Dragon Hall

Dragon Hall is a Grade-1 listed medieval merchant's trading hall located in King Street, Norwich, Norfolk close to the River Wensum, and since 2015 home to Writers' Centre Norwich. It is thought to be unique in being the only such trading hall in Northern Europe owned by one man. The building stands close to the River Wensum on King Street, the main road through the city in the fifteenth century, with excellent river transport links via Yarmouth to the Low Countries, Flanders and the Germanic states. Dragon Hall is now acknowledged as one of Norwich’s medieval architectural gems and an iconic building in the city.

The Great Hall on the first floor was built in the 15th century, but some parts of the site are much older. Archaeological research shows evidence of a Saxon hut c. 1000 beneath the Hall. On the northern part of the site, in the late 13th century, the Abbey of Woburn in Bedfordshire had a fish processing operation with various outbuildings and a track to a staithe or quay on the River Wensum. There was also a boundary wall with a large brick arch to give access to King Street. In about 1330 an L-shaped domestic 'hall house' owned by John Page, was built on the southern part of the site with an undercroft and an entrance on the south side from Old Barge Yard.

In about 1427 Robert Toppes, a Norwich merchant, re-developed the site as a commercial complex. He built his first floor trading hall on top of part of the 14th century domestic hall house and on top of the existing boundary wall and brick arch. He retained the 14th century entrance to the hall house for his customers. From the entrance passage his customers went up a new staircase to the first floor trading hall. This was a timber construction of seven bays with a crown post roof, decorated with carvings in the spandrels of 14 dragons. The hall was constructed with English oak, using some 1,000 trees. Clearly Toppes wanted to impress his customers. At the rear of the building he created a yard space with access to the river for his imports and exports, a warehouse area under the hall and a new stairway down to the extended undercroft from the yard. Part of the hall house was retained as a ground floor reception area.

Centenary Salver - Saturday 6th April 2019

THEME CELEBRATION

A freestanding display to include your choice of five items from the following classes, which will be judged individually. 1 Fresh floral exhibit 2 Handmade card (no envelope or inside greeting) 3 five decorated fancies 4 Piece of hand embroidery 5 six confectioneries in a box 6 Item of crochet 7 Handmade jewellery (any medium) 8 Gift wrapped item (any medium)

Poringland WI. 5th Place

1st.

3rd

2nd

4th

WI Walk March 2019

After meeting at the church in Mulbarton we set off for a circle walk through very pleasant farmland, we crossed over a lake walking over very old wooden planks where the swan pictured was majestically swimming, a large tree had fallen during the high winds a few weeks ago hence another photo.  The banks were full of yellow flowers and the weather was very kind to us. The walk finished with a very enjoyable lunch and natter and everyone saying they had enjoyed themselves. 

February's WI walk around Norwich

Several members and 3 husbands enjoyed this months walk around Norwich on a lovely warm sunny day.
We met outside John Lewis and walked down Timberhill and learnt the history of the Gardeners Arms (Murderers).The licence of the pub can be traced back to 1841.
Down to London Street into Princess Street to Tombland via all the small lanes that we walk pass daily. Walked along the Quayside into Cowgate, passed the Art collages back up to  Bedford Street, stopping at St John Maddermarket where we were lucky to  meet a guide 
who gave us a short talk  on the church ending the walk with lunch at the Guildhall Cafe.

Bowls Development Alliance News: WOMEN’S INSTITUTE PARTNER WITH WOMEN CAN

WOMEN’S INSTITUTE PARTNER WITH WOMEN CAN

The Bowls Development Alliance is delighted to announce an exciting new partnership with the National Federation of Women’s Institute (NFWI).

The partners will be working together across the country to provide opportunities for WI members to get involved in the sport of bowls. This project is part of the national WOMEN CAN project which aims to encourage more women to play bowls, coach bowls and volunteer in bowls.

Currently only 39% of the bowling club population in England are women, and this campaign has been developed to increase that number to 45% by 2021.

Anna Coulson, WOMEN CAN lead, said: “We are very excited to be working with the Women’s Institute on this project to encourage more women to become involved in the sport. We hope that we can inspire more women to join the bowling community and enjoy the playing and social opportunities the sport has to offer.”

Lynne Stubbings, Chair of the NFWI, said: “We are delighted to be working with the Bowls Development Alliance on this exciting new project which will inspire and empower WI members to become involved and participate in the sport of bowls. This programme is open to all members, regardless of age or ability and we hope that it’ll be successful in increasing the percentage of women in the English bowling community. For members who already have an interest in bowls, and others that have never played the game before, the programme will offer fun, friendship and a chance to get active outside of WI meetings.”

For more information on this exciting new programme and the WOMEN CAN campaign please contact Anna Coulson anna@playbowls.org or visit the Play Bowls website where the campaign video can be viewed at www.playbowls.org/womencan showcasing what the sport can offer women of all ages.

WI Jumble sale April 13th 2019.

EVENT.

CATEGORY                JUMBLE SALE

EVENT START.          10:30 to 11:30  (open from 9am for Donations) 

DATE.                          SATURDAY APRIL 13th 2019

ADMISSION              20 pence.

