Manual Ref* NFnrNOR041 Show 4 images 252
Title*

East end of Guildhall, with 1850 clock tower
County Norfolk   District Council Norwich City Council 
Civil Parish or equivalent Norwich  Town/Village* Norwich - City Hall 
Road Guildhall Hill 
Precise Location East end of Guildhall 
OS Grid Ref TG229087  Postcode NR2 
Previous location(s)  
Setting On Building  Access Public 
Artist/Maker Role Qualifier
Robert Kerr (clock tower)  Architect(s)   
Clock by Moores of Clerkenwell  Other   

Commissioned by

 Henry Woodcock Mayor 

Design & Constrn period

 New council chamber, 1536, clock tower 1850 

Date of installing

  

Exact date of unveiling

 October 1850 

Category
Abstract Animal Architectural
Commercial Commemorative Composite
Free Functional Funerary
Heraldic Military Natural
Non-Commemorative Performance Portable
Religious Roadside, Wayside Sculptural
Temporary, Mobile Other  

Object Type
Building Clock Tower Architectural
Coat of Arms Cross Fountain
Landscape Marker Medallion
Mural Panel Readymade
Relief Shaft Sculpture
Statue Street Furniture War Memorial
Other Object Sub Type: Clock Tower

Subject Type
Allegorical Mythological Pictorial
Figurative Non-figurative Portrait
Still-life Symbolic Other

Subject Sub Type
Bust Equestrian Full-length
Group Head Reclining
Seated Standing Torso
Part Material Dimension
Frame with angels supporting City?s coat of arms  Stone  W. 3 metres 50 

Work is
Extant Not Sited Lost

Owner/Custodian

 Norwich City Council 

Listing status
Grade I Grade II* Grade II Don't Know Not Listed

Surface Condition
Corrosion, Deterioration Accretions
Bird Guano Abrasions, cracks, splits
Biological growth Spalling, crumbling
Metallic staining Previous treatments
Other  
Detail: The figures are badly worn

Structural Condition
Armature exposed Broken or missing parts
Replaced parts Loose elements
Cracks, splits, breaks, holes Spalling, crumbling
Water collection Other
Detail: Figures flanking clock now missing

Vandalism
Graffiti Structural damage Surface Damage
Detail:

Overall condition
Good Fair Poor

Risk
No Known Risk At Risk Immediate
Signatures/Marks  
Inscriptions Date 1850 above clock SOLA VIRTUS INVICTA (Virtue alone cannot be conquered), at base of clock in gold lettering HENRY WOODCOCK, MAYOR, in Gothic script on base 

Description (physical)

 Norwich had been granted its first Charter of Incorporation in 1404, giving it the status of a city and the right to elect its own mayor, collect its own taxes and hold its own Courts of Law. The Guildhall was built from 1407-53 to house the courts together with the prisoners, as well as offices for raising taxes, the civic regalia and the civic officials. With three major chambers it was larger than any comparable contemporary civic building. When the roof of the mayoral council chamber collapsed in 1511 repair and rebuilding could be put off until 1535-1537. The new chamber’s eastern façade provided the building’s major view, now partially blocked behind a taxi rank. It was decorated with chequerboard flushwork and a large window, which was set over decorative panels displaying coats of arms. As with other contemporary schemes, the entrance to Cardinal Wolsey’ College in Ipswich and Hengrave Hall, the place of honour in the centre was reserved for those of Henry VIII. They were flanked to the right by those of the city, still just visible - a castle over a lion supported by armed angels – and on the left the Guild of St. George, under a helmet. The heraldry was reflected in the four lights of the east window and served to underline the importance of the Norwich guild of St. George. Granted a royal charter in 1417 from 1452 the guild had been closely linked with the government of the city, with each retiring mayor as the alderman (head) of the guild. The base of the clock turret is dated 1850 and supported by angels holding the city’s coat of arms. The gilded inscription at its base reads HENRY WOODCOCK, MAYOR and on the base of the clock SOLA VIRTUS INVICTA (Virtue alone cannot be conquered), the motto of the Dukes of Norfolk, the premier dukes who, in spite of their title, had no connection with Norfolk.  

Description (iconographical)

 The elegant arched spire, apparently rebuilt before 1935, marked out the east end of the Guildhall from the surrounding late Victorian buildings and the market, before construction of the present City Hall. Henry Woodcock (1789-1879) was mayor for 1849-1851. On the 17th April 1850 he offered to provide an illuminated clock ant turret, on condition that the Corporation removed the false ceiling in the Council Chamber in the Guildhall and laid open the new roof. By 2008 both the iron support for the clock and its stone housing needed repair, undertaken from July 2010 by Universal Stone and completed in December 2011. The deterioration of the stone was worse than had been expected so that the stone casing had to be removed completely before restoration could begin in summer 2011. 

Photographs

 Date taken:  5/4/2006
Date logged: 

Photographed by:
Sarah Cocke

On Site Inspection

 Date:  21/4/2006

Inspected by:
Richard Cocke

Sources and References

 Dunn, I., and Sutermeister, H., The Norwich Guildhall, Norwich (1977); King, D., ‘ Medieval Glass Painting,’ and Tanner, N., ‘Religious Practice’ 148-149 both in Rawcliffe, C. and Wilson, R. eds, Medieval Norwich, Hambledon and London, 2004, 134-135 and 148-149; Palgrave-Moore, P., The Mayors and Lord Mayors of Norwich, 1836-1974, Norwich, 1978, 260-1; Mackie, C., Norfolk Annals, Compiled from the files of the Norfolk Chronicle, Norwich, 1901, vol. 1, 484 

Database

 Date entered:  23/1/2007

Data inputter:
Richard Cocke