Norwich Market At 900 With Promenade Theatre

Norwich Market is older than the church beside it, and that single fact changes how you see the centre of the city. We start with the feel of July, those long holiday days that bring back cycling routes, camping adventures, and the simple joy of being outside, then we step straight into the bustle of the market to explore what 900 years of trading really means for Norwich today.

I’m joined by Rachel Hobson to talk about On The Huh, a new community theatre production from Common Lot Community Theatre Company. The title comes from a Norfolk and Suffolk phrase meaning “askew”, and it fits perfectly for a story-rich celebration of local history. This is promenade theatre, with the audience moving from Hay Hill to the Forum and City Hall, then back through the market for pop-up “spots” before the finale on Gentleman’s Walk. If you’re searching for Norwich events in July, outdoor theatre in Norwich, or family-friendly culture with real local roots, this is one to put in the diary.

We also share St Peter Mancroft’s part in the project: a short performance drawn from a remarkable bells story set on Norwich Market on New Year’s Eve 1872, complete with rain, revellers, drums, dromedaries and even an elephant. Along the way we hear from a market stallholder about why the market feels like a family, and we meet a young visitor who describes the church as “absolutely gorgeous” and lights up at the thought of bell ringing.

Subscribe for more stories from Norwich, share the episode with a friend who loves the market, and if you enjoy it, please leave us a review.

Transcript

July Welcome And Holiday Memories

SPEAKER_01 0:03

Well, hello and welcome to the July twenty twenty six Be More Mancroft podcast. I'm Edward Carter. And I'm Judy Ball. And it's lovely you've joined us. July is a great well, it's a holiday month, I always think, Judy, isn't it? Do you have any good childhood memories of holidays?

SPEAKER_06 0:20

Yes, I used to look forward to about the we used to break up from school usually about the twenty-fourth or twenty-fifth of July.

SPEAKER_00 0:26

Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 0:26

And I eight weeks we used to get. We had a long, long summer break.

SPEAKER_00 0:30

It's lovely though, isn't it? Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 0:32

And we used to go cycling. Oh, it's all sorts of things. I used to love the summer holidays.

SPEAKER_01 0:36

Yes.

SPEAKER_06 0:39

We used to go to well, the furthest I although no, we went to sea Pauling to start, because that was about eighteen minutes.

SPEAKER_01 0:44

From from Norwich. Oh, from Norwich. Yeah. That's a good run.

SPEAKER_06 0:46

We used to stop at Stallham.

SPEAKER_01 0:48

Nice. Is that where the ducks cross the road? I can't remember. Or is that somewhere else?

SPEAKER_06 0:54

I don't know. I don't know.

SPEAKER_01 0:55

I think there's some I think it might be Stalham where there's a little sign that says Beware of Ducks crossing the road.

SPEAKER_06 1:00

Oh, I don't remember that. But I went with my friend and her parents. Because we're we're talking oh started cycling all those years ago. I was only about twelve.

SPEAKER_00 1:09

Right.

SPEAKER_06 1:09

And we went with Mary and her parents. And the four of us went and we that was the first time I'd cycled that far. One year. And then after that, of course, we're doing it every year. Loved it.

SPEAKER_00 1:19

Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 1:19

Eccles, that was another place we used to cycle to.

SPEAKER_00 1:22

Okay, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:22

And uh well certainly it's a glorious time of year, isn't it? Lovely long days, early mornings and lovely light evenings. Yeah. My childhood memories of hot summer holidays, similar thing, you know, nice long school holidays. Because my dad was a teacher. So when when term ended, we'd all now he he loved going to France. He'd take us all to France in a big we had a big Land Rover. We pack it full of tents and all sorts of holiday things. My brother and I was a squeeze in at the back somewhere. My dad always packed a great big box of maps so we could get around France safely on all the roads. And we'd drive and drive and drive, often to the south of France, that kind of thing. And have lovely, lovely hot camping. Well, sometimes storms and getting washed away. That's true, I suppose. Yeah, but but it was um well lovely, lovely holiday time, yeah, yeah. Yeah, and I suppose also doing different sometimes doing activities like craft and other things, just and playing, you know, making things.

