Roman Catholic Cathedral:
Other places of worship 00 [ RC St John the
Baptist Map ]
The Roman Catholic Church, dedicated to St John the Baptist, was begun in 1882 at the expense of His Grace the 15th Duke of Norfolk E.M. K.G. and the completed portion, opened on the 29th August 1894. The building is of stone, from designs by George Gilbert Scott M.A. and continued by his brother J.Oldrid Scott F.S.A. The style adopted was that of the first half of the 13th century. The nave consists of ten bays, extending from the west front of the central tower. On the north side are the baptistery and porch which project from the aisle. On the south side is the Lady Chapel. The length of the nave is 160 feet, and the external height 81 feet; the total length of the church is 275 feet. The font is of Frosterly marble, surmounted by a lofty oak canopy. The stained glass windows are extremely beautiful and are of the 13th century type. The rectory adjoins the church, which occupies a commanding site immediately outside St Giles Gate and is, except for Westminster Cathedral, the largest Roman Catholic church in England, and ranks amongst the finest modern and ecclesiastical buildings. From Kellys Directory of Norfolk 1925.
The building is on the site of the old City Gaol, and was completed in 1910. In 1976 the Church was elevated to the status of a Cathedral upon the formation of the Roman Catholic See of East Anglia.
Other places of worship 01 [ RC St John the
Baptist ]
Roman Catholic Chapel and Priests House:
Other places of worship 02 [ Roman Catholic Chapel and
Priests House Museum Court: Ceiling ]
This Roman Catholic Chapel and Priests House was built in 1764 by Charles, the tenth Duke of Norfolk on part of the land on which once stood the Dukes Palace. The next Duke, also Charles, who successes to the title in 1786 conformed to the Established Church and deprived the priest and his following of both house and chapel. In 1794 the chapel was let to the Norwich Subscription Library, and in 1839 was sold to the trustees of the Norfolk and Norwich Museum. In 1894 when the museum moved to the Castle, the building was taken over by the Board of Guardians.
St Andrews
Street: Roman Catholic Chapel and Priests House
Roman Catholic Chapel Maddermarket, Roman Catholic School Willow Lane, Monastic Chapel Elm Hill, and St Georges Roman Catholic Church:
Other places of worship 03 [ Maddermarket
(built as a Roman Catholic Chapel three years after the Catholic
Relief Act of 1791 and later used by the Salvation Army - the
building was converted into an Elizabethan Theatre by Nugent
Monck in 1921), Roman Catholic School Willow Lane (built as a
Chapel by the Jesuits in 1828 - architect J.T.Patience), Monastic
Chapel Elm Hill (erected 1866 by Father Ignatius for use as a
Benedictine Chapel - litigation forced its closure in 1876), St
Georges Roman Catholic Church (built 1962-63 - architect
J.Sebastian Comper) ]
Old Meeting House Colegate, Congregational Church Chapel Field East, United Reformed Church Princes Street, and Congregational Church Magdalen Road:
Other places of worship 04 [ Old Meeting House Colegate
(Congregational - built 1693 - it is the oldest Nonconformist
Chapel now existing in Norfolk), Congregational
Church Chapel Field East (built 1858-62 in the Norman style -
two turrets each 80 feet high - demolished 1972), United Reformed
Church Princes Street (formerly Congregational - remodelled with
new faced 1869 - architect Edward Boardman), Congregational
Church Magdalen Road (opened 1902 - demolished 1971) ]
United Reformed Church Jessopp Road, United Reformed Church Unthank Road, First Church of Christ Scientist Recorder Road, Jewish Synagogue Earlham Road, and Christian Spiritualist Church Chapel Field North:
Other places of worship 05 [ United Reformed
Church Jessopp Road (formerly Congregational - original building
opened 1931 - enlarged 1969), United Reformed Church Unthank Road
(formerly Presbyterian - opened 24th March 1956 - architects
