioner,
laboured in Lynn (1749).

Without placing too much faith in a sailor's yarn, we think there
might be some connection between Lynn and the English sisterhood
in Portugal.

LOCAL EVENTS.

1626, March 27. The Corporation submitted circumstances to
the Privy Council, tending to shew that the nation is not bound to
provide for Michael Gabe, a poor soldier taken by the press and
reported to have been wounded in the Low Countries whilst serving
under Count Mansfeld, because his hurt was not received in the king's
service.

1626, July 9, Whitehall. Sir Benjamin Rudyerd, writing to
Sir Francis Nethersole, states that in a codfish caught at Lynn was
found a copy of the Prefaratio ad Crucem written temp. Henry
VIIL

1627. A regiment of four hundred Irish soldiers was drafted
into Norfolk. Half were billeted in Norwich, whilst one hundred
were sent to Yarmouth and one hundred to Lynn (19^11 ISLarch 1627).
In July the county was ordered to raise 250 footmen, of whom 25
were to be provided by Norwich, but the citizens refused to send more
than one-fifteenth of the number. Seventeen men were sent
accordingly to Hull, via. Lynn, to join the expedition under the Duke
of Buckingham to succour the Protestants of Rochelle.

1635. The Vicar-general^ Sir Nathaniel Brent, conducted a
visitation. He was at Norwich April 6th, 7th and 8th, Swaffham
loth, Lytin 13th, Fakenham 15th and Yarmouth 17th.

1636-7. The divisions of the county were defined. The
Commissioners of the Peace for Lynn were Sir William Yelverton,
Robert Bacon and Robert Walpole. The information was not agree-
ably received. The first of the commissioners died about four years
before, and the others, though formerly commissioners, were never
sworn, and had ceased to act for some time.

FOR KING OR COUNTRY. U7

1636-7. The Justices of the Peace reported that, among the
rogues punished in Freebridge — Lynn and Marshland, were divers
persons from Scotland and Ireland, who were afterwards conveyed
to their respective countries.

1636-7. An important action at law happened. His Majesty's
Attorney-general, and Joseph Gallard, the Recorder-general for Not-
tingham and Derby, were plaintiffs, whilst the mayor, JoshiKi
Greene, the Burgesses of Lynn, and Christopher Dix, were
defendants.

1638, April 4. Owing to the great scarcity of coals in London,
the masters and owners were commanded to despatch their ships to
Newcastle, where they were to take a full lading at the present prices,
to return to the Thames, and to sell the same at 19s. a London
chaldron, for this voyage only.

1638-9. Lynn was engaged in carrying timber for the navy.
The justices of the peace for the county were instructed by the Lords
of the Admiralty to arrange for the transport of 800 loads of timber
for the frame of "the ship royal the Prince " ; 500 loads were to
be conveyed from Boddenham Woods (Bodham, near Holt) to Lynn,
and 300 loads from Sir Miles Hobart's land to Norwich. Teams
for the carriage thereof were to be paid 5d. per mile (31st May
1638); also for the removal of 300 oaks marked for the King's
service, in the parish of West Bradingham (near East Dereham).
The trees were to be immediately conveyed at the usual rate to the
water-side at Lynn, from whence they were to be shipped to Chatham
(2nd March 1639).

CHAPTER XXVn.
For King or Country?

As it is quite impracticable to describe minutely the development of
the varying causes which brought about a disastrous civil war, we are
compelled to assume that the reader is conversant with the trend of
national events during this exciting period.

The (^ueen, Henrietta, the daughter of Henry IV. of France,
was a firm Roman Catholic, and Archbishop Laud, a primate with
greater zeal than discretion; there was, besides, a tendency in the
Church of England towards a more reverent and decorous form of
worship. Hence an alarming panic against Popery was engendered,
which grew so intolerant and tierce that the slightest provocation
threatened to fan it into flame. A strong militant fanaticism which
pervaded the Parliament contributed not a little to the terrible
catastrophe which ensued.

IN THY NAME.

Early in 1642 the progress of Parliamentary business was
seriously hindered by the number of petitions against the influence of
"corrupt and scandalous ministers." To investigate these grievances
the House resolved itself into more than forty committees. A petition

348 HISTORY OF KiN'G'S LYNN.

was forwarded from Lynn, and under what has been stigmatised as a
"pretence of neutrality," our Corporation began to put the town into
a condition of military defence, for the preservation of its religious
liberty and for its better security against foreign invasion. The gates
were provided with new drawbridges, and the warders, who guarded
the entrances, were strictly cautioned to admit none of the loafing,
semi-military adventurers who swarmed the country.

Towards midsummer the volunteers of Boston, Bury St. Edmunds,
and other places, were being instructed in the use of arms, ostensibly
to resist the aggression of a foreign foe, whilst Captain Slaney was
busy drilling "the trained bands " (horse and foot) recently organised
at Lynn. Mindful of the strategic importance of our borough and the
value of its stock of gunpowder, Parliament ordered special vigilance
to be observed, lest the place should unwittingly fall into the enemy's
hands. Charles was at this time engaged' in raising subsidies, and the
burgesses, imbued with loyal patriotism, generously subscribed ;^ioo
in money and plate. Later, the Council paid John Percival and
Alderman Nicholas Maxey, the treasurers of the Parliamentary com-
mittee, a similar sum of ^loo, as a loan already promised (i8th
November).

A ship from Holland sailed into a creek near Skegness and landed
five heavy trunks, on Tuesday the 29th of August 1642. The
cavaliers, surmising they contained arms, seized the vessel and
threatened to invest Boston. To help the Bostonians in their distress
the people of Lynn, who had recently received some brass cannon on
loan, and exchanged their stock of old powder for new, sent over a
thousand volunteers and five pieces of ordnance.

Thomas Toll arrived the 24th of October with important orders ;
the town was to be put into a state of military efficiency, and the
authorities were warned not to admit any vagrant soldiers without
express permission from Parliament. Our members, Messrs. Percival
and Toll, accompanied by Francis Parlett and William Leek, are next
found attending a special meeting at Norwich, convened by the
deputy-lieutenants of the county, " for consultinge and consideringe
of some speedy course to be taken for the trained bands of horse and
foot to be fitted in a-readiness to oppose foreigne forces much feared
to be sodainly landed in some parts of the Coastes of Norfolke,
Suffolke and Essex " (5th November). Greater attention was to be
observed at Lynn, and although much needed in the city, the
cannon, borrowed from Norwich, were retained, for the use of which
one-third of our sequestration money Avas to be paid. To further
strengthen our hands, seventy-two soldiers, impressed in the city, were
sent to Lynn (8th). A few days later the Corporation selected
officers, and began a thorough reorganisation of the borough forces,
" soe that they might be fitted for the defence of the kinge and king-
dome upon one howers warnynge " (nth).

Though striving to protect themselves against the movements of
an imaginary foe, the greatest secrecy was obser\'ed by the burgesses.
Their right hand must be perfectly ignorant of the manipulations of
their left. The captain of the volunteers, cautioned to make no

FOR KING OR COUNTRY. 349

display of military strength, was to impart instruction to the raw
recruits in the Artillery yard within the borough, and not in the
adjacent meadows. Neither the volunteers nor the trained bands
were to parade in public, nor go "in soldierly fashion," beyond the
bounds of the twn. Armed with a recommendatory certificate from
the deputy-lieutenants, the Assembly boldly petitioned the Commons
for ten pieces of ordnance, and for an allowance of ;£500 out of
moneys already advanced by the townsfolk, in order that the fortifi-
cations might be finished (12th December). The next week Francis
Parlett and William Leek were again in Norwich, so that " a mutual
correspondence and communication of all affairs and intervening pas-
sages, tending to the good and safety as well of the county as of this
town, might be signified by the lieutenants to Mr. Mayor, before the
determinate resolution bv them of any act to be performed."

On behalf of himself and Thomas Toll, John Percival delivered
the subscription money, jQs^^ 15s. 6d., collected within the borough,
which, after being carefully "numbered," or counted, was placed in
the town coffer to be used according to the terms of a previous
resolution (30th December).

THE BONDS OF UNITY.

An important federation was formed in the eastern part of the
kingdom, which embraced the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex,
Hertfordshire, and Cambridgeshire, to which Huntingdonshire, and
lastly Lincolnshire, were subsequently added. The object of the
Eastern Counties' Association was to secure peace in this particular
district. " It was one great historic unity, which was destined to keep
its own borders free from the worst evil of civil war and to furnish
these stout sinews of war which carried the parliamentary victory on
in other fields." (Kingston.) * The proceedings of this cooperative
movement, regulated by an Act of the i6th of January, 1643, and
another passed the next year, were to provide money for the mainten-
ance of forces (14th May 1644). The preamble of the last of these
statutes relating to "the Seven Associated Counties " is too startling
a literary curiosity to be lightly thrown aside: —

Whereas, the counties [aforesaTd] out of their loyal respect to his M.ijesty,
their pious disposition to Peace and Happiness in this Kingdom, in obedience to
the orders of Parliament, have raised and maintained to the number of
Fourteen thousand horse, Foot and Dragoons or thereabouts and with them
within five moneths last past have done many services against the Common
Enemy and tending much to the safety of the kingdom. They have bought
many arms and much ammunition, but want a train of artillery ; they have
established several garrisons, erected fortifications, magazines, c*v:c., in different
parts, and are greatly in debt ; money is therefore urgently needed to sustain the
movement and to advance the public safety.

Oliver Cromwell, in whom may be recognised the future Lord
Protector of the Commonwealth, became the leader of the disaffected.
He had been a farmer and a grazier at St. Ives, a collector of the
tithes and a charity trustee; and by stubbornly opposing the proposed
schemes for draining the surrounding marshes he grew so popular

» ReaU Bait AngUa and the Great Civil War, by Alfred Kingston, F.R. Hist. S. (1897).

350 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

with the fenmen that they styled him " the Lord of the Fens."
Returned as member for Cambridge, he accepted a colonelcy in the
Parliamentary army. The safety of Cambridge, which he selected
as his headquarters, was entrusted to him, from whence he struck
out with his horsemen in whatever directions the Royalists threatened.
His movements were as uncertain as the wind ; he appeared when
least expected, sometimes at Norwich, sometimes at Yarmouth, some-
times at Lynn.

1643 '■ AN EVENTFUL YEAR.

The large estates of the Earl of Arundel at Castle Rising, South
Wootton and elsewhere in the neighbourhood had been denuded of
timber for the minor defences, but the work at the fortifications, in
the hands of an expert engineer named Christian, was at a standstill
for lack of funds. In this dilemma, remembering what untold
sacrifices the town had made to pay the exorbitant, ever-recurring
" Parliament rate," the Corporation felt justified in applying, as
before recounted, for a grant to help in finishing the undertaking.
From John Percival's letter we learn exactly what happened.

They (the Commons) fell in the end to consider how to get money for their
present and urgent occasions, and then they came to say there was much money
to come from Norfolk and some from Lynn. I took occasion [the writer
continues] to tell them what I had received in plate and money upon the
propositions and what plate was sent up and what money was ready to be sent
"P [£525/15/6]. and what we had begun to do according to their command
touching the fortifying the town, and what a great deal of money that has
already cost and would cost to fniish it, and delivered in your petition ; and it
was presently ordered we should have ^^400 out of the said money towards our
fortifications, and I believe I had got £500 had not a member of the House that
Mr. Robinson and Mr. Kirby (aldermen) spake with stood up and said that they
said ;<f400 would content them, or words to that effect (nth January 1643).

Cromwell, at the head of 1,000 horse, set out from Cambridge on
Sunday the rath of March for Lowestoft, where, as he learnt, there
was " a great confederacy amongst the malcontents." He entered
the town, after a very narrow escape of being captured, and, having
subdued the rising, returned to Norwich with his prisoners on Friday
(ryth March). Hurriedly despatching the Lowestoft captives under
an armed escort to Cambridge, he allowed himself one night's rest and
a few hours on Sunday to attend service ; then, as the evening twilight
deepened, he and his brave troopers mounted their horses and were
soon galloping Lynn- ward, " because the malevolents began to raise
combustions there, and to declare themselves against Parliament."
On Monday morning the 20th of March, Cromwell and his men
entered by the East Gates; he promptly disarmed the " malignant "
burgesses, secured the town and seized a small barque, with arms
from Dunkirk, then at anchor in the harbour.

Before quitting Norwich, Cromwell wrote to Thomas Gurlin, the
mayor, apprising him of his intention. The Mayor immediately
replied, courteously offering hospitality to the colonel and his
equipage. At a meeting of the Town Council on Monday, Gurlin's
action was agreeably confirmed, and he, at a later date, received ;j^5
from the borough fund to defray the cost of the entertainment (17 th
April).

FOR KING OR COUNTRY. 351

Leaving the town, as he thought, in a satisfactory condition,
Cromwell was surprised a week later at the arrival in Cambridge of
a deputation, comprising John Spelman, deputy-lieutenant, Alderman
Edmund Hudson and two members of the Common Council, namely,
William Williams and Jonas Skott. They were the bearers of a
letter from the Assembly " much purporting the peace of the town
and the general peace of the King and Parliament." Having
obtained a written answer from the doughty colonel, they were, after
being joined by our recorder and Walter Kirby, to proceed at the
town's expense to the Parliament. The urgency of their mission
brooked no delay. The specific nature of this complaint is not given,
but trouble was by no means over in Lynn. As Alderman Hudson
received ;Q^ 12s. 3d. for their expenses to Cambridge, it might be
concluded that the deputation, seeing the futility of their negotiations,
went no further (27th March).

About this time the Commons decided that the inhabitants of
Norfolk should contribute ;^i,25o every week for their use. The
assessment comprised these items : —

The City of Norwich with the Liberty of Christchurch ... ^"53 o o

Great Yarmouth ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 34 16 5

King's Lynn 27 11 10

Thetford 511 9

The rest of the County 1,129 o o

March 31st, 1643. ,^1250 o o

Through the near approach of the Royalists under William
Cavendish of Kimbolton, Earl of Newcastle, Lynn was believed to be
in imminent danger (ist April). It was thereupon agreed that
Sergeant-major Livewell Sherwood should proceed with his company
of volunteers in order to retain a place of such vital importance.
" Captain " Sherwood, at the head of a hundred dragoons, marched
from Norwich on " Easter day " (2nd April). The next day,
Monday, the detachment approached the town by St. Catherine's
wall, and Sherwood demanded admission at the East Gate.

In the mean time. Sir Hamon Le Strange, of Hunstanton, a
veteran sixty years of age, had been chosen governor of fhe borough.
He was a pronounced Royalist, and the Mayor, influenced by what
he said and acting at his instigation, refused to raise the drawbridge
and unfasten the gate. Seeing that any effort to cross the moat and
scale the wall would be fruitless, the captain, after threatening to
report Thomas Gurlin and the defiant people of Lynn to the Associa-
tion, wheeled his men to "the right-about and departed. Arriving in
Norwich the following day, Sherwood was paid ;^20 for the services
rendered by his men at Lowestoft, where Sir John Pettus and Sir
Edward Barker and others vainly endeavoured to start a counter
association on behalf of the King. It was here, the courageous men
of Norwich rescued Colonel Cromwell from the clutches of the
Royalists. The Parliamentary committee at Norwich now thought
it advisable to strengthen the garrison at Wisbech, commanded by

352

HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

Colonel Palgrave. It was therefore arranged for Sir Miles Hobart
and Sir John Palgrave to have two pieces of brass ordnance, with
their carriages, and two dozen bullets (loth April).

For some time strangers had been flocking into Lynn. In a
letter to Sir John Lambe, when Newcastle was beleaguered, William
Roane says : " Northern news are very various, but most certain it is
that 500 families are come to Lynn from Newcastle." This be it
remembered was in 1640, and year by year the kingdom was growing
more and more unsettled. At length the mayor and aldermen (the
common council being once more ignored) forwarded a summary of
their troubles to Miles Corbet, of Sprowston, near Norwich, a member
of the County Committee and chairman of the Committee for
Information, asking him to use his influence in obtaining an order
authorising the Mayor to examine all strangers who had recently
invaded the borough and any who might in future come, and that
if he suspected any among them of being " malignants " or in favour
of the King, he might, with the concurrence of his fellow justices,
apprehend or eject such unwelcome intruders (5th May). Corbet,
however, failed in getting the coveted order, as is clear from a
paragraph in the Hall Book under the 7th August, which will be
transcribed in the proper place.

Ignorant of the action the Corporation had just taken, the
Royalist news-letter, Civicus Aulictis, boldly announced how at length
our borough had declared " for the King " (13th May). The state-
ment was premature and inaccurate, because to accentuate the
inhabitants' sympathy with the propaganda of the Association the
Assembly actually desired Thomas Gurlin to invite the deputy-
lieutenants to dinner one day every week at the town's charge (26th
May).

Apprehensive that "the Popish northern army" might attempt
a passage through Lincolnshire and Norfolk, fresh orders were issued
to strengthen the fortifications. Now, there was a powerful enemy
in the camp, who laughed when the behest of the Association was
obeyed. Surely the burgesses were imperceptibly nearing the parting
in the road ; the tension between the King and the Commons could
not continue much longer. Hence, on the loth of July the committee
of the six counties determined to raise not only ^2,500, but 2,000
more men, thus : —

Eastern Counties'

Association.

Men.

Norfolk

528

660

Suffolk

480

600

Essex

480

600

Hertfordshire

i5o

200

Cambridgeshire

160

200

Huntingdonshire

100

Isle of Ely

100

Norwich

Total

2,000

£■2,500

FOR KING OR COUNTRY. 353

Alarmed lest another influx of suspicious strangers might
prejudice the Corporation in the eyes of the Parliamentarian
Association, the following passage is entered in the Hall Book : —

Whereas in these dangerous [times] it is informed to this House that not
only a great companie are now come into this burgh, but that an overmultitude
of such strangers will suddenly pester the said burgh ; it is therefore ordered and
thought meete by the maior, recorder, aldermen and common counsell heer
present that generall and spetiall notis shalbe given to all and everi
howshoulders and inhabitants of this burgh that henceforth they receive not,
or presume to entertaine into their howses any person or persons whatsoever,
before first they acquaint Mr. Maior with their purpose in that behalfeand therin
receive his direction : and in the meane time it is further thought meet and so
ordered that this matter, now in debate before us, shalbe communicated by
Mr. Maior unto the Committee of Parliament to be assembled one (on) the
morrowe next within this borough to the end that such further course may be
taken in the premises, as thereby no hurt or hinderance may happen to our
Assotiation latly made, with and concerninge the parts adjacent to the said
burgh, touching ther entertainement therin for ther and our better saffetie in
these times of danger (7th August).

It was then reported, how the Royalists were approaching
Norwich ; the castle was immediately invested with soldiers and a
message sent to Cromwell (12th August). The enemy turned out to
be certain treacherous friends, who were repulsed on Sunday 13th
by Captain Poe, and again on the i8th when the Parliamentarian
lieutenant and three men were taken prisoners by troops from Lynn !
Again was it rumoured that the borough had decided in favour of
King Charles. The next day, William Leek, an influential burgess,
through some unexplained offence, was compelled to enter into a
recognizance to John Hunt, the sergeant-at-arms, for ^500 ; probably
he was the leader of the detachment from Lynn, because he appeared
before the Committee of Examinations, who accorded him liberty
to return to Lynn for a fortnight on condition of his appearing before
them at the expiration of the time or upon further summons. If he
did this the bond would be cancelled, otherwise it would remain in
force.

Whether through fear of the King or the Association — or the
much-magnified foreign foe — it would be hard to say, but the
Assembly were sure if was expedient for all the lanes leading to the
water side to be " paled up with deale hordes." Doors, however,
were provided "to be locked up all night longe and stand open all
day longe." A subcommittee (Messrs. Simans, Wharton and Skott,
of the Common Council, w^th Alderman Robinson and the borough
chamberlains) was chosen to superintend the work. The town's stock
of slightly-deteriorated gunpowder was sent to London to be
exchanged for new (21st August). The next day King Charles raised
the Royal Standard at Nottingham.

(l) GOD SAVE THE KING.

Force of circumstances at last compelled the people of Lynn to
take sides in the internecine conflict just starting. P'or months they
had been playing " fast and loose," and now they could vacillate no
longer. Notwithstanding their decision, the spirit which prompted

2 V

354 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

our forefathers to petition Parliament against " the Popish party "
was not dead ; in a measure it was quieted and subdued by good-
will and friendship for their influential neighbours, who rushed to
the town for safety. Long had the hesitant mayor been " struggling
at desperate odds," but the climax was reached when he and the
justices of the peace were strictly ordered to send Sir Hamon Le
Strange, knight, and his two sons — Sir Nicholas Le Strange, first
baronet, and Roger Le Strange, esquire- — also Sir Charles Mordaunt
of Massingham (the fourth baronet), *Lord Allington of Allingtom
in Ireland, Sir Robert de Grey, knight, Robert Bacon, Anthony
Hevingham, esquires, as well as Captains Goodman, Naunton and
Havers, besides " all such strangers and lodgers ... as are
popish recusants or that have endeavoured or shall endeavour to put
in execution the Commission of Array ... to the castle of
Wisbeach, there to be kept till further notice." The " Virgin
Troop'," raised by the maidens of Norwich, left the city " upon
some design " (23rd August). The company, under Captain Swallow,
comprised eighty " honest men and good soldiers." A few days
later other troops were drafted to Wisbech. t

Unnerved by a paroxysm of fear, Thomas Gurlin turned
piteously to the masses. It would be fatal to waver any longer;
they must make their choice — for King or country — at once, and he
would faithfully carry out their wishes. And the fateful vox fopuli,
if we may judge by future events, was the outcome of loyalty to their
friends, rather than loyalty to their sovereign. How could they
betray those who had come to succour them in distress ; who had
opened their purses when they were almost penniless ; who had fed
their children when lacking bread ? What could Tom Gurlin be
thinking about — to ask them to send Sir Hamon and dear Lady Alice
to that wretched dungeon at Wisbech? Who ever heard of such
ingratitude ! Had not the Governor given a thousand pounds towards
the town's defences, and had he not moreover pledged his word to
prevail with twenty of his friends to provide a like amount? And
Lady Alice, too — the guardian angel to whom they went in every
time of trouble. Never, no ;iever should their children blush with
shame at the remembrance of this day ! Adhering with pathetic
tenderness to those they knew and loved so well, the good folk of
Lynn shouted as with one voice, '' For the King !" and thus, after
a Avhile, the royal banner, floating from the hoary tower of St.
Margaret, silently reiterated "For the King!"

(2) BLOCKADED.

Whilst Oliver Cromwell was purging the district around Peter-
borough, Edward Montagu (otherwise Kimbolton), second Earl of
Manchester, whom Parliament had lately appointed Major-general
of the Associated Counties, with authority to impress 20,000 men,
arrived at Norwich, on his way to relieve the north of England, for

* The Mordaunt and Le Strange families were allied by marriage. Robert, the eldest son of William
Mordaunt and nephew to Sir John Mordaunt (the first baronet), married Barbara Le Strange. He died 1572.
■f For the warrant to our mayor, see East Anglian Notes and Queries, Vol. III., p. 212.

FOR KING OR COUNTRY. 355

which he was commissioned (loth August). Hearing of a serious
defection in Lynn, he sent a message to the mayor demanding an
explanation. Receiving an evasive reply, he addressed a letter to the
members for the burgh, but the second messenger was arrested and
the Earl's communication taken from him.

Assisted by a band of disaffected seamen, Thomas Gurlin
apprehended Sir Thomas Huggins, Master Coke and several others
of the Parliamentary faction ; then wheeling out various pieces of
ordnance, he prepared to defend the town. As the burgesses were
known to be amply provided with ammunition, the Earl ordered two
brass demiculverins, weighing 3,400 ffjs., and two brass fauconets,
weighing 600 lbs. — four old cannon then in Norwich — to be hauled
across the country. Two other pieces, weighing 700 5)S., which the
citizens had received on loan from the Tower, and which they had
lent to the Wisbech garrison, were brought with all speed to Lynn.
Captain Sotherton guarded the inoffensive weapons, with the necessary
powder, shot, sponges and ladles, as far as Setchy.

The fortifications, if not wholly completed, were at least consider-
ably strengthened. St. Anne's fort, built in 1626, had already been
furnished with a number of guns from the Tower. The garrison
consisted of enthusiastic townsmen, reinforced by several county
gentlemen and their stalwart retainers, some of whom had sought the
place from motives of personal safety rather than an exuberance of
loyalty.

The town unquestionably possessed 1,200 muskets, 50 barrels of
good powder and 40 or 50 pieces of ordnance, besides others
procurable from the vessels in the haven. Over and above a
contingent of lusty volunteers and the Corporation militia,* there
were eight troops of horse and eight troops of foot soldiers,
commanded by Sir Hamon Le Strange, Sir Horatio Townshend, of
Raynham, Lieutenant Porter and Captains Kirby, Davy, Morse,
Gurlin, Wharton, Brady and March. The number of defenders
approached five thousand.

As soon as the Earl arrived, he summoned the burgesses to yield,
but they were obstinate and replied in " an hostile way," afterwards
forwarding an impudent message, appended to which were twenty-
five signatures, " so that he should not forget to plunder them when
he had taken the town." Whereupon Manchester, assisted by Colonel
Cromwell and Sir Miles Hobart, commenced the siege (Monday, 28th
August 1643). ^t first the Earl's force numbered only 3,000 horse
and 1,500 foot, yet this his initial exploit, as we shall see, proved
a successful one. All the bridges between Lynn and Downham had
already been secured by an Essex detachment under Captain Poe,
who was quite convinced the town could not hold out more than five
days. The Long bridge, spanning the Nar, was destroyed by the
burgesses to intercept the movements of the besiegers. So great was
now the demand for troops in Norfolk and Suffolk, that the in-
gathering of the harvest was seriously impeded. The Scout (31st
August) informs us, that 4,000 horse and 7,000 foot soldiers would

» " Norfolk was the first county to supply a local militin." (Mason.)

356 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

soon be available, — a statement plausible enough, because immediately
the siege was raised a formidable array appeared which afterwards
achieved some famous work. In the vicinity of Lynn, the Earl's
ubiquitous agents were busy commandeering every horse and cart
they could lay hands on, thus it was impossible for the country
people to garner their corn. A Royalist organ sarcastically describes
the misfortune as "a new blessing bestowed on the associated
counties."

Commenting upon the tactics of the burgesses, the same news-
letter observes : —

Like honest subjects and true Englishmen (the inhabitants) have kept his
lordship out of their town, telling him flatly they kept the town for His
Majesty, and by the help of God would so keep it against whomsoever, which
they are able to do, being so strongly fortified that Kimbolton (the Earl of
Manchester) may as soon raise his father from the dead as force his entrance into
L}Tin. . . . His lordship has as much hope of Heaven's gate as to enter into
Lynn. [Mercurius Auliciis.]

Guards were prudently stationed before our members' houses,
hence Messrs. Percival and Toll discovered, to their no small
surprise, that they were virtually prisoners. This the Governor
was justified in doing, because both were stanch Parliamentarians,
and the first, if we mistake not, was distantly related to Cromwell.*

The Earl of Manchester blockaded the town on the land side,
whilst he entrusted to his father-in-law, Robert Rich, second Earl
of Warwick, as Lord Admiral of the Fleet, the haven and tributary
waterways.! Egress from the town was thus entirely cut off. To
assist the besieging army Captain Sherwood received orders to pro-
ceed with his volunteers to Lynn (7th September), whilst Yarmouth
sent " such mortar pieces, granadoes, petards, and other necessaries,"
as could be spared. A supply of provisions valued at ;£s^4 3^- 3^-
was also forwarded.

It was much disputed [by the besiegers] whether it were not better to
proceed by blocking up rather than take it by force, the town being of that
strength that no ordinary power could take it had they that which was fit for
defence ; but it was at last resolved to take it by force, and for that purpose it
was thought good to seize the town of Old Lynn, which is in Marshland, which
by a party of my Lord's forces was securely taken and ordnance planted, which
kept the town in continual alarm and did so terrify the people with their shot
and grenadoes that they durst hardly abide in any of their houses that
were towards that side ; the shot flying daily into the houses, into the Tuesday
Market-place, and other places. The town was approached in several other

* In a frienilly letter written by Cromwell to his brother-in-law, Valentine Wauton, the governor of
Lynn (5th July, 1644), he adds a postscript: " l.ove to your daughter and my Cousin Pei-cival, sister
Desbrow and all friends with you." {Oliver Cromu<eU's Letters and Speeches, by Thomas Carlyle, 1845, Vol.
I., p. 252.) "John Persevell " was apprenticed to Alderman Thomas Boston, but as he died, Percival was
placed under Thomas Clayborn, another Lynn merchant. In 1608, wishing to "exercise merchandize,"
young Percival did not produce his indenture of apprenticeship, but paid 25/- for his freedom. Whilst
admitting " the cousinry of Oliver Cromwell to be most perple.xing," we venture to ask whether Percival,
our nieniber's father, did not marry one of CromwcU's aunts. ^

John Desborough, otherwise Des'brow (1608-1680), married Cromwell's sister Jane in 1636, whilst Oliver's
uncle, Henry Cromwell, of Upwood, Hunts., married Margaret, the daughter of Thomas Wynde, of South
Wootton, who died in 1630.

t .'\nne Rich, the daughter of the Earl of Warwick, was second wife to Edward Montagu, Earl of
Manchester : she died in February 1642.

Robert Rich, the grandson and heir of the Earl of Warwick, married Frances (1638-1720), the
Protector's daughter; he died of consumption, leaving his widow a jointure of ;f3,ooo a year. Charles U,
wanted to inarrj' het,

FOR KING OR COUNTRY. 357

places, two of which were on the side next to the moat, the one by the Causey
[causeway] that leads to the south, the other to the East Gate. [A Brief and
True Relation.']

An alarming incident is thus quoted by Richards from an old
manuscript: — " On Sunday the 3rd of September, in the afternoon,
and in the middle of the sermon, came a shot of 18 lbs. weight in at
the window over the west door of St. Margaret's church, and took
the middle pillar a great part off and broke it in many hundred
pieces, dispersing them in all directions all over the church. One
piece of the stone fell into a seat at the lower end of the church
where five men sat, split the board before them, on which they laid
their books ; but no harm was done to them. The preacher, a
reverend divine named Mr. Hinson, left his sermon and came out of
the church, and all the people departed in a most confused manner,
some leaving their hatts, some their books, and some their scarves ;
but, praised be God, no further hurt was done to any person."*

Fighting went on daily (Mason), yet were there no signs of
yielding. Several ships were secretly despatched for a further
supply of ammunition and coals, but they were pounced upon by the
Admiral's vessels riding in the Deeps. On one occasion the towns-
men made a brisk sally beyond the East Gates, intending to destroy
" the town of Gay wood," which might, as they feared, afford shelter
to their enemies. Two houses were burnt, besides the Hospital of
St. Mary Magdalen. (Rushworth.) With the loss of ten men, the
townsmen were driven back. (Mason.)

Manchester's forces now amounted to 18,000 men, for he had
enlisted much help from the neighbouring villages. He therefore
determined upon storming the place. The town was protected on the
north by the now almost forgotten Fisher fleet and extensive earth-
works. Beyond the Ducehill Gate, with its drawbridge, was the
usual mound, upon which a temporary wooden tower or hretash could
be erected. Taking advantage of this eminence, the Earl either fixed
a block-house or secured one already there, intending to divert the
attention of the defenders whilst storming the town in an opposite
direction.! Firing from the battery at the sea-end of the town, he

* The west window was unquestionably damaged : " 1643-4. (p<i'c') to John Thompson Iiis bill for
worke in west window broken by a shott from the westc saide water, 03 : 10 : o. (Paid) To Robert Stokes
for glasiiige the same windo, 02 : 00 : 04. [C'.W..l.] No mention, liowever, is made of repairing stone
work. The cannon ball suspended in the entrance of Hampton court, Nelson Street, can scarcely be the
identical one which caused so much mischief, as according to its measurement it weighs about 47 lbs. That
the congregation dispersed hurriedly is a reasonable inference, but that the men rushed out barelieaded is
questionable. To worship with tlip head un< overed was then regarded as an unmistakable sign that tlie
person was " running post to Rome." (See I'liiselton Dyer's Church- Lore lUcdiiiiigs (i8yj), pp. 31(1-7.)

John Henson " /(lie nimister of Terrington St. Clements, was of scandal ejfcted from his living at the
prosecution of Tho : Ciunville, against whom he afterwards brought an action and obtained a verdict of
jf 80 and costs at the Thctfurd Assizes (jotli March 1653). The Coinniittee of State, not exactly satisfied,
recjuested the Mayor and Corporation, witli Major Styles, to re-examine the witness and rejiort thereon (17th
October 1663). Their verdict was favourable to the reverend gentleman " (Calendar 0/ Stale Papers).
Blomefield mentions him as vicar of the same church in 1661 and rector of North Lyim in ibOb, where lie
was preceded by Robert Henson, vicar 1649. In 1669-70 Mr. Hinson, " minister of Tertington," gave £"1
towards the repair of St. Nicholas' steeple. [CHOI.]

Thomas Gurlin, thrice member and mayor, died (3rd .August 1644), and was buried in Snettisham church.

t The Block-house stood " there at the Doucehills" {Calendar 11/ i>tale Papers, 1632-3, p. 280). It was
also known as St. Agnes' Gate. In 17JJ tlie building was leased to William Quash, a mariner, for a term
of 99 years as a dwelling-house at 10/ per annum, the Corjioration reserving the right to use " the common
way and passages as usual " (Richards). \'ariauts of the old Dumc—Block'us and Blocheri, bur\iNed imti)
the making of the Alexandra Dock (1869).

358 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

gradually brought his men " within half musket shot," round towards
the east.

A Parliamentary correspondent, in one of the many miniature
newspapers then circulated, writes : —

We resolved upon storming the town upon Saturday morning [i6th
September], and to that purpose had called in many boats, with which we
intended to take it by water, and many caitloads of ladders, which we intended
for the land side. . . During this hot service we lost four men. . . One
lieutenant had his arm shot off. . . It was with a cannon shot through the
porthole ; so skilful were they that they would shoot three times into one
porthole. In this violent playing with cannon and small shot we believe above
eighty lost their lives on both sides. [Certain Informations, yth September.]

(3) THE CAPITULATION

is thus described in the journal, entitled Certain Informations: —

The Earle of Manchester sent three severall summons to yield up the
Towne in a peaceable way to the King and Parliament, but they answered
obstinately and in a hostile way, and one of their answers were sent subscribed
with twenty-live names, as the Maior, Recorder, Steward, &c., with a message
to this effect : " We send our names lest you should forget to plunder us when
you have taken our Towne." That some of the Townsmen issued out, and
began to cut the bankes to let out the water, whereof seven were slaine by the
beseigers, and set up naked against a gate neer the Towne, whom the Lynners
may see, but dare not come out to bury them. Some of the beseigers went up
to the wall of the Towne, and brought away thirty six Cowes, without losse or
hurt, though many guns were shot at them. One ship is gotten in to their
reliefe, thought to be laden with men & provisions, the Lynners shot at her
(nothing but powder) as if she had been an enemy, she vailed bonnet to
the Parliament's Ships, as a friend, and slylie slipt into the haven before she
was discovered. But now all passages are stopt by Sea and Land, so that there
is no getting out or in. The pipes that carried them fresh water are cut off and
the fresh river by Kettle Mills is turned another way . . . That the Earle of
Manchester's Army is lately come within pistoU shot of the Town, and that they
run up to the gates with their naked swords in their hands. (15th Sept. 1643.)

The same authority observes : —

Colonel Cromwell hath battered them sorely from Old Lynn, the shooting
of whose ordnance hath slain divers men, women and children ; and that the
lamentable shrieks and cries of women and children are heard a great way out
of the town, and that the townsmen are so cruel and hard-hearted to them that
they will not suffer them to depart the town ; that the army's forces have cut
off their fresh water, and that the townsmen have felled all the trees about this
town to bereave the Earl's army of approach and shelter ; that the Lynn ships
are in league with Newcastle.

Under the same date the Mercurius Civicus speaks of Colonel
Cromwell having " battered down part of the market-place and some
houses in New Lynn.* He, however, left the neighbourhood before
the capitulation, with his regiment of a thousand men, who were
needed for " pressing business in Lincolnshire."

The final preparations for the momentous coup de main were
completed, when the Earl humanely advised the removal of the
women and children before the attack began. Hostilities were
therefore suspended and a treaty accepted. The burgesses not

* The borough was styled New Lynn in 1474-5 (Blomefield). "West Lynn took the name of Old
Lynn about the time of Edward IV. (1461 -83), being as antiently as South and North Lynne comprehended
under tlie general name of Lena," (Canideu'j Britannia ; Gough's edition iSoO.)

