The Norman Christmas that rocked Norwich Castle Keep |
Records show that in 1121, King Henry I and his court spent Christmas in Norwich.
And the newly-reopened keep, which was unveiled to the public this summer after a multi million pound revamp, is staged as if ready for the king's festive visit, complete with replica thrones, handmade and painted by local craftsman Stephen Beatty and tables laden ready for feasting.
'You can just imagine him in his silk finery and [his wife] Adaliza wanting her new gown for Christmas,' he says. 'It must have been a real sight to see.'
A family examine the recreated Bigod Tower Door into Norwich Castle Keep with an actor playing Henry I, who spent Christmas at Norwich Castle in 1121. (Image: Norfolk Museums Service)
Construction of Norwich Castle's stone keep was started by William the Conqueror's son, William 'Rufus'. After his death in 1100, William II's younger brother Henry completed the keep.
No Norman kings ever lived at Norwich Castle because in this period English kings were peripatetic, moving their courts around the country and staying for short amounts of time in various places.
The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle recorded the only time Henry was known to visit Norwich, in 1121: 'On the eve of the Nativity, there was a very violent wind all over the country and the effects were very noticeable. In this year King Henry spent Christmas at Norwich and Easter in Northampton.'
'The reason he's chosen Norwich to come at Christmas, presumably, is because it's his spectacular new palace and it's complete,' says Tim.
The King's Chamber, complete with furnishings, at Norwich Castle Keep. (Image: Norfolk Museums Service)
'When he's building this, it's one of the most sophisticated buildings in Europe. It really is that grand and big. The arcading that you see around the outside that we're so familiar with, there's no reason to have it. It's all a display, he's trying to evoke Norwich and his........