Norwich

Norwich (pronounced variously "Norritch" or "Norridge") is a city in East Anglia, in Eastern England, and the regional administrative centre and county town of Norfolk.

History

Roman

The Romans had their regional capital at Venta Icenorum on the river to the south which is now at modern day Caistor St Edmund. No sign of Roman influence can be seen in Norwich.

Related Topics:
Romans - Venta Icenorum

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Early English/Norman Conquest

Norwich was a construct of the Anglo-Saxons, the Danes and the Normans. The word Norvic appears on coins minted during the reign of King Athelstan (early 10th century AD). The ancient city was already a thriving centre for trade and commerce in East Anglia when Swein Forkbeard the Viking destroyed it in 1004 AD.

Related Topics:
Anglo-Saxons - Danes - Normans - King Athelstan - East Anglia - Swein Forkbeard - 1004

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At the time of the Norman Conquest the city was one of the largest in England, and it continued to be a major centre for trade, especially wool. The River Wensum was a convenient exporting route to the sea.

Related Topics:
Norman Conquest - England - Wool - River Wensum

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The main area of the city south of the Wensum was destroyed by the construction of the Norman castle during the 1070s creation of a "New" or "French" borough.

Related Topics:
1070s - French

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In 1096 Bishop Losinga, then Bishop of Thetford, began construction of the cathedral, then moved his See there to what became the cathedral church for the Diocese of Norwich.

Related Topics:
1096 - Diocese of Norwich

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Middle Ages

By the middle of the 14th century the City Walls, about 2 1/2 miles long had been completed, these along with the river enclosed a large area, larger than that of the City of London.

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The wealth generated by the wool trade throughout the Middle Ages resulted in the construction of many fine churches. Norwich still has one of the highest number of medieval churches in Western Europe. Around this time, the city was made a county corporate.

Related Topics:
Wool - Middle Ages - County corporate

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The great immigration of 1567 brought a substantial Walloon community of weavers to Norwich. Norwich has been the home of various dissident minorities, notably the French Huguenot and the Belgian Walloon communities in the 16th and 17th centuries. Primarily through trading connections with mainland Europe, ideas of religious reform and radical politics were introduced to Norwich.

Related Topics:
1567 - Walloon - Huguenot - 16th - 17th - Europe

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English Civil Wars

The eastern counties were profoundly Parliamentarian in nature and Norwich followed suit, at the cost of some discomfit to the Lord Mayor, a Royalist, and the Bishop (Joseph Hall) a moderate but targeted because of his position.

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The Norwich Canary was first introduced into England by Flemish refugees fleeing from Spanish persecution in the 1500s. They brought with them not only advanced working skills in textiles but also their pet canaries, which they began to breed. The canary is the emblem of the city's football team, Norwich City F.C., nicknamed "The Canaries".

Related Topics:
Norwich Canary - Flemish - Spanish - 1500s - Norwich City F.C.

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Norwich remained a major provincial capital and rated closely after London alongside Bristol.

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Norwich's geographical isolation was such that until 1834 when a railway connection was established, it was often quicker to travel to Amsterdam by boat than to London. The railway was brought to Norwich by Morton Peto who also built the line onto Great Yarmouth

Related Topics:
Railway - Amsterdam - London - Morton Peto - Great Yarmouth

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