The Main Ward Block (Completed 1974-Demolished 2003)

This is an overview of the Norfolk & Norwich Hospital Main Ward Block, which was completed in 1974 and demolished in 2003.

The building was designed in 1968, construction began in 1971 and was completed in 1974. It was a 6 year process from design to completion.

Planning
By 1964, the Norfolk & Norwich Hospital needed expanding. The plans to build a high rise ward block were put forward but was delayed due to financial issues. However the 10 storey Maternity Block was built 1966-1968.

In 1968, Michael Everitt of Fielden And Mawson designed the new 11 storey Main Ward Block. The floorplans were sketched in October 1968. The designs were completed by 1969. Construction was still some time away.

In 1971, the land was cleared and levelled out, and even some houses down the nearby Crooks Place were demolished and groundbreaking begun for the new Main Ward Block. Construction was underway.

Construction 1971-1974
Construction began in early 1971. As bricks arrived, several steel trusses arrived. The building took 3 years to complete. Several large steel trusses were made in Watton and delivered on site by lorries and winched into position by cranes. By 1973, construction was well underway and in its later stages of completion. The 11 storey Main Ward Block was completed in late 1974, 6 years after it was designed. A few minor alterations to the designs took place as the construction commenced. This was mainly a few curtain rails and floor mounted unit positions.

Usage 1975-2002
A commissioning period started in around March 1975. This was the 6 month period for the builders to get the new unit in perfect working condition ready for usage as a hospital. By August 1975, final modifications were made ready for usage.

The first wards opened on the 15th September 1975. This was the orthopaedic wards on the 2nd and 3rd floors and the private wards on the top floor. The building gradually began filling up. In March 1976 the Children's Ward (Gresham Ward) with its own classroom was opened. In September 1976 notifications were made about the cracks in the operating theatre floors. These were noted and they were closed for repairs in November. In December 1976 the Main Ward Block was officially opened by David Ennals.

In November 1977 the floors of the operating theatres were relaid with new flooring designed to last for many decades. Yet cracks were still being reported in the coming years.

In October 1983, 40 doctors met to discuss a Second General Hospital for Norwich. In 1985 3 potential new sites were chosen.

The Main Ward Block was not 15 years old when in April 1988, the public attended an inquiry into the construction of a new District General Hospital in Colney, although this was still to be a second hospital rather than a complete new site.

Demolition 2003
The Main Ward Block was fully empty by the start of 2003. Only the walls, floors, ceilings and curtain rails in each bed bay were left. In October 2003, the demolition of the MWB began and was completed by mid December 2003. The legacy of the building will always be kept alive by photos, the retention of the original architects floorplans and my model of the N&N Hospital in 1988.

The MWB has occasionally come under fire for being an ugly "blot on the Norwich Landscape" but I disagree strongly with such statements. It was not the most attractive building, and that is not disputed, but not every such building has to come under the "pull it down now" brigade. In the early 1970s the MWB and Maternity Blocks were vital for the hospital, and very much needed. When they opened they were seen as a huge step forward for the N&N. Since demolition, Norwich has had a few more taller buildings either built or renovated.

Demolition of the MWB took about 2 months, whereas construction took 3 years.

The hospital site was then redeveloped into housing, and some older buildings were retained.

Famous visitors and patients over the years

 * Reggie Kray (1933-2000) - Was an in patient in the MWB in September 2000 when he had cancer.
 * Frankie Fraser came to visit Reggie when Reggie was a patient there.