Gladman's Procession, also variably known as a Gladman's Riding, Parade, or Insurrection, was a procession in the city of Norwich, England, followed by an alleged revolt against the Norwich Cathedral priory by the citizens of the city on 22 January 1443.
The procession took place in response to a June 1442 arbitration decision by the Earl of Suffolk who ruled against the City of Norwich and in favour of the Norwich Cathedral priory on issues including disputed areas of jurisdiction, court revenues, the priory's organisation of the Pentecost fair, the destruction of nearby mills, and the city's surrender of grazing rights.
Three days prior to a scheduled city assembly, the Mayor of Norwich William Hempstede and the city commonality of possibly 3,000 people gathered in the city to the sound of church bells. Local merchant or smith John Gladman rode on a horse, by the city's account as the King of Christmas and by the priory's account "like a crowned king", leading a hundred people. The crowd entered the Guildhall and stole the common seal to prevent the sealing of the arbitration document, before going to the cathedral, by the priory's account laying violent siege to the cathedral precinct when the prior John Heverlond and his servants locked its gates. At 4pm on the afternoon of 23 January, Heverlond surrendered copies of his claims of the lands, and the crowd left the cathedral gates to form a procession around the wider city walls, closing and locking these gates. Days later, the Duke of Norfolk arrived and was able to reopen the gates under command from the King.
Accounts of the event come from three sources; indictments by the priory on 28 February 1443 which portray the procession as violent and treasonous, a defence by the city available in three different drafts which portrays it as an innocent instance of a customary Shrove Tuesday celebration, and a 1482 narrative of events in the Liber Albus of the city. Historians have debated the large differences between these accounts' portrayals of events.
Background Norwich at the time was England's second largest city. Precedent in Norwich for a demonstrative procession took place in 1418, when the Norwich Cathedral prior alleged that the Mayor of Norwich and several other people had led an armed procession to Trowse Water; here, they allegedly fished the river using dragnets from the city's barge and caught £10 of fish. They then were said to have processed back to the city, shouting "We are in possession by right and by our liberties of this City of Norwich we have caught them and kept them", and then distributed the fish amongst Norwich's community.
Over the early 15th century, Norwich's wealthy citizens vied for more control over city governance, though this was resisted by the city's common council. During aldermanic elections in 1404, 1413, the Common Seal's application was repeatedly found to have been badly applied or forged. Norwich was particularly home to prominent disputes in the 1430s and early 1440s, largely between the city and its ecclesiastical neighbours. In 1433, there was a disputed election; the outgoing Mayor of Norwich Thomas Wetherby, alongside a few allies, were accused of trying to choose the new mayor themselves by a small collection of citizens. After the city assembly decided to choose its own mayoral candidate to oppose Wetherby, Bishop of Norwich William Alnwick mediated the dispute and decided in the assembly's favour before bringing charges against Wetherby and five co-conspirators; Wetherby lost his aldermanship and his allies lost their rights to plea in city courts, hold city office, and involve themselves in city assemblies. By 1437, Wetherby's faction had largely returned to influence due to the elected mayor of 1436 making strides to restore them to their former ranks. This in turn triggered a riot at the 1437 mayoral election when a significant number of citizens stopped Wetherby and his allies from taking part; Wetherby named sixteen aldermen and important citizens of leading this group. The King took control of the liberties of the city and appointed a governing warden after this incident, though the liberties were quickly regained. In the 1432 and 1437 aldermanic elections, the Common Seal was again both times found to have been badly applied or applied in forgery.
Another political battle was between the city and priory over jurisdictional matters, namely over the disputed areas of Ratonrowe, Tombland, Holmstreet, and Normanslord. Furthermore, the abbot of St Benet's Hulme made the assertion that Norwich's New Mills, grain mills that were situated on the River Wensum, caused interference to mills at on his own manor; this particular dispute threatened the food supply for the people of Norwich. Wetherby, by then former Mayor of Norwich, was a significant player in these disputes, and there were many instances of vandalism, jail breaking and brawling instigated by both the city and priory, particularly a 1436 incident when some of the prior's servants broke into the mayor's personal garden and stole some of his trees.
Arbitration by the Earl of Suffolk By October 1441, the Norwich corporation made an agreement that they would submit to the Earl of Suffolk's arbitration as part of an effort to reach a settlement in many of the disputes. All parties involved agreed to abide by the terms of his arbitration decision in advance, as a precondition of the arbitration itself.
