Last Friday night (or early Saturday morning) the weather turned cold, cold enough that when we woke Saturday morning, a small layer of snow covered everything. However, the snow didn't stop us from venturing out for a small excursion. We set out to see Norwich Castle.
Norwich Castle was the only castle in East Anglia (the name given to the area where we live) commissioned by William the Conqueror, the first Norman King of England, sometime between 1066 and 1075. Up until the mid 12th Century, Norwich Castle was the only prominent royal castle in East Anglia. In 1220, the castle was re-purposed to be used as a gaol, or prison, and remained so until 1887 when it was purchased by the city of Norwich.
The city of Norwich reopened the castle in 1895 as a museum, which it remains so today. The museum houses many different exhibits from wildlife specimens to works of art to reliving the past.
The first exhibit we visited was the Natural History Exhibit which housed specimens of animals not only in the various regions of the UK, but around the world. One particular display caught my attention, that of a mummified cat. The display read:
Mummified cats are regularly found in houses, having been sealed up behind walls to protect the house against evil spirits.
Interesting cat is it not... The display continued:
However, this unfortunate animal simply got its foot trapped. The carcasse was untouched by flies, so it must have been winter when this happened. After it had dried, the fur was completely eaten by clothes moth caterpillars..
I don't know which fate would have been worse for the cat, being sealed up behind a wall in the house or getting trapped in the dead of winter. Now, the display is rather morbid, but I find the British's need for accuracy rather interesting and funny.
The art galleries were interesting. It seemed like most of the art were created by local artists or the subject was local to Norwich and the surrounding area. The Teapot gallery was pretty amazing to me as I have become British and like my tea in pots! Some of the teapots displayed dated back to the 1700s! I also enjoyed the displays of textiles worn through the ages. We toured the histories of the Anglo Saxon and Viking era, Egyptian mummies, the Roman empire, and as recently as the World Wars. The museum had on display letters home, mostly letters from battle stating their loved ones had passed. There were even letters from those that were captured and living in POWs.
The castle keep was breathtakingly beautiful, and a little dark (as it should be). There were a few exhibits throughout the keep, but mostly the keep was for taking in the beauty. One amazing feature was the well in the keep. I don't know for sure if it was used in the past, but today it is used as a wishing well. The money collected in the well goes to a charitable organization. The well is pretty deep; I'd hate to be the person that is in charge of collecting the coins. The top level of the keep has some pretty low clearances, even I had to duck, but beware the dungeon!
After we left the castle, we walked the short (and I mean VERY short) distance to the Castle Mall where we ate at this fast food place called Southern Fried Chicken. It really makes me miss Chic-Fil-A!! We walked around the mall a bit, I even picked up some "British" measuring things to make baking easier, but more about that in another blog maybe.
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