Norwich

The capital of the Iceni tribe was a settlement located near to the village of Caistor St. Edmund on the River Tas approximately 5 miles (8 km) to the south of modern-day Norwich.[13] Following an uprising led by Boudica around AD 60, the Caistor area became the Roman capital of East Anglia named Venta Icenorum, literally "the marketplace of the Iceni".[13] The Roman settlement fell into disuse around 450, and the Anglo-Saxons settled on the site of the modern city some time between the 5th and 7th centuries,[14] founding the towns of Northwic (from which Norwich gets its name),[15] Westwic (at Norwich-over-the-Water) and the secondary settlement at Thorpe. According to a local rhyme, the demise of Venta Icenorum led to the development of Norwich: "Caistor was a city when Norwich was none, Norwich was built of Caistor stone."[13]

Norwich Cathedral is one of the great Norman buildings of England.

There are two suggested models of development for Norwich. It is possible that three separate early Anglo-Saxon settlements, one north of the river and two either side on the south, joined together as they grew or that one Anglo-Saxon settlement, north of the river, emerged in the mid-7th century after the abandonment of the previous three. The ancient city was a thriving centre for trade and commerce in East Anglia in 1004 when it was raided and burnt by Swein Forkbeard the Viking king of Denmark. Mercian coins and shards of pottery from the Rhineland dating from the 8th century suggest that long-distance trade was happening long before this. Between 924 and 939, Norwich became fully established as a town, with its own mint. The word Norvic appears on coins across Europe minted during this period, in the reign of King Athelstan. The Vikings were a strong cultural influence in Norwich for 40 to 50 years at the end of the 9th century, setting up an Anglo-Scandinavian district near the north end of present-day King Street. At the time of the Norman Conquest, the city was one of the largest in England. The Domesday Book states that it had approximately 25 churches and a population of between 5,000 and 10,000. It also records the site of an Anglo-Saxon church in Tombland, the site of the Saxon market place and the later Norman cathedral. Norwich continued to be a major centre for trade, the River Wensum being a convenient export route to the River Yare and Great Yarmouth, which served as the port for Norwich. Quern stones and other artefacts from Scandinavia and the Rhineland have been found during excavations in Norwich city centre. These date from the 11th century onwards.

Norwich Castle's 12th-century keep

Norwich Castle was founded soon after the Norman Conquest.[16] The Domesday Book records that 98 Saxon homes were demolished to make way for the castle.[17] The Normans established a new focus of settlement around the Castle and the area to the west of it: this became known as the "New" or "French" borough, centred on the Normans' own market place, which survives today as Norwich Market. In 1096, Herbert de Losinga, Bishop of Thetford, began construction of Norwich Cathedral. The chief building material for the Cathedral was limestone, imported from Caen in Normandy. To transport the building stone to the site, a canal was cut from the river (from the site of present-day Pulls Ferry) up to the east wall. Herbert de Losinga then moved his See there, to what became the cathedral church for the Diocese of Norwich. The Bishop of Norwich still signs himself Norvic. Norwich received a royal charter from Henry II in 1158, and another from Richard the Lionheart in 1194. After a riot in the city in 1274, Norwich has the distinction of being the only complete English city to be excommunicated by the Pope.[18]

The first recorded presence of Jews in Norwich is 1134.[19] In 1144, the Jews of Norwich were falsely accused of ritual murder after a boy (William of Norwich) was found dead with stab wounds.[19] William acquired the status of martyr and was subsequently canonised. Pilgrims made offerings to a shrine at the Cathedral (largely finished by 1140) up to the 16th century, but the records suggest there were few of them.[20] In 1174, Norwich was sacked by the Flemings. In February 1190, all the Jews of Norwich were massacred except for a few who found refuge in the castle. At the site of a medieval well, the bones of 17 individuals, including 11 children, were found in 2004 by workers preparing the ground for construction of a Norwich shopping centre. The remains were determined by forensic scientists to be most probably the remains of such murdered Jews, and a DNA expert determined that the victims were all related, so that they probably came from one Ashkenazi Jewish family.[21] The study of the remains featured in an episode of the BBC television documentary series History Cold Case.[22]

St Ethelbert's Gate at Tombland was built as penance for riots which occurred in the 1270s.

In 1216, the castle fell to Louis, Dauphin of France and Hildebrand's Hospital was founded, followed ten years later by the Franciscan Friary and Dominican Friary. The Great Hospital dates from 1249 and the College of St Mary in the Field from 1250. In 1256, Whitefriars was founded. In 1266 the city was sacked by the "Disinherited". It has the distinction of being the only English city ever to be excommunicated, following a riot between citizens and monks in 1274.[18] As a penance, St Ethelbert's Gate, one of the entrances to the cathedral priory, was constructed by Norwich citizens. In 1278 the Cathedral received final consecration. In 1290 the city flooded. Austin Friary was founded in that year.

The engine of trade was wool from Norfolk's sheepwalks. Wool made England rich, and the staple port of Norwich "in her state doth stand With towns of high'st regard the fourth of all the land", as Michael Drayton noted in Poly-Olbion (1612). The wealth generated by the wool trade throughout the Middle Ages financed the construction of many fine churches, so that Norwich still has more medieval churches than any other city in Western Europe north of the Alps. Throughout this period Norwich established wide-ranging trading links with other parts of Europe, its markets stretching from Scandinavia to Spain and the city housing a Hanseatic warehouse. To organise and control its exports to the Low Countries, Great Yarmouth, as the port for Norwich, was designated one of the staple ports under the terms of the 1353 Statute of the Staple.

From 1280 to 1340 the city walls were built. At around 2 ¹⁄₂ miles (4.0 km), these walls, along with the river, enclosed a larger area than that of the City of London. However, when the city walls were constructed it was made illegal to build outside them, inhibiting expansion of the city. Around this time, the city was made a county corporate and became the seat of one of the most densely populated and prosperous counties of England. Part of these walls remain standing today.

Hand-in-hand with the wool industry, this key religious centre experienced a Reformation significantly different to other parts of England. The magistracy in Tudor Norwich unusually found ways of managing religious discord whilst maintaining civic harmony.[23]

Mousehold Heath, Norwich by Norfolk-based artist John Crome

The summer of 1549 saw an unprecedented rebellion in Norfolk. Unlike popular challenges elsewhere in the Tudor period, it appears to have been Protestant in nature. For several weeks, rebels led by Robert Kett camped outside Norwich on Mousehold Heath and took control of the city on 29 July 1549 with the support of many of its poorer inhabitants. Kett's Rebellion was particularly in response to the enclosure of land by landlords, leaving peasants with nowhere to graze their animals and the general abuses of power by the nobility. The uprising ended on 27 August when the rebels were defeated by an army. Kett was convicted of treason and hanged from the walls of Norwich Castle.[24][25][26]

Unusually in England, the rebellion divided the city and appears to have linked Protestantism with the plight of the urban poor. In the case of Norwich, this process was underscored later by the arrival of Dutch and Flemish "Strangers" fleeing persecution from the Catholics and eventually numbering as many as one-third of the city's population.[27] Large numbers of such exiles came to the city, especially Flemish Protestants from the Westkwartier ("Western Quarter"), a region in the Southern Netherlands where the first Calvinist fires of the Dutch Revolt had spread. Inhabitants of Ypres, in particular, chose Norwich above other destinations.[28] Perhaps in response to Kett, Norwich became the first provincial city to initiate compulsory payments for a civic scheme of poor relief, which it has been claimed led to its wider introduction, forming the basis of the later Elizabethan Poor Law of 1597–1598.[29]

Norwich has traditionally been the home of various minorities, notably French Huguenot and Belgian Walloon communities in the 16th and 17th centuries. The great "stranger" immigration of 1567 brought a substantial Flemish and Walloon community of Protestant weavers to Norwich, where they are said to have been made welcome.[30] The merchant's house which was their earliest base in the city — now a museum — is still known as Strangers' Hall. It seems that the strangers integrated into the local community without much animosity, at least among the business fraternity, who had the most to gain from their skills. Their arrival in Norwich boosted trade with mainland Europe and fostered a movement toward religious reform and radical politics in the city. By contrast, after being persecuted by the Anglican church for his Puritan beliefs, Michael Metcalf, a 17th-century Norwich weaver, fled the city and settled in Dedham, Massachusetts.[31]

The Norwich Canary was first introduced into England by Flemings fleeing from Spanish persecution in the 16th century. Along with their advanced techniques in textile working, they brought pet canaries which they began to breed locally; eventually becoming, in the 20th century, a mascot of the city and the emblem of its football club, Norwich City F.C., whose nickname is "The Canaries".

Printing was introduced to the city in 1567 by Anthony de Solempne, one of the strangers, but it did not take root and had died out by about 1572.[32]

Across the Eastern Counties, Oliver Cromwell's powerful Eastern Association was eventually dominant. However, to begin with, there had been a large element of Royalist sympathy within Norwich, which seems to have experienced a continuity of its two-sided political tradition throughout the period. Bishop Matthew Wren was a forceful supporter of Charles I. Nonetheless, Parliamentary recruitment took hold. The strong Royalist party was stifled by a lack of commitment from the aldermen and isolation from Royalist-held regions.[33] Serious inter-factional disturbances culminated in "The Great Blow" of 1648 when Parliamentary forces tried to quell a Royalist riot. The latter's gunpowder was set off by accident in the city centre, causing mayhem. According to Hopper[34] the explosion "ranks among the largest of the century". Stoutly defended though East Anglia was by the Parliamentary army, there are said to have been pubs in Norwich where the king's health was still drunk and the name of the Protector sung to ribald verse.

