Norwich Castle Field Trip

Today we had our second field trip, heading to the nearby Norwich Castle.

Norwich Castle was originally a wooden structure, later rebuilt with stone after the Norman Conquest because William the Conquerer wanted to have a fortification in Norwich. This was a particularly cool place to go because our class has been covering the Norman Conquest & William for the past couple days. Not only do we get to see the places we’re learning about in class, but it’s the type of thing you just couldn’t do in Canada. Canada recently celebrated its 150th anniversary of Confederation, whereas the Norwich Castle was built in the 11th century. And, as much as I love my home country, Canada is sadly lacking in their number of castles.

The Norwich Castle was actually changed into a museum in 1894. As our tour guide explained, the Victorians thought that it wouldn’t be very nice for families & such to go visit exhibits in a place that still looked like a prison, so a great deal of remodelling occurred, and when you first walk in it looks very much like a museum. We did get to go on a series of tours showcasing the parts of the original castle that remain, including the courtrooms, dungeon, and castle keep.

Panoramic view of the castle keep: 

After our tours, we had a brief historical walking tour of Norwich, finishing at a fish & chips place, where we feasted on the traditional English food before heading back to campus.

Norwich Cathedral (part of the historical walking tour): 

Cloister at the Norwich Cathedral (this is where the monks would have lived): 

The long queue outside of the fish & chips place: 

I loved the opening hours of the fish & chips place… closes every day at “7:30ish…”