9/24/23, 8:11 PM Museum of Norwich at the Bridewell - Wikipedia

Museum of Norwich at the Bridewell

Coordinates: 52.6301°N 1.2954°E

The Museum of Norwich at the Bridewell

(formerly The Bridewell and the Bridewell Museum of Norwich at the Bridewell
Museum)[1] is a museum of the social history of the
city of Norwich in England. Constructed in the 14th
century, it was one of the grandest medieval
residences in the city.[1] Located next to St Andrew's
Church, it is a Grade I listed building.[2] Over its
history, it has operated as a residence, a house of
correction, and a factory.

Building
The original medieval Bridewell building survives only
in a fragmentary form, as an L-shaped range facing the
alley by St Andrew's Church and constructed in three
or more stages between the late 14th and early 15th
centuries. It has two ranges of brick-vaulted
undercrofts, which are the most extensive in
Norwich.[1]

History Bridewell Alley in 2013, with Bridewell Museum

on the right and St Andrew's Church in the
The building was the home of the Appleyard family distance
during the 14th and 15th centuries, including
Bartholomew Appleyard and his son William. Both
were city bailiffs and William was the first mayor of
Norwich and served as burgess in parliament ten
times.[1] In 1584, the premises was purchased and
converted into the city's house of correction, gaining
its name as its Bridewell. In 1751, the Bridewell was
badly damaged in a fire, damaging mostly its ground
and first floor.[1] It was sold in 1828 following the
construction of a prison at St Giles Gate, and the
building then became a factory.[1] In 1923, it was
Wikimedia | © OpenStreetMap

purchased by Sir Henry Holmes, and donated to the Former The Bridewell · Bridewell Museum
city of Norwich.[1] name
Location Norwich, England
In the early 2010s, the museum underwent a major
Coordinates
revamp costing £1.5 million. It was reopened in 2012
with 5,000 objects on display, including the last Type Social history museum
Jacquard loom to have woven cloth in Norwich, hats Curator Jenny Caynes · Bethan Holdridge

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from Edwardian hat-maker Rumsey Wells, and a Website museums.norfolk.gov.uk/museum-

"history wall" mosaic created from over 9,000 of-norwich (https://www.museum
photographs of Norwich that were submitted by the s.norfolk.gov.uk/museum-of-norwi
public.[3][4] Following the restoration of the sculpture ch)
of Samson that had stood at Samson and Hercules
House in Tombland, Norwich, since 1657, the Museum began a crowdfunding campaign in 2018 to
raise £15,000 to put the sculpture on display.[5] The campaign, nicknamed Saving Samson, was
successful, and the sculpture was displayed at the museum in April 2019 inside a custom
environmentally controlled glass case.[6][7]

See also
Norwich Castle
Strangers' Hall

References
1. King, Chris (15 October 2020). Houses and Society in Norwich, 1350-1660: Urban Buildings in an
Age of Transition (http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv105bbb4). Boydell & Brewer.
doi:10.2307/j.ctv105bbb4 (https://doi.org/10.2307%2Fj.ctv105bbb4). ISBN 978-1-78744-932-9.
JSTOR j.ctv105bbb4 (https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv105bbb4). S2CID 241621345 (https://api.se
manticscholar.org/CorpusID:241621345).
2. "BRIDEWELL MUSEUM, Non Civil Parish - 1280532" (https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/
list-entry/1280532). Historic England. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20230301144634/http
s://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1280532) from the original on 1 March 2023.
Retrieved 10 September 2023.
3. "Bridewell Museum to reopen after £1.5m revamp" (https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-norfolk
-18645652). BBC News. 29 June 2012. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20230918210038/h
ttps://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-norfolk-18645652) from the original on 18 September 2023.
Retrieved 10 September 2023.
4. "City museum reopens to the public" (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-england-norfolk-1868916
3). BBC News. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20230918210115/https://www.bbc.com/new
s/av/uk-england-norfolk-18689163) from the original on 18 September 2023. Retrieved
10 September 2023.
5. "Norwich nightclub's Samson statue: Funds appeal launched" (https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-engl
and-norfolk-43060902). BBC News. 14 February 2018. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/202
11020190216/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-norfolk-43060902) from the original on 20
October 2021. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
6. "Statue of Samson from Norwich nightspot back on display" (https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-englan
d-norfolk-47800881). BBC News. 3 April 2019. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/2019072806
1500/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-norfolk-47800881) from the original on 28 July 2019.
Retrieved 11 September 2023.
7. "Rotting 17th century wooden sculpture renovated by Norfolk Museums" (https://www.theartnewsp
aper.com/2019/06/07/rotting-17th-century-wooden-sculpture-renovated-by-norfolk-museums). The
Art Newspaper - International art news and events. 7 June 2019. Archived (https://web.archive.or
g/web/20220119195715/https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2019/06/07/rotting-17th-century-woode

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n-sculpture-renovated-by-norfolk-museums) from the original on 19 January 2022. Retrieved

11 September 2023.

External links
Media related to Bridewell Museum, Norwich at Wikimedia Commons
Official website (https://www.museums.norfolk.gov.uk/museum-of-norwich) at Norfolk Museums

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Museum_of_Norwich_at_the_Bridewell&oldid=1176853093"

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