Neil Mcallister explores the many delights of Norwich
Neil Mcallister takes a wander through the historic streets of one of England’s most delightful cities.
WE’VE all done it, I’m sure. There is a moment during a lovely, relaxing holiday when our sunny destination seems to be an ideal place to relocate.
After all, who wouldn’t prefer to wake up every morning to Salcombe rather than Salford?
Not that I have anything against the home of my forebears.
The fact is that most of us have little choice over where we live.
For our greatgrandparents, where they were born was where they would live, work and most likely be buried.
Whilst our generation is far more mobile, unless you come up on the pools or a rich auntie leaves a mammoth bequest, our place of residence is determined largely by where we earn a crust.
Other factors come into play, depending on our age, like the proximity of bars and restaurants to socialise in when we emerge from our teens, or the closeness of good schools, as our twenties become thirties.
It often isn’t until the nest is empty, the mortgage paid off and pensions kick in that we have free rein over where to call home.
Hazel and I are fortunate that in our 30-odd years of
“Friend” travels we have discovered some places which captured our hearts sufficiently to take our interest beyond the estate agent’s window.
One which stands out is Lavenham, the pictureperfect Suffolk village whose magnificent homes were built with wool wealth, but were frozen in period perfection when that trade suddenly ceased.
Another more urban place to which we felt an immediate attraction is Bury St Edmunds, only a few miles north of Lavenham, where the town’s physical charm is allied to a very appealing community spirit.
This fact was not missed by “The Sunday Times” newspaper, whose recently compiled “Best Places To Live” supplement declared Bury the second-best place to live in the east.
The winner, however, was no surprise, as Norwich is another city which we both thought would be a lovely place to live.
The city is compact with a historic heart, beyond which lie lovely landscapes, peaceful countryside, tranquil waterways, idyllic villages and some of the best, least-visited coastline Britain has to offer.
To the east lie the Norfolk Broads, where even sticking a pin in the map at random is bound to result in a lovely day out.
Pick up a day boat in Wroxham or Horning to cruise the Broads, or park the car to discover empty footpaths, scenic views framed with wind pumps, or climb church towers like St Helen’s at Ranworth to enjoy panoramic, uninterrupted vistas across the marshes.
Take a drive north-east through North Walsham (pausing to admire the town’s market cross) to discover a coast which regularly loses properties to the North Sea.
Alternatively, start a drive west from Cromer through Cley Next The Sea and Stiffkey, whose 1930s vicar’s famous interest in fallen women led to his own downfall in “News Of The World” style.
Park in Holkham, where a left turn leads to the fine Hall, or follow the other path to reach the place that a survey of travel writers thought to be the UK’S loveliest beach.
Whilst these and many more delights lie outside the city, Norwich itself isn’t short of attractions to entertain its residents.
Norwich boasts more theatres than many much larger cities, including the puppet theatre in St James’s mediaeval church, Sedwell Barn, home to a troupe of amateur players, and in the centre.
There’s also the Arts Centre, Playhouse and Maddermarket Theatre in a black and white building which started as a church, then served as a factory, warehouse and Salvation Army Hall before the Guild of Norwich players rescued it from dereliction in the 1920s.
It is equally well served with museums.
A walk around the city centre can take in the main museum and art gallery at the castle, whose impressive square keep stands above the commercial centre.
A short walk north arrives at the Bridewell Museum’s collection recalling Norwich’s industrial heritage, and at Charing Cross visitors are transported back to life at the start of the Tudor period at Stranger’s Hall.
A short drive towards the Broads reveals the city’s heaviest collection at Strumpshaw Hall, where in 1964, owner Wesley Kay displayed his traction engines, steam rollers and antique showmen’s engines to the public.
If we moved to Norwich, this would be a regular day out, if only to enjoy performances on the Christie Wonder Organ, a traditional fairground entertainment, or enjoy the spectacular annual steam rally.
Back in town, the library burned down in 1994, the flames no doubt fuelled by 100,000 volumes, along with priceless artefacts like manuscripts and the thousand-year-old charter.
