During the 11th century, Norwich was the largest city in England after London, and one of the most important places in the kingdom. Until the Industrial Revolution, Norwich was the capital of the most populous county in England and vied with Bristol as England’s second city.

In the 10th century Norwich became fully established as a town because it had its own mint. The Vikings were a strong cultural influence in Norwich at the end of the 9th century, setting up an Anglo-Scandinavian district towards the north end of present day King Street. Norwich Cathedral, begun in 1096, is one of the great Norman buildings of England.

Jews are known to have settled in the city from 1134, but most were massacred in 1190. Following a riot in the city in 1274, Norwich has the distinction of being the only English city to be excommunicated by the Pope.

The driver of trade in the city was wool. The wealth generated by the wool trade throughout the Middle Ages financed the construction of many fine churches.

Throughout this period Norwich established wide-ranging trading links with other parts of Europe, its markets stretching from Scandinavia to Spain. Great Yarmouth was the port for Norwich.

The year 1549 saw an unprecedented Protestant rebellion in Norfolk, which divided the city and appears to have linked Protestantism with the plight of the urban poor.

Norwich has traditionally been the home of various dissident minorities, notably the French Huguenot and the Belgian Walloon communities in the 16th and 17th centuries, who numbered as many as a third of the population. Many of them worked as weavers.

Another important trade in the city was shoemaking, which persisted until the 20th century. This is reflected in exclusive census data provided to use by TheGenealogist.co.uk – weaving and shoemaking dominate the top occupations 1841 (there were also many publicans, reflecting the city’s reputation for public debate).

Britain’s first provincial newspaper, the Norwich Post, was published in 1701. In the mid-18th century some parishes listed three quarters of the men as literate. In the 1780s Norwich shawls became an important industry, although by the 1790s the wool trade began declining from competition and the loss of international markets. In 1797 Thomas Bignold, a 36-year-old wine merchant and banker, founded the first Norwich Union Society to provide insurance.

Norwich’s geographical isolation was such that until 1845, when a railway connection was established, it was often quicker to travel to Amsterdam by boat than to London. Norwich has a long association with chocolate manufacture, primarily through the local firm of Caley’s, which began as a manufacturer and bottler of mineral water in the 1850s. The city was also home to a long-established tradition of brewing.

TheGenealogist’s census data from 1911 shows the continued importance of shoemaking, much of it now industrialised, hence a predominance of boot machinists.

Norwich suffered extensive bomb damage during World War II, affecting large parts of the old city centre and Victorian terraced housing around the centre. The heaviest raids occurred on the nights of 27/28th and 29/30 April 1942; as part of the ‘Baedeker raids’ where tourist guides were used to select cultural targets.

Census analysis by TheGenealogist also reveals common surnames associated with the city. In both 1841 and 1911, Moore, Clarke, Howard, Cooper, Thompson, King, Woods and Browne feature prominently. Others from 1841 are Mann, Riches, Chapman, Barker and Allen; and 1911 has Betts, Howes, Read, Palmer and Edwards standing out.

Norfolk Record Office’s Archive Centre is in Norwich. See www.museums.norfolk.gov.uk for details of places to visit.