POR KING Ok COUNTRV. 359

objecting to the demolition of their fortifications, yet demanded
pardon for those guilty of " maglignancy," and the retention of local
government. The Earl courteously replied, reminding them of the
enormity of their crimes, how they had sheltered the disaffected, and
disarmed and imprisoned the well-affected, even members of the
House of Commons ; how money and arms collected by the
Parliament had been misappropriated by them in defying the
Parliament. However, to prevent a needless sacrifice of life, if they
surrendered by nine o'clock on Saturday morning (i6th September)
he graciously promised the inhabitants privilege and freedom — but
freedom from Ordinances of Parliament, he could neither grant, nor
must they expect.

A discussion upon the conditions of surrender began at 7 o'clock
on Friday evening and continued for twenty-four hours, " a dinner-
time only excepted." During the period of suspense, our unruly
soldiers, contrary to the recognised usages of war, cowardly shot at
their enemies and attempted to destroy some of the earthworks. In
the meanwhile, the Parliamentary forces were marshalled in the
meadows, ready for action, and " put in such a posture as might be
most terrible to the enemy, making a large front, when God knows
what depth they stood. '^ Hour after hour, patiently awaiting the
town's decision, Manchester continued to hold his men in readiness,
whilst the Mayor was dealing with " explainary exceptions " as to
the method of admitting the foe. At length, " with beating drums
and sounding trumpets, as if we (the Parliamentarians) had been
presently to march into the town," the van, with Colonel Russell at
the head and Colonel Wauton (Walton) at the rear, advanced towards
the East Gates, when they were told that the great gate must on no
account be opened at so late an hour, but that the soldiers might
enter in single file through the narrow wicket. To this the others
assented, but just as they were about to pass through a commissioner
came back and informed them of " a rude multitude . . . that swore
none should enter there, and, if any did, they would be the death of
them." Another tedious altercation ensued, " some saying articles
must be performed, others that they would not condescend to obey,
nor should the Mayor and commissioners' act bind them, crying
' Shoote, shoote !' and one cannoneer they turned out because he
would not give fire. ... At last one of them cried ' Give fire !'
which, being in the dead of night [query, 10 p.m.] made some of the
countrymen and others on horseback (spectators riding by the side of
the foot soldiers) to fall off their horses, and some into the ditch, so
terrible was the word ' Give fire !' "

Colonel Russell and his men Avere at last permitted to enter.
From St. Catherine's Gate they marched through the Damgate and
the Grassmarket to the Tuesday market-place, and were not a little
surprised because " no one man appeared, only women, who for the
general cried ' God bless us !' whether for fear or love you mav
guess."

Early on Sunday morning, Manchester, at the head of " his life
guard' — a brave troop," entered the town and attended divine service

360 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

at the church of St. Margaret, where Simeon Ashe, an army chaplain,
preached a thanksgiving sermon. He was one of the doughty
champions among the Westminster Assembly of Divines who incited
the populace to rise in their own defence. Whilst in Lynn the Earl
made his headquarters with our member, Thomas Toll, whose
residence during the siege had been strictly guarded by musketeers.
Alderman Toll was so roughly handled that he was forced to escape
from thence through a window, dropping " into the arms of the sea."
Commenting upon the appointment of Colonel Wauton as
Governor of Lynn, the same writer exclaims : " Thus we see how
Providence orders ; he that Avas lately locked up three days and three
nights at Oxford in a poor chamber without food, is now governor of
as great and strong a town as Oxford." [A Brief and True
Relation of the Siege and Surrendering of King's Lyn.]

(4) CONDITIONS.

Submission was inevitable ; it was only a question of time.
Whilst daily expecting the arrival of promised assistance from the
Earl of Newcastle, the burgesses suffered severely, and in the end
were convinced there was no reasonable chance of help. Fearful
consequences might attend a prolongation of the conflict ; therefore,
reluctantly yielding to the dictates of prudence and wisdom, they
secured an honourable recognition of their bravery. As soon as the
town acknowledged its readiness to capitulate, eight persons on each
side were selected to arrange a treaty : —

For the Parliamentarians — Sir John Palgrave, Colonel Francis
Russell of Chippenham, Colonel Valentine Wauton, Philip Calthrop,
John Pickering, John Spilman (or Spelman), William Good and
Gregory Gosset (otherwise Gawsell), one of the treasurers of the
Association.

For the Burgesses — Sir Hamon Le Strange (the governor). Sir
Richard Hovell of Hillington, Francis Parlett, Edmund Hudson
(the mayor elect), William Leek, Walter Kirby, Robert Clench and
Mr. Dereham.

After a long and stormy discussion these terms were accepted : —

(i). That the Town, with the ordnance, arms and ammunition, be
delivered to the Earl and he to enter the town.

(2). That the Gentlemen Strangers in the Town shall have liberty
to depart, with every man a horse, sword, and pistols.

(3). That the townsmen shall enjoy all rights and privileges appertaining
to them, with free trading, so far as may consist with law.

(4). All prisoners on both sides to be set at liberty.

(5). That the desires of the town, touching certain of their ships taken by
the Parliament's frigate, shall be represented by the Earl to the Parliament, and
(Robert Rich) the Earl of Warwick (the Lord Admiral).

(6). That neither the persons nor estates of any inhabitants or Strangers
now residing in Lynn, shall be hereafter molested for anything past, or done by
them since the Earl of Manchester's coming into these parts.

(7). That for preventing of plundering, the town shall raise and pay ten
shillings a man to all private soldiers under the Earl's com and, and a
fortnight's pay to the officers.*

" The CiuiCBS Mercurius, which Mackerell follows, gives a month's pay to each ofEcer, and estimates
the indemnity at £zojxx) ; whereas, Richards modestly put it at iTji^oo.

^ FOk KWG Ok COVNTRV. 361

(8). That Sir Hamon le Strange, Sir Richard Hovell, Captain Clench,
Mr. Recorder (Francis Parlett), Mr. Dereham and Mr. Leek remain as hostages
until (the) conditions be performed. (Rushforth.)

Moreover, the masters of the Lynn vessels captured by the Earl
of Warwick agreed to pay ;,^300 as an indemnity. After patiently
waiting six months the Lord High Admiral (for Warwick succeeded
Northumberland the 7th of December 1643) wrote to Captain Richard
Crandley, one of the Navy Commissioners, desiring "that the bonds
entered into, be with all speed put into suit, that those interested may
receive satisfaction " (5th April 1644). Some of the masters
apparently refused to contribute to the indemnity, hence the ships
taken in the haven and Yarmouth roads, together with the goods of
the ill-affected persons, were ordered to be sold for the service of the
navy (28th September 1643).

On Saturday, the i6th of September 1643, the town surrendered
" without shedding blood," and the Rev. Simeon Ashe preached, as
hath been told, in St. Margaret's church. The Earl of Manchester
supplanted Sir Hamon Le Strange as governor (21st), and the
temporary appointment was duly ratified the next day by the members
of the Committee of Lords and Commons, including Fielding the
Earl of Denbigh, William Fiennes the Lord Say and Sele, Nathaniel
Fiennes and John Pym.

After the fall of the town five hundred men were shipped to
Hull, and in less than ten days the whole of the Eastern Counties
Army were at Horncastle, where Manchester suffered a defeat. The
next year he stormed Lincoln, routed the King at Newbury and
compelled him to retire to Oxford. He was once more in Lynn, when
Robert Hart and others received 3s. 4d. for ringing a welcome on St.
Margaret's bells (15th November 1644).

Valentine Wauton, " the new governor," accepted the freedom
of the borough (20th November 1643), and chose Robert Rabye, a
tailor, as his servant. Later " the right worshipful colonel " paid
ten shillings for Rabye's freedom (1648). Without curtailing his
own direct influence, Wauton appointed Colonel Hobart governor and
Guybon Goddard deputy-governor (1645). When, however, Wauton
was present their power was temporarily suspended. Totally ignoring
what had happened, the King issued a warrant from Oxford
appointing Colonel Jervase Hollis governor of Lynn (6th April 1644).

(5) GLORIA IN EXCELSIS !

The downf;dl of Lynn was the prelude to inordinate rejoicing
on the Parliamentary side, and their publications were glutted with
paeans of hysterical exultation. Let us give ear to what John Vicars
has to say in his Jehovah-Jireh (1644) : —

See, I say, how the Lord hath already in a great measure revived our
spirits and requited our late losses in so easie winning of that strong castle of
Ecclesal and the happie surrender of the most strong Towne of Lyn-
Regis. . . It being a most impregnable place by naturall situation and a
Maritime or Sea-Towne, which having in it a brave Ship harbour and had in it
at the time 'twas taken 50 pieces of ordnance, 20 barrels of powder and a store
of ammunition, and was at that time a mighty and onely interruption of the
Noble Earl of Manchester, opposing of New-Castle's Popish-Army in thot.e

362 BISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

Northern parts, which now, by God's great mercle and goodnesse, he hath a very
brave and considerable Armie to atcheive in God's due time.

The spleenish editor of a printed news-letter, termed Mercurius
Civicus, London's Intelligencer, or Truth impartially related from
thence to the whole kingdome to prevent missinformation, gives vent
to a similar vehement ejaculation : —

The taking of this Towne is of extraordinary consequence. . . . For
that he (the Earl) had many thousand men with the trained bands of Norfolke
and Suffolke at the seige of the Towne of Lyn, into which the said Earle was
admitted on Saturday last at night, and Master Ash preached there the Sunday
following notwithstanding the boasts of Mercurius Anlicus [the rival news letter
conducted on Royalist lines] that he (tlie Earl) might as soon get into Heaven,
as into Lyn ; and no question he shall when please God to take his Lordship
from doing Him any further service in this life, enter into Heaven, whither
^;</;cMs and the rest of the blasphemous, atheisticall, dam'd Cavaliers, unlesse
they amend their lives shall never come.

CHAPTER XXVIII.

Reaping: the "Whirlwind.

It has been hinted, that the part taken by our borough in the Great
Civil War constituted but a paltry episode, the interest of which was
tremendously exaggerated by the biassed writers of the Stuart period.
Although briefly mentioned by Mackerell and Richards, and silently
ignored by Blomefield and Parkin, yet remembering what little
authentic information the papers in our national collection yield, we
are more than inclined to excuse our local historians, who apparently
reticent, unquestionably placed on record all they knew.

THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A GARRISON.

The adhesion of the burgesses to the King's cause proved terribly
disastrous ; no town perhaps suffered in consequence more severely.
When first called upon to aid the Parliamentary forces with a
contribution of ;^i,ooo, the Corporation demurred, pleading inability
through stagnation of trade; yet they are said to have voluntarily
offered ;^io,ooo rather than have a garrison established in the town.
When Wauton became governor, their hopes were irrevocably blighted,
because having surveyed the fortificafions, he at once set about
strengthening the weak places ; besides, he ordered armour for 800
harquebusiers at the rate of 33s. per head ; each man was to be
provided with a high pistol-proof breast- and back-plate, and " a pott
heade peece with three barres " (1644). Early the next year, Wauton
received a grant of ;^30o, towards perfecting the defences. This
was welcome news to the almost destitute inhabitants, who were
further relieved by a reduction in the number of soldiers billeted in
the town ; yet were they in too penurious a condition to support even
500 of the Norfolk forces, which were retained. Hence a question
arose as to the advisability of drawing money from the Excise. The

REAPING THE WHIRLWIND. 363

Commons, adverse to the proposal, politely requested the Committee
of the Association to devise means, whereby money might be obtained
without endangering the public safety (21st May 1645). As far
greater issues were at stake, the Association coolly deferred the
business until the dawn of a more convenient season, leaving the
distracted townsfolk to cope with the difficulty as best they could.

A few months afterwards, the City of Norwich was contributing
towards the support of the Lynn garrison. As secretary of the
Association, Miles Corbet addressed a severe remonstrance to the
Mayor, Sheriffs and Aldermen of Norwich, reminding them, how
remiss the City was in providing pecuniary assistance. He writes : —

I am alsoe to signifie unto you, that the moneys raised in yo'r Citty shall
hereafter be imployed to maintayne the Guarrison that is next adjacent to you,
whereof it is hoped that you and ye Citty will be most sensible : And to that
end this Committee have lately made an order, that the proportion laid on ye
Citty is appoynted to maintayne ye Guarrison of Lynn R., and the three
companeys of lloote att Boston, and that the moneys hereafter be payd out of
ye Citty are to be payd to Edward Robinson Esqr, Maior of Lynn and to
Bartholomew Wormall, one of the Aldermen of the said Towne, who are from
henceforth to be the Treas'rs to receive the moneys to be raised in ye Citty for
the paym't of the Guarrison of Lynn R., and to three Companyes att Boston,
and to noe other use. I am further comanded to desire you for the time to come
to take care that the moneys due from ye Citty may be duly raised and payd to
the said Treas'rs ; and if there be any obstruct 'n in this service that you
acquaynt the Committee therewith, (20th November, 1645.)

The prosperity of Lynn, dependent upon the fishing industry
and a coasting trade, both alas ruined by the Dunkirk
" pickeroons " or robbers, had given place to appalling poverty.
Though assisted by the inhabitants of Norwich, the constant drain
upon the town's resources told with direful effect. Wherefore the
Corporation petitioned the House to be relieved of the garrison, which
proved so insuperable a burden, offering at the same time to guard
the town most faithfully themselves. Their humble prayer was
answered by a curt refusal (July 1646;. What happened in the
interim is left to the fertile imagination of our readers. The
Assembly is next found begging that Thomas Toll, the mayor and
member, might return at once to Lynn, because his presence was most
urgently needed. But the Commons, greatly annoyed, told Thomas
Toll by means of a vote of censure, that he ought not to have been
mayor without the sanction of the House. However, " considering the
present condition and the necessity of the service," he was graciously
granted not only leave of absence, but permission to appoint a deputy
whenever away in future (ist September 1646).

" The miserable condition that this poor town is in, I suppose
is not unknown to you. Where soldiers are, and no money to pay
them, the cry of the inhabitants must needs be great. So is it here
at present with us." With this apology Thomas Toll begins a letter
to the Mayor of Norwich ; then, perhaps, fearing, the hint might turn
out ineffectual, he goes on gently reminding the ALayor, how a
contribution of ^'400 promised a month since, had not yet been
received, and finished by begging it might be sent by the bearer
(December 1646),

364 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

A better idea of the state of Lynn is gained through a sidelight,
thrown upon the scene a year prior to this, by the unpardonable
refusal of the officers of excise to pay a tax levied for the maintenance
of the army, raised expressly for the defence of the Eastern Counties.
The mayor John May, nine aldermen and others sought guidance
from the Council of State, who referred the matter to the Committee
of the Navy. In the mean time the officers petitioned for ease and
relief, although, with incomes of jQ6o a year, they were asked to pay
upon ;^20 only. The Mayor was advised, that no such tax could
be legally enforced. Replying, John May informed the Council of
State, how the statute, for raising these amounts, distinctly declared
that annuities and offices of profit, without exception, were to
contribute towards the sums imposed every week. After presenting
a few particulars for serious consideration, he obser\-es : —

The poor and miserable condition of our town is such by reason of the
decay of trade and want of employment at sea, besides the insupportable
burden of quartering of soldiers upon trust, more than £'^,000 being now due to
the inhabitants in that respect, that persons who formerly were of ability
to relieve others are now forced to be relieved themselves. Further, a great
proportion of assessments laid upon us, especially the last, ^638 4s. being for
four months, constrain us to fall upon any help the ordinance allows, to make
good our engagement, whereby the service of parliament may not be retarded as
'tis our duty so to do.

He concluded his letter to " Giles Greene Esq. M.P. at the
Committee of the Navy at Westminster," by reasserting, that nothing
had been done contrary to the Act, and hoping the respect shewn to
the petitioners in undervaluing their offices would induce the
Committee to advise them to pay, rather than call in question the
sense and meaning of the Great Council of the Kingdom (2nd
January 1645).

In 1647 the burgesses, oppressed beyond endurance, were on the
verge of rebellion. A newsletter — Perfect Occurences or Every Day
Journal in Parliament and other Moderate Intelligence, contains this
significant paragraph : — " His Excellency received letters from
Norfolk of great danger and mutiny, and fears of bloodshed at
Lynn ; the townsmen (are) quarrelling with the soldiers, because the
latter have not money to pay quarters ; the seamen made parties with
the inhabitants " (i7th-24th September).

DAMAGE TO PROPERTY.

An order of restitution, issued by the Lords and Commons, dated
9th of December 1643, reads thus : —

That such Persons as did take any of the Goods of the well-affected by
themselves or such as they appointed, or did any Damage to their Houses or Mill's
or any other Ways, shall make restitution to all such well-affected Persons as have
been damnified according to the Greatness of their Losses and that Colonel
Walton [otherwise Wauton], Governour of King's Lynn, Mr. Percival and Mr. Toll,
Members of the House of Commons shall examine what Damage hath been done
to the well-affected, and appoint such as have done them Injury to make them
Reparation accordingly. And if any of them shall refuse to make such
Reparation, That the said Governour, Mr. Percival and Mr. Toll shall have
power to Sequester so much of the Estates of such malignants, as will
make them Reparation, and Assign it to those that have been damnified.

REAPING THE WHIRLWIND. 365

The Assembly appointed a committee, namely, Aldermen Bassett,
Maxey and Robinson, besides Joshua Greene, Robert Thorowgood and
Thomas Greene — or four of them, to consider the d'amage done to
property during " the late desertion of this town." After obtaining
the opinion of competent workmen, they were to forward a report to
the gentlemen approved by the Lords and Commons, for making good
such losses (26th January 1644). We next encounter Alderman Toll,
M.P., and Councilman Jonas Skott posting to Cambridge, to interview
the Earl of Manchester. They were the bearers of a portentous
document, seeking advice about " the breaking of the church
windows," which might have been brought about by the wantonness
of Manchester's fanatic soldiers ; the removal of painted glass from
our churches and other important matters, and — asking payment for
candles and firing consumed at certain courts held by the
Parliamentarians (i6th February 1644).

What a supreme abomination was " the storied window " with
its painted glass, to the strait-laced Puritan, who could see neither
beauty nor utility in artistic ornamentation. To prevent the
superstitious adoration of the magnificent scenes depicted, an Act was
expressly designed. The windows were reglazed with " white
glass," and " the dim religious light " driven from the sacred fanes
(28th January 1642). A re-enactment, " for the utter demolishing,
removing and taking away of all Monuments of Superstition and
Idolatry out of all Churches and Chapels in the Kingdom of England
and Dominion of Wales." was passed the 23rd of August 1643 — the
day the siege began. This ordinance, however, was not published
until the nth of October, and did not take effect before the ist of
November.

A year later, the parishioners started, or rather continued,
removing "the offensive painted glasses in the windowes." To
thoroughly complete the vandalic desecration, they agreed to tax
themselves to the tune of ;£Tioo, " for the beginning of the work."
and further sums when needed. Anticipating how some might
refuse to contribute, our members were " entreated " to obtain an
order from Parliament for enforcing payment.

And we doe declare (the vestry minute goes on) that there shall be
noe future president to make the p'ishioners of St, Margarette Liable to
reparation of St. Nicholas church or chappell. And lastly we appoint and
authorize the churchwardens of both churches aforesaid together with the
p'sons here under named to be assessors in this behalfe [Eighteen Signatories],

It was, however, discovered that the decision of the meeting : —

Doth seem to be offensive to many by reason that the Inhabitants of the
Parish are charged towards the said Rate for their goods and personall Estates
(Contrary as they think to all former Rates) These therefore at p'sent are to
give satisfaction to all whom it may conserne that wee the Maior, Aldermen
and the rest of the Parishioners, whose names are here vnder described, doe
this day Order and Agree that this foregoing Order shall not stand or be of anv
force as a President for after times to make any Rate, I.evie or Taxation by, In
testimony of the Promises we have subscribed our names [Tiventy-two signatories,
includiiig Valentine Wanton, Governor nj Lynn, Friday, 20th December 1644].

366 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

An entry in the Hall Book shews the assessment was to be made
by the churchwardens assisted by Alderman Maxey and twelve other
persons named " with other parishioners that will come," seven of
whom were to constitute a quorum. It seems problematical whether
an order compelling the refractory was granted, because the glaring
white substitute was not wholly paid for in 1647 — the arrears of the
special rate then amounting to ;^38 9s. pd. The vestry was in a
dilemma. It was therefore agreed that at the next Hall, Colonel
Wauton should be prevailed upon to assist by calling out the soldiers
to collect wha.t was then due (13th August).

Bearing in mind, that the windows were removed from St.
James' chapel to St. Nicholas' chapel ; how after refixing they were
glazed with "white glass" (1626-7); how they were also repaired
with the same material at a cost of ^9 (1632-3), and finally that in
an inventory of goods at St. Margaret's there was included " one
chest of broken glasse " (1619), we feel confirmed in the belief, that
far more glass was voluntarily removed, than was mischievously
destroyed by the Roundhead soldiers.

The reconstruction of the town generally, including the rebuilding
of dilapidated houses, was indeed a slow process. Five years after
the siege, the Commons were informed " that the town of Lyn Regis
did want much repair, being ruined by these times of war. The
House (therefore) ordered 2,000 oaks for (the) reparation thereof."
(Rushforth.)*

LOSS OF LIFE.

If confidence be placed in the partisan news-letters from which
passages have been culled, it must be conceded that the number of
lives sacrificed was significant on both sides. Yet are we told, how
one or two admonitory shots were fired, and that taking the hint, the
burgesses quietly submitted without any great ado. Mackerell states
the surrender was effected " with the loss of four men only, and a
very few wounded." This is apparently borne out by the death rate,
which at the time was abnormally low. No soldiers' burials are
recorded in St. Nicholas' register, whilst in the other — one in August
and one in September are all that appear.

Aug. 27. A cannaneere from Richard Nesslings.
Sept. 22, A Soulier from The. Nestlings.
Nov. 5. A Soulier at Doctor Parkins.
„ 17. A Soulier in bridwell (gaol).
Dec. 17. A souldier in bridwell.

Two ottier soldiers. [P. R., St. M.]

During the next year, that is after the establishment of a garrison
forty-five military burials are entered (1644). Carefully weighing
the evidence at hand, we believe the mortality was great, but that

y ,

" Writers often confound Lynn Regis with Lyme Regis (Dorsetshire) to the great discomfiture of the
student.

Lynn Regis and Lyme Regis were besieged the same year ; the first by the Roundheads and the
second by tlie Cavaliers. John Viscount Poul^tt (Pawlett) advanced against tlie Parliamentarians, who
held Lyme Regis (30th April 1643). To make atonement for damages sustained a payment of ;f200
from the Poulett Estate was demanded (1647). The Weekly Account, 6th May 1646 (quoted by Richards)
and the HarUian MSS., No. 368, fo. 123 (referred to in Rye's Norfolk Topography) erroneously associate
this circumstauce with out borough.

REAPING THE WHIRLWIND. 367

throughout the danger and confusion of the siege no returns were
made. Those killed were probably interred without any religious
observance.

PAI.'^S AND PENALTIES.

The Parliament laid unconscionable burdens upon the
" malignant " Royalists, and special exactions were demanded from
Sir Hamon Le Strange, although after his failure at Lynn, to which
reference has been made, his life was one of exemplary quietude.
How seriously he suffered, through his zeal and loyalty,
is exemplified in the Household Exfences, which Lady Alice recorded
with minute care. Among the entries are payments to the mayor
Bartholomew Wormell, William Johnson (for the burning of his
mill), Mr. Nelston (for the destruction of Setchy bridge), Robert
Clarke (for firing stacks of hay), John Johnson (for pulling down a
house), John Percival (for unmentioned damages), Thomas Toll and
his wife (for imprisonment in their own dwelling), etc. Compensation
fines of ;^34, ^^37, £^0, £2, £11 and £gs appear. The fine of
£()^ was one-third of £28"] is. 6d. — a total levied by the
commissioners (Messrs. Corbet, Wauton and Toll) upon the heirs of
the late Thomas Gurlin, mayor, Robert Clench, one of the town
captains and Sir Hamon Le Strange (13th March 1644). After
waiting a year for the money, the Corporation were compelled to
assent to the carrying into effect of the commissioners' order (i8th
March 1645).

Let us now examine a few extracts from Lady Le Strange's
neatly- written manuscript : —

1643, We payd to the Rebells for our 5th & 20th part [ordinary

assessments for the War] ...
1643. We were plundered by the Rebells of 1,600 sheep, all our

corn and divers horses
1G44. We payd to the advance of the Skottish Rebells

1645. Payd to May, Wormell etc. for their pretended losses

1646. Payd to Stileman upon a sute, pretending the false
imprisonment of his Father, when he refused to pay the
money appoynted for him to pay by my Lord Martiall, in

the Court of Honour 3S5 o o

1647. To Mr. Percivall for pretended imprisoning 86 o o "j

to Mr. Toll for the like in part ... ... 40 o o V 334 4 10

payd for the Almes House [Gaywood] ... 883 4 10 J

1648. To Mr. Toll upon his pretended imprisoning 50 o o ]

to William Johnson upon a Second Order. .. 12 11 8 ^ 92 11 8

To John Johnson for composition ... ... 30 o o j

1649. To Mr. Toll for Mr. Jegon's part uniustly ... .. ... 136 8 o

Upon another page is the summary : —

Payd an spent in sute by the uniust and tirannicall oppression of
Mr. Toll and others of his faction in Linne, concerning the
seige 1088 o o

Received by Stileman in an Uniust Sute, being overpowered by

the times ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 385 o o

Beside our greate losse when we were plundered of all our sheepe

and corne ... —

li.

300

200

225

368 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

The Hospital of St. Mary Magdalen, destroyed during the siege,
was rebuilt (1649). The payment of ;^883 4s. lod. must be an
error; possibly ;^2o8 4s. lod. is meant.

The estates of Colonel William Cobbe of Sandringham, who
married a daughter of Sir Henry Bedingfeld, were sequestered in
1643, probably because of assistance rendered to the people of Lynn.

RELIEF OF THE POOR.

A duty of two shillings per chaldron on coals imported by
strangers is said to have been designed to assist those who sustained
loss or injury during the siege. But grave doubts were entertained
as to the probity of the Corporation, who distributed the money ;
hence at the suggestion of the attorney-general, the Court of
Exchequer issued a commission of enquiry. An investigation was
held at the Globe — an important hostelry, under the management of
Edward Kniveton. Among the witnesses were Richard Clampe,
Thomas Downey, Malathy Scott, John Syms, Thomas Huggins,
Thomas Denman, William Howlett, Benjamin Wormell and Owen
Barnes. Evidence was adduced to prove a coal tax had been collected
for ten years ; that the income amounted to about ;^ 1,000 per annum ;
that the Corporation were the recipients of the money, but to whom
it was afterwards paid none would venture to say. A remarkable
witness was Richard Clampe the engineer, who, having greatly assisted
the Parliament during the war, petitioned for and obtained the
searcher's place in our Customs. He insisted that large arrears were
due to him for ser\-ices rendered. The tax, as he computed, came to
;^i,2oo a year, of which only a half was paid away, yet he could not
say whether "the remainder was employed or discharged towards
the relief of the poor, or by what order it remained in the hands of
the Mayor and Burgesses." As he was in pressing need of money,
he desired payment for what he had done (14th October 1650).

CONNECTING LINKS.

The Scots advanced as far as York, where they were joined by
the forces under Manchester. Charles, greatly alarmed because his
army was shut up in the city, thought the capture of York would
mean the loss of the northern counties. Prince Rupert was therefore
ordered to attempt its relief. Just before his arrival, the
Parliamentarians withdrew to Marston Moor, where the two armies
engaged in a deadly encounter. Cromwell jnd his Ironsides were
victorious (2nd July 1644). Prior to the battle, it was announced
that the King was marching against the Association, and knowing how
important it was for Lynn to continue obedient to Parliament, Wauton
was advised by the Committee of both Kingdoms to exercise the
utmost care, and to promptly disarm and secure any of the burgesses,
whose fidelity he mistrusted. For his encouragement, he was informed
how Sir William Waller with a considerable force was dogging the
King's footsteps, whilst Major-general Browne with a large contingent
from Middlesex and London was anticipating His Majesty's
approach, The message concludes : — " We do not think they (the

REAPING THE WHIRLWIND. 369

Royalists) can come anything near your parts, yet we desire you so to
secure the town, that they may be no invitation of their march that
way " (24th June).

Early the next year, another alarnri was sounded, when the
Royalists with a large body of horse were reported upon the border
of the eastern counties. To prevent irruptions, all the fen passes
near Lynn were strictly guarded ; the deputy-governor sending as
many men as could be spared to protect Wisbech (28th February
1645). In the mean time, William Botterell forwarded the following
supply of arms and ammunition to Cambridge castle ; — " 448 Nt- w
musketts, 553 fixt musketts, 700 New Bandeliers, 320 Old musketts,
210 new snaphanes musketts,* 73 payre of holsters, 250 payre of
pistolls without holsters, 63 spanners, 580 pikes . . . 100
barrells of powder and 80 bundles of matches " (5th September
1644).

The Royalists were defeated by " the new-modelled army "
under Sir Thomas Fairfax at Naseby, Northamptonshire, when
Charles retired into Wales (14th June 1645). Before this engage-
ments, guns and ammunition from our already depleted magazine were
forwarded to Cromwell, who acted as lieutenant-general, although
disqualified by " the self-denying Ordinance," whilst the Lynn foot-
soldiers joined Lord Halifax at Tadcaster (29th May). As soon as
the King's army sighted Huntingdon, our town was immediately
provisioned, because fears were entertained that the Royalists might
retaliate and beleaguer Lynn. Instructions, too, were given, that
upon a nearer approach, all available forces should be despatched to
strengthen the garrison in repelling an attack (25th August).

During the siege of Newark, the Associated Counties expressed
willingness to furnish seven thousand men (of whom, four thousand
five hundred foot were to be withdrawn from various garrisons) if the
Parliament would promise to provide for them. Of this number,
a thousand were expected from Lynn — 500 from the garrison and
500 from those recently drafted to the borough. A warrant was
accordingly issued for the delivery of 500 swords and bandoleers here,
as well as at Boston (21st October). A letter from the Committee
of both Kingdoms states that the taking of the castle at Newark,
where the King was watchfully blocked up, would not only
check plundering in the adjacent counties, and the frequent and
unchangeable alarms, but in all probability put an end to these
unhappy troubles (31st October). As the season was far advanced,
detachments were ordered to hasten thither, so that the final and
decisive blow might be struck. Our men were to meet at the
rendezvous at Grantham the 7th of November, and march as directed
by Colonel-general Poyntz. In the mean time the reduced garrison
at home was to be filled with the best-affected of the trained bands.
A slight hitch, however, upset the preconcerted programme. In vain
did the enraged general scan the horizon : the expected troop were
not yet started. The reason is not difficult to discover : the Assembly

* Thp Snaphance or Sitaphaunce (Dutch ^naphaan, a firelock), superseded by the wheel-lock, fell upon
a movable piece of steel called a frizel, which w.-\s placed vertically above the pan.

2 W

370 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

forwarded an apology, asking the Committee for money to provide
for incidental expenses. In August, the House had been importuned
to consider a bill, the object of which was to provide for the support
of the soldiers stationed at Lynn, Cambridge, Boston and the Isle
of Ely. The " dumping " of garrisons, wherever the Parliament
thought fit, was known to be the cause of suffering and vexation.
Instead of relief, the inhabitants of Lynn and Newport Pagnell were
permitted to borrow ;^2,ooo wherewith to satisfy their garrisons.
The burgesses, being reminded how they were to repay themselves
out of their assessments, found to their cost the remedy as bad as the
disease (25th August 1645). The Committee once more shirked their
responsibility by referring the application to the Committee of the
Eastern Association (7th November).

Another wail of despair ! Poyntz still lacked assistance, and
could not give so good an account of himself as he wished; he
particularly bemoaned the non-arrival of the contingent from New-
port Pagnell and Lynn (19th December). The command was
reissued for the 400 men from Lynn and the 200 from Boston to set
out immediately for Newark (27th December). Far easier was it
to give orders, than provide an equipment for 400 soldiers. In the
middle of January 1646, our governor, Lieutenant-colonel James
Hobart, received another remonstrance, which was not quite so
unreasonable and severe as others of the series. " Notwithstanding
necessary provisions have now been supplied," the troops from Lynn
and Boston had not yet put in an appearance. Such inexcusable
conduct wa,s indeed " a great disservice to the public," because the
reduction of Newark was impossible without the aid of foot-soldiers.
Besides, the surrounding district was so wasted, as the writer
asserted, that, without reinforcements came at once, the army must
either retreat or perish. The Governor was asked, in conclusion, to
certify the cause of this inexplicable delay, and to let the forces
march thither with all speed.

DOUBLE DEALING.

In 1644, Sir Hugh Cholmondeley was stubbornly holding the
castle of Scarborough for the King ; the garrison being provided
with arms by Lieutenant-colonel William Sandys, the Royalist agent
at Dunkirk. The supply, however, was precarious, because the ships
were so often intercepted. The town being sorely pressed, a letter
from Sir John Alildrum was, at the suggestion of Sir Hugh, the
governor, forwarded to the Assembly at Lynn, piteously begging a
supply of victuals and ammunition to enable the loyal inhabitants
to withstand the enemy (8th March). This important subject was
debated ii2 camera ; at length the Assembly ordered Messrs. Maxey and
Robinson (aldermen). Skott and Murford (common councilmen) to
"make fitt such provision of beare and victualls, as they shall think
good and fittinge. and send the same to Scarbrugh to the said Sir
John, not exceeding fower hundred powndes." The inconvenience
and humiliation through which they had passed seem to have so
hardened the hearts of the Assembly, that they were now, though
uninfluenced by wealthy neighbours, sincerely repentant and loyal to

REAPING THE WHIRLWIND, 371

King Charles. Having passed this resolution and entered the
incriminating evidence with the rest of their business — a procedure
" no fellow can understand," they as stanch Parliamentarians must
forsooth send copies of Sir John Mildrum's communication to the
committees of the Association, meeting at Cambridge and Norwich.
Not until the 26th of August <lid Lord Fairfax arrange the terms
of surrender, although Manchester was sent to reduce Scarborough the
Qth of July.

^ '' "^ STRANGER THAN FICTION.

Decemb. 18: 1644 (Paid) To the Ringers at the thankesgiueing fur a great
deliuerance of this towne of I^vn from a Strange designe, 00 : 04 : 00. [C.U''.i4.,
St. M.]

Now the unambitious author of the above extract was an exceptional
humourist, who having won the palm deserves to bear it ; he eschewed
inverted commas, underlining and such tricks for denoting emphasis ;
he said just what he had to say, like the great Charles Mathews, in
a quiet unobtrusive way. without belabouring the gate of anyone's
stupidity. Drying his quill and sanding the neatly-written page, to
which, after two hundred and fifty years, particles are still adhering,
he silently passed away without making sign, leaving the pleasing
discovery of any dovhlc entendre to the perceptive acumen of the
reader.

Sir Roger Le Strange (1616-1704) the adventurous offspring of
our sometime governor was born at Hunstanton and educated at Lynn.
He accompanied King Charles into Scotland, and returning assisted
Sir Hamon during the leaguer of Lynn. After the surrender, being
of a resourceful disposition, he conceived the idea of retaking the
town by surprise. He accordingly travelled to Oxford, where he
ol)tained from his sovereign a "commission for reducing Lynn"
(28th November 1644). Embodied in the commission were the
following terms : —

(i). That in case Attempt shall be gone through withal, he, the said
Rogfr Lestrange shall have the Government of the Place.

(2). That what engagements shall be made unto the Inhabitants of the
said Place, or any other Person capable of contributing eifectually to that
service by way of Reward either in Employment in his Majesty's Navy
or Forts, or in monies not exceeding the Sum of 5,000 pounds, the service being
performed shall be punctually made good unto them.

(3). That they shall in this work receive what assistance may be given
them from any of our nearest Garisons.

(4). That when our said Town shall i)e reduced unto our Obedience
we shall further send thither a considerable Power as shall be sufiicient to
relieve and preser\e them, we bting at |)resent (even without this) fully
resolved to send a consideral)l(' power to encourage our faithful Subjects in
those Parts and to regain our Kiglils and Interests therein. (Rushworth.)

Having secured the coveted dcx'ument, Roger Le Strange
hastened to Ai)pleton, where from the solitary residence of Mr.
Paston, he despatched a trusty servant to Lynn, with a message to
a seaman named Thomas Leman imploring his attendance upon
important business. Soon afterwards Captain Leman was announced
at Appleton Hall.* During a private interview, Le Strange outspread

' The mansion of the Paston family was burnt to the ground in 1707.

