Robert Kett
Robert Kett was born in Wymondham Manor in Norfolk, in 1492, the son of a landowner and butcher. In 1514 he married Alice Appleyard, linking him to Peter Appleyard and his ancestors. Alice Appleyard was the daughter of Sir Nicholas Appleyard and Agnes Rockwood of Stanfield Hall in Bracken Ash. Nicholas had been Knighted at the Battle of Flodden in 1513 where he had been killed fighting the Scots and with Stanfield Hall being passed down to his nephew Thomas, Agnes’ marriage the following year may have been more for necessity than love. By 1549, Robert and Alice were living a comfortable life with their sons. Robert was a tanner with property and landholdings at Wymondham providing an annual income. Landowners, including Robert had begun to build enclosures on their land as farmers changed from growing crops to raising sheep. For the tenants of the land, this impacted on their own ability to access what was considered common land, land...