Adjacent to the Museum is the Free Library, a spacious and convenient building, erected in 1856, upon a part of the site of the ancient palace of the Dukes of Norfolk.
The Bazaar is a handsome structure, in St. Andrew’s Broad Street, erected in 1831, by a company of shareholders, and now let for various purposes. One portion of the building is occupied by the Government School of Design, in which instruction is given in drawing, painting, modelling, and designing.
The Assembly Rooms are at the south end of an open plain, in the parish of St. Stephen, and were erected in 1754 upon the site of the College of St. Mary in the Fields. Public meetings are occasionally held here, and the proprietors of the leading exhibitions of the kingdom, during their stay in this city, generally fix their paraphernalia in one or other of the convenient compartments of this spacious building.
The Theatre Royal is situated at a short distance from the Assembly Rooms. It is a well-built though somewhat plain-looking edifice, erected in 1826, adjoining the site of the old theatre, which was built in 1757. The interior is upon the model of Drury Lane, the embellishments are both chaste and handsome, and the arrangements are well suited to public convenience, being upon the same plan as those of the metropolitan theatres. The building is but rarely used for other than dramatic entertainments.
The Bethel Hospital for Lunatics stands in the street of the same name, upon the site of the old City Committee House. The building is well adapted for the purpose for which it was designed. There is a handsome committee room containing several portraits, one of which is that of the worthy foundress, painted in 1724.
The City Gaol is at the end of St. Giles’ Street. It was completed in 1827, from a design by Mr. Philip Barnes, a native of Norwich, at a cost of £30,000. The front elevation is massive, and is supported by rusticated Tuscan columns. In the wings are niches with cross arrows. The building encloses an area of 1a. 2r. 34p., and contains 114 cells. The governor’s house stands in the centre, and commands a view of the entire prison, which is well ventilated, and supplied with water pumped by the tread wheel.
The Norfolk and Norwich Hospital, founded in 1771, for the relief of the sick and maimed poor, is an extensive brick structure, situated without St. Stephen’s Gates. It deservedly ranks as the most useful institution in the county, and is supported by donations, legacies, and voluntary subscriptions, and also by a large proportion of the proceeds of the Norwich Musical Festival. Since its foundation, it has admitted about 45,000 in-door, and 35,000 out-door patients. Three physicians and four surgeons regularly attend gratuitously. The Hospital contains 144 beds for the reception of patients.
St. Giles’ Hospital, commonly called the Old Men’s Hospital, is situated in the parish of St. Helen. It was founded as early as 1249, by Bishop Walter de Suffield, for maintaining four chaplains to pray for his soul; and also to be an asylum for the aged, decrepid and infirm clergy of the diocese of Norwich, and to support 13 old people, who were to have their lodging, and one meal a day for life. It subsequently received considerable augmentations, and can now accommodate 200 persons.
The Cavalry Barracks are situated in Barrack Street, in the Hamlet of Pockthorpe, on the site of the Old Manor House of that hamlet. They were erected by the Government in 1791, at an expense of £20,000. The buildings are of brick, and form three sides, the centre being for the accommodation of the officers; upon the upper part of this are the national arms sculptured in stone, and surrounded by military trophies. The wings are appropriated to the reception of the soldiers, and are capable of containing 320 men and 266 horses. The high wall which surrounds the entire barracks (including the spacious parade ground) encloses an extent of about ten acres.
The Dungeon Tower is opposite the Cavalry Barracks, upon land called the Hospital Meadows. It is a large round tower of brick, originally surmounted by a battlement.