372 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

the royal commission, expatiated upon his daring project, and assured
his humble visitor that he would iind ;£i,ooo in his pocket — if the
work succeeded. Inexpressibly charmed with a prospect so
dazzlingly aurigerous, the ancient mariner returned, promising " to
bring another with him the next day to assist in the design," but the
first thing this unscrupulous fellow did was to expose the stratagem.
Colonel Wauton was delighted ; he desired Leman to strictly observe
the appointment, at the same time, taking Hagger, a corporal from
the garrison, with him. Eager to participate in the counterplot,
Leman and his martial companion, disguised as a sailor, presented
themselves at Appleton. When questioned, Hagger said " he was a
poor man, living in Fishers' End in Lynn, and kept an alehouse, and
was ;£^4o the worse for the Roundheads." The piteous recital of his
imaginary grievance restored confidence. After searching under the
canopy of the bed, Le Strange brought out the King's commission,
which he slowly read and then put into his pocket. The crafty
corporal played his part remarkably well, so that after exchanging
promises of inviolable secrecy, Le Strange generously offered him
;^ioo, and an appointment as cannoneer, should the enterprise be
crowned with success. Thoroughly entering into the spirit of the
conspiracy to outwit the other, this genuine "old soldier" prolonged
the interview, explaining how such a surprise could only be brought
about with the assistance of two hundred friends. To such a
practical hint, the arch-conspirator w^as forced to admit that at
present " he knew not where to get the men."

Whilst those in the upper room were weaving a net in which to
ensnare the half -repentant borough, a curious incident was transpiring
in th court-yard below. Around the door was a group of " poor
old seamen," importunately craving alms. The gentlewoman of the
house, who knew not W'hat to do to rid the premises of these
undesirable visitors, ran at last to Mr. Le Strange's room to acquaint
him with their sad demands. Requesting them to be gone, Roger
sent them twelve pence ; but Lieutenant Stubbings and his five
comrades, who had come " to assist in the design," rather than to
receive charity, rushed past the affrighted woman upstairs. On
entering the apartment, Stubbings and the other pseudo-mariners
pounced upon the trembling schemer, who, seeing he was betrayed,
slyly handed the incriminating document to Leman, thinking that of
all men the worthy captain might be trusted.

Another comical mishap connected with this interesting melo-
drama must not be forgotten. Now, although the Lieutenant knew
Hagger, he was unacquainted with the other "jolly tar"; where-
fore in the execution of his duty, Stubbings demanded what he did
there, conspiring against the State. Leman was instantly searched,
and the King's Commission found upon him. In custody with Roger,
he was hurried off to Lynn and placed before the Governor. Having
faithfully obeyed Wanton's orders Leman was of course discharged,
whilst his companion was detained a prisoner.*

* Spe The Loyal Observator or Historical [Memoirs of the Life and Actions of Roger the F idler aUa% the
Observator (1683) or a reprint in the Harleian Miscellany, vol. ix., p. 57 ; for Le Strange's trial see John
RusLworth's Historical Collections (1692), vol. v., pp. 804-7.

REAPING THE WHIRLWIND. 373

Immediately '' the strange lying Roger " entered the East Gates,
the bells were rung, at the instigation no doubt of the exulting
Governor. Soon after, the Royalist conspirator appeared before
the Commons : on the 26th of December he was tried by court martial
at the Gildhall, London, where Sir John Corbet presided. The
prisoner boldly admitted " he was always of the King's party, and
had so declared himself, and conceived that Leman and Hagger were
likewise of the same party;" moreover, "as a 'listed soldier in
Major Cartwright's troops in the garrison at Newark," he went from
thence to Oxford. This, however, was considered no answer to the
charge of having " come from the enemy within the quarters of the
Parliament as a spy, and plotted and contrived and endeavoured the
betraying of the towne of Lynne, in the power of the Parliament,
to the enemy." Found guilty. Sir Roger Le Strange was condemned
to be hanged by the neck until dead (28th December) ; the sentence
was to be carried into effect on Thursday the 2nd of January 1645,
at Smithfield. Through the well-directed efforts of powerful friends,
a reprieve was granted. After being incarcerated four years at
Newgate, the culprit was permitted to escape to the Continent, and
then — but, no matter, we shall meet again !

Associated with Le Strange, in the intended rising, was Sir
Charles Mordaunt (the third baronet) of Massingham. In
consequence of the sequestration of his estates, he retired to London,
where he died (15th July 1648). His body was interred in the church
at Little Massingham.

THE LESTRANGE FAMILY.

(a.) Siv Nicholas Lestvange, Knight, of Hunstanton and Lynn ; M.P.
for Norfolk 1547 ; brought an action against the Corporation for the recovery
of the House of Corpus Christi (1562) ; his son Roger was christened in
St. Margaret's church (ist November, 1584).

(6.) Siv Hamon Lestvange (son of a) ; Knight, of Hunstanton ; Governor
of Lynn during the siege 1643 ; died 1654. He had three sons : —
(i.) Nicholas: his successor.
(3.) Hamon, of Pakenham, in Suffolk.

(3.) Riiger [Sir) ; born 1617 ; present at the siege 1643 ; escaped

to the Continent after failing to recapture Lynn ; he returned

at the dissolution of the Long Parliament, giving bail for

;^2,ooo. He was "a man of good wit and a fancy very luxuriant

and of an enterprising nature" (Lord Clarendon). After the

Restoration he wrote books, pamphlets, etc. ; Knighted ;

M.P. for Winchester, 1685 ; died the nth December, 1704.

(c.) Sir Nicholas Lestvange of Hunstanton (son of 6) ; created Bavonet by

Chas. L (ist June, 1629) ; present at the siege 1643 ; died 1656. Several sons —

Nicholas was his heir.

(d.) Siv Nicholas Lestvange (grandson of c) ; 2nd Bavonet ; at the siege ;
died 1669. Nicholas was his heir.

(e.) Siv Nicholas Lestvange (grandson of d) ; 3rd Bavonet ; died 1725.®
Arms : — Gu. two lionccls guardant arg. Anciently over all a bend az. for
difference.

* Dorothy Lestranj^e the daughter of William Lestrange was cliristeued at St. Margaret's church
jjrd November, 1589. [P.R., St. M.]

For further particuUir> toubult Burke's Extiiut Baronetcies.

374 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

A FLYING VISIT.

To Norfolk, King Charles was almost a stranger. In 1636, he
wrote .to his "loving uncle, Mr. Framlingham Gawdy, Esqr., at his
house at Harling," expressing an intention of visiting the county
with the Queen, but the design was never carried out. During the
iater days of his career Charles wis within a few miles of Lynn.
Choosing le tres petit, Dr. Michael Hudson and the army paymaster
John Ashburnham lor travelling companions the King escaped from
Oxford (April 1646), determining to pass through Norfolk, in hope
of being -.ible to take ship for the North. Leaving Royston, he
arrived with Ashburnham at a small village (probably Bottisham)
about seven miles from Newmarket. Here the fugitives stayed the
night. Proceeding the next day through Brandon, they entered
Downham and lodged at the Swa7i in the market. From thence the
King is believed to have gone to Fordham about three miles off,
where in Snore Hall — an old manor house belonging to the Skip-
worths, he remained concealed for some time. \n the mean time
Hudson met the French ambassador at Southwell, from whom he
learned the proposals made by the Scots. These terms were placed
before the King (ist May). Whilst the perplexed trio were debating
whether to proceed by sea or land, a news-letter arri\ed, describing
how the King fled from Oxford disguised as a servant. It was forth-
with decided, that Charles must assume another character. Having
purchased a black cass(x:k and a clerical hat, and after having his
hair trimmed by an inquisitive barber, the fallen monarch and his
friends rode to Crimplesham, where, at a wayside inn, the Kin^r
donned the garb of a clergyman. Hudson then returned to Downham
to see whether he could obtain a boat to row them to Lynn. In this
he was unsuccessful, but whilst reconnoitring he chanced to meet
Ralph .Skipworth, with whom he exchanged horses. Skipworth not
only directed the traveller across the treacherous fen. but gave him
" a grav horseman's coat for the doctor," as he termed his sovereign.
On the return of the prelate, the party continued their flight.
Passing through .Southerv Ferrv. Kl\, Farith and Stukeley, they
arrived about ten o'clock on Saturday night at Coppingford, near
Stilton, where they secreted themselves during the Sabbath.
From Himtingdon the weary, dejected monarch rode to Slamford
and from thence to Newark-upon-Trent, where in helpless despair he
gave himself up to the Scots (5th May 1646), who offered, upon
receiving ;^400,ooo, to surrender him fo the Roundheads and to
withdraw at once from the country. A moiety was soon paid and
a promise given for the payment of the other half within two years.
As a guarantee of good faith, hostages were appointed, our neigh-
bour, Sir Ralph Hare, of Stow Bardolph, being one selected.

Particularh busv at this period, rumour boldl\ asserted, that
the King when in Norfolk, was concealed at Hunstanton. The
residence of Sir Hamon Le Strange is said fo have been thoroughly
searched ; though this may be an exaggeration, there is enough
evidence to shew how Miles Corbet summoned Le Strange's sons
to Lynn in order to examine them closely upon the subject.

WELDING THE BROKEN CHAIN. 375

On the 19th of January the royal prisoner was brought from
Windsor to London, where he was tried by " a high court of justice,"
to whose jurisdiction he sternly objected. The fatal sentence, pro-
nounced the 27th, concluded with these words: "For all which
treasons and crimes, this court doth adjudge that he the said Charles
Stuart, as a tyrant, traitor, murderer, and public enemy to the good
people of this nation, shall be put to death by severing his head
from his body." Three days later "the greatest of Kings and the
best of Men " {Prayer Book), was executed, before his own banquet-
ing house at ^^^hitehall. No disrespect was shewn the remains of
the faJlen monarch, for his funeral expenses amounted to ^"2^9
5s. 2d.

Turning to the parish register, it ma} be noted that two persons
were buried in St. Margaret's churchyard the 30th of January 1649 —
Mary, the wife of Robert Calthrop, and " King Charles, King of
Great Brittaine." * The rest of this chapter is " gospel truth."

CHAPTER XXIX.

Welding: the Broken Chain.

A FEW days after the King's execution, the Common^ voted the
House of Lords "useless and dangerous," and the office of King
" unnecessary, burdensome, and dangerous to the liberty, safety and
public interests of the people and kingdom." The House of Lords
was accordingly dissolved (7th February 1649) and Oliver Cromwell
subsequently created "Lord Protector" (1653). Like the unambi-
tious Ceesar he refused "the kingly crown," yet appointed a suc-
cessor in the person of his son Richard.

* -x- -x- * *

During the ensuing Interregnum, the obnoxious system of im-
pressing was never relaxed. Through the Commissioners of Customs,
"press and conduct money" was awarded the agents employed in
this nefarious business. For 40 men taken in Lynn and sent to
London, Anthony Sharpe received ^30 (24th May 1649). The
Mayor, who seemed to have been somewhat negligent, was ordered
to impress his proportion of men (4th August 165 1), but many seamen,
knowing what was likely to befall them, kept away, and several of
our vessels being in London, Joshua Greene experienced difficulty in
obeying instructions. Notwithstanding, he rejoiced because the Par-
liament offered to pay the men 24s. per month, thinking, as he
confessed to the Committee of State, that so liberal an inducement
would "bring them in more willingly." On the 27th of December,
he forwarded a list of 73 men already " sent by ticket to the Navy
Office," and mentioned the names of 50 more captives, who would

* Obsequips for persons of distinction were often performed in places with wliich they were connected.
Sometimes a wax elli.^'v of the deceased (cnrpMS fictitm) was employed. Sucli special services were entered
as actual burials in the parish le^'ister. In this way, Quern Klizabeth appears to have been interred in all
the churches in London. an<l Charh's I. at Windsor and ryii". A laureate statue of tlic martyred King may
be seen in a iiiclie at the ullicc of Inland Revenue, Kiii-'s '^laitli ^^quare.

376 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

arrive in a few days unless 23 of them accompanied Captain Hawley
of Lynn, who paid their conduct money. Concluding, he expressed
hopes of sending a third batch of 30, in a day or two. Anthony
Tutcher, an active agent employed by the parliament, paid the
Mayor J^zi 12s. to cover the expenses incurred through taking 36
seamen, giving a bill of exchange for ;^5i 12s. (24th March). A
year later, the said Anthony, accompanied by Ambrose Dennison, was
here once more. What an unprecedented run of luck — they bagged
no less than 190 men. The area of sport included Lynn, Wells and
Wisbech (April 1653). In May 1657, Ensign Leake was quartered
in Yarmouth with 30 Lynn seamen, but lacking money, he was un-
able to convey his consignment any further. These men were prob-
ably caught early in the year by Captain Robinson of the Weymouth.
A vessel belonging to Lynn — the Sea-venture, was visited by the
emissaries of the press, when Simon Ransby and others were appre-
hended and placed on board the Victory. Robert Ransby, who was,
for aught we know, a brother, petitioned the Admiralty Committee
for Simon's immediate release, pointing out how illegal was his
detentioin, because the seaman held a master's certificate and how,
through non-delivery, the Sea-venture's cargo was spoiling. The
prayer was not merely heard but answered {1653).

THE DUTCH REPUBLIC.

For more than half a century, commercial rivalry existed between
England and the Dutch Republic. By almost imperceptible degrees
the Dutch obtained the ascendancy, thus securing the carrying trade
of Europe. Mercantile disputes were common enough, between the
two countries, and the Navigation Act (1651) was expressly devised
to upset what was considered an unfair monopoly. Henceforth all
imports were to be brought by English vessels, except in the case
of foreign vessels bringing goods produced in the countries to which
they belonged. As the Dutch refused to comply with these restric-
tions, war ensued, and several stubborn battles were fought by the
contending fleets. Li February 1653, Blake was signally victorious;
but an attempt to blockade the enemy's ports proved unsuccessful.
Although the war was practically ended, the Dutch continued for
years to harass the Eastern seaboard, so that the Lynn vessels and
those of other ports could not put out to sea, except protected by
gunboats. The State Papers for this period contain much informa-
tion respecting the convoying of ships to and from Lynn.

At the meeting of the Council of State on Sunday, the 12th of
September 1652, the Dutch fleet was reported to be off South Sand
Head. Warning was instantly despatched to Lynn and other places
along the coast. No ships were permitted to leave and those which
might arrive were to be detained until reassurances of safety should
be received from the Council. The same day, the Mayor was ordered
by the Navy Commissioners not to hinder the departure of two vessels,
laden with rape seed, belonging to John Hernsen of Ostend and
Dirick Swartz of Hamburg. Both, bound for Ostend, therefore set
sail, as others carrying no guns had done the previous year.

WELDING THE BROKEN CHAIN. 377

The appearance of two Dutch men-of-war was a signal for ex-
travagant rejoicing, although captured by Yarmouth men (19th May
1653). The incident was reported to the Admiralty by Robert
Harmer and John Arnold, bailiffs of Yarmouth. " We find the
English taken by the Dutch are put into chains, kept close prisoners
and inhumanely used, and they have," the writers continue, " upwards
of 70 Yarmouth men in prison at Amsterdam, whose pitiable condition
may be seen by a letter we send you, for whose deliverance we beg
some means may be used." Prior to this, Captain Sanson captured
a man-of-war, carrying 15 guns, belonging to Flushing. This prize
was also brought to Lynn. The modest captain, who was convoying
the Lynn traders to Newcastle, says : " It was easily taken, for that
ver)- day the Dutchman had taken so many English ships coming from
Yarmouth and other places towards Newcastle, that he had put all his
seamen excepting about 10 or 12 on board his prizes and most of
them got away, so the Flushinger yielded without giving one shot for
his 30 soldiers aboard and his 10 or 12 seamen durst not tight" (nth
January 1653).

At the terminatiO'U of the war, our Corporation was instructed
not to detain any foreign vessels except those engaged in the New-
foundland fishery or bound for the Isle of May in the Firth of Forth.
This order was to prevent disputes with other fishermen, and to check
the Lynn traders who might be tempted to carry cargoes of arms
and provisions to the assistance of the Scots, with whom the nation
was then at war (1653).

The " well -affected" John Noll and others petitioned the Council,
praying that Dennis Mason (the master and owner of the Margaret
and Jane of Lynn) and his boy, taken prisoners early in August whilst
bringing coals from Sunderland, and who were n&w languishing upon
bread and water in a foreign prison, might be exchanged for Dutch
prisoners (28th September 1653). Two days before, a Dutch Osten-
der secured a vessel from I>ondon and one belonging to Lynn ; the
foirmer being comparatively of little value was scuttled in Burlington
Bay. Captain John Smith, of the Pearl instantly gave chase, and
in the end overtook and captured the Dutchman. The prize was
brought to Burlington quay and the 53 sailors confined in the school-
house. Afraid lest the prisoners might escape and do more mischief,
the Admiralty ordered their exchange (2nd October 1653).

Whilst Captain Robert Colman of the EUzabctli of Harwich was
sailing towards Iceland to convoy our fishing fleet from thence, he
boldly attacked a Hollander plying between Lvnn and Rotterdam.
Great was his surprise, when, on boarding the vessel, he discovered
goods to the value of ^300 not stated in the coquet. Meeting an
English vessel, he sent the Hollander to Yarmouth, and continued
his voyage. On his return he learnt how the merchants of Lynn and
Norwich, taking ad\ant:ige of his absence, had cleared awav not only
the barrels of contraband tallow, protesting the consignment was
butter in other than a prime condition, but all goods not properly
notified. To cover their own delinquen<\v, they charged the crew
with stealing bales of stockings worth £,\oo. The captain was

378 HISTORV OF KING'S LYNN:-

arrested, but having detected some of the plunderers himself, he
wrote to the Admiralty entreating that the pay due to them might be
stopped and the money used to obtain justice, so that the burden of
guilt might be removed from his shoulders (21st April 1657).

For the protection of our trade, the Admiralty despatched the
ketch Roe to cruise in the Yarmouth Roads (1656). In July, a
Dunkirk frigate, .with four guns and a crew of fiveand-thirty was
seized near Lynn. As Captain Jeremiah Country was then convoying
certain of our ships southward, his prize was left at Yarmouth.
Seven of the sailors escaped, three of whom were caught; whilst the
hue-and-cry was put in force to secure the others. Major William
Burton complained that over fifty Dutch prisoners were in his charge,
whom he earnestly wished to exchange (ist August 1657). During
the winter the Roe was riding in the Lynn Deeps, " where no vessel
rides, but through necessity." On New Year's Day, a Dunkirk man-
cf-war was encountered. A severe action ensued and Captain
Country was dangerously wounded. The enemy escaped, carrying
off a Boston hoy,* which the Roe was then convoying. In this
dilemma, the intrepid captain prudently dropped anchor in the Lynn
haven.

A few days after, the deputy mayor Bartholomew Wormell and
four others forwarded an important communication to General Des-
borovv. "In times of peace," they write, "we trade with those of
Flanders, so that they know our creeks and will spoil our trade, for
rich vessels come from London, etc. [to Lynn] and now Captain
Country is disabled there is no convoy." For the attention bestowed
on the Avounded captain, the writers desired repayment, and, as some
time must elapse before he could resume duty, they urge the necessity
of at once protecting the interests of the port (6th January 1657).
Four months passed and the captain was still an invalid As there
was little prospect of his recovery, Robert Thorowgood and five other
sympathetic burgesses addressed the Admiralty on his behalf, pointing
out the necessitous circumstances in which he was placed, how faith-
fully his service to the nation had been discharged and stating how
"with mucli willingness and care" he always convoyed the vessels
of Lynn (4th April). Edward Grove was, therefore, appointed
captain, and successfully convoyed our fleet of fishing ships to Ice-
land ; he was, however, far inferior to his unfortunate predecessor.
In December, the mate Francis Pile, the surgeon John Fiffe and
others made complaint to the Admiralty about the conduct of the
new officer. From their depositions, we learn how he declined to
have religious observances on the Sabbath and hnv.- he remained on
shore drinking, thus neglecting' to put out to sea with the vessels await-
ing him in the haven. Writing from Lynn, the foolish fellow attempted
to shew that the delay was through sickness and the unreadiness of
our seamen; he referred to the malicious wickedness of his accusers
and concluded, " hoping the Committee would pardon all offence and
employ him again, as he would rather chose death than displease

" A hoy (from the German /ick) was a small vebsel generally rigged like a iloop ; hence "ahoy !

WELDING THE BROKEN CHAIN. 379

them and those who recommended him." . . On the 4th January
1658, Thomas JBowry was commanding the Roe.

IRELAND.

Soon after the execution of the King, Charles H. was proclaimed
. in Ireland. To frustrate the design of the English Royalist Protes-
tants and the Irish Catholics, who had coalesced Avith the intention of
overthrowing the Commons both in Ireland and England, Cromwell
landed at Dublin (15th August 1649). Tw'o thousand were cruelly
slaughtered at Drogheda, whilst another unpardonable massacre
happened at Wexford. In the spring of 1650, Cromwell returned,
leaving Ireton and Ludlow to complete the conquest. The convoying
of vessels was then relegated to what was termed the Irish and Scotch
Committee, Lynn being one of the twenty-six places, where agents
were stationed to carry this into effect (28th March 1651).

John King, the captain of the John Pink, seized an Irish pirate
boat, whilst con\oying vessels between Lynn and London. He was,
however, overtaken by an Irish man-of-war. A sharp fight, which
lasted three hours, was the result. Captain King was slain, and the
master Richard Smith besides fourteen of the crew were seriously
wounded. The English vessel, of which King was part owner, was
carried off. The Captain's widow, left with two small children
petitioned for assistance. The Admiralty accordingly voted her ^50,
also Richard Smith ;^io (i8th October 1650).

SCOTLAND.

On the 20th June, Charles II. landed in Scotland. Faithfully
promising to be a Presbyterian, he won the support of that nation, but
the Scottish army was utterly vanquished at Dunbar (3rd Septeml)er
1650). There were, however, multitudes of disaffected persons, who
combining formed an army of foot-soldiers. Taking Charles with
them, they suddenly invaded England, hoping to raise an insurrection
before Cromwell could check their movements. On the anniversary
of the previous defeat, they were absolutely destroyed at Worcester
(1651). Those not slain were made prisoners and sent, in many
instances, as slaves to the Bnrbadoes. Charles, after a series of mis-
fortunes, succeeded in escaping to France.

The day before the final overthrow of the Scots, Colonel Wanton
was handed an important communication from the Council of State.
The ei'.emy was at Worcester; the army of the Lord General was on
this side of the river, whilst Lieutenant-general Fleetwood and his
men were on the other; moreover, within a few days the King was
expected to fight or fly. Great danger was apprehended, if any of
the enemy's horse should break awa\ and pass through the Isle of
Ely, because many discontented prisoners, transported from the north,
were then at work upon the drainage of the Level. Special attention
was therefore to be bestowed upon "the entrance of that isle," and
upon the town of Lynn, the inhabitants of which were regarded as
none too loyal to the Roundheads. Wanton was directed to seize a
man named Hemond at Ely, who had played a conspicuous part m
the recent rebellion in Kent. A few days later, Wauton was

380 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

appointed commander of a militia regiment in the hundreds of Free-
bridge Lynn and Freebridge Marshland (6th September 165 1).

To the poverty-stricken town of Lynn this war was i^ideed a
blessing in disguise, and well might the townsfolk have echoed tiie
words of the son, who, proceeding to rob the body of his own father
whom he had unknowingly slain in battle, exclaimed — " 111 blows the
wind that profits nobody." The State's commissioner, Robert Cad-
well, came to buy provision for the army in Scotland-. Enormous
quantities of hay, oats, wheat and food, including biscuits and butter,
were bought and shipped on board our vessels for Scotland. Thus,
although the ordinary fishing industry was at a low ebb, our seamen,
protected by convoys, which during this national emergency, were
promptly provided, reaped a rich harvest. Payments, through the
customs, for goods, the freight of provisions and the passage of
soldiers abound in the pages from whence this information is
derived. The deputy treasurer at Newcastle paid the Lynn ship-
masters for the freight of provisions ;^i,029 (19th March), ^466
13s. (i6th May) and ^812 15s. (20th June 1651). Minute
particulars are given in the State Papers.

The manufacture of saltpetre was established ; John Semaine
being commissioned to make 8 cwts. every week, so that the army
might not lack gunpowder. This he was to continue doing, according
to the time specified in the Act of the 9th of February 1653. The
Corporation w^ere to render him every facility; whilst he was
empowered to pay for assistance, so that the directions in the Act
might be minutely obeyed (26th January 1654). To secure a supply
of ropes, etc., for the navy, the Government encouraged the cultiva-
tion of hemp in the Fens, offering to buy all that could be grown
during a series of years at 3s. per stone delivered at Lynn or Wisbech.
(3rd February 1653.)

A season of prosperity was at hand. The number of corn meters
was increased from six to ten ; the stallage at the Mart was hired by
strangers at tenpence and by townsmen at sixpence per square foot,
and the tolls at the East and South Gates were leased at ^^15 (read
^'180) each per annum (1657), whereas they realised only one-ninth
and one-twelfth of that amount respectively in 1653.*

PARLIAMENTARY MISCELLANEA.

For two years after the ignominious expulsion of Edmund
Hudson from the Parliamentary Eden, our borough was partially
disfranchised. When, however, the naughty electors had sufficiently
purged their contempt and worn idealic sackcloth and ashes long
enough William Cecil, the second Earl of Salisbury —

(l) A DEGENERATE PEER,

and one of the three, who condescendingly accepted seats in the
"Lower" House, humbly offered his services to the electorate.
Aggrieved at the treatment to which they submitted, the Assembly

'' Tolls for the carriage of goods through the town gates was suspended for one year (33rd. Nov.,
1722) ; and " the market tolls declared to be the mayor's." ist March, 1723)

WELDING THE BROKEN CHAIN. 381

eagerly acceded to the proposal. Thomas Revett the mayor was
instructed to apprise the noble applicant, that he was indeed " a
Burgess of the Parliament." The indispensable municipal franchise
was presented by the grateful Assembly, whilst the community, " the
burgesses at large," adopted him as their representative.

To the Mayor's letter, the Earl politely replied : —

Gentlemen, As the President you have made in choosing of me to be your
burgess is unusuall (I beleeve) if not the first amongst you, so doth it lay the
greater obligac'on uppon me, neither is that favour a little heightened by my
being so much a stranger unto you as indeede I am. And as you have heere an
open and free acknowledgment from me of your kinde and good affections in so
unanimous an elecc'on of me to serve you in Parliament, as your letter doth
expresse, so cannot they merit, or you expect more thanks then I do really
retorne unto you for them ; you have bene pleased cheerefully (as you say)
to conferre your freedome upon me, I shall ever be as zealous in maintaining of
yours. And as I am not ignorant of the great trust you have placed in me, so
shall you never be deceived in it. For the addresses you are to make unto me
(as your occasions shall require) they shall not be so many as cheerefully
received. And whatsoever may concerne the publique good or yours shall ever be

pursued with all faithfullness and diligence by him that is

Your very loving friend,

Salisbury.
Hatfield, 15th Sep. 1649.

(2) THE people's suffrage.

Although freemen enjoyed the privilege of voting when Messrs.
Percival and Toll (1642) and again when William Cecil sought the
suffrages of the burgesses (1649), yet their existence was wantonly
ignored when Messrs. Desborow and Skippon were returned. This
incident caused the greatest dissatisfaction, which culminated in a
conflict between the members of the municipal "house" and the
outside burgesses, who were determined at any cost to exercise their
right of voting. The Assembly were quite as obstinate in their
decision to conser\'e to themselves this privilege, excluding of course
all other freemen. Hence they engaged John Horsnell, a London
solicitor to attend the Committee of Privileges in order " to make
good this House's ancient custom of electing burgesses " (26th
September 1656), The following shrewd persons were chosen to
prepare a brief. Mr. New-elect (that is the new mayor), Joshua
Greene, Benjamin HoUey (aldermen), Francis Rolfe (town clerk),
besides Messrs. Robinson, Pope, Clampe and other members of the
Council if they felt inclined. Four or more were '* to draw up instruc-
tions and state the business of the election clearly, between this
House (the Town Council) and the Commons of the borough. On
the reassembling of the House three days later, Horsnell was asked
to intervie^v Mr. Clarke of Bury St. Edmunds, who was then in London
(29th September). Two heads, especially if they belong to coun-
sellors, must be better than one. Guided bv subsequent events, let
us conclude that the Assembly was successful in its suit. When
General Desborow resigned in order to represent the county of
Somerset, the Assembly selected Sir John Thorowgood. knight of
Kensington, Middlesex (19th December 1656). At the next election,

382 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

when Messrs. Thomas Toll and Griffith Lloyd were returned, the
freemen were still clamouring for the franchise (3rd January 1659),
as we see by the following notable entry :- —

Whereas severall Burgesses of this Burrough of the Commons at large
have this day made their requestes to this house, that they might be admitted to
joyn with this house in the Election of Burgesses to sett in the next Parliament
to be houlden at Westminster the ^jtli day of this instant January, It is thought
lift and ordered that the resolves of the Comittee of Priviledges of the last
Parliament and the Parliamentes Orders thereupon concerning Elections be first
read unto them in the open hall which is done accordingly. This day alsoe
upon further debate of tlie aforesaid business of Election of Burgesses to sett in
the next Parliament for this Burrough, it being adjudged by this house that the
right of election of tlie said Burgessss is at present in this house according to
the aforesaid order. It is therefore ordered that this house doe proceed to an
election accordingly. And that in case the said Commons at large shall after
such election persist in their desire to have the precept for election of Burgesses
to be read unto them, that the same be read unto them for theire satisfaction.

But the reading of the precept did not reconcile the burgesses-
at-large with their electoral position — an utter exclusion from the
parliamentary franchise. In April 1660, their demand was renewed
with greater vehemence, so that the Assembly " decided to waive
for once and without prejudice to them and their successors in the
future, the right of keeping elections of meml)ers of parliament to
themselves." Hence the next minute: —

Whereas Mr. Mayor hath this day (i6th April 1660) caused a Common
Hall to be warned in order to the election of Burgesses to serve in the next
Parliament to be houlden at Westminster and severall of the members of the
house being mett together in this house divers of the free Burgess-s of this
Burgh came and requested that they might be admitted to elect Burgesses for
the said Parliament as their right, which being taken into consideration this
House doth think fitt, for the present satisfaction of the people, to suffer the
Commons to elect and to wave the election in this house for this present election.

Not through love, not through justice, but because of their
irritating and unbearable importunity, the dominant classes were
contented just for once to forego the pleasure derived from an
exclusive exercise of their choicest privilege. The obstinate oligarchy
yielded "for this present election," but from that memorable occasion
the rig/it of freemen to vote at parliamentary elections was never
seriously opposed. " Admitted to the vote on sufferance and by the
.special grace of their municipal betters for a single turn in 1660, the
burgesses-at-Iarge ever afterwards voted at the elections from which
they had been so long excluded. In practice, if not in legal theory,
they were admitted to the parliamentary franchise without an act of
parliament for their parliamentan,- enfranchisement." (Jeaffresnn.)

THE MISSING CHARTER (C. 23).

Religious questions, supposed at one time to be correctly and
authoritatively settled by the Church, now assumed a political
complexion, not merely national but local. Undeviating uniformity
in method of worship, obedience to the behests of those in authority
and implicit confidence in His Highness the Lord Protector were
essential traits in the character of a loyal subject. As a test of
sincerity, various towns were called upon to surrender their charters,

WELDING THE BROKEN CHAIN. 383

vvitli a view to securing new and more advantageous ones. Colchester,
Leeds, and other places comphed, but some were greatly disappointed
with the resuUs. Our borough also surrendered its Great Charter,
accompanied with a petition. With other documents it Avas submitted
by order of the Council of State, to Desborow, Lambert (majors-
general), P. Jones, Sydenham (colonels), W. Strickland, and the
Lord Deputy — all members of the Protector's Council (3rd July 1656).
After having not only perused the basis of our liberties — the 6th John
(C. i), but a series of charters including the i6th and 29th
Henry VI IL (C. 15 and C. 16), the 4th and 5th Philip and Mary
(C. 20) and the 2nd James L (C. 22). Besides, having considered
the terms proposed "for the good government of the borough," the
committee advised Cromwell to renew the chart€T with these
modifications.

(i). That the power of imprisoning for not obeying bye-laws be restrained
and the Corporation left to lay reasonable fines not exceeding £40, for such
offences, to be levied by distress or otherwise.

(2). That if there occur cause to remove the mayor, the Corporation have
power to elect another, as in the case of death.

(3). That the power of summoning parties concerned in Admiralty causes
within the limits mentioned in King James' charter (C. 22) and compelling
obedience thereto may extend to the maritime towns adjacent to these limits.

(4). That the Corporation be empowered to erect any trade or mystery or
manufacture within the Corporation by a common public stock to be managed
by the Mayor and Burgesses, and the benefit devoted to the poor,

(5). That during the pleasure of His Highness the hamlets of West and
North Lynn be annexed to the borough, and —

(6). That the report be agreed with and that His Highness advise the
Attorney General to prepare a grant accordingly. [Calendar of State Papers
Domestic, 1656 7, p. 5.]

The Cromwellian Charter (C. 23) holds no place among our
treasured documents. Although it has vanished like a dream, the
astute reader will surmise its untimely fate. After the Restoration,
when a strong reaction set in, it was unquestionably destroyed.

ENCOURAGEMENT OF LITERATURE.

An unusually significant grant is recorded in the Hall Book under
the 7th of August 1657. A stimulus had some year before been
given to the study of the Oriental languages. " The King (Charles I.)
considers there is a great scarcity of Arabic and Persian books in the
country, wherefore he requires that every ship of the Turkey Company
at every voyage shall bring home one Arabic or Persian manuscript to
be delivered to the Archbishop of Canterbury, who shall dispose of
them as the King shall think fit, provided that the books, so to be
brought, be any others than Alkarons, because there is great choice
of them here already " (State Papers). The Lynn Corporation voted
a gratuity of twenty shillings to Mary Wheelock (or Willock) the widow
of Abraham Wheelock, late professor of Arabic and Gennan at the
Cambridge University, in consideration of a book presented by her
to the As.semblv. The work, entitled, Quaiuor Evangeliorum Domini
nosiri Jesu Chrisli versio Persica Syriacum et Arabicam, etc., was a
polyglot version of the Four Gospels — Latin and Persian in parallel

384 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

columns, as translated, per Abrahamum WJieloctmi. London : Typis,
Jacobi Flesheri, MDCLVII (165-]). As the payment of the grant
and the printing of this remaikable work happened the same year, the
learned professor probably died before the issue of his book. The
copy in St. Margaret's library is perhaps the identical volume pre-
sented to the Corporation. Mary Wheelock, his widow, who lived
in South Lynn, deposited " the writings " relating to her house, in the
church chest for safety (27th December 1659).

COMMOTION IN NORFOLK.

Great fears were entertained that a conspiracy engendered by
mischievous Royalists was likely to reveal itself, when the Mart should
be thronged not only with genuine traders, but with scores of "malig-
nants," gathered together for quite a different purpose. The
Governor was to keep an eye upon certain ships at anchor in the
haven, to apprehend Cornelius Forney, the master of Hugh Farrar's
vessel, and Jinally to avert the threatening danger (i8th February
1650). Two days afterwards the mayor, Bartholomew Wormell and
Lieutenant-colonel Underwood informed the Council of State how a
Dunkirk vessel detained in port, escaped through the connivance of
some of the inhabitants. In reply, the Admiralty Committee desired
Thomas Toll to thoroughly investigate the circumstances and to
forward an examination upon oath of those supposed to have been
implicated. Wholly ignorant of what was before the Assembly, some
of the burgesses ventured to plead for the removal of six cannoneers
stationed in the town. This ill-advised request was submitted to
the army officers (19th April). Though nothing of moment hap-
pened during the Mart, yet the utmost vigilance continued to be main-
tained. The Council of State determined that the garrison at Lynn
and Crowland should have " the companies of the colonel, lieutenant-
colonel and four captains; 750 soldiers, besides officers; one master
gunner, fourteen matrosses, * one storekeeper and his man for Lynn
and Yarmouth; one quarter-master, one surgeon, two mates, one
minister and one gunsmith for the whole regiment " (4th May). A
grant of ;£ioo was next voted to each town for the repair of their
defences (3rd July).

Towards autumn a spirit of rebellious dissatisfaction suddenly
manifested itself in Norwich and elsewhere. To complete measures
for its suppression, troops were hurried into the county, and the
militia commissioners warned to be on the alert. One hundred foot
soldiers were drafted into Lynn. The attempt was doomed from its
very inception. Blomefield gives the names of the victims who
suffered. Ome at Thetford, Fakenham, Walsingham, Holt and Dere-
ham; two at Downham, Swaffham, Wisbech, and Lynn, and six at
Norwich— were condemned and executed within a week. Four only
of those implicated were pardoned. Here, a poor shoemaker and
Colonel John Saul, "a worthy gentleman," who captured Crowland

*> From the Dutch matroos, Danish and Swedish matrose, a sailor; subsequently applied to soldiers.
"Matrosses in the train of artillery are a sort of soldiers, next in degree «nder the gunners, who
assist about the guns." (Bailey.)

