The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Norwich, Norfolk, England.
Prior to 12th century
900–950 AD – Anglo-Scandinavian ditch and bank constructed to north of River Wensum. 924 AD – Market active. 1004 – Norwich sacked by Danes. – Norwich Castle construction begins. – St Peter Mancroft church established by Ralph de Gael. 1086 – 23 to 30 churches, 43 chapels and 8,000 citizens recorded in Domesday Book. 1094 – Seat of East Anglian bishopric relocated to Norwich from Thetford. 1096 – Norwich School established.
12th–13th centuries 1100 Bishop's Palace built (approximate date). St George Colegate church built (approximate date). 1101 – Norwich Cathedral dedicated. 1106 – Norwich fair active. 1110–20 – Bridge of St Martins built. 1100 – St Leonard's Priory built on Mousehold Heath. 1122 – King Henry I visits town. 1144 – William of Norwich murdered. 1145 – Norwich Cathedral completed. 1158 – Henry II grants the burgesses a charter. 1190 – Antisemitic massacre, Chapelfield well mass grave created. 1194 – Richard I grants the burgesses a fuller charter. 1216 – Dauphin Louis takes Norwich Castle. 1248 – Chapel and Hospice of St Mary's in the Field founded. 1249 – Giles's Hospital founded. 1258 – Penitential Friars settle in the city. 1266 – "Disinherited Barons sack city." 1272 – Riot. 1294 – City walls construction begins. 1295 – Bishop Bridge built. 1298 – Norwich represented in parliament by two members.
14th–15th centuries
1341 – Norwich Market ceded to city. 1342 – City walls built. 1349 Population: ~25,000. Plague. 1383 – Queen Anne of Bohemia visits Norwich. 1384 – Cloth Seld established. 1385 Guild of Saint George founded (approximate date). Guild Day ceremony established. 1404 – Charter defines the city and county of Norwich. 1411 – Market Cross built. 1413 – Norwich Guildhall completed. 1414 – Fire. 1430 – Great Hall built. 1443 – Gladman's Procession. 1455 – St Peter Mancroft church consecrated. 1472 – St Laurence's Church built.
16th century 1507 – Two fires on 25 April and 4 June destroy ~40% of Norwich housing, over 700 dwellings. 1510 – Church of St John Maddermarket rebuilt. 1520 – Population: up to 11,000. 1521 – Coslany Bridge rebuilt. 1532 – Group of women punished for selling grain below the set rate at Norwich Market. 1534 – Norwich is the first English city to receive a Rebuilding Statute from parliament. 1541 – Norwich Sanctuary Map created. 1543 – Hatters company formed. 1544–1545 – Plague outbreak. 1549 Kett's Rebellion. Norwich is the first English provincial town to initiate compulsory payments to finance poor relief. 1554 – Russell company of weavers founded. 1555–56 – Plague outbreak and influenza epidemic. 1556 – Charter confirms the city boundaries, including the parishes of Carrow, Lakenham, Eaton, Earlham, and Heigham plus Mousehold Heath and Thorpe Wood. 1558 – The Cuningham Prospect, a perspective plan of the city, created. 1561 – Exports of Norwich worsteds from Great Yarmouth drops to 38 in a year. 1565 – Strangers (Dutch and Walloons) arrive in Norwich and French Church established. 1567 Duke's Palace completed. Anthonie de Solempne sets up first printing press. 1570 – Census of the Poor. 1571 – 3,925 Strangers recorded in Norwich. 1573 – Fye Bridge rebuilt. 1576 – Almost 5,000 Strangers recorded in Norwich. 1578 – Queen Elizabeth I visits Norwich as the destination of her yearly Progress. 1579–80 – Bubonic plague kills over 5,000 people, possibly up to 40% of the population. 1584–5 – Bubonic plague outbreak kills at least 3,500 people. 15 June 1583 – The Norwich Affray interrupts a performance by the Queen's Men, resulting in murder. 1589 – Blackfriars Bridge rebuilt. 1589–92 – Bubonic plague outbreak kills at least 3,500 people. 1591 – Whitefriars Bridge rebuilt