At the cost of some discomfort to the Mayor, the moderate Joseph Hall was targeted because of his position as Bishop of Norwich.

Norwich was marked in the period after the Restoration of 1660 and the ensuing century by a golden age of its cloth industry, comparable only to those in the West Country and Yorkshire.[35] But unlike other cloth-manufacturing regions, Norwich weaving brought greater urbanisation, mainly concentrated in the surrounds of the city itself, creating an urban society, with features such as leisure time, alehouses and other public forums of debate and argument.[36]

Founded in 1771, the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital cared for the city's poor and sick. It closed in 2003 after services were moved to the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital.

Writing of the early 18th century, Pound describes the city's rich cultural life, the winter theatre season, the festivities accompanying the summer assizes, and other popular entertainments. Norwich was the wealthiest town in England, with a sophisticated system of poor relief, and a large influx of foreign refugees.[37] Despite severe outbreaks of plague, the city had a population of almost 30,000. This made Norwich unique in England, although there were some 50 cities of similar size in Europe. In some, like Lyon and Dresden, this was, as in the case of Norwich, linked to an important proto-industry, such as textiles or china pottery, in some, such as Vienna, Madrid and Dublin, to the city's status as an administrative capital, and in some such as Antwerp, Marseilles and Cologne to a position on an important maritime or river trade route.[lower-alpha 1]

Norwich in the late 17th century was riven politically. Churchman Humphrey Prideaux described "two factions, Whig and Tory, and both contend for their way with the utmost violence."[38] Nor did the city accept the outcome of the 1688 Glorious Revolution with a unified voice. The pre-eminent citizen, Bishop William Lloyd, would not take the oaths of allegiance to the new monarchs. One report has it that in 1704 the landlord of Fowler's alehouse "with a glass of beer in hand, went down on his knees and drank a health to James the third, wishing the Crowne [sic] well and settled on his head."[39]

In 1716, at a play at the New Inn, the Pretender was cheered and the audience booed and hissed every time King George's name was mentioned. In 1722 supporters of the king were said to be "hiss'd at and curst as they go in the streets," and in 1731 "a Tory mobb, in a great body, went through several parts of this city, in a riotous manner, cursing and abusing such as they knew to be friends of the government."[lower-alpha 2] But the Whigs gradually gained control and by the 1720s they had successfully petitioned Parliament to allow all adult males working in the textile industry to take up the freedom, on the correct assumption that they would vote Whig. But it had the effect of boosting the city's popular Jacobitism, says Knights, and contests of the kind described continued in Norwich well into a period in which political stability had been discerned at a national level. The city's Jacobitism perhaps only ended with 1745, well after it had ceased to be a significant movement outside Scotland.[39] Despite the Highlanders reaching Derby and Norwich citizens mustering themselves into an association to protect the city, some Tories refused to join in, and the vestry of St Peter Mancroft resolved that it would not ring its bells to summon the defence. Still, it was the end of the road for Norwich Jacobites, and the Whigs organised a notable celebration after the Battle of Culloden.[39]

The events of this period illustrate how Norwich had a strong tradition of popular protest favouring Church and Stuarts and attached to the street and alehouse. Knights tells how in 1716 the mayoral election had ended in a riot, with both sides throwing "brick-ends and great paving stones" at each other.[39] A renowned Jacobite watering-hole, the Blue Bell Inn (nowadays The Bell Hotel), owned in the early 18th century by the high-church Helwys family, became the central rendezvous of the Norwich Revolution Society in the 1790s.[40]

Britain's first provincial newspaper, the Norwich Post, appeared in 1701. By 1726 there were rival Whig and Tory presses, and as early as mid-century, three-quarters of the males in some parishes were literate.[lower-alpha 3] The Norwich municipal library claims an excellent collection of these newspapers, also a folio collection of scrapbooks on 18th-century Norwich politics, which Knights says are "valuable and important". Norwich alehouses had 281 clubs and societies meeting in them in 1701, and at least 138 more were formed before 1758. The Theatre Royal opened in 1758, alongside the city's stage productions in inns and puppet shows in rowdy alehouses.[41][42] In 1750 Norwich could boast nine booksellers and after 1780 a "growing number of circulating and subscription libraries".[43] Knights 2004 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFKnights2004 (help) says: "[All this] made for a lively political culture, in which independence from governmental lines was particularly strong, evident in campaigns against the war with America and for reform... in which trade and the impact of war with Revolutionary France were key ingredients. The open and contestable structure of local government, the press, the clubs and societies, and dissent all ensured that politics overlapped with communities bound by economics, religion, ideology and print in a world in which public opinion could not be ignored."[39]

The Octagon Chapel

Amid this metropolitan culture, the city burghers had built a sophisticated political structure. Freemen, who had the right to trade and to vote at elections, numbered about 2,000 in 1690, rising to over 3,300 by the mid-1730s. With growth partly the result of political manipulation, their numbers did at one point reach one-third of the adult male population.[39] This was notoriously the age of "rotten" and "pocket" boroughs, and Norwich was unusual in having such a high proportion of its citizens able to vote. "Of the political centres where the Jacobin propaganda had penetrated most deeply only Norwich and Nottingham had a franchise deep enough to allow radicals to make use of the electoral process."[44] "Apart from London, Norwich was probably still the largest of those boroughs which were democratically governed," says Jewson 1975, describing other towns under the control of a single fiefdom. In Norwich, he says, a powerful Anglican establishment, symbolised by the Cathedral and the great church of St Peter Mancroft was matched by scarcely less powerful congeries of Dissenters headed by the wealthy literate body [of Unitarians] worshipping at the Octagon Chapel.[45]

Map of Norwich 1781

In the middle of political disorders of the late 18th century, Norwich intellectual life flourished. It contained one, so far unmentioned aspect: Harriet Martineau wrote of the city's literati of the period, including such people as William Taylor, one of England's first scholars of German. The city "boasted of her intellectual supper-parties, where, amidst a pedantry which would now make laughter hold both his sides, there was much that was pleasant and salutary: and finally she called herself The Athens of England."[46]

St Peter Mancroft

Despite Norwich's hitherto industrial prosperity, the wool trade was experiencing intense competition by the 1790s, from Yorkshire woollens and increasingly from Lancashire cottons. The effects were aggravated by the loss of continental markets after Britain went to war with France in 1793.[lower-alpha 4] The early 19th century saw de-industrialisation accompanied by bitter squabbles. The 1820s were marked by wage cuts and personal recrimination against owners. So amid the rich commercial and cultural heritage of its recent past, Norwich suffered in the 1790s from incipient decline exacerbated by a serious trade recession.

As early in the war as 1793, a major city manufacturer and government supporter, Robert Harvey, complained of low order books, languid trade and doubling of the poor rate.[lower-alpha 5] Like many of their Norwich forebears, the hungry poor took their complaints onto the streets. Hayes describes a meeting of 200 people in a Norwich public house, where "Citizen Stanhope" spoke.[lower-alpha 6] The gathering "[roared its] applause at Stanhope's declaration that the Ministers, unless they changed their policy, deserved to have their heads brought to the block; – and if there was a people still in England, the event might turn out to be so." Hayes says that "the outbreak of war, in bringing the worsted manufacture almost to a standstill and so plunging the mass of the Norwich weavers into sudden distress made it almost inevitable that a crude appeal to working-class resentment should take the place of a temperate process of education which the earliest reformers had intended."[47]

At this period opposition to Pitt's government and their war came – in their case almost unanimously – from a circle of radical Dissenting intellectuals of interest in their own right They included the Rigby, Taylor, Aitkin, Barbold, and Alderson families – all Unitarians, and some of the Quaker Gurneys, one of whose girls, Elizabeth, was under her married name of Fry to be noted campaigner for prison reform. Their activities included visits to revolutionary France (before the execution of Louis XVI), the earliest British research into German literature, studies on medical science, petitioning for parliamentary reform, and publishing a highbrow literary magazine called "The Cabinet", in 1795. Their blend of politics, religion and social campaigning was suspicious to Pitt and Windham, causing Pitt to denounce Norwich as "the Jacobin city". Edmund Burke attacked John Gurney in print for sponsoring anti-war protests. Politics aside, it is safe to say that Norwich was the most active intellectual hotbed outside London in the 1790s, and did not retrieve comparable prominence until the University of East of Anglia arrived in the late 20th century.[48]

By 1795 it was not just the Norwich rabble who were causing the government concern. In April that year, the Norwich Patriotic Society was founded, its manifesto declaring "that the great end of civil society was general happiness; that every individual had a right to share in the government."[49] In December the price of bread reached a new peak, and in May 1796, when William Windham was forced to seek re-election after his appointment as war secretary, he only just held his seat.[lower-alpha 7] Amid the disorder and violence so often in Norwich elections, it was only by the narrowest margin that the radical Bartlett Gurney ("Peace and Gurney – No More War – No more Barley Bread") failed to unseat him.[50]

Though informed by issues of recent national importance, the bipartisan political culture of Norwich in the 1790s cannot be divorced from local tradition. Two features stand out from a political continuum of three centuries. The first is a dichotomous power balance. From at least the time of the Reformation, Norwich was recorded as a "two-party city". In the mid-16th century, the weaving parishes fell under the control of opposition forces, as Kett's rebels held the north of the river, in support of poor clothworkers. Indeed there seems to be a case for saying that with this tradition of two-sided disputation, the city had steadily developed an infrastructure, evident in its many cultural and institutional networks of politics, religion, society, news media and the arts, whereby argument could be managed short of outright confrontation. Indeed at a time of hunger and tension on the Norwich streets, with alehouse crowds ready to have "a Minister's head brought to the block", the Anglican and Dissenting clergy exerted themselves to conduct a collegiate dialogue, seeking common ground and reinforcing the well-mannered civic tradition of earlier periods.

