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

Low Countries

The Low Countries are the historical lands around the low-lying delta of the Rhine, Scheldt, and Meuse rivers, including the modern countries of Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and parts of northern France and western Germany....

, who settled in and around Norwich

Norwich

Norwich is a city in England. It is the regional administrative centre and county town of Norfolk. During the 11th century, Norwich was the largest city in England after London, and one of the most important places in the kingdom...

. The first group came from Flanders

Flanders

Flanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...

 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 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