NORWICH. NEARLY two centuries ago Thomas Fuller thus wrote in his 'British Worthies: "Norwich is (as you please) either a city in an orchard, or an orchard in a city, so equally are houses and trees blended in it. Yet, in this mixture, the inhabitants participate nothing of the rusticalness of the one, but altogether of the urbanity and civility of the other." Time has wrought in Norwich, as elsewhere, many changes; but it still merits, to a considerable extent, the eulogy of the lively old writer. For its population, and the number of its houses, Norwich occupies an unusually large space, and, from a distance, houses and trees appear to be blended in it pretty equally; while the suburbs are richly wooded and very cheerful. Glancing over the city from the neighbouring heightsfrom Mousehold-hill, for example, from which the engraving (Cut, No. 1) is taken-the stranger is still tempted to regard it as fairly entitled to be characterized as 66 either a city in an orchard, or an orchard in a city." A nearer examination will somewhat alter the first impression. Districts will be discovered mean, crowded, and filthy. The inhabitants will be found, if not rustical,' yet certainly not altogether civil and urbane.' But it will be remembered that these are circumstances not peculiar to Norwich, but common to nearly all our larger towns, while Norwich will still retain its somewhat peculiar advantages-a tolerably ample area, a situation in a fine, open, fertile country, and a social 'urbane' population. Before we proceed to explore its streets, we will run over the history of the city. Norwich is an old town, and, like other old towns, has its legendary annals. We may, however, be spared their repetition. Local chroniclers have fixed the foundation of the city at a very early date, affirming that it owes its origin to a British prince, Others make it to have been founded by Claudius Cæsar, Others, again, are content to carry back its foundation only to the year 446. But the majority of modern writers appear to be of opinion, with "the right worshipful Knight, Sir Henry Spelman," that "her very name abridgeth her antiquity, as having no other in histories but Norwich, which is mere Saxon, or Danish, and signifieth the north town or castle." (Spelman, in Speed's England.) Norwich was pretty clearly not a Roman city. The old rhyme appears to convey very nearly the historical truth: "Castor was a city when Norwich was none; And Norwich was built of Castor stone." Castor, now a poor village standing about three miles from Norwich, was the Venta Icenorum of the Romans, while the larger part of what is now Norwich was covered with water-the great æstuary of this part of the country probably extending at that time some distance farther inland. But the sea gradually retreated, and the waters became separated into channels. a commanding promontory-the present Castle-hill On a fortress was erected, and houses were soon collected on the islands protected by it. The fortress became, at least occasionally, the residence of the East Anglian kings; and Northwic grew by degrees into a city, while Castor, no longer approachable in ships, and unprotected by military works, gradually sunk into insignificance. Under the Saxons it was a place of considerable importance: coins are still in existence, which were struck here by Alfred and his successors, as the inscription, Northwic,' on the reverse, testifies. The present city, however, may date its origin from the early part of the eleventh century. In 1003 the Danes, under Sweyn their king, sailed with their whole fleet up to Norwich, which they took and entirely destroyed. The city lay desolate till 1010, when Sweyn returned, and in some measure restored it, and rebuilt the castle, the command of which he gave to Turketil, a Danish nobleman, who played a prominent part in the stormy events of the following years. From the time of Sweyn's return, the city increased so rapidly that in the reign of Edward the Confessor it had become, according to Blomefield, one of the most important cities in England, being surpassed in wealth and population only by London and York. At the Domesday Survey it was in a less flourishing condition. William had created one of his followers, a Breton, named Ralph de Waiet (or De Gaël), Earl of Norfolk, and given him the government of the city and castle. De Waiet was desirous of marrying Emma, the sister of Roger FitzOsbert, Earl of Hereford, one of the most powerful of the Norman nobles, and a day was fixed for the marriage. The king, who was then in Normandy, disapproved of the match. Thierry says he cannot tell why, but the reason was, probably, his fear of these already powerful nobles consolidating their strength, by this union of their families, beyond what he deemed prudent; and he accordingly sent an express interdicting its conclusion. The parties not only set his order at nought, but on the marriage-day assembled in Norwich Castle a large party of the Norman bishops and nobles, and some of the Saxon