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Norwich Leasing

Did You Know?

Although Norwich may be small by today’s standards, it was once the second largest city in Britain (behind London). It was a centre of trade and prospered from the lucrative wool trade. The city’s fortunes declined in the 18th century as the Industrial Revolution spurred the expansion of new towns and industry in the north of England.

You can’t miss Norwich Market in the city centre with its 189 colourful stalls offering a wide variety of goods. It was founded towards the end of the 11th century to supply Norman merchants and settlers moving to the area, replacing an earlier market a short distance away. The market has been in operation on the present site for over 900 years.

The people of Norwich were at odds with the cathedral monks for years, mostly about rights and boundaries. Then in 1272, things got violent and one church servant shot a man with a crossbow. The authorities had two others arrested.

It’s been said that Norwich had a church for every Sunday as there were 58 individual parish churches within the walls of Norwich during the medieval period. Of those, 31 have survived but only a few are still used as active places of worship. Some have been turned into antique shops and cafes.

The Adam and Eve was the first pub in Norwich, dating back to the 13th century. The number of pubs in Norwich rose to as many as 600 in 1884 which would be almost two for every day of the year.

The postcode system we used today was first introduced on a trial basis in Norwich in 1959. The first three characters of the code (‘NOR’ for Norwich) represent the city and the last three characters a particular street. Some larger firms and businesses were assigned their own individual codes.

The Maids Head Hotel is located on the site where the first Norman Bishop of Norwich, Herbert de Losinga had his original palace. The site has been continuously used for hospitality since about 1090, so the hotel claims to be the oldest in the UK.

The fossilised keyboard was created as an art project in 1999 by Molly Sole who was a student at the Norwich School of Art and Design. It can be found at the corner of Princes Street and Elm Hill.

Back in the day (or rather the 17th century), Norwich had 600 pubs. But the 1904 Licensing Act, Second World War and slum clearances in the 1960s saw many forced to close. King Street was the worst hit, with the number of pubs there falling from 58 to one. And the name of that one pub? It’s the Last Pub Standing, of course..