City Wall near Ber Street Gates.
Norwich city walls and gates were completed in 1343. Prior to that the city had been enclosed by a bank and ditch, completed ninety years earlier. They encompassed a greater area than any other city in medieval England. The original height of the walls (including battlements) was about 20 feet. The towers and walls are constructed out of locally available materials - namely, flint embedded in lime mortar (which is made from chalk). Wooden shuttering, formed from planks, would have been used to contain the material until it was set, and subsequently removed. The wall had to be built up in stages; allowing for the lower sections to set and settle, before raising it further. Another factor in these 'building breaks' (known by architectural historians as an 'interregnum') was the onset of Winter. Building stopped of necessity during that time due to the effect of rain and frost on the mortar, as well as the disruption to medieval roads and tracks. The arches are constructed out of brick.
Why were they built in the first place? Certainly defence would have been one consideration - although, as later events (Kett's Rebellion of 1549) they were more 'deterrent' than barrier. I think it is plausible that they were also part of a civic 'upgrade', sponsored by the City elite. The wall had the effect of defining the city as a visibly separate entity from the surrounding Norfolk countryside. It was a display of civic pride perhaps. London, Bristol, York and Newcastle already had their walls, and it is quite possible that there was an element of competition (just as today, world city's vie for the architectural distinction). Those cities had been granted charters which allowed them greater independence and commercial freedom. Norwich wanted to join this 'club' (it was granted a charter in 1404).
All of the wall's gates were removed during the late Eighteenth and early Nineteenth centuries, as part of the city's attempt to 'modernize'. Even as recently as the early 1970's there was a very close vote indeed, on a motion to demolish a section of the city wall along Chapelfield. I am glad to report that this motion was defeated. I do have some fascinating records from the 1600's which give us the names of people who were associated with the walls and towers during this period. However, I will discuss these in a seperate post.
[March 1995]
