Timeline of Norwich

The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Norwich, Norfolk, England.

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• 900–950 AD – Anglo-Scandinavian ditch and bank constructed to north of River Wensum.^[1]
• 924 AD – Market active.^[2]
• 1004 – Norwich sacked by Danes.^[3]
• c. 1067 – Norwich Castle construction begins.
• 1094 – Seat of East Anglian bishopric relocated to Norwich from Thetford.^[4]
• 1096 – Norwich School established.

• 1100 – Bishop's Palace built (approximate date).
• 1101 – Norwich Cathedral dedicated.^[4]
• 1106 – Norwich fair active.^[2]
• 1110–20 – Bridge of St Martins built.^[5]
• 1100 – St Leonard's Priory built on Mousehold Heath.^[6]
• 1122 – King Henry I visits town.^[7]
• 1144 – William of Norwich is murdered.
• 1145 – Norwich Cathedral completed.
• 1158 – Henry II grants the burgesses a charter.^[4]
• 1190 – Antisemitic massacre, Chapelfield well mass grave created.^[8]
• 1194 – Richard I grants the burgesses a fuller charter.^[4]
• 1216 – Dauphin Louis takes Norwich Castle.^[9]
• 1248 – Chapel and Hospice of St Mary's in the Field founded.
• 1249 – Giles's Hospital founded.^[6]
• 1258 – Penitential Friars settle in the city.^[10]
• 1266 – "Disinherited Barons sack city."^[7]
• 1272 – Norwich riot.^[7]
• 1294 – City walls begin construction.^[11]
• 1295 – Bishops Bridge built.^[12]
• 1298 – Norwich represented in parliament by two members.^[4]

• 1341 – Norwich Market ceded to city.
• 1342 – City walls built.^[4]
• 1348 – Plague.^[3]
• 1383 – Queen Anne of Bohemia visits Norwich.^[7]
• 1384 – Cloth Seld established.^[7]
• 1385 – Guild of Saint George founded (approximate date).^[13]
• 1404 – Norwich incorporated.
• 1411 – Market Cross built.^[7]
• 1413 – Norwich Guildhall built.
• 1414 – Fire.^[9]
• 1430 – Great Hall built.
• 1443 – Gladman's Insurrection.^[7]
• 1455 – St Peter Mancroft church consecrated.
• 1472 – St Laurence's Church built.

• 1507 – Two fires on 25 April and 4 June destroyed ~40% of Norwich housing.^[14]
• 1510 – Church of St John Maddermarket rebuilt.
• 1521 – Coslany Bridge rebuilt.^[12]
• 1534 – Norwich is the first English city to receive a Rebuilding Statute from parliament.^[14]
• 1543 – Hatters company formed.^[15]
• 1549 – Kett's Rebellion.^[16]
• 1554 – Russell company of weavers founded.^[17]
• 1558 – Cunningham's map of city created.^[7]
• 1565 – Walloons arrive in Norwich and French Church established.^[18]
• 1567 – Anthony de Solempne sets up printing press.^[19]
• 1573 – Fye Bridge rebuilt.^[20][12]
• 1578 – Queen Elizabeth I visits city.^[7]
• 1589 – Blackfriars Bridge rebuilt.^[21]
• 1591 – Whitefriars Bridge rebuilt^[5]

• 1602 – Plague/Black Death.^[7]
• 1608 – Norwich Public Library established.^[22]
• 1615 – Peter Gleane becomes mayor.^[23]
• 1621 – George Birch becomes mayor.^[23]
• 1652 – William Barnham becomes mayor.^[23]
• 1663 – William Oliver bookseller in business.^[24]
• 1648 – The Great Blow explosion occurs after a riot, destroying 40 buildings.^[25]
• 1671 – King Charles II visits Norwich.
• 1675 – George Rose bookseller in business.^[26]
• 1687 – Doughty's Hospital established.^[4]
• 1693 – Population: 28,881.^[27]
• 1697 – New Mint established.^[7]