Surrey House, historic headquarters of the Norwich Union insurance company

In 1797 Thomas Bignold, a 36-year-old wine merchant and banker, founded the first Norwich Union Society. Some years earlier, when he moved from Kent to Norwich, Bignold had been unable to find anyone willing to insure him against the threat from highwaymen. With the entrepreneurial thought that nothing was impossible, and aware that in a city built largely of wood the threat of fire was uppermost in people's minds, Bignold formed the "Norwich Union Society for the Insurance of Houses, Stock and Merchandise from Fire". The new business, which became known as the Norwich Union Fire Insurance Office, was a "mutual" enterprise. Norwich Union was later to become the country's largest insurance giant.

From earliest times Norwich was a textile centre. In the 1780s the manufacture of Norwich shawls became an important industry[51] and remained so for nearly a hundred years. The shawls were a high-quality fashion product and rivalled those of other towns such as Paisley, which had entered shawl manufacturing in about 1805, some 20 or more years after Norwich. With changes in women's fashion in the later Victorian period, the popularity of shawls declined and eventually manufacture ceased. Examples of Norwich shawls are now sought after by collectors of textiles.

Norwich's geographical isolation was such that until 1845, when a railway link was established, it was often quicker to travel to Amsterdam by boat than to London. The railway was introduced to Norwich by Morton Peto, who also built a line to Great Yarmouth. From 1808 to 1814, Norwich had a station in the shutter telegraph chain that connected the Admiralty in London to its naval ships in the port of Great Yarmouth. A permanent military presence was established in the city with the completion of Britannia Barracks in 1897.[52] The Bethel Street and Cattle Market Street drill halls were built around the same time.[53]

Waterloo Park, one of six parks built during the 1930s to help alleviate unemployment in the city

In the early 20th century, Norwich still had several major manufacturing industries. Among them were the large-scale and bespoke manufacture of shoes (for example the Start-rite and Van Dal brands, Bowhill & Elliott and Cheney & Sons Ltd respectively), clothing, joinery (including the cabinet makers and furniture retailer Arthur Brett and Sons, which continues in business in the 21st century), structural engineering, and aircraft design and manufacture. Notable employers included Boulton & Paul, Barnards (ironfounders and inventors of machine-produced wire netting), and the electrical engineers Laurence Scott and Electromotors.

Norwich also has a long association with chocolate making, mainly through the local firm of Caley's, which began as a manufacturer and bottler of mineral water and later diversified into chocolate and Christmas crackers. The Caley's cracker-manufacturing business was taken over by Tom Smith in 1953,[54] and the Norwich factory in Salhouse Road closed in 1998. Caley's was acquired by Mackintosh in the 1930s, and merged with Rowntree's in 1969 to become Rowntree-Mackintosh. Finally it was bought by Nestlé and closed in 1996, with all operations moving to York after a Norwich association of 120 years. The demolished factory stood where the Chapelfield development is now. Caley's chocolate has since reappeared as a brand in the city, though it is no longer made there.[55]

HMSO, once the official publishing and stationery arm of the British government and one of the largest print buyers, printers and suppliers of office equipment in the UK, moved most of its operations from London to Norwich in the 1970s. It occupied the purpose-built 1968 Sovereign House building, near Anglia Square, which in 2017 stood empty and due for demolition if a long-postponed redevelopment of Anglia Square went ahead.

Jarrolds department store has been based in Norwich since 1823.

Jarrolds, established in 1810, was a nationally well-known printer and publisher. In 2004, after nearly 200 years, the printing and publishing businesses were sold. Today, the company remains privately owned and the Jarrold name is best recognised as being that of Norwich's only independent department store. The company is also active in property development in Norwich and has a business training division.[56]

The city was home to a long-established tradition of brewing,[57] with several large breweries continuing in business into the second half of the century. The main ones were Morgans, Steward and Patteson, Youngs Crawshay and Youngs, Bullard and Son, and the Norwich Brewery. Despite takeovers and consolidation in the 1950s and 1960s, by the 1970s only the Norwich Brewery (owned by Watney Mann and on the site of Morgans) remained. That too closed in 1985 and was subsequently demolished. Only microbreweries can be found today.

It was stated by Walter Wicks in his book that Norwich once had "a pub for every day of the year, and a church for every Sunday". This was in fact significantly under the actual amount, and the highest number of pubs in the city was in the year 1870, with over 780 beer-houses. A Licensing Act in 1872, had several detrimental effects for landlords and customers, with the total number of pubs dropping to 634. A "Drink Map" was produced in 1892 by the Norwich and Norfolk Gospel Temperance Union, which showed 631 pubs in and around the city centre and surrounding districts. By 1900, the number had dropped to 441 pubs within the City Walls. The title of a pub for every day of the year survived until 1966, when the Chief Constable informed the Licensing Justices that only 355 licences were still operative, with the number slowly shrinking, as over 25 have closed in the last decade.[58] As of 2018, around 100 pubs still trade in the city centre and surrounding areas.

Norwich suffered extensive bomb damage during World War II, affecting large parts of the old city centre and Victorian terrace housing around the centre. Industry and the rail infrastructure also suffered. The heaviest raids occurred on the nights of 27/28 and 29/30 April 1942; as part of the Baedeker raids (so-called because Baedeker's series of tourist guides to the British Isles were used to select propaganda-rich targets of cultural and historic significance rather than strategic importance). Lord Haw-Haw made reference to the imminent destruction of Norwich's new City Hall (completed in 1938), although in the event it survived unscathed. Significant targets hit included the Morgan's Brewery building, Colman's Wincarnis works, City Station, the Mackintosh chocolate factory, and shopping areas including St Stephen's St and St Benedict's St, the site of Bond's department store (now John Lewis) and Curl's department store.

229 citizens were killed in the two Baedeker raids with 1000 others injured, and 340 by bombing throughout the war—giving Norwich the highest air raid casualties in Eastern England. Out of the 35,000 domestic dwellings in Norwich, 2,000 were destroyed, and another 27,000 suffered some damage.[59] In 1945 the city was also the intended target of a brief V2 rocket campaign, though all these missed the city. (Sources: 4 Civil Defence Region bombing reports at National Archive; M J F Bowyer "Air Raid").

The University of East Anglia, which opened in 1963

As the war ended, the city council revealed what it had been working on before the war. It was published as a book - 'The City of Norwich Plan 1945' or commonly known as 'The '45 Plan'[60] – a grandiose scheme of massive redevelopment which never properly materialised. However, the ten years between 1960 and 1970 completely altered the city, and significantly large areas of Norwich were cleared to make way for modern redevelopment.

In 1960, the inner-city district of Richmond, locally known as 'the Village on the Hill' was condemned as slums, and many residents were forced to leave due to compulsory purchase orders on the old terraces and lanes. The whole borough was demolished, which consisted of around 56 acres of existing streets, including 833 dwellings (612 considered unfit for human habitation), 42 shops, four offices, 22 public houses and two schools.[61] Communities were moved to high-rise buildings such as Normandie Tower and new housing estates such as the Tuckswood Estate, which were being built at the time. A new road, Rouen Road was developed in the area's place, which consists mainly of light industrial units and council flats. Ber Street, a once historical main road into the city had its whole eastern side demolished. The final part of St Peters Street (opposite St Peter Mancroft church), along with large Georgian townhouses at the top of Bethel Street were demolished to make way for the new City Library in 1961.[59] This burnt down in April 1994 and was replaced in 2001 with The Forum.

