A free exhibition telling the story of Norwich’s Royal Arcade will be on display in Colman’s Mustard Shop & Museum from 8 to 21 November, as part of an exciting new BBC Learning Hands on History project and landmark BBC One series.
‘Turn Back Time: The Royal Arcade’ will give visitors a chance to learn about why the Arcade was built, about its architect George Skipper – one of Norwich’s most prolific architects – and the shops that were in the Arcade when it opened. It features old advertisements from the shops which used to be based in the Arcade and archive photographs from the Arcade’s past since it opened in 1899 on the site of the old Royal Hotel.
It is free to view at Colman’s Mustard Shop & Museum in the Royal Arcade from 8 – 21 November, 9.30am to 5pm on Mondays to Saturdays and 11am to 4pm on Sundays.
In addition, ‘The Private and Public Lives of the Colmans’ will let visitors learn about the private lives of the Colman family. This free event involves both a visit to the Norfolk & Norwich Millennium Library’s Heritage Centre to see unique, personal printed records from the Colman Library with local expert Clive Wilkins-Jones, and a visit to Colman’s Mustard Shop and Museum to hear a talk on the history of Colman’s mustard and an opportunity to taste a selection of delicious mustards. All participants will receive a 10% discount on purchases in the shop on the day. The event takes place on Tuesday, 16 November from 4pm – 6.30pm. For more information and to book contact Laura Crossley on 01603 599577, lauracrossley@heritagecity.org.
Both events link with a new six-part BBC One series ‘Turn Back Time – The High Street’ which takes four empty shops back to the 1870s and propels them through 100 years of change. ‘Turn Back Time’ will see a group of shopkeeping families from a variety of trades travel back in time where they will face the challenge of living and working in six very different eras of British history, from Victorian Britain right through to the 1970s, all recreated in Shepton Mallet, Somerset. ‘Turn Back Time’ will run on six weeks starting on Tuesday 2 November on BBC1.
The display has been put together by Norwich Heritage Economic and Regeneration Trust (HEART), which owns Colman’s Mustard Shop & Museum. Nick Williams, HEART’s volunteer co-ordinator who wrote the text, said: “The Royal Arcade is a beautiful art nouveau building but often people hurry past it or through it without having the time to stop and look around. It is not just the building that is historically significant, but also its past shops and tenants shed so much light on social developments over the centuries – fashion, shopping habits, prices and so on. We hope visitors will enjoy learning more about the Arcade’s past in this exhibition.”
Launching the Turn Back Time initiative, BBC Learning Campaign Executive Nina Bell said: “This is a fantastic opportunity to bring history alive and give everyone a chance to celebrate their high street. BBC Learning is working with local history partners right across the UK to develop engaging, hands-on events to bring the history of their local area to life and encourage Britain to fall in love with its high streets again You can find all the details on our website at www.bbc.co.uk/history/handsonhistory.”
Norwich HEART is grateful to Norfolk County Council Library and Information Service for permission to use their archive photographs of wartime damage, to Jarrold’s for permission to use archive advertisements and to Jonathan Plunkett for permission to use his father’s (George Plunkett), photographs.
For more information about the exhibition call 01603 599577.
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Notes to editors
For more media information please contact Christina Lister, Communications Manager at Norwich HEART on 01603 599570 or email christinalister@heritagecity.org; or Sophie Harrison, Communications Officer at Norwich HEART on 01603 599578 or email sophieharrison@heritagecity.org.
For more information on the BBC One documentary Turn Back Time contact Cherelle Duggleby on 020 8225 8392 or email cherelle.duggleby@bbc.co.uk.
About Colman’s Mustard Shop & Museum
The Colman’s Mustard Shop & Museum was opened in 1973 to commemorate the 150th anniversary of Colman’s, with premises on Bridewell Alley. It moved to the historic art nouveau Royal Arcade in 1999, where it has been based ever since in a careful replica of Victorian trade premises.
The shop stocks an extensive range of powder and prepared mustards, including a number of specialities made exclusively for the shop. In addition, there are a wide selection of mustard pots and spoons, together with tea towels – not to mention a broad range of Colman’s memorabilia. It also contains many items on loan from the archives, covering all aspects of the history and production of Colman’s mustard.
About Norwich HEART
Norwich Heritage Economic and Regeneration Trust (HEART) is a private, charitable trust set up to act as an umbrella organisation for all of the heritage on offer in Norwich. We strategically plan, regenerate, manage and promote Norwich’s heritage and act as a best practice model internationally for developing heritage as a social and economic regeneration vehicle. HEART receives core funding from Norwich City Council and further project funding from a variety of sources which has to date included the European Union, HM Treasury, the East of England Development Agency and Norfolk County Council. HEART took over Colman’s Mustard Shop & Museum in August 2009, from previous owners Unilever UK & Ireland.
About BBC Learning
BBC Learning plays a central part in meeting the BBC's purpose of promoting education and learning. Utilising the power of the BBC’s big brands and key talent, the department puts learning right at the heart of the BBC and provides a variety of resources and learning opportunities for children, teachers, parents and adult learners. Working with partners and in local communities, BBC Learning aims to stimulate interests and encourage engagement through a variety of campaigns across all BBC genres and platforms.
www.bbc.co.uk/history/handsonhistory
