Norwich

Today we decided to visit historical Norwich, which has a cathedral, castle, and various historical buildings and other areas dotted around. We’re within walking distance of the city centre, but Sattie decided to take us on a long, rambling route, which did take us along the river Wensum as far as possible, which was picturesque.

A historical wall

First up was the cathedral, which has a very tall spire which you may be familiar with on the logo for Aviva (formerly Norwich Union). We toured the inside of the cathedral, which has many interesting features, including the Edith Cavell grave. The architecture is splendid, with high vaulted ceilings and stained glass galore. There is also a carving of Thomas Gooding’s skeleton with a warning: 

All you that do this place pass bye,

Remember death for you shall dye,

As you are now then so was I,

And as I am so shall you be, 

Thomas Gooding here do stay,

Wayting for God's judgement day

A secret staircase...

...leading to the Cup Room

In the cloisters, a local school was rehearsing their open-air production of Macbeth. They were all wearing battledress and toting machine guns, so I’m guessing they’re doing one of those “updated” versions. There were notices around the place showing how the Norfolk constabulary had licensed them to use toy guns, so the public wouldn’t be alarmed. We stopped for a cup of tea in the café, then headed round the corner to have a look at the castle before lunch.

The castle is currently undergoing renovations. We ascended to the temporary entrance, there to be greeted by an employee who told us we could go in and see the art gallery, but all the medieval stuff wasn’t currently available. This was disappointing, so we headed back down and started to look for the Museum of Norwich, which the castle guide had recommended instead. Along the way we were distracted by the art nouveau frontage of the Royal Arcade, and went to have a closer look. On examination, we found it included a café called Marmalades, and decided to have lunch there. 

We carried on and managed to find the museum, which had hidden its entrance around two corners, and learned all about the history of Norwich, mostly from the Middle Ages onwards and concentrating on the industrial heritage of the town – it used to be England’s second city, and a major producer and exporter of worsted wool, and later fashions and shoes. Nowadays it’s less based on manufacturing, but is still a major centre for insurance.

Buoyed by this success, we decided to try another historic place, Hungate Medieval Art. Despite having a sign outside which assured us they were open Thursday to Saturday, 10:00 to 16:00, it was very firmly locked up and closed. Bah!

Never mind… we continued on to the Strangers’ Hall. “Strangers” was an epithet applied to Dutch and Belgian immigrants who moved to Norwich, escaping religious persecution and also helping to revive the textile industry, which had been severely blighted after fires in the 16^th century. Unfortunately, it was closed, because it’s not “high season” yet. Apparently summer doesn’t begin until 27^th July in Norwich. 

Strangers' Hall

That’s a 40% strike rate, with three out of five places closed. Ho hum. Tomorrow, we’ll be out of town again, looking north to Blickling Hall and North coast of Norfolk. Wish us luck!