Norwich was England’s first City of Literature
- UNESCO City of Literature, 2012
- England’s first
- The first provincial library
- Once the second city of the kingdom
How Norwich grew
The short version, in order. Pick a year.
The first provincial library
Part of a long printing and publishing history that gave the city its claim.
England’s first UNESCO City of Literature
Norwich was designated England’s first UNESCO City of Literature in 2012. It is a designation the city had a decent claim to: a long printing and publishing history, the country’s first provincial library, and a tradition of writing that runs from Julian of Norwich — the first woman known to have written a book in English — to the modern creative writing school at the university.
For most of English history Norwich was the second city of the kingdom, and it was rich enough to keep records, print things and argue in public.
It is a good place to remember that the important technology is often the boring one: not the machine, but the habit of writing things down where other people can read them.
What that means if you trade in Norwich
Norwich is famously a long way from anywhere — no motorway reaches it — and that isolation is commercially useful. Local businesses are the practical option for a very large rural catchment across Norfolk.
The city itself is well-off and independent-minded, with a strong preference for local firms over national chains.
What Norwich businesses ask us for
Own the county
Norfolk is big and thinly served. Say how far you go and be generous about it.
Independent is an advantage
Say who owns the business. It matters more here than in most cities.
Load on rural signal
Much of the catchment is on poor mobile data. Keep the site light.
How well do you know Norwich?
Five quick questions. Get all five right and you win a 10% off discount code for your website. Every answer is somewhere on this page, so have a read if you get stuck.
Norwich quiz · 1 of 5
What was Norwich designated in 2012?
Common questions
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