chiefs. These nuptials, says the Saxon chronicler, "were fatal to all who were present at them." When the guests were warmed with wine, the Earl of Hereford spoke out against the interference of the king with the marriage of his sister, which he declared to be an affront on the memory of his father, William Fitz-Osbert, to whom, he said, "the Bastard incontestably owed his kingdom," The Saxons vigorously applauded the bold speaker, and the Norman nobles added loud plaints of the Conqueror's ill-treatment of them, and declaimed bitterly against his person and his birth. The resolution to rise against him was generally taken. Only Waltheof, the principal Saxon noble in the country, refused to enter into the engagement, and he took an oath of secrecy; which, however, he failed to keep, divulging the intentions of the rebels to his wife, a niece of the king. The earls were, in consequence, driven into action sooner than they intended, and were severally met and defeated before they could join their forces. Such of the followers of Waiet as were taken had their right foot cut off by the brutal victors. The earl himself succeeded in reaching Norwich Castle, the garrison of which he strengthened, and then entrusted to the command of his young wife, while he fled to Bretagne, in the hope of raising succours there. The royal troops quickly invested the castle, but the brave Emma undauntedly held out till compelled by famine to yield; when her bold resistance obtained for herself and her soldiers permission to quit the castle without loss of life or limb, and to depart from England without molestation. William now (1075) created Roger Bigod constable of the castle; and the office was retained by his descendants till 1340, when the castle was converted into the county gaol, and its superintendence entrusted to the sheriff. The revival of the prosperity of the city commenced in 1094, when the Bishop of Thetford, Herbert Losinga-or the liar'a soubriquet given him on account of his flattering qualities obtained permission to remove the see to Norwich. Henry I. kept his Christmas at Norwich in 1122, when he conferred on the city its first charter. It had previously been under the rule of the constable of the castle, but its government was now entrusted to officers chosen by the citizens; and Norwich obtained the same rights, privileges, and immunities, as the city of London. In 1174 the city was invaded and taken by the Flemish followers of Hugh Bigod, the constable of the castle, who had espoused the cause of Prince Henry in his rebellion against his father Henry II. The citizens had manfully withstood the besiegers; and the king, on the surrender of Bigod, marked his sense of their conduct by the gift of a new charter. century later the city was taken and plundered by Louis, the Dauphin of France, who had come to England on the invitation of the barons. In 1272 the quarrels that had been protracted during many years between the monks and the citizens, arising from the immunities claimed by the latter under their charter, resulted in a serious riot. Many persons were killed on both sides; the priory was almost entirely destroyed, and much injury was done to other of the ecclesiastical buildings, while a large part of the city was ravaged. The city was in consequence placed under interdict by the bishop, and all who had taken part in the proceedings were excommunicated. The king himself proceeded to Norwich to adjudicate in the matter. handed justice, the king seized the manors of the priory, and delivered the prior, as the instigator of the riot, into the custody of the bishop. The bishop had, by command of the king, suspended the interdict; but, on the neglect of the city to obey the award, he speedily renewed it; and it was not till 1275, and after an appeal to the pope, to whom a deputation of the principal citizens was sent by the royal command, that the interdict was removed, and the city charter was restored. The quarrel with the monks was frequently revived at subsequent periods, and the city charter was in consequence frequently suspended. As late as 1517 and 1518 Wolsey found it necessary to visit Norwich, in order to bring about a reconciliation between the monks and citizens; but it was not till 1524 that the arrangement was finally effected: the suppression of monasteries that followed shortly after, contributing, perhaps, as much as anything, to make that agreement final. But the people of Norwich appear to have always been somewhat turbulent. The Wat Tyler insurrection, arising from the imposition of the polltax, extended hither. Some fifty thousand persons collected from the surrounding parts, under one John Litester (or the Dyer, who, however, called himself by the more sounding title of King of the Commons), and having been joined by a large party of Norwich men, they entered the city, and committed much damage. Henry Spenser, 'the warlike bishop of Norwich,' whose exploits at Cambridge have already been mentioned (Cambridge, p. 116), speedily placed