Friars Quay (Norwich) the River Wensum itself. The immediate history however relates to the use of the site as a timber yard until it was made available for development. Jewsons Timber Yard was established by John Wilson Jewson who shipped in timbers by wherries from Great Yarmouth. In 1868 George Jewson purchased a 17th-century house in Colegate which was used as the headquarters of the business. His son Richard (1867 to 1949) established Jewsons as the largest timber merchants between the Thames and the Humber. Richard became Lord Mayor of Norwich in 1917. The land was purchased by Norwich City Council in 1970.
Norwich redevelopment. On 23 November 1981, a minor F0/T1 tornado struck Norwich as part of the record-breaking nationwide tornado outbreak on that day, causing minor damage in Norwich city centre and surrounding suburbs. Norwich has been governed by two tiers of local government since the implementation of the Local Government Act 1972. The upper tier is Norfolk County Council, which manages strategic services such as schools, social services and libraries across the county of Norfolk. The lower tier is Norwich City Council, which manages local services such as housing, planning, leisure and tourism. Norwich elects 13 county councillors to the 84-member