THE ASSEMBLY HOUSE
This centrally situated Georgian house is one of the principal public buildings of Norwich. It stand on the original site of of the “chapel in the field” that gave its name to Chapelfield Gardens. This chapel belonged to the Hospice of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which was set up in the middle thirteenth century. A hospice had a different meaning to that used today; it was more like a hotel for pilgrims. The medieval crypt of the hospice survives as part of the cellars of the Assembly House. The building that exists above ground level was built in the 1750s by the architect Thomas Ivory. It was originally a place where the upper classes met socially, but by the end of the Second World War it had long since ceased to be a place of resort for the local gentry. In the last quarter of the nineteenth century it became the home to the Norwich High School for Girls. It then spent Second World War as the home of the War Office camouflage unit. It briefly hosted some famous artists during this time.
The Queen Mother is greeted by my Aunt Ruth at the Assembly House.
After the war it was bought by the shoe manufacturer H. J. Sexton, who generously donated it to the city. Renovations were undertaken, and it was reopened to the public in the summer of 1950, during my Great Aunt Ruth’s period of office as Lord Mayor of Norwich. The accompanying ceremonies were among the first she was involved in in that capacity. The Queen (as she then was – she is better known to my generation as the late Queen Mother) was a visitor to the newly reopened Assembly House. Although Ruth Hardy was proud of her Socialist credentials, you can see by her charming smile how thoroughly she was enjoying welcoming Royalty to Norwich!
In 1959 the Music Room on the ground floor of the Assembly House was used for my eldest sister Christine’s wedding reception. The wedding service was held at St Stephen’s church, which could not have been more convenient for the guests. As those who are familiar with the city will know, it is only a few steps up Theatre Street from St Stephen’s Church to the Assembly House.
The Noverre family’s association with the Assembly House began in the 18th century, not long after it was built. Augustine Noverre arrived in Norwich from France via London, and he held the first ballet performance in Norwich there. He later moved to Norwich. The Noverre family worshipped at St Stephen’s church for generations, and are remembered by a plaque in that church. They would frequently have resorted to the Assembly House. The Noverre Cinema reflected the close association of the family with the building; it occupied a large hall attached to the Assembly House, a room that in the nineteenth century had been the “Noverre Ballroom”. The cinema was opened in 1950, along with the other facilities in the reopened Assembly House, and for over 40 years it screened the sort of films that were not always available in the commercial cinema circuit. It finally closed at the end of 1992.
There was a disastrous fire at the Assembly House in 1995, which destroyed the roof and ceilings, but the wooden panelling of the main rooms mostly survived. This happened only a year after the even more disastrous fire across Theatre Street at Norwich Central Library. In the case of the Assembly House it had been restored and reopened within two years.
My sister’s Wedding Reception at the ASSEMBLY HOUSE
I used to be a frequent visitor to the Assembly House. I often patronised the restaurant for morning coffee, on the way to see the art exhibitions that were always being held there. I even had an exhibition of my own paintings there. In those days I fancied myself as an artist. I also went to meetings of the local branch of the Historical Association in one of the smaller rooms. There were concerts in the Music Room which I regularly attended. One of the club I belonged to sometimes hired one of the upstairs rooms for meetings. In fact I was at the Assembly House more often than I went to the Theatre Royal next door, or even to the equally close Central Library.
What was particularly pleasant about the Assembly House was that, if you didn’t want to buy anything, attendance was completely free. Obviously if you wished to drink a cup of tea or coffee some payment was involved, but if you simply wanted to look at the pictures on display there was no charge. I must admit that many of the people I met at the Assembly House were considerably older than I was in the days when I was a regular visitor there. The clientele was mostly middle class and middle aged (or even older), and I am sure it still is so.
JOSEPH MASON j
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