A Norman cathedral of pale Caen stone under England's second-tallest spire, its vaults crowded with carved medieval roof bosses
Herbert de Losinga, the first bishop of Norwich, began the cathedral in 1096, and most of what stands is still Norman: flint and mortar faced with cream limestone shipped from Caen in Normandy. The stone spire was added in 1480 and at 96 m is the second tallest in England, after Salisbury’s. The thing to look at inside is overhead. The nave and cloister vaults hold hundreds of carved and painted roof bosses, the stone knots where the ribs meet, telling Bible stories from the Creation onwards, and they came through the Reformation and the Civil War largely intact. The cloister, begun in 1297, is one of the largest in England. The close around the cathedral once took up a tenth of the medieval city. Norwich Castle is a short walk away in the centre of Norwich, and Norwich station is about 700 m east across the river.
