The Norwich Affray, or Red Lion affray, was a street affray and murder that occurred in the city of Norwich, England on the afternoon of Saturday 15 June 1583. An unknown play by Queen Elizabeth's Men (or Queen's Men) at the local Red Lion Inn was interrupted when a man named Winsdon attempted to enter the inn's gates to see the performance without a ticket. John Bentley, Richard Tarlton, and John Singer, who were members of the Queen's Men, stopped their performance to deal with Winsdon and this became a physical fight. Bentley and Singer pursued the two down Rampant Horse Lane (now Orford Place) with the real swords they were using for the performance. Though Winsdon was able to escape, his alleged servant known only as George was struck by Singer as well as Henry Brown, an audience member and servant of Sir William Paston. Brown was generally believed to have dealt the killing blow, murdering George.
After depositions were taken, and George was buried in the local parish, Bentley, Singer, and Brown were imprisoned, though the former two were released after two days and later did not appear for their trial. Brown plead guilty and was granted benefit of clergy on 23 September 1583, avoiding a possible execution.
The incident may have led to more rigorous recording of players' performances in the city, as well as increasing restrictions upon them. There is debate among historians concerning the motives of those involved and the identification of the play that was being performed on the night; it may have been The Famous Victories of Henry V, or a lost play.
Background In the decade leading up to the 1583 affray, Norwich had been host to plays about twice yearly by twelve different acting companies. Earlier in 1583, the Norwich Corporation had ordered another playing troupe known as the Earl of Worcester's Men not to perform in Norwich; it was recounted that the Corporation "dyd gyve them [...] xxvjs viijd wherevppon they promysed to depart & not to play". The Earl's Men initially defied the order anyway, but after the Corporation threatened that the Earl of Worcester "shalbee certyfyed of their contempt", they apologised. There were also two processions in 1583 Norwich prior to the performance; the celebration of Guild Day on 23 April – the procession head being known to carry a gilded wooden sword – and the subsequent mayoral inauguration in late June.
The Red Lion Inn at the time was a good property in a good neighbourhood, part of a then-thriving hospitality industry in Norwich. Located in the parish of St Stephen's, there were four other inns close by. It was, the second tenement north of Nedham Sloughe, now St Stephen's Street, on the east side of Wasselgate, which would later become Red Lion Lane and now Red Lion Street. The inn was likely under ownership of William Buttfeild, a former constable of Norwich in 1544 and councillor from 1558 to 1560 as well as in 1563. His yearly rent from 1568 to 1626 was one penny, a substantial amount compared to other inns in the area. Robert Davy, whose house gate on the corner of Rampant Horse Lane (now Orford Place) would be one backdrop to the affray's resultant murder, was a grocer, the city coroner, a long term parish resident, and likely the son of former Mayor of Norwich Richard Davy. Robert had a wife, Elizabeth. Stephyn Atkyns's gate was also on Rampant Horse Lane; he was a gentleman also with a long record of public service.
The Queen's Men were a dramatic troupe made up of twelve actors hand-picked by the Earl of Leicester and the Master of the Revels of Queen Elizabeth I, Edmund Tilney, in 1583. That summer the group began their first provincial tour, which included visits to Nottingham and Ipswich, and then the city of Norwich, at that time the second largest city in England and a frequent 'stopping-place' for touring players. The Queen's Men as a group were only a month old at the time. They included actor John Bentley, clown Richard Tarlton, and John Singer (Syngar). The three were adept at fencing and improvisation.
Red Lion Inn performance The Norwich Corporation gave the Queen's Men 40 shillings to perform at the local Red Lion Inn on Red Lion Street, later known as the Cricketer's Arms, on 15 June 1583, a Saturday afternoon, likely between 12pm and 1pm. The performance was held on a stage in the inn's yard; this stage was either owned by the Queen's Men or was an improvised platform made of barrels or barrel forms, similar to those in the Norwich Guildhall and New Hall. Siobhan Keenan has speculated that the stage was low enough to jump from, possibly two or three feet in height, and may have been located in the middle of the yard or parallel with the side of the inn facing the gate such that those on stage would be able to see the goings-on at the entrance. She argues that the audience was likely stood around the stage on three sides with a tiring area on the fourth side; there are no references in contemporary documents to them being seated or seats being in the yard. Spectators were expected to pay the gatekeeper to see the performance.
The size of the audience is not recorded, though all audience eyewitnesses were men, indicating that women were fewer in number. Based on depositions from spectators, the audience included gentlemen such as Thomas Osborne, yeomen such as Edmund Knee, a number of different tradesmen and craftsmen such as draper Edmund Brown and worsted weaver William Kilby (Kylby), and gentlemen's servants. Kara Northway has said the witnesses were "almost entirely craftsmen, those who may well have participated in planning and performing in Norwich processions and who would have taken an active part in government". They included local men such as Thomas Holland and Edmund Brown, as well as Kilby who was from Pockthorpe, and others from other areas; Osborne was from 'Kyrbye Bydon' and Knee was from Yelverton.
