Welcome back to Book Break!
Today, we're going on a journey back in time.
We've come to the wonderfully historic city of Norwich, all to celebrate the release of
CJ Sansom's new book, Tombland.
It has been more than ten years since the first book in the Shardlake series came out,
and lovers of historical fiction have been hooked on this series ever since then.
And now at last, I am holding the brand new Tombland in my hands.
So in honour of that, I have come on a journey to the real life Tombland, which is actually
an area of Norwich.
And I'm going to explore all of the amazing history nearby.
Tombland is set in the spring of 1549, during Kett's Rebellion, and Dragon Hall, the building
that I'm standing in right now, was actually standing all the way back then.
So 1549, picture the scene.
It is two years after the death of Henry VIII.
The king now is Edward VI, who is only nine years old.
And the whole country is sliding into chaos.
But standing tall in the heart of Norwich was Dragon Hall.
So let's have a look around.
I love this bit up here because you can literally see layers of history being peeled back, from
the Victorian wallpaper and what remains of that, all the way underneath to the original
construction.
Above me is the last of the dragon detailing to survive.
Isn't it gorgeous?
These little black marks that you can see all along the panelling are called witches
marks, and they were put there all around the windows to protect the building from evil
spirits getting in.
While the Great Hall might be the most famous part of Dragon Hall, it's not actually the
oldest.
This little building on the corner here was built even earlier in around 1330.
OK, time to move on and see the rest of this city.
The first ever printed map of any English city was made of Norwich, and it was printed
in 1558.
And right in the corner of it you can see Cow Tower, so that is where I'm off to next.
So this behind me is Cow Tower, which was built in 1398, and is one of the oldest purpose
built artillery towers in England.
And it formed a key part of Kett's Rebellion.
Now Kett's Rebellion was a revolt led by the farmer Robert Kett, against the practice of
enclosure by the nobility.
And it forms a key part of CJ Sansom's book.
Now Robert Kett was actually an upper middle-class farmer, (upper middle-class by today's terms,
they wouldn't have called him that at the time), and he had himself been enclosing land
for his own benefit.
Until the local peasants started revolting and tearing down the fences, as without the
use of the common land for them to graze their sheep on, their whole livelihood was threatened.
So Robert Kett listened to what they had to say and agreed with them, and then actually
helped them tear down the fence himself.
And then he led the rebellion.
So together, they marched into Norwich, several thousand of them, and fired artillery at Cow
Tower.
If you look at the top of it, you can still see the damage that they did today, and eventually,
they gained access to the city.
OK, so let's move on to the castle.
Norwich Castle was originally founded in 1066, and the stone keep which still stands today
through here, was built not long after.
The exterior has since been restored, but in the time that Tombland was set, it still
would have looked much the same as it does today.
In the book, Shardlake's assistant Nicholas Overton is held captive here, and take a good
look to imagine just how imposing a place that must have been to be held prisoner.
Now, there's just one more key Kett's Rebellion I want us to look at.
Now this was the home of Augustine Steward, a wealthy merchant, and it's where the Earl
of Warwick, who led the army against the rebels, made his headquarters.
So now we're in the heart of Tombland, I think we've covered quite enough history for one
morning.
Let's take a break, and look at some books.
And where better to shop than in a bookshop actually called Tombland.
This shop specialises in second-hand and antiquarian books, and it's inside a building that dates
back all the way to the time period in this book, and earlier.
So Kett's rebels will have marched past this shop, though sadly it will have been pretty
empty of books at the time.
OK, now back to the sight seeing.
Now this stunning building is Norwich Cathedral, which was begun being built in 1096, and is
practically unchanged today since the final spire was completed in 1480.
So it's safe to say it looks exactly the same as it would have done to all of the characters
in this book.
And finally, if you need somewhere to relax after such a long day of sight-seeing, I recommend
the Maids Head Hotel, which at over 800 years old is thought to be the oldest hotel in the
UK.
Queen Catherine of Aragon was entertained here, and a few hundred years before her,
Edward the Black Prince stayed here.
And don't worry, if you're like me and history isn't your strong suit, just remember that
he's the guy in A Knight's Tale who jousts against Heath Ledger.
This beautiful restaurant courtyard, and the gorgeous wood-panelled Oak Room, both date
back to the 15th century, and so they would have been here in 1549, when both royal and
rebel armies occupied the hotel.
And so, I have now kept you away from reading Tombland long enough, so it's time for you
to get back to your book, but hopefully having seen some of these wonderful sights will help
you visualise it all better while you're reading the book.
And of course do give this video a thumbs up if you liked it, and leave a comment below
with your favourite sight to see in Norwich.
And do subscribe to this channel, because we post new videos every Thursday, and next
week we're off to Newcastle for our spooky Halloween episode.
We're going to do a ghost tour of all the most haunted sights in the city.
See you next time!