Many more buildings were demolished during the construction of the inner ring-road, which saw an ancient road junction – Stump Cross with Tudor and Georgian buildings in Magdalen Street, Botolph Street, St George's Street and most notably Pitt Street – cleared to make way for a fly-over and Brutalist concrete shopping centre, Anglia Square and office blocks such as HMSO building Sovereign House. Other areas affected by the ring-road were Grapes Hill, a once narrow lane lined with 19th-century workers cottages, which was cleared and widened into a dual carriageway leading into a roundabout. Shortly before construction of this roundabout, the city's old Drill Hall was demolished, along with sections of the original city wall and other larger townhouses along the start of Unthank Road (named after the Unthank family, who were local landowners).[62] The north-westerly corner of Chapelfield Gardens was also cut off to accommodate the new roundabout. About a mile of Georgian houses along Chapelfield Road and Queens Road; which included many houses that were built into the city walls, were bulldozed in 1964. This included the surrounding district off Vauxhall Street, consisting of swathes of terrace housing which were condemned as slums. Post-war housing and maisonettes flats now stand where the Rookery slums once did. Some aspects of The '45 Plan were put into action, which saw large three-story Edwardian houses in Grove Avenue and Grove Road, and other large properties on Southwell Road, demolished in 1962 to make way for flat-roofed single-story style maisonettes that still stand today.[63] Heigham Hall, a large Victorian manor house off Old Palace Road was also demolished in 1963, to build Dolphin Grove flats.

Other housing developments in the private and public sector took place after the Second World War, partly to accommodate the growing population of the city and to replace condemned and bomb-damaged areas, such as the Heigham Grove district between Barn Road and Old Palace Road, and West Pottergate off Dereham Road/Earlham Road. Other central streets such as St Stephens Street was widened, firstly by Norwich Union's new office blocks and shortly after with new buildings, after it suffered extensive damage during the Baedeker raids. In Surrey Street, many six-storey Georgian buildings were demolished to make way for Norwich Union's office. Other notable buildings that were lost were three theatres, the Norwich Hippodrome on St Giles Street, which is now a multi-storey car park, the Grosvenor Rooms and Electric Theatre in Prince of Wales Road, the Corn Hall in Exchange Street, the Free Library in Duke Street and the Great Eastern Hotel, which faced Norwich Station. It has been said that more of Norwich's architecture was destroyed but by the council in post-war redevelopment schemes than during the Second World War.

In 1976 the city's pioneering spirit was on show when Motum Road in Norwich, allegedly the scene of "a number of accidents over the years", became the third road in Britain to be equipped with sleeping policemen, intended to encourage adherence to the road's 30 miles per hour (48 km/h) speed limit.[64] The bumps, installed at intervals of 50 and 150 yards, stretched 12 feet across the width of the road and their curved profile was, at its highest point, 4 inches (10 cm) high.[64] The responsible quango gave an assurance that the experimental devices would be removed not more than one year after installation.[64]

From 1980 to 1985 the city became a frequent focus of national media due to squatting in Argyle Street, a Victorian street that was demolished in 1986, despite being the last street to survive the Richmond Hill redevelopment. On 23 November 1981, a minor F0/T1 tornado struck Norwich as part of a record-breaking nationwide tornado outbreak, causing minor damage in Norwich city centre and surrounding suburbs.[65]

Norwich has been governed by two tiers of local government since the implementation of the Local Government Act 1972. The upper tier is Norfolk County Council, which manages strategic services such as schools, social services and libraries across the county of Norfolk. The lower is Norwich City Council, which manages local services such as housing, planning, leisure and tourism.[66]

Norwich elects 13 county councillors to the 84-member county council. The city divides into single-member electoral divisions, with county councillors elected every four years.[67]

Norwich City Council consists of 39 councillors elected to 13 wards — three per ward. Elections are held by thirds, with one councillor in each ward elected annually for a four-year term, except in the year of county council elections.[68] As a result of ward boundary changes, all 39 seats were contested in the 2019 Norwich City Council election. Since the 2019 election, the distribution of council seats is Labour 27, Green Party 9, and Liberal Democrats 3, with Labour retaining overall control.

Norwich Guildhall, the seat of local government from the early 15th century until 1938

The ceremonial head of the city is the Lord Mayor; though now simply a ceremonial position, in the past the office carried considerable authority, with executive powers over the finances and affairs of the city council. In 2019–2020, the Lord Mayor is Councillor Vaughan Thomas, and the Sheriff, Dr Marian Prinsley.[69] The office of Mayor of Norwich dates from 1403 and was raised to the dignity of lord mayor in 1910 by Edward VII "in view of the position occupied by that city as the chief city of East Anglia and of its close association with His Majesty".[70][71] The title was regranted on local government reorganisation in 1974.[72] From 1404 the citizens of Norwich, as a county corporate, had the privilege of electing two sheriffs. Under the Municipal Corporations Act 1835 this was reduced to one and became a ceremonial post. Both Lord Mayor and Sheriff are elected at the council's annual meeting.[70][73]

In October 2006, the Department for Communities and Local Government produced a Local Government White Paper inviting councils to submit proposals for unitary restructuring. Norwich submitted its proposal in January 2007, which was rejected in December 2007, as it did not meet all the rigorous criteria for acceptance. In February 2008, the Boundary Committee for England (from 1 April 2010 incorporated in the Local Government Boundary Commission for England), was asked to consider alternative proposals for the whole or part of Norfolk, including whether Norwich should become a unitary authority, separate from Norfolk County Council. In December 2009, the Boundary Committee recommended a single unitary authority covering all Norfolk including Norwich.[74][75][76][77]

However, in February 2010 it was announced that despite the December 2009 recommendation of the Boundary Committee, Norwich would be given separate unitary status.[78] The proposed change was strongly resisted, principally by Norfolk County Council and the Conservative opposition in Parliament.[79] Reacting to the announcement, Norfolk County Council said it would look to challenge the decision in the courts.[80] A letter was leaked to the local media, in which the Permanent Secretary for the Department for Communities and Local Government noted that the decision did not meet all the criteria and that the risk of it "being successfully challenged in judicial review proceedings is very high."[81] The Shadow Local Government and Planning Minister, Bob Neill, stated that if the Conservative Party won the 2010 general election, it would reverse the decision.[82]

After the 2010 general election, Eric Pickles was appointed Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government in a Conservative–Liberal Democrat coalition government. According to press reports, he instructed his department to take urgent steps to reverse the decision and maintain the status quo in line with the Conservative Party manifesto.[83][84] However, the unitary plans were supported by the Liberal Democrat group on the city council, and by Simon Wright, LibDem MP for Norwich South, who intended to lobby the party leadership to allow the changes to go ahead.[85]

The Local Government Act 2010 to reverse the unitary decision for Norwich (and Exeter and Suffolk) received Royal Assent in December 2010. The disputed award of unitary status had meanwhile been referred to the High Court, and in June 2010 the court ruled it unlawful and revoked it; the city failed to attain unitary status.[86]

Since 1298 Norwich has returned two members of parliament to the House of Commons. Until 1950 the city was an undivided constituency, returning two MPs. Since that date, the area has been divided between two single-member constituencies: Norwich North and Norwich South.[87] Both constituencies have proved to be marginal seats in recent elections, until 2010 switching between the Labour and Conservative parties.

Norwich North, which includes some rural wards of Broadland District, was held by Labour from 1950 to 1983 when it was gained by the Conservatives. Labour regained the seat in 1997, holding it until a by-election in 2009. The current MP is the Conservative, Chloe Smith, who held the seat in the 2015 General Election.[88] Norwich South, which includes part of South Norfolk District, was held by Labour from February 1974 to 1983, when it was gained by the Conservatives. John Garrett regained the seat for Labour in 1987. Charles Clarke became Labour MP for Norwich South in 1997.[89] In the 2010 General Election, Labour lost the seat to the Liberal Democrats, with Simon Wright becoming MP.[90] At the 2015 General Election, Clive Lewis regained the seat for Labour.[91]

In both the 2017 General Election and 2019 General Election, the two incumbent 2015 MPs held their seats.[92]

The city has 56 primary schools (including 16 academies and free schools) and 13 secondary schools, 11 of which are academies.[98] The city's eight independent schools include Norwich School and the Norwich High School for Girls.[98] There are also five schools for children with learning disabilities.[99]

The former Norwich High School for Boys, in Upper St Giles Street, has a blue plaque commemorating Sir John Mills, who was a pupil there.[100]

Norwich University of the Arts

Norwich has two universities, the University of East Anglia and Norwich University of the Arts. The student population of the city is around 15,000, many of whom come from overseas.[101] The University of East Anglia was founded in 1963 and is located on the outskirts of the city. It has a creative writing programme, established by Malcolm Bradbury and Angus Wilson, whose graduates include Kazuo Ishiguro and Ian McEwan. It has done work on climate research and climate change. The university campus is the home of the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts, which houses several important art collections. The Norwich University of the Arts dates back to 1845 as the Norwich School of Design. Founded by artists and followers of the Norwich School art movement, it was established to provide designers for local industries. Previously a specialist art school (as the Norwich School of Art and Design), it achieved university status in 2013.

Norwich has three further education colleges. City College Norwich, situated on Ipswich Road, was founded in 1891 and is one of the largest such colleges in the country.[102] Access to Music is located on Magdalen Street at Epic Studios, and Easton & Otley College's Easton Campus is located 7 miles (11 km) west of the city.[103]

Pulls Ferry, once a 15th-century watergate

Norwich is a popular destination for a city break. Attractions include Norwich Cathedral, the cobbled streets and museums of old Norwich, Norwich Castle, Cow Tower, Dragon Hall and The Forum. Norwich is one of the UK's top ten shopping destinations, with a mix of chain retailers and independent stores as well as Norwich Market, one of the largest outdoor markets in England. It is ranked about the 150th biggest city in Europe.

