Arcade is city’s historic gem

September 7, 2006

ROYAL ARCADE
(The Walk to Castle Street)

Stop! Next time you rush through this busy shopping precinct just pause, look around, and admire a masterpiece. It is a gem we should all be proud of.

A glorious old picture of the Royal Arcade, in Norwich, which was a new and revolutionary concept in shopping when it was opened in 1899.

Few developments in Norwich can match this one. Famous Norwich architect George Skipper (1856-1948) is the man we have to thank for it. It is perhaps his finest work.

It is spectacular, exhilarating and fun.

The Arcade, a new and revolutionary concept in shopping at the time, was opened in 1899 and described as “a fragment from the Arabian Nights dropped into the heart of the old city.”

Norwich folk had never seen anything like it before – it went on to delight generations of locals and visitors from all over the world. And still is.

Multi-million pound shopping developments at Castle Mall and Chapelfield have actually made the Royal Arcade look even more stunning.

When this was designed no expense was spared. At the time it was daring and dangerous.

The colourful ceramic designs of flower motifs and peacocks and decorative lettering is a stunning example of the art nouveau style emerging with such enthusiasm in the late 19th century.

In these days of bland developments and faceless office blocks, the Royal Arcade stands out as an example of flamboyant brilliance.

In the years that have passed since Skipper gave us such a joyful building, the Royal Arcade has never let us down.

Even if you have been walking through it and visiting its shops for decades, take another look next time you are down that way – chances are you’ll spot something you hadn’t noticed before.

It was the much-loved Sir John Betjeman who said of Skipper’s work: “The most effective way of saving a building from destruction is by getting people to look at it and see its merits for themselves.”

A fascinating history

The site of the Royal Arcade has a fascinating history. For hundreds of years it was where the Angel stood, the most famous of all the Norwich coaching inns.

The Duke of Wellington received his freedom of the City of Norwich there, Dickens is believed to have given readings in it, and Coke of Norfolk presided at many functions. It was at the hub of Norfolk life.

And it was Coke who fled for his life following a riot in 1815 because a mob thought, they were wrong, that he had supported the Corn Bill.

A large, angry crowd chased him, hurling stones, from the Jolly Farmers into the Angel and tried to break in.

The Mayor (J W Robberds) read the Riot Act amid showers of stones and turnips.

Coke, along with the Earl of Albemarle, managed to escape. They galloped off on horseback to St Stephen’s Gates where the Earl’s carriage was waiting.

A number of people owned the Angel over the centuries. One was Peterson, the Norwich goldsmith.

In September 1601 it was sold for £337. It was mortgaged to James Watts in 1738 for £1,000.

In 1840 it was renamed the Royal Hotel. Then the Royal was opened on Agricultural Plain and in 1897 it was pulled down to make way for the Royal Arcade.

I wonder how much the Royal Arcade would be worth today? For the people of Norwich and Norfolk it is priceless.

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