Mousehold Heath is a freely accessible area ofheathland and woodland which lies to the north-east of themedieval city boundary ofNorwich, in the English county ofNorfolk.
The name also refers to the much larger area of open heath that once extended from Norwich almost tothe Broads, and which was kept free of trees by both human activity and the action of animals grazing on saplings. This landscape was transformed byenclosure during the 19th century and has now largely disappeared, as almost all of it has since been converted into farmland orlandscaped parks, reverted to woodland, or has been absorbed by the rapid expansion of Norwich and its surrounding villages, where new roads, shops, houses andindustrial units have been built. The present Mousehold Heath consists of mostlybroad-leaf woodland, with isolated areas of heath that are actively managed. It is home to a number of rare insects, birds and othervertebrates.
Achapel dedicated toWilliam of Norwich (a local child who was murdered in 1144) was erected on the heath, of which little remains today. In 1549,Robert Kett camped on the heath with his followers, days before theiruprising was suppressed by the authorities. The heath was in the past used by the local population to collect fuel, food and housing materials, as well as to extract sand, clay and gravel. Parts of it have previously been used as acavalry training ground, arace course, aUnited States Army Air Forces base, anaerodrome and aprisoner-of-war camp. Nowadays the last remnant of the original Mousehold Heath, managed byNorwich City Council, is surrounded on all sides by housing and light industry.
Mousehold Heath is a 184-acre (74 ha) public area of heathland, woodland and recreational open space to be found to the north of Norwich city centre. It is the largest of thenature reserves managed byNorwich City Council. It was once an area of heathland that extended to the north and east of Norwich, which has since been largely converted to woods and farmland, or lost to housing development.[1]
The landscape of Mousehold Heath (as it was before enclosure occurred at the beginning of the 19th century) is part of anoutwash plain created byfluvial processes. Thegeology of the area is complex, consisting of a set of vertical layers of glacial deposits from theAnglian Stage resting on a bedrock ofCretaceous chalk and theNorwich Crag Formation.[2]
Chalk was deposited 75 million years ago, when the area was part of a warm, tropical sea. The chalk is now exposed near the southern tip of the heath atSt James' Pit, which is an 8.6-acre (3.5 ha) geologicalSite of Special Scientific Interest[3][4] andGeological Conservation Review site.[5] About two million years ago sands, gravels,quartz pebbles and clays were deposited across the area ofNorfolk that now includes the heath. Similar materials were deposited during aglacial period that occurred more than 475,000 years ago. Clay, sand and gravel was laid over Mousehold Heath about 425,000 years ago, caused by the movement of melted ice. The heath's present landscape was more recently formed as a result oferosion, caused by streams cutting through the soft rocks. It later became altered whensilts were blown over thetopsoil, when the ground churned as a result of temperature variations and whensludge layers moved downhill during warmer seasons.[6]
Detailed information about the geological history of the present Mousehold Heath, in the form of a 'Heritage Trail' leaflet and accompanying notes for points around the trail, has been produced by Norwich City Council.[7]
Various ideas have been proposed for the origin of the heath's name. The old nameMushold is nowadays interpreted as meaning 'mouse wood':[8] it was in the past thought the heath took its name from theAnglo-Saxonmoch-holt ('thick wood'). John Stacy, writing in 1819, quoted earlier sources that derived the name fromMoss-wold ('mossy hill') or – in his opinion, more probably –Monks-hold ('possessed by themonks').[9]
Extensive areas of heathland developed across Norfolk towards the end of theprehistoric period. It largely reverted to woodland again after the end of theRoman occupation, reappearing as heath as the population increased. According to theDomesday Book, the original area of Mousehold Heath was still substantially wooded, but the landscape changed as more trees were felled for fuel, and it eventually became largely treeless. This landscape was maintained by animal grazing and human activity, with parts of it being ploughed into fields, known as 'brecks'. The nameMousehold originally referred to the 'holt' or wood that existed before it became an area of heathland.[10][page needed]
St Leonard's Priory was founded on the heath close to the city boundary in around 1094, as a temporary home for the monks of the unfinishedNorwich Cathedral, and as a way of establishingNorman control over a nearby chapel. Thepriory was demolished in 1538 and nothing of it now survives above ground.[11]
In 1144 the body of a youngapprentice boy calledWilliam was found on a part of the heath known at that time as Thorpe Wood. A false story was circulated that his death was the result of a 'ritual murder' carried out by localJews. This was the first example in Europe of what became known asblood libel.[12][page needed] Thesheriff of Norwich succeeded in protecting the innocent Jewish population from persecution in the wake of an angry reaction from the local people. The boy later attained the status ofsaint andmartyr, and a chapel, originally dedicated toSt Catherine, was built where William's body was supposed to have been found. In 1168 it was rededicated as the chapel of St William in the Wood, andofferings continued to be made there until 1506. The overgrown remains of the site can be found on the northern edge of the present heath.[13][14]