The Forum, designed by Michael Hopkins and Partners and opened in 2002 is a building designed to house the Norfolk and Norwich Millennium Library, a replacement for the Norwich Central Library building which burnt down in 1994, and the regional headquarters and television centre for BBC East. In 2006–2013 it was most visited library in the UK, with 1.3 million visits in 2013.[108] The collections contains the 2nd Air Division Memorial Library, a collection of material about American culture and the American relationship with East Anglia, especially the role of the United States Air Force on UK airbases throughout the Second World War and Cold War. Much of the collection was lost in the 1994 fire, but the collection has been restored by contributions from many veterans of the war, both European and American. The building also provides a venue for art exhibitions, concerts and events, although the city still lacks a dedicated concert venue.

Recent attempts to shed the backwater image of Norwich and market it as a popular tourist destination, as well as a centre for science, commerce, culture and the arts, have included the refurbishment of the Norwich Castle Museum and the opening of the Forum. The proposed new slogan for Norwich as England's Other City has been the subject of much discussion and controversy. It remains to be seen whether it will be finally adopted. A number of signs at the approaches to the city still display the traditional phrase: "Norwich — a fine city".

The Forum, housing, among other things, the Norfolk and Norwich Millennium Library and the BBC's East of England headquarters and studios

The city promotes its architectural heritage through a collection of notable buildings in Norwich called the "Norwich 12". The group consists of: Norwich Castle, Norwich Cathedral, The Great Hospital, St Andrew's Hall and Blackfriars' Hall, The Guildhall, Dragon Hall, The Assembly House, St James Mill, St John the Baptist RC Cathedral, Surrey House, City Hall and The Forum.

Each year the Norfolk and Norwich Festival celebrates the arts, drawing many visitors into the city from all over eastern England. The Norwich Twenty Group, founded in 1944, presents exhibitions of its members to promote awareness of modern art. Norwich was home to the first arts festival in Britain in 1772.[109]

Norwich Arts Centre is a notable live music venue, concert hall and theatre located in St Benedict's Street. OPEN in Bank Plain is a large, popular music and conference venue and the King of Hearts in Fye Bridge Street is another centre for art and music. Norwich has a thriving music scene based around local venues such as the University of East Anglia LCR, Norwich Arts Centre, The Waterfront, The Owl Sanctuary, Epic Studios and The Blueberry. Live music, mostly contemporary musical genres, is also to be heard at a number of other public house and club venues around the city. The city is host to many artists that have achieved national and international recognition such as Cord, The Kabeedies, Serious Drinking, Tim Bowness, Sennen, Magoo, Let's Eat Grandma and KaitO.

Norwich was selected to host the 2015 BBC Radio 1 Big Weekend. The event was held on 23–24 May in Earlham Park.[110]

Established record labels in Norwich include All Sorted Records,[111] NR ONE,[112] Hungry Audio and Burning Shed.

British artist Stella Vine lived in Norwich from the age of seven,[113] including for a short while in Argyle Street, Norwich and again later in life with her son Jamie. Vine depicted the city in a large painting, Welcome to Norwich a fine city (2006).[114]

Norwich Arts Centre, opened in 1977, on St. Benedict's Street

The Theatre Royal, Norwich's largest theatre

Norwich Playhouse, located on St. George's Street

Norwich has theatres ranging in capacity from 100 to 1,300 seats and offering a wide variety of programmes. The Theatre Royal is the largest and has been on its present site for nearly 250 years, through several rebuildings and many alterations. It has 1,300 seats and hosts a mix of national touring productions including musicals, dance, drama, family shows, stand-up comedians, opera and pop.

The Maddermarket Theatre opened in 1921 as the first permanent recreation of an Elizabethan theatre. The founder was Nugent Monck who had worked with William Poel. The theatre is a Shakespearean-style playhouse and has a seating capacity of 310. Norwich Puppet Theatre was founded in 1979 by Ray and Joan DaSilva as a permanent base for their touring company and was first opened as a public venue in 1980, following the conversion of the medieval church of St. James in the heart of Norwich. Under subsequent artistic directors — Barry Smith and Luis Z. Boy — the theatre established its current pattern of operation. It is a nationally unique venue dedicated to puppetry, and currently houses a 185-seat raked auditorium, the 50-seat Octagon Studio, workshops, an exhibition gallery, shop and licensed bar. It is the only theatre in the Eastern region with a year-round programme of family-centred entertainment. Norwich Arts Centre theatre opened in 1977 in St Benedict's Street, and has a capacity of 290. The Norwich Playhouse, which opened in 1995 and has a seating capacity of 300, is a venue in the heart of the city and one of the most modern performance spaces of its size in East Anglia.

The Garage studio theatre can seat up to 110 people in a range of layouts. It can also be used for standing events to accommodate up to 180 people. Platform Theatre is in the grounds of the City College Norwich. Productions are staged mainly during the autumn and summer months. The theatre is raked and seats about 250 people. On 20 April 2012, the theatre held a large relaunch event with an evening performance, show-casing it at its best with previews of upcoming performances and scenes from some of its past performances.[115]

The Whiffler Theatre was built in 1981 and was given to the people of Norwich by the local newspaper group Eastern Daily Press. It is an open-air facility in Norwich Castle Gardens, with fixed-raked seating for up to 80 people and standing for another 30 on the balcony. The stage is brick-built and has its dressing-rooms set in a small building to stage left. The Whiffler mainly plays host to small Shakespeare productions. Sewell Barn Theatre is the smallest theatre in Norwich and has a seating capacity of just 100. The auditorium features raked seating on three sides of an open acting space. This unusual staging helps to draw the audience closer into the performance.

Public performance spaces include the Forum in the city centre, which has a large open-air amphitheatre, hosting performances of many types throughout the year. Additionally, the cloisters of Norwich Cathedral are used for open-air performances as part of an annual Shakespeare festival.[116]

Norwich has a number of important museums which reflect the rich history of the city and of Norfolk, as well as wider interests. The largest is the Norwich Castle Museum. This has extensive collections of archaeological finds from the county of Norfolk, of art (including a fine collection of paintings by the Norwich School of painters), of ceramics (including the largest collection of British teapots), of silver, and of natural history. Of particular interest are dioramas of Norfolk scenery, showing wildlife and landscape. It has been extensively remodelled to enhance the display of the many collections and hosts frequent temporary exhibitions of art and other subjects.[117]

Dragon Hall, Norwich, a medieval merchant's house. Taken on the 2006 Sponsored Bike Ride for The Norfolk Churches Trust, 2006-09-09. View from King Street of house front, sign hanging from iron dragon reads 'Dragon Hall'.

The Museum of Norwich (until 2014 called The Bridewell Museum), in Bridewell Alley, was closed in 2010 for major refurbishment of the building and overhaul of the displays,[118] and re-opened in July 2012.[119][120] There are several galleries and groups of displays. These include "Life in Norwich: Our City 1900–1945"; "Life in Norwich: Our City 1945 Onwards"; and "England's Second City" depicting Norwich in the 18th century. "Made in Norwich", "Industrious City" and "Shoemakers" have exhibits connected with the historic industries of Norwich, including weaving, shoe and boot making, iron foundries and the manufacture of metal goods, engineering, milling, brewing, chocolate-making and other food manufacturing. "Shopping and Trading" contains exhibits from the early 19th century to the 1960s.[121]

Strangers' Hall, at Charing Cross, is one of the oldest buildings in Norwich: a merchant's house dating from the early 14th century. The many rooms are furnished and equipped in the styles of different eras, from the Early Tudor to the Late Victorian. Exhibits include costumes and textiles, domestic objects, children's toys and games, and children's books. The last two collections are considered to be of national importance.[122]

The Royal Norfolk Regimental Museum was, until 2011, housed in part of the former Shirehall, close to the castle. Although archives and the reserve collections are still held in the Shirehall, the principal museum display there closed in September 2011 and was relocated to the main Norwich Castle Museum, reopening fully in 2013.[123] Its exhibits illustrate the history of the regiment from its 17th-century origins to its incorporation into the Royal Anglian Regiment in 1964, along with many aspects of military life in the regiment. There is an extensive and representative display of medals awarded to soldiers of the regiment, including two of the six Victoria Crosses won.[124][125]

The City of Norwich Aviation Museum is located at Horsham St. Faith, on the northern edge of the city and close to Norwich Airport. There are static displays of both military and civil aircraft, together with various collections of exhibits, including one concerned with the United States 8th Army Air Force.[126]

A house in the Cathedral close in Norwich.

