In the 16th century, one man from Norwich, Thomas Sotherton, wanted to encourage these refugees to settle in Norfolk, specifically, because the immigrant’s skills in textile weaving made them valuable to the economy. To that end, he setup what became known as Stranger’s Hall, where the immigrants could live and work. The property was owned by people who would have used the property for business and living accommodation, which was common practice for mediaeval merchants’ dwellings. Therefore, Strangers’ wasn’t built or established for the Strangers arriving in 1565 but was used by them as an available property. Only one known family lived in the Hall from 1567. The letter written by the family lodging at Strangers refers to it as Master Sotherton’s property in the High Street. The hall is a museum today that and we are delighted to welcomemuseum's assistant curator of social history, Bethan Holdrige, to the show today to tell us about the history of Stranger’s Hall and the impact of the influx of refugees to the area during Shakespeare’s lifetime. 

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