The Assembly Rooms

The Assembly Rooms is a former assembly rooms, now an arts centre, restaurant, and hotel, built in 1754–1755 to designs by Thomas Ivory of Norwich, with interior fittings and decoration by James Burrough of Cambridge. It incorporates fragments of the medieval hospital and college of St Mary-in-the-Fields, along with fabric from its subsequent transformation into two successive late-Tudor mansions. The buried remains of the medieval college and hospital, including church foundations, a crypt of around 1300, and late 14th-century to early 15th-century cellars, are protected by scheduled monument status and are not included in this listing.

The principal entrance range facing Theatre Street is built of Flemish bond red brick. The east wing is stucco-rendered and scored to imitate ashlar, with areas of flint rubble and brick visible. The west wing is similarly stucco-rendered and scored over flint rubble and brick. The south wing and Noverre Hall are of Flemish bond red brick, with the brick to the Music Room encasing medieval flint rubble. All roofs are covered with black pantiles, except the entrance block and south wing, which have black-glazed pantiles.

The building has a U-shaped plan. The two-storey entrance block of 1754–1755 is flanked by two-and-a-half and three-storey cross wings, both late 16th century with medieval and later fabric. A rear south wing, also of 1754–1755, contains medieval and Tudor fabric. A former ballroom, now the Noverre Hall, was added in 1858 to the west side of the west cross wing, with a late 19th-century two-storey range adjoining its west side.

The entrance block's north elevation is two storeys in five bays, with the centre bay projecting beneath a triangular pediment supported by a heavy timber dentil cornice extending across the flanking bays. At the centre is a round-headed doorway set within a rusticated surround, with double-panelled doors and a five-vaned fanlight, over which is a segmental pediment on scrolled consoles. This is flanked on each side by nine-over-six sashes. The first floor has five six-over-six sashes, all unhorned and set within exposed flush boxes. Above the cornice is a stone-coped brick parapet.

The east wing is two-and-a-half storeys with three different ridge heights. Its west elevation to the forecourt has seven unequal bays, linked to the entrance range by a recessed single bay with a higher ridge line than the other six bays. The ground and first floors are of medieval flint rubble, now painted, while the attic storey is timber framed. A lead rainwater pipe in the angle with the centre block has a hopper dated 1755. Adjoining to the left, with a lower ridge line, is a projecting two-bay range of painted brick with some flint rubble. To the left again, with a slightly higher ridge line than the adjoining two-bay range but lower than the single-bay range, are the remaining four bays, all stucco-rendered and scored to imitate ashlar. Fenestration across this elevation primarily consists of six-over-six unhorned sashes, except for the single-bay range, which has a fixed-light window with vertical glazing bars to the ground floor, a two-light casement with horizontal glazing bars to the first floor (both 20th century within brick surrounds), and a 19th-century two-light metal casement with horizontal glazing bars to the attic. The north end has a 19th-century French window to the ground floor, two late 18th-century six-over-six unhorned sashes with hoods on consoles to the first floor, and a 20th-century tripartite sash to the attic.

Adjoining its east elevation are two gabled cross wings of late 16th-century date: a wider and taller one at the north end, and a narrower and lower one set back to the south. The north cross wing has an eight-over-eight unhorned sash on the ground floor, a three-light mullion and transom on the first floor (both early 19th century), and a three-over-three unhorned sash to the attic. Behind, to the attic, is a three-light gabled dormer, and rising from the wall plane of the original cloistral range is a brick stack, both of late 16th-century date. Its right-hand return has a square-headed moulded doorway with weathered stops and a plank door with moulded fillets, over which is a two-light casement with lead cames, both probably late 16th century. The south cross wing has a six-over-six unhorned sash to the ground floor and an eight-over-eight unhorned sash to the first floor (both early 19th century), over which is a late 16th-century timber bressumer. Adjoining to its left is a three-storey block in four bays, with its ground floor obscured by an early 21st-century flat-roofed extension. Its upper storeys are of flint and brick, with the second floor rendered.

The west wing is three storeys with a uniform ridge height. Its east elevation to the forecourt has five unequal bays, of which the second from the left is a projecting two-storeyed entrance bay added in 1858 to give access to the former ballroom (now Noverre Hall). It consists of an open pediment over a rusticated ground floor with modern half-glazed double doors flanked by sidelights, over which is a six-over-six unhorned sash. The fourth bay has a mid-20th-century six-panelled door, the upper two panels glazed, set within a moulded doorcase with a triangular pediment on consoles. The other ground-floor bays and the fourth and fifth bays to the first floor all have six-over-six unhorned sashes, while the second floor has four three-over-six unhorned sashes; the window openings in the third and fifth bays were created in 1947–1950. Its north end is divided by moulded sill bands and has alternating quoins, of which those at the north-east corner are cut back to reveal a medieval chamfered limestone door jamb. Its ground floor has a mid-20th-century tripartite sash flanked on each side by splayed brick reveals containing the surviving timber mullions from a 12-light Tudor window. On the first floor is a six-over-six unhorned sash, and to the second floor is a three-over-six unhorned sash, both with corbelled sills and eared architraves. The east elevation has a large external stack with three unequal bays to its left-hand side and two to its right. Fenestration across the elevation is largely comprised of six-over-six sashes to the lower two floors and three-over-six sashes to the second floor, all unhorned. The ground floor also has a pair of French doors and a 20th-century timber door at the left-hand end, while the first floor has a large five-light mullion and transom at the right-hand end.