The John Jarrold Printing Museum is dedicated to the history of printing, contains many examples of printing machinery, presses, books, and related equipment, and is considered to be of both national and international importance.[127] Exhibits range in date from the early 19th century to the present day and, as well as static exhibits, machinery and equipment is demonstrated in use. Many items were donated by Jarrold Printing.[128] In November 2018, redevelopment plans for the museum site at Whitefriars caused some uncertainty about its future.[129][130] The museum closed its Whitefriars premises on 23 October 2019, with a plan to relocate to the vacant medieval church of St Peter Parmentergate in King Street in 2020.[131][132] However, in January 2020, it was found that the proposed King Street site is unsuitable for the machinery which was to be displayed and operated there. The museum trustees continue with their search for suitable premises.[133]

Dragon Hall, in King Street, is a fine example of a medieval merchants' trading hall. Mostly dating from about 1430, it is unique in Western Europe. In 2006 the building underwent a thorough restoration. Its magnificent architecture is complemented by displays showing the history of the building and its role in the life of Norwich through the ages. The Norwich Castle Study Centre, at the Shirehall in Market Avenue, contains a number of important collections, including an extensive collection of more than 20,000 costume and textile items, built up over a period of some 130 years, and previously kept in other Norwich museums. Although not a publicly open museum in the usual sense, items in the collections are accessible to the general public, students, researchers and others by prior appointment.[134]

Norwich has three cinema complexes. Odeon Norwich is located in the Riverside Leisure Centre, Vue in the Castle Mall and Hollywood Cinema at Anglia Square, north of the city centre. Cinema City is an art-house cinema showing non-mainstream productions operated by Picturehouse on St Andrews Street opposite St Andrew's Hall, whose patron was actor John Hurt.[135] Owing to its agricultural history, Norwich has a large number of pubs throughout the city. Prince of Wales Road in the city centre, running from the Riverside district near Norwich railway station to Norwich Castle, is home to many pubs, bars and clubs.

Anglia House, the headquarters of Anglia Television, today ITV Anglia

Norwich is the headquarters of BBC East, its presence in the east of England, and BBC Radio Norfolk, BBC Look East, Inside Out and The Politics Show are all broadcast from BBC studios in The Forum. Independent radio stations based in Norwich include Heart, Smooth Radio, 99.9 Radio Norwich, and the University of East Anglia's Livewire 1350, an online station. A community station, Future Radio, was launched on 6 August 2007.

ITV Anglia, formerly Anglia Television, is based in Norwich. Although one of the smaller ITV companies, it supplied the network with some of its most popular shows such as Tales of the Unexpected, Survival and Sale of the Century (1971–1983), which began each edition with John Benson's enthusiastic announcement: "And now from Norwich, it's the quiz of the week!" The company also had a subsidiary called Anglia Multimedia, which produced educational content on CD and DVD mainly for schools, and was one of the three companies, along with Granada TV and the BBC vying for the right to produce a digital television station for English schools and colleges.

Launched in 1959, Anglia Television lost its independence in 1994 following a takeover by Meridian Broadcasting and subsequent mergers have seen it reduced from a significant producer of programmes to a regional news centre. The company is still based in Anglia House, the former Norfolk and Norwich Agricultural Hall, on Agricultural Hall Plain near Prince of Wales Road. However, despite the contraction of Anglia, television production in Norwich has by no means ended. Anglia's former network production centre at Magdalen Street has been taken over by Norfolk County Council and extensively re-vamped. After a total investment of £4 million from the East of England Development Agency (EEDA) it has re-opened as Epic Studios (East of England Production Innovation Centre). Degree courses in film and video are also run at the centre by Norwich University of the Arts. Epic has commercial, broadcast quality post-production facilities, a real-time virtual studio and a smaller HD discussion studio. The main studio opened as an HD facility in November 2008. Throughout 2008, the centre has concentrated on the development of new TV formats and has worked on pilot shows with Les Dennis, Gaby Roslin and Christopher Biggins.

Archant publishes two daily newspapers in Norwich, the Norwich Evening News, and the regional Eastern Daily Press (EDP), and had its own television operation, Mustard TV, which has now closed after being bought out by the That's TV group. Mustard TV is now That's Norfolk.

The character of Alan Partridge in the sitcom I'm Alan Partridge (1997–2002) and the comedy film Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa (2013) is a Norwich broadcaster played by Steve Coogan.

Because Norwich was England's second city during the Middle Ages and Renaissance, it has, though little acknowledged, a number of significant associations with esoteric spirituality. It was the home of William Cuningham, a physician who published An Invective Epistle in Defense of Astrologers in 1560.[136] The Elizabethan dramatist Robert Greene, author of Friar Bacon and Friar Bungay, was born in Norwich in 1558. The city was also the retirement residence of Arthur Dee (died Norwich, 1651) the eldest son of the alchemist John Dee[137][138]

The Layer Monument, marble polychrome c. 1600

Norwich was also the residence of the physician and hermetic philosopher Sir Thomas Browne, author of The Garden of Cyrus (1658). Many influential esoteric books-titles are listed as once in Browne's library.[139] His coffin-plate, on display at the church of St Peter Mancroft, alludes to Paracelsian medicine and alchemy. Translated from Latin it reads, Great Virtues, … sleeping here the dust of his spagyric body converts the lead to gold. Browne is also a significant figure in the history of physiognomy.

The Church of St John Maddermarket's graveyard includes the Crabtree headstone, which has the pre-Christian symbol of the Ouroboros along with Masonic Square and Compasses carved upon it. Housed within the church there is the Layer Monument, a rare example of an alchemical mandala in European funerary art.[140]

From 1787 the congregation of the New Jerusalem Church of Swedenborgians, followers of the mystic Emanuel Swedenborg, worshipped at the church of St. Mary the Less; in 1852 they moved to Park Lane, Norwich to establish the Swedenborgian Chapel.[141][142]

Riverside flats Norwich

See also List of parks, gardens and open spaces in Norwich

Chapelfield Gardens in central Norwich became the city's first public park in November 1880. From the start of the 20th century, Norwich Corporation, now Norwich City Council, began buying and leasing land to develop parks when funds became available. Sewell Park and James Stuart Gardens are examples of land donated by benefactors.

After World War I the corporation took advantage of government grants and made the decision to construct a series of formal parks as a means to alleviate unemployment. Under the guidance of Parks Superintendent Captain Sandys-Winsch[147] four parks were completed; Heigham Park (1924), Wensum Park (1925), Eaton Park (1928), Waterloo Park (1933). These parks retain many features from Sandys-Winsch's original plans and have been placed on the English Heritage Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest.[148]

As of 2015, the city has 23 parks, 95 open spaces and 59 natural areas managed by the local authority.[149] In addition, there are several privately owned gardens which are occasionally opened to the public in aid of charity[150] with the exception of the Plantation Garden[151] located close to the St John the Baptist Cathedral which opens daily.

Norwich Market With St Peter Mancroft church and the Sir Garnet public house in the background.

Norwich was the eighth most prosperous shopping destination in the UK in 2006.[176] Norwich has an ancient market place, established by the Normans between 1071 and 1074, which is today the largest six-days-a-week open-air market in England. In 2006, the market was downsized and redeveloped, and the new market stalls have proved controversial: with 20% less floor space than the original stalls, higher rental and other charges, and inadequate rainwater handling, which has been unpopular with many stallholders and customers alike. In 2007 the local Norwich Evening News characterised Norwich Market as an ongoing conflict between the market traders and Norwich City Council, which operates the market.[177]

The Castle Quarter, a shopping centre designed by the local practice Lambert, Scott & Innes and opened in 1993, presents an ingenious solution to the problem of accommodating new retail space in a historic city-centre environment — the building is largely concealed underground and built into the side of a hill, with a public park created on its roof in the area south of the castle.

A second shopping mall, Intu Chapelfield (formally known as Chapelfield) was opened in 2005 on the site of a closed Caley's (later Rowntree Mackintosh and Nestlé) chocolate factory. Chapelfield opened in September 2005, featuring as its flagship department store House of Fraser. Detractors have criticised Chapelfield as unnecessary and damaging to local businesses; its presence has prompted smaller retailers to band together to promote the virtues of independent shops. Despite this, in August 2006 it was reported by the Javelin Group that Norwich was one of the top five retail destinations in the UK,[178] and in October 2006 the city centre was voted the best in the UK, in a shopping satisfaction survey run by Goldfish Credit Card.[179]

A section of central Norwich, in an area approximately bounded by Bethel Street/Upper St Giles Street, Grapes Hill, St Benedict's and St Andrew's Hill/London Street/Castle Meadow, forms a quarter now known, and promoted, as Norwich Lanes. A series of mostly-pedestrianised small lanes, alleyways and streets, it is noted for its independent retailers, and eating and drinking establishments. The area also contains a number of the city's cultural attractions, including museums, theatres and other venues. As part of a nationwide drive to recognise the importance, and to maintain the character and individuality of Britain's high streets, Norwich Lanes was the Great British High Street Awards 2014 national winner in the "City" category.[180]

To the north of the city centre is the Anglia Square shopping centre. The centre and the surrounding area is to be redeveloped; demolition work was due to commence in 2010 after an archaeological dig (conducted in 2009 and due to the centre being located around the site of a Saxon fortified settlement). The new development is planned to be a mixture of shops and housing, unlike the original which consisted of offices, shops and a cinema.[181] In February 2009, it was announced that, due to the economic climate, plans for the area have been delayed and the developers are unable to say for certain when work will commence.[182]

In 2014, the centre was bought by investment manager Threadneedle Investments for £7.5 million.[183]

The current owners and their partner Weston Homes announced in November 2016, they have been holding talks with chief officers at Norwich City Hall. Plans submitted include the demolition of Anglia Square, the former stationery office and Gildengate House. More than 1000 homes are planned to be built above shop units and a new public square.[184][185]

In early 2018, Weston Homes and landowner Columbia Threadneedle submitted regeneration plans for the site. These include 1200 homes, major supermarket, hotel, green squares and central courtyards.[186]

Temporary electric street lighting in Norwich had started as early as 1881. The first permanent supply started in 1893 from a generating station in Duke Street. This supplied electricity to local industry and domestic users and, from 1900, the Norwich Electric Tramways. In the late 1920s a new 40 MW power station was built at Thorpe, this was expanded in 1937 with the addition of a 30 MW ‘high pressure’ generating plant. These power stations operated until 1975.  A gas turbine plant was installed in 1964 to provide power at times of peak demand. This closed in 1986 and the entire Thorpe power station site was demolished and cleared in 1981–1982. Two tall electricity pylons stood near the site until they were dismantled in 2017. For further details see Norwich power stations.

