POLITICAL HISTORY 



in 1659 to seize Lynn as a landing-place for the king. Townshend's share 

 in these arrangements was rewarded by his being made lord-lieutenant ^ of 

 the county directly Charles came back to the throne. 



The citizens of Norwich hastened to show their loyalty on the succes- 

 sion of Charles by executing a deed of resignation of the fee farm rent of the 

 city (j(^i32 i8j. id. per annum) which they had bought of the Common- 

 wealth : they probably realized that they were not giving much away by 

 so doing. They also gave him ^(^ 1,000 in cash and a congratulatory address, 

 and were introduced to His Majesty by Henry Howard, whose father was in 

 1 66 1 restored to the dukedom of Norfolk, for which local honour all the 

 Norwich bells were rung.^ 



In April, 1662, Miles Corbet, one of the regicides and perhaps the 

 most prominent Norfolk man who took part in the king's execution, was 

 put upon his own trial. He was an honest lawyer. His defence was that 

 he had not at first taken part in the trial, but on the contrary had resolved 

 not to do so, and had given reasons against the bill in the House, but 

 becoming fully satisfied of the lawfulness of the execution, his conscience 

 would not let him stay away any longer, ' and were it to be over again he 

 would not abate an inch.' His conduct on the scaffold was most bold and 

 resolute, and he died as bravely as any religious martyr could have done.^ 



During the year 1662 the militia was being organized into four 

 regiments, viz. : Sir Ralph Hare's, rendezvous Swaffham ; Sir William 

 D'Oyly's, Norwich ; Lord Richardson's, Norwich ; Sir John Holland's, New 

 Buckenham. Among the captains were members of nearly every Norfolk 

 family of position, such as Wodehouse, Le Strange, Hare, Walpole, Kemp, 

 and Windham. There was very soon need for these regiments, as war was 

 declared with the Dutch in 1665, and our coast, being as heretofore especially 

 open to attack, very great precautions were at once taken to resist, and the 

 militia were practically in arms all along the coast. Though a great victory 

 at Sole Bay (Southwold) on 3 June put great heart into the nation, there was 

 no relaxation of watch and ward, very interesting particulars of which will 

 be found in Mason.* 



In 1667 and 1668 two Norfolk men received the king's pardon for 

 acts of violence, which they were lucky enough to commit in times when 

 their rank protected them more than it would now. Sir Thomas Pettus, 

 finding a man injuring his woodland at Rackheath, struck him on the head 

 with a stick, inflicting a fatal injury. There is an order from the king to the 

 justices of assize for Norfolk commanding them to forbear execution of the 

 sentence of burning in the hand or any other against Sir Thomas Pettus of 

 Rackheath, Norfolk, if he be found guilty of the murder of Thomas Baxter, 

 until further pleasure, and release him on security to sue out his pardon.' 

 Sir Thomas had been a well-known royalist in the late troubles and probably 

 had but little difiiculty in obtaining this order. Bernard Howard got a 

 pardon for all crimes committed by him, especially for the murder of William 

 Jenkins, and all assaults, batteries, and woundings done upon Francis earl of 

 Shrewsbury and Sir John Talbot. Howard was the earl of Shrewsbury's 



1 Cal. S. P. Dom. 1661-2, p. 64. 



' Cobbett, State Trials, v, 1315. 



' Cal. S. P. Dom. 1667, p. 240 (71) 



Blomefield, op. cit. iii, 403. 

 Hilt. o/Norf. 338. 



515 



