Kett's Rebellion was a revolt in the English county of Norfolk during the reign of Edward VI, largely in response to the enclosure of land. It began at Wymondham on 8 July 1549 with a group of rebels destroying fences that had been put up by wealthy landowners. One of their targets was yeoman Robert Kett who, instead of resisting the rebels, agreed to their demands and offered to lead them. Kett and his forces, joined by recruits from Norwich and the surrounding countryside and numbering some 16,000, set up camp on Mousehold Heath to the north-east of the city on 12 July.
Robert Kett and his followers on Mousehold Heath (from Kett's Rebellion in Norfolk (1859))
Kett's Oak, beside the B1172, near Hethersett, Norfolk
John Crome, Mousehold Heath, Norwich (c. 1818-1820), Tate Britain
The Earl of Warwick led the force that defeated the rebels
Norfolk is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and east, Cambridgeshire to the west, and Suffolk to the south. The largest settlement is the city of Norwich.
Image: Cley windmill, from Beach Road, Cley next the Sea geograph.org.uk 3005259 (cropped)
Image: Kings Lynn Guild Hall (geograph 4626827)
Image: Norwich Cathedral The Tower and Spire
Entrance to Norfolk at Walsoken, Wisbech on the Cambridgeshire and Norfolk county boundary