Carrow Works is a former factory site in
Norwich
Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...
previously owned by condiment manufacturer
Colman's
Colman's is an English manufacturer of mustard and other sauces, formerly based and produced for 160 years at Carrow, in Norwich, Norfolk. Owned by Unilever since 1995, Colman's is one of the oldest existing food brands, famous for a limited ran ...
. The site covers 40 acres,
and several of the buildings within its bounds are
Grade II listed
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
, as well as the Grade I listed
Carrow Abbey
Carrow Abbey is a former Benedictine priory in Bracondale, southeast Norwich, England. The village on the site used to be called Carrow (there are many alternative spellings) and gives its name to Carrow Road, the football ground of Norwich F.C. ...
.
In production for 165 years, the site has been referred to as "historic" due to its impact on the industry and character of Norwich.
History
In 1146,
Stephen, King of England
Stephen (1092 or 1096 – 25 October 1154), often referred to as Stephen of Blois, was King of England from 22 December 1135 to his death in 1154. He was Count of Boulogne ''jure uxoris'' from 1125 until 1147 and Duke of Normandy from 1135 unti ...
granted land in Carrow (then known as Carhowe) to the nuns of the Church of St Mary and St John for the founding of a
Benedictine
, image = Medalla San Benito.PNG
, caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal
, abbreviation = OSB
, formation =
, motto = (English: 'Pray and Work')
, foun ...
priory
A priory is a monastery of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. Priories may be houses of mendicant friars or nuns (such as the Dominicans, Augustinians, Franciscans, and Carmelites), or monasteries of mon ...
. At a point between 1503 and 1535, Isobell Wygun, its penultimate
prioress, built a new house for herself, substantially reworking the priory's west range. However, after the
dissolution of the monasteries, the priory largely fell into ruin, apart from the prioress' house which had been given to
Sir John Shelton
Sir John Shelton (1476/7 – 1539) of Shelton in Norfolk, England, was a courtier to King Henry VIII. Through his marriage to Anne Boleyn, a sister and co-heiress of Thomas Boleyn, 1st Earl of Wiltshire of Blickling Hall in Norfolk, he became ...
by
Henry VIII
Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...
. It came to be known as
Carrow Abbey
Carrow Abbey is a former Benedictine priory in Bracondale, southeast Norwich, England. The village on the site used to be called Carrow (there are many alternative spellings) and gives its name to Carrow Road, the football ground of Norwich F.C. ...
, changing ownership several times before being acquired by a Norwich surgeon,
Philip Martineau, in 1811.
Use by J & J Colman Ltd
Land to the north of the Carrow Abbey estate was purchased from the Norfolk Railway Company by
J & J Colman Ltd in 1850, and the business began to move from its former mill at
Stoke Holy Cross
Stoke Holy Cross is a village in South Norfolk which lies approximately south of Norwich.
Geography
Stoke sits on the River Tas. It covers an area of and had a population of 1,568 in 674 households at the 2001 census.
The village is accesse ...
. Jeremiah James Colman, the son of the business' founder Jeremiah Colman, was influential in the expansion of the business here following his joining of the partnership in 1851.
At one point from 1854 to 1856 a mustard mill was erected at the site beginning an official movement onto the site; it is now demolished.
Later,
flour
Flour is a powder made by grinding raw grains, roots, beans, nuts, or seeds. Flours are used to make many different foods. Cereal flour, particularly wheat flour, is the main ingredient of bread, which is a staple food for many culture ...
and
starch
Starch or amylum is a polymeric carbohydrate consisting of numerous glucose units joined by glycosidic bonds. This polysaccharide is produced by most green plants for energy storage. Worldwide, it is the most common carbohydrate in human diets ...
mills,
granaries
A granary is a storehouse or room in a barn for threshed grain or animal feed. Ancient or primitive granaries are most often made of pottery. Granaries are often built above the ground to keep the stored food away from mice and other animals ...
, warehouses and workshops, and a counting house in 1857, were built. JJ Colman finished building a family home on the site in 1861, and in 1862 the move from the Stoke mill was fully finished.
J & J Colman Ltd acquired further adjacent land in the late 19th century, including the Carrow estate from the Martineau family, and more factory buildings were built, with several being rebuilt after a large fire in 1881. The roof of one of the blocks was replaced after being damaged during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, and metal bridges and chutes were added between the buildings during the 20th century. All four blocks that made up the factory seemingly closed during the 1990s.
Closures and redevelopment plans
On 15 December 2017, co-owner of the site
Britvic
Britvic plc is a British producer of soft drinks based in Hemel Hempstead, England. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. It produces soft drinks under its own name, and several other brands.
Hist ...
confirmed that it would close its operations at the Norwich factory, where it produced
Robinsons and
Fruit Shoot
Robinsons is an English fruit drink brand owned by Britvic. Robinsons has a royal warrant from the monarch and was an independent company until 1995 when it was acquired by Britvic. The Robinsons range includes Fruit Shoot, Fruit Squash, No Added ...
drinks, instead moving to
Rugby
Rugby may refer to:
Sport
* Rugby football in many forms:
** Rugby league: 13 players per side
*** Masters Rugby League
*** Mod league
*** Rugby league nines
*** Rugby league sevens
*** Touch (sport)
*** Wheelchair rugby league
** Rugby union: 1 ...
,
east London
East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth.
Etymology
As in other languages, the word is formed from the f ...
and
Leeds
Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...
. At the time, Britvic employed 249 people at the site.
Unilever
Unilever plc is a British multinational consumer goods company with headquarters in London, England. Unilever products include food, condiments, bottled water, baby food, soft drink, ice cream, instant coffee, cleaning agents, energy drink, t ...
, which owns Colman's, had already stated that it may close its own operations if Britvic left the site.
Modular building
A modular building is a prefabricated building that consists of repeated sections called modules. Modularity involves constructing sections away from the building site, then delivering them to the intended site. Installation of the prefabricated ...
construction company Beattie Passive then moved into the site, though the company filed a notice of administration in March 2024 and halted production.
In January 2018
Unilever
Unilever plc is a British multinational consumer goods company with headquarters in London, England. Unilever products include food, condiments, bottled water, baby food, soft drink, ice cream, instant coffee, cleaning agents, energy drink, t ...
also announced it would end Colman's production in the factory, which at the time employed 113 people, instead moving to factories in
Burton-on-Trent
Burton upon Trent, also known as Burton-on-Trent or simply Burton, is a market town in the borough of East Staffordshire in the county of Staffordshire, England, close to the border with Derbyshire. In 2011, it had a population of 72,299. The d ...
and
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
; this was further confirmed in March of that year. On 24 July 2019 the final jars of mustard were produced by the factory; their
best before dates were replaced with "Norwich's Last. By Its Finest. July 24th 2019", and they were gifted to the employees at the site.
On 22 May 2020, the site closed, ending over 160 years of production by Colman's in the city.
In August 2023, details were revealed about a new housing development proposed for the site that would have included the building of 1,859 properties, including 143 houses plus business and community space. The plans were expected to cost £460 million.
These plans were scrapped in March 2024 by
Norwich City Council
Norwich City Council is the city council for the city of Norwich, Norfolk, England. It consists of 39 councillors, elected to represent 13 wards, each with three councillors. It is currently under Labour control and led by Alan Waters. It form ...
, which cited a breakdown in communications with developers Fuel Properties and concerns over the project's environmental impact.
References
{{reflist
Manufacturing plants in England
Grade II listed buildings in Norfolk