HISTORY

After the Reformation and the destruction of the Abbey, which left only the Abbey Church, stripped of its former glory, practice of the Roman Catholic faith stopped in Wymondham until the very end of the 19th Century.

After the Reformation

In 1107 William D’Albini, Chief Butler to Henry I, built a priory for the Benedictine monastery of St Albans on the site of the Saxon church in Wymondham. This grew in size and importance and became an Abbey in 1448.
The Dissolution came to Wymondham in 1538 when Henry VIII sent John Flowerdew, a sergeant at law living at Stanfield Hall, to supervise the pulling down of the monastic buildings. The following period until 1553 was characterised by considerable upheaval following Henry VIII's Reformation of the Church. Then Mary came to the throne, reversing the process. After the death of "Bloody" Mary in 1558, the Injunctions of 1559 were implemented "for the suppression of superstition" and "to plant true religion". The altar, images and the whole rood and screen in the church were finally taken down. Roman Catholicism was banned by law and driven underground. In subsequent years, the faith was maintained by a brave few who continued to celebrate Mass clandestinely. Since there were no Roman Catholic Churches, any celebration was covert and restricted to secret services in private houses with priests being cared for and hidden by the laity. In the difficult years between 1560 and 1790, the clergy was maintained by the presence of Dominicans, Jesuits and Benedictines who, although they had to remain invisible to the authorities, nonetheless continued to celebrate Mass for the faithful. There are no known “priest holes” in Wymondham. From a national high of 2.5 million members in 1559, out of a population of 4 million, numbers had declined, by 1780, to a mere 60,000 out of a total population of 7.5 million. 
The Emancipation Act of 1791 allowed the restoration of Roman Catholic practice, the building of chapels was legalized and numbers grew rapidly.
 

Further reading: 
columbia.thefreedictionary.com/Catholic+Emancipation+Act
Wymondham - History of a Norfolk Market Town (ISBN 1-901553-03-5)