Adjoining the west side of the west wing at a right angle is the Noverre Hall, a former ballroom added in 1858. It is of a tall single storey, with its north side divided into seven bays by pilasters with simple block capitals supporting a dentil cornice. The odd numbered bays are blind, while the even numbered bays contain fifteen-over-fifteen horned sashes with gauged skewback brick heads, of which the central window has a panelled timber apron. These windows were inserted in the 1990s following the blocking of the original openings in 1947–1950 when the ballroom was converted into a cinema. Its south side is obscured at ground-floor level by an early 21st-century entrance block, over which the walling is blind. The extension also conceals the ground floor of a late 19th-century two-storey extension which adjoins its west end. Its first floor has three sashes with margin lights under gauged skewback brick heads.

The south wing, which stands back-to-back with the entrance range, is primarily of a tall single storey, except for a two-storey canted range which projects off-centre to the right. This is obscured at ground-floor level by a mid-20th-century flat-roofed addition, whilst its first floor has a central rose window flanked on each side by three-over-six unhorned sashes with gauged skewback brick heads. Above is a stone-coped parapet with a brick stack behind. To the right-hand side of the canted range, the south wing's south elevation has four nine-over-six hopper sashes, whilst there are five identical sashes to its left-hand side, all with gauged skewback brick heads. Beneath four of the left-hand side windows are former window openings created in 1901, all now blocked except for the central opening, which is a fire escape door. Its west end has a Venetian window of the Ionic order, whilst its east end is blind with brickwork of two separate phases: the left-hand two-thirds is of plum-coloured brick, probably dating from 1947–1950, whilst that to the right-hand third is of red brick of 1754–1755 date.

Interior

The architectural heart of the building is the suite comprised of the Grand Hall, Music Room, and Restaurant, all enriched with rococo plasterwork.

The Grand Hall is a double-height room divided into two unequal storeys by a moulded cornice, with panelled pilasters dividing each storey into unequal bays. The lower-storey pilasters have simple block capitals, whilst those to the upper storey have fluted corbels supporting the trabeations to a coffered plaster ceiling. A dentil cornice runs around the room. At the centre of the east and west sides are identical timber doorcases with semi-circular keyed heads, moulded archivolts and imposts, panelled jambs, and flanking pilaster strips; the half-glazed double doors are mid-20th-century replacements. Above each door are large crossetted panels topped with a carved shell and foliage motif, flanked by foliage pendants under cartouches. The east doorway is also flanked by secondary doorways with six-panelled doors in moulded architraves. The rest of the room is adorned with rectangular portrait panels, of which those to the upper storey sit above oval panels and below floral festoons. The plaster ceiling is divided into nine unequal bays by trabeations decorated with guilloche ornament on the soffits and gilded foliate bosses to the intersections. At the centre is a large panel with a circular rose with a foliage boss with acanthus scrollwork radiating from it, all enclosed by scrollwork of carved shells and scrolled foliage.

The north end of the room has a vestibule behind a screen of Corinthian columns distyle in antis, the columns and pilasters painted to resemble marble, with gilded capitals and an entablature with a dentil and modillion cornice, below a balustraded musician's gallery flanked by panelled pilasters. The vestibule is panelled, with a timber doorcase to the entrance lobby featuring a semi-circular keyed head, moulded archivolt, imposts, and panelled jambs. Its side walls have doorways with eared architraves to the Ivory Room (east) and Hobart Room (west). At the south end of the room is a deep recess of canted plan, with walls decorated in a similar manner to the main space of the hall but with doors in the side walls and windows in the angled walls. The lower windows are nine-over-six sashes with mirrored glass, and there is a circular window in the south wall above a fireplace in an eared architrave with pulvinated frieze and moulded cornice mantle shelf. Its overmantel consists of a crossetted panel with a reverse ogee head with volutes and an acanthus leaf crown.