WELDING THE BROKEN CHAIN. 385

twice for the late King, were hanged as rebels on the Tuesday market-
place. A grant of ;^"20 was voted for Wauton to distribute among
such of our garrison as had been active in suppressing the insur-
rection (9th December 1650). To prevent a similar outbreak, the
Governor pleaded for a troop of one hundred dragoons to be quar-
tered near the town. The army officers were accordingly asked,
whether a troop already in pay might not be available.

But a more serious rebellion against the Protector was dis-
covered in East Anglia (1655). The following persons were appre-
hended and sent as prisoners to Yarmouth : — Captains William March,
Walter Kirby, John Moss and William Wharton (each of Lynn);
Mr. Gamball, John Disney, David Dobbs and Jarvice Ashton (each
of Downham) ; Dr. Bradley (Swaffham) ; Sir Edmund Mumford (Wret
ham); Richard Martin '(Ashill) and Ralph Piggott (Stradsett).
Twenty-five other conspirators were lodged in the gaol at Lynn. They
were ultimately required to enter into a bond in order to regain their
liberty, and to promise not to conspire against the Protector or the
present government, but to reveal any plots in their knowledge.
Each however w^as to "appear on summons for one year" (3rd
October 1655).

OUR GARRISON.

In 1652, it was arranged to draft the Lynn soldiers to other
places, to demolish the Blockhouse and to remove our military equip-
ment to the ToAver. In February William Fenn informed Colonel
Wauton, that the brass cannon were unlimbered and ready to be
shipped. Orders were accordingly given for their removal. They
were placed on board the Happy Entrance and were safely landed,
the Master, Henry Girlston, receiving ;^ii as payment (19th April).
This appears to have been the first consignment, because Captain
Edward Shooter, the garrison store-keeper, loaded two small vessels
the next year with ordnance and ammunition from Lynn and Boston.
Afraid to put out to sea, he Avaited. some time for the protection of
a man-of-war. At length, he wrote to Colonel Wauton, Sir Walter
Strickland and Thomas Lister (or the Ordnance Committee) asking
whether he might venture to despatch the vessels without a convoy
(21st April, 1653). The answer was probably a negative, because on
the 29th, Captain Thomas Wilkes of the Swan convoyed two ships
from Lynn to London.

Before the military stores had left the haven, rumours of the
approach of the Dutch, threw the town into a state of indescribable
excitement. Pleased indeed were the burgesses to be rid of so expen-
sive a militarv establishment, but now a sudden reaction set in. Mind-
ful of the crushing defeat administered by Blake off Portland, when
the Dutch lost eleven ships of war, thirty merchant vessels and two
thousand men, besides fifteen hundred prisoners, the enemy was more
than ever revengeful (i8th February). Well, well, under the circum-
stances, the townsmen would do their best. David Bellford drew out
a few guns and planted them along the shore for the protection of
the ships in port, and John Hosier, the captain of the convoy Mag-
dalen, supplied the defenders with two barrels of gunpowder before

2 X

386 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

sailing for Grimsby (13th April 1653), Feeling the alamiing in-
security of the town, a humble petition was placed before the Admiralty
who forthwith ordered Edward Shooter to produce from his store
eighty shots and four barrels of powder. In the mean time, an edict
reached the Corporation for the demolition of the Blockhouse; but
the terrified inhabitants prevailed with Colonel Wauton and the
Council of State to let it remain a while longer (15th April 1653).

Finding their occupation gone, Robert Rabye and John Whit-
worth ensigns of the dispersed garrison, petitioned the Committee
of Parliament for some slight recognition of past services. The appli-
cation was approvingly endorsed by Colonel Wauton (21st January
1653). When two years later the garrison was reorganised, and the
town again burdened with the maintenance of soldiers, the utility
of the despised Blockhouse was apparent. During the Mart in 1657,
special guards from the foot companies were stationed at the gates,
when Commander Bacon solicitous for the welfare of his men, obtained
eight metts of coal.* Colonel Salmon's regiment was here the 26th
of August 1658.

"the great river."

The drainage of the Great Level met with the approval of the
government, who assisted "the adventurers" in their prodigious
undertaking, by providing navvies. The Scottish captives at New-
castle and Durham were offered the same terms as had previously
been offered to the prisoners at York and London. Many to gain
their liberty willingly accepted remunerative Avork at the Bedford Level
and were accordingly shipped to Lynn. Fearing the waterway of the
port might be endangered, our Corporation enunciated their views at
the Sessions held at Lynn (January 1654). But the Committee of
State advised the justices of the peace and the grand jury to make
their complaint to the Committee of Adventurers, namely Messrs. Lam-
bert, Pickering, Cooper and Wolsley, rather than to them (31st
March). Obtaining no redress a polite letter was sent to the Pro-
tector. He answered, as a "loving friend," but took no further
interest in the matter: —

To the Mayor and Burgesses of Lynn Regis.
Gentlemen, I received yours ; and cannot but let you know the good
resentments I have of your respects, — assuring you that I shall always be ready
to manifest a tender love and care of you and your welfare, and in particular
of that concernment of yours relating to navigation.

Commending you to the grace of God, I remain
your loving friend,

Oliver P.

IN LETTERS OF BRASS.

" There are more brasses in Norfolk than in any other single
county, in all England north of the Mersey and the Huml^er, or on
the whole continent of Europe." (Cotman.) Those in St. Margaret's
church — " the largest and finest in England " (Suffling) — are the pro-

• Mett, mete from the Anglo Saxon metan to measure.

A ton of coals ^^ ij metts, .■. one mett =^ about 12 stones.
„ „ = 30 bushels .-, two metts — „ 5 bushels.

WELDING THE BROKEW CHA/IV. 387

duction of an unknown artist, whom Gough designates " the Cellini
of the 14th century." Many of the choicest sepulchral monuments
were destroyed immediately after the Reformation; during the reign
of Edward VI. too, the senseless havoc wrought among the tombs is
incredible. Superb portraitures were recklessly " torn away and for
no small matter sold to the coppersmiths and tinkers ; the greediness
of those, who then hunted after gain, by that most barbarous means
being such as though the Queen (Elizabeth) by her proclamation (1560)
taking notice thereof strictly prohibited any further spoil in
that kind ; they ceased not still to proceed therein till that she issued
out another (157 1-2) charging the justices of assize to be severe in the
punishment of such offenders " (Dugdale). The Puritans also of
the Commonwealth were not only inveterate enemies of stained glass,
but of incised brass. To pacify the religious scruples of those in
authority, this wanton profanation constituted the chief relaxation of
the Roundheads, who were often quartered in churches. Coming to
more recent times, mercenary motives, rather than religious fanaticism,
tended to complete the sacrilegious desecration of our churches and
the almost entire demolition of these magnificent specimens of
mediaeval workmanship. As a local instance, reference may be made
to the churchwardens, who sold brasses weighing 10 stone to John
Coward at 5 pence per lb., and the stone from w-hich they were torn
to Messrs. Start and Eldridge f or ;,r4 los. {1787). William Willblood,
appointed sexton and grave-digger at St. Margaret's (April 1804),
purloined many beautiful brasses, which he broke up and sold for a
few pence to a brazier. Accused of the theft, he hanged himself in
the belfr)' (1808). Mackerell mentions more than forty brasses,
which in 1738 adorned the church, and were intended to perpetuate the
memory of those "gone before." To the student a few pithy notes
on the more important of the Lynn brasses may be useful : —

(i) ST. Margaret's church.

Robert Bvaiinche, with his wives Letitia and Margaret ; he was mayor in
in 1349 and 1359 ; died 15th Oct. 1364. Thereon is incised a sumptuous feast
in which the first dish — a peacock, •' the food of lovers and the meat of lords,"
is being presented to a royal guest, hence called " The Peacock Brass." Covering
the ivhole slab (and not pieces let into matrices) it is of Flemish workmanship
(107 by 62 inches;. An engraving thereof may be found in Cotman's Sepulchral
Brasses of Nnrfolk (1838), though unaccountably omitted by the Rev. Charles
Boutell, rector of Downham, in his Monuviental Brasses of England (1849).

Adam de Walsokne and his wife Margaret ; he was mayor in 1334 and
1342 ; died 5th June 1349. This Flemish brass (120 by 67 inches) represents a
vintage harvest. Until 1738 it was in the chancel ; but now beside that of
Robert Braunche under the south-west tower. Mr. E. M. Beloe, junr., includes
this and the one above in an excellent series of Photolithographs of the Norfolk
Brasses (1889-go).

Robert atte Laf^c with his wife Johanna ; mayor in 1374; died 12th Nov.
1376. A rubbing of this Flemish brass in a collection made by Craven Ord and
Sir John Cullum, may be seen at the British Museum. It was engraved by
Cntman from a copy by Gough, also by William Taylor. When Stothard
visited Lynn (1813) this brass "had been given out of the church by the
churchwardens to a person who sold it for 5/- to a brass founder." (Cotman.)'

Walter Coney, mayor in 1453, 1460, 1469 and 1470 ; alderman of the Holy
Trinity Gild for 14 years; died 29th Sept. 1479. This " faire brasse to his

388 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

memorie " was placed in the Trinity Chapel, which he built. After being moved,
the Purbeck slab (no by 54 inches) partly reaved of its beautiful brasses was
replaced (1898). Engraved by William Taylor.

(2) ST. NICHOLAS' CHAPEL.

William de Bittering and his wife Juliana ; mayor in 1351, 1352, 1358 and
1365; mayor-elect in 1353, but excused to go on a pilgrimage to St. James',
Galilee. This brass (120 by 72 inches) disappeared a century ago.

Thomas Waterdeyn with his wife Alice ; mayor in 1397 and 1404. The
stone was inlaid with a tree, under which were two hearts. Joseph Howard
Jackson discovered a slab at the west end of the chancel, with indents agreeing
with Mackerell's description {Archceologia, Vol. XXXIX, p. 505). A drawing
made by Thomas Martin (1737) is preserved (Ryes MSS. Vol. III., No. 17).

(3) ALL saints' church.

After the falling of the tower, nine brasses, weighing i qr. 26 fbs. at 6d. per
ft)., were sold to J. l^ichardson for which the wardens — Matthew Horsley and
James Culham received 27/- (1765). The brass to the memory of the Rev. John
Norris and others, suggested by Mackerell, are supposed to have been included in
this act of vandalism.

CLEANSING THE WAYS.

When in Lynn. "His Highness," the Lord Protector, was
infinitely disgusted with the filthy, insanitary condition of the place.
Whereupon he issued an order for " the amending and reforming
the defects and annoyances in the streets, lanes and fleets " within
the borough (31st March 1654). At a meeting of townsfolk in the
nave of St. Margaret's church, it was decided for the bellman to
give immediate notice for the inhabitants to thoroughly cleanse the
streets, channels and fleets near their houses and to remove accumu-
lations of " filth and muck " to the common muck-hill or forfeit
3s. 4d. ; also within fourteen days to " well and sufficiently amend,
raise and repair broken, sunk, or defective pavements against their
respective houses to the satisfaction of the surveyor." "St.
Margaret's muck-hill " was near Nelson Street. For non-
compliance the penaltv of 4d. per square foot was to be enforced.
The surveyor was then to do what was necessary and levy double
charges upon seizure of goods. The parishioners agreed to raise
a fund for the improvement of the common ways and passages,
" which lye not in particular charge." A tax, therefore, of twopence
in the ;£ was laid upon the occupiers of houses or land, and upon
the dead goods and stock of those, chargeable to the poor.

At a parish meeting the 21st of April 1656, these orders were
again confirmed, and it was agreed that they should be rigidly
enforced during the current year. Scavengers were now employed
to carry away the reeking heaps of decomposing refuse at the street
corners. Such spasmodic spells of cleanliness did not prevent the
reappearance of the plague.

MUNICIPAL " COLLECTIONERS."

Peter Heylyn described the people of Norfolk as being " notably
industrious both for plough and manufactures ; inasmuch that one
shall hardly see a beggar throughout all the countrey " (1652). An
intimate acquaintance with Lynn at this period would we opine have
caused the historian to somewhat modifv the above statement.

WELDING THE BROKEN CHAIN. 389

To assist Robert Greene, to whom the care of the poor was
entrusted, and to prevent malingering and imposition, strict inquiries
were to be made. Only bona -fide cases were to 'be relieved, and
none without badges might "go a-begging." Children able to work
were to be apprenticed by the parish. The collectioners or pensioners,
those who took relief, were compelled to attend church on Fridays
to be instructed in the principles of religion. If any, without reason-
able cause, were absent, they lost their week's pension, " according
to an order of the Hall, 12th of December 1656."

It was further agreed by the Mayor and Justices : —

(i). That the said Robert Greene in olliciating this worke shall be vindi-
cated by Mr. Mayor and the Justices against such as shall anyway abuse him
either in word or deed.

(2). That the said Robert Greene doe not alone judg what is fitting to
give to this or that p'ty that this is in want, but to certifie and be an assistant
to the Mayor and Justices or other overseers in that p'ticular.

(3). That the other overseers doe not neglect theire office in meeting at the
Church notwithstanding such an assistant to bring in their money and assist in
makeing assessments, if neede be.

(4). That the said Robert Greenes sallery be paid out of the hall for
service as above,

Robert Thorowgood, Mayor. Josh : Greene.

Guybon Goddard, Recorder. Tho : Greene.

Bearing upon this subject, though of a later date, are the
minutes of the Allsaints' vestry : —

Ordered, that onely the third bell shall be rung at the death or buriell of
those who receive collection.

Ordered, that none shall have any allowance from this parish besides those
who frequent theire parish church and that theire allowance be giuen them
every lord's day in the afternoone, after evening service.

Ordered, that all poore children be put to schole by the overseers, whose
parents are unable to give them education and that they be brought, to be
catechized by the Vicar or his Curate (6th April 1686.)

LOCAL ESPIONAGE.

In the City Library, Norwich, is an interesting vellum-bound
paper manuscript of 81 pages (11 by 7 J inches), termed the Search
Boke for Lynn, SwaffJiam, Walsyngliam, Fakenliam, Holt. It
covers nine years, 1651 to 1659, the hrst entry being dated the ist
of April 1651. The names of those indicted by " the searchers,"
who carried on a system of espionage, are arranged in alphabetical
order. With the offender's name is the date and the crime for which
he was cited to appear before the justices of the peace. The {\\^
areas did not, however, correspond with the hundreds, because Market
Downham, in the hundred of Clackclose, is placed in the Lynn
division. What a varied assortment of indictable offences, some of
which appear in a Latin guise ; for example, felony, insult, riot,
assault and battery, forcible entry, trespass, blood-draft, fornicatio
ci meretricium; keeping a jumart, using greyhounds; snaring hares,
shooting partridges, doves or pigeons; being a cheat, a loiterer, a
nuisance, a drunkard, a common swearer or a recusant (absent ab
ccclesla); brewing beer without a licence, delivering beer to an un-
licensed person, selling beer without a licence or selling less than

390 HISTORY OF KING'S LVNN.

a quart for a penny; suffering tippling upon the Lord's day; permit-
ting unlawful games and for "keeping an inmate"; possessing
unjust weights and measures, as a defective bushel or false pots and
jugs ; neglecting to repair the church, road, bridge, tunnel or sea-
bank ; encroaching upon the common way ; diverting a watercourse ;
erecting a cottage; forgetting to maintain a foldgate or to restore
broken-down fences ; taking bribes ; ignoring a justice's warrant and
finally allowing an apprentice to beg.

As the burgesses of Lynn were amenable to a distinct local
jurisdiction, their names appear only when the offence was committed
beyond the Bounds of the borough. John VVestall of Lynn was
indicted at Swaffham for delivering beer to an unlicensed person
(July 1657) ; Bartholomew Wormell was reported for having " in-
sufficient fences " around his land near the town (April 1657) and
" the dike-reeves of Old Lynn " for neglecting to repair the sea
bank "across the water" (January 1659). From this curious
manuscript a few quotations, relating to those dwelling in Lynn, are
appended : —

Oct: 1652. Adam Thomas of Thompson, digging Turfie.

Ap : 1656. vx (the wife of) Stephain Browne de Gressenhall, not ringing her

swoyne.
Oct : 1656. Twygdom Dorothy vx John Twigdom of Walsoken, A Comon Skold.
Oct : 1659. Squire Tho : of Elm, enclosunge ye comon.
Jan : 1661. Dove Johes de Stoake fierry, ingrosseat frumenti.

The cunning tricks of the old purveyors were not quite forgotten,
and great suffering was still brought about by the unscrupulous
" cornering " of the grain markets. The old ballad, A warning-
piece to Ingrosscrs of Come, describes how Goodman Inglebred, a
farmer, returning from the Linn market, was met by an affable gentle-
man who bargained for a large quantity of barley at 8s. a bushel.
But when the greedy farmer attempted to load the waggons, a
terrific storm tore the barn to pieces, scattered the corn in every
direction, devastated the country for miles, translated the Mephisto-
phelian stranger cunningly disguised in black upon the wings of the
wind and left the engrosser in a state of unenviable collapse !

By means of an Act (20th July 1644) the digging of turf was
restricted. Certain persons were officially chosen to procure turf
for redistribution from uncultivated land. The supply of coal from
Newcastle being stopped, the inhabitants of London, etc., were wholly
dependent upon peat and turf for fuel.

NOT WHAT THEY SEEM.

A remarkable manuscript, received from an unknown corres-
pondent and published by Thomas Carlyle, was supposed to
contain thirty-five Cromwellian letters. They were addressed to
Samuel Squire, an Ironside subaltern, the ancestor of the person who
communicated with Carlyle.* The publication caused a literary
sensation; whilst some regarded the entire manuscript as a clever

* See Thomas Carlyle's article in Frazers Magazine.Vol. XXXVI., pp. 631-654 (Dec. 1847), or
reprint in Oliver Cyomwell'i Letters and Speeches by Thomas Carlyle (1850). Vol. II., pp, 339-378.

XVELDtNG THE BROKEN CHAIM. 391

Chattertonian hoax, the renowned philosopher placed implicit faith in
its genuineness. In his own relentless way, Mr. Walter Rye has
pitilessly demolished the whole fabrication, which apparently sheds
light upon the local history of this period, and has proved them to
be the unprincipled emanation of " William Squire (1809- 1884), a
son of Matthew Squire, a corn and coal merchant, and maltster, of
King Street, Norwich, head of the firm of Squire and Edwards, who
built the malthouses there." Totally ignorant of this, the reliability
of these documents was further tested. Though, indeed, unnecessary,
the ordeal to which they were subsequently submitted tended to
" make assurance double sure."

The " Squire Papers," as they are called, incidentally furnish
the names of 98 men, " who joined us," writes the unscrupulous
manufacturer, " at the Siege of Lynn, and came riding in, full armed,
and went into our second regiment ; and who left us many of them
at Marston Fight, on fancies of conscience and turned Quackers
((Quakers) ; and such like left us at Newmarket and went home with
Eastmen's foot to garrison Lynn and Yarmouth." They came riding
in full armed . . . and went home to garrison Lynn and
Yarmouth. Some of these deserters unquestionably belonged to
Lynn, and a few at least ought to be found enrolled with other
burgesses. A careful search for these 98 names in the manuscript
list of the freemen for this period has resulted in total failure.
There is — Edward Ellis (1638) and Jos. Ellis (1641), but no John
Ellis; and Thomas Goodwyn (1622) and Daniel Goodwyn (1643),
but no Robert Goodwyn; and John Dowynge (1634), but no Samuel
Downeing. Besides, uncommon surnames such as Vankamp, Tizack,
Keckwicke, Ypres, etc., are altogether missing.

ARMY VERSUS PARLIAMENT.

Fearing that the eleven majors-general, appointed in May 1655,
might eclipse him in authority, and being as he conceived inimical to
the liberties of the people, Cromwell withdrew their commissions.
The hitherto unpublished original, "For Major Generall Lambert"
is in the possession of Sir William Ffolkes : its transcript needs no
comment : — •

Sr.

I haue sent this bearer ^'^r. William Jessop to you, for yo'r Comission as
Major Generall, as alsoe yo'r other Comissions, to wliom \ desire you to
deliuer them, enclosed and saled (sealed) vp in a paper, I rest

yo'r loueinge frend

Oliver P.
Munday 13th, July 1657.

Quarrfls between the parliament and the army were rnmmon
occurrences. Just before the assembling of the new parliament,
Xambert succeeded in escaping from the Tower, to which he had
been committed. Hastily gathering together his scattered forces, he
was defeated by Tngoldsby near Daventry (21st April 1660). The
hopes of the Republicans already shaken, were now irrecoverably
blighted. On the 30th Lieutenant -colonel John Stiles in command

392 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

of the parliamentary garrison at Lynn, Avas accosted by the Com-
missioner of Norfolk. The attempt of the Army to gain posses-
sion of the town may well be told in the words of the letter Stiles
immediately sent to General Monk : —

This day the Commissioner of Norfolk came and demanded the keys o
the town gates — wishing them to be kept by the mayor, and likewise requiring
to see our commissions, which they did. I desired them to excuse my delivering
them the keys until I should receive orders from the parliament or (privy)
council. I also acquainted them, that it was usual for the officer in command to
keep the keys of the gates in all places. I, therefore, desired them to wait till I
knew your excellency's pleasure therein. [Popham MSS.]

*****

Worn out with toil and anxiety Cromwell's enfeebled constitution
succumbed to an attack of gout, followed by the tertian ague (3rd
September 1658). Neither before nor since has England witnessed
such a spectacle as the Protector's obsequies. " The estimate of
;,^i 50,000 can hardly be too large for the entire expenses of the
funeral." (Mary A. E. Green.)

Summaries of his character vary according to the quarter from
whence they come. Compare Lord Macaulay's eulogium with the
opinion of Robert Southey. To bitter opponents, Cromwell seemed
indeed a hypocrite, whose " cloak was worn so threadbare, that he
had nothing left to cover his knavery," but to his faithful friends
"he had' a high, stout, honest English heart."

ANOTHER PROTECTOR.

The official announcement of Cromwell's death reached Lynn on
the 8th of September. Here is a transcript of the document : —

Whereas it hath pleased Almighty God in his wise and over-ruleing
Providence to take into his mercy the most serene and renowned Oliver late
Lord Protector of this common wealth, And whereas his said late Highness did in
his life tyme, according to the humble peticion and advice, appoynt and declare
the most noble and illustrious lord, the Lord Richard Eldest Soun of his said
late Highnes (then living) to succeed him in the government of these nations. We
therefore the Mayor and other magistrates of this burrough of Kings Lynn in the
name and with the consent and concurrence of the comonalty of the said burgh doe
with one full voyce and consent of tongue and hart publish and proclayme the said
most noble and illustrious Lord Richard to be the Rightfull Lord Protector of
this common wealth of England, Scotland and Ireland and the dominions and
territoryes thereunto belonging, to whome we acknowledge all fidelity and
constant obedience according to law and the said humble peticion and advice,
with all harty and humble affections beseeching the Lord by whome princes rule
to blesse him with long life and these nations with peace and happines under
his government.

God save his Highness Richard Lord Protectour of the common wealth of
England, Scotland and Ireland and the dominions and territoryes thereto
belonging.

He. Lawrence, Presid't.

Cromwell's third son Richard (1626-1712) was at once declared
Protector; unlike his father, he was incapable of coping with the
cares of state, and when on the 22nd of April 1659, he dissolved
parliament, he virtually surrendered his power, though nominally Pro-
tector a few weeks longer.

UNSTABLE As WATER. 3^3

CHAPTER XXX.

Unstable as Water.

The restoration of the Stuart family was celebrated by public
proclamation at Whitehall (8th May 1660). Charles II. entered
London on the 29th — the anniversary of his thirtieth birthday. A
season of national rejoicing ensued because it was generally acknow-
ledged, that the Commonwealth was other than a panacea for a State
financially exhausted by internal commotion. All the taxes levied by
the Protector's extravagant governments, as the people knew to their
sorrow, were neither sufficient to tide over current exigencies, nor to
pacify a host of clamorous creditors.

Charles was married the 21st of May 1662, in a private room
at Portsmouth, to Catherine of Braganza (the infanta of Portugal,
daughter of John IV.), according to rites of the Roman Catholic as
well as the English Church. The King had no children by his queen,
but his illegitimate children were numerous.

*****

Sieges at any price, whether short or protracted, are dear luxuries,
and the experience gained by the people of Lynn was as unpleasant
as costly. It convinced them, however, that to insure local pros-
perity, they must cast in their lot with the stronger faction ; no
matter how adventitious the circumstances, their future policy must
be to adhere to the principle just enunciated by ranging themselves
on the winning side. Unstable as water? Apparently so, yet like
the good Vicar of Bray, of whom many had perhaps heard, they
W'ould pride themselves in their consistent inconsistency !

How the burgesses rejoiced, how loudly they shouted, when their
whilom enemy the Parliamentarians were victorious at Devizes and
Exeter, at Bristol and Bridgewater; and as soon as Charles was
decently despatched and the Roundheads in the ascendancy how the
Assembly, with pleasing alacrity, ordered the removal of the obnoxious
Royal Arms from the churches and the scabbard of the mayor's
sword (1650); and when ^59 9s. 6d. was voted for the purchase of
four new maces, how particularly anxious they were that the A.rms of
the State should be plainly engraved thereon (1654). Again, to
adequately express their unbounded joy at the deliverance of their old
enemy, His Highness the Lord Protector, from an immature plot, the
resonant booming of the bells was needed.

TO THE "right ABOUT."

"Never was there such a restoration," declares John Evelyn,
"since the return of the Jews from Babylonish captivity," and the
impetuous inhabitants of Lynn, so delirious with joy at Cromwell's
victories, were now on the tiptoes of eagerness to share in the nation's
exultation. To demonstrate their joy by presenting the King, who
had trCcovc'red his» father's throne without shedding one drop of
blood, with ^1,000, as their neighbours at Norwich, proposed doing,
was, of course, beyond the question, yet was there no insuperable

3^4 tilSTOk^ OF k/NG'S LVNN.

reason why the anniversary of a royal birthday should not be devoted
to triumphant festivities. A special feature in the day's programme
should be a procession of three hundred " young maids "dressed in
spotless white as emblematical of the purity of their Sovereign's cause.
To foster the design, two of the newly restored aldermen, Captains
Wharton and Kirby, who held the town, as long as they were able,
for His Majesty's father, generously provided immaculate clothing
for two-thirds of those who paraded the streets.

The Assembly next insisted upon having " the kinges Armes sett
vp as formerly they were." The wardens agreed, paying Daniel Shaw
j£,i6 for the carving and for replacing timber removed and burnt by
Alderman Wormell. For painting and gilding Daniel Wattson
charged £,io. These were other than ordinary every-day expenses,
but it was excusable on such an extraordinary occasion. A rate, for,
say, ;Q^o, w^ould cover the whole, but the assessment was post-
poned until £,60 was needed (1662). Resplendent in colour, Shaw's
handiwork, with the names of the wardens, Matthias Twelles and
Thomas Thetford, and the date 1660, may be seen above the chanceJ
arch, in St. Margaret's church. The Corporation, moreover, decided
that the fee-farm rents lately purchased and amounting to ^41
6s. 2d. " should be restored to his majesty," that is paid once more
to the Crown (i6th June 1660). A few days later, the King received
a copy of a congratulatory resolution, unanimously passed by the
thirteen aldeniien and common councillors, who were present: —

Whereas the mayor and burgesses of this borough have lately, during his
sacred Majesty's interregnum in the Government, being drawn by a kind of
necessity and overawed thereunto in the time of the Government of Oliver,
Lord Protector, procured by letters patent under the great seal of the said Oliver,
then called the great seal of England, a confirmation of their former liberties
and privileges granted unto them by several Kings and Queens of this nation.
And now forasmuch as it hath pleased God most miraculously to bring back his
most sacred Majesty to the exercise of his Government, being his undoubted
birthright, we, therefore, the Mayor, Aldermen and Common Council of the
borough aforesaid, being very sensible of the great goodness and providence of
God herein, and in order to the vindication of our loyalty and obedience to his
most excellent Majesty, do order that the said letters patent of the said Oliver, be
forthwith made null and void and the same are this day cancelled accordingly
(23rd June 1660).

With an eye to business John Crofts (the son of Sir Henry
Crofts) who, at the Restoration, was appointed Dean of Norwich,
approached the Privy Council, praying that the King's right to the
public money and rents still remaining in the hands of the Corpora-
tion, which amounted during the usurpation to ^360, might be trans-
ferred to the Dean and Chapter of Norwich for the reparation of
St. Margaret's church (25th June 1664).

THE LORD OF LYNN.

In nearly every county schemes were devised by influential
Royalists for seizing one at least of the important towns. Lynn, the
custody of which had been entrusted to Lord Willoughby of Parham,
Sir Horatio Townshend of Raynham, Sir Robert Walpole of Hough-
ton, Sir Charles Mordaunt of Massingham and others, was the place

UNSTABLE AS WATER. 395

selected in Norfolk. Not only was the haven secretly strengthened,
but forces were drilled to be in readiness. The county gentry too,
were on the alert and waited for a preconcerted signal. During the
interregnum Sir Horatio Townshend and Sir Charles Mordaunt were
essentially serviceable to the dispossessed Royalists; they went to the
Hague; entreated Charles to return to his dominion and were fore-
most in helping the King to achieve that object. When, at last, the
time came, a terrific storm frustrated the design by preventing their
friends from repairing to the rendezvous; whilst to add to the general
dismay, the Lords Willoughby and Townshend were arrested by order
of the Commonwealth, but Sir Charles Mordaunt persevered and
success at last crowned his efforts. The King landed at Dover the
25th of May 1660.

Such devotion, such valuable assistance, could not well be
overlooked, hence when Sir Charles Mordaunt (the fourth baronet)
returned the second time, he carried in his pocket a patent from the
grateful monarch, creating him Viscount Avalon. Besides, the King
addressed a letter to Lord Townshend, the reinstated governor, ex-
pressing hopes that no seditious persons would dare to disturb the
peace of the borough ; he desired him to live in Lynn and urged him
to be vigilant, to strictly search for concealed arms and to prevent
tumults, insurrections and unlaAvful meetings, " lest it (the town)
should be seized in the conjuncture" (September 1660). To the
dwellers in the Royal Borough, who had suffered through fealty to
the King's father and who, a month before Charles landed, refused
to hand the keys of the town to the Commissioner of Norfolk, such
precautionary measures were as unacceptable as ill-judged. It does
not appear that the governor felt it incumbent upon him even to
reside in the town for any length of time, because whenexer he came
as in 1660-1, 1665-6, 1671, 1683 and 1685 his visit was celebrated
with much bell-ringing. Coming periodically, he resided no doubt in
the magnificent mansion at Raynham, built by his grandfather, Sir
Roger Townshend (1630).

The rise of Sir Horatio Townshend was meteoric ; he was created
Baron Towtishoid of King's Lynn, and was known as " The Lord of
Lynn" (20th April 1661); he was appointed Lord Lieutenant of
Norfolk (15th August), and Commander-in-Chief of the royal forces
along the roast of Norfolk ; High Steward of Lynn (25th November
1664), and was further advanced to the dignity of Viscount Townshend
of Raynham (nth December 1682). As a stanch adherent, he ac-
cepted a grant for twenty-one years of a royalty upon all coals
exported for a yearly rental of ^2,000 (June 1664) and the privilege
of levying a duty of 4s. a chaldron on all coals exported from New-
castle at a rent of ;^i,ooo per annum also for twenty-one years (March
1666-7). His Lordship received besides a flattering communication
from the King, acknowledging the zeal he had displayed in cajoling
loans from the people of Norfolk (30th June).

(l) THE TOWNSHEND FAMILY.

(a) Roger Toitmshcnd built Raynham Mall 1G30 ; Nf.P. for Norfolk 1628;
created a Baronet fiGth April 161 7) ; died ist January 1636.

396 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

Oj) Roger Townshend (eldest son of a) ; died during his minority.

(c) Horatio Toivnshend (son of a ; brother to 6) ; M.P. for Norfolk 1656,
1658-9, 1660 ; freedom of Lynn conferred 1665 ; created Baron Townshend of
King's Lynne, 15th August 1661 ; Lord Lieutenant of Norfolk 1661-78 ; High
Steward of Lynn, 25th November 1664 — 6th August 1684; advanced to dignity
of Viscount Townshend of Ray nham nth December 1682 ; one of the Commissioners
sent to Breda ; married for his second wife Dorothy Walpole, sister of Sir liobert
Walpole, the prime minister ; her ghost — "The Brown Lady of Raynham " — is
said to haunt the Hall.* He died December 1687.

(d) Charles Toivnshend (eldest son of c), 2nd Viscount ; High Steward of
Lynn, 21st April 1701 to 1738 ; Lord Lieutenant of Norfolk 1701, resigned 1730 ;
Secretary of State and Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, 1717; Secretary to Charles
II. ; introduced the cultivation of turnips into England ; brought the seed from
Hanover ; hrst grown at Raynham ; died June 1738.

(e) Charles Townshend (eldest son of d) ; born nth June 1700; 3rd
Viscount ; M.P. for Yarmouth 1722 ; Lord Lieutenant of Norfolk 1730, resigned
1739 ; summoned to parliament as Baron Lynne of Lynne Regis ; appointed
Lord of the Bedchamber ; died 12th May 1767.

(f) George Toienshend (eldest son of c) ; born 28th February 1724; 4th
Viscount ; godson of George IV. ; freedom of Lynn, 29th August 1760 ; advanced
to dignity of Marquis Townshend (Norfolk), 31st October 1786; he com-
manded at the taking of Quebec 1759 ; died 14th September 1807,

George Townshend, the 2nd Marquis,wa.s created Earl of Leicester in 1784;
extinct 1855.

Anns : — ist and 4th : az. a chevron erm. between three escallops arg. (for
Toivnshend) : 2nd and 3rd quarterly gu. and or, in the ist quarter a mullet arg.
in the centre of a crescent sa. (for Vere).

(2) HOW THE WIRES WERE PULLED.

As the grateful recipient of many favours, to whom even more
were promised, Lord Townshend was always eager to parade his
loyalty. In 1672, he was found tampering with our Corporation, by
thrusting upon their notice Sir Francis North (1637-1685), the King's
solicitor-general, as " a person of great worth and honour and (one)
upon all occasions fit and useful in important concernments," in other
words — a fimi and uncompromising royalist. By so doing Lord
Townshend was pleasing the King as well as Lord Henry Howard,
and prospectively benefiting himself. But the story of this pohtical
intrigue is best revealed by the letter Samuel Pepys received from the
Treasurer of the Commissioners : —

Sir, I had this morning full discourse with the Lord Howard [Duke of
Norfolk in 1677], who was telling mee how hee finds himself oppressed with his
prerogative of recommending on elections ; and how hee stands engaged to the
King for Sir Francis North, to [Barbara Villiers] the Duchess of Cleveland [one
of the King's mistresses] for Sir John Trevor, liir councill and feoffee, and to
[James Stuart, the King's brother] the Duke [of York] for you ; telling me by
what circumstances the Duke attacked him ; and I find not that hee hath any
hesitation in the complying with the Duke of your behalf; though hee bee in
much distraction how hee shall accommodate the other 2 persons. The present
expedient is the putting what interests and force hee can for the getting the
Solicitor elected at Lynn. Yet in that particular hee conflicts with a great
dilemma ; because Cook [Robert Coke, Esq., of Holkham] a youth of the
principall estate in Norfolk, stands at Lyn, and his Lordship is tender of giving
him an opposition there, because the gent, (gentry) of the countie doe alreadie
murmur at his disposing those places, upon which hee hath a full and perticular

* See There is uo Death (iSyj), by Florence Marryat, pjj. 8-ii, and The Nighl Side of .Vci/«ri;,by Mrs'
Catherine Crowe, p. yb.

UNSTABLE AS WATER. 397

influence, upon strangers and courtiers, neglecting gentlemen of the countrie,
who hold themselves disobliged thereby ; and are more reasonably perhaps
dissatisfied, that he concernes himself at Lyn alsoe where hee ought to leave
them to a free competition, without concerning himself,

I took noe notice that I had heard anything of his concession to the Duke
[the writer goes on] but my advice is, that you goe on Monday to give him a
visitt at Arundell House, where I am sure you will not find him ; but you are to
see the porter, to write down your name and not forget the acquainting his
Lordship, that you were to waite on him. Hee goes on Monday into Surrey, to
return on Tuesday ; and perhaps to goe with the King on Wensday to the
Fleet, where hee will receive your letter. It is not doubted but Sir Robert
[Paston] will have his promised title, though I cannot yet heare that any thing
is yet don in it. I shall enquire more closely and you shall receive what can

bee collected by, Sir

T. POVY.

August 31 : 1672.*

After promises of hearty support from the elite of Lynn, Sir
Francis North regaled his friends " with a very handsome treat which
cost him above one hundred pounds." From the first he was a
popular candidate, being well known as an eminent advocate, as
chairman of the commissioners for dividing the fens, and as judge of
the royal franchise of the Isle of Ely. Moreover, he promised faith-
fully to use his influence at court in procuring guard-ships to protect
the local shipping. Having already qualified himself by accepting the
freedom of the borough (7th August 167 1), he awaited a vacancy. In
the summer of 1672, Sir Robert Steward (or Stuart), the recorder,
one of the town's representatives, happened to die, f when Sir Francis
at once declared his intention of contesting the seat. Owing to
miportant business, he was unable to be present at the election; he
therefore sent his brother "to ride for him," and Matthew Johnson,
afterw'ards clerk in parliament, to act as "an oeconomist."

