Record Details
| NHER Number: | 57971 |
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| Type of record: | Building |
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| Name: | County Hall, Norwich |
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Summary
County Hall is an 11-12 storey office tower designed by Reginald Uren in 1966. It is the headquarters of Norfolk County Council. It has a steel or reinforced concrete frame and is faced with glazed tiles and brick. In 2014-15 it was completely refurbished, inside and out.
Images - none
Location
| Grid Reference: | TG 2396 0703 |
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| Map Sheet: | TG20NW |
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| Parish: | NORWICH, NORWICH, NORFOLK |
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Full description
County Hall is an 11-12 storey office tower designed by Reginald Uren in 1966. It is the headquarters of Norfolk County Council. It has a steel or reinforced concrete frame and is faced with glazed tiles and brick. It was put forward for designation as a Listed Building in August 2012.
See (S1) and (S2) for further details.
S. Heywood (HES), 11 October 2012.
The building was officially opened by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on 24th May 1968, during a visit to the city.
The entire building cost around £2.5 million to construct and was at the forefront of modern sixties design both inside and out. Uren’s distinctive design drew much attention at the time - the building’s size and appearance were the subject of much discussion. The keynote design was intended "to combine civic dignity with simplicity". Alongside the council chambers and new administrative departments, the Norfolk Police had technologically-advanced offices within the building, alongside a War Room and Forensics Department (S3).
D. Gurney (HES), 21 February 2013.
In the lower basement (Rooms B38-47) there is an area which was designed as and still operates as a Local Authority Emergency Headquarters. Due to refurbishments there is little of obvious Cold War vintage, apart from the entrance doors and adjacent ventilation valves (one door of two in situ). There are also some probably 1960s heating and ventilation ducts, cabling etc, BBC and Raynet broadcasting stations (1980s, and the current equipment probably not original), and two small key control boxes marked "BOMB ALERT" (blue) and "ALL CLEAR" (green).
See digital photos (11 February 2013).
D. Gurney (HES), 31 January 2013 and 21 February 2013.
22 August 2013.
English Heritage decide not to list (Case Number 473907), as the building does not meet the criteria for listing post-1945 buildings.
D. Gurney (HES), 28 January 2015.
Copy of the County Main Emergency Centre Manual deposited in the NRO (S4).
D. Gurney (HES), 28 January 2015.
Monument Types
- CIVIC CENTRE (Mid 20th Century to Late 20th Century - 1966 AD to 1975 AD)
Associated Finds - none
Protected Status - none
Sources and further reading
| --- | Monograph: Pevsner, N. and Wilson, B. 1997. Norfolk 1: Norwich and North-East. The Buildings of England. 2nd Edition. p 332; Pl 117. |
| <S1> | Unpublished Document: Heywood, S. 2012. County Hall, Norwich. |
| <S2> | Unpublished Document: 20th Century Society. 2012. Norfolk County Council, Martineau Lane, Norwich, NR1 2DH. |
| <S3> | Moving Image: Anglia Television. 1968. Queen opens new County Hall. |
| <S4> | Unpublished Document: Norfolk County Council. 1980s. County Main Emergency Centre Manual. |
Related records - none