In 1381 the final battle of thePeasants' Revolt took place a few days after a huge meeting on the heath occurred on 17 June. There Geoffrey Litster, later to be defeated at theBattle of North Walsham, was proclaimed "King of the Commons".[15]
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In theTudor period the heath, then almost treeless, was continuously open countryside that extended from Norwich to the edge of the Broads.[1] The local population was free to collect wood from the heath, and to allow their stock to graze there.[16]Small villages bordered the heath: theparish ofSalhouse, which wasagrarian in nature, was typical of them. It consisted of a small settlement situated within a landscape of well-drained heath on slightly higher land, a mixture of woodland, marsh, arable land, andmeadows on lower ground. Nearby ancient placenames such asMouseholdheath Farm,Mousehold Cottage andMousehold Farm, are an indicator of the proximity of the heath to Salhouse at that time.[17]
Kett's Rebellion began on 12 July 1549, during a period that became known as the 'commotion time'.[18] Led by Robert Kett (a local landowner and tanner) and his brother, it grew from a protest about enclosures into a full-scale insurgency. It culminated in the capture of the city of Norwich (then the largestEnglish city outsideLondon) and the surrounding countryside, with the rebels holding control of the city for over a month, basing themselves at a camp on Mousehold Heath and establishing other camps around Norfolk. After unsuccessfully petitioning the authorities for fairer treatment, they were able to defeat an attempt to oust them by theMarquis of Northampton, but a much larger government army, led byJohn Dudley, Earl of Warwick, succeeded in regaining control of Norwich and forcing them to abandon their camp. Six weeks after the start of the uprising, the rebellion was crushed by Warwick's forces in a decisive engagement, with perhaps three thousand insurgents being killed. There is some uncertainty about the exact site of the battle, said to have occurred at 'Dussindale'.[19]
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Until the start of the 19th century, Mousehold Heath still stretched toWoodbastwick, as can be seen onFaden's 1797 map of Norfolk. A wide-open space crossed over with numerous paths andlanes, the heath dominated the countryside east of Norwich, and was entirely accessible to the local population. Self-interested landowners and city officials considered such an extensive area of uncultivated land as a prime target for development. As early as 1783 it was suggested that part of the heath near the city be made into a burial ground (an idea that was abandoned) and in 1792 there was a proposal to transform a large part of the heath into "pleasurable grounds". Those landowners whose largecountry houses were located around the borders of the heath pressed for the area to become enclosed.Rackheath's common land was the first to be lost to enclosure in 1799, when Rackheath Park was enlarged.[20]
The entire heath was turned over to arable land and pasture byParliamentary Enclosure Acts between 1799 and 1810, a process that produced long straight roads and new farms. There was little sympathy shown for the practical needs of the local population, many of whom became impoverished as they were increasingly denied access to the land. Parks surrounding large houses, such as atSprowston, Rackheath, Thorpe St Andrew and Little Plumstead, became enlarged by the acquisition of land, and new views were created for their owners by the removal of existing woodland and the planting of new belts of trees.[20]
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Mousehold Heath waspainted by a number of artists from theNorwich School of painters, includingJohn Crome andJohn Sell Cotman,[21] as well as other painters such asJohn Constable. They found heathland landscapes intriguing and depicted them on a regular basis, despite the views ofagriculturalists, who considered such landscapes to be valueless wasteland.[22] The Norwich School's depictions of Mousehold Heath lack human activity, animals or growing crops. The remoteness of Norfolk meant that few artists from outside the county could attempt to represent the heath. Many artists at the time preferred to depict what was considered to be the ideal form of landscape: lush, harmonious farming countryside containing pictorial devices such as woodland, which contrasted directly with the remote, barren environment of a heath such as Mousehold. The Norwich School witnessed the destruction of the heath following its enclosure, and their paintings of the heath would have brought back memories of a lost landscape.[23]
In his autobiographical workLavengro,George Borrow recorded his meetings withgypsies on the heath.[24] The Norwich-bornnovelist and one-timeLord MayorR. H. Mottram also valued the open space of Mousehold Heath. He once described it as "the property of those who have the privilege of Norwich birth".[25] Publichorse racing near Norwich first took place in 1838 and within a few years meetings were being held on a racecourse on Mousehold Heath.[26]
