28 May - Into Norwich

There are so many wonderful things to see in this part of the country that it's hard to pick which ones to prioritize. High on my list was Norwich Castle but it seems that it's closed for renovations. The attached museum is open but we decided to opt for a visit to Norwich Cathedral instead. We got the train from Felixstowe to Ipswich, then transferred to another to Norwich. We raced to the Cathedral to try to make the 11:00 tour. We made just in time to find that our tour was to be conducted by a very knowledgeable woman whose voice barely projected five feet. Further, she hadn't learned the first rule of speaking to a tour group: face the people you're addressing. She'd say, "And over here..." then turn to face the object about which she was talking, then turn back to finish her sentence. Bruce stood on one side of her, I stood opposite, and between us we caught about 60 percent of the narrative.

Construction of the Cathedral was started in 1096 by Benedictine monks. The construction is primarily in the Norman style. When the steeple was blown down in a storm in 1362, it fell through the roof damaging the east wing. In 1463 the rebuilt spire caught fire causing extensive damage. In 1480 the bishop, James Goldwell, ordered the building of a new spire which is still in place today.

It is a very impressive building with its soaring vaulting and beautiful stained glass.

My favorite details are the ceiling bosses. They are knobs which are placed at the intersection of a rib vault. Norwich Cathedral has hundreds of them, in fact its the biggest collection of its kind in the world. They are found in the cathedral and in the cloisters as well. They represent biblical stories and as you exit the cathedral there's an interactive display that lets you see all of the bosses and tells the stories they represent.

There were some interesting bits of the tour that were actually audible. There are the remnants of paintings that date to medieval times in the cathedral like this painting of the story of Herbert de Losinga, the first Bishop of Norwich

and the painting found in the Jesus chapel. A sign there says that this type of painting may well have covered all of the walls of the cathedral at one time.

The choir stalls and the organ, with its 5600 pipes:

Chapel of the Innocents, dedicated to all those who have endured torture and persecution:

The Millennium windows, new windows made from ancient glass:

Pelican lectern made of Flemish bronze:

The pelican  is meant to represent Christ's sacrifice because the pelican rips the skin of its breast and feeds the blood to its young.

The Victorian pulpit and Bishop's seat:

The Lady Chapel from 1245 was destroyed in the dissolution but rebuilt in the early 1930s and dedicated to the soldiers of WWI. Regimental flags hang from the rafters.

While visiting the Lady chapel, we met Budge, the cathedral cat.

In St. Luke's chapel there is a beautiful painting with an amazing story. It dates to the 14th century but at some point, someone decided they didn't like it, so they turned it over and used the back side as a table. Some 200 years later, a scribe sitting at the table dropped his pen and happened to look up at the underside of the table. The painting was discovered and restored to a place of honor.

At the entry to the church is the baptismal font which has quite an unusual backstory. Once upon a time, it was actually two copper bowls used for manufacturing toffee at Rowntree Mackintosh chocolate factory in Norwich.

The cloister is the largest monastic cloister in the country.

I was rather surprised to see effigies of Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth on one of the walls of the cloister. Apparently they were put there to celebrate the 65th year of her reign.

The Cathedral must have an enormous technology budget because their website features a virtual tour of the Cathedral which is definitely worth a look.

Leaving the cathedral yard, there's a wonderful tipsy Tudor building.

After stopping for a quick lunch, I took off toward the Elm Hill area, which was once a thriving street of shops. There are still a couple of businesses there but it's not as it once was.

I then sought out the Royal Arcade, a Victorian building with wonderful Art Nouveau features. (first photo is from the Royal Arcade site)

There were beautiful Art Nouveau tiles on the walls, but they were mostly hidden by the tacky plastic "greenery."

I think this would be prettier without the anti-pigeon spikes.

I had to wonder if all the people rushing through the arcade ever noticed the beauty of their surroundings.

I didn't buy anything at Elm Hill or the Royal Arcade, but I did find this wonderful tote at Norwich Cathedral.

It made my day and I know it will make me smile every time I look at King Charles III wearing his Crocs.