The
guildhall was commissioned after
King Henry IV awarded a charter to the City of Norwich giving it autonomy from the county of
Norfolk. The building, which was quickly established as the new civic meeting place, was built between 1407 and 1413; a "great tree" was given by
William Appleyard, the first Mayor of Norwich, for its construction. The roof of the Council Chamber collapsed in 1511 but restoration work did not begin until 1537. The
Protestant martyr,
Thomas Bilney, was held in the dungeon (now the undercroft) before being
burnt at the stake in August 1531. The clock, by
John Moore & Sons of Clerkenwell, was a gift from
Henry Woodcock, the mayor, in April 1850 and a large porch, designed by Thomas Barry, the City Surveyor, was added to the south side of the building in 1861. The Council Chamber ceased to be the local seat of government later that day, when the King and Queen went on to open the new
City Hall. In summer 2008 the guildhall became one of the twelve historic Norwich buildings in the
Norwich 12 initiative, a project to develop an integrated group of heritage attractions in Norwich. In July 2010 work began on the restoration and strengthening of the guildhall clock tower and, in 2014, the Norwich Heritage Economic and Regeneration Trust took a 25-year lease on the building with a view to making it more accessible to the public. ==See also==