Summer Events are open to members only.
Winter Lectures are open to everyone, members and non-members.
Summaries of lectures and reports on visits are usually provided in the following Newsletter.
Winter Lectures 2007- 2008
Mary Fewster Goldsmiths’/Silversmiths’ houses 1500-1750 Oct 2007
Trevor Ashwin Prehistoric houses in Norfolk Nov 2007
Christine Woods My wallpaper is killing me: an introduction to wallcoverings past and present Dec 2007
Members Evening Susanna Wade-Martin: Building for Small Holding; Adam Longcroft: Binham Houses; Tacolneston progress report Jan 2007
Gerald Randall: St Margaret’s Church Cley-next-the-Sea Feb 2008
Peter Hoare and John Potter: Great Yarmouth’s Town Wall: a chequered history reflected in a varied geology March 2008
Summer Events 2008
Binham Priory and Village June 2008
Four Norfolk Roodscreens, Ransworth, Aylsham, Marsham, Barton Turf May 2008
Heydon Hall, Village and church May 2008
Worstead Village July 2008
Kings Lynn June 2008 Wingfield Church and College July 2008
AGM and Barnham Broom Old Hall July 2008
Winter Lectures 2008- 2009
Philip Aitkens: Queenpost roofs in SE Norfolk barns Oct 2008
Members Evening. David Sims: Surviving military structures on the Suffolk coast; Lynette Fawkes: Farmhouses of the Wolverton Estate; Susan and Michael Brown: News of the Tacolston Survey Nov 2008
Stefan Muthesius Some reflections on the course of C20 Norfolk architecture Dec 2008
Jayne Rimmer Putting up a front: the difference in appearance of houses in medieval York and Norwich Jan 2009
Jeremy Taylor: the rebirth of the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital in the 1870s Feb 2009
Adam Longcroft Urban and Rural Vernacular buildings in North Germany: comparisons with East Anglia March 2009
Summer Events 2009
Cley, Wiveton & Blakeney- Glaven churches May 2009
Castle Acre castle, town, church & priory June 2009
Norwich Greenhouse Project and Curats House June 2009
AGM and tour of Beccles Town and Museum June 2009
Wisbech and Tydd St Giles July 2009
Two timber framed houses in Tacolneston July 2009
Barningham Hall and church July 2009
Winter Lectures 2009- 2010
Richard Wilson: Sir John Soane in Norfolk Oct 2009
David Martin: Houses of the Sussex Cinque Ports Nov 2009
Dale Copley: Norfolk’s stained glass Dec 2009
Members Evening. Buildings in Market places; NHBG website; update on rural schools project; report from churches group Jan 2010
Adam Longcroft: Medieval Towns of the Croatian Riviera Feb 2010
Paul Richards: Lynn Merchant Houses and Warehouses 1400-1800
Summer Events 2010
Norwich Miscellany May 2010
Ryston Hall and church nr Downham Market May 2010
Foulsham before and after the fire of 1770 June 2010
Barningham Hall June 2010
AGM, Ashtree and Elmtree Farms and St Marys Church, Pulham St Mary July 2010
Laxfield, Walpole and Redenhall Churches Aug 2010
Manor Farm Pulham Market Sept 2010
Winter Lectures 2010- 2011.
