William of Norwich - The Jews of Medieval Norwich

The Jews of Medieval Norwich

A Jewish community is thought to have been established in Norwich by 1135, although a man called 'Isaac' is recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086. Most lived in a Jewish quarter or Jewry, located in what is now the Haymarket and White Lion Street. This is very close to Norwich Castle, a pattern seen in other English towns which may have been for reasons of security. The Norwich community subsequently became one of the most important in England. In 1144, William's body was found upon Mousehold Heath, an extensive woodland to the north-east of Norwich that still exists. Court records suggest that the boy was tortured before his murder (it was not the custom at the time to perform an autopsy). With no conviction by the court, the local community revolted against the authorities and attempted to form a free-court to hold a trial against the accused. Only the intervention of the local sheriff, representing Stephen, King of England, saved the Jewish suspects from the mob.