Norwich City Hall, Norwich

Norwich City Hall is an Art Deco building completed in 1938. It is one of the Norwich 12, a collection of twelve heritage buildings in Norwich deemed of particular historical and cultural importance. The building had been designed by architects Charles Holloway James and Stephen Rowland Pierce, after Robert Atkinson had prepared a layout for the whole Civic Centre site at the request of Norwich Corporation (now the City Council). A competition took place in 1931 which attracted 143 entries, with Atkinson as the sole judge.

Over the years many Art Deco buildings have lost their hallmark fixtures and fittings, but Norwich retains many of its original features. This is particularly fortunate as the furniture, light fittings and other details throughout the building were designed by the architects themselves. The materials used include Italian marble and English stone, Honduras mahogany and Australian walnut. Seating is upholstered in Moroccan leather, and rooms paneled in elm, oak, teak and birch. The Lord Mayor’s octagonal parlor is paneled in sycamore with French walnut trim, with the door finished in English walnut. The main frontage of the building is 280 feet long, incorporating a 200ft balcony. Norwich City Hall was officially opened by the King and Queen on 29 October 1938 and a huge crowd turned out to celebrate. Less than a year later the Second World War broke out and Norwich was extensively bombed, but the building survived intact.