The rule they observed (writes his biographer) was to take but one
[public] house and there to allow scope for all taps to run. Nor was there need
of more, for, as had been foretold, there was no opposition, which was a disgust
to the common people, for they wanted a competition to make the money fly ;
and they said Hobson's choice was no choice. But all passed well and the
plenipos returned with their purchase, the return of the election, back to
London. [Lives of Lord Keeper Guilford {Francis North), &-c., by Roger North,
1826, Vol. I. p. 174.]

At the meeting of parliament both our burgesses were " dis-
membered " and a new writ issued. Whereupon the election agents
returned to Lynn. There was every appearance of an easy walk-over
the second time, but on the eve of the election Sir Simon Taylor, a
wealthy wine merchant, announced his intention of contesting the
seat, producing at the same time a potent auxiliary — a butt of sherry !
Sir Francis, as before, permitted the taps in one house only to run
during the contest, which cost his Lordship above ;^30o. This, as
may be discovered further on, was a very modest item. The bribing
and treating were, nevertheless, described as "more than usually
flagrant " (Jessopp). This election was, of course, challenged, but

* .See Diary and Correspondence of Samuel Pepys (1851), Vol. V. pp. 290-1.

■j" OinittPd in Lestrange's Official Lints. John Coke, Esq., of Holkham, died i66i (Blomefield's Hist,
Norfolk, Vol. IX., p. 238)

398 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

Sir Simon Taylor had acknowledged defeat by signing his opponent's
return. Sir Francis North Avas therefore allowed to take his seat
(14th February 1673). When, however, he became Attorney-General,
he was threatened by a storm of opposition, because in that capacity
he was an assistant of the House of Peers. This he disregarded, but
resigned when appointed Lord Chief Justice of Common Pleas. The
event was the harbinger of a remarkable contest between Robert Coke,
Esq., of Holkham, and the Lynn wine merchant (21st April 1675).
Referring to this incident, Roger North observes : —

Mr. Coke of Norfolk succeeded him [Sir Francis] in the burgess-ship of
Lynn, but not so easy and cheap ; for his managers did not keep in due bounds,
but let loose the tap all over that large town, and made an account of 7,000/",
or more, resting due to the town, besides what had been paid for the expenses.
Sir Simon Taylor opposed, and thought he had the return, and being resolved
to petition was courted by the Earl of Danby, at the price of all his charges,
which were not trifles, to forbear, as he did, else his lordship's son-in-law, Coke,
at that conjuncture had been turned out.

From another source we learn how a majority of 70 votes cost
the successful candidate ^10,000. The victory was celebrated by
two effusions from John Greene, the local poet, entitled, T/ie
Countryman's discourse tipon the Lynn Election and a string of heroic
Verses upon the same.

Treasurer Povy was right in his prognostication. Sir Robert
Paston was raised to the peerage as first Earl of Yarmouth, whilst
Samuel Pepys was returned member for Rising (January 1673). Six
years later and just before the general election, there was a change
in the Lieutenancy of the county. Lord Townshend was succeeded
by Lord Yarmouth, who using his influence against the party, with
whom he ardently cooperated three years before, issued a circular
letter giving the following advice to the electors, " Such persons
are to be chosen as are of unquestioned loyalty and will be serviceable
to the King, the church and the country." Referring to our
borough, he observes : " For Lynn stands the mayor Captain Turner,
a very honest man, and one Mr. (Simon) Taylor, a merchant of the
place, not so much a fanatic, as I suspected. I am told he will prove
right and I shall be bold to advise him to do so." Both were
returned the 5th of February 1679.

(3) THE LAST STRAW.

In the Record Office, is a peculiarly interesting communication,
professing to give " an account of the affairs in the City of Norwich
and the County of Norfolk " (1681-2). It throws considerable light
upon the retirement of Lord Townshend. The writer insinuates,
that Thomas Osborne Earl of Danby was instrumental in getting
Lord Townshend removed, because as lieutenant he discarded Mr.
Robert Coke, the Earl's son-in-law, for Sir Francis North. After
spending ^20,000 in furthering the King's restoration. Lord Tow"ns-
hend considered the injury done him a great one, especially as he was
supplanted by a person of "mean fortune," whose interests he helped
himself to advance. This is what one party states, but Owen Hughes
in a letter to Lady Yarmouth discreetly reveals " what some of the

UNSTABLE AS WATER. 399

other party say" — that the "laying aside of Lord Townshend was
through the introduction of popery." What an ingenious exhibition
of suppressio vert !

Yet were there unmistakable signs of activity among the appar-
ently dormant recusants. To Protestant as well as to Roman
Catholic, the contemplation of a profligate monarch, who often ridi-
culed religion, was a curious enigma which filled their souls with dis-
may. In what was he better than Vincent Bourne's cornicula? Al-
though supreme head of the Established Church, yet like the cawing
jackdaw "perched upon the steeple," religion was truly "no concern
at all of his."

The ingenious plot concocted by Titus Oates, in which the Earl
of Danby was implicated, resulted in a miserable fiasco, but the Duke
of York, the prospective King, was, however, an inflexible Roman
Catholic, and might not even His Majesty have secret tendencies that
way? Then the Popish recusants began to shew their predilections.
The good folk of Lynn found themselves once again in a quandary.
Which now was likely to be the winning side? At last veering
round, they established a night watch to counteract any dangers, which
might arise through the secret meetings of the recusants (nth Novem-
ber 1678). Besides, it was arranged to return no more of the court
party but two honest burgesses. Now Robert Wright, of Wiggenhall
St. Germans, a member for Lynn, was indeed a royal favourite; he
was one of the twenty persons in Norfolk upon whom Charles desired
to confer the proposed new order. The value of his estates is given
at ;^i,ooo, and he was to have been "a Knight of the Royal Oak."
Afraid lest jealousy might foster enemies, the King prudently aban-
doned the idea. Robert Wright, having gained his freedom (1666-7),
was returned at the decease of Sir Edward Walpole, Knight of the
Bath. When he expressed a desire of again offering his services, the
Assembly politely intimated their unanimous averseness to any candi-
date other than an inhabitant of the borough. He, with his col-
league, Robert Coke, Esq., was dismissed, and two resident burgesses,
namely, John Turner and Simon Taylor, were elected (5th February
1679).'

REWARDS AND PUNISHMENTS.

The Statute of Indemnity and Oblivion was indeed passed, but a
considerable number of persons were excluded. Special pardons
under the Great Seal were sent to Sir John Palgrave, Sir John Hobart,
Thomas Toll, and others, who opposed the Earl of Manchester at the
siege, but the delinquents who had taken part in the trial of the late
King were ordered to. submit to royal clemency within fourteen days,
" on pain of being excepted from any pardon or indemnity as to their
lives or estates." Whilst disloyalty was, as a rule, severely punished,
distinctions were as freely conferred upon the adherents of the roval
cause. Hence Charles became the recipient of innumerable petitions
from all sorts and conditions of men — and women too, every one of
whom was and had been superlatively loyal to him and his father of
blessed memory. The era of reparation was at hand and each strove
to be foremost in the field. Men, who had borne the fierce brunt

400 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

of the battle or had sacrificed their fortunes in raising troops, turned
instinctively to their sovereign for sympathy and assistance. Those,
who had received wounds or lost limbs, whose estates were sequestered,
whose loved ones were gone never to return ; and those too, who, at
imminent risk, had sheltered the martyred King in a hopeless struggle,
or his more fortunate son in a romantic, yet hazardous adventure to
regain a lost kingdom — all, buoyed up by hopeful expectancy,
could discern relief at hand. Some indeed- were raised from the
abject poverty into which they were fallen, but hundreds of meritorious
applicants were unheeded.

Edward Bromley, a Lynn stationer, suffered imprisonment six
times; besides sacrificing ;^ 1,000, he had been twice tried for his
life. This flagrantly loyal subject applied for help, forwarding with
his petition a recommendatory certificate signed by Sir Horatio
Townshend and ten other influential persons (1660.) Another towns-
man — Edward Schouldham — having endured many losses at sea,
through his adhesion to the Royalists, begged the Treasury Com-
missioners to grant him the controller's or searcher's place at the
Custom House {23rd June 1660). The appointment was made the
next month, but it was given to Edward Bromley. Several charges
were, howe\er, brought against Bromley, who produced certificates of
character signed by Sir Jacob Astley, etc., hence Laurence Withers,
anticipating a dismissal, solicited Sir Ralph Hare to secure the
position for him. Thomas Raymond, too, who " ventured skin and
all for the martyred king " at Lynn, would gladly serve his gracious
son (27th October 1662); and Rose, the widow of George Towers,
prayed that permission might be given the mayor to confer the
freedom of the borough upon her son John (30th May 1663), the
grandson of Colonel John Saul, who w'as executed at Lynn because
of his sterling loyalty (1650). On " receipt of the king's letter,"
John Towers, mercer, was presented with his freedom (1663-4).

During the civil war, Colonel Thomas Bedingfeld, son and
heir of Sir Henry Bedingfeld of Oxborough, raised and maintained
a regiment ; taken prisoner at the storming of Lincoln, he was
detained two years. By an order of parliament, his estate, as well
as his father's, was sold (25th September 1645) ^"^ he was compelled
to go into exile. Whilst abroad his health gave way ; he therefore
asked permission to return, so that he might try the curative effect
of the waters at Bath, for he was suffering from " dead palsy."
Permission was accorded him, but he had first to give security not
to act in anywise piejudi("ial to the parliament, either when in
England or not ; to leave the kingdom as soon as his health should
be restored and not to return (3rd May 1649). From the petition
the ex-colonel presented to Charles IL, we learn how Sir Henry
Bedingf eld's estate was sold for ^60.000 ; how the son paid ^21,000
to repurchase part of the estate ; how the manors of Eriswell and
Chamberlain in Suffolk had been subsequently sold to the Society
for the Propntration of the Gospel in New England, and that he
never received one penny from the proceeds of the sale. The
association being unlawfully constituted, Sir Thomas prayed that in

UNSTABLE AS WATER. 401

any future charter " the company " might obtain, care should be
taken to preserve his title to the two manors (November 1660).
The Eriswell estates, now estimated to be worth £^'j,ooo per annum,
were, however, lost to the Bedingfelds, who never received any
compensation. Several years since they were sold by the New
England Society to His Highness Dhuleep Sing. (Mason.)

FATE OF THE REGICIDES.

Of the twenty-nine persons implicated in the death of the King's
father, who voluntarily surrendered, ten were condemned and
immediately beheaded (October 1660). The government, not content
with destroying the living, attempted to wreak its vengeance on the
remains of the dead. The bodies of Oliver Cromwell, Henry Ireton
and John Bradshaw were dug up and hanged in their coffins on the
gallows at Tyburn (30th January 1661), whilst those of Elizabeth
Cromwell the Protector's mother and Jane Desborough his sister
were taken from their tombs in Westminster Abbey and buried in a
neighbouring churchyard. A great reaction set in, and all were
anxious either to undo or obliterate what Cromwell had done. The
council at Lynn agreed, that Oliver's charter confirming the liberties
of the borough should be cancelled (23rd June 1660). Who will
say the Corporation had not received direction to pursue this course,
for at the King's suggestion the city of London decided to expunge
from their records all ads " which savour of the disloyalty of those
times and may continue the sad remembrance of them to posterity to
the reproach and dishonour of this city?" In vain may the antiquary
search among the fading treasures of our archives for the
Cromwellian charter; in vain too may the curious endeavour to find
any memorial of Cromwell's sister Margaret, who bereft of " the
passing tribute of a sigh," sleeps peacefully in the graveyard of St.
Margaret.*

Now, among those " deeply guilty of that most detestable and
bloody Treason, in sitting upon and giving Judgment against the
Life of our Royal Father," were two persons whose faces were
familiar. We refer to the sometime governor and the recorder of
the borough — Valentine Wauton and Miles Corbet. Having signed
the death warrant, they were cited to appear within fourteen days,
because having fled, they " could not be apprehended and brought
to a personal and legal trial for their said Treason according to Law "
[Royal Proclamation].

(l) OUR GOVERNOR.

Valentine Wauton was descended from Sir Thomas Wauton, or
Walton, speaker in the reign of Henry VL He married Margaret
Cromwell (baptised 20th February 1600). the sister of the Protector,
the 20th of June 161 7. Wauton was returned for Huntingdon and
sat in the Long Parliament with Messrs. Percival and Toll (1640).
After preventing the removal of the plate from Cambridge to the
King at Nottingham, he raised a troop of horse to serve under Robert

• "1643: March.'-Margaret Walton the wife of Mr. Valintiiie Walton Gouernour 2" (that is 2nd
March), P.R.,S\.M'

2 Y

402 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

Devereux, Earl of Essex. Captured at Edgehill (Warwickshire), he
remained a prisoner until July 1643, when he was exchanged for
Sir Thomas Lunsford. In the mean time his wife, worn out with
anxiety, died at Lynn, where she was living probably with her sister,
the wife of John Desborow. Regaining his liberty, VVauton accepted
the colonelcy of a foot regiment belonging to the Association. After
the siege, he was made governor and the celebrated Miles Corbet
recorder, each receiving the freedom of the town as a preliminary
qualification (1644). Under Wauton's supervision the place was
strongly fortified and " reserved, according to the Presbyterians, as
a city of refuge for the Independents, in case their party should be
drawn to extremity." During a brief sojourn here, the Governor
married again, his wife, a Mrs. Austen, being the daughter of Mr. Pym
of Bell (Buckinghamshire). Returning " after his new marriage,"
he was welcomed with " a peale or two," the ringers receiving two
shillings from the wardens of St. Margaret's for their exertion (6th
December 1644). His namesake, a son by the first marriage, who
served as captain in Cromwell's army, was killed at the leaguer of
York (1644).

Present at a meeting of the parishioners in the nave of St.
Margaret's church, the Governor signed the minutes, spelling his name
Wauton (20th December 1644). During the Interregnum he held a
magnificent suite of apartments in Wliitehall. The rooms were most
superbly furnished, the walls of one being draped with six pieces of
tapestry (worked by royalty), depicting incidents in the lives of
Hercules and Elijah. Unfortunately, Wauton was chosen one of the
King's judges, and in that unenviable capacity affixed his signature to
the fatal warrant.

Suspecting the sincerity of the King's offer, Wauton made good
his escape to the Continent. He was unaccompanied by his wife.
She died at Oxford, and was buried in St. Mary's churchyard (1662).
The disobedience of the exile, " attainted for the murder of the late
King," was not to pass unnoticed. On the 30th of June 1661,
Augustus Brooke and Charles Porter were authorised to seize any
goods or concealed property belonging to Wauton and to deliver them
to Lord John Berkeley of Berkeley, afterwards Lord Lieutenant of
Ireland. The reversion too of his estate at Great Staughton
(Huntingdonshire) was granted to James, Duke of York (17th
February 1662). A month later warrants were issued instructing
Henry Beverley to arrest Wauton, and Sir John Robinson, lieutenant
of the Tower, to accept the custody of the miscreant (14th March).
But Wauton was not to be favoured with their benign attention.

For two years nothing was heard of him, but suspicion was at
length aroused when Mr. Lawrence, a Yarmouth minister, and Mr.
Thorne returned from the Continent. They were believed to be
emissaries of Sir Michael Livesey, Colonel Wauton and other of the
exiled judges in Holland, and were come to further some desperate
design against the King. Of Wauton's career, other than he
escaped the scaffold, nothing very trustworthy is known. He is said
to have quitted Germany and lived disguised as a gardener in

UNSTABLE AS WATER. 403

Flanders, yet at one time he certainly moved in good society and
was in the secret service of the Dutch. Anthony Oldfield of
Spalding, in a letter preserved with the State Papers, recounts an
amusing incident to his friend Edward Christian of Westminster.
A Lynn merchant, when at Dordrecht, accidentally dined
at a house with Admiral Opdam and Valentine Wauton. Although
the ex-governor, whom he describes as " one of the scarlet dye," was
disguised in a periwig down to his waist. Lane recognised him and
foolishly kept it no secret. Whereupon another Dutchman present
threatened to knock the merchant's brains out, if ever he revealed
aught about their guest (5th February 1664). Through " disappoint-
ment, anxiety and dread of a violent and ignominious end," Wauton
died suddenly in Flanders.

(2) OUR RECORDER.

Miles Corbet, an eminent counsellor at law, one of the chief
commissioners for the civil government during the Commonwealth
and Lord Chief Justice of Ireland, was seized with other refugees
in Holland, through the instrumentality of Downing the English
ambassador, who acted in a similar capacity under Cromwell ! Corbet
had been not only recorder at Lynn (26th January 1643 to 31st of
January 1650), but also at Yarmouth, a borough he represented in
parliament. Although appointed a member of the High Court of
Justice, he refrained from attending until the day the terrible sentence
was pronounced. After his apprehension, he was brought to
England, tried, condemned and executed. When at Tyburn, he
fer\-ently exhorted the crowd to lead good lives.*

If there be any that I knew I had wronged (he exclaimed) I would ask them
pardon and forgiveness . . . I thaok God, I came to parliament with an estate, and
I sp nt it whilst I sat in parliament. And I thank God, they cannot find any
estate I have to forfeit, for I have none to forfeit. This business that we are here
for, 1 was very far from being a contriver of . . . Truly I thank God, I never got
anything, either of King's lands, nor Bishop's, nor Dean and Chapter's lands. I
never knew what belonged to the trade of buying or selling lands. I thought I
was in a better way looking to that station which God had called me to . . ,
and I think it is the honour of good Christians and of good people to be obe-
dient to the government they are under, and to uphold it to the uttermost.

After a long prayer Miles Corbet submitted to the executioner.
His body, after being suspended with those of Colonel Barkstead
and Colonel Okey, was cut down, publicly quartered and carried to
Newgate to be boiled, in accordance with the terms of barbarity
expressed in the sentence (April 1662).

A SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT.

Taking advantage of the general Act of Amnesty, Sir Roger Le
Strange, emerging from his continental retirement, returned to
England (1653), and as Cromwell treated him in a conciliatory
manner, his hope of forgiveness was fully realised. He became a

• Richard Corbtt was member for Lynn from the nth of February to 15th of September 1553.
Lestrange.)

404 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

voluminous writer and an indefatigable pamphleteer. Notwith-
standing all he had suffered through his unswerving loyalty, James
Whitelock actually denounced him as a traitor, who accepted a
douceur of ;£6oo from Cromwell ! Whereupon Sir Roger sent, what
he terms " an apology," to Lord Chancellor Clarendon, vindicating
his own allegiance to the House of Stuart ; he served the late king
in trying to rescue Lynn, was arrested and condemned to death.
Through the favour of his friends he managed to escape, refusing,
as he proudly added, to plead for mercy ; though in broils before
the Restoration, yet had he never spoken when in restraint more than
four times to Cromwell (3rd December 1661). As nothing further
happened, this infamous accusation was discredited.

Sir Roger published the first real newspaper — The Public
Intelligencer and the News (1663), which was given up to make room
for the London Gazette. On the 17th of October 1665, he applied
for State aid in collecting news, asserting that the venture was
unprofitable and the work it involved burdensome. In a letter to
Lord Arlington he stated, that he received only ;;^40o a year from
his news-book, but was spending more than ;^5oo in entertaining
spies for information. Joseph Williamson, afterwards Sir Joseph
Williamson, offered to procure him congenial employment with a
yearly salary of ;^ioo, and relieve him of his editorial anxieties. Sir
Roger, however, pleaded earnestly to retain the paper which entailed
an annual loss of £,100, but his efforts were in vain; he was
supplanted by Williamson, whose official position, combined with his
methodical habits, \vell qualified him for the post. By way of com-
pensation, Sir Roger was appointed " Surveyor of the Imprimery,"
or printing presses, and licenser of all publications.

In order to secure authentic information for the London Gazette
(1665), Williamson selected correspondents in various coast towns.
With his official papers, as secretary to Lord Arlington (Henry
Bennet), whom he succeeded as Secretary of State, were found
thousands of trivial communications, which strongly exhibited the
individuality of the writers. After a lapse of two hundred years,
these letters were carefully read and docketed. Whilst Richard
Bower of Yarmouth delighted in describing the insolence and
encroachments of the Presbyterians, Captain Silas Taylor of Harwich
and Edward Bodham of Lynn (1630-1688) contented themselves
mainly with registering the state of the winds and weather, and the
departure and arrival of the convoys with their fleets of colliers.
And what more could be naturally expected of the Lynn correspon-
dent of the London Gazette, who was a merchant and the owner of
several vessels, whose son, " Captain Edward," if we mistake not,
died in Norway, his body being brought to the place of his nativity
and buried in St. Margaret's church (1704) — than that he, like the
Merchant of Venice, might ever and anon be seen —

Plucking the grass to know where sits the wind,
Peering in maps for ports and piers and roads.

To Edward Bodham let us acknowledge our indebtedness, for the
threads of information, which, woven into this historical tissue, enrich

UNSTABLE AS WATER. 405

the tapestry of the period with patches of local colour, sombre
perchance in tone, but more truthful and less fugitive than others
of greater attractive brilliancy.

WAR WITH THE DUTCH.

As yet there was no abatement in the fierce commercial rivalry
between the English and the Dutch. Although the two nations were
no! tacitly at war, hostilities frequently occurred. Sea-side villages
were raided; vessels were scuttled and our sailors made prisoners.
Being no whit better than their enemies, the men of Lynn returned
these unnecessary civilities whenever an opportunity arose. The
Government frigate the Merlin, with her companion the Hawk of
Lynn, commanded by Andrew Ashford, was indefatigably alert,
cruising to and from "the Lynn Depths," but the wily Dutchmen
and their allies the French, who were far too well acquainted with
the intricacies of our waters, crept through and did mischief. Seldom
could our vessels venture beyond the haven without an attendant
convoy. Towards the close of 1660, several traders, bound for Hull,
Boston and " the Lynn Mart," were anxiously waiting at Harwich.
The convoy, with mounted guns, was there, but her stores had run
shoTt, because in November, Captain Edward Grove generously
supplied the Hawk with a week's provision, and as yet no reply from
the Navy Commissioners, authorising him to replenish his depleted
larder, was come. Soon after the revictualling, the vessels freighted
for Lynn weighed anchor (ist January 1661). The same year our
Corporation was requested to provide two convoys. None could more
thoroughly appreciate the utility of their services than the burgesses,
yet because of pecuniary inability they begged to be excused.

During the year 1665, our military as well as naval forces were
continually in a state of apprehensive vigilance, through repeated
demonstrations made by the Dutch along the neighbouring shores.
At times the greatest alarm prevailed; all classes suffered in
consequence, the merchants lost their freights and the mariners their
vessels, upon the high seas. Trade was stagnant, and those in
humble circumstances suffered not only through the general depression,
but through the cruel operation of the press-gang. The local militia
assiduously watched every creek along the coast. The stretch from
VVeybourn Hoop to Lynn was guarded by Lord Richardson and Sir
Ralph Hare's foot soldiers; those of the first meeting at Haydon
Alland, and the second at Hempton Green. The troop of horse,
commanded by Lord Lieutenant Horatio Townshend, Sir William
Hovel! and Sir Jacob Ashley and patrolling north-west Norfolk,
had Holt for their base.

As soon as war was definitely proclaimed, several Lynn ships
were secured to assist in victualling the navy. Captain William
Hall, the convoy, advanced ;^io to Mr. Gauden, the government
agent, who wns busy purchasing stores in the town. Commissioned
to impress as many men as possible and being short of money, the
captain applied for the repayment of the loan (5th April 1665).
Michael Young, captain of the Young Lion of Lynn, also asked for

406 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

the settlement of an account incurred by feeding men inmpressed at
Harwich; moreover, he bitterly complained, because all the beer on
board had gone wrong (3rd July 1665). Another Lynn victualler,
the Hopewell, was unfortunately lost, through damages sustained in
a collision with the Rcsohition. On board were many packs of
shoes, clothes and bedding sent by John Burrows, the " navy slop-
seller," who implored the commissioners to indemnify him for the
loss, which he estimated at ^£512 3s. 7d. (1665). In November, the
Dutch fleet chased a couple of Lynn ships ; unluckily one was
captured — the firsi out of the 60 or 70 colliers belonging to the port.

There is reason to believe the enemy was doggedly scanning the
eastern seaboard in the spring of 1666. Vague rumours, from time
to time, spread consternation among the townsfolk. Towards the
end of April the proximity of the Dutch fleet, bearing southward,
probably towards the Straits, was undeniably established. Some
counted fifty, whilst others, blessed with greater perseverance and
keener eyesight, averred there were at least one hundred and fifty
sail. Several colliers, however, from Newcastle arrived safely, and
twenty more were eagerly expected (4th May).

During the war, marked success attended the efforts of
the English. On Saturday, the 3rd of June, the fleet, com-
manded by the Duke of York, encountered the enemy under
Admiral Opdam, a few miles off Lowestoft, when a severe
engagement terminated in a signal victory for the English.
The Dutch lost 18 ships and 7,000 men, including four
admirals, whilst our casualties in slain and wounded did
not exceed 800, The firing of the guns was distmctly heard
not only in London, but at Lynn, where the greatest anxiety prevailed.
Edward Bodham proudly reported "the happy news" — how the
English fleet, but little damaged, destroyed eleven ships, drove their
opponents into Zeeland and were then skilfully manoeuvring off the
coast of Holland. A public thanksgiving service was immediately
announced. Afterwards, when " the certain account of the victory "
arrived, the bells of the churches loudly accentuated our municipal
joy. Tuesday the 20th was, however, devoted to national thanks-
giving.

Towards the end of July, ten trading vessels from Holland and
one from Christiania anchored in the haven. The sailors, communi-
cative fellows, were positive the English would never fight again, be-
cause in future their King would be accompanied by forty men-of-war !
The French, too, were reported to be hovering near the Wash. Four
colliers were chased along the Lincolnshire coast; three ran aground,
and were protected by the inhabitants, whilst the fourth reached
Boston in safety (i6th July). One day, a French sloop impudently
entered the Lynn channel. Having gained the consent of Benjamin
Holley the mayor and Major Anguish, the shipmasters armed them-
selves, intending to seize the French vessel. They hurriedly boarded
the Customers' hoy, but Mr. Perkins, H.M. Surveyor, ordered them
out and "threatened them with a pursuivant." The ardour of these
brave volunteers was thus undeservedly damped. During the delay,

UNSTABLE AS WATER. 407

the sloop vanished behind a convenient horizon (25th June 1666).
A phantom ship (or was it the same ?) was observed on the 30th ; but
when two vessels under Captain Hawley attempted to intercept its
passage — " this insubstantial pageant faded, leaving not a wreck be-
hind.'' The inevitable French sloop appeared once more. The
"baseless fabric of a vision," laden with a substantial cargo of malt
and barley, was at last skilfully entrapped off Wells (15th August).

The enemy, having reequipped a shattered fleet, provoked the
English beyond endurance. Another battle, fought near the North
Foreland, was the result (25th July). The English again succeeded
in pursuing the Dutch to their own ports. The 23rd of August was
set apart for another national thanksgiving. Here, the ceremony was
"performed with all imaginable solemnity." The Mayor and alder
men in scarlet gowns, with the homely attired councilmen, met at
the Town Hall, and proceeded from thence, " the town music playing
before them to the great church," where appropriate sermons were
preached in the morning and afternoon. During the interim the
Corporation renewed its corporeal strength at the humane invitation
of Benjamin Holley. Throughout the evening, the inhabitants at
large solemnly regaled themselves, though with a less appetising menu
— bonfires, fireworks, the playing of the band and the discharge of
the guns on board the ships.

A temporary cessation of hostilities ensued, but De Witt swore his
sword should never be sheathed until he obtained revenge. He re-
ligiously kept his oath. Sir Ralph Hare's foot company and Sir Wil-
liam Hovell's troop of horse were indeed disbanded (14th Septem-
ber), but the English continued on the alert. Horatio Townshend
thoroughly reorganised the militia, whilst the Lynn trained bands
were paraded and a strong guard posted round the borough. A
diligent search, too, was instituted for the capture of all resident
aliens. The general movement of troops began the previous month.
The troop of horse commanded by Montague Bertie Earl of Lindsey
left Boston and were temporarily billeted here (17th August); another
troop, that of Lord Richard Byron of Byron (or Burun) followed, but
proceeded to guard the coast towns (27th). In turn, they were suc-
ceeded by those of Edward Montagu Earl of Manchester and Vis-
count Mandevile, which stayed in the town until the 2nd of Septem-
ber.

Believing the coast to be clear a hundred sail quitted Sunderland
without a convoy. Four of the number bound for Lynn separated
from the main body at Spurn Head ; soon after a couple of the
enemy's sloops appeared (27th August). One was taken, two were
beached, and the fourth escaped by dodging among the treacherous
sands. Hearing this, our fleet of light colliers prudently waited until
the arrival of the Little Lion. The next month the whole Dutch fleet
of go sail was anchored seven leagues south-east of Dunkirk ready
to assail the English. A pickeroon bore up the Lynn channel, where-
upon the alarmed oyster-dredgers ran their boats into Thornham
haven (26th September). The ketch Portsmouth was ordered to cruise
along the coast, but had weather compelled her to seek the port for

408 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

shelter (21st October). Three Lynn vessels notwithstanding set sail
with provisions for the garrisons at Guernsey and Jersey. The bur-
gesses were disgusted with Captain Willoughby, who invented all sorts
of excuses rather than put out to sea. Well indeed might " the people
talk lavishly of the ill-management of the King's naval affairs.'' No
fish were caught, and the pessimists bewailed the capture of the col-
liers from Newcastle (9th November). The Portsmouth, with her 10
guns and valiant captain, sailed away on the 12th. Four days later
the Cygnet arrived, and Captain Smith declared his intention of con-
voying vessels in a southerly direction,

(l) MILITIA AND TRAINED BANDS.

A monthly coiitribution of ;£^ 7 0,000 was necessary to provide the
sinews of war (1662). The clergy were charged upon their spiritual
estates. Towards the amount the county was assessed at ^3,650.
Norwich maintained a separate force, whilst Yarmouth, Lynn, and
Thetford contributed ;i^i8 13s. 8d., ^13 i8s. id., and ^2 10s.
every week respectively. The deputy-lieutenants received their com-
missions and instructions from Lord Townshend (23rd September).
Lynn was in the division assigned to Sir Ralph Hare, which met the
other three divisions at Swaffham (7th October).

After a general muster (i6th July 1666), the militia was not called
up for a long time. The next year, however. Parliament determined
upon raising an amiy of 12,000 men in tAvelve equal companies. Li
"Regiment IL" were included the companies belonging to this part
of Norfolk. The officers were: —

Colonel — Lord Townshend.
Lieutenant Colonel — Sir Peter Gleane.
Major — Edmond de Grey.

Captains — Lord Townshend, Sir Peter Gleane, Edmond de Grey, Sir William
Hovell, William Cropley, Jo. Anguish, Wm. Bladwell, Tho. Wood,
Edw. Barber and Thos. Holland.
Lieutenants — Geo. Townshend, Thos. Fletcher, Jno. Castle, Jo. Johnson, Jo.

Greymes, Fr. Thoresby, Rich. Gimbort, Thos. Kinge, John

Harris and Wm. Curtice.
Ensigns — Char. Spelman, W^m. Rogers, Wm. Bullock, Fr. Hovell, W^rn. Cropley,

Thos. Talbot, Miles Hobart, Rob. Read, Wm, Doughty and J. A.

Calthorpe.

(2) NOLENS VOLENS.

During the early part of this reign. Captain Stoakes was busily
scouring Yarmouth, Lynn, Scarborough, as well as York and other
inland places for able seamen. Disgusted with a consignment of
sixty-two, which arrived at Chatham, Commander Peter Pett com-
plained to Samuel Pepys, because being made up of all sorts of
country trades, they were totally unfit for service ; never had he seen
such a ragged crew ! (28th November 1664). So stringent did the
press become, that freighters could not find enough hands to work
their vessels. This was severely felt at Lynn, where trade was wholly
suspended. The owners petitioned Parliament, for permission to
retain two able seamen for each ship ; also for an armed convoy to

VNSTABLE AS WATM. 409

accompany them because all the able seamen were taken into bis
Majesty's service, " and they did not think it safe to sail with all
foreigners " (December 1664).

There was an astonishing leakage of men, not necessarily through
casualties, but because of desertion. Wells, Lynn and the west coast
of Norfolk especially were known to afford capital shelter for run-
aways. From the squadron at Harwich, eight hundred escaped.
Many invalided seamen were stationed at Aldborough, hut the agent,
after disbursing half the benevolent money, was forced to forbear,
because the men were utterly demoralised and refused to go on board.
Commenting on this circumstance, Bodham exclaims, " Experience
makes devils wise men, much more weak mortals" (23rd June 1666).
In the same month one hundred men were entrapped here, and as
many more in the villages around. Some were packed off in con-
veyances provided by Lord Townshend, others were rushed on board
a dogger,* for manning the Fairfax, whilst the rest were deported by
the Swallow. In July, sixty were secured in Lynn (13th), and a
fortnight later seventy more were betrayed by certain shipmasters,
bribed for that purpose.

The last company, escorted to Yarmouth by Major Anguish, are
reported as saying they were " ready and cheerful to fight the Hollan-
ders." Perhaps they were at that moment, because the mayor Ben-
jamin Holley, who accompanied them a mile or two on their way, had
instilled into their veins a little Dutch courage, in the shape of twenty-
shillings' worth of " drink!" (13th July x666). Oddly enough, our
old friend Pepys, clerk of the Acts of the King's Navy, draws a
vivid picture of what was happening; a few days before the arrival
of the Lynn contingent, he makes this entry: —

To the Tower several times (says the diarist) about the business of the
pressed men, and late at it till twelve at night, shipping of them. But Lord !
how some poor women did cry ; and in my life I never did see such natural
expressions of passion as I did here, in some women bewailing themselves and
running to every parcel of men that were brought, one after the other to look for
their husbands, and wept over every vessel that went off, thinking they might be
there and looking after the ship as far as ever they could by moone-light, that it
grieved me to the heart to hear them. Besides to see poor, patient, labouring
men and housekeepers (householders) leaving poor wives and families, taken off
on a sudden by strangers, was very hard, tmd that without press-money, but
forced against all law to be gone. It is a great tyranny. (2nd July, 1666.)

GIVEN IN SECRET.

Towards the end of May 1670, the post left an important letter
at the South Lynn vicarage. It was addressed to the Rev. Mordaunt
Webster. t After critically examining the seal by which it was
fastened, the vicar opened the missive and read these lines: —

You are prayed to take notice that there is delivered to Thomas Brown
who driveth Lynn Stage Coach for Mr. Pane ... a box safely done up and

* Dogger, a lisliiiig boat ; Dogger Bank.

t The conduct of the Rev. Mordaunt Webster, vicar of St. Margaret's (1669-1672) and All Saints'
i668-i68y), gave rise to sad complaints, which were perpetuated in a ballad — The Mtnk's Hood pulled off
1670-1). See the Tanner MSS., Bodleian Library, No. 134.

ilO titSTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

directed, with a letter for yourself, in which box is contained certain pieces of
plate given to the Church of All Saints, as by the said letter you will better under-
stand, this being sent you by the post in case of any miscarriage by the carrier,
and that demand of him may be made of the box.

Your servant,

London, May 26th, 1670. Philocrates.

The carriage of the box is paid for, and the box is sealed with the same as
this letter is. Pray upon receipt of the box let me have speedy notice, directing
your letter to be left with Mr. Thomas Tyllott's house, m Drury Lane, and
against the Earl of Clare's, in London.

Can you not imagine the reverend gentleman excitedly pacing
his study, anticipating the arrival of the London coach? "Philocrates
—Philocrates/' he muses, "who on earth is Philocrates!" And
then at the first blast of the guard's horn, as the coach speeds through
the South Gates and along Coldhirn Street, you see him hastily cross-
ing the grave-yard and awaiting the approaching vehicle. . . "I've
a parcel for you, sir," yells Tom Brown, suddenly pulling up his
horses, " a box of which I have taken great care. Alright, thank ye,
Sir — carriage paid — tcick," and smack goes the pliant whip. Ere
many minutes the box is open and the contents are displayed. Then
comes the perusal of the accompanying letter: —

Sir, there is delivered to Thomas Brown, coachman, servant to Mr. Pane,
coach master of Lynn Coach, directed to your self, a box safely done up, in which
are two flaggons of silver and one patten of the same, which are given to the
Church of All Saints in South Lynn for the use of the Holy Table of the Lord ;
you may be pleased to receive them into your safe custody for that end, and to
give myself by a word or two that you have received them according to the sub-
scription and direction hereunder wTitten. This being what 1 gave in trust, I
shall not doubt of your ready concurrence herein, nor of our mutual prayers to
Almighty God for so good a work in this age of words. He in mercy sanctify
the same to the eternal benefit of the pious giver and increase the number of such
who love the place where his honour dwells. I remain, the Church's and your
most faithful servant,

London, May 26th, 1670. Philocrates.