John Schofield: the archaeology of houses in London Oct 2010
Adam Longcroft: Little Walsingham Project Launch at Walsingham Village Hall Oct 2010
Nick Arber: Norwich Castle: A good and sufficient prison? Nov 2010
Patrick Taylor: Tollhouses in Norfolk at Pennoyers and NHBG Tenth Anniversary Lunch Party. Pulham St Marys Dec 2010
Members Evening. Alan Eade: Danish timber framed houses; Kate Edwards: Building in cob; Susanna Wade-Martins: Schools Survey; Update on NHBG Buildings Research Jan 2011
Tony Kirby: East Anglian Railway Buildings Feb 2011
Nick Groves: Norwich’s Medieval Churches March 2011
Summer Events 2011
Wymondham Town Walk May 2011
Bayfield Hall near Holt June 2011
Two former hostelries at Little Walsingham June 2011
Three Marshland churches June 2011
The Cathedral Close, Norwich July 2011
AGM Mannington Hall, The Manor House and tour of Itteringham July 2011
Winter Lectures 2011- 2012
Nick Hill: JW Evans Silver Factory Birmingham Oct 2011
Shawn Kholucy: Sharps’n’flats-Flint building in East Anglia Nov 2011
Members Evening. Susanna Wade-Martins: update on Norfolk schools recording project; Susan and Michael Brown: houses in Walsingham; Ian Hinton: church aisles in Norfolk
Sarah Edwards: The Georgianisation of buildings in Norwich Feb 2012
Richard Harris: Dating timber-framed buildings March 2012
Summer Events 2012
Stiffkey Old Hall May 2012
Coggeshall barn and houses Jun 2012
AGM & Hingham town walk and church July 2012
Norfolk Rural Schools Conference June 2012
Catfield, Ludham & Ingham: three Broadland churches July 2012
Hindringham Hall July 2012
NHBG Party: Church Farm, Alburgh Aug 2012
Hempnall Village Walk Sept 2012
Winter Lectures 2012-2013
David Summers: The Cockrills of Great Yarmouth Oct 2012
Frank Woodman: Pilgrimage Centres in the Middle Ages Nov 2012
Tim Brittain-Catlin: Norfolk Parsonages Dec 2012
Members Evening. Adam Longcroft: the timber frames buildings of northern Germany; Ian Hinton: The houses of Hempnall; John Dean: Apotropaic taper burns; Sue Brown: Walsingham Survey progress Jan 2012
Vic Nierop-Reading: Twentieth-Century Norwich Buildings Feb 2013
John Minnis: Carscapes: the English Heritage Motoring Project March 2013
Summer Events 2013
Orchard House, Bramerton May 2013
Meadow Cottage, Alpington June 2013
Flint: medieval use at Eye castle, Eye church and Thornham Parva church Jun 2013
South Elmham Hall and church July 2013
AGM, Walsingham Town Walk and NHBG update on Walsingham project July 2013
Syderstone, Harpley and Wolferton, three west Norfolk churches July 2013
Old Nags Head, Holme Hale, Dereham Sept 2013
Winter Lectures 2013- 2014
Mary Fewster: Norwich’s Industrial Buildings Oct 2013
Sarah Spooner: Eighteenth century Suburban Villas Nov 2013
Matthew Champion: Medieval Graffiti in churches Dec 2013
Members Night: Di Maywort: recording two houses in Rickinghall & Botesdale; Lynette Fawkes: organising an English-Heritage based survey into buildings at risk; Ian Hinton: restoration of a cruck-built house in Herefordshire Jan 2014
Steve Cherry: At Andrews Asylum Feb 2014
Rob Walker: Angel Roofs in East Anglia March 2014
Summer Events 2014
Letton Hall, Cranworth May 2014
Sloley: two cottages and church May 2014
Mattishall, Swanton Morley and Elsing: three grand churches June 2014
Four seasons, Forncett St Mary: NHBG Summer party July 2014
AGM, Wensum Lodge and King Street July 2014
Norwich’s Hidden Industrial History: a walk with Mary Fewster July 2014
College Farmhouse and Church, Thompson Sept 2014
Winter lectures 2014/2015
Christine Adams: Miss Savidge Moves Her House October 2014
Mark Bailey: Medieval East-Anglian Market Towns. October 2014
Matt Champion: Church Wall Paintings. December 2014
Members Evening January 2015:
Jonathan Hooton: St Catherine's Hill, Norwich
Stella Eglington The work of the Norwich Historic Churches Trust
Terry Eglington Restoring a flint-built lodge
Ian Hinton: NHBG Buildings Archive - a guide to its use.
