One of Norwich’s most striking historic buildings, a familiar sight for drivers stuck in traffic, has been sold.

The prominent 1881 building St Mary’s Croft, which overlooks Chapelfield Gardens, is to be taken over by a firm of chiropractors. It was once a dental practice but has been offices in more recent years.

The eye-catching red-brick three-storey building with two second-floor verandahs, was for sale for £775,000.

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The building will be extensively refurbished by the chiropractor firm.

Agent Arnolds Keys said the sale, despite the coronavirus crisis, showed that there was still a market for freehold city centre offices.

The 3,884sq ft Grade II listed building was built in the Tudor revival style, incorporating the walls of an earlier building.

“We are delighted to have completed the sale of this prominent building, which went onto the market just weeks before lockdown started,” said Arnolds Keys managing partner Guy Gowing.

“The fact that we have been able to complete the deal despite the uncertainty surrounding Covid-19 shows that there is still a fundamental underlying demand for quality office space in the city.”

As well as extensive offices across three floors, with two large balconies with views across Chapelfield Gardens, the building has a substantial car park.

Little is known about the house except it was once lived in by a wealthy lady of local high society, Mary Radford Pym.

She married George Radford Pym, a solicitor from Derbyshire and was philanthropic as well as mixing with the rich and famous of her time.

Mrs Pym funded the clock tower in Sheringham and gave land on Earlham Road to be used as Woodlands park. She also gave money to the former Norfolk and Norwich Hospital for a nurses’ home; this funded Pym House on the corner of Unthank and Christchurch Roads, in recent years converted to housing.