Norwich a place of soaring spires, pub fires. Of rebels and rebellions, of sanctuary and faith. Its pie and mash on the 900-year old market and stranger’s becoming friends. Norwich is the most complete medieval city in England.

The history of Norwich

Iron Age

During the Roman conquest of Britain the Celtic Iceni tribe occupied East Anglia. Boudicca, a fiercely strong, independent woman led an uprising against the Romans which sadly failed. The Romans established the regional capital of Venta Icenorum on the River Tas (a few miles south of Norwich). The ruins of this site can be explored at Caistor St. Edmund, which forms part of the Boudicca Way – a 36 mile footpath from Norwich to Diss.

A few hundred years later, Anglo-Saxon ‘Norvic’ had formed around the confluence of the Rivers Wensum and Yare. By 575AD King Uffa had made Norvic a royal city and capital of East Anglia with its own mint. Saxon Norvic centred around Tombland, meaning ‘open space’ which is where the marketplace was located. Today this area is called The Cathedral Quarter.

The Danes arrived on our eastern shores and in 869AD killed Edmund, the last King of the Angles. The Danes settled in large numbers and grew further through marriage. Their influence remains today in place names such as Pottergate and Finkelgate in the Norwich Lanes. Across Norfolk you can find place names of Viking origin.

The Normans

The Norman Conquest of 1066 saw the invading forces establish their authority by building a Royal castle, clearing the original Saxon area of housing in the centre of the city to construct a mound. The original castle was made of wood, although it was replaced by a stone building in around 1100. It was held on behalf of William the Conqueror by the Earl of Norwich. Under the Normans, Norwich steadily grew to become an important medieval city. In 1345 the King gave the castle to the city and it became the county gaol, with regular hangings outside. In 1549 Robert Kett, leader of a rebellion against the enclosure of common lands, was hung in chains from the walls.

In 1894 the newly converted Castle Museum & Art Gallery opened and remains to this day.
The construction of Norwich Cathedral began around the same time as the Norwich Castle and was an enormous undertaking. A canal was dug from the River Wensum at Pull’s Ferry to bring in limestone from Caen in Normandy. It took 200 years to complete the build. Norwich Cathedral boasts a glorious 96m high spire (second only to Salisbury) and also has the largest monastic cloisters in the country, housing more than 1,000 beautiful medieval roof boss sculptures.

It was the Normans who moved the Saxon marketplace in 1075 to the Mancroft area, where it has endured in the heart of the city for 900 years. Norwich Market is one of the largest and oldest open-air markets in the country with nearly 200 diverse stalls. It recently won the accolade ‘Best Outdoor Market’ in the UK for 2019.

Medieval Norwich

Medieval Norwich thrived, becoming the second city in the UK only to London. A wealth of medieval buildings were constructed such as the Guildhall, Dragon Hall, Strangers’ Hall and St.Andrew’s Hall. The Museum of Norwich at the Bridewell was originally a merchant’s house in 1345 and later became the Bridewell – a ‘house of correction’ for women and vagrants. Today, as a museum, it tells the story of the city and its people. Find housing exhibits of local industries from the textile trade, shoes, chocolate and most famously – Colman’s mustard.

The medieval city walls were begun in 1297 and encircled 2.5 miles of the city, with 12 defensive gates fortified with great catapults. The ruins of the walls can still be seen today.

Norwich has long had ancient bonds with the Netherlands, which flourished through trade and cultural exchange during the sixteenth century. The persecution of Protestants in the Spanish Netherlands led to the Norwich authorities endorsing immigration to Norwich. These refugees from Europe were known as ‘Strangers’, and were mostly weavers bringing their valuable skills with them. They also brought us the infamous yellow canaries.

The Georgian and Victorian eras

The city transformed rapidly in the Georgian and Victorian eras, with enormous expansion of the city. During the 1700’s, a Cattle Market was established around the Norwich Castle Mound, and the banking and insurance industries began to emerge with force in the city. With the population of the city growing in the 19th century, massive slum clearance was undertaken and Victorian terraced housing was introduced. The Royal Arcade was opened in 1899 – a beautiful ornate covered shopping street, designed by George Skipper in the Art Nouveau style. A thriving shoe industry established and new ventures, such as Colman’s Mustard, became enduring legacies of Victorian Norwich.

