Page:The National Gazetteer - A Topographical Dictionary of the British Islands, Volume 3.djvu/98

Rh NORWICH. NORWICH. Edward the Confessor it had 25 pariah churches and 1,320 free hurgesses. "William the Conqueror, upon the reduction of England, intrusted the constableahip of the castle to Ralph de Waiet, or Guader, Earl of Norfolk, who conspiring, forfeited it to the crown, when it was conferred, together with the earldom of Norfolk, on Roger Bigod, who reduced the castle after a hard siege, and added tho keep as it stands at present. In 1094, the bishopric of the East Angles was removed by William Rufus from Thetford to Norwich, and the foundations of the cathedral were laid by Herbert Losinga, the bishop. Henry I. granted the citizens their first charter, and kept his Christmas revels here in 1122. It was taken by the rebellious barons of Henry II. in 1174, and again by Louis, the Dauphin of France, during the baronial wars of John's reign. During the troubles of Henry IIL's reign, the cathedral was fired by the citizens in a dispute with the clei'gy, but was restored by Edward I. and reconsecrated in 1278. Towards the close of the same reign, the city was strongly fortified at the expense of the citizens, and surrounded by walls, which were defended by twelve gates and forty towers. In the reign of Edward III. the Flemings settled here in considerable numbers, and introduced the woollen and crape trades. It was fre- quently visited by the court during this reign, and was the scene of several tournaments ; but in 1348-9, it suffered severely by the " black death," which carried off above half the inhabitants. In 1381 it was visited by Richard II., after the defeat of John the Dyer, one of Wat Tyler's men, by Henry Spencer, the warlike Bishop of Norwich. The succeeding monarchs, Henry IV., Henry VI., and Henry VII., also spent some time here, by the first of whom it was separated from the county of Norfolk and erected into a county of itself, and under the last it was partially burnt. In the reign of Edward VI. it was taken by the rioters under Robert Kett, who, being defeated by Dudley on Mousewold- heath, was hung from the castle wall. In the early part of Elizabeth's reign it was settled by about 4,000 Walloons from Flanders, who introduced the bombazine manufacture, and greatly improved the commercial prosperity of the town, which now had no fewer than 60 parish churches. In the civil war of Charles I. it supported the parliamentary cause, and as the royalists were not strong in this district, no contest took place. No public event of interest has occurred since that period, except the royal visits of Charles II. and Queen Anne, and the meeting of the Royal Agricultural Society here in 1849. The county of the city of Norwich, which is much more extensive than the town itself, is about 4 miles in diameter and 14 in circuit, including many gardens and orchards, hence Norwich has been designated " the city in an orchard." It even comprises some good arable land, growing heavy crops of wheat, barley, oats, and beans. Its boundaries were unaltered by the Reform Bill, and includes 36 parishes within the city, besides 9 parishes or hamlets in the county of the city, viz. Earlham, Easton, Heigham, Hellesdon, Lakenham, Pockthorpe, Thorpe, Trouse, and part of Sprouston. The town itself is of irregular form, extending about 1J mile in length from N.W. to S.E., and about 1 in breadth from S.W. to N.E. It is traversed by the windings of the river Wensum, which, entering from the N.W. is crossed by ten bridges in the town and suburbs. These latter are interspersed with gardens and orchards. The best part of the town is that in the immediate vicinity of the market-place, which is one of tho most spacious in England, being near 600 feet long by 350 wide. Many of the older streets diverge -from it, and are narrow and winding, others follow the direction of the ancient walls, parts of which are still standing. The principal streets have nagged foot-pavements, and are well lighted with gas, but the smaller streets are only partially paved and imperfectly lighted. The best shops are in the neigh- bourhood of the market-place, but some of the hand- somest private residences are within the precincts of tho cathedral, which form a peculiar jurisdiction of the dean and chapter, who appoint a coroner and cccltsiaa- tical judges and officers. Considerable increase has taken place in the town during the last few years, the number of inhabited houses in 1851 having been returned at 15,086, and in 1861 at 17,112. Tho general prosperity is also marked by the rapid increase of the population, from 68,713 to 74,891 in the decennial period between 1851 and 1861. Several manufactures are extensively carried on, above 2,400 hands being employed in weav- ing silk and wool, and near 2,000 in the boot and shoe trade, which has now become one of the staple trades of Norwich. The chief productions are bombazines, crapes, gauzes, mousselin de laine, silk shawls mixed with wool and mohair, fillover shawls, camlets for the foreign market, bareges, bandanas, paramattas, pincettas, worsteds, fringes for carriages, sewing cotton, sacking, sailcloth. There are also foundries, coachbuilding works, machine works, breweries, tanneries, maltkilns, chemical works, dye-works, paper-mills, pianoforte and organ builders, besides fellmongers, wool-staplers, glovers, upholsterers, rope-makers, and several large and power- ful corn-mills. Trade in agricultural produce, coal, and other heavy goods, is carried on by means of the river and canals, chiefly in lighters or wherries of from 15 to 20 tons burden. Norwich has its own chamber of com- merce, also three commercial banks, viz. the Norwich Crown Bank, of Harvey and Hudson ; the Norwich and Norfolk Bank, of Gurney and Co. (head office) ; and the East of England Bank (head office) ; besides a savings- bank with above 10,000 depositors. For parliamentary purposes the boundaries are co-extensive with those of the county of the city, and it has returned two members to parliament since the reign of Edward I. Under the new Corporations Reform Act, it is divided into 8 wards, governed by a mayor, who is the returning- officer, 16 aldermen, and 48 councillors, assisted by a sheriff, under-sheriff, recorder, judge of the borough court, clerk of the peace, town clerk, coroner, water- bailiff, and other officers, with the style of " the mayor, sheriffs, citizens, and commonalty of Norwich." Tho revenues of the corporation are between 1,450 and 1,500. Assizes and quarter sessions for the county and city are held in the town, which has a separate com- mission of the peace ; also a borough court daily, court of pleas and court of conscience, and a county court. The most interesting of the public buildings are the castle and the cathedral. The former, which stood on a hill 360 yards round, is, from its elevation, one of the most striking objects in the city. It originally covered 23 acres, and was divided into three courts. There remain of it the keep, a massive quadrangular building, 110 feet 3 inches from E. to W., 92 feet 10 inches from N. to S., and 69 feet 6 inches in height to the battle- ments, including a Norman arch and the entrance tower, known as Bigod's tower, of ornamented Norman work. This portion has been restored, or rather re- cased with an imitation of the ancient work, and is now used as the shire-hall when the assize courts sit. Tho eastern front has also been renovated, but is partly hidden by the incongruous addition of a modern county gaol. The other portions are the Barbican-bridge, 140 feet long, with an arch 43 feet span, said to be one of the largest and most perfect examples of an Anglo- Norman arch remaining. There are also remains of two round towers, called the Black and Devil's towers, 14 feet in diameter, which formed part of the original gateway ; they stand at the inner end of the bridge, and were used as the prison up to 1793. Around the castle are well-laid-out gardens and a common terrace walk above, occupying the site of the inner ditch, and commanding a panoramic view of the city and neigh- bourhood. The foundation of the cathedral was laid iu 1094 by Bishop Herbert Losinga, who also built the episcopal palace, and a monastery for 60 monks of the Benedictine order, the revenue of which establishment at the Dissolution was 1,050 17s. Gd. He, however, finished only the choir and tower of the cathedral, leaving the other portions to be added by succeeding bishops. Before its final completion in 1510 by Bishop