Rob Liddiard: Second World War anti-Iivasion defences in Norfolk. February 2015
Simon Inglis: History of Swimming Pools March 2015
Summer Events 2015
May 30th Ware Hall House in Wells, the house which Miss May Savage moved from Hertfordshire to Norfolk.
June 20th Stained glass at East Harling, Attleborough and Besthorpe with David King.
Weds June 24th NHBG Summer Party St Mary's Farmhouse, Tacolneston
Thursday July 9th Strangers Hall Norwich.
Saturday July 11th Reepham Town Walk followed by AGM.
Wednesday July 22nd Notre Dame School, Norwich.
The summer programme finished with a visit to West Stow Anglo-Saxon village on Wednesday August 5th.
Ware House Stained glass at East Harling & Besthorpe St Mary's Farmhouse
Strangers Hall St Michaels Reepham Strangers Hall Notre Dame High School
West Stow Anglo-Saxon village
Winter lectures 2015/2016
September 30th (UEA) and October 7th (Walsingham). Launch of Volume 6 of NHBG Journal 'Little Walsingham: A study of historic buildings in a medieval pilgrimage centre, 2015'.
Tuesday October 13th 2015: Dr Nicholas Groves: 'Beacons in the Dark'; nonconformist chapels and meeting-houses of Norwich.
Tuesday November 17th 2015: Roland Harris: 'New College (Oxford) hall, buttery and kitchens'.
Thursday December 10th: Richard Darrah: 'Dragon Hall: A medieval trading hall in Norwich, on the River Wensum'
Thursday January 14th: Members' Evening
The rebuilding of Blackfriars, Norwich: Dominic Summers
Hingham church through centuries of change: Karen Mackie
John Moray-Smith's reliefs in Norwich from 1930s and 1940s: Mary Ash.
Wednesday Febuary 10th: Brendan Chester-Kadwell: Frensham, the Capital Messuage and Estate of a Seventeenth-Century Capitalist Farmer.
Friday March 11th: Jonathan Hooton: 'The Glaven Ports'
Summer Events 2016
May 17th Wiveton Hall and church
June 6th Brisley Old Hall & The Tannery Worthing
June 18th Three Waveney churches the Victorians missed.
July 2nd Norwich Dissenting chapels followed by AGM
July 24th Diss Market Place
August 17th Introduction to Limestone and Stonemasons Guild.
Wiveton Hall (left) dated 1652/3 and greatly extended in 1908 by the architect Sir Guy Dawber, Brisley Hall (middle) a complex building with two stair towers and inserted corridors and a ceiling probably brought from another house and Norwich stonemason's guild (right).
Winter lectures 2016/2017
Thursday Oct 13th 2016. Simon Willcox: Historic Decorative Plaster
Tuesday November 15th 2016. David Bussey: Norwich Terraced Housing
Tuesday December 6th 2016. Lucy Wrapson: Normal for Norfolk- Norfolk rood screens in their National context.
Wednesday January 11th 2017. Members Evening. Ian Hinton: Church Bench Ends in Norfolk and Devon; Brendan Chester-Kadwell: Boulton and Paul Research Project; Steve Hickling: Excavations at Bircham Newton parish church.
Thursday February 23rd 2017. Lee Prosser: Baltic Timber Marks 1730-1800
Wednesday March 15th 2017. Vic Morgan: A Tale of Two Houses- Blickling & Oxnead
Summer Events 2017
May 20th Joint Meeting with Lincolnshire Group in Walsingham.
May 31st Thetford Town Walk
June 3rd Shropham Hall
June 24th Aylsham Town Hall and AGM
July 15th Central Norfolk Churches: Church & Bishop’s Palace, North Elmham, Brisley.
August 6th Thorpe St Andrew History Walk and Summer party.
Meeting with Lincolnshire Group at Walsingham (left) and Walk round Thetford (right).
