The city’s first public sewerage system opened exactly 150 years ago last August, but how were the major geological and topographical challenges overcome in building it? Did it work? Has the system been changed or extended since then?
While preparing on a book about subterranean Norwich, Matt became intrigued by the depth and size of some of Norwich’s sewers, part of a hidden underground system we completely rely on, but hardly ever think about. In this talk, he draws together fragmentary information from a multiplicity of written and visual sources, and has crossed the city looking for manhole covers, to tell the story he calls ‘Norwich’s Netherflow’.
Matt Williams is a chartered geologist and Norwich historian with an interest in tracing continuity from past to present, and in particular in how the city functions as a physical entity - his thesis being that ‘geology drives everything’. He spent 30 years in the construction industry and now enjoys writing local books while working part-time as a professional cycle instructor.