Norwich Guildhall is a municipal building on Gaol Hill in the city of Norwich, Norfolk, England. It is a Grade I listed building.[1]
| Norwich Guildhall | |
|---|---|
 The Guildhall | |
| Location | Norwich, Norfolk |
| Coordinates | 52°37′44″N 1°17′33″E / 52.6290°N 1.2924°E |
| Built | 1413 |
Listed Building – Grade I | |
  Location of Norwich Guildhall in Norfolk | |
History
The guildhall was commissioned after King Henry IV awarded a charter to the City of Norwich giving it autonomy from the county of Norfolk.[2] The building, which was quickly established as the new civic meeting place, was built between 1407 and 1413;[3] a "great tree" was given by William Appleyard, the first Mayor of Norwich, for its construction.[4] The roof of the Council Chamber collapsed in 1511 but restoration work did not begin until 1537.[5]
The Christian martyr, Thomas Bilney, was held in the dungeon (now the undercroft) before being burnt at the stake in August 1531.[6] The clock, by John Moore & Sons of Clerkenwell,[7] was a gift from Henry Woodcock, the mayor, in April 1850[8] and a large porch, designed by Thomas Barry, the City Surveyor, was added to the south side of the building in 1861.[1]
King George VI and Queen Elizabeth visited the guildhall and were shown the Council Chamber on 29 October 1938.[9] The Council Chamber ceased to be the local seat of government later that day, when the King and Queen went on to open the new City Hall.[6] In contrast, the Great Chamber was the judicial part of the building: it accommodated the quarter sessions and then the magistrates' courts and continued in that role until the new Law Courts in Bishopgate opened in the 1980s.[10][11]
In summer 2008 the guildhall became one of the twelve historic Norwich buildings in the Norwich 12 initiative, a project to develop an integrated group of heritage attractions in Norwich.[12][13] In July 2010 work began on the restoration and strengthening of the guildhall clock tower[14][15] and, in 2014, the Norwich Heritage Economic and Regeneration Trust took a 25-year lease on the building with a view to making it more accessible to the public.[16]