SPEAKER_00 2:16

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 2:16

Which was great. Mine mine was more outdoor stuff.

SPEAKER_06 2:19

Yeah than I did. I can't say I did much in the craft line. No, no, they're they're more for what I would say winter months as far as I was concerned.

SPEAKER_01 2:26

Yeah, that's right. And and there are holiday clubs, of course I never did anything like that, but there are holiday

Summer Clubs And A Drama Teaser

SPEAKER_01 2:30

clubs and they they're very popular. And sometimes part of them is drama, which makes me think of a a drama that's actually happening here in Norwich this summer. I don't know if you've heard about it. The Common Lot is a great community drama group. Oh and they're doing a big outside dramatic production over a number of days this summer. And I and one and at the church at Mancroft we're uh we're uh supporting it quietly behind the scenes and some of our people are taking part. And one of the people is is Rachel Hobson. Oh yeah. Uh actually caught up with her the other day. Uh it we I chatted with her out in the market. It was turned out to be a bit of a windy day, so then the the recording's rather blustery, but it's um and also motorbikes and police cars and all sorts. It's a real in the marketplace. But anyway, let's listen to Rachel now.

Rachel Introduces On The Her

SPEAKER_01 3:15

Well, I'm actually out here on Norwich Market, just at the top corner of the market. So you'll hear motorbikes in the background and maybe a seagull or two, and certainly some chat in the marketplace. And I'm here with you, Rachel, uh, Rachel Hobson, who's well one of our church wardens at the church. But Rachel, you're very involved with drama a lot, I know, but particularly a project that's going to be this month, July, and it's called On the Hur, I think. So just where what on earth is that?

SPEAKER_02 3:42

Well, good question, Edward. This is a community theatre project that's being produced by the Common Lot Community Theatre Company towards the end of July, and it's celebrating the history of Norwich Market, 900 years of Norwich Market.

SPEAKER_01 4:00

900 yeah, I mean that's actually older than the church building, then I guess.

SPEAKER_02 4:03

It is older than the church building. The the the production is called On the Hur, which basically means if you if you're not from Norfolk or Suffolk, it means not quite straight at an angle.

SPEAKER_00 4:15

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 4:16

I did uh look it up before I came and I learned that it's a Norfolk and Suffolk expression meaning crooked, askew, not straight. But nobody knows where it or originates.

SPEAKER_01 4:38

And you have to hang it so it's on the her, obviously. Yeah, that figures, doesn't it? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So the common lot, they're a great group, aren't they? Yeah, they they've been doing community drama I think for many, many years.

SPEAKER_02 4:50

They have, they're a brilliant group. Every year or every two years they do a big community drama project, usually based on an aspect of life in Norwich, or in one case I remember going to see something about the herring h the women who dealt with the herrings in Great Yarmouth. Oh, yeah. And you know, they use drama and music, song to put together a really great dramatic performance. On this occasion, on the her is going to be something that's called promenade theatre.

How Promenade Theatre Will Work

SPEAKER_02 5:26

So it's not all going to be in one place.

SPEAKER_00 5:29

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 5:29

The audience will follow it around. So it will start off at the bottom of Hay Hill and there'll be some scenes there. Then it will go up in front of the forum and there'll be another one or two scenes there. Then it will make its way to City Hall, more scenes, and then there will be an interval. And the audience will be invited to wander around the market and the environment and enjoy great bike.

SPEAKER_00 6:00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 6:00

Enjoy what they're calling spots. So there'll be little special things happening, maybe a couple of people singing something. I think there's some women going to be dressed as suffragettes, there'll be individual people wandering around. And the audience will have a little while to enjoy these things before they reconvene on Gentleman's Walk for the end of the show.