Pray send an answer to me in a paper sent to Thomas Tyllott at his house
n Drury Lane and against the Earl of Clare's house in London. The box is
sealed with the same seal of this letter.

With the paper in his hand, the bewildered vicar murmurs,
" Philocrates — a friend, a strong friend, a true friend, but who on
earth is Philocrates?" Anon the parishioners are called together,
to whom the mysterious communication is read. Of solid silver the
flagons and paten weigh respectively 6t, ozs. 12 dwts., 62 ozs. 5 dwts.,
and 25 ozs. 4 dwts. Each bears the inscription: " deo. opt. max.

EX. ECCLES. OMN. SANCTOR, IN LENNA D.D.D. A.D. MDCLXX." As

the parishioners leave the church, they trouble not their heads with
the perplexing letters, yet, wuth the vicar, they cannot refrain from
asking, " Who is Philocrates?" but from that day to this, the identity
of tTie mysterious benefactor has never been established (5th June).

BtRTH OP NONCONFORMITY. 4ll

CHAPTER XXXI.
Birth of Nonconfofmity«

The " Cavalier Parliament " decided that neither House could
make war upon the King or command the militia. It passed the
Corporation Act, by virtue of which all — whether Presbyterians or
Independents — who held office in any municipal corporation, were to
renounce the Covenant, to take an oath of non-resistance, declaring
it unlawful to bear arms against the King, and to receive the sacrament
according to the rites of the Church of England. Thus, by excluding
nonconformists or "dissenters," from the corporations, it also
excluded them fromi seats in the House of Commons, because in many
boroughs the municipal bodies elected their own members. To
exercise

" THE DIVINE RIGHT

— to govern wrong," Charles determined upon bringing all muni-
cipal bodies under his direct control. Commissioners were therefore
appointed, to report upon the administration of local government in
various boroughs. Towards the end of 1662, Lord Townshend, Sir
John Tracy, Sir Edward Walpole, John Spelman, Esq., and Roger
Spelman, Esq., visited Lynn for that purpose, and were sumptuously
entertained. Invested with special power, they expelled Robert
Thorowgood (mayor in 1656) from the Council, placing in his stead
Laurence Withers, who was more to their liking. A few weeks prior
to this and possibly at the secret instigation of the commissioners,
Francis Rolfe, clerk to the Corporation since the 29th of August 1654,
was summarily "discharged'," to make the way for Owen Barnes.*
Though a faithful servant, Rolfe perhaps opposed the tactics of the
court party to gratify the King. Hence, to prevent the spread of
disaffection, his removal was expedient. When, howe\-er, the furv of
the storm abated, Rolfe was quietly restored to office (5th January
167 1). He finally retired on the 29th of September 1678, and was
succeeded by his son Edtnund, whose faithful services, strange though
it be, met with similar questionable recognition at the beginning of
the next reign.

"the chartered rights of men."

During this reign two charters deserve consideration : —

C. 24. Dated at Westminster, gth of March, the 17th year of the reign (1665),

counting, of course, from the death of Charles I.
C. 25. Dated also at Westminster, gth of July, the 36th year of the reign

(1684).

The earlier charter was in the form of letters patent of inspeximus
and confirmation. It dealt almost exclusively with our previous
charters. The members of the Corporation were to be chosen as
before, but if any objected to accept office, they were permitted to

• !n Lestrange's Official List, "Owen Barnes" is omitted (See C.W.A. .S(. N. under i()6j-0, also
Richards' Hht. Lynn, vol. II., p. 8ii) as is alao " Mr. Robinson " town clerk in 1656 (See 11 th liepvrt Hist
MSS. Com., pp, 149 .^nd 183).

412 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

escape from the difficulty by paying an adequate fine. To prevent
misapprehension the various tines were fixed — the mayor jQ^o, an
ald'erman ^40, and a common councilman ;^2o. If the mayor
happened to die before being sworn, for every member of the Corpora-
tion was compelled to subscribe to the Act of Supremacy, an alderman
was immediately to take his place; if, however, the alderman refused
to do so, the Common Council Avere within eight days to select another
to the office.

Before the issue of what is generally termed " the Fourth
Governing Charter " {9th March 1665), the borough surrendered
their Magna Charia, granted by King John. " March 31st 1665.
Paid for ringing this day, being the dav of the Retoum of the
Townes venerable Charter, 00: 03: 00.'' (C W.A., St. M.) Prior
to this, the members of the Assembly were occasionally " discharged "
through non-attendance; for example, Gregory Turnall (17th February
1645), Richard Davy, who had removed to Yarmouth (14th February
1647) and Nathaniel Atwood, who was connected with the navy (i6th
March 1659). Subsequently, too, and without being fined, alderman
William Keeling and councillor Giles Alden (28th November 1673)
were sent about their business, but alderman Benjamin Holley,
refusing to accept the mayoralty, was mulcted of ;^40 (29th August
1677), whilst Dr. William Bassett was excused serving, because
aldermanic duties were regarded as incompatible with those of a
medical practitioner (28th April 1679).

Later in the reign, the town was threatened with disfranchisement,
by means of a writ equivalent to a process of q^iio warranto. This
was, however, followed by the second charter, apparently designed
for the harmless reconstitution of the borough; the real object of
which was to render every individual member of the Corporation
subservient to the whim of the sovereign (1684). " To bring the
corporations which returned members of parliament completely under
the power of the Crown, the city of London, by writ of quo warranto,
on very insufficient grounds was declared to have forfeited its charter ;
and during the rest of the reign the boroughs were compelled, one
after another, to surrender their charters. In their stead, they
received others, which ensured the ascendancy of the tories." (J. C.
Curtis.)

With few exceptions, every municipal borough in the kmgdom
was compelled to surrender its charter, as an expression of loyal
obedience and confidence. Norwich, Yarmouth, Lynn, and Thetford,
each expecting greater privileges, acquiesced in the mandate, and
found cause for regret, because their liberties were curtailed rather
than enhanced. Our Corporation, "with one assent and consent,"
agreed to surrender the town's charter "fully and freely" to the
King (26th May 1684). What else could they do? Yet the way in
which they twisted an imperative necessity into a voluntary virtue is
amusing. Three days later, having in the meantime received a formal
resignation from Lord Townshend, the High Steward, they sealed the
deed of surrender. What is styled " the instrument of the deputation "
was signed the 9th of June, when the deputies were authorised to

BIRTH OF NONCONFORMITY. 413

petition Charles to re-grant, renew and confirm such liberties, fran-
chises and powers, as he in his princely wisdom should think proper
for his service and the good government, profit and interest of the
borough. The charter was accordingly renewed and confirmed under
the pervading influence of "princely wisdom," with a minimum
amount of regal tampering. His majesty not only conferred upon the
burgesses the unbounded liberties therein enumerated, but upon two
of their number, John Turner and Simon Taylor, the honour of
knighthood (gth July 1684).

Every member of the then existing Corporation was to retain
office. The "-first and present Chief Steward," Henry Howard,
Duke of Norfolk, was appointed for life, and was to be rewarded with
" the ancient annual fee of ^10 every Christmas." * Benjamin
Keene, Esq., was acknowledged " the first and present mayor." The
recorder Henry Ferrour, the two coroners — Edward Bodham (the
local correspondent) and John Kidd, and the town clerk Edmund
Rolfe — all, the mayor excepted, were to continue in office quam diu
bene se gesserit, as long as they behaved themselves, and parentheti-
cally, pleased the King. But why constitute an autocrat of the
council chamber in the person of the mayor ? His tenure of office,
as will be seen, was equally as uncertain. Though " drest in a little
brief authority," his robes of office might be demanded at any moment.

The following aldermen were also to hold seats for life, " unless
in the mean time the same aldermen or any-one of them be removed
from office for any reasonable cause," namely. Sir Simon Taylor, Sir
John Turner (knights), Benjamin Holley, Henry Bell, Thomas
Robinson, Giles Bridgman, Edmund Tassett, Henry Chennery
(esquires), Edward Bodham, John Kidd, Edmund Hooke, and
Thomas Pepys (gentlemen), f But the eighteen councilmen were to
continue members of the Assembly, in accordance with the ancient
usage of the borough. The list included Robert Sparrow, Osbert
Backler, John Pulvertoft, William Hatfield, Robert Paine, Thomas
Lemon, William Lynstead, Henry Bell, junior, William Holley,
Charles Turner, Henry Pope, Robert Few, John Taverner, Robert
Awborne, Robert Allen, Timothy Preist, Robert Fuller, and William
Stringer — all without exception — "gentlemen."

Verily, the acme of our liberties was attained ! Alas, " at one
fell swoop " the chartered rights of men, extolled by Edmund Burke,
were swept away. Notwithstanding the seductive preamble of the
charter, power was reserved to the King, his heirs and successors at
their pleasure, to remove, by order made in the Privy Council and
under the seal of the same Council, any steward, mayor, recorder,

* The fir%i High Steward was Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, i8th June 1572 (I.estrange^

t Thomas Pepys (1629-1692), married Gratiana (1637-1696) ; both were buried in St. Margaret's
church. He was an attorney at law, living in Lynn ; freedom, 1682 ; alderman for life, 1683 ; cousin to
the cplebrated Samuel Pepys, to whom he offered pecuniary as'^istance at the Rising election (Feb. 1679).
See Diary ^ Vol. V., pp. 295-6.

Roger Pepys of Impingham (baptised 1667) was another kinsman who also lived here ; he married
Anne, the daughter of Sir Charles Turner, bart., bv whom he had children, several of whom died young,
eg. Talbot Pepys (26tli Jan. i703-23rd July 1717), buried in St. Nicholas' chapel.

The pedigree in the Diary and Correspondence of Samuel Pepys, F.R.S. (1831), is incomplete and the
dates ajijiended to "Thomas Pepys" are incorrect.

414 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

town clerk, justice of the peace, alderman, common councilman, or
other official of the borough. Henceforth the members of the
Corporation were flaccid manikins in an uncertain hand.

"remember ST. BARTHOLOMEW."

The celebrated Act of Uniformity received the royal sanction the
19th of May 1662. It decreed, that every beneficed clergyman should
unfeignedly assent to eventhing contained in the amended Prayer
Book and that they, one and all, should receive special episcopal
ordination before the Feast of St. Bartholomew (24th August) on
pain of immediate deprivation. Tutors and schoolmasters were also
required to subscril>e to a similar declaration and obtain licence from
the bishop. William Rastrick (died 1752), minister at the Presby-
terian church, was the author of a manuscript list of those who sacri-
ficed their livings through this coercive measure. His beautifully
uiitten manuscript is preserved in the St. Margaret department of our
Public Library ; it is entitled — Index Eorum Theologorttm Aliorum^ue
No. 2,257 Qju propter Legem Uniformitatis, Aug. 24. An. 1662 ab
Ecclesia Anglicana secessermit Alphabeiico ordine ac secundum gradus
suos disposilus. Cura ac opera Gulielmi Rastrick (1734). The Rev.
Edmund Calamy, D.D. (1671-1732), published a list of those who
" were silenced and ejected by the Act of Uniformity" in his Abridg-
ment of the Life of Baxter (1702); the two compilers were notwith-
standing independent workers, because Samuel Palmer, who edited
Calamy's work (T/ie Non-conformist Memorial) in 1775 acknowledged
his indebtedness to Rastrick's "curious and valuable manuscript."

Of those who resigned in Norfolk — 58 according to Rastrick (be-
tween 60 and 70 according to Calamy), three belonged to Lynn. The
Rev. John Home, A.M. (1615-1676), of Trinity College, Cambridge;
and vicar at All Saints' (1646-1662), who earned the distinctive
epithet of "the Father of the Lynn Dissenters"; John Dominick and
Mr. Fenwick or Fentwick, who were probably teachers, as their names
do not appear in the parish records,

(l) A TRANSATLANTIC NAMESAKE.

Sixteen 5-ears after the Pilgrim Fathers set sail the Rev. Samuel
Whiting, a Lynn minister, embarked for America. He was born at
Boston, Lincolnshire; his father, John Whiting, being mayor of that
town (1600), and his brother John filling the same office (1625).
Having graduated at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, and taken holy
orders, he acted as private chaplain to Sir Nicholas Bacon and Sir
Roger Townshend. Subsequently he spent three years as colleague
with the Rev. Nicholas Pryce, "preacher " at St. Nicholas. During
his sojourn, complaints of his nonconformity to certain rites reached
the Bishop. Through the cordial intercession of Theophilus Clinton,
Earl of Lincoln, and the unanticipated death of King Jam.es, the
charges weie not pressed, although the culprit was cited to appear
before the Court of High Commission. Shortly afterwards, he left
Lynn and settled at Skirbeck (1628 or 1629). The old grievances

BIRTH OF NONCONFORMITY. 4l5

were however renewed, whereupon he determined to leave for New
England. " I am going (he remarked) into the wilderness to sacrifice
unto the Lord and I will not leave hoof behind." In one of his
sermons soon after his arrival, he exclaimed :— " We have left our
near and our dear friends, but if we can get nearer to God here,
He will be instead of all and more than all of us." Tliis faithful
minister died the nth of December 1679 at the age of 82 years, hav-
ing laboured 43 years in America.

The advance band of indomitable settlers appeared over the
rocky north-east hills, where resided certain chiefs (June 1629).
With strong arms and hopeful hearts the brave pioneers began to level
the ancient forest. From the Sagamore Hill, in the 'territory of
the Third Plantation of Massachusetts, can yet be seen a lovely undu-
lating country to the west, whilst to the east is outspread a com-
modious harbour, determined on the one hand (south) by the Point
of Pines and on the other (north) by the dark, rugged peaks of the
Nahants. The town of Siiugus had only been incorporated six years,
but the name was changed, as is seen by the record of the General
Court dated the 20th of November 1637. The entry is singularly
explicit:— " Saugus is called LiN," and a mark over the n denotes
the doubling of the final letter, hence the first spelling was precisely
the same as its prototype the older Linn in England. The
name was adopted as a compliment to Samuel Whiting — the
dearly-loved minister from King's Lynn, Norfolk. The town,
of whose origin we have written, has now a population of
75,000, and has commercially and in every way eclipsed its humble
parent.

That the people of Lynn were in sympathy with their kinsmen
across the Atlantic is apparent from two entries in the records of St.
Margaret: —

Collected for the natives and distressed people of Newe England, and that
from house to house within the parrish, and paid vnto Mr. Joshua Greene, Ald'n,
the 20th of November, 1653 . . . £2^ : 13 : 00.

Collected for And towards the propagation of the Gospell in New England,
according to an ardnance of parlament in that behalfe and paid the 20th of
Nouem., 1653, to Joshua Greene, Ald'n, appointed to receive the same as appears
by his receite the summe of £"25 : 13 : go.

Both evidently refer to the same amount; it is to be feared
that the "distressed people" never received the help so freely given,
because there was added by another hand — " this Collection is plaied
about & is misplaced." At first sight, it might strike the reader
that the clergy were not particularly pleased with the work of their
trans-Atlantic comrade, but a positive misappropriation the same year
shews there was great laxity and remissness.

Collected for the poore inhabitants of the Towne of Rungaye in Southfolke

for a Losse sustained by fyre and paid [interpolation] " no man, but was

laid out in repayring ye Church" , . . £01 : 15 : 00.

At his summer house in Nahant, Longfellow hears the vesper
chimes "borne on the evening winds across the crimson twilight,"

416 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

and whilst listening to the melodious bells in the hoary tower of St.
Margaret, Mr. John R. Simms, a local poet, exclaims: —

Bells of Lynn, or home, or yonder,

Oneness yours by common name ;

So can nations, myriad-peopled,

Oneness like together claim :

Strong the bond that binds us — common ;

Were, and still we are akin

Peal ye of it, and for ever,
O ye sounding Bells of Lynn.-'-

(2) THE PRESBYTERIANS.

Speaking of the Rev. John Home, who after his secession from
the Church of England, became the founder of perhaps the first body
of nonconformists here, Mr. John Brown, B.A., tells us:— "He went
constantly to church, yet preached thrice in his own house every
Lord's day and on other days, besides lecture sermons, he expounded
the scriptures in order, twice a day to all that would come and hear
him, as some always did." [History of Congregaiionalism, 1877.]

In 1673 John Home and Charles Philips were licensed to preach
in the house of Charles Peast and John Kingstead. At the beginning
of the movement, the attendance was small, the meetings being held
up a yard in the Black Goose (St. Nicholas') Street, in a part of the
tenement rented either by Peast or Kingstead. After a time the
round, disused Glass-House in Spinner Lane (Cattle Market) was
converted into a suitable assembly room, and lastly to accommodate
the growing congregation a chapel was erected in Broad Street upon
a site subsequently occupied by the Albion Hall, and now by the
Free Christian church.

A/inis/ers.
{i}. The Room in Black Goose Street : —

John Home, A.M., 1663-1676.

Anthony Williamson (till 1701).
(2). The old Glass House adapted : —

John Rastrick, M.A., 1701-1727.

William Rastrick, 1727-1752.

Anthony Mayhew. 1 753-1 777-

(3). A Chapel built in Broad Street (40 by 35 feet) with a gallery facing the
pulpit ; sittings for 300 hearers. Side galleries were afterwards
added, and it was lengthened 18 feet : —
William Warner, 1777- 1800.

William Richards, M.A., 1802-1803.
[morning service only].

(3) THE FPIENDS.

Although the Presbyterians are generally regarded as the pioneers
of nonconformity in Lynn, yet the first organised body of Protestant
dissenters was a small society of Friends. As early as 1653, Thomas
Briggs visited our town, where his mission was by no means appre-
ciated ; he was vehemently abused, and on one occasion a savage dog
was let loose, but it at once made friends with him. Two years
later George Fox (1624-1691), the zealous expounder of the Gospel,

* ZVotw on Xht Way (1897) by J. R. Siraras. Additional stanzas (igo).

BIRTH OF NONCONFORMITY. 417

halted here, whilst travelling through Norfolk. To be persecuted
for conscience' sake was no uncommon occurrence at this stage of
religious liberty. Several times, whilst in the Eastern counties, Fox
narrowly escaped being cast into prison. Just before entering Lynn,
he and his co>mpanion were apprehended on an absurd pretext^ of
being house-breakers. Ho\ve\-er, as there was no difficulty in estab-
lishing an alibi, they were "with reluctance set at liberty " (1655).

Having set up our horses (Fox writes) we met Joseph Fuce, who was an
ensign, and we wished hii^to speak to as many people of the town as he could,
that feared God ; and to the captains and officers to come together ; which he
did. We had a glorious meeting among them . . . many were converted there.
Lynn being then a garrison (he continues) we desired Joseph Fuce to get up the
gate opened by the third hour next morning, for we had forty miles to ride next
day. By that means we came next day by the nth or 12th hour to Sutton, near
the Isle of Ely.

At the sessions, August 1661, Bartholomew Hewlett, Christopher
Goad, and Edward Case were imprisoned for not attending the parish
church. There they were to remain, until they should find sureties
to answer the indictments agjinst them. Others suffered because of
their refusal to pay tithes. The amount demanded in Norfolk for
three years (1656-7-8) was ;£39 os. 5d., for which goods valued at
£^^?> los. were confiscated. On the 7th of December 1663, a detach-
ment of soldiers from the garrison made a brutal raid upon the Lynn
meeting-house and captured nine worshippers — Edward Shooter wool-
ccmber, * Robert Turner glover, John Yaxley, Thomas Waller, Joseph
Whitwoith, and Joseph Hasle-A^ood, respectable townsmen, beside
three traders, who annually attended the Mart, namely, Joseph Town-
send, of Lincoln, Anthony Preston, whose home was sixty miles away,
and Benjamin Townsend, who suffered considerable pecuniary loss;
his goods deteriorated in value during his prolonged incarceration,
whilst his six pack-horses leisurely " ate their heads off."

Like Christian and Faithful, the prisoners were first exposed for
some hours in "the cage," to the great delight of a derisive multi-
tude; they were next conducted from thence to the Mayor, who
placed before them the Oath of Allegiance, not that he had any cause
to suspect their loyalty, but to extort from them an oath, which, to
men invariably truthful was an act of supererogation, meriting severe
censure, t From the presence of William Wharton they were led to
the gaol and treated as vile conspirators. Although the w^eather was
intensely cold, these pious religionists were allowed no fire, and were
forced to sleep upon the bare floor. The straw, moreover, brought
by their friends for bedding was inhumanely taken away and given to
felons. After six dreary months, the prisoners were placed before
the judge, when once more refusing to take the prescribed oath, an
indictment was drawn up against them (27th INLiy 1664). Their trial
was, however, postponed until the next sessions. Examined the 2nd

* At the request of Lieutenant Underwood, he received his freedom, agreeing to give 40/- to the
poor (1652).

t " Now I verily believe that it's very well known unto the kin{», that our denying to swear, is not
upon any Popish account, but only in obedience to Christ's command recorded Matt. V. 34, James V. 12."
Henry Jackson, a prisoner in Warwick gaol, wrote thus to the King (3rd Sept. 1666).

2 Z

418 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

of February 1665, their answers were again deemed unsatisfactory
(non confessio) ; hence the severe sentence of pramunire was recorded
against them, and most, if not all, were sentenced to long terms of
imprisonment.

The gaoler Ralph Emerton was exceedingly vindictive and
treated the Friends far worse than ordinary culprits. He boarded up
the windows, depriving them of light, so that they could not see to
work, and of air, so that they could scarcely breathe. To the pro-
tracted rigour of this man's brutality, Edwan^ Shooter at last suc-
cumbed. One day Emerton violently threw back a heavy iron-
situdded door behind which Anthony Preston was standing, intending
to crush the prisoner between the door and the stone wall ; but Preston
instinctively detecting the malicious design, broke the force of the
impact with his hands. Strange to relate the Lynn gaoler died in
his chair the self-same night.*

Fox describes his second visit, which happened at this time, in
these words: —

Whilst I was in that country (the Fens), there came so great a flood that it
was dangerous to go out ; yet we did get out, and went to Lynn, where we had
a blessed meeting. Next morning I visited the prisoners there, and then back to
the inn and took horse. As I was riding out of the yard the officers came to
search the inn for me. I knew nothing of it then, only I felt a great burthen
come upon me as I rode out of the town, till I was got without the Gates. WTien
some Friends that came after overtook me, they told me that the ofificers had been
searching the inn as soon as I had gone out. So by the good hand of the Lord,
I escaped out of their cruel hands. After this we passed through the counties
visiting Friends in their meetings. The Lord's power carried us over the perse-
cuting spirits and through many dangers. His truth spread and grew, and
Friends were established therein ; praise and glory to His name forever.

From a summary of those who were persecuted in Norfolk from
1660 to 1666, a few particulars are taken — 113 termed "sufferers"
probably lost goods, seized for the non-payment of tithes; no were
imprisoned ; 4 were banished most likely to the plantations in the Bnr-
badoes, and one died in prison at Lynn. Early in September 1666,
the High Steward, Horatio Townshend. was abnormally active in
sending "fanatics" to gaol; on the 14th he unexpectedly ordered
the release of all but three, who were to abide his pleasure. For
refusing to pay tithe several Friends were prosecuted in 1672; the
incidental expenses "as apears p mr. Burrige his bill " amounted to
;£2 7s. 2d. The brutal inhumanity with which these harmless enthusi-
asts were treated, the filthy dens into which they were thrust, and
the exasperating indignities to which they were subject through the
cowardly animosity of itheir gaolers, prove indisputably that " the
glorious Restoration " did neither encourage nor even defend that
liberty of conscience so inestimably dear to Englishmen. t

* Antliony Preston, who settled in Lynn, died in ifiyS. His burial (by no means a solitary case) is
recorded in these words : — " Anthony Preston, a quaker, wasput into a hole in his own yard (i8th Aug.)." An
affidavit certifying that the corpse was wrapped up in nothint; but woollen (26th) appears in the Parish
Register fSt. N.). The Act for Burials in Wool (to encourage a declining industry) came into force the ist
of August 1678.

t Richard Ransom, a miller of North Walsham, having joined the Quakers, suffered no less than
15 years' imprisonment. In 1685 he was confined in Norwich castle for the non-payment of tithes.

John Gumey of Norwich, an ancestor of the Gumeys of Runcton, suffered three years' imprisonment
for refusing on religious grounds to take the Oath of allegiance (1683-6).

BIRTH OF NONCONFORMITY. 419

Since 1655, there has unquestionably existed a Society of
Friends in Lynn. It is, however, impossible to say where they first
met for worship. A small room in Ferry Street, not far from the
Public Baths, was used at one time ; afterwards a house, perhaps in
Crisp's yard, Stonegate Street, named after Jane Crisp, a quakeress.
Richards speaks of three burial grounds ; he refers to one in Buck-
ingham Terrace, now a garden ; another in New Conduit Street, and
the third possibly near the Lady Bridge brewery. In Buck's East
Prospect of Lynn (1741) a " meeting-house " is marked, which seems
to denote the original building in New Conduit Street, rebuilt some-
what later. IifThe boundary wall a stone may be noticed, inscribed —
q's m. 1774; which being interpreted reads — "Quakers' Meeting
(house). 1774." A new Sabbath school was opened (1883) and the
committee of the adult school purchased the Gaywood reading room
(^37), where gratuitous instruction is given (1889).

SACKCLOTH AND ASHES.

A virulent epidemic, which caused widespread desolation in this
country, made its appearance at Yarmouth (November 1664), and is
believed to have been brought ashore by an infected crew from Rot-
terdam. That strict preventive measures were taken to safeguard
London is evident, because Captain William Hall, of the convoy
Coventry, informed Samuel Pepys when writing the 25th of April
1665, that he had carefully observed the precautionary orders pre-
viously given. Whilst escorting 30 vessels to Lynn, he put into
Lowestoft to obtain a supply of wood and candles. Not permitting
his men to land, he v/ent and ordered the goods himself, which were
placed upon the shore and subsequently taken on board. Early in
June, however, the dreadful scourge was devastating the metropolis.
The total number of deaths within the walls of the city — an area then
of one square mile — for the year ending the 19th of December i66t;,
is officially stated to be 9,887. In Norwich, which suffered severely
in 1666, as many as 3,012 died.

The outbreak was first felt in Lynn about the loth of September,
but the manner of its introduction must ever remain an unsolved prob-
lem. Twenty-one died in eight weeks. The fair at Gaywood, as
well as the Mart and markets, were discontinued, whilst communica-
tion with other places was strictly prohibited. Throughout the next
year, Norwich, Cambridge, Peterborough, etc., suffered from a recur-
rence of the epidemic. To prevent the ingress of unwelcome
strangers, our gates were watched (9th Julv 1666). On one occasion
the guard was evaded by a servant maid from Norwich, who was taken
ill after being in the town a few hours (23rd July). The house at
which she stayed was promptly "shut up." Precautionary' measures
were adopted too, when the disease was reported to be again prevalent
in Peterborough (29th August 1667). For use in the churches two
books " against the humiliation day of London " were purchased, and
the special prayers therein contained were offered at the humiliation
services here.

420 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

THE ART OF MAKING MONEY.

Coins either of gold or silver once constituted the authorised
currency. From the reign of EBward I. silver farthings and half-
pence were issued ; owing, however, to a steady increase in the value
of silver, these then significant coins grew not only finer by degrees,
but beautifully less. To obviate the difficulty, traders and vintners
during the i6th century started distributing lead, tin, latten or even
leather tokens, promising to accept the specie in exchange for coin
of the realm. Where money was largely circulated, tradesmen kept
sorting boxes into whose different compartments they placed the
tokens of the respective tradesmen, and at stated periods exchanged
them either for silver coins or an equal number of their own tokens.
Abbey counters and foreign coins were used when the demand
exceeded the supply of tokens. James I. granted letters patent to
Lord Harrington to strike farthings (1612). Great inconvenience
followed the stopping of " the Harringtons " (1644), therefore to
facilitate business the corporations of certain important towns issued
copper tokens representing half-pennies and farthings (1648;; this
went on until the royal ha If -penny of Charles II. appeared (1672).

Specimens of thirty 17th century farthing tokens, struck by Lynn
tradesmen, have been 'catalogued by Mr. E. A. Tillett in his list of
Norfolk Tokens. He has, however, omitted the one found at the
demolition of the South L}nn vicarage house, which bore the
grocers' arms — a chevron between nine cloves ; three, three and three,
with the words — of : lin : reges on one side, whilst on the other
appear the initials n.r.w. and the legend — in: norfolke. The
earliest local token was isued by a wine merchant, Giles Bridgman
(1650); he was churchwarden (1667), mayor (1679) and living in the
Stonegate ward, was assessed at ;£^2 and ^2 for a coalyard.

Besides the token of private individuals, the following towns
made their own farthings : —

Norwich

Yarmouth

Lynn

Diss

Cley

The copper farthings of the Lynn Corporation were i3-i6ths
inch in diameter and weighed 20 grains. They may be thus
described : —

(i). O^KiNGS Lyn Farthing i568 (in three lines) ; mint mark a rose above and

below ; two mullets on each side of the upper rose, and one on each

side of the lower rose ; a mullet on each side of the date : beaded.

R — The Arms of Lynn, three dragons heads erect, in the mouth of each a

cross crosslet fitchee ; beaded.

(2). A variety differing^ in the obverse die, having a large mullet above and below
instead of the rose as mint mark.

(3). Similar to the above, but dated i66g.

Although there was a lamentable scarcity of small copper coins,
the striking of money by corporations was an infringement of a
privilege strictly relegated to the king. " Amongst other marks of
majesty and the dignities aqd prerogatives of empire," as erring

four varieties

1667-1670

)> >>

1667-1669

three ,,

1668- 1669

one only

1669

»> j»

no date.

BIRTH OF NONCONFORMITY. 421

corporations were informed, " the right of striking and coining money
was not the least important, and that any exercising such right
without grant or licence should be speedily punished." Norwich
accordingFy prayed for mercy the 3rd of September, Yarmouth the
loth of October and Lynn followed suit the 4th of November 1670.
Norwich waited three weeks, Yarmouth six months and Lynn two
years before receiving his Majesty's pardon. Unlike several other
towns, each luckily escaped without paying a heavy fine for so
excusable an experiment. The Lynn farthings were " called in,"
and the finale expressed in these words : " Ordered the Town Seal
to be fixed to an instrument acknowledging his ALajesties grace and
favour in pardoning the Corporation for making of farthings " (2nd
November 1672).

P'rom an examination of various silver marks the Rev. C. R.
Manning concludes there was an assay office in Lynn (1630-1640).

THE BRIDGE OF SIGHS.

In early days, the Whitefriars, living in the village of South
Lynn, erected a bridge over the Nar, and kept the structure in repair
until banished from tlieir home. In later years the maintenance of
this convenient approach was the cause of dispute between the
parishioners and the burgesses. Although, in 1605, the bridge was
unsafe for traffic, neither would repair it : those of South Lynn
contending that the responsibility rested with the mayor and
burgesses, because in times past they voted money for its upkeep, and
besides having bought the estate of the dislodged friars as concealed
lands from the King, they were legally bound to do what the previous
owners had done. To avoid an action-at-law, which was likely to
arise, Thomas Valenger, by reason of " the singular affection and
love " he felt for both parties, and, moreover, at the request of
Matthew Clarck the mayor, gave 6s. towards mending the bridge.
The money was handed to Alderman Sandyll, who passed it on to
Richard Waters, one of the chamberlains, instructing him to see the
work carried out. Thus, the threatening storm of 1605 was allayed.

During the siege, the " Long Bridge," as it was called, was
destroyed to cut off the approach of the enemy. After remaining
in a " disabled " condition for some time, it was repaired by William
Blane and Bartholomew CoUinson at the town's expense. Twenty
years later the inhabitants of South Lynn politely requested the
Corporation to consider the advisability of mending it once more.
Now, although the Corporation had maintained the structure " tyme
out of minde," as the petitioners stated, yet they now refused to
accept the responsibility. At this juncture Samuel Barron, Thomas
Spencely and Thomas Huggins interviewed the town authorities, but
failed to impress them with the arguments adduced. The Mayor
and Burgesses were next summoned to appear at the Quarter Sessions
(i6th January 1671), where, the jury having found them guilty, the
court leniently inflicted a nominal fine of jQ^, expecting the
Corporation would agreeably acquiesce in the decision and forthwith
repair the bridge. As the borough still obstinately refused, the case
was reopened at the Thetford Assizes (12th March 1671). The

4^2 History of tcwG's, IynN.

parishioners were represented by Thomas Huggins with five witnesses,
and the borough by Alderman Henry Bell, Henry Ferrour the
recorder and Francis Rolfe the clerk. At the last moment the
Corporation, " refusing to try it," abandoned the case, thus involving
the South Lynn vestry in needless legal expenses. The money was
paid, but the bridge was not mended, and never-ceasing complaints
were hurled at the Corporation, who, when they could stand the
irritation no longer, appointed a committee to treat with the parish
(July 1672). A meeting was held at the house of Samuel Barron,
a builder. Although the parish, as part of the borough, was willing
to contribute proportionately, if a rate were laid, and would certainly
have paid at least one-fourth of the expense, yet the representatives
of the borough refused ; at the same time suggesting, the dispute could
only be settled by arbitration. The Corporation accordingly nomin-
ated two county gentlemen, whom the parishioners at once accepted,
but persisted in objecting to every pair put forward by the parish.

Once more Thomas Huggins, the South Lynn champion, ap-
peared before the Assembly, and with him was Seth Hawley, because
the two originally chosen were dangerously ill. Alas, a compromise
was impossible ! Hence, the disagreement was again referred to the
Assizes at Thetford (3rd to 7th March 1673). Three expert counsel-
lors were retained by Messrs. Ferrour and Rolfe, whilst Jacob Wrag
assisted by three counsellors and a serjeant-at-law fought on the side
of the South Lynnians. Now King Edward VL had granted the
Corporation tenements and lands not only in the borough, but also
in South Lynn, the income from which, amounting to several hundred
pounds yearly, ought to have been spent among other things in main-
taining bridges and jetties (1552). A subsequent charter, that of
1557 (C. 20) concurred in this; hence the verdict of the previous jury
was based upon these premises.

The Lord Chief Justice, Sir Matthew Hale, before whom the
case was finally tried, instructed the jury to arrange their finding
under three heads. They were first to say— Whether the inhabitants
of King's Lynn were guilty or not guilty. To this the jury answered,
"Not guilty." Secondly — Whether the inhabitants of South Lynn
were guilty or not guilty. The reply was, " Not guilty." And lastly
■ — Whether the Mayor and Burgesses were guilty or not. The re-
sponse to the third interrogation was, "Guilty."* What the trial
cost the Corporation is not known, but the parishioners of South Lynn
paid ;^42 IS. id.

THE STEPS OF ROYALTY,

like the footsteps of angels upon the Sands of Lynn, were at this
period "few and far between." Charles Stuart, Earl of Richmond
and Lennox (a natural son of the King by the Duchess of Portsmouth)
came this way by water (1670). At his request the freedom of the
town was granted him, Thomas Greene and Benjamin Holley being
accepted as sureties — not for the payment of the fine, because it was
•remitted, but possibly for his Lordship's good behaviour (23rd Julv).

* Read Richards' Hist, Lynn, Vol. II., pp. Sjo-Sjj.

BIRTH OF NONCONFORMITY. 423

1 he same year Lord Townshend paid the town a friendly visit. To
defray the cost of the two entertainments provided by the official
cook, the renowned Will Scrivener, " who by his art could make
death's skeleton edible in each part," ;!^2 2 was voted by the epicurean
Assembly. James Butler, Duke of Ormond (Ireland), William Paget,
Marquis of Anglesea, Lord Townshend, and other gentlemen were here
in 1671, when there was much eating and — bell-ringing! Sir P'rancis
North appeared on the scene the same year; the exact date is not
given; but it was before the 7th of August, when the Council con-
sidered the recommendatory letter from Lord Townshend. Sir Fran-
cis accepted his freedom in 1669-70. Henry Fitz-Roy, Duke of Graf-
ton (Northamptonshire), the son of the Countess of Leicester — another
of His Majesty's natural descendants, favoured the burgesses with his
presence (1681), as also did Henry Howard seventh Duke of Norfolk
and Lieutenant of the County in 1683 and 1685.

King Charles purposed fulfilling a long-promised " progress "
through Norfolk in the autumn of 167 1. Leaving the royal lodge at
Newmarket on Tuesday the 21st of September, His Majesty, accom-
panied by George Villiers Duke of Buckingham, Charles Stuart Earl
of Richmond and James Fitz-Roy Earl of Monmouth, arrived at Yar-
mouth the 27th, and at Norwich the next day. The Queen entered
the city on the 29th and graciously permitted the profanum vulgus to
kiss her delicate hands, whilst the King compassionately "touched "
many afflicted with " the evil."

