Norwich Castle Museum

Now a museum and art gallery and museum, Norwich Castle was built by William the Conqueror as a royal palace between 1066 and 1075. The castle was used as a jail from 1220 until 1887 when the building was purchased by the city of Norwich to be used as a museum but its conversion took eight years and it was not opened as a museum until 1895. As one would expect there is a magnificent collection of the Norwich School of Artists, 18th century Lowestoft porcelain and a world-beating assemblage of nearly 3000 British teapots. Its entire collection is now designated a collection of national importance. The nucleus of this collection was established with a gift of paintings from the East Anglian Art Society just a year before its opening. The modern collection is relatively small but covers a range of different movements with notable works by Alfred Sisley, George Clausen, Gwen John, Walter Sickert and David Bomberg. The contemporary collection has an emphasis towards the region and artists who have taught at the Norwich School of Art.