Norfolk Uncovered: HMSO Sovereign House
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- čas přidán 19. 01. 2013
- Norfolk Uncovered is a series of short documentaries about the less-known and less-obvious relics and ruins of the county of Norfolk, in the United Kingdom.
This episode focuses on Sovereign House, a derelict office block in the City of Norwich, which was once home of Her Majesty's Stationery Office (HMSO) untill it was privatised in 1996.
Today, the building is awaiting demolition as part of the Anglia Square redevelopment project and we were given special permission to film inside before work starts possibly later in 2013.
The team are joined by former civil servant, Reg Walker, who worked at Sovereign House for almost 30 years.
Narrated By: Mike Richmond
Norfolk Uncovered is filmed on a very small budget, and we make do with the equipment available, so please enjoy and make the most of what you see... Some of the featured sites may not be here in the future...
PLEASE SUBSCRIBE NOW to receive the updates on when each episode appears online!
At the start:
"Unnamed explorers..."
A bit later:
"Nick's father, Charles Stone..."
Absolutely bloody brilliant. I drive past this place very regularly and often wonder what it must look like inside after so many years of neglect. Thank you for producing and sharing such a fascinating film.
Extraordinary video. I worked in the building in Reg’s era. Was impressed by his memory and also his ability to climb all those stairs! Many thanks to Reg and the team.
Chris......I have been taken to this site again, and I must say that you did it so well......I am remiss at not extolling your competence before now, but thank you: excellent job!
Reg (the tosser in the trilby).
Reg Walker thank you for being a part of this!
Architecturally it reminded me of my office working days of late 90''s early 2000's So i'm glad to see this video, but what I do not understand is, why is there so much paperwork hanging round. That should have been destroyed.
Thanks for all the good info on the site Reg, very interesting hearing someone who knew it before the decay talk through it
@@ItsSpecialHands Good of you to say so. Chris deserves the credit for thinking of it, and following through so professionally!
@@regwalker7420 yeah he does great work and his videos are thoroughly interesting, a real treat for those of us who are curious
so glad I came across this video! I'm currently researching this building for my uni project so this video is a massive help! thank you!
Thank you so much for this video! I'm such a huge fan of brutalism architecture and this is my favorite building. Amazing to see inside it and learn some of the layout. A lot of work went into making this brilliant video!
I didn't quite know what to expect but, omg, I'm blown away with this video!!
Obsolutely amazing....well, just about everything-Commentary, camera angles, the history, audio (I recognised my motor room sounds) and the passion that's gone into making this video.
A little shame that it's 480p and not 720p or more, as I find that over time youtube automatically reduced the quality further when the vid is older.
Still... hope you can produce some more of these-would love to explore places like this!
Wonderful video. Sovereign House was the reason that I live in Norwich and have done since 1967. My father worked for HMSO in Printing & Binding and came up from London in one of the first moves, when Sovereign House was relatively new. Thanks for sharing this.
Amazing video. Cited in my research. Thank you!
This is part of an on-going series. Alot of the sites I've covered are ex-military sites- have a look through my channel.
I was very fortunate in being able to get access to Sovereign House, let alone have the opportunity to meet someone who worked there!
As for the resolution, my cameras are standard-definition and my computer isn't quite fast enough for HD video editing (yet). However, it does the job- these videos take up a lot of my spare time!
Thanks for your positive feedback.
Really enjoyed this, thank you
This is an amazing Documentary! Great filming, editing, ...
I work over the road from this building, and for all it's faults, it's a great looking piece of imposing architecture. Looks like an aircraft carrier in a certain way, can easily imagine it being the USS Kickass somehow arriving right in the middle of Norwich.
Great video, thanks for the upload!
Cheers Chris.
A few small firms tried to utilise the office space but it was suprising what was left behind from the HMSO days...
a great video, always looked up at this building and wondered what it was used for, shame its be left the rot, would love a snoop around myself tbh, also, my nanny was a tea lady and a cleaner there for a number of year :P
How wonderful to see the building I worked in from 1975. My first "career" job in the Civil Service as a Printing Officer in HMSO, I thought I'd really arrived when I saw where I was going to be working for the next 10 years. It was a wonderful time for me working with so many talented people. If I recall, many of the staff, particularly where I worked in the Print Procurement Division "moonlighted" at various other jobs at weekends and after work, so you always had a contact to repair your car or advise on what to grow in your garden etc. Anglia TV were the most popular employer for many HMSO staff who almost emptied the building when a large production hit town. The staff were all employed as extras.