• 1701 – Norwich Post newspaper begins publication.^[7]
• 1727 – Norwich Mercury newspaper begins publication.^[28]
• 1731 – White Swan Playhouse active (approximate date).^[29][30]
• 1754 – Assembly House built.^[31]
• 1756 – Octagon Chapel built.
• 1757 – Theatre built.^[27][29]
• 1761 – Norfolk Chronicle newspaper begins publication.^[32]
• 1762 – Hills and Underwood distillery in business.^[33]
• 1763 – Richard Beatniffe bookseller in business.^[26]
• 1770 – Gurney's Bank established.
• 1771 – Norfolk and Norwich Hospital founded.
• 1784
  • Blackfriars Bridge rebuilt.^[34]
  • Norfolk and Norwich Subscription Library established.^[35]
• 1785 – William Stevenson bookseller in business.^[26]
• 1786 – Norfolk And Norwich Benevolent Medical Society founded.^[36]
• 1792 – Hudson & Harvey bank established.^[37]
• 1800 – Fish's Musical Circulating Library in business.^[38]

• 1803 – Norwich Society of Artists active.^[39]
• 1804 – St Miles Bridge built.^[40]
• 1811 – Foundry Bridge built.^[12]
• 1819 – Rosary Cemetery established.
• 1820 – Steward, Patterson & Stewards brewery in business.^[41]
• 1821 – Population: 50,288.^[27]
• 1822
  • Norfolk and Norwich Literary Institution established.^[27]
  • Duke's Palace Bridge built.^[12]
• 1823
  • J. & J. Colman in business.^[42]
  • Jarrolds relocates to Norwich.^[43]
• 1824
  • Norfolk and Norwich Festival begins.^[27][44]
  • Norfolk and Norwich Museum, and Norfolk and Norwich United Medical Book Society established.^[27]
• 1826 – Theatre rebuilt.^[27]
• 1827 – Norwich City Gaol built in Heigham Hamlet.^[45]
• 1829
  • Norfolk and Norwich Horticultural Society established.^[27]
  • Fye Bridge rebuilt.^[46]
• 1831 – Canal and harbour open.^[3]
• 1833
  • Norwich Yarn Company in business.^[47]
  • Carrow Bridge rebuilt.^[12]
• 1835 – Town Council elected per Municipal Corporations Act 1835.^[27]
• 1837 – Bullard & Watts brewery in business.
• 1839 – St James Mill built.
• 1844
  • Yarmouth and Norwich Railway begins operating.^[27]
  • Foundry Bridge rebuilt.^[48]
• 1845
  • Norfolk News begins publication.^[28]
  • Norfolk and Norwich Archaeological Society established.^[27]
• 1847 – Chamber of Commerce established.^[27]
• 1849 – Norwich Victoria railway station opens.
• 1851 – Board of Health established.^[27]
• 1854 – Jenny Lind Infirmary for Sick Children opens, the second children's hospital in the country.^[49]
• 1856 – Young Men's Christian Association chapter established.^[27]
• 1857
  • Free Library building opens.^[22]
  • Norfolk and Norwich Anglers' Society formed.^[27]
• 1861 – Population: 75,025.^[27]
• 1866 – Chapel Field Road drill hall opened.^[50]
• 1869 – Norfolk and Norwich Naturalists' Society founded.^[51]
• 1874 – 10 September: Thorpe rail accident occurs near town.
• 1875 – Norwich High School for Girls founded.^[31]
• 1878 – Harry Bullard becomes mayor.^[23]
• 1880 – Chapelfield Gardens open.
• 1882
  • St Crispin's Bridge built.^[52]
  • Norwich City railway station opens.^[52]
• 1886 – Foundry Bridge rebuilt again.^[48]
• 1887 – HM Prison Norwich established.
• 1888 – Norfolk and Norwich Photographic Society established.^[53]
• 1891 – City College Norwich founded.
• 1897
  • Labour strike.^[3]
  • Royal Hotel in business.
• 1900 – Norwich Electric Tramways begin operating.

