The Elizabethan Strangers, often referred to as just the Strangers, were a group of Protestant refugees seeking political asylum from the Catholic

Low Countries The Low Countries (; ), historically also known as the Netherlands (), is a coastal lowland region in Northwestern Europe forming the lower Drainage basin, basin of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta and consisting today of the three modern "Bene ...

, who settled in and around

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of the county of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. It lies by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. The population of the Norwich ...

. The first group came from

Flanders Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, la ...

in 1565, but many more followed, eventually making up a third of the population of Norwich.

First settlers

In 1565, City authorities invited Protestant refugees from the

Spanish Netherlands The Spanish Netherlands (; ; ; ) (historically in Spanish: , the name "Flanders" was used as a '' pars pro toto'') was the Habsburg Netherlands ruled by the Spanish branch of the Habsburgs from 1556 to 1714. They were a collection of States of t ...

to settle in Norwich to boost the City's textile industry. 30 households of master weavers, totalling almost 300 people, journeyed from the Low Countries to Norwich seeking refuge from religious persecution. They were the first of the "Elizabethan Strangers".

External links

Norfolk Museums & Archaeology Service - Strangers' Hall

References

{{reflist Protestant denominations established in the 16th century History of Norwich

First settlers

See also

External links

References