Abbots Bromley Horn Dance custom was also present at that time but not commented upon by the writer. A carbon analysis discovered that the antlers used in the dance date to the 11th century – though these may well have replaced an even older set. According to some, the use of antlers suggests an Anglo-Saxon origin along with other native Anglo-Saxon traditions that have survived into modern times in various forms. It has been speculated, for example, that the dance originated in the pagan period and was connected with the ruling dynasty of Mercia, based some 15 miles away at Tamworth, who owned extensive
Henry Bromley (died 1615) that was intercepted and copied for Cecil: Bromley was also tied to Essex also through family and regional networks. His brother-in-law John Lyttelton was MP for Worcestershire and allied to his distant relative Edward Littleton, who managed political matters for Essex in neighbouring Staffordshire, which he regarded as his "own country", and had his seat at Chartley Castle. However, Lyttelton was well known to have Catholic sympathies. An important part of the cement holding the Littletons of both counties in the alliance around Essex was a shared antipathy to Edward Sutton, 5th Baron Dudley, a reprobate regional magnate, also of