NHER 604 (Building record) - Wensum Lodge or The Music House, Nos 167 and 169 King Street

Nos 167 and 169 King Street (Wensum Lodge/Music House).

12th century house, associated with a Jewish family, with later additions.
Information from (S1).

1954. Listed Grade I.
Listing Description Excerpt:
"Former house now educational institute. 12th century onwards. Flint, brick, pantile roofs.
King Street facade:- Two storey with three-storey end gable-ends."
"Interior:- 12th-century stone-built undercroft beneath the left-side gable width which represents the extent of the original house. The undercroft has two compartments with a connecting door…"
Information from (S2).
Please consult the National Heritage List for England (S2) for the current details.
P. Watkins (HES), 22 January 2018. Amended H. Hamilton (HES), 8 November 2019.

1979.
On 17 July 1979 this building was visited by the Royal Archaeological Institute as part of their summer meeting in Norwich. The subsequently published summary of the building by Alan Carter (S3) describes it as having probably been built by Jurnet Ha Nadib in the 1170s (after a period when he had been financing short-term loans to Henry II). It is noted that the massive respond attached to the external wall of the undercroft is now thought to represent the remains of a single-ailed hall that was lost when the west range was remodelled and a brick undercroft inserted in the late 15th-century. The respond has a nicked base that dates to 1175-80 and is paralleled by those in the cathedral infirmary. The remodelling of the west range is attributed to Sir John Paston, who had brought the property in 1488.
P. Watkins (HES), 22 January 2018.

January 1980. Building Survey.
Examined as part of Norwich Survey.
This building, formerly known as the 'Music House' incorporates substantial remains of an 'L'-shaped 12th-century building, constructed in two phases and since much altered. It is situated immediately east of King Street on what was once the tide line of the adjacent river, with its north wall abutting the boundary of St Etheldreda's parish. The five bay undercroft beneath the north wing is part of the original (?mid 12th-century) build. The west street range is the product of a second Norman building phase perhaps a generation or so after the first (? c. 1180) and probably incorporated a new hall. This later Norman building was replaced in the Middle Ages (?14th or 15th century) by an entirely new range with a wide, brick-built, three-bay undercroft. This undercroft appears to have been structurally unsound, being reinforced and partially rebuilt on at least two occasions. The north range was also subject to late medieval alterations, being heightened and fitted with a roof that may have come from another building. Other mostly cosmetic changes included the insertion of a large west window.
During the 17th century additions were made to the east of the southern end of the main street range.
See record forms (S4) for further details. See also file for copies of photographs and sketches found in Alan Carter archive.
Amended by P. Watkins (HES), 22 January 2018.

This building and its undercroft are amongst those noted in thesis (S5), which considers the 13th- to 17th-century buildings of Norwich. The undercroft is described as comprising three bays, each with an extremely flat, arched profile made up of single-order diagonal ribs that spring from flat, stone corbels. It is also noted that a blocked doorway is evident in the south-west corner. The Music House itself is described as a 12th-century house ranged at range-angles to the street with a stone-built undercroft. Soon after its construction a single-aisled hall was added of which only the base and lower section of one respond survives. A brick-built undercroft and a reused scissor-brace roof survive from the 15th century. It is noted that the building was radically altered in the 17th-century, when the present street façade (with its large pedimented mullion and transom windows) was added. The rear of the block also has 19th century additions and internal alterations were made in the 20th century.
E. Rose (NLA), 14 July 1997. Amended by P. Watkins (HES), 22 January 2018.

Regarding Clarke's comment [on (S1), see above], the building was not owned by a Jewish family until a later date than its construction. A second undercroft is of 15th-century brick but contains one pillar base indicating a former single-aisled hall; the base is very similar to the columns of the cathedral infirmary.
See also (S6).
E. Rose (NLA), 19 April 1999.

2002.
A review of the documentary evidence for early stone buildings in Norwich (S7)/(S8) suggests that the earliest known owner of The Music House is one John Curry/son of Herbert, before 1225. A detailed descent of the property in the 13th century can be found in (S9).
S. Howard (NLA), 13 January 2010.

August 2004. Watching Brief.
Observation of leaking 15th-century window in southern cell, west wall, of undercroft.
An architecturally significant feature of the medieval vaulted cellar was recorded.
See report (S10) for further details. The results of this work are also noted in (S11).
J. Allen (NLA), 20 September 2006.

For a comprehensive history of the building, including photographs and plans, see (S9)
H. White (NLA), 14 May 2009.