Those present at the performance who would be directly involved in the incident included three Queen's Men members; Bentley, Tarlton, and Singer, the latter of whom was either performing on stage or the inn's gatekeeper for the night. Jennifer Roberts-Smith has speculated that the money that had been earned at the gate, in the possession of Singer, may have been very substantial by the time of the incident. Bentley in particular was the company's leading tragedian and may have been accustomed to grand and heroic gestures. In the audience was one Henry Brown, servant of the gentleman Sir William Paston. Winsdon, who would try to enter the inn, had a man with him, only known as 'George', who is generally understood to have been Winsdon's servant. George is also identified in depositions as "a man in a blew cote".
Incident All evidence of what took place at the Red Lion is indirect. During the performance, a local man Winsdon attempted to gain entry to the gate of the Red Lion without paying first; it was reported that he "would have intred at the gate but woold not haue payed vntyll he had been within". The gatekeeper, possibly John Singer, refused Winsdon entry to the inn, provoking an argument. Winsdon knocked the money out of the keeper's hand in an attempt to force his way in. Singer went to the gate if he was not already there. The audience and players inside the inn became aware of the disturbance, and spectator Henry Brown went to the gate alongside Tarleton and Bentley, the latter of whom had definitely been on stage at the time, with a rapier. Eyewitness accounts differ on whether they had their swords drawn or were holding them in their scabbards when exiting the stage. The audience began to move with them. Tarlton made an attempt to eject Winsdon from the inn yard, and Bentley hit Winsdon on the head with the hilt of the sword he had been using as a prop in the play.
Winsdon fled the gate into the street, and joined his servant George who was standing nearby. Tarleton then surrendered the fight and went about restraining Bentley, who was still holding his rapier. One deponent recalled that Bentley convincingly feigned a willingness to end the chase before instead pursuing the pair. Bentley pursued both Winsdon and George, and were joined in the chase by Brown. They were trailed by at least six audience members, following the action on a similar path to that of Queen Elizabeth's first pageant for her 1578 royal entry to Norwich, with the frequently stated intention to watch rather than to aid any party in the fighting. The fight moved west up Rampant Horse Lane, now Orford Place.
Winsdon outran the group, leaving the three to chase George only. Bentley "overtooke" George; "at the cockey nere Mr Davyes howse", Bentley thrust his sword into George's leg. George was reported as crying "oh you haue mayned me". George then paused to throw stones at Bentley's head; this was corroborated by four witnesses and it was written that these stones "brocke his heade". Brown's own deposition records himself calling George a "villan" and asking of George, "wilt thowe murder the quene's man?" George called Brown a "villan" in return. Brown pursued George further.
At "Bloomes backgate betwne the red lyon & mr davyes howse," also referred to by Brown as "the whyte horse gate in St Stephans", Brown despite protests from spectators "drew backe hys Sworde", and struck George. It was later believed that this was the blow that killed George; one spectator later said that "he never sawe man bleed so muche as hee dyd after mr Pastons man had pricked hym". George ran "vntyll he came almoste at mr Davyes corner". While this was taking place, Singer, the gatekeeper, also obtained a sword from the stage, a large two-handed "Armynge Sworde", and joined the pursuit. Singer drew his sword as he exited the gate of the Red Lion, caught up with George at Mr Davy's corner, and struck him on the shoulder. After seeing this strike, playgoer Edmund Brown berated Singer by saying "you ha[ve] done ill to cut the man". Spectator Edmund Kerry attempted to hold one of the players, though said one of them "ran at hym with his sworde", causing Kerry to flee.
Brown recognised George's condition and called for the others to "'give hym noe more for he dowted he had ynoughe already". Immediately following the end of the fight, Singer cheered for Brown, promising his friendship; "howe shalt haue what ffrendshipe we can procure thee". Elizabeth, the wife of Robert Davy, became aware of George's condition as he laid outside their house's gate; "for pyttye sake shee tooke into comforte hym". Similarly, one Margery Bloome (Margerye), wife of Thomas Bloome, found him "at mr Atkyns backgate" and "went to hym and stopped his wounde". Prior to his death, George stated that an individual with a red coat had hurt him; Brown was wearing a "tawnye cote". George later died of his wounds.
Aftermath There is no indication that the play resumed after the fight.
Investigation, imprisonment of perpetrators, and burial of George During the judicial investigation into the incident, on 17 June, several depositions were collected, from which most historical evidence of the event now derives. These depositions are noted in the record as taking place "vppon the vew of the dead bodye". They were taken by Robert Davy in his capacity as coroner, as well as Simon Bowde who was quarter sessions justice, former mayor and owner of some of the inns next door to the Red Lion. There survives thirteen depositions today, two of which being hearsay. Six of the people questioned were attendees of the play, all six of whom had followed the actors out of the Red Lion. Those who were not inside the inn yard when the incident began were Norwich carrier Thomas Holland, Norwich brewer George Jackson, and Margery Blooome and Elizabeth Jackson who had tended to George in the street.