The building was the home of the Appleyard family during the 14th and 15th centuries, including Bartholomew Appleyard and his son William. Both were city bailiffs and William was the first mayor of Norwich and served as burgess in parliament ten times.[1] In 1584, the premises was purchased and converted into the city's house of correction, gaining its name as its Bridewell. In 1751, the Bridewell was badly damaged in a fire, damaging mostly its ground and first floor.[1] It was sold in 1828 following the construction of a prison at St Giles Gate, and the building then became a factory.[1] In 1923, it was purchased by Sir Henry Holmes, and donated to the city of Norwich.[1]
In the early 2010s, the museum underwent a major revamp costing £1.5 million. It was reopened in 2012 with 5,000 objects on display, including the last Jacquard loom to have woven cloth in Norwich, hats from Edwardian hat-maker Rumsey Wells, and a "history wall" mosaic created from over 9,000 photographs of Norwich that were submitted by the public.[3][4] Following the restoration of the sculpture of Samson that had stood at Samson and Hercules House in Tombland, Norwich, since 1657, the Museum began a crowdfunding campaign in 2018 to raise £15,000 to put the sculpture on display.[5] The campaign, nicknamed Saving Samson, was successful, and the sculpture was displayed at the museum in April 2019 inside a custom environmentally controlled glass case.[6][7]
