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April 22nd 2021
The History of Dragon Hall
Adrian O'Dell
Thirty-six members of Wymondham Heritage Society enjoyed an interesting and entertaining visual presentation via Zoom by Adrian O’Dell on Norwich’s Dragon Hall. Adrian, whose interest is Norwich history and heritage, studied Norfolk’s landscape history at the University of East Anglia and is now a Dragon Hall Heritage Volunteer. His talk went from Anglo-Saxon and Scandinavian times through the important Medieval period to today. He pointed out that the acclaimed architecture historian Nikolaus Pevsner mentioned that central Norwich has its streets, roads and alleyways laid out today much like they were in Medieval times with 38 of its once 50 churches still surviving. With its Anglian cathedral, castle, city walls, secular buildings like Dragon Hall and river Pevsner stated : “Norwich has everything”.
An archaeological dig was undertaken in 1987 and there is evidence of a Saxon hut on the site where later Dragon Hall would be built. Among artefacts which came to light were fishing hooks and cloth finishing tools, as well as the base of a huge chimney-breast and corner posts. The nearby River Wensum with a staithe or quay played a significant part in the economy of the area with exporting and importing to the likes of the Baltic States, the Low Countries, Scandinavia and France. From the Norman Conquest to the 1550s Norwich was prosperous and successful, once being second only to London in importance in the country.
In about 1330 an L-shaped domestic “hall-house” was built by John Page, a member of the professional classes, on part of the site with a brick vault undercroft. Then in 1427 wealthy cloth merchant Robert Toppes acquired the site and redeveloped it as a commercial complex with a first floor showroom approached by an impressive staircase with a warehouse under the hall. The showroom or trading hall was a timber construction of seven bays with a crown post roof decorated with carvings of dragons. Today one solitary dragon survives. Toppes added an impressive frontage to Page’s arch entrance. He became a successful entrepreneur, exporting Worsted cloth and importing such commodities as fine textiles, ironware and wine. Everything had been done to impress his customers and he became an influential figure in Norwich in many ways. He became a Freeman of the City and at one time Sheriff, as well as burgess M.P. for the City and Mayor, both four times. He was a wealthy patron of St. Peter’ Mancroft Church.
After the death of Toppes in 1467 the hall was sold and divided into residential units. By the 19th century that part of King Street had become home to the Old Barge Pub and numerous crowded tenements. It was a slum area.
In 1979 the City Council bought the then run-down hall for £16000 and a programme of fund-raising and restoration began, then in 1987 the Norfolk and Norwich Heritage Trust was formed and the idea was for it to be the Heritage Centre for Norfolk and Norwich. Restored to its former glory, it was named Dragon Hall and became a venue for meetings, weddings, arts performances, research groups and courses, as well as public tours. However, with wedding venues opening with their own car parks and local government budgets becoming tight the future looked bleak.
However, in 2015 with the help of money from the UEA, The Arts Council and The City Council, Norwich Writers Centre moved to Dragon Hall and then in 2018, following Norwich’s designation as a UNESCO City of Literature, it became The National Centre for Writing. So today Dragon Hall still plays a prominent part in the city.
Adrian was thanked for a fascinating and interesting presentation by Kevin Hurn, who was in the chair.
Report by Philip Yaxley
