Inside Norwich's derelict buildings 🏚

Alright?

Thank you for all of your replies to last week’s newsletter. It was a strange (but rather amusing) experience to sporadically receive a one-word email saying something like “curvaceous” or “moist”.

Today I’m discussing the fascinating, revealing and, let’s face it, legally dubious hobby of urban exploration. Or “Urbex”, if you’re down with the kids.

I’m not aiming to shame anyone who does this, nor am I here to encourage you to try it yourself.

From my (admittedly limited) understanding of Urbex, it’s a bit like base jumping or parkour: it’s dangerous, it could land you in legal hot water, but the people who do it don’t mean any harm, and are almost always risking their own safety rather than anyone else’s. So yes: please don’t try this at home (unless your home happens to be derelict, in which case, I’d like a word about a future newsletter).

Instead, I recommend reading this email wherever you feel most comfortable (anecdotally, most of you prefer the loo). For the next three minutes, you’ll be an urban explorer, but without all the jeopardy.

The Eastern Electricity Building.

The Eastern Electricity Building is a bit like Mozart’s Eine Kleine Nachtmusik - you know it, but you might not know it by its name.

It’s this one on Duke Street.

Here’s a stunning picture of the inside by Reddit user u/Mushroomcraft01.

And look at this view from the roof:

Here’s a less stunning, but equally interesting photo of the kitchen, submitted as part of a wider collection of pics from a user 444Licee on popular Urbex site, 28 Days Later:

You can look at the whole collection here.

Soveriegn House.

To some, it’s the ugliest building in the city. To others, it’s a shining light of brutalist architecture. To everyone, it’ll soon be a memory.

Sovereign House is the big ‘un that forms two sides of the Anglia rhombus.

Whilst the future of Anglia Square seems to change nearly as often as the weather in Norwich, Sovereign House gives us an intriguing glimpse into its less-discussed past.

This video is worth watching if you want to be shown around by someone who used to work there when it was a government building.

And, thanks to this photographer, we can also get a comprehensive idea of what it looked like in 2016, too. Less of a glimpse, and more of an awkwardly long stare.

Here’s one of the pics, but there are plenty:

The Pumping Station.

Just outside of Trowse, around Bracondale, is Norwich’s old pumping station. Built in 1869, it’s where sewage was treated, and it’s now Grade II listed.

It caught fire in 2023, which meant the BBC did a story about it. They also published a pic of the inside:

You can see more images of it here, uploaded by a user called Michael (which doesn’t give much away).

See you next week.

Not the historical tale you might’ve expected, but hopefully still a unique insight into Norwich’s slightly more recent past.

Until next Sunday,

Secret Norwich.