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Norwich Castle: Steelwork installed in latest phase of keep work

Mike Liggins/BBC The under construction Keep at Norwich CastleMike Liggins/BBC
New steelwork is set to be installed at the keep

New steelwork is set to be installed in a Norman castle keep as part of a £13.5m project.

The latest stage of the project at Norwich Castle aims to return the keep to how it looked in medieval times.

Work started in summer 2020, with the reopening of the area due to take place in 2023.

The castle's assistant head of museums, Dr Robin Hanley, said the "vision is enabling people to appreciate this fantastic asset".

Once completed it will be the first time in 900 years that people will be able to explore all levels of the keep.

Mike Liggins/BBC Dr Robin Hanley in the under-construction keep of Norwich CastleMike Liggins/BBC
Dr Robin Hanley said the work at the keep at Norwich Castle would give people a sense of what it was like in the 12th Century
Mike Liggins/BBC The under construction Keep at Norwich CastleMike Liggins/BBC
The project will cost £13.5m

As part of the project, medieval floors and rooms within the keep will be reinstated, and a new glass atrium created.

It is one of the largest heritage projects currently under way in the UK, according to Norfolk Museums.

Dr Hanley said it was "all about focusing on the castle and enabling visitors to really get a sense of what it would have been like coming here in the early 12th Century when Henry I came here for Christmas in 1121."

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Norwich Castle - select dates

Mike Liggins/BBC The under construction Keep at Norwich CastleMike Liggins/BBC
The project is set to be finished in 2023
  • 1067 - William the Conqueror orders about 98 Saxon homes to be demolished to build a tall castle earthworks and deep defensive ditches
  • 1094 - Work begins on the stone keep by William (Rufus) II with much larger earthworks to support its huge weight. Limestone is shipped from Caen in France
  • 1345 - The castle becomes a legal centre and it is used as a prison for the next 500 years
  • 1884 - Plans are approved for a new prison at Mousehold Heath and the Norfolk & Norwich Museum moves to the castle

Source: Norfolk Museums Service

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Senior project manager for construction company Morgan Sindall, Matt Bidewell, said the work had given his team a "new-found respect for the original builders of the castle".

He said it involved a "massive range of different specialist trades".

"It has to be right. You only get one chance."

Mike Liggins/BBC The under-construction keep at Norwich CastleMike Liggins/BBC
As part of the project, medieval floors and rooms within the keep will be reinstated

Mr Bidewell added: "It's going to be amazing. This castle is so important to people.

"When it is finished it is going to be stunning."

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