Norwich – March 1792

I bought this antique print of Norwich just before Christmas. The print is from an engraving of a drawing by Charles Catton Jr, which was published in The Itinerant on March 1, 1792.

The drawing’s content is fascinating. On the far left is the Castle, then in the foreground are the ruins of St Michael’s Chapel, on what we know today as Kett’s Heights. The Cathedral and Norwich’s churches dominate the scene, including St John de Sepulchre on Ber Street, which can be seen through the St Michael’s Chapel arch.

There is a horseman making his way down a track, which is now the busy Kett’s Hill. To the right, where the couple are enjoying the view and the man is leading a horse, we now have modern housing.

St Michael’s Chapel was Robert Kett’s headquarters during ‘The Great Commoyson’ of 1549, with his followers’ camp spreading out over Mousehold Heath.

Today only one wall of the chapel survives. The chapel and the view from Kett’s Heights, along with this print, all feature in my Shardlake’s Norwich guided tour. The tour celebrates CJ Sansom’s best-selling novel Tombland and looks at the story of Kett’s Rebellion. I also have an online or in person talk option.

When my print arrived, I discovered an accompanying contemporary description of Norwich, which interprets the view. It includes a dismissive mention of Robert Kett, long before his rehabilitation began in the second half of the 19th century.

“The annexed view is taken from Mussel or Mousehole Hill, near the ruins of Kett’s Castle; so called from the tanner of Wyndham, by whose rebellion in the reign of Edward the Sixth the city was reduced to a ruinous state. In this beautiful picturesque scene, the Cathedral forms a principal object, though many other public edifices are plainly distinguishable.”

For more information about my Shardlake’s Norwich tour click here

For more information about my Shardlake’s Norwich talk click here

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