The Halls - St Andrew's and Blackfriars'

The only English friary to survive intact from the medieval period.

The Halls were built over 600 years ago and were part of the medieval precinct of the Dominican or Black Friars.

The layout is typical of a medieval English friary church, including a large nave (St Andrew‘s) used for preaching to congregations and a smaller chancel (Blackfriars‘), where the friars held services. The nave and chancel were separated by a walkway, which would have allowed direct access to the cloisters.

St Andrew‘s Hall has an impressive hammer beam roof, a gift of the Paston family, whose townhouse was in nearby Elm Hill.

After the Dissolution of the Monasteries, Augustine Steward (three times Mayor of Norwich) sent a proposition to Henry VIII in London, asking if the City of Norwich could buy the Dominican friary buildings. By pledging to use the Halls for the good of the citizens, for fairs and feasting, Steward ensured the friary‘s survival.

The Halls now hold the country‘s largest collection of civic portraits, totalling 127 late 16th to 19th century paintings of Norwich Mayors, Sheriffs and other dignitaries. Today both Halls host conferences, antique fairs, markets, weddings, concerts and even the largest provincial Beer Festival in the country.

Additional info

A new web-based guide to the history and buildings of The Halls - St Andrew‘s and Blackfriars‘ has been launched.

The Norwich Blackfriars Online - www.norwichblackfriars.co.uk - is a comprehensive guide to the medieval friary buildings, featuring innovative 3D computer models of the friary as well as plans, drawing, maps, edited documents in modern English, images and transcriptions of original documents and links to further reading.

The project was created by the Virtual Past team at the University of East Anglia (UEA) for Norwich Heritage Economic and Regeneration Trust (HEART) with funding from the Arts and Humanities Research Council and the Harry Watson Bursary. Generous support was also provided by the Norfolk County Record Office.