St. Lawrence.

      St. Lawrence Church stands upon the very spot to which the arm of the sea rose in former times, when Norwich was merely a fishing town, and this spot was the quay or landing place for all herrings brought into the city. After the water had receded, the church was founded on the same site in the reign of Edward the Confessor, in the 10th century. In 1460, the original building was taken down, and the present one was erected twelve years afterwards. It consists of a nave, chancel, aisles, north and south porches, clerestory, and a tower 112 feet high, with six bells. The roof of the church is supported by clustered columns, the inside is light and regular, and the windows are large and well filled with tracery. They were formerly decorated with stained glass, all of which was demolished by the Puritans in 1643. There is here an ancient octangular font, ornamented with shields, angels, &c. In the spandrels of an arched door, in the western side of the church, are two ancient carvings, one representing the martyrdom of St. Lawrence broiling on a gridiron, and the other a number of Danish soldiers shooting arrows into the body of King Edmund, whose head is seen lying in a thicket, as described in the old legend. The Rev. E. A. Hillyard is the present incumbent.

      St. Swithin.

St. Swithin’s Church, situated between upper and lower Westwick Street, is a neat building, containing a nave, two aisles, and tower. One side of the nave is supported by pointed arches on columns, and the other by round arches and square piers. The Chapel of St. Mary, at the east end of the north aisle, had an altar, and the guild of the Holy Virgin, called the tanner’s guild, was kept there. The rectory was anciently in the donation of the See of Norwich, and in the year 1200 was annexed to the deanery of Norwich, as were the churches of St. Simon and Jude, and Corstweyt, and the deanery of Taverham, and so held till 1329, when the deaneries were separated from the churches which were then perpetually united. But notwithstanding this union, in 1546 Bishop Rugge separated the advowson from the bishopric, and granted it to William Farrar and others. In 1608, John Ward was patron, who suffering a lapse, was by the bishop collated to it; and entry being made that the bishop had collated him in full right, it has ever since been supposed to be in the bishop’s patronage, and held by sequestration or license at the bishop’s nomination. During the cleaning of this Church in 1834, an ancient portrait of Edward the Confessor, painted on a panel, was found beneath one of the seats, where it is supposed to have been placed during the civil wars. The altar piece contains portraits of Moses and Aaron, and the church has an ancient font. The rectory, valued in K. B. at £6 3s. 4d., has been augmented, and is still in the patronage of the bishop.

The New Mills, as to a principal part of them, are in this parish. Formerly all the city bakers were obliged to grind here, and the miller, as a public servant, had a livery and badge given him every year. The mills are still the property of the city, and in 1706 were let, with the baker’s grant thereto belonging, for the term of 87 years, at the yearly rent of £200, but reduced in 1708 to £180. The Mills are now let to Mr. Wells, and produce a large quantity of flour weekly. Steam mills are now also at work in this locality, in the occupation of Messrs. Barber and Sons, who are also proprietors of Hellesdon Mills.

      St. Margaret.

      St. Margaret’s Church, in Westwick Street, has a square tower with a spacious nave, chancel, and south aisle. It is a plain building of the perpendicular period. The rood stair turret remains on the north side of the church, and on the south side of the altar is a small pedestal on which the bell that was rung at mass stood in former times. The rectory is valued at £80. The bishop is the patron, and the Rev. J. W. Cobb is the rector. The church which has been for some time disused, being in a very ruinous condition, has just been restored.

      St. Benedict.

St. Benedict’s Church, at the end of the street to which it gives its name, is a small building with nave, chancel, north aisle, and round tower. The tower contains three bells, and in the chancel is a piscina. The church was repaired and re-roofed a few years since, at a cost of £150. The living is a perpetual curacy valued at £95, and was augmented by royal bounty. The Rev. J. Dombrain is the incumbent.

      The Eastern District.

      This side of the city has been greatly improved by the formation of a new road called Prince of Wales’ Road, from Foundry Bridge to the Castle Hill. Handsome houses have been built on each side, and broad pavements laid down. Rose Lane has been widened and improved. The Castle Meadow has been adorned by the erection of a new bank called the Crown Bank, a very handsome building in the Corinthian style of architecture. This is the finest building of the kind in the eastern counties.

      The Cavalry Barracks are situated in Barrack Street on the east side of the city, on the site of an old manor house. They were built by the government in 1791 at a cost of £20,000. The buildings are of brick, and form three sides of a square, the centre being for the accommodation of the officers. The wings accommodate the soldiers to the extent of 320 men, and 266 horses. The high wall which surrounds the entire barracks, including the parade ground, encloses an area of ten acres.

The Dungeon Tower is opposite the barracks, on land called “The Hospital Meadow.” It is a large round tower of brick, originally surrounded by a battlement. It was built as a prison for the cathedral precincts. The Norfolk Railway Station stands in the hamlet of Thorpe near the Foundry Bridge.

      St. Michael at Plea.

      The Church of St. Michael at Plea is at the top of Queen Street. This church was so named from the Archdeacon holding his pleas or courts there. It is a cruciform church with a low flint tower, and a modern bell turret. Its transepts were formerly chapels dedicated to St. John the Baptist and the Virgin Mary. It contains several old paintings of the crucifixion, resurrection, &c., in the panels. About two years ago the tower was restored at a cost of £250. The rectory, valued in K. B. at £6 10s., and in 1831 at £85, was augmented with £600 of Queen Anne’s bounty from 1774 to 1791, and with a parliamentary grant of £1000 in 1816. The lords of the manors of Sprowston and Horsford are patrons alternately. The Rev. C. Morse, LL.B., is the incumbent.

      St. George Tombland.

The Church of St. George Tombland stands at the end of Prince’s Street, and is so named from the open space near it having formerly been used as a burying place. It has a handsome square tower which contains five bells, and was erected by the parishioners in 1445. The nave, aisles, and chancel are covered with lead, and have some spacious galleries and ornamental inscriptions of ancient and modern times. The building is chiefly of the perpendicular period, but some portions are of an older date. Three new memorial windows were recently inserted on the north side. Messrs. J. and J. King, Prince’s Street, put in the stained glass. The Rev. W. Bridge was ejected from the incumbency of this parish for refusing to read the Book of Sports. He afterwards became pastor of the Old Meeting House. The churchyard has been planted with shrubs, and if a neat iron railing were substituted for the present wall, it would greatly improve the appearance of Tombland. The Rev. K. Trimmer is the incumbent.

      St. Peter Hungate.

      St. Peter Hungate Church