The original medieval building survives only in a fragmentary form, as an L-shaped range facing the alley by St Andrew's Church and constructed in three or more stages between the late 14th and early 15th centuries.

Both were city bailiffs and William was the first mayor of Norwich and served as burgess in parliament ten times.

[1] In 1584, the premises was purchased and converted into the city's house of correction, gaining its name as its Bridewell.

It was reopened in 2012 with 5,000 objects on display, including the last Jacquard loom to have woven cloth in Norwich, hats from Edwardian hat-maker Rumsey Wells, and a "history wall" mosaic created from over 9,000 photographs of Norwich that were submitted by the public.

[5] The campaign, nicknamed Saving Samson, was successful, and the sculpture was displayed at the museum in April 2019 inside a custom environmentally controlled glass case.