One of the five largest cities in Norman England, NORWICH once served a vast hinterland of cloth producers in the eastern counties, whose work was brought here by river and exported to the continent. Its isolated position beyond the Fens meant that it enjoyed closer links with the Low Countries than with the rest of England - it was, after all, quicker to cross the North Sea than to go cross-country to London - and by 1700 Norwich was the second richest city in the country after London.
With the onset of the Industrial Revolution, Norwich lost ground to the northern manufacturing towns - the city's famous mustard company, Colman's is one of its few industrial success stories. This, and its continuing geographical isolation, has helped preserve much of the ancient street plan as well as many of the city's older buildings. Pride of place goes to the beautiful cathedral and the castle, but the city's hallmark is its medieval churches , thirty or so squat flintstone structures with sturdy towers and sinuous stone tracery round the windows. Isolation has also meant that the population has never swelled to any great extent and today, with just 170,000 inhabitants, Norwich remains an easy and enjoyable city to negotiate. Yet Norwich is no provincial backwater. In the 1960s, the foundation of the University of East Anglia (UEA) made it more cosmopolitan and bolstered its arts scene, while in the 1980s it attracted new high-tech companies, who created something of a mini-boom, making the city one of England's wealthiest. As East Anglia's unofficial capital, Norwich also lies at the hub of the region's transport network and serves as a useful base for visiting the Broads, and even as a springboard for the north Norfolk coast.
The City
Tucked into a sweeping bend of the River Wensum, Norwich's irregular street plan, a Saxon legacy, can make orientation difficult. There are, however, three obvious landmarks to help you find your way - the cathedral with its giant spire, the Norman castle on its commanding mound and the distinctive clocktower of City Hall. The cathedral and the castle are the town's premier attractions and the latter also holds one of the region's most satisfying collections of fine art. Finally, note that Sunday can be a disastrous day to visit if you want to see anything other than the cathedral: most museums and attractions are closed, not to mention most restaurants. |
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