A HISTORY OF NORFOLK 



gentlemen,' including Edmund Withypole, William Brampton and William 

 Gresham, were to be summoned before the Council as defaulters in ' setting 

 furth of the demylaunces oute of the counties of Norfolk and Suffolk/ 

 Before the year was over Elizabeth ascended the throne to find the treasury 

 empty and the defensive forces of the country weak and disorganized. 



Measures were at once taken to place things on a more stable footing, 

 and the musters taken in the summer of 1560 show ^ for Norfolk, including 

 Norwich, a total array of 9,000 footmen, divided into companies of 300 

 a piece, with 200 light horse in addition. ' Harquebutters ' were to number 

 1,500, archers 2,500, pike and bill men 5,000. But lack of arms prevented 

 the realization of this ideal. Only 600 arquebuses or coriers* were avail- 

 able, though ' long bowes furnishede ' numbered 2,000, and it would be very 

 unsafe to infer from the firearms in store that there was a corresponding 

 number of trained men to handle them. Apparently there was some falling 

 off in numbers in the course of the decade, as in 1569 the commissioners 

 for the musters reported * to the Council that within the county of Norfolk 

 and the city of Norwich they had ' augmented and increased corslettes to the 

 number of twoe hundred and fiftie, and shotte, as harquibuttes, qualyvers 

 and coriers, to the nomber of twoe hundred and fourtie more than were 

 before the comynge of the seid comissions and letteres.' ' Haquebutters * 

 were now estimated at 620, archers 1,800, and billmen 4,938, beside 190 

 light horse, and 40 demilances. The firearms actually available were 789. 



Three years later, in 1572,° the 'able and chosen men' of the county 

 numbered 7,600, classed 440 as ' harquibutters,' 1,260 as archers, 1,300 as 

 pikemen, and 4,600 as billmen, but the contingents of Norwich, Yarmouth, 

 and King's Lynn are not included in this array, and would, if added, have 

 brought it up to, even if they did not carry it beyond, the previous 

 estimate. 



In 1577 the total number of able men, including artificers, pioneers, and 

 labourers, even without the array of Norwich and Yarmouth, is reported * as 

 numbering 12,032. By instructions from the central government 500 men — 

 a meagre enough proportion — had been specially trained as ' shotte,' and as a 

 result the commissioners find most of them ' verie apte and handsome for 

 that service. The charges whereof none of the poarer sorte haue bene 

 towched withall (for so your honours willed), and therefore it hath bene the 

 greater charge to thos of the better callynge.' To render the training less 

 burdensome care was taken to select places and days ' least to the hyndraunce 

 of the people from their ordinarie labour and travell.' 



Already in 1580 preparations were being made to organize the national 

 defence in case of invasion, and 3,000 of the Norfolk levies were allotted to 

 reinforce the county of Suffolk should need arise.'' The government also 

 inquired as to the number of horses available, and on 20 September, 1583, a 

 view and general muster of the mounted men of the shire at Norwich 

 showed a total of 53 lances and 325 light horse.* In the following year we 

 hear of 2,000 footmen who were to be properly organized under seven 



' y^cts, P. C. vi, 568. » S. P. Dom. Eliz. xiii, 20. 



' A variety of arquebus with a longer barrel. * S. P. Dom. Eliz. Iviii, g. 



' S. P. Dom. Eliz. Ixxxix, 28. ' Ibid, cxvi, 10. ' Acts, P. C. xii, 103. 



» S. P. Dom. Eliz. clxiii, 3. 



502 



