| NHER Number: | 632 |
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| Type of record: | Monument |
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| Name: | Cow Tower |
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Summary
Cow Tower is situated on a vulnerable point in a bend on the River Wensum, at the northeast corner of a low-lying meadow called Cowholme. In the mid 13th century this part of the water-meadow became the property of the Great Hospital (NHER 624), from which its alternative name of 'Hospital Tower' is derived, and at the end of the 14th century this was sold to the City.
The tower itself is a free-standing brick-faced stone building of three storeys with a roof and integrated stair turret. In its current form it is a product of work recorded in 1398-1399, forming an active part of the city defenses for at least two hundred years after this. Internally it was handsomely furnished, with fireplaces on all three floors and garderobes on the first and second floors. After this time the tower appears to have fallen slowly into disrepair.
Images
| Grid Reference: | TG 23957 09191 |
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| Map Sheet: | TG20NW |
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| Parish: | NORWICH, NORWICH, NORFOLK |
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Monument Types
- BLOCKHOUSE (Medieval to Modern - 1398 AD? to 2050 AD)
- TOWER (Medieval to Modern - 1398 AD? to 2050 AD)
- TOWN DEFENCES (Medieval to Modern - 1398 AD? to 2050 AD)
| Protected Status: | Scheduled Monument |
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Full description
Rebuilt around 1399 by City in brick - lowest courses are of faced flint (?part of earlier tower).
Owned by Norwich Corporation, consolidated by Ministry of Works 1954.
'The Cow or Hospital Tower stands on the south bank of the River Wensum in the northeast corner of the medieval city. It is a freestanding brick structure built to three storeys with a roof and integrated stair turret. It is reasonable to suppose that the existing building is that for which building accounts survive from the late 1390s' (S1).
Compiled by R. R. Clarke (NCM) and O. Beazley (NAU).
2007.
Full survey by NAU 1985-6, published as (S1) replaces all above information and is definitive work on origin of building, and from which the following information is derived:
Cow Tower is situated on a vulnerable point in a bend on the River Wensum, at the northeast corner of alow-lying meadow called Cowholme (from which its current name is derived). In the mid 13th century his part of the water-meadow became the property of the Great Hospital (NHER 624), from which its alternative name of 'Hospital Tower' is derived.
At the beginning of 1378 the bailiffs of Norwich received a commission from the king to clear the river and repair the walls and towers of the defenses, and it is at this point that they leased or purchased the tower from the Great Hospital. During the last twenty years of the 14th century numerous references refer to building work carried out on the Tower, which sometimes refer to the structure as 'The Dungeon'.
From 1400 the tower formed part of the City defences, and was repeatedly repaired into the 16th century. It is likely that the tower was leased out when not in 'times of war' as occurred with other sites in Norwich. Unfortunately, the tower beacme largely defunct as a defense once the enemy were inside the walls. After the 16th century the tower appears to have fallen slowly into disrepair.
The tower itself is a free-standing brick-faced stone building of three storeys with a roof and integrated stair turret. In its current form it is therefore a product of work recorded in 1398-1399. Internally it was handsomely furnished, with fireplaces on all three floors and garderobes on the first and second floors. It also seems likely that the tower would have been an effective building in which to house guns.
Ruth Fillery-Travis (NLA), 12th March 2007.
See schedule in file.
Sources and further reading
| --- | Slide: Slide. |
| --- | Fiche: Exists. |
| --- | Photograph: CTL-CTZ, CWA, FPH. |
| --- | Aerial Photograph: TG2309 ACM. |
| S1 | Bibliographic reference: Ayers, B.. 1988. Medieval Archaeology. vol 32. Vol.32. |
| S2 | Bibliographic reference: Saunders, A.. 1985. Medieval Archaeology. vol 29. Vol.29. |
| S3 | Bibliographic reference: Collins, I.H,. 1910. Report on the Walls of Norwich. pp 56-59. pp 56-59 |
| S4 | Bibliographic reference: Hannah, I.. 1914. Heart of East Anglia. p.83. p 83 |
| S5 | Bibliographic reference: Knights, M.. 1887. The Highways and Byeways of Old Norwich. p.119. p 119 |
Related records
| Mon 566 | Parent of: Cow Tower (Monument) |
| Site 1629 | Parent of: Cow Tower (Monument) |
| 883 | Parent of: Late medieval to post medieval pottery sherds (Find Spot) |
| 303 | Parent of: Medieval and post medieval pottery sherds, south bank of River Wensum (Find Spot) |
| 26580 | Parent of: Medieval pottery and animal bone, probable rubbish pit (Find Spot) |
| 352 | Parent of: Medieval rubbish pit, silver half-penny of Henry VI (Find Spot) |
| 440 | Parent of: Medieval to post medieval pottery sherds and silver fitting (Find Spot) |
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