Kett's Oak - Hills Road, Cambridge, UK
Posted by: Groundspeak Regular Member Master Mariner
N 52° 11.688 E 000° 07.909
31U E 303974 N 5786582
Kett's Oak is the name given to a piece of art attached to Kett House at the junction of Hills Road and Station Road in Cambridge. The work, by Willi Soukop, dates from 1962-3 and is created in sandstone.
Waymark Code: WMQNY5
Location: Eastern England, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 03/10/2016
Published By:Groundspeak Premium Member Outspoken1
Views: 1

It does not require much imagination to see the tree and people gathered around its base.

The Cambridge Sculpture Trails website tells us about the piece:

Kett's Oak 1962-3

Sandstone bas-relief

On the wall of an office block on the corner of Station Road and Hills Road.

Kett’s Oak, Norfolk is where, in 1549, the rebel Robert Kett met with his followers and began an abortive attempt to seize the city of Norwich from the Crown.

Willi Soukop R.A.(1907-1995) was born in Vienna and apprenticed to an engineer. He later studied at the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts. He moved to England in 1934 and taught at Dartington Hall School, Devon. He moved to London in 1945 and taught at various art schools including Chelsea (1947-72). He was an early teacher of Elizabeth Frink.

Soukop exhibited regularly at the Royal Academy from 1935 onwards. His work is in several collections, including Owl (1963) Tate Gallery and Donkey (1935) Harlow New Town Sculpture Trail and two pieces on the exterior of the Brynmor Jones Library at the University of Hull, more commonly known as the Philip Larkin Library.

Wikipedia has an article about Kett's Rebellion where the oak tree, where the protesters met, is mentioned:

Kett's rebellion, or "the commotion time" as it was also called in Norfolk, began in July 1549 in the small market town of Wymondham, nearly ten miles south-west of Norwich. The previous month there had been a minor disturbance at the nearby town of Attleborough where fences, built by the lord of the manor to enclose common lands, were torn down. The rioters thought they were acting legally, since Edward Seymour (1st Duke of Somerset, and Lord Protector during part of Edward VI's minority) had issued a proclamation against illegal enclosures. Wymondham held its annual feast on the weekend of 6 July 1549 and a play in honour of St Thomas Becket, the co-patron of Wymondham Abbey, was performed. This celebration was illegal, as Henry VIII had decreed in 1538 that the name of Thomas Becket should be removed from the church calendar. On the Monday, when the feast was over, a group of people set off to the villages of Morley St. Botolph and Hethersett to tear down hedges and fences. One of their first targets was Sir John Flowerdew, a lawyer and landowner at Hethersett who was unpopular for his role as overseer of the demolition of Wymondham Abbey (part of which was the parish church) during the dissolution of the monasteries and for enclosing land. Flowerdew bribed the rioters to leave his enclosures alone and instead attack those of Robert Kett at Wymondham.

Kett was about 57 years old and was one of the wealthier farmers in Wymondham. The Ketts (also spelt Ket, Cat, Chat, or Knight) had been farming in Norfolk since the twelfth century. Kett was the son of Tom and Margery Kett and had several brothers, and clergyman Francis Kett was his nephew. Two or possibly three of Kett's brothers were dead by 1549, but his eldest brother William joined him in the rebellion. Kett's wife, Alice, and several sons are not recorded as having been involved in the rebellion. Kett had been prominent among the parishioners in saving their parish church when Wymondham Abbey was demolished and this had led to conflict with Flowerdew. Having listened to the rioters' grievances, Kett decided to join their cause and helped them tear down his own fences before taking them back to Hethersett where they destroyed Flowerdew's enclosures.

The following day, Tuesday 9 July, the protesters set off for Norwich. By now Kett was their leader and they were being joined by people from nearby towns and villages. A meeting point for the rebels was an oak tree on the road from Hethersett to Norwich. Known as Kett's Oak, it has been preserved by Norfolk County Council, and a new plaque was unveiled in 2006. The oak became a symbol of the rebellion when an oak tree on Mousehold Heath was made the centre of the rebel camp, but this "Oak of Reformation" no longer stands.

Title: Kett's Oak

Artist: Willi Soukop

Media (materials) used: Sand stone

Location (specific park, transit center, library, etc.): Alongside a major road

Date of creation or placement: 1962-3

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