VENUE NAME            

PORINGLAND COMMUNITY CENTRE .

OVERTONS WAY. 

PORINGLAND.

NORWICH. 

NR14  7WB

WI walk on January 18th 2019

Church of Saint Andrew Framingham Pigot

Parish church. 1859 by Robert Kerr. Knapped flint and ashlar dressings, the
steeple entirely of stone. Plain tile roofs. Nave, north-west steeple,
chancel and north chancel chapel. Extravagant, bold and incongruous Decorated
style. 3 stage tower of square plan with stepped angle buttresses rising to
top of third stage. To south-west corner a polygonal stair turret, reducing
at each stage, ends in a pyramidal roof. It is lit through circular windows.
Spherical triangles to ground floor. On east side a small doorway below a
spherical triangle. Vaguely

The present building was built in 1859 in Gothic Revival style with an unusual tall northwest tower and spire. Inside is a Norman piscina and brass of 1500 of an earlier church. This earlier church had some Late Saxonfeatures and had been considerably altered in the 13th century.

Carol and Judith - Cruise to Iceland.

Poringland members enjoyed the talk and slides presented by Carol and Judith of their cruise which included 
a visit to Iceland.

The meeting was also a very special occasion as our member Mrs Jean Waters  celebrated 50 years membership with Poringland.  Jean has fulfilled most duties during these years, President, Secretary and valued member on the committee for many many years. 

Jean was presented with a cake made by Nina also a member of Poringland, a framed certificate of Achievement and special card representative of 50years of the WI.

WI - Bungay Walk November 2018

St Mary's Church is a redundant Anglican church in the town of Bungay, Suffolk, England. The church and the ruins of the adjacent priory are recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building,[1] and are under the care of the Churches Conservation Trust.[2] The church stands in the centre of the town on St Mary's Street, the A144 road.[2][3] St Mary's was built as the church to a Benedictine priory. This was established in the late 12th century, but the main part of the present church dates from the 14th–15th century. The Domesday Survey records a church dedicated to the Holy Cross in the town, and it is thought that St Mary's stands on the site of an earlier Saxon church. The priory was closed in 1536 as a result of the dissolution of the monasteries, St Mary's became a parish church, and a grammar school was established in one of the priory's chapels.[4] In 1577 the church was struck by lightning, and this event led to the Legend of the Black Dog (see below).[5][6] The church was damaged in a great fire in the town in 1688. The roof of the south aisle and some of the fittings, including benches and possibly the pulpit, were burnt, but the roof of the nave was not damaged.[7] The south aisle was re-roofed in 1699, and the church re-opened in 1701.[1] In 1879 the tower was repaired, and the rest of the church was restored, at a cost of £3,000 (equivalent to £280,000 in 2016).[8][9] During the 20th century the size of the congregation declined and the church was declared redundant.[4]  Its beneficehas been united with that of Holy Trinity Church.[10] A society, The Friends of St Mary's, cleans the church and organises concerts and other events in the church.[4] Bungay, Holy Trinity Church History, tourist information, and nearby accommodation HERITAGE RATING:    HERITAGE HIGHLIGHTS:   16th-century Throckmorton brass Bungay, Holy Trinity Church More Photos Holy Trinity church is the oldest building in the historic town of Bungay. The attractive round tower of Holy Trinity (or, to give the church its proper title, Holy Trinity with St Mary's) dates to the late Saxon period. It is built of local flint and rubble, with the traditional herringbone masonry so common in late Saxon buildings.  If you examine the exterior of the tower you can see other signs of Saxon building techniques, including round-headed and circular window openings. The two larger windows on the west side were added in the 15th century (top) and 19th century (bottom), while the parapet top was a 15th-century addition. The parapet crenellations are decorated with heraldic shields of local families including the Montacutes, Beauchamps, Brotherons, and Despencers. The west and north walls of the church were built at the same time as the tower. There is a blocked Saxon slit window in the north wall, but the south aisle is 14th century. As you pass into the south porch note the plate by the door. It says 'Here was the fire stayed 1688', a reference to the terrible fire that destroyed much of Bungay. The fire caused damage to the door but did not damage the interior of the church. You will notice that the caved head beside the doorway arch is discoloured due to the heat of the fire. The door itself still has its original medieval lock. There are several features worth noting in the interior, including an early 18th-century gallery, now holding the organ. The pulpit is very nice Elizabethan woodwork, crafted in 1588 at a cost of 10 shillings, according to the church records. well worth the money, I'd say! The font is a rather peculiar neoclassical affair, similar to the one in the redundant church of St Mary's over the road. Probably the most interesting bit of the interior are the monuments. On the north wall is one to Matthias Kerrison, who purchased the Bungay Navigation in 1783 and became a wealthy merchant during the Napoleonic Wars. Set on a pillar in the south aisle is a memorial brass to Lionel Throckmorton, who founded a grammar school here in 1580. The school is still in existence as the local High School, and still uses the Throckmorton coat of arms as its badge. Even more interesting is the brass to Margaret Dalenger, who served as the prioress of the Bungay nunnery from 1465 to 1497. Sent from my iPad Very nice! So cute! Love it! ReplyForward