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.

Present-day

The University of East Anglia on the outskirts of Norwich was one of the New Universities founded in 1963, following the Robbins Report. UEA adopted the city's motto of independence Do different and is especially well-known for its creative-writing programme; established by Malcolm Bradbury and Angus Wilson, its graduates include Kazuo Ishiguro and Ian McEwan. The university campus houses the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts. The city also has an art college, the Norwich School of Art & Design, located in the centre.

Related Topics:
University of East Anglia - New Universities - 1963 - Robbins Report - Malcolm Bradbury - Angus Wilson - Kazuo Ishiguro - Ian McEwan - Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts - Norwich School of Art & Design

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Norwich International Airport is a feeder to KLM's Schipol hub. Apart from that smaller national airlines fly to UK destinations and there is a strong holiday charter flight business. The airport was originally the RAF airfield at Horsham St Faith. This was once the home of Air UK, which grew out of Air Anglia and was then absorbed by the Dutch airline KLM.

Related Topics:
Norwich International Airport - RAF - KLM

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Satirical comedian Steve Coogan located his fictional, unbearably vain, cheesy broadcaster 'Alan Partridge' in Norfolk, specifically hosting the pre-breakfast show on the fictional independent station 'Radio Norwich'. It exploited the county's reputation as being somewhat detached from modern trends, past its prime, and rather peripheral to national life.

Related Topics:
Steve Coogan - Alan Partridge

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Other comic entertainers who have drawn comedy from that stereotype include Allan Smethurst 'The Singing Postman' and The Kipper Family lately represented by 'son' Sid Kipper, though these are associated with Norfolk in general and not just the City.

Related Topics:
The Singing Postman - The Kipper Family - Sid Kipper

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Each year the Norfolk and Norwich Festival celebrates the arts, drawing many visitors into the city from all over the eastern England.

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The city's economy, originally chiefly industrial with shoemaking a large sector, has changed throughout the eighties and nineties to a service-based economy. Norwich Union, now Aviva, still dominates these, but has been joined by other insurance and financial services companies. Recent developments include the first of the controversial PFI hospitals, the new Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital on the city's periphery at Colney, the 'Forum' which replaced the old Norwich Central Library building which burned down in 1994, and is now the home of the Millennium Library and the regional BBC broadcasting office.

Related Topics:
Norwich Union - PFI - Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital - 1994 - Millennium Library - BBC

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The Millennium Library contains the Second Air Division Memorial Library, a collection of material about American culture and the American relationship with East Anglia, especially the role of the United States Air Force on UK air bases throughout the Second World War and Cold War.

Related Topics:
Millennium Library - Second Air Division - United States Air Force - Second World War - Cold War

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New developments on the former Boulton and Paul site include the Riverside entertainment complex with nightclubs and other venues featuring the usual national leisure brands. Nearby, the football stadium is being upgraded with more residential property development alongside the river Wensum. The new Chapelfield shopping mall has been built on the site where the 'Caleys' (later Rowntree Mackintosh and Nestle) chocolate factory once stood. This opened in late September 2005, and is described as a major new shopping experience, featuring a new three-floor flagship House of Fraser department store.

Related Topics:
Boulton and Paul - Shopping mall - Rowntree Mackintosh - Nestle - 2005 - House of Fraser

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Archant is a publishing group that has grown out of the city's local newspaper, the Norwich Evening News and the regional Eastern Daily Press (EDP). Independent radio stations are Broadland 102 and Classic Gold Amber. BBC Radio Norfolk and the University of East Anglia's Livewire 1350 all broadcast to the city.

Related Topics:
Norwich Evening News - Eastern Daily Press - Broadland 102 - Classic Gold Amber - BBC Radio Norfolk - Livewire 1350

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Norwich has long been associated with the manufacture of mustard. Colman's was founded in 1814 and continues to operate from its factory at Carrow.

