HODs: Building a Norman masterpiece

This tour, which takes place around the interior of the cathedral, will explain just how the Normans builtour stunning cathedral – said to be one of the most intact Romanesque churches in all of Europe.

But exactly how did the builders devise the ground plan for the church, built amidst the small dwellings and Roman roadways of Norwich’s Saxon beginnings? And why was the cathedral’s very precise layout so important for the ritual purposes of the Benedictine monks for whom the construction was made?

Who actually built the cathedral? The vast majority of masons who worked on the building came to Norfolk - like most of those original monks - from Normandy in northern France. How did those French stonemasons source, design, shape and eventually assemble, the stones which have produced the wonderful, soaring architecture of this amazing building?

Once the skeleton, the bones, of the structure was complete, the interior work could then begin. How did the extraordinarily talented woodworkers craft and construct the remarkable wooden furnishings which embellish the cathedral’s interior? Where did the wood come from. And – last but not least, how did all of this material arrive at the cathedral’s site?

Answers to these questions – and any others you may choose to pose – will be answered on this tour by one of our most knowledgeable cathedral guides. It is a must for anyone interested in understanding the immense task of constructing our city’s greatest landmark.

There is no charge for the tour, but you must book your place via the Heritage Open Days website. Booking opens 27 August at 10am.