Norwich stands north of the A47 (bypassed to the south of the city), which connects it with Great Yarmouth to the east, and King’s Lynn and Peterborough to the west. There are plans to upgrade the A47, especially sections that are still single-carriageway, prompted partly by the ongoing construction of Great Yarmouth Outer Harbour. Norwich is linked to Cambridge via the A11, which leads to the M11 motorway for London and the M25. It is linked to Ipswich to the south by the A140 and to Lowestoft to the south-east by the A146. Norwich has the UK's largest independent car club.[187]

Norwich railway station

Norwich railway station lies east of Norwich city centre, and is managed by Greater Anglia. It forms the northern terminus of the Great Eastern Main Line with half-hourly services to London Liverpool Street hauled by Class 90 locomotives, and is also linked to the Midlands and North West England with hourly services to Liverpool Lime Street, operated by East Midlands Railway Class 158 DMUs via Peterborough, Nottingham, Sheffield and Manchester Piccadilly. Additional hourly regional services to Cambridge, and out of Norwich as far as Ely, are run along the Breckland Line also by Greater Anglia, which additionally runs hourly local services to Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft, using the Wherry Lines, and to Sheringham, using the Bittern Line. These all use either Class 156 or Class 170 DMUs. Norwich is the site of Crown Point TMD.[188]

Norwich bus station

The bus companies serving Norwich include BorderBus, First Norfolk & Suffolk, Konectbus and Sanders Coaches. Destinations throughout Norfolk and beyond are served, as are Peterborough and Lowestoft. National Express run ten coaches a day to the three main London airports (Stansted, Heathrow and Gatwick), five a day to London, and one a day to Birmingham. Megabus also operates a daily service to London. Most bus and coach services run from Norwich bus station or from Castle Meadow.

The Norwich park and ride network has six sites run by Konectbus. It is one of the larger UK park & ride operations.[189][190] Almost 5,000 parking spaces are provided, and in 2006 3.4 million passengers used the service.[191]

Norwich Airport is a feeder to KLM's Schiphol hub. FlyBe, Eastern Airways all serve Norwich. Through Bristow Helicopters Norwich airport serves the offshore oil and gas industry. There is a strong holiday charter flight business. The airport was originally the airfield of RAF Horsham St Faith. One of the old RAF hangars was once the home of Air UK, which grew out of Air Anglia and was then absorbed by the Dutch airline KLM.

Cycling

National Cycle Route 1 passes through Norwich, linking Beccles and Fakenham (and eventually Dover and the Shetland Islands).[192]

The River Yare is navigable from the sea at Great Yarmouth up to Trowse, south of the city. From there the River Wensum is navigable into Norwich up to New Mills, and is crossed by the Novi Sad Friendship Bridge. Scheduled trips through the city and out to the nearby The Broads are run by City Boats from outside Norwich station and also Elm Hill. In June 2012, Norwich City Council gave permission for punting on the River Wensum.[193]

In 2017 the first part of a new 12-mile (19 km) road, the Norwich Northern Distributor Road, linking from the A1067 to the north west of the city to the A47 road to the east of Norwich was opened. The remainder of the road opened in 2018. There is also discussion of building the Norwich Western Link section from the A1067 to the A47 southern bypass to the west, as originally proposed.[194]

Sustrans plans to build a bridge between the Riverside area and Whitlingham Country Park as part of the Connect2 project, using funds from the National Lottery. The country park is currently cut off from the main residential areas by the River Yare and River Wensum.[195]

Other proposals in the Norwich Transport Strategy include limiting traffic on some roads, introducing five rapid bus links into the city, and creating a train/tram link to the Rackheath eco-town.[196]

Sea fog clinging to the East Anglian coast, February 2008; Norwich is denoted by the yellow dot.

Norwich, like the rest of the British Isles, has a temperate maritime climate. It does not suffer extreme temperatures, and benefits from rainfall fairly evenly spread throughout the year. Coltishall, about 11 miles (18 km) to the north-east, was the nearest official met-office weather station for which records are available, although it ceased reporting in early 2006 – Norwich airport now provides readings. Norwich's position in East Anglia, jutting out into the North Sea can produce weather conditions that have less effect on other parts of the country, such as snow or sleet showers during the winter months on a northerly or easterly wind, or sea fog/haar during the summer half of the year. An example of Norwich being afflicted by sea fog is shown in the adjacent image.

The highest temperature recorded at Coltishall was 33.1 °C (91.6 °F)[197] during June 1976. However, go back further to 1932, and Norwich's absolute record high stands at 35.6 °C (96.1 °F).[198] Typically the warmest day of the year should reach 28.8 °C (83.8 °F)[199] and 9.9 days[200] should register a temperature of 25.1 °C (77.2 °F) or higher.

The lowest temperature recorded at Coltishall was −15.3 °C (4.5 °F)[201] during January 1979. In a typical year however, the coldest night should only fall to −7.5 °C (18.5 °F).[202] On average 39.4[203] air frosts will be recorded during the course of the year. More recently, the temperature at Norwich airport fell to −14.4 °C (6.1 °F)[204] on 18 December 2010 with unofficial weather stations reporting localised readings of −17 and −18 °C (1 and 0 °F).

The nearest sunshine monitoring weather station for which records are available is Morley agricultural research centre, about 11 miles (18 km) southwest of Norwich city centre. For the 1961–90 period, it averaged 1558 hours[205] of sunshine a year, a relatively high total for an inland part of the British Isles outside of southern England. In reality, given Norwich's position nearer to the coast and as such suffering from less convective cloud development during summer, true totals may even be slightly higher than this.

Rainfall, at around 650 mm (25 inches), is low, although as much as 100 mm (4 inches) higher than other, more sheltered parts of East Anglia, as Norwich is more prone to showers originating from the North Sea.[206]

Norwich has long been associated with radical politics, political dissent, liberalism, nonconformism and the arts. Past names associated with the city include:

• William Crotch (1775–1847), musical infant prodigy, composer, artist, and teacher
• Richard Lewis Hearne (Mr Pastry), (1908–1979), born in Norwich, actor, comedian, producer and writer
• Sir John Mills (1908–2005), actor born in North Elmham in Norfolk and educated at Norwich High School for Boys
• Thomas Morley (1558–1602), composer taught by William Byrd and organist at St Paul's
• Tony Sheridan (1940–2013), rock musician, born in Norwich

• Michael Andrews (1928–1995), painter
• Artists belonging to the Norwich School of painters, including John Crome (1768–1821), Joseph Stannard (1797–1830), John Sell Cotman (1782–1842), John Berney Crome (1794–1842) and James Sillett
• Bernard Meadows (1915–2005), modernist sculptor
• Thomas Rawlins (1727–1789) Monument Mason with works in several Norwich churches
• Obadiah Short (1803–1886), an amateur landscape artist and a member of the Norwich School of painters

• Louisa Sewell Abbs (née Skipper) (1811–1872), founder of girls' boarding schools in Travancore, India, who established the lace-making and embroidery industries there
• Joseph John Gurney (1788–1847), banker and philanthropist who worked with his sister Elizabeth Fry (see above) on prison reform, and also active on abolition of the slave trade and in the temperance movement

• Jasper Blaxland (1880–1963), consultant surgeon at the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital
• Edith Cavell (1865–1915), born in Swardeston, 4 miles (6.4 km) south of Norwich, a World War I nurse executed by firing squad by the Germans for helping Allied prisoners escape, and buried on Life's Green on the east side of Norwich Cathedral
• William Cuningham, Elizabethan physician, cartographer and astrologer

• William Jackson Hooker (1785–1865), botanist and Fellow of the Royal Society
• Sir James Edward Smith (1759–1828), botanist, natural historian and one-time owner of the Linnean collection of Carl Linnaeus