Before the 20th century the heath was used to extract sand and gravel.VictorianOrdnance Survey maps of the area show that there werelime kilns,marl pits andbrick kilns, in addition to numerous extensive gravel pits, across the unenclosed part of the heath to the north-east of the city. The remains of the diggings can be found today.[27][28]
During much of the 19th century, the people of Pockthorpe, situated between Norwich'sdefensive walls and the heath, were relatively free from the control of localfactory employers, being able to use Mousehold to graze their animals, and to collect food, fuel and raw materials forbrick-making. The population ofweavers, shop-keepers and labourers (as well assmugglers) was largely left to its own management, as localmagistrates and the officials of Norwich Cathedral were more involved in city affairs. The people of Pockthorpe even parodied the authorities, for instance in electing their own 'mayor', and founding the Pockthorpe Guild in 1772. In 1844, in an attempt to preserve their traditional life, they began a campaign to establish full control over Mousehold Heath, for instance in forcing outsiders to accept a charge for taking materials off the land and making them use Pockthorpe men to do work on the heath. The Guild provided a number of benefits for the poor, but discriminated against people living in neighbouring communities.[29] The twenty-five year-long campaign failed, even when for a period it was supported by members of Norwich's political class. The local population then resorted to behaving badly towards the newly created park, tearing notice boards, fighting and gambling in public, and consorting with the local regiment.[30]
The ownership of the remaining heathland was transferred to the city authorities in 1880, when theChurch of England donated the land to the Corporation of Norwich, on the assurance that it prevented "the continuance of trespasses nuisances and unlawful acts" and held the heath "for the advantage of lawful recreation". The Pockthorpe committee was defeated, and the people of Pockthorpe, now forced to obey restrictivebyelaws, could no longer use any part of the heath to support themselves. As a result of this change in the use of the land, the unmanaged part of heath remained ungrazed and it reverted to woodland.[31]
Despite strong local resistance, the 1884 Mousehold Heath Confirmation Act confirmed a local law establishing a number of 'conservators' to manage the transformation of the remaining part of the heath.[32][1] The current managers areNorwich City Council and the Mousehold Heath Conservators.[33]
TheBritannia Barracks were built for theNorfolk Regiment on Mousehold Heath. After theBattle of Almansa in 1707, the regiment had been awarded the honour of wearing a figure ofBritannia on their uniforms, and the newinfantry barracks was named from the figure worn by the regiment. The main buildings were built between 1887 and 1897. The regiment left the barracks in 1959 when it amalgamated with theSuffolk Regiment to become the1st East Anglian Regiment and moved toBury St Edmunds. Most of the buildings subsequently became part ofNorwich Prison.[34]
During theSecond World War, a prisoner-of-war camp forGerman workers was established close to the old airport. Its exact location has yet to be verified.[35] On 12 February 1942, the pilot of aHampdenbomber returning toRAF North Luffenham was killed when the aircraft crashed-landed on Mousehold Heath whilst attempting to reachHorsham St Faith, and on 25 July that year aBristol Beaufort crashed on the heath, killing the crew of four.[36][37]
In October 1914 an old cavalry training drill ground on the heath was taken over by theRoyal Flying Corps and converted into an aerodrome. It was used by several local firms in connection with aircraft production, includingBoulton & Paul. Boulton & Paul employed up to 3000 people in assembling aircraft in Norwich, many of whom were women brought in to supplement the workforce. The women were trained in basicengineering skills in a specially provided training school. From October 1915, when the first aircraft was completed, over 2,500 machines were built by the company.[38]
In 1918 theNorwich Electric Tramways service from the city centre to Mousehold Heath was extended from Gurney Road to enable equipment and materials to run betweenNorwich railway station and the aerodrome.[39][40] The Norfolk & Norwich Aero Club was formed at Mousehold in 1927. From 1933 until the onset of the Second World War the aerodrome was the firstNorwich Airport, with four grass landing strips.[41][42]
The airfield continued to be used until around 1950. Much of the old aerodrome was then built over when theHeartsease housing estate was created, but some of the airfield buildings survived and are now within the Roundtree Way industrial estate.[43]
Today there are numerous tracks and paths all over the remaining 184 acres (74 ha) of Mousehold Heath. There are two football pitches, apitch and putt course, a restaurant, abandstand and several parking areas. Various events are held there, including concerts, guided walks,conservation initiatives, football matches and fundraising events.[44] A single road, Gurney Road, passes through the middle of the heath. The original Ranger's house has been bought for renovation and restoration.
