Lunch out locally

Lunch out

At some point during Covid, I said I would post post more about where I lived and as always life gets in the way. Today I do just that discussing a building in Norwich, our nearest city which is about half an hour away by car. 

Today was a wonderful day, weather wise - sunny, albeit rather chill. These next few days are ‘medical appointments’ so it was great to have lunch out in one of Norwich’s Iconic 12 buildings, The Assembly House (1) 

The tree was in wonderful bloom 

This is a wonderful Georgian Grade I listed building with  lovely Georgian features inside. The land it was built on has an interesting history, including being the site of a 13th Century hospital, secular college and church for priests. The present building was designed by the architect Thomas Ivory in 1754. 

Sir Nicholas Pevsner, in Building of England noted ‘Norwich can be proud of its Assembly House. No other town of its size in England has anything like it except of course for a spa like Bath.’ Going into the restaurant you fist enter the Grand Hall, and it does feel like a bit like being in the Assembly Rooms or the restaurant attached to the Roman Baths in Bath…..but there is no grand piano accompaniment nor queue to get in! 

From 1755 the Assembly Rooms, as they were called then, were in full use; meetings, balls including a Grand Ball to Celebrate the Norfolk born hero Admiral Nelson’s victory at Trafalgar. I can imaging the Norfolk shawls on show then (2). However, as Norwich’s textile trade declined so too did the Assembly Rooms and it is thanks to the Norfolk and Norwich Archeological Society and the Norwich Society that the building was saved. 

Today it is a restaurant, particularly renowned for its afternoon teas, and also a hotel. It sits next to the Theatre Royal and just a stone’s throw from St Peter Mancroft Church, the Forum (the public library and space for exhibitions etc, the modern member of the Iconic 12), the market and the  Royal Arcade. 

If you’d like to see inside the best thing to do is look at this and choose ‘house’ from the menu 

We have neither stayed there nor had one of their afternoon teas - yet! 

Notes

1. Norwich 12 is a list of buildings of historical importance in the city spanning 1000 years, created by the Norwich Herotage Economic and Regeneration Trust 

2. I have written about Norwich Shawls on here and on my website, but ought to write more!