Winter draws a hush around the cloistered ground - Faith holds the cold and time is briefly bound.
Norwich Cathedral
Seen here under a blanket of winter snow, Norwich Cathedral sits at the heart of its close, the great Norman building clearly defined from the air by its cruciform plan and enclosed cloister. With trees bare and the city hushed, the geometry of nave, transepts and cloister becomes especially clear, revealing the careful order imposed on this landscape nearly a thousand years ago.
The cathedral was founded in 1096 by Herbert de Losinga, the first Bishop of Norwich, and largely completed by 1145. Built of Caen stone imported from Normandy, it is one of the finest Romanesque cathedrals in Europe. Its spire, rebuilt in stone in 1480 after earlier wooden versions, rises to 315 feet, making it the second tallest in England after Salisbury. The cloister, begun in 1297 and completed in the mid-14th century, is the largest monastic cloister in the country and the only one with a complete sequence of medieval roof bosses.
From above, the cathedral’s relationship with the surrounding Close is unmistakable: a self-contained precinct set apart from the streets beyond, originally housing monks of the Benedictine priory that once dominated this part of Norwich. In winter, snow softens the roofs and paths, but the structure itself remains unchanged — a place shaped by faith, continuity, and time.
Winter draws a hush around the cloistered ground - Faith holds the cold and time is briefly bound.
Norwich Cathedral
Seen here under a blanket of winter snow, Norwich Cathedral sits at the heart of its close, the great Norman building clearly defined from the air by its cruciform plan and enclosed cloister. With trees bare and the city hushed, the geometry of nave, transepts and cloister becomes especially clear, revealing the careful order imposed on this landscape nearly a thousand years ago.
The cathedral was founded in 1096 by Herbert de Losinga, the first Bishop of Norwich, and largely completed by 1145. Built of Caen stone imported from Normandy, it is one of the finest Romanesque cathedrals in Europe. Its spire, rebuilt in stone in 1480 after earlier wooden versions, rises to 315 feet, making it the second tallest in England after Salisbury. The cloister, begun in 1297 and completed in the mid-14th century, is the largest monastic cloister in the country and the only one with a complete sequence of medieval roof bosses.
From above, the cathedral’s relationship with the surrounding Close is unmistakable: a self-contained precinct set apart from the streets beyond, originally housing monks of the Benedictine priory that once dominated this part of Norwich. In winter, snow softens the roofs and paths, but the structure itself remains unchanged — a place shaped by faith, continuity, and time.