Edward Boardman and son and Bernard M.Feilden), First Church of
Christ Scientist Recorder Road (built 1934 - architect Ibbotson),
Jewish Synagogue Earlham Road (built 1968), Christian
Spiritualist Church Chapel Field North (built 1936) ]
Methodist Tabernacle Bishopgate, and Providence Chapel Pitt Street:
Other places of worship 06 [ Tabernacle Bishopgate (built
1751-52 for James Wheatley a Calvinistic Methodist - later
acquired by the Countess of Huntingdons Connection -
architect Thomas Ivory), Providence Chapel Pitt Street (built
1769 for Methodists - acquired for the Strict Baptists early in
the 19c.) ]
Methodist Chapel Calvert Street, St Peters Wesleyan Ladys Lane, and Wensum Chapel Cowgate:
Other places of worship 07 [ Methodist Chapel Calvert Street
(built 1810 - demolished in the 1960s for construction of
the Inner Link Road), St Peters Wesleyan
Ladys Lane (built 1824 - architect J.T.Patience), and
Wensum Chapel Cowgate (built 1842 as a Primitive Methodist Chapel
- purchased by the Christian Brethren 1947) ]
Wesleyan Reform Church Belvoir Street, Primitive Methodist Chapel Queens Road, United Methodist Chapel Chapel Field Road, Thorpe Road Methodist Chapel, and St Peters Methodist Church Park Lane:
Other places of worship 08 [ Wesleyan Reform
Church Belvoir Street (opened April 1869), Former Primitive
Methodist Chapel Queens Road (built 1872 - architect Edward
Boardman), United Methodist Chapel Chapel Field Road (built
1880-81 - architect Edward Boardman), Thorpe Road Methodist
Chapel (built c.1901 to design by A.F.Scott in memory of his
father), St Peters Methodist Church Park Lane (built
1938-39 - architects E.Boardman & sons) ]
St Marys Baptist Chapel and Church St Marys Plain, Orford Hill Baptist Chapel Timberhill, Baptist Chapel Unthank Road, and Baptist Church Dereham Road:
Other places of worship 09 [ St Marys Baptist Chapel St
Marys Plain (built 1810 - rebuilt 1951-52 - architect
Stanley J.Wearing), Orford Hill Baptist Chapel Timberhill (built
1832) after conversion to warehouse 1981, Baptist Chapel Unthank
Road (built 1874-75 - demolished 1954), Baptist Church Dereham
Road (built 1906 - architect A.F.Scott) ]
St Marys
Plain: St Marys Baptist
Octagon Unitarian Chapel Colegate, Surrey Chapel Surrey Street, and Surrey Chapel Botolph Street:
Other places of worship 10 [ Octagon Unitarian Chapel Colegate
(built 1756 - architect Thomas Ivory): Gates (since moved to Norwich
School in The Close), Surrey Chapel Chapel Loke Surrey Street
(Ebenezer Baptist Chapel - built 1854 - demolished 1986), Surrey
Chapel Botolph Street (independent Evangelical - adapted and
extended in 1985 from the local HQ of the National Union of
Footwear and Allied Trades) ]
Friends Meeting House Gildencroft, Friends Meeting House Upper Goat Lane, and St Pauls Mission Magdalen Road:
Other places of worship 11 [ Friends Meeting House
Gildencroft (opened 19th February 1699 - burnt out by air
raid April 1942 - reconstructed in modified form 1958),
Friends Meeting House Upper Goat Lane (built 1826 -
architect J.T.Patience), St Pauls Mission Magdalen Road
(built 1893 - demolished 1956) ]
Mount Zion Centre Heartsease Lane, Full Gospel Hall St Giles Street, Mortuary Chapel Rosary Cemetery, Roman Catholic Mortuary Chapel, and Crematorium Earlham Cemetery:
Other places of worship 12 [ Mount Zion Centre
Heartsease Lane (opened 1996 - architects Dennis Black
Associates), Full Gospel Hall 70 St Giles Street (opened
11th March 1950 - constructed by volunteer members of the
Assembly from plans drawn up by Pastor K.N.Pavitt who did much of
the bricklaying - building extended 1957), Mortuary Chapel Rosary
Cemetery (established by the Rev Thomas Drummond in 1821), Roman
Catholic Mortuary Chapel Earlham Cemetery, Crematorium Earlham
Cemetery (built 1963-64 incorporating the two Victorian mortuary
chapels - the former Free Church chapel is now the Crematorium
Chapel) ]
Text and photographs Copyright © G.A.F.Plunkett 2004