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| The Joy of Shards mosaics resource | Norwich home (gallery one) | Tiles and doorways One & Two |
| Mosaic classes in Norwich | Norwich gallery two | Around Norfolk |
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This building is a stunning piece of early 20th century design, using massive quantities of 15 varieties of marble. Surrey House, the offices of Norwich Union, was built between 1900 and 1904 (with some work carrying on until 1912). The marble for the 40 columns of the Main Hall, known as "Marble Hall" was originally imported from Italy for Westminster Cathedral, but owing to logistic problems it had to be sold on at a discount. |
George Skipper, the architect of Surrey House, convinced the directors of Norwich Union that this was an unmissable opportunity. A hundred years later, the visual effect has lost none of its power.
| In the entrance hall are two mosaics of lapis lazuli, enscribed with the names of employees killed in two world wars, and a 12-pointed floor medallion. Other pictures in this gallery show the marble columns, pavements and panels. In the centre of the hall is a marble "fountain", actually a form of air conditioning. |
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Surrey House is a working office building. There is public access to the front part of the hall, but the stairs and balcony area (shown in the next photo gallery) are not open to the general public. If in any doubt, please ask at the reception desk. I'm very grateful to Norwich Union for permission to feature Surrey House on these pages. For further information about access to Surrey House please contact Sheree Leeds - email Surrey House is on Surrey Street, near the junction with St Stephens Street.
| Click on any picture below to enlarge it and get more information. |
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lapis lazuli mosaic WW1 memorial |
 lapis lazuli mosaic |
 lapis lazuli mosaic WW2 memorial |
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 entrance hall |
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 marble inlay in the air conditioning "fountain" |
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marble columns in the Main Hall |
 Verde Antico and Skyros Rosso marble |
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 Verde Antico and Skyros Rosso marble |
 marble floor patterns |
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| Surrey House Gallery Two |