Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Hertfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Huntingdonshire

East Anglia and the counties to the north of London were in some ways rather different to those to the south of the capital. Immigrant populations were again relatively high, especially in Suffolk and Essex, but unfortunately administrative problems in Norfolk have deprived us of a full assessment for that heavily populated county. Not surprisingly, people from the Low Countries were most numerous, particularly in the towns and the east coast ports, but there were also large numbers of French, and a wide variety of other nationalities, such as the two Aragonese doctors living in Long Melford in 1483. While servants and labourers were, as ever, the most common occupations recorded, there were also large numbers of artisans, particularly in the cloth, footwear and brewing industries, doubtless reflecting an influx of Low Countries and French tradesmen seeking to exploit new opportunities in this prosperous part of England.