Norwich Castle, a Royal Palace Reborn: Inception, Design and Investigation

• Published in: Transactions - Association for Studies in the Conservation of Historic Buildings Vol. 44; p. 35
• Main Author: Davidson, Erin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Association for Studies in the Conservation of Historic Buildings 01.01.2022
• Subjects: Castles & palaces; Design; Projects; United Kingdom > UK; Norwich England; England
• ISSN: 0142-5803

Norwich Castle is Grade I listed and sited on a scheduled ancient monument within the Civic Character Area of the wider Norwich City Centre Conservation Area. In 2017, Feilden+ Mawson was awarded the contract for RIBA Stages 3-6 design and development of the Norwich Castle: Royal Palace Reborn Project. Background research, academic studies, user assessments and peer evaluations shaped the project and defined the designs, vision and final proposals. These were submitted in July 2018 and approved in November 2018, to secure the world class heritage offer and long-term beneficial use of Norwich Castle as a museum and visitor centre, including the British Museum Partnership Gallery of the Medieval Period at first floor level. In early 2019 it was expected to start on site by that autumn but since then, we have endured the sudden and unexpected passing of Hugh Feilden, Brexit, the re-structuring of the local planning authority, a world health pandemic and material shortages across the construction industry. While all of these have had an impact on the project, none of these exceptional circumstances has tested the design and the aspirations of the project more than the castle itself which only began to reveal its secrets once work started on site. Because of this extended timetable for the project, it is intended to consider its implementation in a subsequent article in Transactions.