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Castle Meadow view of Castle COLOUR [0757] 1935-09-14
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Castle Meadow view of castle mound COLOUR [2965]
1939-04-16
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Keep from castle bridge [B160] 1931-00-00
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Keep south side from horse fair ground [B225]
1932-03-28
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Lodge gates to castle bridge [B162] 1931-00-00
"On the Conqueror's motte (its horseshoe bailey
represented by the upper part of the Castle Mall) stands
the keep of Norwich Castle, which, from resemblances to
Falaise, must be one of the few due to Henry I (c.1130).
Though refaced in 1834-9 and gutted, its competent design
forms an important link in the development of
forebuildings and subsidiary chambers. The latter were to
be placed at the four corners, each carried on a diagonal
arch, but during the progress of the works the addition
of a forebuilding and stairs on external arches produced
three ‘triangular' rooms on the west and none on the
east, and there are only slight remains of all the
diagonal arches. It was a royal castle planned for a
large garrison. The modern floor-level comes halfway up
the storage basement. The main floor, corresponding to
the two lower tiers of the arcading outside, was at the
level of the present gallery, and contained the soldiers'
Hall and the knights' Chamber south of it separated by a
wall in place of the modern arcade. Each is supplied on
the west by a group of four latrines, separating the
Kitchen, with the fireplace in the north-west angle
blocking an abandoned stairs. Pantry, formerly with round
water tanks and wooden overflow pipe, and Governor's
room, with private stairs to all levels in the south-west
angle. The service stairs are in the north-east angle
next the entrance doorway, whose richness can only be
seen from a room in the forebuilding, once the vestibule
at the head of the destroyed entrance stairs. At the east
of the Chamber and overlooking these stairs were the
postern door, Constable's Room and Chapel (with a north
aisle and the apse askew in the south-east angle),
forming part of a four-storeyed block. Below, and in
charge of the Constable, were the prisons; above were the
Guard Room and chapel triforium supporting a Watch Room
with three windows and an escape door in the gable-end.
The two main rooms were lit by the triforium windows,
connected by the wall-passage which formed a fighting
gallery all round the keep. It probably continued along
the spine wall to link marshalling platforms (over the
west rooms) with the postern by stairs. The Guard Room
consequently had access in five directions. The Chamber
has a fireplace and sink, contained the well and like the
Hall had a row of arches below to carry the floor. The
adaptation of the design later in Castle Rising keep
supplied clues to missing parts at Norwich. Of the
buildings round the inner ward, and of the
thirteenth-century curtain wall, which replaced a wooden
palisade, only the base of the gatehouse survives at the
head of the partly Norman bridge. The outer bailey ditch
100 feet wide was seen in 1938 rather inside Harrod's
suggested position. Subsequently the castle served as a
prison until 1887, after which the prison buildings were
converted into a museum." (A.B.Whittingham in The
Archaeological Journal Vol.CVI, 1949).
The Motte or Mound was built by the Normans. The original
Castle, probably of wood, was replaced by one of stone
c1130. Of this, the shell of the Keep, together with the
base of the Gatehouse and the partly-Norman bridge
survive. In 1340 it was handed over to the County Sheriff
to become a Common Prison, but it remained Royal property
until 1806 when transferred to the County. The exterior
was refaced in 1834-39 by the architect Salvin. The
building continued in use as a penitentiary until 1887
after which, on September 12th, the Corporation of
Norwich took formal possession. It was purchased for the
nominal sum of £4,000. The cost of conversion into a
museum was about £22,000 defrayed in part by a gift of
£5,000 by the late Mr John Gurney. |
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Gatehouse turret base west side of bridge [4645]
1961-09-03
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Bridge over inner ditch east side [4644] 1961-09-03
Partly Norman. Refaced 19c. |
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Bridge over inner ditch illuminated [2827] 1938-10-28
Floodlit during Civic Week, 1938. |
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Bridge over inner ditch illuminated [2828] 1938-10-28
Floodlit during Civic Week, 1938. |
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Keep south side Jubilee floodlit [0532] 1935-05-05
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Keep south side [2193] 1938-03-21
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Time ball on battlements NW corner [2349] 1938-04-18
A month before the arrival of the City Hall bell in 1938
the time ball on the battlements of the Castle, made
redundant by time signals broadcast over the radio, had
been dismantled. It had been used for the first time on
10th August 1900, much against the wishes of the museum
curator, James Reeve, who feared that the daily
detonations might endanger the structure. Exploded
electrically from Greenwich, it worked by electro-magnet
and detonator, with the current coming via the GPO. Its
operation necessitated an attendant climbing up daily to
rehoist it, a duty carried out some years before his
death in 1934 by Arthur Harmer. A man of many parts,
Arthur was also caretaker of Churchman House, city
mortuary keeper and one of the liveried attendants
accompanying the Lord Mayor when he travelled in the
civic coach to official functions. |
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Time ball on battlements [2350] 1938-04-18
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Bigod's Tower original entrance Keep E side [4390]
1955-09-24
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Gallery exterior former prison building [4391]
1955-09-24
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Keep west side blind arches [4669] 1962-06-11
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Bigod's Tower 12c Norman entrance arch [6024]
1979-07-26
Original 12c entrance to the Keep in the Bigod Tower. One
of the finest surviving pieces of secular Norman
architecture in the country. |
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Bigod's Tower entrance smaller arch [6048] 1979-09-01
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Keep 900th anniversary candle decoration [7138]
1994-07-08
9 candles. |
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Keep interior north side African spears [B226]
1932-03-28
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Keep interior NE corner [B227] 1932-03-28
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Keep interior SE corner snapdragon [B228] 1932-03-28
A relic of corporation pageantry. |
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Keep interior south gallery Egyptian mummy [B229]
1932-03-28
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Keep interior east gallery Japanese armour [B230]
1932-03-28
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Keep interior elephant's head and leg bones [B231]
1932-03-28
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Keep interior Bengal tiger [B255] 1932-05-00
Given by King George V who shot it at the Coronation
Durbar of 1911. |
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Keep interior elephant's head and leg bones [B256]
1932-05-00
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Keep interior west side [B545] 1933-04-17
Used as a museum since 1894. |
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Keep interior NW corner [B546] 1933-04-17
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Keep interior early 16c door [2162] 1938-03-13
Early 16c. Orginally from the Prior of Walsingham's town
house near St George Colegate and later transferred to
the Prior of Ixworth's house St Clement's Alley. |
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Keep interior St Vedast churchyard cross [2185]
1938-03-19
A plaque in St Vedast St at the southern end of Rose Lane
marks the site of the pre-Conquest church of that name.
Here, built into the angle of a house, was discovered a
large stone of apparent antiquity. In 1896 the house was
pulled down to widen the street, and the opportunity was
then taken to investigate the stone. After the removal of
several coats of whitewash and paint, long-hidden designs
were partially revealed on two of its sides. Dr Browne,
then Bishop of Stepney and a leading authority on such
matters, happened to be in Norwich at this time and he
considered it to be probably a portion of a churchyard
cross of Scandinavian type of about 920 AD. An
illustrated paper on the subject by the Rev William
Hudson was published in Norfolk Archaeology
Vol.13; the stone itself was presented to the Norwich
Castle museum by its purchaser Mr F.B.Crowe. |
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Keep interior Golden Eagle and Pearl sign [2362]
1938-04-23
Shop sign formerly above Bonser's, Davey Place. |
Norwich Castle