However, in 2001, the Forum, a new library and community hub, rose from the ashes.
Whilst the old building was an unimaginative 1960s block, its replacement is an epic glazed structure with wings which open out like welcoming arms towards St Peter Mancroft Church.
As well as hosting the library, the building is also home to television, beaming out the region’s nightly news, as well as BBC Radio Norwich, not to be confused with the fictional Radio Norwich, home to Steve Coogan’s hapless broadcaster Alan Partridge.
The Forum’s curved steps are a pleasant place for Norwich’s youngsters to sit in the sunshine, and there are plenty of young people to fill the area, as the city’s average
age is only thirty-four.
As I mentioned, education is a major factor in choosing a home, and out of the city’s 46 schools and colleges, Ofsted rate 13 “Outstanding”, and all the rest, bar three academies, are “Good”.
The Sir Isaac Newton 6th Form Free School is rated sixth in the country, and no doubt many students choose to further their education in the city’s university, home to one of our favourite galleries.
The Sainsbury Centre, located on the university campus, is a striking, cube-like structure, created by Norman Foster in 1978, which holds Sir Robert and wife Lisa Sainsbury’s collection of art and beautiful objects, accumulated by the supermarket family since the 1930s.
We love it for the display of beautiful Liberty of London clocks, many designed by Manx designer Archibald Knox, which today are as expensive as they are exquisite.
If your shopping tastes are less extravagant, Gentleman’s Walk’s huge market, under colourful stall canopies, is home to 90 independent local businesses selling produce, homewares, flowers and services.
Royal Arcade opposite is an Art Nouveau masterpiece, created by George Skipper who “was to Norwich what Gaudi was to Barcelona”, according to John Betjeman.
The building is lovely outside, but also inside.
The glazed roof, with a line of impressive lanterns, shelters many superb shops, including one dedicated to the town’s most famous product.
Back in the early 1800s, Jeremiah Colman began milling mustard in nearby Bawburgh, and today most pantries contain a jar or tin of his tangy yellow delight.
Mainstream shopping featuring national stores fills the centre, notably in traffic-free Castle Street, which retains its charm through places like Bullen’s jeweller’s with its roundfronted shop on the corner of Swan Lane.
Local landmark Jarrold’s has another rounded entrance which has welcomed shoppers since 1823.
The shop was already 50 years old when it moved from Woodbridge, Suffolk, and today this much-loved department store is housed in a lovely Edwardian building.
The most historic and impressive landmark, Norwich Cathedral, rises high above the city, crowning the skyline.
As if to prove how good a place Norwich is to live, since 2012 the ancient spire has been home to a breeding pair of peregrine falcons.
If we were choosing an area of Norwich to settle it would definitely be Tombland, the picturesque tangle of narrow cobbled streets where every corner reveals a scene worthy of a picture postcard.
The name comes not from tombs, but the ancient name for an open space, where pre-norman markets were held.
Spreading east from the cathedral’s Ethelbert and Erpingham gates, roads like Princes Street are framed by timber-framed properties, many home to quirky independent shops and cafés, and side alleys and lanes which open up into tree-lined squares.
There are plenty of benches on which to sit watching tourists raise their cameras, or coffee shops to sit outside nursing a morning brew, but if you fancy relocating here, leave your car at home!
The area was built many centuries before parking spaces were invented.
It isn’t only “The Sunday Times” who have rated Norwich so highly.
It features in the 2018 and 2019 surveys before coming top in 2020. Its citizens tend to agree with these results.
A survey of city residents by another national newspaper rated it the seventh best place to live in the UK, taking factors such as happiness, upkeep, safety and hospitality into account.
If you fancy a move, the most sought-after area is the Golden Triangle west and south-west of the city centre, where Victorian properties offer character and space.
The smaller properties north of the centre around Constitution Hill are a more affordable alternative, with bay windows, but without the price tag.
Norwich provides “Everything you want from a city, and all within walking distance,” as “The Sunday Times” concluded – and you can’t say fairer than that. ■