It always begins with a rush, no matter how timely the preparation. Mental box-ticking as my hands grapple through deemed essentials for the day’s journey (e.g. sanitiser, water bottle, tissues) is followed by a hasty takeaway at Leon or Pret, resisting the queue-induced temptation to glance at my watch every three seconds. In my seat by a blind-slatted window, as the train captain announces our departure, I breathe a sigh of relief. The 11am Greater Anglia service from Liverpool Street station (a five-minute walk from where I live) will carry us across one hundred and eighty kilometres into Norwich station by 12.44pm.

Dark olive beams hoist the shale grey arches through which afternoon sun filters. Its persistence warms my head and the back of my neck as I walk through the automated faregates into Norwich station. Chain stores like the Co-op and WHSmith flank brownstone walls; the reflection of their front signs glimmers meekly on the beige floor. Norwich originally had three stations: the Thorpe Station I have wandered into which opened in 1844, the Norwich Victoria Station which opened in 1849 and closed in 1916, and the Norwich City Station which opened in the early 1880’s and closed in 1959. Does history ever intend for the severance that comes with amalgamation?

At lunchtime, the main hall is mostly quiet. There are groups of teenagers in oversized sports hoodies and sweatpants, tradesmen huffing along with duffels of equipment, and the occasional policeman on patrol, a handheld radio at his shoulder sparking with white noise. Elsewhere, elderly persons leisurely reading or pulling apart crisp packets, seated on planks of burnished wood fixed to grey plastic legs, in groups of two backfacing rows of four chairs. Much too early for returning office workers trooping home in creased shirts, anticipating dinner.

Just like this ebb of passengers, the station has experienced various exchanges of ownership. First opened by Yarmouth & Norwich Railway, the company then merged into Great Eastern Railway in 1862, which in turn amalgamated with several other railways to form the London and North Eastern Railway. In 1948, the nationalisation of Britain’s railways saw the operation of the station pass to British Railways (Eastern Region). This move was reversed in 1994 when the station was placed back into private hands, including today’s Greater Anglia.

An imposing traditional clock, with its black Roman numerals on a white face, still enjoys a panopticon view. Fixed at the head of the station’s tower, it studies the drop-off and pick-up point where people emerge from or disappear into vehicles. Its sun-tipped arrows would have tracked all of the social changes of the last century, including the gradual proliferation of hugs and kisses from stiffer mores, as well as the evolution of street fashion from frosted tips to Balenciaga caps. Looking up as I depart the station to head to Dragon Hall, our circular chaperone seems to blink back a greeting. Look at the time.

https://www.heritage.norfolk.gov.uk/record-details?MNF332-Norwich-Thorpe-Station-Thorpe-Road

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norwich_railway_station

Jerrold Yam is a Singaporean lawyer based in London and the author of three poetry collections: Intruder (Ethos Books), Scattered Vertebrae (Math Paper Press) and Chasing Curtained Suns (Math Paper Press). His poems have appeared or are forthcoming in Ambit, Magma, The London Magazine, Oxford Poetry, Prairie Schooner, Wasafiri, Washington Square Review and The Straits Times. He was recently shortlisted in The London Magazine’s Poetry Prize 2024. He has been a featured author at the Ledbury Poetry Festival, London Book Fair, Poetry Festival Singapore and Singapore Writers Festival. His poems, which are included in the Singapore-Cambridge GCE A-Level and O-Level syllabi, have been translated into Mandarin and Spanish.

We are delighted to host four writers in virtual residence, with support from the National Arts Council of Singapore. Joyce Chua, Marylyn Tan, Lisabelle Tay and Jerrold Yam will be in virtual residence from June to December 2024.