18 C O N T E X T 1 4 1 : S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 5 built in the 15th century for the collection of market dues and sits on a 14th-century undercroft. The afternoon had provided us with a gamut of buildings, timber-framed, flint-knapped, flint pebbles and brick, and the inevitable stone undercrofts. The walk showed us the former trading wealth of the city and how the historical areas were full of high-status buildings which deteriorated once trade fell away with the decline of GreatYarmouth and Norwich.The large houses on Elm Hill had Victorian and Georgian terrace infill in their medieval courtyards, showing how important it was to understand the layout and types of building when advising on conservation issues. It was a pleasure to see that many challenges have been faced and numerous successful conservation projects completed, but in the 20th century a number of timber-framed buildings were demolished or cut in half to accommodate the new trams that were being installed. Beryl Lott Norman nobility: the architecture of conquest and occupation Our tour began at Norwich Castle, led by Stephen Heywood, an architectural historian who is a historic buildings officer for Norfolk County Council. Heywood introduced us to the stone keep, which stands tall atop the earthen mound of the motte-andbailey castle. Although the structure of the keep is Norman, Heywood revealed that it was refaced by the Victorian architect Anthony Salvin. Salvin replaced much of the original Caen stone with Bath stone and covered the ground floor flintwork with crisp ashlar, albeit preserving the Norman fenestration of the ground floor. The keep’s interior – a vast open space with a Victorian balcony running along the perimeter at first-floor level – features full-height stone arches erected by the Victorians. John Davies, the curator of Norwich Castle, spoke about proposals to reinterpret the interior space inside the keep, including reinstating the first floor where the medieval hall would have been. Davies explained that while this would require altering the Victorian balcony, it would provide better interpretation of the space for visitors to help them understand how the building would have functioned as a keep and medieval hall. Davies touched on the conservation challenges of respecting the keep’s history as an early gaol and a later museum in the 1880s. Extensive research is being conducted both on the historic alterations and on the original fabric, including stone-by-stone recording and digital surveys of the structure, in order to understand the building prior to any alterations being undertaken. This sparked discussion among the tour participants, who responded positively to the proposal and expressed an interest in respecting the Salvin’s Victorian alterations for their historic interest in their own right. Heywood led our tour to Norwich Cathedral, which was born out of a rivalry between Bury St Edmunds and Norwich. Having been prevented by the monks of Bury St Edmunds from establishing his cathedral in Bury, Bishop Herbert de Losinga began to erect his cathedral in Norwich in 1096. Heywood noted that the church, completed in 1145, exhibits many attempts at ‘archaising’, evidenced in the Romanesque style in which much of the church was built.The plan form is a well-preserved example of a Norman cathedral layout, with later chapels on either side of the apse constructed in the shape of intersecting circles. Heywood pointed out the attractive colour contrasts of Barnack stone from Stamford and Caen stone from France, also used on the castle keep. Progressing through the centuries, Heywood led us through to the medieval cloisters, which were built the same size as the original Romanesque cloisters. Changes in style of tracery in the cloisters reflect the changes in architectural fashions from decorated to perpendicular tracery between the 13th and 15th centuries. Our tour came full-circle with a final visit to Norwich Cathedral’s oak and glass Refectory cafe, built in 2010, where we sampled the cathedral’s culinary delights on the spot where medieval monks once dined. Lauren Ayers Norwich Cathedral and its medieval cloisters (Photo: David Edleston)
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