Anglia Square facts for kids
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Spiral staircase on Sovereign House in Anglia Square
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| Location | Norwich, Norfolk, England |
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| Opening date | July 1970 |
| Developer | Alan Cooke & Partners |
| Owner | Columbia Threadneedle Investments |
| No. of floors | 2 |
Anglia Square is a shopping centre in the northern part of Norwich city centre, in Norfolk, England. It opened in 1970. This centre was part of a big plan to rebuild Norwich at that time. A large office building called Sovereign House, which opened in 1969, was also part of this plan.
Anglia Square took six years to build. However, it was never fully finished as first planned. The buildings are made of red brick and concrete. They have a strong, simple design style called brutalism.
Walkways with shops lead into Anglia Square. It used to be open to the sky. Now, a steel and glass roof covers part of it. This roof was added later in the 1900s. Sovereign House, a former government office building, forms the western edge of the centre. This building is now empty and will be taken down.
In 2014, an investment company bought Anglia Square for £7.5 million. There have been many ideas to rebuild the area. Some plans included tall buildings, but these were often changed or rejected. The latest plans were approved in 2023, but then cancelled in 2024.
Contents
History of Anglia Square
From Old Streets to New Plans
The area where Anglia Square stands today is very old. It was part of an early Saxon settlement called Northwic. Old defensive ditches ran along what is now Botolph Street. Magdalen Street and St Augustine's are two of Norwich's oldest streets. They date back to those early times.
In the 1800s, a factory that made a special fabric for mourning was built here. This factory stood where Anglia Square is now. During World War II, in April 1942, the area was heavily bombed. This made the land ready for new buildings after the war.
Building the Inner Ring Road
After the war, in 1945, a plan for Norwich was made. It suggested building a dual carriageway road around the city centre. This road would have large roundabouts at major crossings. The full road was never built. But parts of it became the Inner Link Road. This road was built between 1968 and 1975.
Many old buildings were removed to make way for Anglia Square and the new road. One of the oldest was the Kings Arms pub on Botolph Street. It had the date "1646" on its wall. This part of the pub is now kept in a Norwich museum. Other old Georgian and Victorian buildings were also taken down. Some areas cleared for building were never used. They remain empty today.
Alan Cooke & Partners designed the whole Anglia Square development.
What You Can Find at Anglia Square
Shops and Stalls
Anglia Square has shops on one level. You can find discount supermarkets there. There are also many smaller, local shops and well-known high street stores. The covered part of the square often has street stalls too.
The Cinema
A cinema was built above the centre. It opened on July 8, 1971. This new cinema replaced an older, larger one nearby. It later became part of the Hollywood Cinemas chain. In July 2013, the cinema hosted a special event. It was the world premiere of the movie Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa. This happened after a fun campaign called "Anglia Square Not Leicester Square". The cinema closed for good in 2019.
Plans for the Future
Anglia Square and the area around it have been planned for a big makeover. One suggested new name was Calvert Square. In 2008, people were invited to see the first ideas. Work was supposed to start in 2009. But the plans were made smaller due to money problems.
New plans were suggested in 2011. In 2014, the centre was bought by Threadneedle Investments for £7.5 million. The owners and another company, Weston Homes, started talking about new ideas in 2016. Their plans included taking down Anglia Square. They also wanted to remove the old government office and another building.
In early 2018, new plans were shared. These included building 1200 homes. Some of these would be affordable homes. There would also be a large supermarket, a hotel, and new public green spaces. A tall building was also part of the plan. This tall building caused some debate. Important groups like Historic England and Norwich Cathedral were against it.
The plans were rejected at first. But revised plans were approved by the city council in 2023. These plans were estimated to cost £300 million. However, in February 2024, Weston Homes announced they would not go ahead with the project. So, the plans were cancelled.
Gallery
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Sovereign House
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Sovereign House
