St Andrew’s Street
St Andrew’s Street In
St Andrew’s, almost opposite Exchange Street, is the
site of Museum Court. The Duke of Norfolk and his family,
after pulling down the palace in Duke Street and ceasing
to reside in Norwich, nevertheless retained possession of
the site. It was here in 1764 that Charles, the tenth
Duke, built a chapel with house adjoining for the
Reverend Edward Beaumont and his Roman Catholic
following, but they had to leave it after only twenty-two
years, since the next Duke (also Charles) was of the
Established Church. In 1794 the chapel was let to the
Norwich Subscription Library and the house to James
Boyce, attorney-at-law. But when in 1839 the Library
moved to new quarters on Guildhall Hill both chapel and
house were sold to the Norfolk and Norwich museum, thus,
for the time being at least, breaking the ties between
the Dukes of Norfolk and the city. Here the museum
remained until moving to the Castle in 1894. Since that
date and until the opening of the City Hall in 1938 it
was the offices of the Guardians of the Poor and their
successors the Public Assistance Committee. As to the
cement-rendered building of classical appearance that
faced St Andrew’s Street and adjoined the priest’s
house (pictured with the chapel below), this was
built on the site of the garden of the house in 1839 for
the Norwich Literary Institute. |
 Although
the exterior of the chapel had no special features to
warrant more than a cursory inspection, the interior well
repaid a visit. It was lighted by ten upper windows (five
east and five west); the ceiling was thus divided
up into four complete bays and two half bays, each
containing an ornate central rose bordered by embossed
designs whose chief motif was a ducal crown. Between each
window the ceiling curved down to the level of the
springing of the arches of the semi-circular
window-heads, and raised in the plaster and forming a
frieze was a series of medallions, each of which was
surmounted by winged cherubim.After some fruitless discussion as to whether the ceiling at least could be saved, this and neighbouring property were all cleared away for the widening of St Andrew’s Street in 1966 and the subsequent building of a multi-storey car park. |
 At
the corner of St Andrew’s and St John Maddermarket
we find the Shrub House, formerly licensed
premises going back many years but now a shop. Here until
quite recently were a pair of highly ornamented gates
with a semi-circular fanlight above. The latter was
adorned with a “rising sun” motif, the
radiating bars formed into a kind of “key”
pattern. Several years ago when the building was
renovated the gates with their fanlight were removed and
the doorway bricked up. It has since been unblocked and
fitted with a pair of glazed doors – which now give
access to the St Andrew’s Tavern next door. This had
formerly borne the sign of the “Rumsey Wells”
– an allusion to the building’s previous
occupant, one of the “characters” of Norwich.
In his advertisements he described himself as “The
Most Expensive Capmaker in the World”; his
“doggie caps” in 1934 ranged from two guineas
to half a guinea each. The old shop was adorned with a
number of plumed military helmets and shakos under
dust-retarding glass domes.Text and photographs Copyright © G.A.F.Plunkett 2001 |
Michael Crouch's
local history of St Andrews