Thorns DIY Hardware Retailers in Norwich
About
Thorns is an independent, family-run ironmonger and DIY store that has traded from Exchange Street in the Norwich Lanes since 1835, when it was founded by the merchant Robert Elliot Thorn. Today it is run by Peter Motts with his daughters Miriam and Emily, and the red-fronted shop looks small from the street but opens out into eight departments across several floors: ironmongery and tool merchants, painting and decorating, gardening, housewares and kitchen goods, with a timber basement stocking MDF, plywood, pine, mouldings and shelving.
Alongside the stock it cuts keys, mixes Dulux, Hammerite and Cuprinol paints with colour matching, makes house signs, fly screens and coir mats to order, cuts Perspex to size and arranges garden tool sharpening and mower servicing. Trade accounts are available, and orders are delivered free within the Norwich area over a minimum spend. The shop is open seven days a week, with shorter hours on Sundays.
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Location
22 Exchange Street, Norwich NR2 1AT
Get directionsCompany history
DIY Week Retailer of the Year, 2022
Thorns was named Retailer of the Year at the DIY Week Awards 2022, recognition of its standing as one of Norwich's best-loved independent shops after nearly 190 years of continuous trading on Exchange Street.
From Compendia — Norwich's Best Independent Shops and Company website. Checked 8 Oct 2026 by our moderator. Is this your business? to update or remove this.
