Norwich, the Capital of Norfolk

Norwich, the Capital of Norfolk

If you look to the East of England you will find, nestled amongst the country charms and gentle landscape of Norfolk, the city of Norwich. It is the very heart of the county and regularly draws residents of East Anglia from far and wide due to its variety and individuality.
Norwich began as a small Saxon settlement that gradually grew up around a huge double bend in the river, which acted as a natural defence for the city. In time it grew rapidly into a substantial town, probably due to its situation on the river, which allowed goods to be easily transported.
In 1004 the Danes attacked and burned Norwich (an easy task because all the houses were wooden and thatched at the time). However the city was soon rebuilt and flourished once again. The Danes left many place names in the city, for example the street name ‘Pottergate’ comes from the Danish word ‘gata’ meaning street, and ‘Potter gata’ was the street where many potters lived and worked at the time.
Norwich continued to grow rapidly. However in the 16th century it had to endure many problems. In 1579 there was an outbreak of plague, which may have killed a third of the population of Norwich at the time, about 5,000 people. However Norwich soon recovered, as there were always plenty of poor people in the surrounding county eager to come to the town in the hope of getting work.
Norwich continued to grow and remained one of the largest towns in Britain until settlements in the North and the Midlands began to grow rapidly in the 19th century. Like all 19th century towns, Norwich was dirty, overcrowded and unsanitary. There were several outbreaks of smallpox, typhoid, cholera and diphtheria during the century; in 1819 there were 530 deaths from smallpox alone.
Despite this, conditions soon improved and a dispensary where the poor could obtain free medicines was set up. Two years later a group of men called the Improvement Commissioners were formed to pave, clean and light the streets of Norwich. Since then the city has continued to grow and has constantly adapted to ways of modern day life as we know it today.
Despite being an old and historic city at heart, many parts of the city have been brought right up-to-date to expand the services offered. And the new architecture is as impressive as the old; from the Forum library with its huge glass front to the brand new Chapelfield Shopping Mall, which increases Norwich’s status as a great city for shopping facilities as well as looking impressive.
The library was opened in 2001 and replaced the old Norwich central library which burnt down in 1994. This fire was the worst British library fire to date and ruined thousands of historic documents and books as well as destroying the building. The library had to be demolished and was replaced seven years later by the £63.5 million state of the art ‘Forum’ library.
As with any old city, Norwich has it’s very own impressive array of historic buildings, the two best-known being Norwich Castle and Norwich Cathedral. The Castle was built by the Normans as a Royal Palace 900 years ago and, despite requiring some restoration work, is completely intact and is also the cities largest museum. It’s single imposing square structure stands proud over the skyline of the city and offers excellent views in all directions.
The Cathedral is another impressive Norman building, started in 1096 and finished five years later in 1101. The stone that it is built from was brought all the way from Caen in France and a small canal was built especially to transport it from the river to the site of the cathedral. The spire is remarkable and is the second highest in the country (after Salisbury Cathedral). The peaceful and tranquil grounds are refreshing and the vast cloisters are well worth a look and are, again, the second largest in the country.
Norwich is also renowned for its huge number of churches; at one time there were enough churches for each week of the year. This figure is only to be beaten by the number of pubs and inns; at one time there were enough for one each day of the year!
Norwich’s oldest pub (dating back to 1248) is the Adam & Eve inn found on Bishopgate. It is a very quaint little pub with low ceilings, and interesting nooks and crannies. Also, according to certain tales, it is host to various ghosts.
Another pub worth a look is the Murderer’s on Timberhill. Unsurprisingly, it is so called because a murder took place here hundreds of years ago. Apparently it was also very popular with 18th century prostitutes. Nowadays however it welcomes anyone and is full of character, with original oak beams that add to the atmosphere.
A third inn that had historical interest was the Briton’s Arms at the end of the winding and cobbled Elm Hill. The original elm tree from which the street gained its name grew outside the Briton’s Arms and although lots has changed and the pub is now a coffee house and the tree is no longer there, Elm Hill still retains its Tudor magic and charm. Many of the buildings in the street are genuine Tudor houses and in fact today there are more Tudor houses in Elm Hill then there are in the entire City of London!
But behind its quaint charm and beauty, there are many ghost stories linked with Elm Hill. One such tale is that of a man trapped in his burning house during the great fire of 1507. Despite managing to lower his wife and children to safety he was overcome by smoke before he was able to make his own escape and choked to death. After a while new houses occupied the old plots and the owners of the new houses where the man died began hearing strange noises and footsteps coming from the room upstairs. Today the building is the Strangers Club and the upstairs room is used as a snooker room. Even now, when the club is closed, staff will report hearing the sound of ghostly footsteps walking on the wooden floor upstairs. However, whenever they go up to investigate all they find is an empty room.
Despite holding some chilling pasts Norwich has also been home to some well known figures. Admiral Lord Nelson was born in Norfolk and was educated at the Norwich School, within the grounds of the Cathedral. Also Edith Cavell, a nurse during the First World War was born near Norwich. She was eventually caught helping British soldiers escape and was shot by a German firing squad at the age of 49.
More recent ‘celebrities’ linked with Norwich include Stephen Fry, Steve Coogan’s comedy alter ego Alan Partridge, and Delia Smith; a well respected chef, and majority shareholder of Norwich City Football Club.
The football club is well known by their nickname the ‘Canaries’. This came about from late in the 16th century when weavers came to Norwich fleeing persecution because of their religion in the Netherlands. They brought their canaries with them and before long the people of Norwich began rearing canaries as a hobby. 18th century Norwich was famous for it’s canaries and the small yellow birds became the football clubs nickname and emblem.
The football team’s nickname is just one example of how the past of this delightful old city has shaped the current. And Norwich’s character and wonder is easily found once you look beyond the polished modern buildings. Thankfully no one is attempting to conceal Norwich’s wonderfully rich history, despite the impressive new additions to the city. And it is the mix of these two things, the past and the present, that make Norwich the deserved capital of Norfolk.