himself at the head of the royal troops. The insurgents left the town but the bishop followed them to North Walsham, where he entirely defeated them. The Dyer was taken, and, with many of his followers, soon afterwards executed. have been any The immediate Other great riots' are recorded in the local annals, but the greatest was that which occurred in the reign Half a of Edward VI., and is known as Kett's or the Norfolk Rebellion; the account of which became a very popular history, and continued to be published as a chap-book of stall-book down to the present century. The outbreak commenced within a few days of the Devon commotion;' but there does not appear to concert between the ringleaders. cause of the Norfolk rebellion was the enclosure of common-lands, which had become very general on the part of those who had obtained grants of abbey-lands. The peasantry appear to have expected that the proclamation of the Protector Somerset against these enclosures would have caused their being laid open; ̧ and when they found this did not take place, they became greatly enraged, and proceeded to throw down the fences and walls. At first they went no further; but being assembled in large numbers at Wymondham Fair (July 7, 1549), they were induced by one who had suffered from their violence, to proceed to the grounds of Robert Kett, a tanner of Wymondham, and break his fences. Kett was a bold as well as a wealthy man; and his determined manner and ready eloquence won them to proclaim him their captain—a post which he at once accepted, on condition that they The citizens of course came worst off in the settlement. Above thirty of the rioters were put to death by being dragged through the streets by horses; several were hanged and quartered; a woman was burnt alive; twelve of the wealthier leaders were condemned to forfeit all their goods to the king; while the city was fined in the sum of 3,000 marks, and £100 for a gold cup, and all its privileges were declared to be forfeited. In order to show something like even Matters had now become sufficiently serious to make even the weak men then at the head of affairs adopt strong measures. The Earl of Warwick, who was about departing with an army to Scotland, was sent instead to Norwich, whither he speedily arrived, and encamped in the market-place. For awhile the good fortune that had hitherto attended them, continued with the insurgents. The whole of the ammunition that followed the royal army fell into their hands; and, shortly after, they succeeded in capturing the artillery also. The earl was now compelled to shut himself up in the city, and fortify it by "rampyring the gates, streets, lanes, and dykes," in the best manner he was able. Some of his officers were urgent that he should quit the city, as untenable; but Warwick, a very different man to the Earl of Northampton (who, as Fuller says, was more acquainted with the witty than the warlike parts of Pallas”), declared he would only quit it with his life; and compelled his officers, in accordance with the ancient custom observed in time of great danger, to kiss each other's swords, and vow to defend each other and the place to the last extremity. The next day a reinforcement of 1,400 soldiers, consisting of a Swiss regiment and other veterans, arrived, and Warwick resolved to attack the insurgents in their camp. But Kett did not wait for the attack. A rhyming prophecy, said to be of ancient date, was circulated among his followers, which declared that would stand by him. Their views now extended of the rebels. 66 "The country gnoffes, Hob, Dick, and Hick, Shall fill the vale Of Dussin's Dale With slaughter'd bodies soon;" and either trusting the prediction, or desirous of availing himself of the enthusiam it had excited, he resolved to quit his vantage ground, and descend into the valley. It was some seven weeks since they had first encamped on Mousehold Hill, when, on the 27th of August they marched down into the adjacent dale. They made hasty preparations for battle by cutting a ditch and planting stakes in front of their position. The Swiss troops commenced the attack by a furious charge, in which several of the townsmen who had been detained prisoners by Kett, and were now placed bound in the van, were killed. The Swiss infantry were supported by the cavalry, and assisted by a warm discharge of artillery. The insurgents were beaten at the first charge, and the battle became a mere flight and slaughter. Above three thousand were killed in the battle and pursuit. Only one band stood their ground, and they fought desperately, but yielded on the Earl's pledge of pardon. Kett fled so swiftly that his horse broke down at the end of a few miles. He was recognised by the servants of a house in which he took refuge, and delivered up to the Earl, who sent him to London. The punishment of the prisoners was summary and severe. Several were hung on the Oak of Reformation. Forty-nine were executed in the market place, with all the barbarous additions usual in cases of