17th century 1603–4 – Bubonic plague outbreak kills almost 3,500 people. 1608 – Norwich Public Library established. 1615 – Peter Gleane becomes mayor. 1621 – George Birch becomes mayor. 1625–6 – Bubonic plague outbreak kills almost 3,500 people. 1635 – Matthew Wren appointed Bishop of Norwich. 1636–8 – Bubonic plague outbreak. 1648 – The Great Blow explosion occurs after a riot, destroying 40 buildings. 1660 January – 14 Norwich aldermen and 25 common councillors sign the Norfolk Address to General Monck, expressing desire for a free parliament. 24 May – Official thanksgiving held to celebrate the 10 May Restoration of Charles II. 20 September – Norwich soldiery disbanded. 1652 – William Barnham becomes mayor. 1663 My Lord's Garden, Norwich's earliest known commercial garden, laid out. William Oliver bookseller in business. 1666 – Final bubonic plague outbreak kills 2,500 people in a year. 1671 – King Charles II visits Norwich. 1675 – George Rose bookseller in business. 1681 – Duke's Palace rebuilt. 1687 – Doughty's Hospital established. 1693 – Population: 28,881. 1697 – New Mint established.
18th century 1701 Norwich Post begins publication as Britain's first provincial newspaper. Oil lamps come into use in Norwich. 1706 – Norwich Gazette (later Norfolk Chronicle) and Norwich Postman (later Norwich Mercury) newspapers begin publication. 1711 – Duke's Palace ordered for demolition. 1724 – Maid's Head Lodge constituted, the first Masonic lodge in Norfolk. 1731 – White Swan Playhouse active (approximate date). 1741–1745 – Reverend Francis Blomefield publishes his History of the City and County of Norwich in instalments. 1745 – Temporary triumphal arch built to commemorate the defeat of the Jacobite rising. October 1746 – Public celebrations of the defeat of the Jacobite rebellion. 1747 – Local epidemic, likely smallpox. 1754 – Assembly House built. 1756 – Octagon Chapel completed. 1757 – Theatre built. 1758 – New Theatre built. 1762 – Hills and Underwood distillery in business. 1763 – Richard Beatniffe bookseller in business. 1770 – Gurney's Bank established. 1771 or 1772 – Norfolk and Norwich Hospital founded. 1775 – The Scots' Society (renamed Universal Society of Goodwill in 1784) founded on Saint Andrew's Day by Scottish expatriates. 1784 Blackfriars Bridge rebuilt. Norfolk and Norwich Subscription Library established. 1785 First manned flight over Norwich by James Decker in a hot air balloon, launched from Ranelagh Gardens. 22 July – Major John Money is launched in a balloon from Ranelagh Gardens and before being ditched in the North Sea. 18 October – Society of United Friars founded at Crown Court, Elm Hill. William Stevenson bookseller in business. 1786 Population: 41,000. Norfolk And Norwich Benevolent Medical Society founded. 1792 – Hudson & Harvey bank established. April 1795 – Norwich Patriotic Society founded to agitate for parliamentary reform. 1797 – Norwich Norwich Loyal Military Association formed. 1800 – Fish's Musical Circulating Library in business.