Vinegar Pond,[45] which was created by quarrying and subsequent wartime activity, is an important site for breedingfrogs. It is fed by rain water and so has a tendency to dry out when the weather is hot.[46] In the heatwave and drought of August 2022 hundreds of goldfish were humanely removed from the pond where they had been dumped and had bred, feeding on the native amphibian species.[47] 1946aerial photographs of the area show the pond existed at this time, but it does not feature on earlier large-scale maps.[48][49]
In 1984 a new Mousehold Heath Act became law. In 1992 the bandstand by the football ground was rebuilt by the Mousehold Defenders using locally raised funds.[50]
The 67 acres (27 ha) Harrison's Wood, which was once originally part of the heath before it was enclosed and turned into a treeplantation, was opened to the public in May 2016. It lies within the White House Farm housing development.[51]
At the start of 2019 a draft version of the new Mousehold Heath Management Plan was made available online for public consultation. The Management Plan aimed to increase the safety and security of Mousehold Heath, increase the cleanliness of the heath and to safeguard the historic aspects and buildings of the heath among other aims.[52][53]
On 22 April 2019, a body was found in the heath. After investigation, the body was identified as that of Mark Sewell, 37, who had committedsuicide by hanging.[54][55]
Mousehold Heath is a designatedLocal Nature Reserve,[56][57] and aCounty Wildlife Site.[58]Conservation management work has begun to restore the condition of the existing heathland and restore areas lost to woodland and scrub, so preserving a large number of scarcespecies present on the heathland. As grazing livestock cannot be used to remove encroaching woodland and so restore Mousehold's heathland areas, the Mousehold Heath Wardens, volunteers and contractors clear the woodland.Humus is removed so thatheather species (Calluna vulgaris andErica cinerea) can re-establish themselves fromseed.Gorse,broom and saplings are removed and volunteers systematically 'bruise' thebracken with sticks, to reduce growth in future years.[59]
A variety of different vertebrates live on Mousehold Heath.Amphibians include thecommon frog and thecommon toad, whilereptiles include thegrass snake, thecommon lizard and theslowworm.Mammals on the heath includemuntjac androe deer,red fox,rabbits and various smallrodents. As well as most common urbanbirds, the heath holds breedingsparrowhawks andtawny owls, as well asnuthatches,treecreepers andgreat spotted woodpeckers.[citation needed] The heath is rich ininvertebrates and is home to a number of rarebutterflies,bees and otherinsects. Recorded species include theruby-tailed wasp,digger wasp,green hairstreak butterfly,mottled grasshopper andtiger green beetle.[60]
Heathland plants to be found on Mousehold Heath includeSheep's Sorrel,[61] bracken,Wavy Hair-grass,[62]Mossy Stonecrop,Trailing St John's-wort,Common Cudweed andViper's Bugloss.[60]
52°38′43″N1°18′52″E / 52.6454°N 1.3145°E /52.6454; 1.3145
