Charles Burrell Museum
Minstergate, Thetford, Norfolk, IP24 1BN
Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places
Overview
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II
- List Entry Number:
- 1195908
- Date first listed:
- 10-Mar-1971
- List Entry Name:
- Charles Burrell Museum
- Statutory Address:
- Minstergate, Thetford, Norfolk, IP24 1BN
Location
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Images of England Project
- Reference:
- IOE01/04166/01
- Rights:
- © Dr John Orrell Knowles. Source: Historic England Archive
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Discover moreOfficial list entry
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II
- List Entry Number:
- 1195908
- Date first listed:
- 10-Mar-1971
- Date of most recent amendment:
- 14-Jan-2022
- List Entry Name:
- Charles Burrell Museum
- Statutory Address 1:
- Minstergate, Thetford, Norfolk, IP24 1BN
The scope of legal protection for listed buildings
This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.
Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.
For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.
The scope of legal protection for listed buildings
This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.
Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.
For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.
Location
- Statutory Address:
- Minstergate, Thetford, Norfolk, IP24 1BN
The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.
- County:
- Norfolk
- District:
- Breckland (District Authority)
- Parish:
- Thetford
- National Grid Reference:
- TL8680283200
Summary
Former paint shop, now a museum, 1903. Brick and flint with a Belfast truss roof.
Reasons for Designation
The Charles Burrell Museum is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
Architectural interest:
* For its roof, one of the earliest known examples of a true Belfast truss;
* For its frame, incorporating the mountings of travelling cranes.
Historic interest:
* For its association with Charles Burrell and Sons, one of the largest steam traction engine manufacturers.
Group value:
* The Charles Burrell Museum has group value with the other remaining buildings of St Nicholas Works: Former Factory of Charles Burrell And Sons (NHLE 1207916), Warehouse (former smiths’ shop) (NHLE 1196085) and St Nicholas House (formerly the manager’s house, then the home of Robert Burrell) (NHLE 1279518).
History
St Nicholas Works was founded by Joseph Burrell, a manufacturer of agricultural machinery, in the early C19. Control of St Nicholas Works passed to Charles Burrell (nephew of Joseph Burrell) in 1837. The company, known as Charles Burrell, Engineers and Agricultural Machinists, produced their first portable steam engine in 1846 and their first self-propelled engine in 1856. The company was incorporated in 1884 as Charles Burrell and Sons Ltd and went on to become a major manufacturer of steam traction engines. The company was taken over by Agricultural and General Engineers Ltd after the First World War and St Nicholas Works was closed in 1928.
St Nicholas Works comprised a smithy, brass and iron foundries, a plating shop, a machine shop, an erecting shop, a boiler shop, stores, offices and a paint shop. The paint shop, on the corner of St Nicholas Street and Minstergate, burned down in 1896 and was replaced by a new paint shop on Minstergate in 1903. The building incorporated one of the earliest Belfast truss roofs in England.
St Nicholas Works closed in 1928 and the site fell into disuse. Many of the buildings were demolished, but three survive, including the former paint shop. The former paint shop was reused as a store for a canning factory, a coach works and an auction house after the Second World War, becoming the Charles Burrell Museum in 1991.
After the closing of St Nicolas Works, the doors and clerestorey of the rear elevation of the paint shop were removed and rebuilt in brick. The floor, which had comprised timber blocks, was concreted over (allegedly with the blocks still in place).
The building was repaired, including the installation of a new roof covering over the existing roof in 2004 – 2006. Repairs were made to the doors at the same time.
Details
Former paint shop, now a museum, 1903, architect unknown. Constructed of chalk, brick, iron and flint with a Belfast truss roof.
PLAN: The building is a single hall of seven bays with an enclosed two storey office at the north end and an inserted mezzanine gallery along the west side.
EXTERIOR: The principal (west) elevation comprises seven bays of double timber doors, each with four glazed upper panels. The north elevation is of coursed chalk on a flint plinth, with a single timber sliding door. The rear elevation is of brick, with a brick buttress in the centre of each bay. The south elevation is of brick laid in English bond on a flint plinth, with the bays of 11 light windows extending across the entire elevation. A continuous clerestory of upright glazed panels extends around the north, west and south elevations. The barrel roof is felted.
INTERIOR: The interior is a single large space (now a display area), with eight exposed Belfast trusses (plus two end trusses). The trusses are of timber with perpendicular latticework and are connected by two longitudinal timbers running the length of the building. The trusses are not gusseted, but the end lattices are doubled. They are stamped D ANDERSON & SON LTD ROOF CONTRACTORS BELFAST. The roof is held by 25 purlins and has a plywood soffit. The front and rear walls are supported by cast iron columns with brackets for travelling cranes. The iron frame of the building is tensioned with diagonal tensioners. The floor is concrete and has a sharp break of slope down to the doors.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
- Legacy System number:
- 384780
- Legacy System:
- LBS
Sources
Books and journals
Lane, MR, The Story of St Nicholas Works: A History of Charles Burrell & Sons Ltd 1803-1928, (1999), 2-9, 274-286
Gould, MH, A Historical Perspective on the Belfast Truss Roof in Construction History, Vol. 17, (2001), 75-87
Websites
Norfolk Historic Environment Record Entry Number 30551, accessed 25 August 2021 from https://www.heritage.norfolk.gov.uk/record-details?MNF30551
History of the Charles Burrell Museum, accessed 25 August 2021 from https://www.charlesburrellmuseum.org.uk/about-us/
Other
OS Map 1:500 (1883 edn)
OS Map 1:1250 (1989 edn)
OS Map 1:2500 (1905 edn)
OS Map 1:2500 (1969 edn)
Legal
This building is listed under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 as amended for its special architectural or historic interest.
Map
This map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale. This copy shows the entry on 06-Jul-2026 at 17:32:02.
Download a full scale map (PDF)End of official list entry
All text content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 , except where otherwise stated. Any supplied maps are © Crown Copyright [and database rights] 2026 OS AC0000815036 and may not be reproduced without permission.