The pavement of the north side of the cloisters was torn up in the great rebellion, and relaid by William Burleigh, Esq. In this alley Queen Elizabeth dined in public when she visited Norwich in 1578. In memory thereof, her Majesty’s arms and those of the nobility who attended her were painted on the wall of the church, and properly blazoned with supporters, etc., but they were entirely effaced a century ago.
The dormitory of the monks adjoined the cloisters on the south. At a short distance from the cloisters are the only remains of the Priory founded by Bishop Herbert, consisting of three massive clustered columns, the capitals of which are curiously carved.
The Bishop’s Palace.
The Bishop’s Palace stands on the north side of the Cathedral Church, to which there was in former times a passage from the door of the north transept, arched over with stone similar to the cloisters. The original palace was founded by Bishop Herbert, but has undergone so many repairs and alterations, that but little of the first building remains, and that part adjoins a new structure, in a similar style of architecture. In the garden there is a fine ruin, said to be remains of the grand entrance into the great hall, which reached to the site of the present episcopal chapel, and was 110 feet long, and 60 broad. This chapel was restored in 1662, and in it are monuments of Bishops Reynolds and Sparrow. The entrance to the episcopal residence is from St. Martin’s Plain, by the palace gate, built by Bishop Alnwyck about 1430. It has a large pointed arch of several mouldings, and the spandrels are filled with tracery; but it has suffered materially from injudicious repairs. Over the arch is a series of pannelled compartments with the letter M crowned. On the west side is a small door, on which, amongst other ornaments, are a heart and mitre, the supposed rebus of Bishop Lyhart.
The Cathedral Precincts.
The Cathedral Precincts include the Upper and Lower Close, and a large portion of garden ground, with good houses on the south side. The Upper Close was formerly used as a play ground to the Grammar School; it is now enclosed with palisades. At the south-east corner is the Audit Room, which contains the library of the Dean and Chapter. The Lower Close was enclosed by Dean Lloyd, in 1782, and converted into a garden. At the extremity of the Lower Close, near the edge of the river, still stands a double arch of black flint, which is considered the roughest bit of picturesque in Norwich, and has been frequently sketched. It was formerly the Water-gate to the precincts, and is now known as “Pull’s Ferry.”
The Free Grammar School.
The Free Grammar School, near the west end of the Cathedral, was founded by Bishop Salmon, in 1325, and annexed to a small Collegiate Chantry. At the dissolution of this college, the Corporation, by their Hospital Charter, were required to find a master and usher, and to remunerate them out of the ample revenues assigned to them by that charter. This trust was transferred, in 1836, from the Corporation to the Charity Trustees. There are generally a little more than a hundred pupils at the school. The celebrated Dr. Valpy was once the head-master; and in addition to many eminent scholars, the celebrated “Norfolk hero,” Lord Nelson; Sir James Brooke, the Rajah of Sarawak; and other noted characters, were educated here. Opposite the school is a colossal marble statue of Nelson. It was executed by Mr. Milne, of London, and has been highly commended as a work of art. Of this school, and also of the Commercial School, which is under the same trust, we shall have more to say in subsequent pages.
The Gateways to the Cathedral on the west side are deserving of notice.