The Museum of Norwich at the Bridewell — Attraction in Norwich

Fascinating museum of local history covering a wide range of subjects, from Norwich's status as England's second city, up to more recent industrial history. The building itself is interesting, having been a prison in the past. Thoughtfully curated displays, immersive recreations of shops and street scenes from the past, and a host of historic artefacts make this a great way to spend a few hours learning about Norwich. With limited time to spend, we elected to visit this museum instead of the Castle and were not disappointed. Both have plenty to offer, but Bridewell's focus on the history of Norwich as a working city made it particularly interesting. We learned a lot about the confectionery and shoemaking industries that formerly employed many people in the city. The museum is well provided for, with a small gift shop and toilets onsite. Tickets at the time of our visit were £7.80 for adults, with discounts for concessions; good value considering the quality and range of exhibits. Advance booking is recommended...

We visited this museum with our grandchildren aged 4yrs & 6yrs.The welcome to the museum by the staff was lovely, they engaged with the children and encouraged their enthusiam in looking for different artefacts. The layout and experience was very child friendly , lots of buttons to press, listening to and watching audio and short films, lots of toys to play with relevant to the displays,along with design activities,draws to open etc. The hat making activity led by a member of staff was fun and both children really enjoyed it.There were good facilities including a lift to reach each floor.A useful addition would be a picture and also a written tick box quiz challenge for young children complete as they go around. This museum is an absolute gem, particularly for young children, it was not busy which allowed us to move around easily. Although it doesn't have a cafe there are plenty nearby.This is a great museum for a...

This was a superb museum to visit, with artefacts looking back on Norwich's history as the second city of the UK in medieval times! Trade of items like coffee and tea is focused on, these old relics are shown as they would have been shipped. Coffee house section even allows to do fancy dress and a metal sheep depiction is taken in from an ancient pub, manufacturing machinery is brought in and a room is used for insight into how this was undertaken! I really enjoyed the market section with the items that would have been sold on the streets years ago and the classic store goods in their old form, carts are a superb addition. An old bar is incorporated and a mini train runs across the top, displays include a motorbike and pram as well. One area explores the household lives of people after World War 2 and exhibits the games that became popular, TV and childhood entertainment are both...