Kett's Rebellion

Kett's Rebellion
Robert Kett and his followers on Mousehold Heath (from Kett's Rebellion in Norfolk (1859))
Date 8 July 1549 – 27 August 1549 Location Norfolk Result Victory for Edwardian forces Rebellion suppressed Execution of rebel commanders
Belligerents
East Anglian rebels	Kingdom of England
Commanders and leaders
Robert Kett	Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset John Dudley, 1st Earl of Warwick William Parr, 1st Marquess of Northampton
Strength
~16,000 rebels	~12,000 troops ~1,200 German and Italian mercenaries
Casualties and losses
At least 3,000 killed Unknown wounded	~250 killed
~3,250 deaths

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.

The rebels stormed Norwich on 29 July and took the city. On 1 August the rebels defeated a Royal Army led by the Marquess of Northampton who had been sent by the government to suppress the uprising. Kett's rebellion ended on 27 August when the rebels were defeated by an army under the leadership of the Earl of Warwick at the Battle of Dussindale. Kett was captured, held in the Tower of London, tried for treason, and hanged from the walls of Norwich Castle on 7 December 1549.