treason. Kett was sent back to Norwich, and hung alive in chains on the top | And over all, from the highest spot in the city, rises of the castle his brother, who had taken an active part in the affair, was suspended in a similar manner from the steeple of Wymondham church. Altogether above 300 suffered under the hands of the executioner. The 27th of August was in commemoration of the 'battle' formally set apart, and continued for many years to be observed as a day of annual thanksgiving. No events of any general interest occured in Norwich in later times. In the struggle between Charles I. and the parliament, the city took the parliamentary side, but it remained unvisited by a royal army, and no contest took place in it. Norwich boasts of several visits from the reigning sovereigns. The most splendid was that of Elizabeth in 1578, when the queen remained in the city for a week, enjoying a round of public entertainments; at times giving audience, or listening to orations; at others gracing with her presence the pageants or banquets prepared to do her honour; sometimes going a hunting; sometimes ascending Mousehold-hill to witness the wrestling and other manly exercises-but always in the midst of the delighted citizens: such a week of festivity, say the older histories of the city, Norwich never beheld before or since. Both queen and people appear to have parted well pleased with each other. The last royal visit was that of Charles II. in 1671, on which occasion his majesty bestowed the honour of knighthood on its eminent citizen Dr. Thomas Browne. the huge square keep of the castle, frowning upon the more fragile buildings that crowd the lower ground, and crowning with an air of sober dignity the whole scene. Let us look a little nearer. As we approach the city we discover traces of its walls. The construction of these walls was commenced in 1294, but they were not completed till 1320; and they were further strengthened at several subsequent periods. Originally they encompassed the whole city, except where it was defended by the river. Fuller compared Norwich to "a great volume with a bad cover, having at best but parchment walls about it." And in truth they appear of scarcely sufficient strength to have at any time withstood a serious attack, while they must have been almost entirely useless after the introduction of artillery into the train of a besieging army; not only on account of their weakness, but the position of the town, which is entirely commanded by the neighbouring heights. Large fragments of the walls still exist, but no entire portion is left. Part of the fortifications consisted of forty towers, several of which remain, but in a ruinous and neglected state. Near Carrow-bridge stand two on opposite sides of the river, between which a chain or boom used to be stretched. The one on the east side of the river, commonly known as the Devil's Tower, is perhaps the most perfect remaining. Like all the others, it is a round building, rudely constructed of black flints. On Butter-hill stands another in tolerable preservation, called the Black, or Governor's Tower. The city was entered by twelve gates, but not a trace of them remains now. Several were destroyed towards the close of the last century and the rest in the early part of the present. Norwich, we have said, is seen to most advantage at a little distance. From Mousehold-hill, the hill which rises on the south-east, very beautiful views of the city, and a good general idea of its plan, may be obtained. The old topographers compare the form of the area to that of a shoulder of venison,' and there is certainly Bale, writing in 1549, cries out lustily against the citia considerable resemblance to that dainty dish in the zens of Norwich for their disregard of their antiquities. city as included within the walls; but Norwich is "O city of England," he says, "whose glory standeth now extended a good deal beyond the old limits. more in belly-cheer than in search of wisdom godly, The river Wensum “ so wanton that it knoweth not its how cometh it that neither you, nor yet your idle massown mind, which way to go, such the involved mongers, have regarded this most worthy commodity flexures thereof within a mile of this city, runneth of your country-I mean the conservation of your partly by, partly through it." (Fuller, Church Hist. antiquities, and of the worthy labours of your learned b. VII.) And though, as Fuller adds, "it conmen? I think the renown of such a notable act would tributeth very little to the strengthening of the city," much longer have endured than of all your bellyit certainly very much increases its beauty, as well as banquets and table-triumphs, either yet of your newlycontributes to its prosperity. From almost any part purchased halls to keep St. George's feast in." (Conof the hill Norwich has a striking appearance. Its tinuation of Leland's Antiquities.) Once on a time it great extent, the space within the walls being above a was the boast of the city of Norwich that in "bellymile