SPEAKER_00 6:21

Great.

SPEAKER_02 6:22

And so the Mancroft contribution is one of these spots.

SPEAKER_01 6:26

I see. So it's like kind of got a main framework to it, which the actual Commonwealth actors are doing, and then lots of other groups, including Mancroft, are kind of filling in.

SPEAKER_03 6:34

A little little short first, nothing very long. That sounds great.

SPEAKER_01 6:38

Yeah, and the promenade theatre thing makes you think of the passion play that of course we see a few years ago. I know you were very involved in that.

SPEAKER_00 6:44

I was.

SPEAKER_01 6:45

Um and that started again Haymarkets, up Hay Hill, outside for Millennium Plain, and then into church. But so but so the the on the hoe is not coming into the church.

SPEAKER_02 6:53

It isn't. We're going to do our spot somewhere close, probably to the gates at the west end of the church, probably out there. And we have picked a little story from Mo's brilliant book about Mancroft Bells.

SPEAKER_00 7:07

Oh yes, yes.

SPEAKER_02 7:09

And it's set in Norwich Market, New Year's Eve, 1872. Was that a special year? Well, it was a special year in one way. Apparently, revellers normally congregated in the marketplace for New Year's Eve, and they'd hear the new year being rung in by the bells of Sir Peter Mancroft.

SPEAKER_00 7:29

That's great, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 7:30

And on this particular occasion it was raining very heavily, but people were still coming into the marketplace, and then something rather amazing happened. There there was a group representing a menagerie called Edmund's Menagerie, and they came in with some people banging drums and other instruments, and they came with some dromedaries.

SPEAKER_01 7:52

So actual camels.

SPEAKER_02 7:54

Actual ac actual camels. And then another menagerie rocked

Mancroft’s Market Spot With Bells

SPEAKER_02 7:58

up with their little band and people singing, and they had dromedaries, but they also had an elephant. An elephant here in Norwich, how amazing. In Norwich Market! And of course these were promo things for the menageries, you know. But it was New Year's Eve. And then the funny thing is that um one of the menagerie group starts singing Old Lang's Eine.

SPEAKER_01 8:20

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 8:21

And the other one starts singing the Hallelujah chorus. Oh great.

SPEAKER_01 8:25

So you'll be recreating that. Kind of.

SPEAKER_02 8:27

We're we're doing the musical thing and but not a real elephant. No, Keith, one of the church members, is making some or has made some amazing dromedary heads which we've got to hold on sticks and an elephant as well.

SPEAKER_01 8:41

Very good. I'm just thinking the original elephants and and dromedaries must have been must have been quite cold if it was New Year's Eve, do you think?

SPEAKER_02 8:48

I don't I don't envy them. I mean it was raining very hard, New Year's Eve. They can't have been very happy, can they?

SPEAKER_01 8:55

Well I suppose not, no, no. But the idea of bringing it to life with a drama today is amazing. Yeah, it's a good idea. So is it a kind of one performance thing or how's it going to work?

SPEAKER_02 9:05

We're gonna do two of our little spots every evening that we're involved. The productions are from let me check my notes, Tuesday the 21st of July in the evening through to Saturday the 25th of July in the evening, and then there's another show on the Sunday afternoon.

SPEAKER_01 9:23

Right, brilliant.

SPEAKER_02 9:24

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 9:25

Yeah, so it's pretty much a week really when you add them up.

SPEAKER_02 9:28

It's possible that one of the shows we we were locked out of. We don't actually have to do every single one, it just depends how many people can be involved.

SPEAKER_01 9:37

But the show itself will run, it's just different spots. Kind of guest pop-up appearances, really. Yeah, how wonderful. And so you're obviously in this in the Mancroft spots, and and and a few other people from Mancroft as well involved.