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (October 2025) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

• 1901 – Population: 111,733.^[4]
• 1902 – Norwich City Football Club founded, inheriting the song "On the Ball, City".
• 1903 – Grand Opera House opens.^[54]
• 1909 – Sewell Park opens.
• 1910 – St John the Baptist Roman Catholic Church built, now cathedral
• 1911 – Picture House (cinema) opens.^[54]
• 1921 – Maddermarket Theatre founded.
• 1923 – First woman Lord Mayor.
• 1924 – Heigham Park opens.^[55]
• 1925
  • Wensum Park opened ^[56][57]
  • The Ferry Boat Inn in business.
  • Whitefriars Bridge rebuilt again.^[5]
• 1928 – Eaton Park opens.
• 1929 – Sloughbottom Park and Mile Cross Gardens open.
• 1933
  • Waterloo Park opens.
  • Fye Bridge rebuilt again.^[58]
• 1938 – City Hall built.
• 1942 – April: Aerial bombing by German forces.
• 1963 – University of East Anglia established.
• 1973 – Colman's Mustard Shop opens.
• 1974 – Norfolk Tower built.
• 1976 – Norwich Buddhist Centre established.
• 1977 – Norwich Arts Centre opens.
• 1978 – Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts and Norwich Cinema City open.
• 1979 – Norwich Puppet Theatre founded.
• 1980 – Sewell Barn Theatre opens.
• 1982 – City of Norwich Aviation Museum active (approximate date).
• 1988 – Norwich Airport terminal opens.
• 1992 – Norwich Research Park launched.
• 1995 – Norwich Playhouse opens.

• 2001
  • Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital founded.
  • The Forum built.
• 2004 – Norwich Heritage Economic and Regeneration Trust (HEART) established.^[59]
• 2005 – Delia Smith makes "Let's be 'avin' you!" speech at Carrow Road.^[60]
• 2006 – 99.9 Radio Norwich begins broadcasting.^{[citation needed]}
• 2007 – Theatre Royal building refurbished.^{[citation needed]}
• 2009
  • Norwich Film Festival begins.^{[citation needed]}
  • 25 July – First Norwich Pride parade.^[61]
• 2018 – Colman's announces transfer of most of its mustard production away from Norwich in 2018-2019.^{[citation needed]}
• 2020 – COVID-19 pandemic.

• History of Norwich
• History of Norfolk

• John Ogilby (1699), "(Norwich)", Traveller's Guide, or, a Most Exact Description of the Roads of England, London: Abel Swall
• Compleat History of the Famous City of Norwich. Norwich: William Chase. 1728.
• Daniel Defoe; Samuel Richardson (1778), "Norfolk: Norwich", A Tour Through the Island of Great Britain (8th ed.), London: J.F. and C. Rivingdon (Defoe visited circa 1723)
• Charles Parkin (1783). History and Antiquities of the City of Norwich. Lynn: J. Robson.

• John Evans; John Britton (1810), "Norfolk: Norwich", Beauties of England and Wales, vol. 11, London: Vernon, Hood & Sharpe, hdl:2027/yale.39002040781966
• Philip Browne (1814), History of Norwich, Norwich: Printed by Bacon, Kinnebrook, and Co., OL 7069999M
• "(Norwich)". Excursions in the County of Norfolk. London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown. 1818.
• James Dugdale (1819), "Norfolk: Norwich", New British Traveller, vol. 3, London: J. Robins and Co.
• "Norwich". Rees's Cyclopædia. 1819.
• Topographical and historical account of the city and county of Norwich. Norwich: John Stacy. 1819.
• Norfolk and Norwich Remembrancer and Vade-mecum (2nd ed.). Norwich: Matchett and Stevenson. 1822.
• Robert Watt (1824). "Norwich". Bibliotheca Britannica. Vol. 4. Edinburgh: A. Constable. hdl:2027/mdp.39076005081505. OCLC 961753.
• "Norwich", Cities and Principal Towns of the World, Cabinet Cyclopaedia, London: Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown, & Green, 1830, OCLC 2665202
• David Brewster, ed. (1832). "Norwich". Edinburgh Encyclopædia. Philadelphia: Joseph and Edward Parker. hdl:2027/uc2.ark:/13960/t2x352b0z.
• History, Gazetteer, and Directory of Norfolk, and the City and County of the City of Norwich .., Sheffield: William White, 1836
  • History, Gazetteer, and Directory of Norfolk, and the City and County of the City of Norwich .., Sheffield: William White, 1845, OCLC 2011287, OL 20507450M
• "Norwich". Penny Cyclopaedia. 1840.
• Samuel Woodward (1842), The Norfolk topographer's manual, London: Nichols & Son, OL 13943146M (includes Norwich)

