1549. Robert Kett's Rebellion. Robert Kett a landowner from Wymondham, led an army of 20,000 people against Norwich to protest against the enclosure of common land and the poverty of the peasantry.
Kett approached the city from the West but found the gates heavily guarded, he therefore skirted round the city via Earlham, Bowthorpe and Sprowston until he arrived at Mousehold Heath. The mayor came out of Norwich to parley with Kett and was subjected to some discourtesy. A young boy reputedly lowered his breeches and exposed his backside to the mayor. The parley was unsuccessful.
Kett launched an attack on the city from the heights of Mousehold Heath to the east. He had obtained a cannon and the services of a master gunner. The gunner was reasonably successful, not only damaging the gate tower on Bishop Bridge, but also in hitting Cow Tower, setting it on fire. The peasants swam the river, which essentially formed the defences of the city on the eastern side, and attacked the city along Bishopgate. There was skirmishing in the area of the Great Hospital until Lord Sheffield and the militia confronted the peasants. A fierce skirmish broke out, during which 46 members of the militia and Lord Sheffield were killed. The rebels took the city.
A royal relieving army arrived a few days later consisting of levies and Italian mercenaries, led by the Earl of Warwick. They laid siege to the city from the west and subsequently broke into the city somewhere between St. Benedict’s and St. Giles. They engaged in running battles with the peasants, rapidly routing them. The rebels fled to the east where they were pursued by the royal forces and massacred.
Kett himself, with his brother, was taken to London for trial, found guilty of treason and brought back to Norfolk for execution. His brother was hung from the steeple of Wymondham church and Robert was hung from the Castle Keep in Norwich.