The Dutch Exile Community in King's Lynn: A Forgotten Moment in Anglo-Dutch Contact

Abstract

Before, during and after the start of the Dutch Revolt, thousands of people, principally Calvinists, left the Low Countries for England. They established communities in more than twenty towns including the borough of King's Lynn in west Norfolk. Exiles from Flanders and Holland began arriving in Lynn in 1567, and they soon established a Calvinist church community there. A 1571 census indicates that the exile community had more than 200 members, many of whom worked in the textile trade. In 1572, in the early months of the Dutch Revolt, the minister returned to the Low Countries. Thereafter, we have little information on the exile church in Lynn, although exiles did continue to produce textiles, which were sealed in Norwich. This article analyses the history of the exile community and church in Lynn. It addresses questions such as where the exiles came from, why they moved to Lynn and the practices and positions they adopted and networks they created. Furthermore, it explores the relationship between the exile communities in Lynn and Norwich. Several of the church leaders returned to the Low Countries. The article therefore explores their role in building the Reformed Church there. Finally, it challenges previous historiography on Calvinist exiles in Norfolk by suggesting that attention should be paid not only to the exile communities in Norwich but also to those in other Norfolk towns such as Lynn.