Jon Botright

Born in Swaffham in 1400 John Botright was Rector of Swaffham between 1435 and 1474 but before that he was Master at Corpus Christi College in Cambridge and became chaplain to King Henry VI in 1447. 

When he came to Swaffham he found that the church had collapsed; that the finances were in dire straits and that the people were willing to help but didn’t know what to do. 

He set about collecting money to rebuild the church, determined that it would be funded by the people.

The Black Book of Swaffham, which still exists, shows that most donors were tradesmen with a few landowners, but even the poorer people wanted to contribute what they could. One benefactor was John Chapman, a churchwarden, known today as the Pedlar of Swaffham.

In 1474 Botright purchased a strip of land near the church called Campingland and bequeathed it to the town. Here the people could enjoy practising their archery skills and other “honest” sports. 

He was buried in the church and his tomb is still there in the chancel.

Why is it called Campingland? Probably after the medieval game of Camp – a game similar to rugby but without any rules and so vicious that it was banned by Henry VIII. It was called Campingland when Botright bought it.