Gateways to fame for a Morris man

February 13, 2004

KEMPE CLOSE
(Marryat Road)

NAMED after the man who danced the Morris all the way from London to Norwich at the end of the 16th century . . . and became a superstar.

William Kempe danced his way through St Stephen’s Gates, left, but was forced to ride through St Giles’ Gate, right, because of the crowds.

When William Kempe (you can spell it with an e or without) finally arrived in Norwich a huge crowd was waiting for him at the city gates.

There were so many people waiting to greet the Elizabethan actor that he actually rode into the city from beyond St Giles Gate for the celebrations to begin.

A couple of days later he danced his way back in at St Stephen’s Gates as the Whifflers kept the people at bay.

Cheered on by the enormous throng he approached the Market Cross, then made his way down Holtor Lane (Dove Street) towards the mayor’s house.

He leapt over the churchyard wall of St John Maddermarket and was greeted by the mayor Roger Weild who arranged a triumphal procession for him.

An orgy of feasting and frolicking followed — it gave the people of Norwich a grand excuse for a party at a time in our history when life was very hard and grim for the majority.

Kempe was a hero and his dancing shoes were nailed to a wall in the Guildhall as a trophy.

But who was he and why did he do it?

Kempe was a member of the company of actors who enjoyed the patronage of Lord Leicester during Queen Elizabeth’s reign.

The Queen was said to like him, although Shakespeare was none too happy about the way Kempe departed from his scripts with his own “crude witticisms”.

Some said he had walked out of Shakespeare’s theatre company and wanted to make a name for himself.

He certainly did that.

Kempe described himself as a man who spent his life in “mad jigs and merry jests” — he wanted to be famous so he declared he would dance the Morris from London to Norwich. Accompanied by his servant, his drummer and an umpire he left Mansion House on the first Monday of Lent in 1599. And started to dance. It was an extraordinary feat — remember that in those days roads were little more than dirt tracks.

Word spread of his dance as the man they called the “dispenser of mirth” jigged towards Norwich.

There were celebrations in all the towns and villages.

Snow detained him at Bury and during Assize Week at Thetford Sir Edwin Rich of Mulbarton gave him £5. A tidy sum.

By the time he reached Norwich the crowds were causing a problem.
“Besides the deep way I was much hindered by the desire people had to see me,” he wrote. His feet brought him fame and a considerable amount of money.

He wrote his own version of the dance called Nine Daies Wonder… although because of the bad weather and fatigue — not forgetting the parties — he actually reached Norwich 23 days after leaving London.

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