• Tristan Ballance (1916–1943), cricketer
• Billy Bluelight (1859/1863?–1949), pseudonym of William Cullum, known for his races against steam pleasure boats
• Geoffrey Colman (1892–1935), first-class cricketer and member of the Colman family
• Sir George Henry Morse (1857–1931), mountaineer and lord mayor of Norwich[207]
• Ayrton Senna (1960–1994), racing driver; he lived in Norwich in the early 1980s

• Rev. John Abbs (1810–1888), missionary and author of Twenty-Two years' Missionary Experience in Travancore
• Sarah Austin (1793–1867), translator from German and editor, born in Norwich
• Frances Catherine Barnard (1796–1869), author
• Carol Barnes (1944–2008), journalist and broadcaster, born in Norwich[208]
• Pat Barr (1934–2018), writer, born in Norwich[209]
• Elizabeth Bentley (1767–1839), author of "Tales for Children in Verse", lived at 45 St Stephen's Square
• George Borrow (1803–1881), writer and traveller, resident in his youth at Willow Lane, who attended the Norwich King Edward VI's Grammar School. He recalls the city and conversations with the philologist William Taylor in his semi-autobiographical novel Lavengro
• Sir Thomas Browne (1605–1682), medical doctor, scientist, Christian mystic, polymath, author of acclaimed works in English literature
• Robert Greene (1558–1592), author of Friar Bacon and Friar Bungay (c. 1590)
• Louisa Gurney Hoare, (1784–1836), diarist and writer on education
• Julian of Norwich, medieval Christian mystic and contemporary of Chaucer, author of The Revelations of Divine Love, the first known book in English written by a woman
• Harriet Martineau (1802–1876), daughter of a Norwich manufacturer of Huguenot descent and devout Unitarian, whose writings include Illustrations of Political Economy (1832–34). She supported the abolitionist campaign
• R. H. Mottram (1883–1971), novelist and lord mayor of Norwich
• Ross Nichols (1902–1975), poet and founder of Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids
• Amelia Opie (1769–1853), Norwich author and Quaker convert
• Elizabeth Scott (hymnwriter) (1708–1776), poet, hymnwriter
• W. G. Sebald, (1944–2001), writer, professor of German literature at the University of East Anglia
• John Palgrave Simpson (1807–1887), born in Norwich, a prolific and successful playwright

• William Calthorpe, purchased Erpingham manor in St.Martin's at the Palace, Norwich in 1447
• Vernon Castle (1887–1918), ballroom dancer and promoter of modern dancing
• Sir Thomas Erpingham (1357–1428), officer in the Battle of Agincourt and Knight of the Garter
• Pablo Fanque (1796–1871), the first black circus proprietor in Britain, born in Norwich
• Elizabeth Fry (1780–1845), prison reformer, philanthropist and Quaker, born at Gurney Court in Magdalen Street, portrayed on the Series E (2005) £5 banknote
• Sir Vyvyan Holt (1896–1960), diplomat, orientalist and British minister, captured during the Korean War
• Robert William Bilton Hornby (1821–1884), antiquarian, priest and lord of the manor, from the City of York, ordained deacon in Norwich in 1844
• Robert Kett, Norwich's Robin Hood, a landowner from Wymondham who led Kett's Rebellion in 1549 against corrupt Norfolk landowners. He was hanged for treason at Norwich Castle on 7 December 1549
• Alfred Lungley (1905–1989), awarded the George Cross after the 1935 Quetta earthquake
• Louis Marchesi (1898–1968), founder in Norwich, in 1927, of the international charitable organisation the Round Table
• James Martineau (1805–1900), philosopher and brother to Harriet
• Matthew Parker (1504–1575), archbishop of Canterbury
• Edmund Sheffield, 1st Baron Sheffield (1521–1549), murdered near the Adam and Eve pub off the Cathedral Close during Kett's Rebellion
• George Skipper (1856–1948), architect of many buildings in the city and elsewhere
• William Smith (1756–1835), Whig politician, dissenter and abolitionist, MP for Norwich from 1807

• Dominic Byrne (born 1972 in Norwich), newsreader and presenter on The Chris Moyles Show (BBC Radio 1 – 2004–2012) (Radio X – 2015)
• Sam Claflin, actor famous for Finnick in The Hunger Games, born 1986 in Norwich and attended Costessey High School (now Ormiston Victory Academy)
• Olivia Colman, Academy Award-winning actress, born 1974 in Norwich
• Stephen Fry (born 1957), comedian, author, actor and film maker, studied at City College Norwich, a Norwich City F.C. director
• Trisha Goddard (born 1957), chat show host, lives just outside the city
• Jake Humphrey (born 1978), TV presenter for CBBC and BBC coverage of Formula One, moved to Norwich aged nine and attended the Hewett School
• Marek Larwood, actor and comedian, was born 1976 in Norwich
• Jon Tickle (born 1974, Norwich), contestant on Big Brother and presenter on Brainiac: Science Abuse
• Tim Westwood (born 1957), BBC Radio 1 Rap DJ and presenter of the MTV show "Pimp My Ride (UK)", grew up in East Anglia and attended Norwich School and the Hewett School

• Tanya Burr (born 1989), make-up artist on YouTube
• Samantha Chapman (born 1977), make-up artist who has worked with the likes of Paul McCartney
• Colin Self (born 1941), contemporary artist, was brought up in Sprowston and attended Norwich School of Art
• Stella Vine (born 1969), painter, lived in Norwich from aged seven, and played at Norwich Theatre Royal. Later she moved back to Norwich and painted the large sign Welcome to Norwich a fine city (2006)[210]

• Diana Burrell, composer, born 1948 in Norwich
• Cathy Dennis, singer-songwriter, born 1969 in Norwich
• Hannah Diamond, PC Music singer-songwriter, born 1991 in Norwich
• Myleene Klass (born 1978), singer, model, designer and classical music DJ, formerly of pop band Hear'Say, went to school in Norwich
• Jane Manning, opera soprano, was born 1938 and raised in Norwich, and attended Norwich High School
• Beth Orton, award-winning singer-songwriter, was born 1970 in Dereham, spent much of her childhood in Norwich, and attended The Hewett School
• Steve Osborne (born 1963), musician and record producer, grew up in Norwich, left in 1986
• Ronan Parke (born 1998), singer, came second in Britain's Got Talent 2011

• Ed Balls, former Labour Party MP, born 1967 in Norwich
• Charles Clarke (born 1950), former Labour MP for Norwich South and Home Secretary, now visiting professor at University of East Anglia

• Andrew Digby, astronomer and ecologist, born 1975 in Norwich
• Jess French, zoologist, naturalist and presenter of "Minibeast Adventure with Jess" on the Cbeebies channel, grew up around Norwich and attended Norwich School
• Mike Gascoyne (born 1963), automotive engineer, technical director of the Caterham Formula One team
• Professor Sir Paul Nurse, winner of the 2001 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, president of the Royal Society from 2010, was born 1949 in Norwich and educated at University of East Anglia

• Saraya-Jade Bevis, professional wrestler born 1992 and raised in Norwich, signed to WWE, performing as "Paige"
• Todd Cantwell, professional footballer playing for Norwich City FC and the England U21s
• Will Evans (born 1997), rugby union player for Leicester Tigers
• Ralph Firman, Formula One driver, born 1975 in Norwich and living in Attleborough. Races in A1 Grand Prix series for Ireland
• Herbie Hide (born 1971), boxer, two-time WBO Heavyweight champion, was born in Nigeria, but lived and fought out of Norwich
• Danny Mills, (born 1977), footballer, was born in Norwich and played for Norwich City 1995–1998
• Emma Pooley (born 1982), Olympic cycling silver medallist and winner of 2009 Women's Tour de France, attended Norwich School
• Darren Webster, (born 1968), PDC professional darts player and two-time quarter-finalist World Championship quarter-finalist
• Mark Robinson, (born 1963), PDC professional darts player
• Chris Sutton (born 1973), football player (striker), joint top scorer for Premier League in 1997/8, attended Hellesdon High School, where father, Mike Sutton, taught
• Paul Warne (born 1973), former professional footballer and manager of Rotherham United F.C. (2016–present), born in Norwich
• Eileen Whelan (born 1911), the oldest ever international cricketer, and Norwich resident[211]
• Tom Youngs (born 1987, Norwich), rugby union player, hooker for Leicester Tigers and England

• Stuart Ashen (born 1976), reviewer, comedian, animator, actor and writer
• Sir Philip Pullman, children's writer, author of the His Dark Materials trilogy, was born in Norwich in 1946
• D. J. Taylor (born 1960), biographer, critic, novelist

• Martin Burgess (born 1931), builder of Gurney Clock in the Castle Mall
• David Perry (born 1942), street entertainer known as the Norwich Puppet Man
• Delia Smith (born 1941), celebrity chef and joint majority owner of Norwich City F.C.

• Ove Fundin.
• Colin Self.
• Arthur Miller.
• Sir Robert and Lady Sainsbury.

• 1st East Anglian Regiment: 1964.
• 1st Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment: 1984.[216]
• RAF Marham: 2008.
• 2nd Air Division, USAAF Association.
• Norfolk Constabulary.

• Anglia TV.
• Norwich City Football Club: 2002.
• Norwich Union
• The Jarrold Group: June 2020. [217]

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