Carrow Works

Carrow Works
The Works next to the River Wensum
Built	1854-1856
Coordinates	52.62°N 1.31°E / 52.62; 1.31
Products	Mustard, soft drinks, modular buildings
Area	40 acres (16 ha)

Carrow Works is a former factory site in Norwich previously owned by condiment manufacturer Colman's. The site covers 40 acres, and several of the buildings within its bounds are Grade II listed, as well as the Grade I listed Carrow Abbey. In production for 165 years, the site has been referred to as "historic" due to its impact on the industry and character of Norwich.

History

In 1146, Stephen, King of England granted land in Carrow (then known as Carhowe) to the nuns of the Church of St Mary and St John for the founding of a Benedictine priory. At a point between 1503 and 1535, Isobell Wygun, its penultimate prioress, built a new house for herself, substantially reworking the priory's west range. However, after the dissolution of the monasteries, the priory largely fell into ruin, apart from the prioress' house which had been given to Sir John Shelton by Henry VIII. It came to be known as Carrow Abbey, changing ownership several times before being acquired by a Norwich surgeon, Philip Martineau, in 1811.

Use by J & J Colman Ltd

Land to the north of the Carrow Abbey estate was purchased from the Norfolk Railway Company by J & J Colman Ltd in 1850, and the business began to move from its former mill at Stoke Holy Cross. Jeremiah James Colman, the son of the business' founder Jeremiah Colman, was influential in the expansion of the business here following his joining of the partnership in 1851. At one point from 1854 to 1856 a mustard mill was erected at the site beginning an official movement onto the site; it is now demolished. Later, flour and starch mills, granaries, warehouses and workshops, and a counting house in 1857, were built. JJ Colman finished building a family home on the site in 1861, and in 1862 the move from the Stoke mill was fully finished.

J & J Colman Ltd acquired further adjacent land in the late 19th century, including the Carrow estate from the Martineau family, and more factory buildings were built, with several being rebuilt after a large fire in 1881. The roof of one of the blocks was replaced after being damaged during World War II, and metal bridges and chutes were added between the buildings during the 20th century. All four blocks that made up the factory seemingly closed during the 1990s.

Closures and redevelopment plans

On 15 December 2017, co-owner of the site Britvic confirmed that it would close its operations at the Norwich factory, where it produced Robinsons and Fruit Shoot drinks, instead moving to Rugby, east London and Leeds. At the time, Britvic employed 249 people at the site. Unilever, which owns Colman's, had already stated that it may close its own operations if Britvic left the site. Modular building construction company Beattie Passive then moved into the site, though the company filed a notice of administration in March 2024 and halted production.

In January 2018 Unilever also announced it would end Colman's production in the factory, which at the time employed 113 people, instead moving to factories in Burton-on-Trent and Germany; this was further confirmed in March of that year. On 24 July 2019 the final jars of mustard were produced by the factory; their best before dates were replaced with "Norwich's Last. By Its Finest. July 24th 2019", and they were gifted to the employees at the site. On 22 May 2020, the site closed, ending over 160 years of production by Colman's in the city.

In August 2023, details were revealed about a new housing development proposed for the site that would have included the building of 1,859 properties, including 143 houses plus business and community space. The plans were expected to cost £460 million. These plans were scrapped in March 2024 by Norwich City Council, which cited a breakdown in communications with developers Fuel Properties and concerns over the project's environmental impact.