Friends of Kett's Heights

Please register below for the Kett's Heights historic talk on Sunday 14th September at 14.30 

    Kett's Heights historic talk by Jane Chittenden 14th September 2024  14.30 
    Followed by an optional tour of Kett’s Heights

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This is part of the national Heritage Open Days events, which run from Fri 5th - Sun 14th September. The national theme this year is  the history of architecture and design.
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If only those walls could talk: 900 years of Norwich’s history. 
Illustrated talk followed by an optional visit to nearby Kett’s Heights 
Venue: St Matthew’s Church, Telegraph Lane West, Norwich NR1 4JA
Date:   Sunday 14th  September, 14.30, followed by an optional tour of Kett’s Heights

 St Michael’s Chapel on Kett’s Heights has survived through 900 years of Norwich’s history. This talk will be a journey through time viewing the city’s long history through the lens of this modest chapel and its surroundings, especially the viewpoint overlooking the city.
 
Our story begins with the construction of the Norman cathedral around 1100 when St Michael’s Chapel was the focus of monastic activity and then to the Reformation under Henry VIII when the Chapel became redundant. It came into focus again in 1549 when it was chosen as the headquarters of Kett’s Rebellion. In the late 18th and early 19th centuries the Chapel’s ruins became a favourite subject for artists of the Norwich School of Painting.
 
The arrival of the Gas Company in 1839 opened a new industrial chapter for the Chapel which now looked over gas works and gas worker cottages, while the Heights itself was landscaped to provide pleasure and kitchen gardens for the gas workers. In the 20th century these same gardens helped us “dig for victory” and pigs were kept here.
 
Kett’s Heights is now a valued public park with a not-to-be-missed view over Norwich. The Friends of Kett’s Heights help look after the site and help make it a welcoming and beautiful place to visit.

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St. Matthew's Church. Telegraph Lane West.