The Deal Ground pt 1

Considering its location, the derelict Deal Ground site is practically unheard of. Only minutes away from the centre of Norwich, these 50 acres nestle quietly between Trowse, Whitlingham, and the railway station. They are also fairly difficult to reach: at the point where the rivers Yare and Bure meet, and behind various sewage and industrial works, the Deal Ground is something of an island.

Once part of the Colman business, the Deal Ground was the site at which the various packaging for the company was made. Indeed, it is known as the Deal Ground due to Colmans using the site to make crates from soft wood, or deal. The buildings have all been pulled down, give or take a shack or two, but the site does thankfully still boast an impressive brick kiln, that may have once been used as a bottle oven. There is also a tunnel that runs beneath the railway tracks – now blocked at one end – that connected the site to the main Colman works.

It is startlingly open, quiet expanse, considering, from various points in the site, you can see locations such as County Hall, the Cathedral, the dry-ski slope at Trowse and the floodlights of Carrow Road.