• "Norwich". Slater's Royal National and Commercial Directory and Topography of ... Norfolk. Isaac Slater. 1852.
• Susan Swain Madders (1853), Rambles in an old city, London, OL 23528980M{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) (describes Norwich)
• J. Willoughby Rosse (1859). "Norwich". Index of Dates ... Facts in the Chronology and History of the World. London: H.G. Bohn. hdl:2027/hvd.32044098621048 – via Hathi Trust.
• George Measom (1865), "Norwich", Official Illustrated Guide to the Great Eastern Railway, London: C. Griffin and Co.
• Charles Knight, ed. (1867). "Norwich". Geography. London: Bradbury, Evans, & Co. hdl:2027/nyp.33433000064802. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
• George Henry Townsend (1867), "Norwich", A Manual of Dates (2nd ed.), London: Frederick Warne & Co.
• A.D. Bayne (1869), A comprehensive history of Norwich, London: Jarrold and Sons, OCLC 2097366, OL 6459663M
• "Norwich", Handbook for Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk, and Cambridgeshire (2nd ed.), London: J. Murray, 1875, OCLC 2094145
• "Norfolk: Norwich". Post Office Directory of the Counties of Cambridge, Norfolk and Suffolk. London: Kelly and Co. 1879.
  • 1865 ed.
  • 1875 ed.
  • 1883 ed.
• Walter Rye (1879). "Description of Norwich". Tourist's Guide to the County of Norfolk. London: Edward Stanford.
• C.S. Ward (1886), "Norwich", The Eastern Counties, Thorough Guides (2nd ed.), London: Dulau & Co.
• Calendar of the Freemen of Norwich from 1307 to 1603, London: E. Stock, 1888, OL 7247463M
• William Hudson (1891), The Wards of the City of Norwich: Their Origin and History, Jarrold and Sons
• William Hudson (1896), How the city of Norwich grew into shape, Norwich: Agas H. Goose
• Charles Gross (1897). "Norwich". Bibliography of British Municipal History. New York: Longmans, Green, and Co.[3]
• James Hooper (1900), Jarrold's Official Guide to Norwich, London: Jarrold and Sons, OL 24139393M

• J.G. Bartholomew (1904), "Norwich", Survey Gazetteer of the British Isles, London: G. Newnes
• Corporation, Norwich (England) (1906). Records of the City of Norwich. Jarrold & sons, Limited.
• W. Hudson (1908). "Municipal Norwich". In Hugh John Dukinfield Astley (ed.). Memorials of Old Norfolk. London: Bemrose and Sons.
• "Norwich", Great Britain (7th ed.), Leipzig: Karl Baedeker, 1910, hdl:2027/mdp.39015010546516
• C. B Hawkins (1910), Norwich, a social study, P.L. Warner, OL 7053401M
• Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Norwich (England)" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 19 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 819–820.
• E. A. Kent, The Mayors of Norwich, 1403 to 1835 (Norwich, 1938)
• M.F. Lloyd Prichard (1951). "The Decline of Norwich". Economic History Review. 3 (3): 371–377. doi:10.2307/2599994. JSTOR 2599994.
• Gerald Dix (1975). "Norwich: A Fine Old City". Town Planning Review. 46 (4): 417–434. doi:10.3828/tpr.46.4.271878q888g33175. JSTOR 40103149.
• David Stoker (1981). "Norwich book trades before 1800". Transactions of the Cambridge Bibliographical Society. 8 (1): 79–125. JSTOR 41154599.
• Barry M. Doyle (1995). "Urban Liberalism and the 'Lost Generation': Politics and Middle Class Culture in Norwich, 1900–1935" (PDF). Historical Journal. 38 (3): 617–634. doi:10.1017/S0018246X00020008. JSTOR 2640005. S2CID 145683964.

• Carole Rawcliffe and Richard Wilson, eds., Norwich since 1550: a fine city (London: Hambledon and London, 2004)
• Muriel C. McClendon (2016). "Reimagining a Community: Worker Protest and Illicit Artisans in Early Seventeenth-Century Norwich". Journal of Urban History. 42.
• Fiona Williamson (2017). "When 'Comoners Were Made Slaves by the Magistrates': The 1627 Election and Political Culture in Norwich". Journal of Urban History. 43.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Norwich, Norfolk.

• "A History of Norwich". Ken Ward. 2004.
• Digital Public Library of America. Works related to Norwich, various dates

52°37′42″N 1°17′48″E / 52.628333°N 1.296667°E / 52.628333; 1.296667