The corporation at Great Yarmouth had an idea…pull down the “vast and altogether useless” Norwich cathedral so it could use the stone to shore up the harbour walls and build a workhouse for the town.

 

And while the city rulers thought it best to keep the building, they believed it would indeed be better as a workhouse rather than a centre of worship.

 

Today we admire and the cherish the cathedral and The Close and what an extraordinary and fascinating history they have…one of survival.

 

It is told so well by Alan Metters in the new Spring edition of the excellent Aspects of Norwich booklet produced by The Norwich Society.

Eastern Daily Press: The new Aspects of Norwich by The Norwich Society out this week.The new Aspects of Norwich by The Norwich Society out this week. (Image: The Norwich Society)

The petition put together by those in charge of Yarmouth in 1650 was sent to the then recently established republican government in London.

 

The cathedral and buildings in The Close managed to survive the turbulent years of the Civil War to be restored to something approaching their former glories when Charles II regained the throne in 1660.

Eastern Daily Press: Bishop Joseph Hall who sought refuge at what became the Dolphin in Norwich when his palace was ransacked.Bishop Joseph Hall who sought refuge at what became the Dolphin in Norwich when his palace was ransacked. (Image: David Berwick)

The story of the violent events of the time is a compelling read. Relations between the corporation at Norwich and the cathedral and the priory during the Middle Ages had rarely been cordial.

 

The impressive Ethelbert Gate, erected at the citizens’ expense in penance for their participation in the 1272 riot, which had targeted not only the priority but the cathedral itself, stands today as a memorial to that animosity.

Eastern Daily Press: The Ethelbert Gate – stands as a memorial to troubled times. Restored in 1816.The Ethelbert Gate – stands as a memorial to troubled times. Restored in 1816. (Image: Alan Metters)

In the 1640s the new bishop of Norwich, Joseph Hall, was branded a “delinquent.” Violence erupted and Hall, who had to seek refuge in what became the Dolphin Inn on Heigham Street wrote:

 

“Lord was work was here! What clattering of glass! What beating down of walls! What tearing up of monuments! What pulling down of seats! What wresting out of irons and brass from the windows and graves! What defacing of arms!”

 

The troubled times at the cathedral and in The Close during the Civil War is one of half a dozen stories in the new booklet. …and there is one which will interest fellow members of “The Gang” which used to meet up at “The Ranch House” in Norwich.

Eastern Daily Press: A lovely photograph of the Theatre de Luxe taken by George Plunkett in 1934.A lovely photograph of the Theatre de Luxe taken by George Plunkett in 1934. (Image: George Plunkett/The Norwich Society)

This was the dear old Theatre de Luxe cinema which was stood on St Andrew’s Street and I’ll wager some of you will have had no idea of its rich history as told by Ian Smith.

 

Called From Royal Bazaar to Theatre De Luxe: A Forgotten Landmark Reflecting a Century of Norwich History this building started life in 1832 as our first department store and then became The Royal Norfolk and Norwich Bazaar with the modest advertisement “the very best establishment in the Kingdom for the purchase of Useful and Ornamental Goods of every description.”

Eastern Daily Press: The Norfolk and Norwich Bazaar.The Norfolk and Norwich Bazaar. (Image: Norfolk Record Office)

Ian follows the colourful history of the building as it became The Mechanics’ Institution, The Norwich School of Design, a free Library, a lecture hall and then the Victoria Hall putting on all kinds of touring music hall acts.

 

They included the “Kafir of Bulah” featuring a “beautiful entranced girl floating in the air” while Madam Giilliland Card a “Hindostani enchantress,” included in her act a display of “Mesmerism.”

Eastern Daily Press: > Poster of Madame Gilliland Card – Wizard Queen at the Victoria Hall.> Poster of Madame Gilliland Card – Wizard Queen at the Victoria Hall. (Image: The Norwich Society)

Members of the audience were invited on stage and then reduced to a state of “artificial somnambulism.”  Under her control four youths performed as minstrels and can-can dancers…and more.

Eastern Daily Press: Professor Beaumont appearing at the Victoria Hall, Norwich, in 1876.Professor Beaumont appearing at the Victoria Hall, Norwich, in 1876. (Image: The Norwich Society)

The hall eventually closed and became the Theatre De Luxe in April of 1910. It was a popular cinema and in its last days became known as The Ranch House because of the number of westerns it showed. Then when it closed in 1957 youngsters wrecked the interior, throwing seats at the screen.
 

“A building that had made such an important contribution to the city was left to decay until finally being demolished in 1970 to make way for an extension of the yard of the telephone exchange,” writes Ian.

 

There are other articles on Fishy Business in Medieval and Tudor Norwich by Carole Rawcliffe. The Museum Makers by David Bussey, Augustus Frederic Scott, Architect, Freethinker and Individualist by Judith Merrill and you can join Mary Ash on a journey to investigate The Pleins of Norwich.

 

Aspects of Norwich by The Norwich Society costs just £5 and is on sale at City Books, Davey Place and at the Jarrold store.