Guildhall was identified by the trust in 2005 as one of the 12 'great and good' buildings of Norwich. The grand new home will indeed complement HEART’s aim to preserve and make the most of Norwich’s fine historic architecture.
"The Guildhall is not only one of the top dozen heritage buildings in
Norwich,” said Michael Loveday, Development Consultant at HEART, “but is also probably the most exceptional example of a medieval city hall in the whole of the UK.”
“Sadly it has been left empty for a long time and HEART is therefore delighted to occupy half of the building as its Corporate Head Quarters while we work with the other heritage stakeholders to map out its long term future."
One of HEART’s successes in 2005 was hosting Heritage Open Days, which saw a huge number of historic buildings open to the public. In 2005 they published a list of Norwich's Great and Good buildings, including the Guildhall, Norwich Cathedral, Blackfriars Hall and Norwich Castle.
The Guildhall, built between 1407 and 1424, is the largest medieval city hall in England, and in its long life has had many important functions, such as prison and courtroom. The ground floor is open to the public as a café.
Once settled into their new surroundings HEART will be concentrating on what is set to be another productive year.
On the agenda is a feasibility and design study for St Andrew’s and Blackfriars hall; a radical study looking at the best way of making the most of the city’s unique collection of medieval churches; re-designing the shopping lanes and even an exciting project involving a Norwich City Football Club sporting heritage centre.