By means of a letter from Sir Robert Stewart, recorder and mem-
ber for Lynn, the Corporation received timely notice of the King's in-
tention, and agreed upon spending ;£ioo, so that every conceivable
preparation might be made to render the royal sojourn as pleasant as
possible (nth August 167 1). The advent of the royal guests was
expected on Saturday the 30th of September. A sumptuous banquet,
specially brought from London, was spread with fastidious nicety in
the Town Hall ; the Mayor with a galaxy of civic acolytes, tremulous
with excitement, watched the clock in the church tow^er and a cloudy
sky alternately; crowds of townsfolk in holiday attire paraded the
streets or weary with waiting ventured beyond 'the gate, while the
ringers rung on the new-tuned bells, over which i\Lasters Cowell and
Rapier had bestowed the tenderest care, as they had never rung before.
All were nevertheless doomed to suffer the pangs of disappointment,
for the threatening sky was the prelude of a most violent hurricane,
which swept the coast of Norfolk and Lincolnshire (nth and 12th
September). How well did they remember the terrible three-month
gale, the climax of which was brought about by the violence of the
wind from the nor' -nor' -west (4th March 1668), when the banks one
after the other gave way, when cattle by scores and sheep by thousands
were drowned, and when many houses in the town were either unroofed
or completely levelled to the 'ground. But that, as they one-and-all
averred, was a summer breeze compared with this ! The sea-wall at
I-ong Sutton was "blown," and the country around, for miles, was
inundated. Three-and-thirty of the Lynn ships were " lost," and mosi
of the crews were sleeping in a water>- grave. Houses, cattle, corn,

424 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

and lives were sacrificed. Even the grand old hostelry with its
forty rooms, at West Lynn, was carried away "stick and stone " by
the raging waters ! No, no, no ; travelling was impossible, and " the
Merry Monarch " and his courtiers did right in postponing their visit.
The new mayor, Daniel Goodwin, for reasons best known to him-
self, munificently offered ^lo for the regal banquet. This the Cor-
poration willingly accepted. The Mayor mounted the civic box and
grasped the reins of office on the 29th, the banquet was prepared for
the 30th, and a day or two afterwards the Mayor and his confreres
could truthfully endorse the sentiment of the playwright — that the uses
of adversity were indeed sweet. The entry of the transaction is post-
dated the loth of November, that is five weeks after the King's ex-
pected visit. Francis Rolfe, for obvious reasons, did not think it
within his province to mention to what charitable purpose the feast was
devoted. Thrift, thrift, unsuspecting reader; the royal baked meats
did coldly furnish forth the mayoral table! Mahomet was sorely dis-
appointed, in not taking an excursion to the mountain, yet was there
no insuperable obstacle. When, therefore, the roads were in better
condition the mayor and his brethren would betake themselves to New-
market and present their whilom disappointed fetich with a consolatory
address. This would they do, and thus would they act — and so they
did, eleven years afterwards! (1682).

A VANISHED HAND.

From the time of Edward the Confessor, a notion prevailed, that
scrofula, otherwise the King's evil, could be cured by the touch of
royalty. The practice was introduced into this country by Henry
VIL Dr. Samuel Johnson, when an infant, was the last to be
" touched," yet special prayers supposed to assist the royal incantation
remained in the Prayer Book until 17 19. Henr\- VII. presented each
afflicted applicant with a small gold or silver coin, previously conse-
crated; William III. and Mary II., and James T. gave cramp rings,
whilst Anne substituted a specially designed token.

Malcolm, describing " the most miraculous work " in which Mac-
beth the King of Scotland was engaged, exclaims : —

How he solicits heaven,
Himself best knows ; but strangely-visited people,
All swol'n and ulcerous, pitiful to the eye,
The mere despair of surgery, he cures,
Hanging a golden stamp about their necks,
Put on with holy prayers.

In 1630 our Assembly voted a poor woman named Smith, ten
shillings with which to pay the expenses of her afflicted son to London,
so that he might be " touched " by Charles L, and in 1674 the benevo-
lent wardeuo of St. Margaret's sent a woman to the palatial lodge at
Newmarket to be cured by the jovial physician, who was then in resi-
dence,

AN ITCHING PALM.

Serious charges of peculation were brought against Sir Edward
Montagu, K.G., Joint High Admiral of England and Earl of Sand-
wich (1665). He was the heir of Sir Sydney Montagu (who bought

BIRTH OF NONCONFORMITY. 425

the family seat at Hinchingbrooke, Huntingdonshire, from Sir Oliver
Cromwell the uncle of the Protector), brother of Henry the first Earl
of Manchester, to whom the beleaguered burgesses at Lynn were
abruptly introduced, and cousin of Samuel Pepys. As admiral, he
was reported to have captured two East India ships and to have mis-
appropriated the prizes. His influence at court was speedily under-
mined, and his fall apparently inevitable. Remembering how five
years before Sir Edward accompanied him to England, * the King at-
tempted to palliate the evil by sending the avaricious admiral as am-
bassador to Spain (31st December 1665). Pepys urged his kinsman
to sue for pardon before leaving, because he feared Ijhe action of
parliament in the coming session (17th January i666). It was not,
however, until the 17th of October, that public inquiry was instituted.
The subject was reintroduced the 24th of February 1667, but the
absent e.\-admiral was "treated kindly beyond expectation" (Pepys)
and the distasteful subject was once more shelved. This distinguished
commander was slain, bra\'ely fighting against the Dutch (1672).

The circumstances connected with this deplorable case were
brought to light through the vigilance of the officers of the customs at
Lynn. A cargo, brought into port by the ketch Roe, was seized, as
being part of the plunder abstracted from the East India prizes.
Whereupon Lord Sandwich strongly protested, expressing his readiness
to have the mysterious packages opened in the presence of the officials
or "any unsuspecting person." Soon after a warrant was issued,
ordering the officers to restore the goods to the earl's servant and
to summon Godfrey, who effected the detention, to answer for the
affront (14th December 1665). This was ignored and the innocent
messenger threatened. On the 29th, Lord Arlington related the in-
cident to the King and expressed an opinion, " that the service would
suffer, unless those who disobeyed orders, without very good reason,
received exemplary punishment." The bales, when opened, were
found to contain spices (said to be a present from the King), china,
clothes, music books, bedding, etc. James Turner (query: John) and
two other officers signed an inyentory of receipt, which was attested by
Lionel VValden, John Heron and Jasper Trice, an impartial gentleman
from Huntingdon (5th January 1666). The goods, sold the next
month to Captain Cock, Mr. Moyer, Mr. Moore, and Captain Hurles-
ton, realised "^4,786 9s.. out of which ^600 was given as a gratuity
to Sir Roger Cuttance, the captain of the Charles.

QUARTER SESSIONS, 1667.

When charging the jury at the Town Hall, the recorder (after-
wards vSir) Robert Stewart, contrary to what was evidently anticipated,
said nothing against the Roman Catholics or about the affairs of the
Established Church. Leaving these matters to others, he notwith-
standing acquainted the jury, that a certain sort of people habitually

" The barge, by means of wliicli tlie King landed, was [irobably provided by Montagu, because
Captain Cuttance was aftei-wards iubliutted to take it to Hiucbiugbrookc via Lynu (jotli June 1660). See
i'epyb' Diary (1831), Vol, I., p. 103.

426 aiStORY OF KING'S LYNN.

avoiding part of the service, entered the church at sermon-time. Tak-
ing the nint, presentments were accordingly made (12th April 1667).

A fortune-teller or conjuror was condemned to a term of imprison-
ment; six other offenders were sentenced to be publicly whipped for
petty larceny; a fisherwoman, who impulsively killed a man with the
hammer she held, when he snatched an oyster from her, was acquitted,
whilst a woman named Wharton, found guilty of the murder of her
infant, was subsequently hanged.

FIRES WITHOUT SMOKE.

To meet the demands of an extravagant King, the Commons voted
him a tax of two shillings upon every hearth (1662). The iniquitous
nature of this measure gave general offence and did little good, because
Charles diverted ^'2,390,000 of the money voted for the Dutch war
"to supply his wasteful ond debauched course of pleasure" (Pepys).
The return of the number of hearths or stoves in each dwelling was as
a rule fraudulent. Captain Lloyd the local collector and his myrmi-
dons were roughly handled. The justices of the peace, fearing a riot,
sent the ringleaders to gaol (i6th November and 15th December 1666).
The chapel-reeves of St. Nicholas " a lowed Lee Harpley [one of their
tenants] for harth mony, 00: 01: 00" (1685-6) and paid "to the
collectors of harth-money as p 4 rent, 01: 02: 00 " (1688). At the
request of King William IlL, the parliament abolished this odious
imposition, which pressed heavily upon the poor.

REVENGEFUL FISHERMEN.

To encourage the fishing industry, Charles incorporated the Royal
Fishing Company under the presidency of George Duke of York. This
movement was considered inimical to the interests of the Lynn fisher-
men, who, headed by Captain John Rookewood, plundered the Com-
pany's bank, destroyed their tackle and mercilessly belaboured their
agents. Hearing what had happened, the King determined upon
upholding the rights of the Company (1665).

FEN HEMP.

The navy still depended upon Marshland for a supply of hemp,
which was brought from the villages to Lynn and from hence shipped
to London. Pepys wrote to John Fincham of Outwell, asking whether
he could not abate his price. In reply, Fincham confessed, he knew
nothing about the quality of Flanders and Dorsetshire hemp, but he
was well aware how hemp had recently risen in value 40s. per ton (14th
February 1665). Sir William Doyley of Shottesham urged Pepys to
do all he could to encourage the cultivation of hemp, especially in
the neighbourhood of Lynn, " where Sir Thomas Dereham could give
advice in the management of affairs in those parts " (29th December
1665).

WOOL GATHERING.

A burgess, named Connistant Cant, was caught shipping wool to
Guernsey, without notifying the same to the officers of customs. For

THE RECEIPT OF CVStOM. 427

the oflfence — that of smuggling, he forfeited ;^45o, of which ^250
was given to Edward Halsali an informant (31st May 1665).

THE KED LIGHT TN THE SKY.

The common at Gaywood was ignited either by lightning or
"some man smoking tobacco." An area, a quarter of a mile in
length and half a furlong in breadth, was soon denuded of vegetation,
the fire penetrating the ground two feet. The efforts of hundreds
to quench the flames proved ineffectual, but a shower of rain eventu-
ally subdued what threatened to become an extensive conflagration (9th
August 1667).*

CHAPTER XXXII.

The Receipt of Custom.

Without approaching the Council, Charles suddenly prorogued
the new parliament, because the elections were intensely unfavour-
able to the interests of the court party (October 1679). For twelve
months parliament never met. In the mean time the corporations of
various towns forwarded addresses, humbly entreating the King to
convene a parliament at once. Greatly annoyed, Charles issued a
proclamation, prohibiting such "tumultuous petitions" (12th Decem-
ber). This encouraged the presentation of a series of counter ad-
dresses in which the subscribers expressed unbounded confidence in
the government and their utter abhorrence of those interfering with
regal power. Hence the factions were known as " petitioners ' ' and
" abhorrers," terms soon superseded by whig and lory.

A SINCERE "aBHORRER."

In the autumn of 1678, Titus Gates, the son of a Baptist minis-
ter, gained notoriety, as the revealer of a serious plot, the object of
which was the death of the King, the "re-establishment " of popery,
and the crowning of James Duke of York, the King's brother. Gates
was an arrant knave, and his sensational assertions were generally dis-
believed. However, Coleman the secretary of the Duchess of York
was seized, and one of the papers he omitted to burn revealed what
" was really and truly a Popish plot, though not that which Gates and
his associates pretended to reveal " — a plot to restore the Catholic
faith, in which " the King, the Duke of York, and the King of
France were chief conspirators and in which the Romish priests and
especially the Jesuits were eager co-operators " (Hailani). Where-
upon, the Duke, who was unpopular in more ways than one, was per-
suaded to leave the kingdom, before the meeting of the next parlia-
ment. After his success against the Scots at Eothwell Bridge, he
was recalled (22nd June 1679), but did not return until February 1680,
when the aldermen of London made arrangements for presenting him
and the duchess with the city's congratulations.

Was there not another tempting peg, providentially revealed,
upon which the good people of Lynn might suspend another token of

* Of 2,367 acres, j rds. 8 pis. in Gaywood aud Kiffley, Ci j acres, 3 rds. 34 pis. were allotted undet
the Cuiiiwoiis iiiic/ysiiie Award (1808).

428 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

undiluted loyalty. Through the medium of Thomas Wriothesley
(Earl of Southampton and Lord Lieutenant of Norfolk) the following
remarkable effusion, signed by Giles Bridgman the mayor and the
other members of the Corporation, was presented to the King (30th
April 1680).

To the King's most excellent Majesty.
Dread Sir, Wee your Majesties Dutiful! and Loyall Subjects, the Mayor,
Recorder, Aldermen and Common-Councell of your Majesties ancient burgh of
Lenn Regis., on behalf of ourselves and other the free Burgesses and principal
inhabitants here, doe in all humility prostrate ourselves at the feet of your most
sacred majesty, and in all duty acknowledge the infinite benefits wee of this
burgh, with all others, the liedge people of this your Majesties Kingdom of
England by your happy government and royall conduct next under God enjoye,
and more particularly wee give your Majesty an oblation of our duty and thank-
fullness in your pious and resolute support and maintenance of the religion
established by the Lawes of this kingdome in the Church of England in your
couragious conserving the Regalities of your Crowne against insolent petitions
and protecting the lawfuU liberties and freedoms of your subjects. And with
our souls we bless Almighty God in the return of your royall brother, the Duke
of Yorke, to your Majesties most Gracious presence, and doe cheerfully profess to
maintaine and defend your Majesties most Royall person your Heirs and lawful!
successors in your and their just rights.

May it please your Majestie

Your natural Liegemen,

Thus the time-serving sycophants extolled the unconstitutional
government of a depraved and profligate King, and expressed their
admiration of the contemptuous manner in which he treated the
reasonable remonstrances of his subjects. Lynn — "the abhorrer '' of
that which is just and true! Henceforth emblazon Ichabod in sable
characters across thy azure shield 1

WITHIN THY WALLS.

Since the Conquest, three great influxes of emigrants from the
Netherlands settled in Norfolk, and by introducing the industries
with which they were familiar, greatly benefited not only East Anglia,
but the kingdom at large. About the middle of the 12th century a
colony at Flemings took up their abode in Norwich and the surround-
ing villages, where they developed the art of brickmaking (but little
practised since the time of the Romans), the spinning of worsted, so
named from Worsted in Norfolk, and the erection of mills driven by
wind and water. Another foreign contingent at the beginning of the
14th century introduced the weaving of cloth. Norwich soon became
the centre of an important industr}-, and by royal edict was appointed
one of the ten staple towns for the sale of wool, woolfells and cloth.
VVymondham, Worsted and Lynn participated in the general prosper-
ity of the district. After a while the native workmen turned against
those who had taught them the way to grow rich. As a just retri-
bution, a terrible stagnation of trade followed, and Norwich was
doomed never more to occupy the foremost position.

Recognising how uncharitably they had driven the stranger from
their door, a deputation of Norwich citizens waited upon the mayor
Thomas Sotherton, beseeching him to assist in obtaining a settlement
of divers strangers from the Low Countries, who were fleeing to

THE RECEIPT OF CUSTOM. 429

London and Sandwich, because of the terrible persecution conducted
by the Duke of Alva (1565). Three hundred Dutch and Walloon
refugees accepted the invitation. Under special licence, they carried
on their own industries — the manufactures of says, baize, arras, mock-
ades, and bombazins; the striping and flowering of silk, the art of
printing, and the making of beaver hats. In five years the number
of Protestant emigrants amounted to three thousand. The majority
settled in Norwich, but some naturally drifted to other towns. From
a return made in 1572 we learn, that "the strangers " in Lynn were
for the greater part poor, of good behaviour, and that they earned
their living by labouring in their several faculties. There were 67
men, of whom 44 were Dutch and 10 Scotch; with their wives, chil-
dren and servants — the 34 households numbered over 200. During
the 17th century the Lynn worsted manufacture was in a flourishing
condition: the weavers of the fabric then known as " worsted " sought
to obtain an Act sanctioning the residence of a dyer and calender in
the town (2nd December 1670). From this we are led to infer, that
the dyeing and pressing of the Lynn cloth was done elsewhere, perhaps
at Norwich.

A cursory glance, at our Roll of Freemen, reveals how many
Dutch and Walloons were dwelling here, at and before the last influx.
Foreign surnames, often slightly modified, are common. From a
long list a few examples are selected : —

Surnames :
Dutch and Walloon.

Freemen of Lynn.

Recque

Busche

Moes

Perdue

Rabat

Roosee

John Bek (1521).
Thomas Bush (1644).

Robert Merys (1546), Robert Mors (1587).
Christopher Purdeive (1541), Richard Purdue (1545),
Thomas Purdy (1561), Christopher Purdye (1577).
David Rahye (1606).
Thomas Roos (1507), John Rowse (1569).

The citizens, now that their manufacture was reviving, were
doubly anxious to guard and foster it, because they remembered to
their sorrow how once upon a time it had dwindled away. How
jealous too were they of the prosperous little colony at Lynn, so many
of whom were freemen of the borough. But the greatness, aye, and
the power should redound to Norwich !

II. M. CUSTOMS.

And now, obliging reader, resist no longer the mesmeric spell we
endeavour to cast about thee. Believe, thou art standing in the
middle of the Tuesday market-place in the year of grace 1660.
Notice how neatly the whole area is railed in; this is the doing of
the new governor ; the old woodwork, after standing some forty years,
is replaced with good sound timber from his Lordship's estate at
Raynham. Each tall corner-post bears the well-carved Royal Arms
to remind thee, that the Protectorate is happily ended and the Second
C'harles is King of England. The object at thy feet is not a moor-
ing chain, but the ring used when bulls are baited before being

430 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

slaughtered. . . Looking westward, thou wilt perceive an impos-
ing structure with an eighty-six feet frontage. "The Bank House"
(Messrs Gurney, Birkbeck, Barclay, Buxton and Cresswell)? By no
means ; it is the private residence of an opulent burgess — Mr. Collyer.
The broad central entrance has six ordinary windows on each side ;
above are fourteen similar windows running the whole length of
the building. In the steep-pitched roof are six dormer-windows,
three on each side of what may be termed a broken pediment.

This noble edifice is flanked with buildings. Each block, with
frontages measuring forty-five feet, belongs to the Corporation. Let
us cursorily examine these quaint side-wings. That to the right is
a modest double-gabled dwelling, with a convenient door in the
middle, over which thou wilt observe a pictorial sign, framed in
artistic iron scroll-work, "swinging to larboard, thence to starboard,"
whilst the angelic being depicted thereon is blowing an elongated
trumpet, with the greatest possible exertion. This is the famous
Angel hostelry. To the left is another double-gabled building; its
central entrance being between pairs of broad windows, with corres-
ponding lights above.

The upper storeys of both wings abut upon Mr. Collyer's resid-
ence ; yet each is separated therefrom below, by a passage about nine
feet wide. These covered passages, for there are chambers above,
lead to the staith and warehouses. We call them the North and
South Gateways. Over the left arch is a stone, bearing the arms
of the town, with the date 1621. This plain, home-like structure is
the Custom House. To the south is a road leading to the ferry
(Ferry Street) and an hostelry called the Globe (1685).*

Turn now towards the north and thou wilt see the Old Market
Cross (1601), sadly in need of repair, and the ditch, which now
seldom used might well be filled up, and 'the site of the gallows,
where loquacious witches were silenced a few years since. To the
east thou will notice an inviting hostelry Ye Mayde'' s Head and Mr.
Turner's red-brick mansion, with the pillory and stocks hard by.
But enough, submissive reader — an exaggerated flourish
of the hands and " Hey presto !" thou art once more thyself and in
thy right mind !

Now let us re-view each of the three buildings, on the western
side of the market-place. The Angel took flight to make room for
the Market House (1832), which in turn gave place to the present
Corn Exchange (1854). Collyer's mansion passed to the Hogge
family. Unfortunately destroyed by fire (1768). it was soon after
rebuilt upon the old foundation. The Gurney Bank was opened there
the 7th of June 1869.

As early as 1580, the Old Custom House was standing at the
corner, because the street in front and the Common Staith Lane were
then repaved. It was, however, pulled down and rebuilt (1620).
The process of "new beautifying" which it underwent, failed in

" For ground plan and elevation of Collyer's House and the adjacent buildings see A plin of Mr.
Collyer's House (1621) in the Lynn Museum,

a
<

- <

Z. K
- b

^1 i?s«~'

THE RECEIPT OF CUSTOM. 431

conducing to its convenience (1667). Hence St. George's Hall, the
present wool warehouse in King Street, was hired (1656).

(l) THE CUSTOM HOUSE.

Early in 1682, Alderman John Turner expatiated before the
Council upon the growing necessity there was for a suitable building,
where merchants and traders might meet to transact business. At his
own " cost and charges," he was prepared to erect a convenient build-
ing, if the Corporation so far approved the suggestion as to grant
a site. The plot proposed was a waste piece of land at the foot of
the Purfleet bridge. The decision was embodied in a resolution : —

It is now consented and agreed that a conveyance or settlement for that
p'pose (purpose) shall be made from the Maior and Burgesses to the said Mr.
Turner of so much ground from Purfleet Bridge foote westvi^ard not exceeding
40 foote in length as shall be convenient for that p"pose (15th January 1682).*

Here then. Alderman Turner erected the present Custom House,
from designs prepared by Henry Bell. (Beloe.) The Exchange or
Exchequer, as it was originally termed, is of freestone, with two tiers
of pilasters, the lower Doric and the upper Ionic. The first turret,
raised upon pillars of the Corinthian order, contained " the
exchequer bell," whilst in place of a useful and obliging weathercock,
was the allegorical figure of Fame, delicately poised upon a miniature
globe. In the front of the building, facing the north, is the effigy
of Charles II. and the Latin inscription, Mercaturce rcsq. naiiticoe hoc
fosuit Johan. Turner, An7io Dom. MDCLXXXIII.

The building was held by deed of feoffment dated the 7th of
November 1684, from the Corporation to Sir John Turner (for in
the meantime he had been knighted) at is. per annum quit-rent, pay-
able at Michaelmas ; the feoffees covenanting not to close in the
ground floor, which was always to remain open for the purposes of
an Exchange. The counterpart of the feoffment should be in the
possession of the Corporation. The upper floor, let " at a rent of
ten pounds per annum, at a pretty long lease," was afterwards used
by the officers of custom ; but when this part of the building was
first appropriated cannot be determined.

The annexed officio-affectionate communication was addressed
to the " Collector and Principal Officers " : —

Custom House, London ; 24th Dec. 1715.
Gentlemen, Having received a letter of the 21st inst. from Mr. Hare [the
collector] informing us, that Mr. John Turner, the proprietor of the Custom
House at your port, hath proposed to him to sell the same to the Crown rather
than to let it by lease as heretofore, We direct that you treat with the said Mr.
Turner to know upon what terms the said house may be purchased and what
estate he has there in, with your opinion whether it may be proper to purchase it
for the service of the Crown, or whether there may be a convenient Custom
House taken in any other part of the town on better terms than the present
house can be purchased for, and you are to transmit to us a plan thereof.
We are, Your loving friends,

J. Pulteney, W. Dudley, J. Stanley.

Sir John Turner died in 171 1, and the Mr. John Turner herein
mentioned, to whom the uncle apparently left this part of his estate,

* The present building measures 40 feet (east to west) by 31 feet (nortli to soutbj.

432 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

was desirous of selling the Exchange. His brother Charles was a
teller of the Exchequer and he himself collector and customer at
Lynn.

The report in answer to the above letter cannot be found. The
government eventually bought the building and have since used it
as a Custom House. From the 25th of December 1713, when " the
pretty long lease" expired to Lady day 17 16, when the bargain was
completed, as much as £^s ^^'as paid for rent. An inquirywas in-
stituted the 24th of September 17 19, respecting this sudden increase,
when Henry Hare pointed out, how the landlord " insisted upon an
advance of ;£io per annum, which upon the purchase of the Custom
House in 17 16, was agreed to be allowed him and was accordingly
paid him" (4th December 17 19).

An early Custom House is said to have had an effigy of James L
over the door ; there is however nothing of the kind in the drawing
dated 1626. Possibly the statement may have some connection with
the buildings near the King's Staith yard, because Mackerell says,
"in the centre of the front buildings in a niche stands the statue of
King James the First fronting the west " (1738)-

From the Report of the Commissioners for Auditing the Public
Acts in 1784, it will be seen, that the annual duties at Lynn exceeded
those of all other ports excepting London, Bristol, Liverpool and
Hull. In 1806 the revenue of the port amounted to ;!^84,20o. The
Custom House was assessed at ;^6o in 1752.

In a lithographic copy of an old print, entitled An Exact View
of the Tuesday Market-place before the reign of King James Ilnd.
(R. Martin, Litho., 124 High Holborn) are depicted several items
which clash with what has already been written. The old Cross — an
hexagonal, pinnacled tower, surmounted with a squat broach and
surrounded with six lean-to stalls, stands in the northern part of the
square. In the middle of the railed-in part is the statue of a King
on a pedestal, protected by palisading. The effigy with the right
hand slightly raised faces the South. Mention is made of a statue
of William III. in Dodsley's Englajid Illustrated (1764), but— query.
A row of permanent stalls, with a roof of eight gables and windows
appears on the east. Over the road is the Duke's Head with its sign
—a man's head, framed in fantastic scroll work. The central
window is provided with a miniature balcony. Close by is another
hostelry with a small picture of the Maid's Head, suspended to a
stout beam, which runs across the thoroughfare. In the distance is
the graceful hexagonal spire of St. Nicholas. On the opposite side
of the market is the old Custom House, the fagade of which is
divided into three parts. The middle, flanked by similar gables, rises
higher and bears the town arms with a chevron, as in the carving upon
Coney's house, and the statue of a q^ueen (query, Mary or Elizabeth)
in a niche. The entrance has a broad window on each side ; three
such windows are shewn in the first storey. The whole front, with
its verandah, is railed in. The two passages, already mentioned, are
shewn.

THE RECEIPT OF CUSTOM. 433

(2) THE TURNER FAMILY

"bore great sway in this town, for a whole century" (Richards).
The Lynn residence of this family was known as the Duke^s Head-,
so named in honour of the Duke of York; it was assessed in 1752
'"•t £,2)'^', at the same time the Globe and the Angel were assessed at
^13 3s. 4d. and £,g 4s. respectively.

(a.) Charles Turner oi Weasenham (Carthew) or Whisson;ett (Blomefield) ;
residence at Warham, also at Lynn ; common councilman 1675.

(b.) John Turner (son of a) of Lynn (1631-1711) ; attorney at law ; freedom
1678 ; knighted 1684; appointed by charter alderman for life 1685 ; mayor 1678,
1691, 1702, 1704 ; member for Lynn 1679, 1685, 1689, 1690, 1695, 1698, 1701.
Built the organ loft in St. Margaret's (1679) and the Exchange or Custom House
(1683). Buried in St. Nicholas' chapel.

(c.) William Turner (son of a) of North Elmham,

(d.) Charles Turner (son of c) of Warham ; married Mary Walpole, sister of
Sir Robert Walpole the celebrated prime minister ; Teller of the Exchequer ;
Commissioner of the Trade ; Lord of the Admiralty ; Commissioner of the
Treasury ; created Baronet, 27th April, 1727 ; with reversion in default of male
issue. He gave ^100 towards the Neio market Cross (1710). Mayor 1694 and
1706; Member 43 years (1695-1738); died 24th Nov. 1738.

" Charles Turner, Junr., Esq.," received freedom in 1695. [Query : a son of d,
who died during his father's lifetime.]

_(e.) John Turner, (son of c) a Lynn merchant ; freedom 1691 ; alderman ;
captain of the trained bands; collector and customer at Lynn ; mayor 1715 ;
member 1712 ; succeeded his brother as 2nd Baronet 1738; died 1739.

(f.) John Turner (son of d) ; freedom 29th Aug., 1733; mayor 1724, 1737;
died during his father's lifetime, leaving three daughters.

(g;) Charles Turner (son of e) ; freedom granted " the eldest son of Captain
Turner," 25th Aug., 1738 ; mayor 1759 and 1767.

(h^) John Turner (son oi e) ; freedom 23rd May, 1733; Lord Commissioner
of the Treasury ; 3rd Baronet 1739 ; mayor 1734, 1748. 17C18 ; member succeeding
his uncle 1738, 1747, 1754, 1761, 1768; dying without a son the baronetcy
became extinct 1780.*

^j-ws; — Sable, a chevron, ermine, between three fer de molines, or, on a
chief argent a lion passant, gules.

(3) LE CHEQUER.

King Street, probably so called because of its proximity to the
King's Staith, was formerly Checker Street. We have still a 'Checker
ward and a Little Checker Lane, each in the vicinity of Alderman
Turner's Ex-Chequer. The derivation of this interesting street-
name is not necessarily connected with the present Custom House,
because Le Chequer existed as far back as 1400. You may read
about " the common lane {venellam) called Come Lane running from
the street called Le Checker to the great bank of the river on the
north side of St. George's Hall " (Parkin). Upon the site of the
■first Exchequer, the hall of St. George's gild was probably built.
There is a Checker Street too in the South Lynn parish, which wms
built, we are told, by a Mr. Checker, a fellmonger of Gaywood. To
distinguish it from the original Chequer Street, the prefix " New "
was added.

• For further particulars consult Burke's Extinct Baronttcies.

3 A

434 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

The actual exchequer (as we learn from Richard de Ely, who
flourished in the 12th century) was an arithmetical device — an abacus
used in conjunction with values and counters. It was in fact a rect-
angular board 10 feet by 5 feet, having a raised edge all round. The
black cloth, with which it was covered, was divided into squares by
white lines somewhat like a chess board. There were in all seven
columns. Beginning from the right, the ist column was for pence,
the 2nd for shillings, the 3rd for pounds, the 4th for scores of
pounds, the 5th for hundreds of pounds, the 6th for thousands and
the 7th for tens of thousands. [Dialogus de Scaccario.]

At the head of the board sat the Justiciar, with the chancellor
and chamberlains, on his left ; and the Treasurer, who represented
the King, with clerks to enter the accounts and scribes to engross
the rolls, on the right. Before the presiding officers, the various
accountants presented themselves, either making ingenious if not
plausible excuses, or promptly paying what was due. In front of
the chamberlain's clerk were the counter-tallies and tellers, who
arranged the counters on the chequered board, and added up the
amount. Opposite the Justiciar sat the sheriffs and their clerks with
tallies, bullion, etc., for making out their account. The barons of
the exchequer summoned by the King, the marshals, ushers and
necessary court functionaries were also present. The total indebted-
ness to the Crown was shewn by the counters in the spaces. As the
debtor appeared, with his wooden tallies, indentures of acquittance
or bullion, the process of checking began — the corresponding counters
being swept from the board, so that in the end, there was ocular
demonstration of how much was still due to the Crown, how much
by surplus the Crown owed him, or that the final payment exactly
balanced the last counter.

THE COAL MONOPOLY.

Owing to severe losses sustained by the community and an alarm-
ing decay of trade, the maintenance of an ever-increasing multitude
of poor was a burden barely endurable. The old expedient was re-
vived. The wardens nominated certain of the more indigent, whom
they permitted to wander about the streets, wearing the rose-badge,
an ensign of accredited poverty, soliciting alms (1657). This method
proved inadequate ; hence at the earnest request of the inhabitants the
Assembly resolved that all, who purchased Newcastle, Sunderland or
other " sea-water " coal from any ship belonging to a stranger, should
pay a duty of one shilling per chaldron (21 cwts.) towards the relief
of the destitute. It was further stipulated, that no burgess should
take any coal from a stranger's vessel with the intention of selling
the same, until the end of three working days after the arrival of
the vessel in port, so that the townsfolk might first secure a supply
for themselves (12th May 1662). Rather than pay the duty, the
burgesses bought from the Lynn colliers, which of course deterred
strangers from coming; the price in consequence soon rose from 17s.
to 30s. a chaldron. As the price suddenly went down, we are led
to believe the duty was temporarily withdrawn (1664).

THE RECEIPT OF CUSTOM. 485

Because of the difficulty experienced in carrying coal from New-
castle to London, whilst the nation was at war with the Dutch, it
was thought advisable to forward the supply by land. A calculation
proves it could be done for jQt, 6s. per chaldron ; thus, the original
cost to Lynn 30s., water carriage to Cambridge 4s., land carriage
thence to Ware 25s. and by water from Ware to the city 7s. per
chaldron (1667).

The converting of St. James' chapel into an orphanage for
" the town children " was suggested, provided the Corporation would
place the building in the hands of feoffees. A rate of sixpence in
the ^ would restore the place and provide a fund (12th July 167 1).
This seems to have been at first decided, but later the same day,
because of a diversity of opinions, a second meeting was held. It
was then agreed that the previous order should not be binding, except
the Corporation delivered the building with the yard thereto belong-
ing, under the seal of the borough, to the churchwardens and over-
seers ; and that a clause be inserted in the document making the over-
seers the sole trustees of the coal money, with power to collect and
dispose of it to the use of the poor. This was done, but the next
year a dispute arose between the two parishes, because the parishioners
of St. Margaret's claimed all the coal duty, whether the coal Avere
delivered from the vessels in South Lynn or not. After an exhibition
of parochial antagonism, the parish of St. Margaret, believing in a
continuance of brotherly love, generously agreed to allow the neigh-
bouring parish one-third of the duty collected from strangers for
coal landed in South Lynn (7th October 1672). With bitter reluctance
the people of South Lynn paid their dearly beloved brethren the
two-thirds of the duty. Still discontented, the vestry of St. Margaret
demanded the appointment of auditors to make a report; four were
to be chosen by the mayor and burgesses and four by the parishioners
of South Lynn; six of whom might constitute a quorum (1673).

The impost upon a chaldron of coal delivered by a stranger or
unfreeman, 2,s. in the year 1643 and is. in 1657, appears to have been
further reduced to 4d. in 1689. At a " general assembly," as
recorded in The St James's Hospital Booke : 1682, it was agreed that
the ancient duty of four pence per chaldron (query) on sea coals im-
ported or brought into port by any ships or vessels of foreigners or
strangers " should be used exclusively for the relief, training and
education of the needy children in St. James' hospital or orphanage
and not spent " towards the relief of aged, impotent and poor people
within the burgh and the liberties thereof."

To raise money for the poor the South Lynn vestry had already
decided to charge 3s. for the tolling of the great hell, and is. for any
other l>ell, from which the ringer was first paid. There were then
8 on the relief list, which cost the parish of Allsaints 13s. per week.
It was also agreed that " none should have relief, except those who
frequented the parish church ; and that their allowance be given
them every Lord's day in the afternoon after the evening service " (?),
that the overseers see the children of the poor attend school, that
they — the children, not the intelligent overseers, be catechized by the

436 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

vicar or his curate and lastly that the third bell and no other be
rung at the death or burial of all " collectioners " (6th April 1868).

THE HELPING HAND.

Characteristic of the period was a legalized method of obtaining
pecuniary assistance in case of sudden emergency. When houses
were mainly of wood and thatched with straw, and when appliances
for the extinction of fires were seldom in readiness and never adequate,
disastrous conflagrations were by no means infrequent. Not solitary
individuals merely, but populous areas, were often plunged into alarm-
ing distress, because, alas, there were then no insurance companies to
make good the loss.

It was the custom to forward a detailed account of what had
happened to the Privy Council and to ask at the same time for a
patent or brief, granrmg the sufferers permission to solicit help in
their own and the adjoining counties. If the Council acceded to
the request, the minister of the parish received a letter (in all respects
a licence), bearing the privy seal and empowering him to make a
collection for a specified object. The letter was read the next Sab-
bath in church, after the reciting of the Nicene creed, and those
present were exhorted to give liberally. So frequently, however,
were these calls, that the appeals began to be disregarded, hence can-
vassing from house to house was adopted. Apropos of this method
Pepys remarks : — " To church, where we observe the trade of briefs
is come now up and so constant a course every Sunday, that we
resolve to give no more to them" (30th June 1661). It was neces-
sary in 1667 for parliament to direct, " that the preamble be pathe-
tically penned as the occasion requires to move the people to liberality
upon so pious and charitable a work." At the close of the war in
Ireland (1652), the greater part of three out of the four provinces
was confiscated for the benefit of the conquerors, hence England
swarmed with penniless Irish emigrants. There is plenty of evidence
to show how liberally these undesirable wayfarers were helped in
Lynn.

(i) St. /Margaret's church, for loss sustained through fire; —
1653-

1654-

After the entry relating to the fire at Bungay, there is added in
a later hand the cruel indictment — " and paid to no man, but laid
out in repaying the church."

