The Dereham Assembly Rooms were built in 1756 and are not normally open to the public. Come along and see displays on crime & punishment, Regency romance, art, and fashion, all within the context of 18th and 19th century Dereham.

The imposing Georgian brick building was built shortly after Thomas Ivory remodelled the celebrated Assembly House in Norwich, and sixty years before a similar building was built in Swaffham. This is an indication of an increasingly affluent group of merchants and gentry in the Dereham area whose social life was becoming more focused on the local urban community. As the name suggests, the main purpose was to provide a venue for fashionable gatherings (or ‘assemblies') as well as a meeting room for lectures, concerts, civic and local government, and for local societies. Magistrates’ Courts were held there fortnightly. Thanks are due to Dereham Town Council for facilitating the opening of the Rooms.