19th century 1803 – Norwich Society of Artists meets for the first time. 1804 – St Miles Bridge built. 1811 – Foundry Bridge built. 1815 – Riots against the Corn Laws; Norfolk MP Thomas Coke is pelted with stones. 4 April 1817 – The PS Telegraph explodes after setting off from Foundry Bridge, killing 10 and injuring five. 1819 – Rosary Cemetery established. 1820 – Steward, Patterson & Stewards brewery in business. 1821 – Population: 50,288. 1822 Norfolk and Norwich Literary Institution established. Duke's Palace Bridge built. 1823 J. & J. Colman in business. Jarrolds relocates to Norwich. 1824 Norfolk and Norwich Festival begins. Norfolk and Norwich Museum, and Norfolk and Norwich United Medical Book Society established. 1826 – Theatre rebuilt. 1827 – Norwich City Gaol built in Heigham Hamlet. 1829 Norfolk and Norwich Horticultural Society established. Fye Bridge rebuilt. Riots of over 3,000 weavers, who block access to workhouses and throw looms in the river. 1831 – Canal and harbour open. 1833 Norwich Yarn Company in business. Carrow Bridge rebuilt. 1835 Town Council elected per Municipal Corporations Act 1835. Guild Day ceremony formally abolished. 1837 – Bullard & Watts brewery in business. 1839 – St James Mill built. 1844 Yarmouth and Norwich Railway begins operating. Foundry Bridge rebuilt. 1845 Norfolk News begins publication. Norfolk and Norwich Archaeological Society established. 1847 – Chamber of Commerce established. 1849 January – Jenny Lind performs two charity concerts at St Andrew's Hall. Norwich Victoria railway station opens. 1851 – Board of Health established. 1854 – Jenny Lind Infirmary for Sick Children opens, the second children's hospital in the country. 1856 – Young Men's Christian Association chapter established. 1857 Free Library building opens. Norfolk and Norwich Anglers' Society formed. 1861 – Population: 75,025. 1866 – Chapel Field Road drill hall opened. 1869 – Norfolk and Norwich Naturalists' Society founded. 1874 – 10 September: Thorpe rail accident occurs near town. 1875 – Norwich High School for Girls founded. 1878 – Harry Bullard becomes mayor. 1880 – Chapelfield Gardens open. 1882 St Crispin's Bridge built. Norwich City railway station opens. 1886 – Foundry Bridge rebuilt again. 1887 – HM Prison Norwich established. 1888 – Norfolk and Norwich Photographic Society established. 1891 – City College Norwich founded. 1897 Labour strike. Royal Hotel in business. 1900 – Norwich Electric Tramways begin operating.
20th century
1901 – Population: 111,733. 1902 – Norwich City Football Club founded, inheriting the song "On the Ball, City". 1903 – Grand Opera House opens. 1909 – Sewell Park opens. 1910 – St John the Baptist Roman Catholic Church built, now cathedral 1911 – Picture House (cinema) opens. 1921 – Maddermarket Theatre founded. 1923 – First woman Lord Mayor. 1924 – Heigham Park opens. 1925 Wensum Park opened The Ferry Boat Inn in business. Whitefriars Bridge rebuilt again. 1928 – Eaton Park opens. 1929 – Sloughbottom Park and Mile Cross Gardens open. 1933 Waterloo Park opens. Fye Bridge rebuilt again. St Peter Hungate church repurposed as a museum, becoming the first church building to be given permanent secular use since the Reformation. 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. Norwich Historic Churches Trust established. Norwich and Great Yarmouth lose their status as county boroughs and become districts. 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. 1994 – Norwich Central Library fire destroys over 100,000 books. 1995 – Norwich Playhouse opens.
21st century 2001 Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital founded. The Forum built. 2004 – Norwich Heritage Economic and Regeneration Trust (HEART) established. 2005 – Delia Smith makes "Let's be 'avin' you!" speech at Carrow Road. 2006 – 99.9 Radio Norwich begins broadcasting. 2007 – Theatre Royal building refurbished. 2009 Norwich Film Festival begins. 25 July – First Norwich Pride parade. 2018 – Colman's announces transfer of most of its mustard production away from Norwich. 2020 – COVID-19 pandemic.
See also History of Norwich History of Norfolk
References
Attribution
Further reading
Published in the 17th–18th centuries
(Defoe visited circa 1723)
Published in the 19th century
1800s–1840s
(includes Norwich)
1850s–1890s
(describes Norwich)
1865 ed. 1875 ed. 1883 ed.
Published in the 20th century
E. A. Kent, The Mayors of Norwich, 1403 to 1835 (Norwich, 1938)