and a half in length and a mile and a quarter in cheer" its glory was only equalled by the city of width, would alone render it imposing; but the London; but all that is "reformed altogether," and now manner in which that space is occupied renders it far its mayors are famous for any thing rather than "bellymore so. In every part of the city are seen groups banquets" and its aldermen, so far from winning of rich trees partly screening the forest of gloomy "table-triumphs" are even some of them, according to houses; while above every group of trees, and from the scandalous chronicle, almost teetotallers. But it every cluster of houses, a tall dark church-tower lifts is to be feared that though so much of the old antiits head. Close below the hill on which we are quary's complaint is no longer applicable, the other standing, near enough for its elaborate details to engage attention without interfering with its general form, stands the cathedral, a well-developed architectural object, with its lofty spire pointing to the sky. part is as much so as ever;-it does appear that the people of Norwich have in these later days as little regarded as at any earlier time, "the conservation of their antiquities;" some have been spared; but it has arisen apparently from there being nothing to be doubt necessarily-to meet the requirements of modern habits, that few retain much of antiquity in their details. Still the city looks old, and it is not difficult, in rambling about it, to realize to one's self a notion of its appearance when a city of monks, and soldiers, and soldier-like citizens; or later, when it was rising into manufacturing eminence and wealth, and its streets were thronged with a cheerful industrious population, engaged in the ordinary duties of daily life, or crowding to witness some favourite pageant, of which the city in olden times was very fond,— guild day, or St. George's procession, it may be, with Snap the Dragon played by some Bottom the Weaver, who could roar you an 't were any nightingale, and play the part of "this most fearful wild fowl," so delicately as well as loftily, "half his face being seen through this dragon's neck," that there should be no occasion for any one to fear or tremble at his roaring, but be ready to cry out, "Let him roar again, let him roar again." One change must have a good deal altered the appearance of the streets. In Fuller's time so many of the houses were thatched, that he merrily says, "Luther (if summoned by the emperor to appear in this place) would have altered his expression, and said, instead of tiles of the house,' that if every straw on the roofs of the houses were a devil, notwithstanding he would make his appearance.' However," he adds, "such thatch is so artificially done (even sometimes on their chancels) that it is no eye-sore at all to the city." (Worthies.) We need hardly say that these thatches have long since disappeared, and that, as the good old gossip heartily wished, "their straw has advanced into tile." If we may believe the local records, Norwich must have contained more inhabitants five centuries ago than it did at the last census. A plague is said to have raged in the city in 1348, by which "57,374 persons, besides religious and beggars," died between the months of January and July. The entire population, it is added, was above 70,000. At the census of 1841 Norwich contained 62,294 inhabitants. Although the number above cited is given with so much exactitude it is scarcely credible that it can be accurate. In support of its probability, it is mentioned that there were at the same period seventy churches in Norwich, whereas there are now only about half that number. That there were once many more churches than at present cannot be doubted, as their names and sites are on record; but that fact alone is far from being a sufficient corroboration of so startling an assertion respecting the population of Norwich, exclusive of "religious and beggars," who As you stroll about the streets, Norwich has very probably formed no very minute fraction of its inhamuch the air of an old city. A large number of the bitants in 1348. Norwich was, however, we know, a houses have many-gabled and over-hanging fronts; large and flourishing town at that time. It was the and from the ground on which they are erected being principal city in the east of England, and one of the very irregular, and the streets narrow, they form pic- most important in the country. Somewhat later, in turesque antique-looking combinations-especially as 1403, the monarch marked his own sense of its importsome black church tower or the cathedral spire soars ance by separating it from the county of Norfolk, and in the back ground of almost every prospect. But it But it granting it a charter forming it into a county in itself, is in these general views that the old houses show best. under the title of "the City and County of Norwich :" They have been mostly so altered-and in general no and though the corporation has undergone many muta |