A Riverside Walk in Norwich

Slide 1: 

1 A Riverside Walk With Deejay

Slide 2: 

2 A Riverside Walk Starting Point St. Georges Street , adjacent to Blackfriars Bridge. Finishing Point Novi Sad Friendship Bridge Riverside/King Street. Duration Approx. 1 hour (leisurely stroll)

Slide 3: 

3 View of St. George’s Street from St. Andrews Street. Access to the Riverside Walk is through an archway in the University College of Art building, which lies behind the historic St. Andrews Hall. Archway?

Slide 4: 

4 This Victorian archway is on the site of the Friary of the Dominican Blackfriars who came to Norwich in 1226 and moved to this location in 1470. It takes us through the college courtyard and down to the river.

Slide 5: 

5 The College courtyard with St. Andrew’s Hall to the rear.

Slide 6: 

6 From the bottom of Monastery Court we get our first sight of the River Wensum and of Fye Bridge, the first bridge on our walk.

Slide 7: 

7 The walk continues through Riverside Gardens, a green and peaceful retreat from the hustle and bustle of the city. The path (left) leads onto Elm Hill.

Slide 8: 

8 Elm Hill is worth a small diversion from our riverside walk. It is one of the oldest streets in Norwich and is a leap back in history. It was largely rebuilt after the great fire of 1507 but still retains its Tudor character to the present day. The narrow cobbled streets are flanked either side by genuine Tudor houses some of which are now quaint little shops. It’s a rather startling fact that there are more Tudor houses in Elm Hill than in the whole of the City of London.

Slide 9: 

9 View from Fye Bridge, where there was once a ducking stool, looking back on our walk along the left hand side bank of the river and showing a River/Broads cruise boat leaving Elm Hill Quay. Elm Hill Quay Riverside Gardens University College of Art

Slide 10: 

10 It is from Fye Bridge that we get our first glimpse of the Norwich Anglican Cathedral. Norwich Cathedral is a magnificent Norman building set in the largest close in England. The nave roof bosses, illustrating the Bible from Creation to the Day of Judgement, and the Saxon Bishop’s throne in the eastern apse, are unique features. The spire is the second tallest in England.

Slide 11: 

11 From Fye Bridge we continue along the Quayside towards Whitefriars Bridge. This area, which was once a bustling place where shellfish boats and Broads’ wherries unloaded their cargoes, has been extensively re-developed in recent years.

Slide 12: 

12 Whitefriar’s Bridge, formerly known as St. Martin’s Bridge, was renamed after the Carmelite Monastery which was established nearby around 1256. One surviving relic is what has become known as the Arminghall Arch. After several moves it has recently been installed in the new Magistrate’s Court just across the river from its original site. The tall building, left centre beyond the bridge, is an old Yarn Mill.

Slide 13: 

13 The 1839 St. James’ Yarn Mill has been described by the architectural writer Ian Nairn as ‘the noblest of all English Industrial Revolution Mills’. It was built in a vain attempt to restore trade to Norwich after the great Yorkshire mills started producing cheaper copies of the worsted cloth made in Norfolk.

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14 A summer’s view of the beginning of the next stage of our walk which will take us to the Bishop Bridge.

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15 A winter’s view of the same path, which passes behind the new Law Courts.

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16 Having passed the Law Courts we go through two pairs of wrought iron gates and shortly afterwards see, on our right, the cathedral tower and spire. The main body of the cathedral is hidden by what is most probably the oldest pub in Norwich, the Adam and Eve. This establishment ‘fed and watered’ the workers building the cathedral in the twelfth century.

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17 We now pass through a brick and flint archway and get a view of a new stretch of river. The photograph on the right was taken just after sunrise on a cold winter’s morning, beautiful even at that time of day and at that time of year.

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18 The next point of historical interest is the ancient Cow Tower standing at the bend in the river known as Patchey’s Corner. The ruined Cow Tower was built in 1398-9 and is a very rare example of a freestanding medieval artillery tower. Although looking almost complete, the tower was badly damaged during Kett’s Rebellion in 1549.

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19 Roughly half way through our walk, very conveniently, we come across an excellent retreat, ‘The Red Lion’ (here seen from the Bishop Bridge). Time for a rest and some refreshment in the riverside garden for those so inclined.

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20 Bishop Bridge, built in 1345 and the third bridge on our walk, is one of five medieval bridges across the River Wensum, a greater number than any other English medieval city. It is the oldest bridge in Norwich to survive without later rebuilding.

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21 This is a view from close to Bishop Bridge looking towards our fourth bridge, Foundry Bridge. However, we continue our walk along the opposite bank in order to visit Pull’s Ferry.

Slide 22: 

22 Pull’s Ferry, with its flint building, was once a 15th Century water gate. It was the route for the stone used to build Norwich Cathedral. The stone came from France up the River Yare and then the River Wensum. A canal, specifically built by the monks, used to run under the arch, where the Normans would ferry the stone and building materials to be unloaded on the cathedral site.

Slide 23: 

23 The view of Pull’s Ferry from the opposite bank forms this picturesque postcard scene often associated with the City of Norwich.

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24 From behind Pull’s Ferry is this rather striking view of the Cathedral, seen across the Norwich School’s playing fields.

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25 Foundry Bridge, the fourth on our walk. Originally a toll bridge, this bridge was built in the 1880s at a cost of £12,000.

Slide 26: 

26 The Compleat Angler. Another convenient watering hole on this walk, being situated adjacent to the Foundry Bridge which we cross to continue our journey. The Riverside Walk actually passes along the attractive terrace.

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27 Thorpe Station Norwich Railway Station lies just across the river from the Compleat Angler and, built in 1886, is a fine example of late Victorian railway architecture. (The plants lining the pedestrian approach are not, as some ‘furriner’ suggested, genetically modified sugar-beet!)

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28 The next stage of our walk is along this stretch of river with greatly contrasting banks. On our side is the new Riverside Development with its bars, cafes, cinema, flats and supermarkets etc., whilst on the opposite bank is the historic King Street, home to the Dragon Hall and the Music House which are to be included in another walk.

Slide 29: 

29 This is part of the entertainment area A view of part of the residential quarter

Slide 30: 

30 Our destination, the Novi Sad Friendship Bridge. This cable-stayed swing pedestrian and cyclist bridge was opened in 2001 in recognition of the twinning of Norwich and the Yugoslav City of Novi Sad.

Slide 31: 

31 A view from the Novi Sad Friendship Bridge looking back towards the City.

Slide 32: 

32 I hope you enjoyed our little walk. It’s very difficult to know when to stop: we could have carried on by walking along the old King Street and then going one of several ways to look at some of the many interesting buildings and areas that abound in this ancient and “Fine City of Norwich”. They will have to be the subject of another slide show (or 2?). Goodbye until then.