SPEAKER_02 9:50

Yes, there are. At the minute I think I've got about 15 people.

SPEAKER_01 9:54

That's great.

SPEAKER_02 9:54

I always like a few more, but you know, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 9:57

Yeah, no, wonderful. Well, I mean, if you're listening to this and you think you want to join in and it's not too late, then let us know. Get in touch. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And actually, sort of taking a step back from it, drama is a great thing, Rachel, isn't it? You can express amazing things through drama. You can you can tell stories, you can catch people's imagination. So yeah, it's it's wonderful to have things like this happening in the city, and and hats off to the common lot, really, because they they really do it in an amazingly goodwill. And I believe they research their their uh pieces really carefully.

SPEAKER_02 10:30

I don't I don't know about this one, but I'm sure that's yes, it has been researched very carefully. Yeah, there's a whole crew of people into the research, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 10:37

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And Norwich Market is a very old market and

Show Dates And Joining In

SPEAKER_01 10:41

a very interesting market historically, and still a great market actually.

SPEAKER_02 10:45

It really is, yeah. It's lovely to come here.

SPEAKER_01 10:47

Yeah. Do you what what do you do you ever get food and stuff here or other things?

SPEAKER_02 10:50

Well, there are one or two stalls I uh use regularly. There's a coffee stall I get my ground coffee from and the cheese stall, of course. Yes, yeah. One or two of the bread and cake type stalls. I have been known to buy chips once or five.

SPEAKER_01 11:05

Rachel, surely not. Chips, of course, chips, yeah, yeah. Yes, I sometimes get food there and I love the quirky stalls, you know, you can get sort of foam stuff and I think the foam one is gone. I might have gone.

SPEAKER_02 11:17

I was looking for that recently.

SPEAKER_01 11:19

And then and books, second hand books, um all sorts, all sorts. Clothes. Um I'm I'm not really police car going by. Hopefully everyone's alright. I'm not really trendy enough to buy clothes from the market, but I can tell you are Rachel.

SPEAKER_02 11:33

All the time.

SPEAKER_01 11:35

Fantastic. Well, it's great to know that this um this is happening, um, and it's really coming up soon now. Um I'm sure it'll be a fantastic thing. Um and certainly if you don't want to be actually in the the the St. Peter Mancroft um spots, you can still come along and watch and enjoy. I mean you could come come back every every evening through the week. Yeah. Rachel, thank you so much. Thanks for your involvement in it as a project and for kind of carrying the Mancroft flag, and thanks for chatting with me today. It's been a lovely tutorial.

Favourite Stalls And Market Life

SPEAKER_06 12:05

That was a great chat with Rachel. I didn't realise that the market was nine hundred years old and it was before the church.

SPEAKER_01 12:11

Well, that's right, yes. I mean, there might have been in a previous church building, of course, on the site next to the market, but uh still nine hundred years. I know. It's an ancient market, yeah. And I think Norwich Market uh wins awards, doesn't it, for being the best market in the world or something like that, or in England.

SPEAKER_06 12:30

Oh, it's just slope, doesn't it? Careful how you walk on this market.

SPEAKER_01 12:34

I know, yes. No, it's got a nice slope up, yeah, yeah. It's true of Hall of Norwich, really, lots of hills and slopes.

SPEAKER_06 12:40

It's supposed to be flat in Norfolk.

SPEAKER_01 12:42

I know it's not flat. It's certainly not flat, no. The people who run in the the uh the annual um run around the city always say that to me, oh so many hills, yeah. Exactly. Yeah. But no, I do I love walking through the market. Yeah, sometimes might spend some money there, buy something food and that sort of thing. Yeah, are there any stalls that that you have a particular favourite?

SPEAKER_06 13:00

I think my favourite wasn't well, I buy my herbs and spices.

SPEAKER_01 13:02

Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_06 13:03

I do love them. Um I I do get s some veg. Yeah. But it's it's carrying it home, so that's the thing.

