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History of The Halls

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  • The Halls regeneration
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History of The Halls

The Halls were built more than 600 years ago as the home of the Dominicans (known as the Black Friars because of the colour of their habits). The site was originally settled by the Friars de Sacco in around 1250 but the Dominicans took it over in 1307, building a church and a priory for 60 friars.

The Black Friars lived simply, according to their vows of chastity and poverty, and so the construction work was largely funded from bequests by the people of Norwich - at the time Norfolk was one of the richest and most densely populated counties in England. The site was soon expanded and many of the earlier buildings were rebuilt, including a new church. When a fire gutted both the church and friary in 1413 they were rebuilt, and the friars occupied them again in 1449. The site was finally completed in about 1470.

The layout is typical of a medieval English friary church, including a large nave (St Andrew‘s) used for preaching to congregations and a smaller chancel (Blackfriars‘), where the friars held services. The nave and chancel were separated by a walkway, which would have allowed direct access to the cloisters. St Andrew‘s Hall has an impressive hammer beam roof, a gift of the Paston family, whose townhouse was in nearby Elm Hill.

After the dissolution of the monasteries in the 1530s, Augustine Steward (three times Mayor of Norwich) sent a proposition to Henry VIII in London, asking if the city could buy the Dominican friary buildings. By pledging to use The Halls for the good of the citizens, for fairs and feasting, Steward ensured the friary‘s survival. The original complex was put to use over the years as a school, granary, workhouse, building stores and even a mint, while the grand spaces of St Andrew‘s and Blackfriars‘ Halls provided an impressive setting for civic assemblies, ceremonial banquets, assizes (civil and criminal law courts for the county), guild meetings and public receptions. The building was extensively restored in 1863 and the present Gothic porch was added.

The Halls now hold the country‘s largest collection of civic portraits, totalling 127 late 16th to 19th century paintings of Norwich Mayors, Sheriffs and other dignitaries. The Halls host a variety of civic, community and private events.

Today The Halls are still in constant use for conferences, antique fairs, markets, weddings, concerts and the largest provincial beer festival in the country.

More information

A new web-based guide to the history and buildings of The Halls - St Andrew‘s and Blackfriars‘ was launched in spring 2009.

The Norwich Blackfriars Online - www.norwichblackfriars.co.uk - is a comprehensive guide to the medieval friary buildings, featuring innovative 3D computer models of the friary as well as plans, drawing, maps, edited documents in modern English, images and transcriptions of original documents and links to further reading.

The project was created by the Virtual Past team at the University of East Anglia (UEA) for HEART with funding from the Arts and Humanities Research Council and the Harry Watson Bursary. Generous support was also provided by the Norfolk County Record Office.

Supported by HM Treasury's Invest to Save Budget