Title: Norwich School, Bishop’s Palace

Client: Norwich School

Job: Conversion of Dormitories to classrooms and refurbishment of staircase

Date: August 2003

The Bishop’s Palace is a four-storey listed building in the historic Cathedral Close in Norwich. The building was used mainly for teaching but in the 1950’s the top floor was converted to dormitories. These were no longer used by the School and were being used as makeshift classrooms but the number of students that could be accommodated was limited to 30 due to the restricted access.

Owen Bond Partnership were commissioned to refurbish the upper floor and extend the existing staircase to improve access. The design provided four well proportioned and functional classrooms.

The new staircase was designed to match the existing stair with a French polished, shaped oak handrail and strings with handcrafted newels, finials and drops with cast iron turned and shaped balusters specially manufactured by a local foundry. The completed staircase won a Craftsmanship Award from the Norfolk Association of Architects.