The Assembly House Trust
Supporting artists and communities since 1945
We are now accepting applications for the Summer Open exhibition.
Upcoming Events
Where is The Assembly House?
The Assembly House is a magnificent Grade I listed Georgian building located in the heart of the city of Norwich.
How do I find out about upcoming events?
Visit the What’s On page to browse the calendar, view the featured events, or browse the full listings.
What is The Assembly House Trust?
The Trust is a registered charity established in 1945. There are currently six Trustees who have overall control of the charity.
The Trust owns The Assembly House, facilitates an arts programme, supports community events and manages the upkeep of the building.
A Restaurant, Arts Centre, Cinema or Hotel?
The restaurants, luxury bedrooms and function rooms at The Assembly House are all run by a commercial business, which was taken over by Richard Hughes and Iain Wilson in 2009 and which operates entirely separately from the Trust. Click here for restaurant or room bookings and further information.
The Assembly House has a vibrant history, including being a Camouflage School during the Second World War, a Dance School in Victorian times, and hosting a cinema in recent times. The heritage page has detailed information on the house and grounds dating back to 1248.
Did you know? The previous incarnation of The Assembly House as a religious institution is echoed in the street names nearby: Chapel Field Gardens (previously Chapply Fields), The Chantry and Chantry Road.
How does the Trust support artists and communities?
The Summer Open Exhibition
In 2023, 350 artists from Norwich to Northern Ireland submitted a total of 1000 works for the Summer Open. The show ran for six days in June 2023, with work from 48 artists, and over 800 visitors.
A Free Online Arts Programme
Assembly Online is a free programme of visual arts, sound, poetry and performance. The events were live streamed via YouTube every two weeks between April 2020 – April 2021, offering free cultural resources to a global audience during the pandemic.
Assembly Online was made possible through the support of the Trust, and provided paid work to both local and international guests from over 20 different countries. The events have been watched over 15,000 times and are available on our YouTube Channel for free.
Classical Concerts
Assembly House Classical presents a series of lunchtime classical recitals, showcasing prize winning musicians in the stunning Georgian Music Room of The Assembly House in Norwich. The programme costs are supported by the Trust.
Since 2017, Assembly House Classical has hosted over 28 concerts including: Joanna MacGregor, Sacconi Quartet, Benjamin Grosvenor, Tom Poster, Ben Comeau, Fitzwilliam Quartet, Daniel Pioro, Zoffany Ensemble and many more.
Concerts are programmed by Iain Lowery.
The Assembly House Trust is currently offering students in full-time education under the age of 25 FREE tickets to Thursday lunchtime Assembly House Classical concerts in 2024. Please contact stacia@assemblyhousenorwich.co.uk to apply for tickets.
The Community Fund
The Assembly House Trust introduced a fund to support charity and community organisations. The fund offers subsidised or free use of The Assembly House for local organisations in need of high quality facilities for events, fundraisers or community outreach. .
The Trust regularly offers free tickets for young people to attend events that it is supporting at the House.
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The Noverre Cinema
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An Interactive History
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A Video Tour
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Noverre Cabinets
“Norwich can be proud of its Assembly House. No other town of its size in England has anything like it except of course for a spa like Bath.”
— Sir Nikolaus Pevsner in The Buildings of England