20th and 21st Century Norwich

Through the 20th century and to the present day, Norwich has continued to evolve. The 1930s saw the building of the revolutionary Art Deco City Hall overlooking the marketplace, and in 1963 the University of East Anglia (UEA) admitted its first students. The UEA brought more extraordinary architecture to Norwich, in the pyramidal shape of Denys Lasdun’s ‘ziggurats’. This was followed by the striking structure of the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts, designed in the 1970s by Norman Foster – his first commercial building and now with listed status. In 1988, in a move to protect one of the area’s greatest natural assets, the Norfolk Broads became a national park. As the 21st century got underway, the landmark Forum building, housing the Millennium Library and much more, was opened in the centre of Norwich. In 2012, Norwich became England’s first UNESCO City of Literature, thanks to the city’s long literary history: from Julian of Norwich, the first woman to be published in English in the 14th century, to the establishing of the first Creative Writing Masters at UEA, with graduates including Ian McEwan, Anne Enwright and Kazuo Ishiguro.

Norwich has something on offer for everyone with it being the most complete medieval city in the UK. It has a flourishing arts, music and cultural scene, superb independent as well as High Street shopping, lively restaurants, bars and nightlife and a heritage that is a delight to explore.

The only National Park with a city in it!

I’d like to think that Norfolk is most famous for it’s amazing football team, The Canaries, however most ‘normal’ people believe Norfolk is possibly most famous for the man-made Broads, over 125 miles of navigable lock-free waterways set in beautiful countryside and with many charming and picturesque towns and villages. The Broads, a National Park, offers visitors an experience unlike any other, both on its rivers and lakes, and alongside them, on peaceful paths and cycle ways.

The big skies and sparkling landscape of marshland fields, feathery reeds and tangled woodlands are a perfect canvas for adventure and relaxation - time to reflect, space to explore, a magical opportunity to enjoy a fabulous break.

This is the Venice of the East – in fact, the Norfolk Broads has more miles of waterway than the Italian city! It also has more waterways than Amsterdam!

The Broads National Park offers visitors an experience unlike any other, both on its rivers and lakes, and alongside them, on peaceful paths and cycle ways.

Without a doubt, the best way to discover the Broads is by boat. So much of the Broads can't be reached by road that days - and nights - afloat become a real adventure, with hidden places, perfect fishing spots and close encounters with wildlife at every turn.

The famous Broads motor cruisers have been holiday favourites since the 1930s, and today’s boats have all the comforts of home on board, so even if you prefer to visit during the quieter, cooler months, you'll have a cosy base for your explorations.

With fresh air, sparkling water and wide horizons by day, and wonderfully dark, starry nights, a boating holiday on the Broads is an unforgettable experience.

There are plenty of places along the meandering waterways for you to moor up and hop out to explore pretty villages and market towns, or to stop at a welcoming pub.

North Norfolk is renowned for its spectacular coastline, fantastic wildlife, miles of glorious beaches, seaside communities and a beautiful hinterland of rolling countryside and picturesque market towns and villages. North Norfolk must be the birdwatching capital of the UK, and you can even take a boat trip to see the seal colony at Blakeney Point.

Famous as a family holiday destination, visitors have been coming to Great Yarmouth since the late 1700s, bursting with fun things to do, arcades, rides and attractions stretching along the fabled Golden Mile and the huge expanse of pristine beach. The town itself has a fabulous maritime heritage and a port famous for once being the hub of the herring industry.

South Norfolk has some of the county's most scenic and peaceful countryside, with winding lanes, thatched cottages, welcoming pubs and picturesque villages and market towns. South Norfolk has excellent long and short distance walking and cycling routes, and there's a lot to do for outdoor enthusiasts, anglers and nature-lovers.

There are around 550 square miles of West Norfolk and every single one of them has something to surprise, inspire and delight, ranging from the wetlands of The Fens to glorious sandy beaches. The historic medieval port of King's Lynn has a wealth of stunning buildings heritage museums and attractions for all the family and family-friendly Hunstanton is the only seaside resort on the east coast that faces west.