Dragon Hall is the only medieval<ref> EAA 112 Dragon Hall, King Street, Norwich: Excavation and Survey of a Late Medieval Merchant's Trading Complex, by Andy Shelley ISBN 0 9517878 1 0]</ref>merchants trading hall known to survive in Western Europe. It is located in King Street in the City of Norwich in England.
The Hall is a Grade 1 Listed building. The Hall was built over a 14th century open hall house which runs at right angles to the later building. The hall<ref> </ref> is accessed through a 14th century door within a 15th century opening on King Street. As you enter the doorway you can see the blocked ogee arches to the buttery and pantry of this earlier house on the left. The screens passage with a 16th century screen leads to an archway which in turn leads to the grand staircase to the main trading hall.
The four bays to the north formed the trading hall and the three to the south formed more private quarters. There are signs of wealth everywhere. The magnificent crown post roof has molded principle wall studs and plates. From these arched braces rise to canted ties, which support polygonal crown posts, with molded bases and capitals and arched braces to the crown purling and collars. There are remains of the original painting on the beams, and discovered in a spandrel of a tie beam, as fresh as the day he was painted, is a vibrant carved dragon that gives the hall its name. The original fenestration would have included three full height projecting transomed windows to the street side. Below the hall is an undercroft with a magnificent rib vaulted ceiling.

The Merchant

Dragon hall was built a merchant by the name of Robert Toppes<ref>[http://www.dragonhall.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=63&Itemid=61</ref> in the mid 15th century at about 1430 . He made his fortune trading cloth to the Continent and importing goods back to Norwich, including German pottery. Toppes was a very influential man in Norwich and had held office as Sheriff and Mayor. He owned property all over Norfolk and Suffolk, so it is not surprising that he built his hall in what was one of the wealthiest districts of Norwich. After Robert Toppes death in 1467 the hall was sold and the proceeds donated to St. Peter Mancroft church. In the centuries that followed the decline in status of King Street led to the partitioning of the hall, until by the 20th century it held the Old Barge Pub, a rectory, and a butchers shop amongst other dwellings. The hall was rediscovered in the 1960’s during an inspection of the roof, and was acquired by the City Council in 1979. The council undertook essential work to save the roof, and then handed the property to the Norfolk and Norwich Heritage Trust who continued the restoration work.

Opening Times==
Dragon Hall has recently undergone a £1.8 million programme of restoration and development largely funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund. The Dragon Hall is open<ref>[http://freespace.virgin.net/dragon.hall/intro.htm</ref> Monday to Friday 10am to 5pm and Sunday 11am to 4pm, closed on Saturdays for events, unless they have a publicised activity.
== Dragons in Norwich

It is thought that dragon carvings once ran all along the Hall. The dragons<ref>[http://www.dragonhall.org/</ref> are connected to the legend of St. George and the Dragon. St. George has been an important English saint for hundreds of years. He became England's patron saint in 1349. The Norwich Guild of St. George was founded in 1389. It honored St George's feast day and gave help to guild members who were in need. The Guild became very important in the city. The rich and powerful people were all members. St. George's day celebrations were very elaborate. There were processions through the streets, services at the Cathedral and feasts for guild members. The procession included a re-enactment of St. George's battle with the dragon. The dragon was represented by 'Snap', a hobby-horse with moveable jaws and wings who would threaten and terrify the watching crowd. Norwich is full of Dragons. Ethelbert's Gate into the Cathedral has a carving of St George (or St Michael) and the dragon which dates from 1316-20 (restored in 1965). A roof boss in the cathedral cloisters shows a dragon-slayer.
There is a late 15th-century wall painting of St George and the dragon in St.Gregory's church and the Great Hospital in Bishopsgate has carved dragons spandrels along the length of the dining hall. A wooden pew end in the Great Hospital chapel shows St. Margaret rising from the belly of the dragon (another part of the St. George legend).
Norwich dragons have continued into the modern world. The Norwich Union building in Surrey Street, opened in 1905, features golden dragons on its railings.

References