Related Topics:
Mustard - Colman's - 1814 - Carrow

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Norwich is occasionally portrayed by the media as a city out-of-step with national trends (see Alan Partridge); This is primarily due to its geographic isolation which has contributed greatly to its 'unspoilt' and insular character. There has always been a general tolerance of "incomers" by the 'native' population of Norwich and Norfolk, though becoming a "local" is still reckoned to take decades. There are good rail links from Norwich railway station to Peterborough and London, and direct services to Cambridge were added in 2004.

Related Topics:
Alan Partridge - Norwich railway station - Peterborough - London - Cambridge - 2004

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It is considered to have a wealth of historical architecture. The medieval period is represented by the 11th-century cathedral, 12th-century castle (now a museum) and a large number of parish churches as well as a few houses and public buildings. Most of the medieval building is in the city centre. From the 18th century the pre-eminent local name is Thomas Ivory, who built the Assembly Rooms (1776), the Octagon Chapel (1756), St Helen's House (1752) in the grounds of the Great Hospital, and innovative speculative housing in Surrey Street (c. 1761). Ivory should not be confused with the Irish architect of the same name and similar period.

Related Topics:
Cathedral - Castle - Parish churches - 18th century - Thomas Ivory - Great Hospital

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The 19th century saw an explosion in Norwich's size and much of its housing stock, as well as commercial building in the city centre, dates from this period. The local architect of the Victorian and Edwardian periods who has continued to command most critical respect was George Skipper (1856-1948). Examples of his work include the headquarters of Norwich Union on Surrey Street; the Art Nouveau Royal Arcade; and the Hotel de Paris in the nearby seaside town of Cromer. The neo-Gothic Roman Catholic cathedral on Earlham Road, begun in 1882, is by George Gilbert Scott Junior and his brother, John Oldrid Scott.

Related Topics:
Victorian - Edwardian - George Skipper - Norwich Union - Art Nouveau - Cromer - Neo-Gothic - Cathedral - Earlham Road - George Gilbert Scott Junior - John Oldrid Scott

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The city continued to grow through the 20th century and much housing, particularly in areas further out from the city centre, dates from that century. The first notable building post-Skipper was the city hall by CH James and SR Pierce, opened in 1938. Bombing during the Second World War, while resulting in relatively little loss of life, caused significant damage to housing stock in the city centre. Much of the replacement postwar stock was designed by the local authority architect, David Percival. However, the major postwar development in Norwich from an architectural point of view was the opening of the University of East Anglia in 1964. Originally designed by Denys Lasdun (his design was never completely executed), it has been added to over subsequent decades by major names such as Norman Foster and Rick Mather.

Related Topics:
Second World War - David Percival - University of East Anglia - Denys Lasdun - Norman Foster - Rick Mather

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Castle Mall, a shopping mall designed by local practice Lambert, Scott & Innes and opened in 1993, presents an ingenious solution to the problem of sensitively creating new retail space in a historic city-centre environment - the building is largely buried in the side of a hill and lit from above. But the most high-profile modern building of Norwich is The Forum, opened in 2002 and designed by Michael Hopkins and Partners, which houses the main public library.

Related Topics:
Shopping mall - Michael Hopkins

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Recent attempts to shed the backwater image of Norwich and market it as a popular tourist destination, as well as a centre for science, commerce, culture and the arts, have included the refurbishment of the Castle Museum and the opening of the magnificent 'Forum' which, apart from housing the Norwich and Norfolk Central Library, provides an new venue for exhibitions, concerts and events although the city still lacks a dedicated concert venue. The proposed new slogan for Norwich, England's Other City, has been the subject of much discussion and controversy - and it remains to be seen whether it will be finally adopted.

Related Topics:
Tourist - Science - Commerce - Culture - Arts - Museum - Forum - Exhibitions - Concerts - Slogan

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A large proportion of the population of Norwich are users of the internet - a recent article has suggested that, compared with other UK cities, it is top of the league for the percentage of population who use a popular internet auction site.

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