Winter lectures 2017/2018
October 17th Tuesday Jess Johnston: Doorways to the past: Diss’ historic centre
November 7th Tuesday Maria Jordan: Historic fabric conservation
December 7th Thursday Adam Longcroft: Reflections on a career researching Norfolk vernacular architecture
January 17th 2018 Weds Members Evening:
Karen Mackie – How I caught Cotmania (Leeds Art Gallery’s exhibition of John Sell Cotman’s work from the Norwich School)
Susan & Michael Brown – The Fairbanks House in Massachussetts – the oldest house in the state, the work of a New Buckenham carpenter?
Ian Hinton – Thorpe St Andrews three churches
Updates on the current research projects on “The houses of Hempnall” and “The Buildings of Bolton and Paul”
February 8th Thursday Sarah Pearson: the big house and the church
March 16th Friday Gordon Taylor: Curvilinear (Dutch) gables in Norfolk
Summer Events 2018
Three churches of Hempnall benefice-Shelton, Fritton, Bedingham.
Hall Farmhouse, Ketteringham.
Manor House and St Andrews Church, Northwold
Kings Lynn Town Walk and AGM at Thoresby College.
Heath Farmhouse, Fakenham.
RAF Neatishall Radar Bunker and Cold-War Bunker.
Some photos of NHBG 2018 churches visit to Shelton, Bedingham and Fritton St Catherine.
Winter lectures 2018/2019:
Thursday 4th October 2018: Frances & Michael Holmes ‘Old Courts and Yards of Norwich.’
Wednesday 14th November 2018: Ian McKechnie ‘History of the sash window’.
Friday 7th December 2018: David Bussey ‘Edward Boardman: Changing the face of Norwich’
Thursday 17th January 2019: Members’ evening: a chance for members to introduce their own research or projects. Brian Ayres - Martin, Mathew and a putative lost market. Susan & Michael Brown 3-5 Castle Street, Thetford.
Wednesday 20th February 2019 Ian Hinton ‘Church Houses’.
Thursday 21st March 2019 Jenne Pape ‘The Sixhills Project - Lincoln Lane Farm, Lincolnshire’.
Summer Visits 2019.
These included: a Churches Day starting at Beachamwell, a day exploring the stones used in Norfolk’s churches, starting at Halvergate church, a walk round the walls of Great Yarmouth; and around Bungay with a local historian prior to lunch and AGM, a visit to a C16 timber house and party and a visit to a house thought to be started in about 1500 and the church next door.
Photos from two of 2019 summer visits.
Discovering building stones: getting close to stonework at Wickhampton church, very close at Reedham. Quern stone amidst the flint at Halvergate church.
NHBG members at Barton Bendish churches, May 2019.
2019/2020 Winter series.
Tim Howson. Georgian Cottages in the Maldon District, Essex
Philip Venning. Old Buildings: Myths, Mistakes and Oddities
Mark Gardiner. Before the earliest standing timber buildings: archaeological evidence for vernacular houses from the tenth to twelfth centuries.
Alan Metters. Men (and some women) of property in early-modern Kings Lynn.
Members Evening. Ian Hinton – Telling the time on churches – scratch dials, sundials and clocks; Jess Johnston - Historic features or 20th century restoration? unpicking the story of the Nuttery, Kenninghall, c1520 low status, open hall house; Boulton & Paul project update
Borin Van Loon. Ghost Signs.
These meetings started at 7.30 with tea and coffee available from 7pm.
The venue address was The Diamond Centre, School Lane, Norwich NR7 8TR. Lectures are in St Quentin Room, along the corridor to the left, though a door and then to the left.
There is plenty of (free) parking and state-of-the-art facilities.
Note this is a new venue for NHBG.
It is close to A1042 Ring Road between B1150 Constitution Hill and A1151 Wroxham Road . Both these roads can be accessed from Northern Distributor Road (aka Broadland Northway). See maps.
Charge for meetings
A charge is made to help defray expenses of £2 per member and £4 for non-members. The charges do not apply to members’ evening in January.
If you would be interested becoming a member, go to membership page.