I worked at the Carrow Road Football stadium Annual ticket holders bar every Saturday home match. I was popular with the other barmen because I wasn't interested in football and manned the bar throughout the whole game. I never saw a game or a ball kicked the whole time I was employed, but I did have a few of their excellent salad rolls to ward off the cold, not to mention the hot toddies!
I too joined HMSO in 1975 first at Norvic House then at St Crispins and after 5 years I'd had enough and started a successful 1 man printing business until cheap colour print on the internet put an end to it. My name is Ron Giles one of the 'highly talented' people you worked with although I do not recall your name. When in PP the TO I worked under subsequently did time for corruption!
It seems Sovereign house had problems from the start with glass panels having to be replaced with solid ones as the place became like a greenhouse.
Were his initial JC by any chance? If they were I also worked under him for the last 2 year's before I left in 1985 to join WH Smith as their Promotional Print Buyer
Love it.
10 years on and it’s still there. Maybe worth doing another video showing the place now in its current state
I very much doubt we'd be able to get access now- we had permission ten years ago and were extremely lucky to have gained access!
I dread to think how bad it is inside now... 😬😞
I lived in Norwich just up the road from Sovereign House from the late 60's until 1986 and remember this area very well. Need someone to do something similar on Anglia Square and address subjects like how the nightclub called Scamps became the snooker club 😉
Thank you for sharing this 👍 I've often wondered what the inside of the building looks like. As much of a mess on the inside as the outside. The building is an eyesore but so is Anglia Square. It must have been a strange feeling for Reg Walker to go back there after so many years and see the state of it.
I wonder how far into the 21st century the regeneration of Anglia Square will happen 🤔☠️
I have a feeling there will be no regeneration. My theory is the whole of Anglia Square will be left uncared for until it eventually is not worth it to maintain the few shops still there and the whole site will be abandoned.
It was a fine looking building when built if you look at the old photos. The lack of maintenance can make any building look like an eyesore. It’s a unique buildings with the twin spiral staircases and brick water tower on top.
I loved the comments from Reg. Especially the virginity status of the typing pool.
Nice!!!
:D
Sad to see the state of it. That was ten years ago. Dread to think what it's like now.
Funny seeing you here
One of the spiral staircases has been boarded up with metal
They’ve taken the transmitter masts down now for some reason. They used to be on top of the water tower. It may not be pretty but it’s quite a unique building and haven’t seen one like it. One of the first buildings I saw as a kid as we arrived in Norwich. That and and malthouse carpark.😊
Amazing video I've always been interested in this place and have biked past or near sovereign house and even standing in the carpark looking up at this massive impressive structure I don't remember when it was open but always seen been curious seeing it just sitting there abandoned I've recently been more interested in sovereign house researching the history and was blown away curious when I watched videos of the inside I wish I could have a look around inside one day but I know that won't ever happen but it's wonderful to see what it's like inside it kind of reminds me of one of those buildings from a zombie apocalypse movie lol it's eerily dark silent I think it's definitely a part of Norwich that shouldn't be forgotten eventually it will probably be torn down and people will miss it sad when it's gone but it's great to see it still standing and amazing seeing inside
Thanks for your comment. We were lucky as the building's then-owners and Anglia Square management were very accommodating 9 years ago. Not to mention the fact that Reg got in contact just at the right time- we couldn't have asked for a better guide!
@@ChrisRichmond thanks for getting back to me I always remember this building and wondered what it is like inside I used to work as a cleaner at winterfer house on rose lane it's not as massive as sovereign house but similar sort of building it's both great and sad to see sovereign falling into disrepair but even if I don't get to explore it I can always watch videos on what it looks like inside it kinda reminds me of one of those buildings out of a zombie movie it's still an impressive structure and it was wonderful reg was able to show you around even showing you his old office but as always awesome video couldn't believe how big and how much of the 60s style is still there intact places like the reception area stairs and some of the rooms even seeing areas not shown onthe other video I watched like the first aid room canteen the entrance leading to reception the lift machinery room I am really interested Inthis place some areas look like they have collapsed the roof in the corridors but I still think it's a great impressive building will be so sad when it's gone but it's still there it's good to still see it standing
No worries.
A few of us thought it resembles a large vessel of some kind...
Great reporting,strange some documents are still on the site after all that time of being inhabited.Full marks for this vid.
I want to try and get in there and have a look around.