SPEAKER_01 13:08

Well, that's true, yeah, yeah. No, the the herbs and spices stall is lovely, isn't it? Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 13:12

They have lots of stuff there.

SPEAKER_00 13:13

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 13:14

And I often I do chat with the people with the clothes stalls at the top of the market. Um but as I said to Rachel, I'm not really trendy enough to buy clothes from there. Well, I did get um I got something. I needed a costume for a show I was in earlier this year. Yeah. So um so I did buy something. Daringly uh vintage, I think is the word. Yeah, vintage is the vintage stores are very good, actually. Exactly. I think my wardrobe's so sad it's not even vintage standard.

SPEAKER_00 13:40

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 13:40

Well, actually, I I did catch up with um one of the lovely stall holders um at one of the food stalls. So I made a little uh interview with her. So maybe we'll listen to that now. Okay.

A Stallholder On Community Spirit

SPEAKER_01 13:51

Well, it's quite prompt in the morning, and I'm here on the market, and I'm at the Black River Jamaican kitchen. And Sarah, you're you're one of the people who runs the store here. Great to see you.

SPEAKER_04 14:02

And you, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 14:03

So what's it like being here on the market?

SPEAKER_04 14:05

Uh it's beautiful, it's a lovely community. We've been here about eight years, and everybody just feels like a family really, everybody helps everybody out. Yeah, it's it's a really nice environment to work and to spend time in, really.

SPEAKER_01 14:20

We spend quite a lot of time here, so take thinking of Norwich as a whole, you know, what what's the things you most like about being here in Norwich?

SPEAKER_04 14:29

Uh Norwich itself is quite historical.

SPEAKER_01 14:31

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 14:31

Um, there's a lot to see and do. I feel like it's a sort of a small city, so I feel like it's more of a town really. But again, everybody gets on with everybody. There's n there's never any I don't ever feel like there's any negativity. So yeah, everybody just feels like a community really. That's awesome.

SPEAKER_01 14:50

Thank you so much. Well, I don't quite need a carry yet, a bit early in the morning, but uh I'll be back for one. That's awesome. Great to see you. Thank you.

SPEAKER_06 14:58

Well, she was a nice lady stall holder, wasn't she? I I don't actually know the stall,

Competition With Care And History

SPEAKER_06 15:02

I have to say. It's probably in probably in the middle of the market. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 15:06

That's a lovely um with um that's right with our husband Conrad's.

SPEAKER_06 15:09

Yes, but it's lovely to hear her say that it was a great community and that's almost like a family and everyone looks out for each other.

SPEAKER_01 15:16

Yes, yes. That was beautiful actually, because I mean a lot of the world is full of cutthroat competition and um doing down the other people and what's in it for me kind of thing. And obviously if you're running a stall you've got to you've got to make a living. So you you need it's in a sense quite competitive. But I just so beautiful that uh all the stall holders in the market, even though they're in a way competing for customers, they're still looking out for one another and caring for one another, really. Yes. It's a great vision of what a community can be like. No, really, really heartwarming. Yeah, no, it's a special place, the the market. I sometimes just wander around even if I don't need to buy anything. It's fascinating.

SPEAKER_06 15:52

Just enjoying people watching and all the different smells, all the different different food stores, like Chinese and Indian and Korean and all sorts, isn't it?

SPEAKER_01 16:00

Everything you can imagine, yeah. And it's always lovely. So when I occasionally someone will say, Oh, are you a vicar? And I'll say, I am a vicar and that's my church, because of course you can point, and there is Mancroft, which looks huge from the market. There's great towers over the market. And it's always been the the um parish church for the markets.

SPEAKER_00 16:19

Yes, I know it has.

SPEAKER_01 16:20

And in the church there are lots of memorials to grocers, uh, traders, merchants. I mean there are other churches have them as well, but Mancroft has lots.

