The Gallery of Medieval Life

This spectacular new gallery has been created in partnership with the British Museum - its first medieval gallery outside London.

The gallery opens on 7 August as part of the Royal Palace Reborn project.

Over 900 original medieval objects

The gallery presents a huge array of over 900 original medieval objects. It draws on:

Norfolk Museums' nationally significant collections, and
The long-term loan of over fifty treasures from the British Museum

The rich displays explore the whole of the medieval period - from the Norman Conquest of 1066, to the Dissolution of the Monasteries under Henry VIII in the 1530s.

Marvel at the range of objects on display...

Find out how medieval society was organised into those who worked, fought or prayed.

Discover more about the daily lives of people from these different classes.

From the exquisite workmanship of items owned by the wealthiest such as a remarkable ivory casket, to more humble objects such as oyster shells - once used as paint palettes.

Paintings, manuscripts, sculpture, textiles, jewellery, weapons and even scientific instruments like an astrolabe (used for charting the stars) will immerse you in the rich diversity of this remarkable period.

Norfolk discoveries

Many of the objects were discovered in Norfolk through excavations and metal-detecting. But the story they tell is also an international one. It places Norfolk and East Anglia within the wider world of medieval Europe.

Photo credits: The Trustees of the British Museum. Banner photo: Chatelaine de Vergi casket - Back panel