The inner ends of the Music Room and Restaurant, which lie to the west and east of the Grand Hall, have identical musicians' galleries with Roman Doric order lower storeys and Corinthian order upper storeys. Both are of three unequal bays, with the wider ground floor bays divided by two fluted columns in antis, with fluted pilasters to the end bays. The entablatures have triglyph and metope friezes and dentil cornices, and support balustraded parapets to the galleries above, which have plain columns on pedestals to the centre bays and plain pilasters to the end bays. The vestibules and gallery are panelled throughout, with pilaster responds to the rear partition walls. The vestibules are entered centrally from the Grand Hall through timber doorcases with semi-circular keyed heads, moulded archivolts, imposts, and panelled jambs, while the galleries have six-panelled doors in moulded architraves to the return walls. The galleries have coffered ceilings with dentil cornices and trabeations decorated with Greek key ornament.

The walls of the Music Room are lined to just below sill level with panelling consisting of large rectangular panels between a plinth and moulded cornice. The windows on the south side are recessed above window seats, while the wall spaces between are adorned with crossetted panels with reverse ogee heads with volutes and acanthus crowns. Above each panel is a festoon, and above the windows are rectangular panels. The opposing north wall mirrors the south wall in its treatment, with rectangular portrait panels replacing the windows. At the centre of this wall is a fireplace with an eared architrave, pulvinated frieze decorated with an oak-leaf garland, and moulded cornice mantle shelf. At the west end is a curved musicians' gallery which was raised in 1947–1950 to accommodate a stage underneath. It is of the Roman Doric order, in five unequal bays, with the centre three bays divided by fluted columns, while the end bays have panelled pilasters. It has a simple fluted frieze adorned with Greek theatre masks and lyres, and supports a balustraded balcony to the gallery. The Venetian window above the gallery is flanked by crossetted panels with reverse ogee heads with volutes and acanthus crowns, over which are foliage festoons.

The Restaurant walls are similarly lined to just below sill level with panelling consisting of large rectangular panels between a plinth and moulded cornice. The windows on the south side have deep panelled reveals, above which are rectangular panels, while the wall spaces between are decorated with foliage pendants with cartouches above. The opposing north wall is identical in its treatment, with rectangular portrait panels replacing the windows. At the centre of this wall is a fireplace with an eared architrave, pulvinated frieze decorated with a Greek garland, and moulded cornice mantle shelf. An identical fireplace with an elaborate rococo plasterwork overmantel sits at the centre of the east end wall. Its upper storey has three crossetted panels, the central one with a reverse ogee head with volutes and an acanthus crown under a foliage festoon, while the flanking panels sit beneath rectangular panels. Between the panels are foliage pendants under cartouches.

The Ivory Room, at the east side of the entrance range, has a timber doorcase with an eared architrave, panelled reveals, and a door of six raised and fielded panels. Its walls are painted up to the level of a moulded dado rail and then panelled above. At the centre of the east wall is a projecting marble fireplace with an eared architrave, pulvinated frieze, and moulded cornice mantle shelf. Immediately to its right-hand side is a door of six raised and fielded panels (now blocked) within an eared architrave. The south wall has a recessed doorcase with panelled reveals and a six-panelled door, of which the centre panels are glazed. The two windows on the front elevation have panelled wooden shutters. Its ceiling has a deeply moulded cornice with decorative anthemion plasterwork to each corner.

The Hobart Room lies to the west side of the entrance range and has an identical architectural treatment to the Ivory Room, except for being entered from the south side through two wooden doorcases with eared architraves.

The first floor of the entrance range is comprised of three rooms: the centrally placed Sexton Room flanked to its west by the Hobart Room and to its east by the Pierce Room, all giving access to the Grand Hall balcony through 20th-century six-panelled doors in eared architraves. The rooms are largely identical in their architectural treatment, with wainscoted walls beneath a plinth and moulded cornice, moulded cornices, and plain painted ceilings. The Pierce and Hobart Rooms both have fireplaces with eared architraves, pulvinated friezes, and moulded cornice mantle shelves, while the Sexton Room has a brick corner fireplace. All have internal 20th-century six-panelled doors in eared architraves.

Other areas with historic features of note include the bedroom suites in the east wing, in which the suite at the north end of the ground floor retains the remains of late 16th-century oak panelling, whilst a first-floor suite in one of the late 16th-century cross wings has contemporary bridging and transverse beams with bird's beak mouldings and lambs tongue stops. In the west wing, on the east side of the staircase wall, which was inserted in 1947–1950 as the building's main staircase, there is an oak-framed Tudor window set within the wall adjoining the Hobart Room.

Subsidiary Features

The forecourt to Theatre Street is enclosed by cast-iron railings erected in 1904 to a design by Graham Cotman of Messrs Edward Boardman and Son, and manufactured by Messrs Barnes and Pye Ltd, both of Norwich. The composition consists of a central railed section flanked on each side by vehicular gates with gate piers surmounted by mid-20th-century lanterns, which are in turn flanked by pedestrian gates with rusticated brick piers surmounted by large ball finials.