Issued in June 1442, Suffolk's verdict was that the City of Norwich would be obliged to relinquish its claims to the disputed areas. The decision was expected to deprive the city of that year's court revenues. The verdict on jurisdiction would lead to the potential for the continued proceeding of the Pentecost fair, which allowed the Norwich Cathedral priory to gain control of the entire city during its observance. It was subsequently rumoured by Norwich inhabitants that the prior, John Heverlond, would introduce new customs such as taxing the washing of cloth by the river and the bringing of food into the city. The Mayor, Sheriffs and Commonalty were to enter into £50 bonds with the bishop and prior, and were to be bound in £100. This obliged them to observe all of the decisions that would be made when it came to issues between the abbot and themselves. The Earl also ordered the new mills to be made dysfunctional prior to 30 April 1443, respecting the commands from St Benet's. He mandated that the city give up its grazing rights in several outlying hamlets, as well as the paying of rents on several different city properties, such as the Common Staithe. When read to the commons, it is stated in the Liber Albus that:In response, reluctant to agree to these consequences, the city corporation attempted a number of legal counters, but by January 1443, matters came to a head. According to the account in the Liber Albus, pressured the corporation was pressured toward calling an assembly by supporters of Wetherby as well as the Abbot's Council, likely for 25 January, during which the bond decided in the arbitration could be sealed.
William Hempstede was Mayor of Norwich at the time of the incident. Several of the aldermen who would be sitting in the Guildhall at the time of Gladman's Procession had been previously accused of various malfeasances.
Incident
Gladman's procession On or after Tuesday 22 January 1443 but prior to the scheduled 25 January city assembly, Gladman's Procession took place. According to the priory, Mayor Hempstede and the commonality "arranged for John Gladman of the said city, merchant, to ride in the city on a horse, like a crowned king". John Gladman was a local merchant of the city, though was possibly a smith; he was a brother of Saint George's Guild, and the powerful Bachery Guild. Before him, the priory's account alleges that three unknown men carried a sceptre and sword, and the city's account also mentions a diadem, possibly carried by the third man. Gladman was accompanied by individuals appearing to act as the crown's valets, and was followed by a hundred more people either on foot and on horseback. The city's account declares that there was an intention for Gladman to ride "crowned as King of Kristmesse", though also notes that representations of the seasons were in the procession in front of him and with the figure of Lent behind him. It states that he was "cladde in white with redde herrings skinnes and his hors trapped with oyster shelles after him". One draft of the city's account elaborates that the horse was wrapped with tin foil as well as "other wyse dysgysy thynggis", and another draft notes that it was decorated "with smale bladders puddynges and lynkes", though the latter was later crossed out.
Alleged insurrection
The priory's indictments allege that on 25 January, 3,000 armed men, along with Mayor Hempstede, were summoned to gather in the city, and "to come together in bands and to make a violent insurrection throughout the entire city". The alleged conspirators did this by ringing the city's bells so as to raise alarm. The priory alleged that "They went around urging people in the city to come together and to make an insurrection and riots there", and that it was shouted, "Let us burn the priory, and kill the prior and monks". Most of the people later named to the oyer and terminer by the prior as taking part in the incident on the city's side were craftsmen and traders, seen as 'commons' in Norwich's urban hierarchy, or those who had possession of freedom of the city; those who were at least somewhat well-to-do. Those later indicted were most likely leading figures of the 28 different trades listed. Most were of at least middling status in the civic body, and only a few labourers and servants were named. Robert Toppes, John Cambridge, and William Ashwell were involved; they were prominent and had already opposed Wetherby in the past. It is alleged by the priory account that the crowd broke into Norwich Guildhall and stole its common seal to prevent the sealing of the arbitration document. After removing the seal, it was written in the priory account that they marched to the Cathedral precinct gates as church bells rang. The prior and his servants closed and locked the gates in response, keeping the protesters out but themselves inside. As such, the citizens purportedly placed the priory under a siege; according to the priory, during this occupation the protesters uprooted and took the prior's pillory, located either outside the prior's gate in Holmestreet, or more likely in Tombland. They additionally destroyed the prior's prison also situated at Tombland. The prior's pillory had been uprooted once before, in 1277. Its removal may have been a challenge to the prior's right to hold the Assizes of Bread and Ale, and thus the Pentecost Fair, as this was when the pillory was used. In addition, a cannon was allegedly pointed at the cathedral by the citizens, who additionally were accused of starting to dig a tunnel under its walls.
The alleged rioters stayed at the gates until 4pm the following afternoon, when prior Heverlond surrendered copies of his claims of the lands in the arbitration document as well as a number of evidences, which included an indenture made in 1429. Following this, they moved in a procession around the wider city walls, closing and locking its gates. On this route, they would have passed the two main places of execution outside the city walls; Lollards Pit and the Magdalene gallows, and also encircled the New Mills, asserting them at part of the city. The citizens held the city gates closed for several days.
Aftermath Days later, the Duke of Norfolk later arrived and demanded the city gates be opened in the King's name. The citizens opened the gates.