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Bassingham Gate on south side [0116] 1934-06-09
Formerly entrance to house of John Bassingham, a
goldsmith, at 57-59 London St and dating from the reign
of Henry VIII. It was bought for £12 by William Wilde
when London St was widened in 1855-7 and inserted here at
the Magistrates' entrance to the Guildhall. |
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Market Place Guildhall east side [0299] 1934-09-23
Municipal offices until 1938. The annexe to the south was
reconstructed in 1861 for the Town Clerk's and Police
departments. |
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South side from Gaol Hill [0300] 1934-09-23
Occupying the site of a humble thatched Tolhouse, Norwich
Guildhall was built in 1407-13 in order that the larger
self-governing powers conferred under the Charter of 1404
might be administered the more conveniently. In 1412
prisoners first occupied the crypts; that to the east - a
relic of the old Tolhouse with its 14c brick groining
-holding the most desperate cases. Two towers of timber
and tile construction, on the north and south sides
respectively, were destroyed when the roof of the Council
Chamber collapsed in 1511. By 1534 the new Mayor's
Council Chamber was completed, and today form the most
beautiful part. Its eastern face exhibits a particularly
fine example of contemporary chequered flint work and
freestone, and has a central panel containing a fragment
of the Arms of Henry VIII, flanked by two others
containing (north) the City Arms, and (south) those of St
George's Company. Within the Council Chamber is to be
seen an open timber roof with panels and pendants, and
the seating arrangement, with linen-fold panelling,
carved shields of arms and quaint poppy-heads,
exemplifies a Tudor Court of Justice. Many of the
fragments of 15th and 16c stained glass in three windows
came from the adjoining chapel of St Barbara, destroyed
in 1625.
Civic affairs were conducted here until 1938, when a new
City Hall was opened. However, Magistrates' Courts
continued to be held in the old Common Council Chamber,
which, with the Sessions Court below (formerly the
Sheriff' Court) contained work of the 18c, notably a
pillared doorway in the former, and the Judge's seat and
railings in the latter. The Civic Regalia (now in the
Castle museum) and many portraits of past Mayors,
Recorders, and other local benefactors used to be housed
in the Guildhall. These included Sir Edward Coke
(1552-1634); Augustine Steward (who was largely
responsible for the reconstruction of the Guildhall in
1534; he was M.P. in 1547 and thrice Mayor); Archbishop
Parker (1504-1575); and full-length studies by Heins of
Thomas Emerson (who presented the Sheriff's Chains in
1739) and Sir Benjamin Wrench, an eminent physician of
the 18c. Many of these are now in Blackfriars Hall.
The additions to the south side were built in 1861 by
Thomas Barry, the City Surveyor. |
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East front floodlit [0315] 1934-11-20
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South side floodlit from Gaol Hill [0319] 1934-11-26
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East front Jubilee floodlit [0533a] 1935-05-05
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South side Jubilee floodlit [0534] 1935-05-05
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From NW [0743] 1935-09-08
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Civic Week Lord Mayor's coach [2812] 1938-10-23
A resolution of the City Council, passed on 11th October
1911, explains how the city came by the coach:
"Resolved on the report of the City Committee that
the Lord Mayor has presented to the city for the use of
future Lord Mayors the coach which was used on the
occasion of the visit of His Majesty George V to the city
on 18th June last, together with liveries for the
servants and State harness for a pair of horses, that the
very hearty thanks of the Council be given to the Right
Honourable the Lord Mayor (Alderman Sir Eustace Gurney)
for his great generosity in presenting so handsome and
interesting an equipage to the City." Sir Eustace
was Lord Mayor in 1910-11, with Mr H.P.Gould as Sheriff.
Stored in a coach house at the Strangers' Hall, the coach
went out of use during the Second World War, but it was
restored to duty in 1950 after a call for its
reappearance had been made by Basil Cozens-Hardy, a
former Sheriff of Norwich. An initial difficulty was soon
overcome when a local firm of brewers agreed to lend,
free of charge, two powerful grey horses and their driver
as and when required. |
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South side from Garden of Remembrance [2844]
1938-11-05
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Bassingham Gate on south side [2900] 1939-03-31
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East side [3826] 1949-08-09
Chequered work 1534. Clock turret 1850. |
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SW corner from St Peter's St [3827] 1949-08-09
The portion to the right of the first floor stringcourse
rebuilt following collapse of roof in 1511. |
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Festival garden adjoining Guildhall [3997] 1951-06-21
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From NW [4675] 1962-06-17
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Ringbolt at SW corner [6703] 1991-07-07
Said to be where malefactors were tied up and flogged. |
Norwich Guildhall
