Norwich, a cathedral city of England, the capital of Norfolk, and a parliamentary county, and municipal borough (the first returning two members), is situated on the Wensum, immediately above its confluence with the Yare, 18 miles W. of Yarmouth and 114 NNE. of London. Pop. (1801) 34,975; (1831) 61,110; (1881) 87,842; (1891) 100,964. Built on the summit and slopes of a hill which gradually rises from the river, the city, with its hamlets, covers an area of 7472 acres, as compared with that of two miles enclosed by its ancient walls (1294-1342), and its narrow, winding streets are rich in examples of early architecture—as Pull's Ferry and the Bishop's Bridge (1295), both on the river-banks; St Giles' Hospital (founded 1249); the Ethelbert Gateway (circa 1272); Bishop Salmon's Gateway (circa 1325); the Guildhall (completed 1413); Erpingham Gate (1420); the Music House (partly Norman, and once a residence of Sir Edward Coke); the Bridewell (Decorated and Perpendicular, circa 1400); and the Dolphin Inn (1587). The cathedral, almost wholly Norman in style, but the growth of more than four centuries, occupies a site close to the river, and was founded in 1096 by Bishop Herbert Losinga: its dimensions are 407 feet in length by 72 in breadth (or 178 across the transepts), and it is surmounted by a noble (Norman) tower and (Decorated) spire of 315 feet—the highest in England next to Salisbury: special features are the relics, consisting of two glorious arches, of its Early English Lady Chapel (demolished 1573-89); its cloisters, 175 feet square (1297-1430); the Decorated Beauchamp Chapel (in which is preserved the Bible used at the coronation of Queen Victoria), and the vaulted roof of the nave and transept, rich in mediæval sculptured bosses. Close by is the grammar-school, founded (as a Mortuary Chapel) in 1319, and famous as the place of education of Lord Nelson, Rajah Brooke, and other celebrities; also St Andrew's Hall (Perpendicular; formerly the church of the Black Friars), in which are held the triennial musical festivals, first established at Norwich in 1824. Next after the cathedral the most striking edifice is the castle, crowning the summit of a sugar-loaf mound in the centre of the city, and originally, with its defences, extending to the picturesque market-place: its massive quadrangular Norman keep, the only portion now standing, was used as a prison till 1886. In it and the adjacent prison-buildings has been placed the local museum, famous for its collection of raptorial birds. On the cattle-market beneath the castle is held annually, on Maundy Thursday, the famous cattle and sheep fair, formerly held on Tombland, and so graphically described in Borrow's Lavengro. The churches, forty-four in number, are for the most part built of flint, and in the Perpendicular style: those of St Peter Mancroft (where once Archbishop Tenison ministered), St Andrew, St Giles, St Lawrence, St Michael Coslany, and St Stephen are the finest examples; whilst of public buildings of modern date mention should be made of the hospital (founded 1771 and rebuilt 1879-83), an Agricultural Hall (1882), and a Volunteer Drill-hall (1886). Formerly one of the largest seats in England of the worsted-weaving trade, the city is still noted for its textile fabrics—especially its crapes; but the principal manufactures now carried on are those of mustard, starch, ornamental ironware, boots and shoes, whilst extensive breweries and a vinegar distillery, as well as large nursery-gardens on the outskirts of the town, give employment to many hands.
Oft-times pillaged by the Danes, and in 878 Guthrum's headquarters, Norwich in 1004 was burned by Sweyn, and thirteen years later was held by his son Canute. Subsequent to the Norman Conquest the principal incidents in its history have been the translation of the bishopric hither from Thetford (1094); the granting of its first charter of self-government (1194); its sacking by Louis the French Dauphin (1216); the riotous attack by the citizens on the cathedral monastery (1272); its first representation in parliament (1295); settlements of Flemish weavers (1336) and of Dutch and Walloon refugees (1558-1603); a hurricane (15th January 1362), which blew down the spire of the cathedral; John Lister's rebellion (1381); disastrous fires (1463 and 1509), on the last occasion the roof of the cathedral being destroyed; the encampment of Ket's rebels on Mousehold Heath (1549); many royal visits, and outbreaks of the plague, the worst being the Black Death in 1349, when half the population is supposed to have perished, in 1602, when 3076 persons died, and in 1665, when 2251 succumbed; and a collision on the railway 2 miles to the east of the city (10th September 1874), when twenty-five persons lost their lives. Among the sixty-five bishops of Norwich have been Pandulph (the pope's legate), Salmon (the builder of the grammar-school), Bateman (the founder of Trinity Hall at Cambridge), Despeiser ('the fighting Bishop of Norwich'), Corbet (the poet), Hursnett and Manners-Sutton (afterwards Archbishops of York and Canterbury), Wren (father of the celebrated architect), Joseph Hall, and Reynolds (the composer of the General Thanksgiving in the Prayer-book). Of citizens the best known are Sir Thomas Erpingham (builder of the gate which bears his name, and chamberlain to Henry IV.); Thomas Bilney; Archbishop Parker; Dr Caius; Greene (the poet and dramatist); Bishops Cosin and Tanner; Sir Thomas Browne; Dr Samuel Clarke; Sir James Edward Smith; 'Old' Crome, his son, Cotman, Stark, and Vincent (the 'Norwich school' of painters); Mrs Opie; Crotch (the musical composer); Wilkins (architect and R.A.); William Taylor (q.v.) and Professor Brewer; Sir W. J. Hooker; Gurney (the philanthropist) and his sister, Elizabeth Fry; Lindley (the botanist); and Harriet Martineau and her brother James.
See works by Stacy (1819), Bayne (1858), Goulburn (1876), Jarrold (1883), and Jessopp (1884); also those cited under Norfolk.