The forerunners of today's shopping malls were the Victorian arcades - covered avenues of shops in the centre of towns which offered the last word when it came to indulging in retail therapy. Here in Norwich we have perhaps one of the finest, designed by local architect, Dereham-born, George Skipper (1856–1948) and opened in 1899. He was also the architect of the HQ of the Norwich Union, Surrey House and Cromer's Hotel de Paris. At 247 foot long this masterpiece of late Victorian design has "opus sectile" stained glass and splendid Doulton tiles, amongst other features. The window over the western entrance consists of shaped pieces of coloured glass.
The Royal Arcade runs from Gentlemans Walk to Back of the Inns. Today, 'Back of the Inns' is the lane from the back of the Royal Arcade to White Lion Street, but originally the section from London Street to the Royal Arcade, now called Castle Street, was Back of the Inns as well, getting it's name from the fact that there were several inns on Gentlemans Walk; the yards of which ran all the way through to that back lane.
The Royal Arcade was built on the site of one of these old inns - The Angel - which occupied the site from at least the 15th century. Later it became The Royal Hotel, and in 1846 Joseph Stannard rebuilt the Gentlemans Walk entrance.
When Skipper created the Royal Arcade 53 years later, he retained this frontage, only altering the ground floor entrance, which gives little indication of the Art Nouveau extravaganza that lies inside...
Created on the stables and yard, the Arcade follows the shape of the yard that it replaced and when first built it housed 24 bow-fronted shops, a pub, and a clubroom. The entrance off White Lion Street was originally the entrance to the Conservative Club. The walls of the first floor of the Royal Arcade are lined with decorative tiles featuring themes typical of classical Art Nouveau – motifs inspired by nature and femininity such as floral shapes and peacocks. The tiles were designed by W.J.Neatby - who also produced the tiles for Harrods's Food Hall - and were manufactured by Doulton. In keeping with the style, but added later, are the tiles on the floor and the impressive wrought iron and glass lanterns, which were added during the restoration of the Arcade in the 1980's.
The Royal Arcade still provides an elegant shopping experience with it's stunning architecture and combination of unique and speciality shops, it is home to a variety of wonderful shops, as well as a coffee shop and a hair salon. One of Norwich's institutions worth a special mention is Colman's Mustard Shop at No.15.
The window is above the east entrance to the arcade, semicircular, and in four panes. Typically Art Nouveau it depicts trees in full foliage with stylised flowers and six white birds gliding through.
The historical information used is a combination of writings from www.oldcity.org.uk, www.thejoyofshards.co.uk, www.enjoynorwich.com, and www.norwichonline.co.uk.