During the 11th century Norwich was the second largest city in England, after London, and one of the most important places in the kingdom.

The built up area of Norwich extends far beyond the city boundary, with extensive suburban areas on the western, northern and eastern sides, including Costessey, Hellesdon, Old Catton, Sprowston and Thorpe St Andrew. The parliamentary seats cross over into adjacent local government districts. 135,800 (2008 est) people live in the City of Norwich and the population of the Norwich Travel to Work Area (i.e. the area of Norwich in which most people both live and work) is 367,035 (the 1991 figure was 351,340). Norwich is the fourth most densely populated local government district within the East of England with 3,480 people per square kilometre (8,993 per square mile).

Leisure

Norwich’s night-time economy of bars and nightclubs is mainly located in Tombland, Prince of Wales Road and the Riverside area adjacent to Norwich railway station.

Shopping

Norwich was the eighth most prosperous shopping destination in the UK in 2006. Norwich has an ancient market place, established by the Normans between 1071 and 1074, which is today the largest six-days-a-week open-air market in England. The market has recently been downsized and undergone redevelopment, and the new market stalls have proved controversial: with 20% less floorspace than the original stalls, higher rental and other charges, and inadequate rainwater handling, they have been unpopular with many stallholders and customers alike. Indeed, the local Norwich Evening News characterises Norwich Market as an ongoing conflict between the market traders and Norwich City Council, which operates the market.

Culture

The University of East Anglia on the outskirts of Norwich was one of the so-called plate glass universities founded in 1963, following the Robbins Report. UEA adopted the city’s motto of independence Do different and is especially well-known for its creative writing programme; established by Malcolm Bradbury and Angus Wilson, its graduates including Kazuo Ishiguro and Ian McEwan. The university campus is the home of the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts which houses a number of important art collections in many media. It is also well known for staging exhibitions of work on a wide range of diverse themes. The city also has a long-established (since 1845) art college, the Norwich University College of the Arts (formerly Norwich School of Art and Design), which is situated in the city centre. Additionally, the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital on the city’s periphery at Colney was opened in 2001.

Norwich Theatre Royal has been on its present site for nearly 250 years, the Act of Parliament in the tenth year of the reign of George II having been rescinded in 1761. The 1300-seat theatre hosts a mix of national touring productions including musicals, dance, drama, family shows, stand-up comedians, opera and pop.

Art and music

Each year the Norfolk and Norwich Festival celebrates the arts, drawing many visitors into the city from all over eastern England. The Norwich Twenty Group, founded in 1944, presents exhibitions of its members to promote awareness of modern art.

Norwich Arts Centre is a notable live music venue, concert hall and theatre located in St. Benedict’s Street. The King of Hearts in Fye Bridge Street is another centre for art and music.

Sport

The principal local football club is Norwich City, also known as the Canaries, who play in the Football League One. Majority-owned by celebrity chef Delia Smith and her husband Michael Wynn-Jones, their ground is at Carrow Road. They have a strong East Anglian rivalry with Ipswich Town. The club has enjoyed considerable success in the past, having played in the top division for a collective total of 19 seasons since 1972, their longest spell being a nine-year spell from 1986 to 1995. They have also won two Football League Cups, and finished third in the inaugural Premier League in 1993. Perhaps their most famous result to date came later in 1993 when they eliminated German giants Bayern Munich from the UEFA Cup. Before emerging as a top division club, they famously eliminated Manchester United from the FA Cup in 1959, and went on to reach the semi-finals of the competition, a run they achieved again in 1989 and most recently in 1992. In the 1980s and early 1990s, the club produced some of the most highly rated talent of that era, including striker Chris Sutton, winger Ruel Fox, defender Andy Linighan, midfielder Mike Phelan, midfielder Tim Sherwood and striker Justin Fashanu. The club’s most successful managers have included Ken Brown, Dave Stringer, Mike Walker and Nigel Worthington.
The city’s second club, Norwich United (who are based in Blofield some 5 miles east of the city) play in the Eastern Counties league, whilst AFC Norwich play in the Anglian Combination. The now-defunct Gothic F.C. were also based in Norwich.