(From my dismantled ‘Possitopia Norwich’ site)

Norwich seems to have more superlatives about it than any other city! (66 collected so far, 67 if you count this sentence.)

  1. Norwich is the capital city of Norfolk, which the Domesday Book shows during the 11th century was one of the most heavily populated counties. This remained the case until 1600.
  2. Norfolk has 150 deserted villages, almost more than any other English county. (See the causes of desertion.)
  3. Norfolk is the only place in northern Europe to have evidence of four human species living here at different times in the past: Modern Man or 'Homo Sapiens', Neanderthals, Heidelberg Man, and Pioneer Man. [And yes, these three facts are about Norfolk in general, but the main point of this list is to understand Norwich and it helps to know more about where it's located.]
  4. Norwich is said to be one of the most complete medieval cities, due to its street pattern and many nationally significant historic buildings.
  5. In the Middle Ages, wool merchants built churches to show off their wealth and there were 57 within the City walls, more than any city north of the Alps.
  6. It was the biggest English city in the Middle Ages and it was second in size to London before the industrial era.
  7. By the end of the Middle Ages, Norwich had more big houses (with ‘more than ten hearths’) than any other provincial town in the kingdom. (The Duke of Norfolk’s palace had 60 hearths, in the 17th century.)
  8. Dragon Hall, in King Street in Norwich, is the only medieval merchant's trading hall known to have survived in Western Europe.
  9. The Guildhall is the largest and most elaborate medieval city hall in England.
  10. The first ever true peal of bells was heard in St Peter Mancroft church, in 1715.
  11. Cow Tower is one of the earliest artillery blockhouses in England.
  12. The cathedral spire is the second largest in the country at 315 feet high.
  13. At 365 feet, the balcony of Norwich City Hall is the longest balcony in the UK.
  14. Norwich makes the UK’s top five for the number of pubs per square mile.
  15. The first city in the UK to pedestrianise a street. It pedestrianised London Street in 1967 and went on to pedestrianise several more. By 2001, more people walked to work in Norwich than in any other UK city.
  16. It has the largest outdoor covered market in Europe, which has existed since the Norman Conquest.
  17. Norwich was the first place of any size to be bombed in WW2 (July 1940) and the first British city recorded as having been attacked by the Luftwaffe.
  18. Mile Cross was the first specially designed social housing estate in the UK.