SPEAKER_00 16:29

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 16:30

Because uh a lot of the the market traders um they were significant business people of their day. You know, they they were linked to Mancroft as a parish church. So I'm really pleased that uh we have that that strong link as a church. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And and it's lovely even today, obviously, you know, lots of people coming in from all around the world but but f off sometimes off the market and market stalls uh, you know, holders and people who'd be in the market as well and come to church.

SPEAKER_06 16:55

And now there'll be additional people, perhaps because if the audience is watching these performances on the her.

SPEAKER_01 17:01

Yes, well, on the her, that's right. So that would be really interesting. They'll certainly get to wander round the market, everyone who's there for that. Yes. Yes, yes. I think we might try and have the church open for for some of that time as well. So we'll see, yeah. I I met a really interesting, quite sort of young young man really. Um I think he was only seventeen years old, and he was in a wheelchair, and I don't think he was in in on the her or anything like that. But he visited the other day. And uh anyway, I just I love meeting him. So um I made a little recording with him, so I'm gonna play that now.

SPEAKER_00 17:32

Yeah.

A Young Visitor Loves The Bells

SPEAKER_01 17:33

I'm here in the church and I've met a lovely, well, young young man, I think I'm calling you.

SPEAKER_00 17:38

And uh seventeen years old now.

SPEAKER_01 17:40

Seventeen years old, fantastic. And you're visiting the church today. And I just wondered what you liked about the church and what's brought you here today.

SPEAKER_05 17:49

Absolutely gorgeous.

SPEAKER_00 17:52

Brilliant.

SPEAKER_05 17:53

Absolutely gorgeous. And the best part as well.

SPEAKER_00 17:56

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_05 17:57

And the best part as well. You have an interactive ringing simulation as well.

SPEAKER_00 18:01

We do, yes. Great.

SPEAKER_05 18:03

Which which I may visit when I'm 18.

SPEAKER_01 18:08

Brilliant as well. Well, that's wonderful. It's so good to meet you today. I'm so pleased you visited.

SPEAKER_06 18:13

Yeah, wonderful. Good. Well that was interesting, um that young man bringing up the subject about the bells.

SPEAKER_01 18:20

Yes. Well, that's right, and the whole dr uh community drama

Patron Saint Jokes And Goodbye

SPEAKER_01 18:26

involving bells. Yeah, yeah, I think this young chap I don't think he he was involved with On the Her, but um but uh he probably would have given it a good go, I think. And um yeah, as I say he was in a wheelchair, so he was gonna find it hard to get up up the tower, in fact. But he was hopeful that he might soon be able to do that.

SPEAKER_00 18:42

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 18:43

Yeah, well, bells, on the her market, all sorts of exciting things this summer. Never a dull moment. Yeah. And of course, St. Peter Mancroft, yes, yes. I have been asked once or twice who was who was St. Peter Mancroft? Yeah, always always getting asked. And and even when I'm not asked, I'm thinking up new ideas for what St. Peter Mancroft could have been. Patron saint of something. What do you think, Judy? Patron saint of markets on the her, yeah. Well, absolutely, I think so. I wonder how many markets on the her there are around the world. Maybe there's only one. St. Peter Mancroft, patron saint of markets that are on the her. And particularly Norwich Market. Well, do you know I think he is the patron saint of Norwich Market.

SPEAKER_06 19:24

He could be.

SPEAKER_01 19:25

Yeah, well I I think because the church is in the, you know, by the markets and the market's in the parish.

SPEAKER_00 19:30

It is.

SPEAKER_01 19:31

I think we've found the answer, Peru. We have. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 19:33

We have.

SPEAKER_01 19:33

Fantastic. Well, July, what a lovely time of year, and lovely to chat with you, Judy, as always. Thank you so much. Really enjoyed it. Yeah, really fun. And goodness me, another month is racing by. But uh we thank you very much indeed for um joining with us today, and uh we hope to see you again in August.