There’s nothing wrong with Sovereign House or Anglia Square, that a few well placed sticks of dynamite couldn’t put right. When I first went to Norwich as a callow student in the late seventies these two monstrosities appalled me even then.
no way lol i went in there when my dad worked there
They go on about us recycling our waste, this is a fine example of the governments double standards, not recycling an existing building, This would be a great project for a refurb, it's an iconic Norwich building. Bet they wouldn't let the city hall or the theatre royal become like this?
Why is it still there?
If they maintained Sovereign House better it could have been reused, but as it is it would cost more money than it's worth to get it back to a reasonable condition.
They want to demolish whole of Anglia Square, so the whole place is going to slowly deteriorate until it eventually gets demolished. Sad to see such a cool piece of brutalist history go. All they do is board more up as it gets more deteriorated and plan after plan doesn't happen. My theory is the whole of Anglia Square will be left uncared for until it eventually is not worth it to maintain the few shops still there and the whole site will be abandoned.
still up and standing upto now 6/11/21
It's not going. The longer it stays undeveloped, the more it deteriorates so it will be not worthy to fix it, and the plans to redevelop it just end up not happening, or get opposed. My theory is the whole of Anglia Square will be left uncared for until it eventually is not worth it to maintain the few shops still there and the whole site will be abandoned.
Its a great video, such a shame that they are going to demolish this building,......what a waste it could be refurbished. It such a landmark building in the city,.....
Yea... no. My theory is the whole of Anglia Square will be left uncared for until it eventually is not worth it to maintain the few shops still there and the whole site will be abandoned.
They never will demolish it because of opposition from the public.
I want to buy it as it is being torn down
Till this day 1/1/19 it’s still standing.
Still is 14/11/20
It's not going. My theory is the whole of Anglia Square will be left uncared for until it eventually is not worth it to maintain the few shops still there and the whole site will be abandoned.
That is haunted that building i can remember my freind went in and got attacked by a black figure on one of the floors like to make sure if he is ok
Ahh I see... a Norwich Elevator Enthusiast?
Wanna go in is there squatters and cameras
Ally law should've done this climb
I think sovereign house should be turned into flats
It has to go along with the rest of Anglia Square.The whole place is a 60s disaster zone now full of cheap and nasty £ 1.00 shops , and other crap only the under class needs.The place was so badly built with so many problems ( To this day no body knows where the light switches are ) including brick work which would fall on shoppers below .Good riddance Anglia square
keith7836 the underclass ? What the fuck gives you the right to say such a thing ? Fucking nazi
keith7836 actually it has some nice independent shops which people own and make a living out of. It has some nice music, game shops and a Riley’s sports bar!
Plain and simply your a piece of shit mate. Hope you become lower class one day and have to live in the real world.
@@madmallett some times the truth hurts
I like it for how brutalist and eerie it is
Bomb it! Blow it up! It's hideous! Looks like the vast spaceship of some hostile alien race that has landed in a car park. It was badly made, badly finished and impractical - and quite the ugliest building in a city which is not short of really ugly buildings. The whole of Anglia Square with its surroundings was a massive ego trip on the part of city councillors who wanted to leave their mark on what might have been, but no longer is, a beautiful city - and didn't care how much they had to destroy to do it. Or indeed how much ratepayers' money they had to spend.
it's one of the city's most ionic buildings! If it was maintained then it would look much nicer. That brick tower is a nice feature
@@underneonloneliness2 I also love the multi story car park, it has a brutalist charm to it
@@mushroomcraft I always preferred the malthouse car park where Chapelfield is now. It was the big bomb sculpture it had at the top that made it unique. I remember as a kid in the late 90’s early 00’s looking up at it and thinking what the hell is that thing on top.
@@underneonloneliness2 Wow, never knew about it. Sad to see such unique car parks being replaced with boring underground car parks or ugly space wasting floor car parks
@@mushroomcraft Agreed! Went to Blackpool the other week and they had a big single ground floor carpark which was completely full due to the height of the summer. I was thinking why on earth didn’t they build a massive multi storey so people have more space to park. It’s easier to build upwards because you take up less land space.
How did u ask the managerment to be allowed in as I wanna video it and upload them? 👍👍
It was 2012 when I first enquired.
First of all with the developers, then Centenary-Ashcroft, who then passed me onto the management of Anglia Square.
We were VERY lucky to have arranged this then, but I doubt it would be as easy to arrange now, as I believe there has been further deterioration inside in the 12 years since!
You can but try...