For losses in the metropolis ^{^5 8s 7|d was given, when the
Sugar house in Cole Harbour (1672), and when St. Katherine's

Oct.

13-

Drayton

... ...

Feb.

Newmarket...

...

Feb.

28.

Long Sutton

...

Mar.

II.

Marlborough

...

»»

Bungay

• • • • • *

Ap.

23-

Glasgow, damage

£1,000,000...

Sept

25-

Grimston, to Ceci

ly Wills, widow

J»

30-

London, Fleet Street

Feb.

Drayton [second t

ime of asking]

£^

THE RECEIPT OF CUSTOM. 437

hospital were destroyed (1673). The amount collected when the
"Great Fire" happened is not stated, but the subjoined extract
proves our townsmen were not remiss, " 1667. Feb : paid for sending
ye money collected, to Norwich for the fyre at London, 00 : 01 : 00."

(2) St. Nicholas^ chapel, " from ye i8th of Aprell 1682 vntell loth
Aprell 1683 : —

pr Abreffe for ye Tov/n of Bishton for ffier ... ... 01 2 01

pr Abreffe for Mr, Anthony Bury of Mansworth )

pr Thunder and Lightning / ■■ ^ '

pr Abreffe for Reliff ffrench Protestants ... 832

pr Abreffe for ye filers at diers Hall In London ... i 6 4|-

pr Abreffe for ij ffiers at ye Town of Ensham ) \

In Oxfordsheare ... ... ... / •• ^ ^ ^*

pr Abreffe to ij ffier at Presteign In ye County of Radnor i 7 2>\

pr Abreffe for ye ffier at Stoke in Suffolk ... ... r 6 6'

(3) Allhallows church (South Lynn) : —

1684. (March i) fireat Warboys ... ... ... 5 o

„ ( „ 15) „ „ Staverton ; damage ^2,000 ... 59

1685. ( „ 29) „ „ EleyeStMary „ £1,780 ... 5 o
1688. (May) For those burnt by fyre at Bungay ... i 16 o

„ Relief e of French Protestants [2nd gathering] ... 3 3 8

1700. (Feb. 13) Breife of ye Slaves ... ... ... 9 o

1701. (April 12) Breife of Beckells ... ... ... 4 5

For other deserving purposes : —

1654. 1^°"" ^ Creation (Grecian) minister towards the redemption of those
that were prisoners in argeare, their Ransume amounting to 12,000 Dollars, and
paid vnto him in the 13th of September, 03 : 10 : 10.

1663. (Oct. II) For losse of the shipp of William Sandwells of Steping,
p'ish in county of Middlesex, the some of fforty shillings and halfe penny,
02 : GO : oo|.

1671. For redemption of English Captives in Turkes Slavery in Argiere,
Tunnis and Salley, £^2 : 07 : 09. [C. W. A., St. M.]

Sallee or Saleey was a notorious stronghold of piracy on the
west coast of Morocco. The liberation of the English captives de-
tained by the Turks in Africa was regarded as a most worthy object.
The names of those subscribing in the different wards are given and
a reprehensible footnote contains the names of " the persons of quality
not contributing." Suppressing the names of our ungenerous fore-
fathers, we notice the black list contains a common councillor, an
officer of his Majesty's Customs, an attorney and — the town crier!

The Commons indeed took "precautions against the royal pre-
rogative being exceeded in issuing briefs to raise money for the
supply of the King's wants or the relief of sufferers in the royal
cause," yet an indiscriminate method of granting briefs, without
strict inquiry, resulted in abuse. Although mild repressive measures
were passed in 1643 and 1648, it was not until the i8th century that
stringent means were adopted to check the practice, which was
finally suppressed by Lord Palmerston. These subscriptions did
not appear on the parochial balance-sheet, because the churchwardens
paid them to a receiver in the district.

438 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

A comparison of lae amounts collected for the Piedmontese
Protestants is instructive (1656) : —

London: (124 churches) ... ... ... total not given.

St. Martin in Fields (largest) ... ... £z^5 '^5 H

Trinity Minories (smallest) ... ... 7 5 11

Westminster ... ... ... ... ... 348 3 3

Liverpool ... ... ... ... ... 10 3 o

Norwich (13 churches) ... ... ... ... i57 ^5 ^\

Lynn (2 churches) ... ... 47 '^ 9

What a noble example the doings of our predecessors yield. Not
satisfied with merely providing for the varying needs of their
immediate neighbours, but they opened their purses to those in
necessitous circumstances in all parts of the kingdom. How catholic
were their sympathies ; how lavish their liberality ; how generous the
response they were ever ready to make ! Charity with them indeed
began at home, but it did not cease tlicre."'^"

MESSRS HALCOTT AND FRAMINGHAM.

On behalf of a townsman desirous of erecting an hospital f)r
almshouse, a proposal was placed before the Council (9th ^L^rch
1676). To foster so benevolent a design, a piece of land to the
north of Webster Row (Broad Street) was at once offered, subject
however to one condition, namely, that the annual rent of ^6 derived
therefrom be paid to the wardens of St. Margaret's, as the pasture
with a certain tenement formed part of the church estate.

John Halcott, who received his freedom in 1674-5, ^^'^^ ^ tanner
related to Matthew Halcott of Litcham (freedom granted 1682).
This surname is spelled in a variety of ways, as Helcate, Helcoat,
Helcote (Mackerell) and even Heathcote (Richards). The terms
were eagerly accepted and the building begun, but the benevo-
lent founder died before its completion, f The work was however
carried on by his friend Henry Framingham. who by will endowed
the new hospital with ^1,000 (1704). Framingham was the son
of poor, yet honest parents ; the only education he gained was picked
up in a precarious way, whilst working in " a bake house." Suc-
ceeding in business and accumulating wealth, he grew as proud as
prosperous. He was chosen mayor in 1690 and again in 1700; he
served moreover as high sheriff of the county in 1708. Besides a
residence at Lynn, he owned one at Burnham. During his first
mayoralty, Framingham relentlessly opposed the Baptists, some of
whom were persecuted under the infamous Conventicle Act. J

Halcott's gift to the town, always known as the Framingham
Hospital, originally stood in Broad Street. It consisted of a chapel

■' Lynn, Walsoken and Brandon petitioned for " briefs" (1710), but their applications were disregarded.
Wliy Lynn sought extraneous help is not apparent.

t " 1663-4 : Reed, of Mr. John Holcott towards the butifying of the Chappell. . . . 10 : 00 : 00.
" 1680-1 : Reed, of the exequiters of Mr. John HoIIcoate for a Leagese which he gave to be Layd out
abou^ ttie Chappell. . . . 005:00:00. [C.ll'..4., -Sf. A'.]

" 1675, June 28. Robert Hellcoate " (burial). [P.R., St. A'.]
t " 1628. Wni. Framingham apprenticed to Wm Bennett, cooper, received freedom. [F«emeii.]
"1677-8. Wm. fframingham supplied communion bread 5/10. [C.U'.4., S(. AT.]
" 1680. Henry Framingham, rhapelwarden.
"168.5. Two peals for Mr. fframingham, senior, . . . 00 ; 06 : 00. [P.R., .S/. ,V],

THE VEERING OF THE WIND. 439

and twelve apartments, which opened into a quadrangle. Wishing
to enlarge the Cattle Market, the Corporation pulled down the
dilapidated building, and added the site, about 20 perches, to the
market (1848). A far more convenient edifice was erected in the
London Road, on half an acre of land, where formerly stood the
borough treasurer's office. The plans selected were designed by
Mr. Sharman of Spalding ; Mr. Rolin was the builder. The re-
building cost the town £,2,^0-] 7s 6d, from which must be deducted
;^iio received for the old material.*

The incomprehensible disappearance of a house in Checker
(King) Street, which John Halcott gave to the chapel of St. Nicholas,
must engross our subsequent attention.

* * -x- * *

After lingering four days, Charles II. succumbed to an attack
of apoplexy (6th February 1685). Evelyn, who was present at the
King's seizure, observes : "I can never forget the inexpressible
luxury and profaneness, gaming and all dissoluteness, and, as it were,
total forgetfulness of God, it being Sunday evening. The King
sitting and toying with his concubines, Portsmouth, Cleveland and
Mazarin : a French boy singing love songs in that glorious gallery,
whilst above twenty of the great courtiers and other dissolute persons
were at basset, around a large table, a bank of at least ;^2,ooo
between them"; whilst Hume asserts, "that as a sovereign his
character was dangerous to his people and dishonourable to himself.
Negligent of the interests of the nation, careless of its glory, averse
to its religion, jealous of its liberty and lavish of its treasure."

CHAPTER XXXIII.
The Veering of the Wind.

James Stuart, Duke of York, the second son of Charles I.,

succeeded his brother without any signs of opposition. From the

first, his position was greatly imperilled, through the fact of his
being an avowed Roman Catholic (1685).

* * * * -X-

When addressing the Privy Council on the day of his brother's
decease, James II. acknowledged he was reported to be a man of
arbitrary power, yet he gravely assured them it would be his earnest
endeavour to preserve the government both in Church and State, as
by law established. His suave hypocrisy was soon unmasked ! As
the reader knows, his immediate actions rendered his professions of
sincerity despicably mean.

'■' A board at present in the Chapel bears the absurd statement :— "This Hospital Was erected by an
unknown Hand, Ao. Dni 1677 and Founded by the Mayor and Burgesses, Ao. Dni 1714. Henry Framinghain,
lisq., twice Mayor of this Corporation and High Sheriff of tins County, gave One Thousand Pounds
towards the. endowment. By whose Benefaction It was repaired 1715. Kdward Robinson, gent., gave
12. li. p ann. towards increasing the Kevcnuo, which commenced Ao. Dni 1716."

440 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

AN EXTRAORDINARY CORONATION.

The accession to the throne was the prelude of unusual excite-
ment. Edmund Rolfe, the town-clerk, writing the loth of February

1685, says, " King James (was) proclaimed with all due solemnities
and signalls of Joy and Gladness." The chapel-reeves of St.
Nicholas spent one pound and six pence in celebrating the event —
the sixpence was paid to Robert Betts " for Drummes and Cullors,"
and the larger item went in buying meat and drink, wherewith to
refresh the exhausted ringers. Four days later, the Assembly
ordered an address, befitting in character, to be conveyed to the
newly-crowned king.

The next year, upon the anniversary of their majesties'
coronation, the burgesses unveiled a statue of the King in the Tuesday
market-place. This was provocative of another irrepressible spasm
of ecstatic joy (13th April 1686).* " His sacred Majesty upon a
Pedestal with several carvings and embellishments," was deservedly
protected with iron palisades. The crowning act of folly was a
Latin inscription — Non immenior quantum divmis invictiss. principis
Jacobi ij virtutibus debeat hanc regia majcstatis c-ffigiem aternum
■fidei et obsequii monumcntum, erexit. S.P.Q.L. Anno Salutis

1686, that is, " Not forgetting how much is due to the Divine Virtues
of the Victorious King James the Second, the Senate of the People
of Lynn, as a lasting monument of their Faith and Loyalty, have
erected this Statue of his Royal Majestv in the year of our Lord
1686." (Richards.)

The demonstration included the ringing of the church bells, the
firing of the great guns, a grand pyrotechnic display and the drinking
of the health of the members of the royal family, by the
representatives of the people and — all other burgesses, who could
afford it. The abundant effusion of maudlin oratory which naturally
ensued was, we fear, drowned completely with " all sorts of loud

music "-

The trumpets braying, and the organ playing,
And the sweet trombones, with their silver tones,

so graphically described by Mr. Barney Maguire upon a similar
occasion.

DEATH, BUT NOT FAILURE.

The undisguised intention of the King, to exercise arbitrary
power, induced certain refugees in Holland to believe there might be
a chance of undermining his authority. The disaffected were headed
by Archibald Earl of Argyll and James Fitz-Roy Duke of Mon-
fnouth. Fearing this intrigue, the Duke of Norfolk as Lord
Lieutenant of the county, was directed to see that the militia, both
horse and foot, were properly organised, so as to be ready for
immediate action. The Duke, anticipating trouble, had already
inspected the local contingent on Gaywood heath (30th May 1684),
when the muster amounted to 742 men, that is 123 files six deep (42

" According to Rastrick's Plan oj Lynn (1725)11115 statue was opposite what are now the "Ban
Chambers.'" The King with a sword in liis raised right hand appears facing tlie west.

THE VEERING OF THE WIND. 441

files of pikes and 8i of muskets, plus four odd men), besides the
officers. " My Lord gave 4 1. to each company w'ch was distributed
thus in the whole Regiment — 16 Drummers and one Fife 2s. a piece,
20 Sergeants each is. 6d., Quarter M'str and Marshall each 2S. 6d.,
123 Files each 4s., ye odd men at ye same rate." {Lestrange MS.)
The total amount was £^22> 3s. 8d.

The leaders of the insurrection were taken and executed ; Argyll
the 30th of June, and Monmouth the 15th of July 1685. How
appropriate an epitaph for these heroes is embodied in Byron's words,
" They never fail, who die in a great cause."

AN INAUDIBLE ECHO.

To further the object upon which his heart was set, James
determined to abrogate the Penal Laws, not necessarily for the benefit
of conscientious nonconformists, but because the statutes operated on
all alike, including Roman Catholics, who were not in strict
conformity with the Church of England (1688). At the King's
suggestion, a series of questions was addressed to the gentry, so that
their views upon the subject might be known. The replies establish
without doubt the existence of a strong anti-papal feeling in the
county, unquestionably encouraged by Henry Howard seventh Duke
of Norfolk, who was himself a stanch Protestant. To the meeting
convened at Lynn, twenty- eight persons were summoned. The
questions submitted for their consideration were similar to those sent
to the other counties.

First, if in case bee shall be chosen knight of the Shire or Burgesse of a
Towne, when the King shall think fitt to call a Parliament, Wiiether hee will
bee for taking oil the Penal Laws and the Tests.

Second, whether hee will assist and contribute to the Election of such
Members as shall bee for taking off the Penal Laws and Tests.

Third, whether he will support the King's Declaration for Liberty of
Conscience, by living friendly with those of all persuasions as Subjects of the
same Prince and (as) good Christians ought to do.

Eighteen only were present to answer personally ; two absentees
sent letters, but from the other eight no replies were forthcoming —
two of whom were said to be sick and two abroad, whilst four wholly
scouted the inquiry. Examine a few of the answers given by some,
with whom a casual acquaintance has been made.

George Cremer, Recorder of Lynn ; " very sick and could not stirr out of his
bed " ; his plea was genuine because he died soon after and was suc-
ceeded by Henry Baldock (4th April 1688).
Sir Nicholas Lestrange (Hunstanton),

1st. He cannot agree to it if he be chosen.
2nd. In the negative.

3rd. He will li\e friendly with those of all persuasions ; so long as they
continue loyal to their Prince.
Sir Henry Bedingjdd (Oxborough),

Complies with the King's pleasure in all points.
Sir Thomas Hare (Stow Bardolph),

ist. He thinks the Penal Laws may be reviewed and some amendments

made but cannot consent to repeal them, nor the Tests.
2nd. He will endeavour to choose those of the same mind.
3rd. He is willing to live friendly and peaceably with those of all persua-
sions, whilst they continue loyal to the King and Government.

442 BISTORV OF KING'S LYNN.

Robert Walpole (Houghton),

ist. He will not oppose an act to confirm the King's Declaration for liberty
of conscience, but cannot consent to the taking off the Tests till he is
convinced of the necessity of it.
and. He answers in the negative.

3rd. He has always done and he will continue to live friendly with those of
all persuasions, so long as they prove loyal subjects and obedient to
the Government.
Lee Warner (Walsingham) ; absent.

Of the thirty-nine summoned to attend at Norwich, twenty-nine
were present and replied verbally; six were marked " absent," three
were abroad and to one name there is no entry. " The King was
not only warned, but most emphatically warned, that Norfolk men
would take no part in his design to bring back the Roman Catholic
faith, for that was his sole object in proposing the repeal of the
Tests " (Mason). To counteract so inauspicious an augury,
special agents were instructed to visit the municipal corporations, in
order to learn their views respecting the abrogation of the Test Act.
The commissioners for Norfolk — Benjamin Dennis and Richard
Adams — were to exercise their persuasive and advisary powers, but
in every case they must say whether the passing of a coercive measure,
termed " a regulation," would be necessary or not. The poorest
man in his tumble-down cottage might defy what William Pitt
terms "the force of the Crown," whilst the wealthiest Corporation
in a magnificent gild-hall were utterly helpless. If they refused to
please the King, they were dismissed and supplanted by those who
would.

Norwich and Lynn were the only towns in Norfolk where free-
men — members as well as non-members of the Corporation —
participated in the parliamentary election. The first had a
constituency numbering 1,500 and the second 700. Yarmouth and
Thetford were indeed corporate boroughs, but the elections were
solely decided by the members of the municipal bodies. Rising was
described as a borough, which chose by prescription. In Yarmouth,
Thetford and Rising there were 36, 30 and 20 voters respectively.

Messrs. Dennis and Adams sent in two reports, dated the 19th
of April and the 19th of September 1688 (Rawlinson MS.). The
city of Norwich chose William Barnham, a very popular man ; as a
dissenter he would certainly vote against the continuance of the Test
Act upon the Statute Book. Besides, he was one of the new alder-
men, who had taken the places of those recently dismissed by royal
mandate. The other candidate was Mr. Coke, senior, " a right man "
in whom the city reposed great confidence. If, however, the King
interposed Mr. Paston, the commissioners " presumed " he would be
returned. The second report was even more reassuring; the agents
were confident there would be a good election, although the city's
charter had not yet been despatched.

In Great Yarmouth, Mr. Paston and Sir James Johnson, each
of the right sort, were already selected ; if the King, however,
suggested Sir John Friend, he would undoubtedly be accepted instead

THE VEERING OF THE WIND. 443

of the second. Five months later the Corporation was firmly pledged
to Mr. Paston, but as the mayor John Albertson was somewhat
antagonistic, the commissioners thought the precept should not be
served on Sir James Johnson, until after the election of the next
mayor. The mayor was, therefore, deposed, and two bailiffs George
Ward and Thomas Godfrey appointed in his stead. Thetford and
Rising were each (quoting the report) '' under the power of the Duke
of Norfolk." Thetford was prepared to return his Majesty's
nominee, especially if recommended by his Grace, the duke.
Subsequently the commissioners thought a "regulation" needed.
The return of Lord Chief Justice Wrightson was certain, but they
feared Sir Joseph Williamson might at the last be substituted for
Mr. Vincent.

The reports for Lynn Regis are of such egregious importance,
they must be given in exfenso. The commissioners write:—

Tis necessary the Regulation be passed for influencing ye Election and
strengthening the intrest of the Dissenters who are numerous in this place. They
will choose Sr Symon Taylor, who is right by inclination and intrest ; the
other [candidate] is nott yet named, but soe soon as their Regulation is past,
thev will pitch upon one that is right, and returne his name to us (luth April
1688).

The second report reads thus : —

Some there have disputed Yo'r Ma'ties late Mandate in order to obstruct
the Election intended of Sr Symon Tayler and Henry Baidock [who was
appointed recorder 4th April 1688]. The mayor there [John Kidd] is a very
right man and active in Yo'r Ma'ties service. Tis humbly proposed the Corpora-
tion may be dissolved and a new Charter granted for securing this Election.

There seems to be a discrepancy in the dates. The report was
apparently issued on the 19th of September 1688, but the mandate
dissolving the Corporation had already taken effect.

vox REGIS.

A few months after granting the infamous Charter of 1684
(C. 25), Charles II. died. It was therefore the prerogative of his
successor, whoever he might be, to experiment with what was indeed
a dangerous weapon. Hence, between the first and second report,
James issued a remarkable adaptation.

C. 26, Charter dated at Whitehall the ist of June 1688, in the 4th year of
his reign.

— was accordingly outspread before the Assembly on the nth, when
the following entry was written in the Hall Book : —

By the King's most excellent majestie, and the Lords of his most honorable
Privy Councdl, whereas by the Charter lately granted to the town of Lynn
Regis in the county of Norfolk, a power is reserved to His Majestie by his order
in Counceli, to remove from their employments any officer in the said town —

Then appear the names of those displaced; also the King's
nominees (copied, of course, from the charter), whom the remnant of
the old Congregation were expected to elect.

444

HISTORY OF KING'S iVNiV.

Removed :

Appointed :

Robert Sparrow (mayor)*
Sir John Turner
Benjamin Holley
William Hatfield
Robert Paine
Giles Bridgman

John Davy (mayor)
William Linstead
Cyprian Anderson
Henry Framingham
Charles Peast
William Blyth

Common
Councilmen.

Henry Bell
William Holley
Charles Turner
Henry Pope
Samuel Bridgman
James Greene
Timothy Preist
John Bradfield

Thos. Buckingham
Simon Taylor
John Hall
William Thompson
John Tidd
Peter Busby
Seel Peast
Stephen Tayler

Edmund Rolfe (clerk)t

Mathew Oufande (clerk)

By virtue of the Test Act of 1673, all persons holding office
under the Crown were compelled to take the oath of allegiance and
supremacy, acknowledging the King to be the supreme head of the
Church of England (1534), to receive the sacrament as administered
by that Church and to declare their disbelief in transubstantiation.
Later the same day (June nth) the new members, namely. Sir Simon
Taylor, Thomas Robinson, John Kidd, Benjamin Keene, Thomas
Lemon, Edmund Hooke and Edward Bodham, were, in compliance
with the King's behest, elected by those not supplanted. The
nominees of the Crown were of course admitted to office without
conforming with the clauses in the condemned statute. The
receiving of the sacrament was dispensed with, and no oaths were
administered except such as related merely to a faithful discharge
of the duties undertaken. Hence was there no reason why the
benevolent quaker — Thomas Buckingham, the founder of the
" Buckingham Trust," should not take his seat in the Town Council,
nor those nonooinformists, who cherished serious conscientious
objections, nor the Roman Catholics, who sincerely believed the Pope
to be the spiritual head of The Church. Through the privileges
ostensibly accorded to the dissenters, the Established Church
received a severe blow. But the voice of the King was still heard in
the land. Our Corporation were the recipients of another mandate,
instructing them to_ re-elect John Davy, whose conduct in office had
been most gratifying, as chief magistrate for the ensuing year.
Referring to the Hall Book, we read : —

This day a mandat under his Majesties hand and seal was read, to elect
and continue John Davy mayor for the ensuing year, without adminstring any
oaths but of office . . . This day John Davy is elected mayor by the common
councell (29th September 1688).

* Robert Sparrow (1641-1716) son of the Rev. Robert Sparrow, B.D., rector of Watlington, was
mayor in 1696 ; he was buried in Watlington church.

t Edmund Rolfe was not only town clerk and mayor's clerk, but clerk to the Gild Hall courts, the
Courts of Sessions, the Court Leet and the Court of Piepowder. For many years he lived iu the house
originally Thoresby's college.

THE VEERING OF THE WIND. 445

ROYAL TACTICS.

James took every advantage of the charter, granted in the summer
of 1684, to degrade and humiliate what were still farcically styled
"the independent burgesses of King's Lynn." When, however, the
wayward monarch found in the autumn of 1688 he was at the end of
his tether, he suddenly annulled the charter, and by Royal
Proclamation restored all corporations to their ancient charters,
liberties, rights and franchises (17th October).

The royal edict arrived on the 20th, and was at once placed
before the Assembly. Then and there, were all the members lately
appointed by mandate, instantly displaced, whilst the discarded
representatives took their old seats. Cyprian Anderson was
requested to preside over their future deliberations, instead of John
Davy, who retired crestfallen, protesting that never more would he
put confidence in princes. A change, too, in the recorder happened
soon afterwards. Henry Baldock, who succeeded George Cremer
(4th April 1688), was in turn succeeded by Daniel Bedingfeld, the
2nd of November 1688. The Duke of Norfolk was, moreover,
elected High Steward (26th October); his patent of office being
confirmed also on the 2nd of November. The seal of the borough
was attached to a letter of attorney, giving authority to sundry
persons therein named to receive, from his Majesty's attorney-
general, the late instrument or deed of the surrender of divers
franchises and liberties.

The sudden abandonment of these unconstitutional methods
gave rise to indescribable satisfaction. Now Madam Anderson was
probably staying at her country house in East Walton, when her
husband — the captain of the local trained bands — became cognisant
of the King's surprising intention. The home-coming of the new
mayoress on the 22nd could easily, as the people thought, be changed
into an historical episode. To think was to act. Met by hundreds
of brave horsemen and throngs of excited burgesses, the lady was
proudly escorted to the town, whilst with even greater alacrity the
ringers plied the bell-ropes and the cannoneers discharged the guns !

The infamous charter does not, even as a historic curiosity, dis-
honour our archives ; it was probably destroyed, when the Corporation
resumed their rights under the older charters.

ACCEPTED ADDRESSES.

To insure a speedy triumph for the Roman Catholic faith. King
James issued a declaration of general indulgence, asserting that non-
conformity with the tenets and ceremony of the Established Church
was no longer penal (1685). A second declaration, published in
1687, bestowed liberty of conscience upon all sectaries,
authorising both Catholic and Protestant Dissenters to perform their
worship openly. The King, however, was far from sincere in these
professions of toleration. The freedom to worship, according to the
dictates of conscience granted to Protestant Dissenters, was simply
regarded by the unprejudiced as a bribe put forward solely to induce

446 HISTORY OF KING S LYNN.

them to join their Sovereign against a common enemy — their late
persecutor, the Church of England. Convinced, how the existence of
the Church to which they belonged was in jeopardy, the majority
of the members of the Lynn sanhedrim quaked with fear, Tliough
sweet as honey to their taste, the words of King James were not quite
as clear. Sincere — sine cere? Alas, no. Yet would they subdue
their misgiving qualms, as best they could, and act, as if nothing
disturbed their equanimity. " Not in the least doubting,'"' they sent
his Majesty another heroic address : —

Great Sir, — The laiown principles of the Church of England being such as
oblige every member thereof with their Lives and Fortunes to defend and main-
tain your Majestie, Your Royall Prerogative with all other rights belonging to
Your Majesties Imperiall Crown, makes us at this time humbly to begg your
Majesty to receive this further attestation, not in the least doubting of the peace-
able enjoyment of our religion under Your Majesties most sacred protection
returning our most hearty and humble thanks for Your Majesties late repeated
Assurance thereof, expressed in Your Majesties late gracious Declaration (19th
September 1687).

Sunday, the 29th of January 1688, was exceptional in that it
was specially devoted to thanksgiving. " Wonderful solemnity,"
we are told, marked the pious observance thereof — a statement the
reader may be pardoned for not accepting literally. The members
of the august Assembly " in their formalities," whatever they might
be, the student must imagine, and headed, of course, by Robert
Sparrow the mayor, attended divine service twice during the day,
to render unfeigned thanks to Almighty God on behalf of her Majesty
the Queen. The shades of evening, however, obscured all traces of
solemnity : the grateful members of the Corporation repaired to the
Custom House, there to drink " the King's health with a bonefire."
Six months later, another day of thanksgiving dawned, when the
King was constrained to be the poilite recipient of a congratulatory
address, adverting to the birth of a prince, from his irrepressible
subjects at Lynn.

Great Sir, — Wee Your Majesties Dutiful! Subjects crave leave of Your
Majesty and your Royall Consort that we join with Your Majestie in offering
our most humble and hearty thanks to God Almighty in sending Your Majestie
a Sonn and a Prince, and farther we begg of Your Sacred Majestie to accept our
Cordial thanks for your Majesties late favor to the body of this Corporation, and
also for your Princely condescension and affection by both your gracious
Declaration, not only extending to the Church of England but to all other your
peaceable and loyall Subjects, Assuring us by Your royall word you will stand
by us, whereby we are not only obliged but resolved, when your Majestie shall
think fitt to call a Parliament, wee will endeavour to elect such members as
shall make your Majesty happie and Your Subjects easie, and shall pray for ^'our
Majesties long and peaceable reigne over us. In witness whereof we have fixed
our Town Seale the 2nd of July in the 4th year of your most gracious reign,
Anno Domini 1688.

The queen, Mary of Modena, had indeed given birth to a son —
James, " the old pretender," who in 17 15 unsuccessfully attempted
to recover the throne. But what a deplorable exhibition of servility.
Garrick was indeed right, when he exclaimed, " Corrupted freemen
are the worst of slaves."

THE VEERING OF THE WIND. 447

THE MADDEST, MERRIEST DAY.

The great rural festival of our forefathers was held on May-day.
Of a surety, it was " the happiest time of all the glad new year."
At sunrise throngs of rosy lads and lasses returned from the woods,
laden with blossoming branches of hawthorn and masses of
clustering flowers. With the spoils of their search, the doors and
lattices of their cottage homes were richly decked, whilst with ribbon-
tied wreaths and festoons, they decorated the long may-pole, which,
as soon as finished, was slowly reared in borough market or village
green. Can you not enjoy the delightful spectacle? The jovial
company of grotesque morris-dancers, with Robin Hood, and Friar
Tuck, and Little John ; the comical Jack-in-the-Green, the capering
hobby-horse beset with spritely revellers, and the group of earnest
archers, displaying their prowess at the butts hard by. Ah, yes,
the centre of attraction, the loadstar, to which all eyes involuntarily
turn, is the beauteous Queen of the May, enthroned, as you see, in
an arbour of the choicest evergreens, from whence the pageant is
directed !

As early as the reign of Edward III., these innocent pastimes
were encouraged by the Church, but the stern preachers of the
Reformation period evinced no sympathy with merriment of any
kind ; they condemned this delightful feast in scathing terms, because
forsooth the people made an idol of the may-pole ! Later, a
Parliament of Puritans commanded the churchwardens and constables
to see these deistic Baals removed, or pay in default a fine of 5s.
each, for every day the ungodly idols remained in the midst of the
people. Thus, the time-honoured revels ended ; pretty Maid Marian
Avas dethroned, and the merry, merry month of May was converted
into the saddest and gloomiest of the twelve (1644).

After the Revolution, may-games were once again permitted.
Two nezv may-poles were set up, at the town's expense — one in " the
open space " before St. Anne's Fort, and the other in the Tuesday
market-place (1682). The second was soon afterwards taken down
to make room for the King's statue (9th November 1685). Gradually
the old-time custom degenerated into a faint reminder of past glories
— two small hoops, trimmed with wild flowers and fixed transversely
upon a short pole, constitute ''the garland," which is borne upon the
shoulder. "In no place where the custom of celebrating May-day
still continues," observes " K," a contributor to Hone's Table
Book* " does it present so close a resemblance to its Roman origin,
as at Lynn. . . A doll full dressed, of proportionate size, is
seated in the centre, thus exhibiting an humble, but not inappropriate
representation of Flora, surrounded by the fragrant emblems of her
consecrated offerings."

HIGHWAYS AND BYWAYS.

At the South Lynn vestry held "during the Christmas week,"
two surveyors of the highways were chosen " according to a late Acte "

* The SwafTham bookseller and antiquary- -W, H. Keniball.

448 HISTORY OF KING'S LYNN.

(26th December 1685). The roads, notwithstanding remained in a
disgraceful state. Although at places almost impassable the surveyors
went on their way rejoicing, expecting others to do the same. Five
years after the appointment, the parish was fined ^1^30 at the County
Sessions held in St. George's hall, Lynn, for pennitting their servants
to neglect these important viarian duties (15th April 1686). " Aughter
(after) this," the writer goes on, " we had an order in lavishment with
ye Cortt Sealle directed to our Churchward'ns to make a Rathe (rate)
v't Rayse ye said Thirty pounds & Imoyne ye chefe Cunstable of our
Hundred with ye Sh'reeves Bailif to assist in ye 'Raysing ye sayd
monye." (C.W.A., A.SS). A rate of six pence in the £, then
brought in ;^32 i8s. 7d. Anent the same subject is another minute
sanctioned by the parishioners : —

That no survayor of ye h-ways (highways) for ye time to Cum shall exede
ye prise heaunder written for Carting to ye h-ways for what carts they shall hier
(hire) for those that send not in thear owne Carts or as ffaivors &not Inhabetence,
yt is ffrom ye Gravilpits of Hardwick for every Cart of Gravill by estemation
twentey hund-wait layd Vpon ye causey & on ye east side of Long brig nine-
pence ffor every lode layd from ye Long brig to Scails how gate twelve pence
A lode & ffrom scales how gate to Nuns deke eightene pence p lode & ffrom Nuns
deke to Godscroft & so to Sadlebow Cross two shillings p lode & that those who
Compounds not with ye Survayors shall be forth with prosecuted as ye law shall
direckt & for this yeare all peple do thear dutey as ye law requiers & yt no
survayor for ye futur bring in thear Acounts Aney other way but by ye lode
& not by thear Carts by ye day (3rd June 1688).

Scale's How (House) bank, running east and west, lies beyond
the South Lynn railway station. The farm house, then belonging
to Sir John Harrison, and occupied by Mr, Saye, has long since dis-
appeared, as have Godscroft and the adjacent cottages, near " the
Golden Ball." Of Nun's Deke nothing is know, but the base of a
wayside cross may yet be seen at the corner of the Saddlebow Road.

Besides receiving three pence per mile, the gravel carters enjoyed
a perquisite known as shincks — otherwise shinks or swinks, consisting
of bread (or cakes) and beer. Throughout the parochial programme
these items ever and anon appear. The adjusting of a bell-rope, the
raising of a ladder, the ringing of what was then termed " a peale " etc.
could never be accomplished, without a few draughts of the magical
beverage. For example: " 1605 : p'd for beare & breade for the man
that helpt vp with ye leade, o: iiij d. & beare and breade for the man
that holpt to strike the ladder and sett it agene, vj d. (C.W.A.,
St.M.). So alarming did the charges for shincks at length become,
that the parishioners wisely determined to stop the allowance altogether
(29th December 1697).*

It was customary for the South Lynn parish to mend the south
side of the Hardwick Road, whilst the north side was repaired by

" Shinckea, otherwise shinks or swinks, from the Anglo-Saxon scene a cup or draught and sctncnn to give
drink.

" Villaines why shink you not vnto this fellow ? "

Lodge's Looking-glass for England.
" The gods laugh'd out unweary'd as they spy'd
The busy shinker hop from side to side."

Tickell's translation of Homer's Iliad,

THE VEERING OF THE WIND. 449

North Runcton. The portion actually within the bounds of the last-
named parish measured 660 yards; it extended eastward from the
great stone, called " the Half-mile Stone," situated 1,100 yards from
the South Gates. The width of the road v/as 40 feet. The vestry
agreed to maintain half the entire length, that is 330 yards, rather than
the south side of the whole stretch (17th January 1759).

THE king's daughter.

Jane Stuart (1657-1745), a natural daughter of the King (when
Duke of York) and half-sister to (^ueen Mary and Queen Elizabeth,
lived for many years in Wisbech. Disgusted with the frivolities of
court life, she attached herself to the Society of Friends and was
in consequence imprisoned with Thomas Elgood. "The Royal
Quaker" spun worsted, which she sold at her stall in the market.
According to the Friends' register, she died on the 12th of the 7th
month 1745, and was buried in the society's burial ground, where
her grave with its neatly trimmed box border may still be seen.

A NATIONAL CRISIS.

The birth of the prince is believed to have contributed largely to
the King's downfall, because those most bitterly opposed to his govern-
ment were stolidly quiescent and prepared to await an alteration in the
accession of his nephew, who would, as they were convinced, unques-
tionably tear aside the fabric of tyranny and Catholicism, in which
James was enfolding the whole nation. But the natal event upset
their calculation. The succession must now devolve upon the royal
offspring, who would, of course, be fostered in the Roman Catholic
faith, and who might, for aught they knew, emulate or even eclipse,
his parent in arbitrary, unconstitutional government.

Step by step, the descent from the throne can be plainly traced —
an invitation signed by those who previously sought the interference
of William the Prince of Orange, beseeching him to come with a body
of troops to their assistance (30th June 16S8) — an order for the re-
moval of the guns from Lynn to Hull, * possibly because our High
Steward, the Protestant Duke of Norfolk, was energetically promoting
the cause of James' nephew (26th October) — the landing of 11,000 in-
fantry and 4,500 cavalry at Torbay (5th November) — the wholesale
desertion of his Majesty's army, t — and attempted flight — the capture
of the royal fugitive at Feversham (loth December) — William's trium-
phal entry into London (i6th) and the precipitate escape of the King
from Rochester (22nd).

■»• * -Sf ■«• *

After the abdication and during a sojourn in France, the exiled
monarch was greatly indebted to Louis XIV. James IL died at St.
Germains the 6th of September 1701, and v.'as buried in the Bene-
dictine Monastery, Paris.

• The guns were returned the 29th September 1689.

t Among whom was Henry Hyde (Earl of Clarendon and Viscount Cornbury), who with other
partisans visited Lynn in November 1678,

END OF VOL. I.

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