Norwich Street Photographs

Previous street: Magdalen Rd


Magdalen St:
        From Fyebridge St / Colegate to Magpie Rd / Magdalen Rd / Bull Close Rd
      passing
Golden Dog Lane, St Saviour's Lane, Anglia Square, (formerly Botolph St), Cowgate

      East side
Magdalen St 5 former Bull PH to 7 [2478] 1938-06-18
Magdalen St Thoroughfare Yard view east [0812] 1936-03-19
In 1957 when the Civic Trust agreed to undertake with the City Council a joint project for improving the appearance of some given area in the city, Magdalen St was selected as the most suitable for the experiment. Only the length extending from Fye Bridge to Stump Cross was to be tackled, containing (as it still does) such a number of buildings of architectural character and having so many historical associations. Perhaps, too, the future development of the area further north between Magdalen St and Botolph St was envisaged. Whether or not this was the case, less than ten years later the bulldozers had moved in and land was cleared in preparation for the construction of the Anglia Square precinct.
Connecting the southern end of Magdalen St to Fishergate is Thoroughfare Yard - its name no doubt deriving from the fact that unlike most other Norwich yards, this one "leads somewhere". Now lined by commercial property, it was formerly a quaint alley with Nos 4-9 on its north and east sides and No 11 in the corner opposite presenting nice examples of architecture of about 1680 apparently, although there were some indications that they might have been Tudor, altered some generations after they had been built. Most were of brick and flint construction and all were of two main storeys with lath and plaster dormers presenting a typical Norwich gabled skyline. The house on the east side behind the public house had on its side wall three plates marking the boundary of the parishes of St Edmund and St Clement. All were cleared away in April 1936, as part of a slum clearance scheme, it being well nigh impossible to recondition them economically.
Magdalen St Thoroughfare Yard NE angle [0811] 1936-03-19
Magdalen St Thoroughfare Yard view north [0809] 1936-03-19
Magdalen St Thoroughfare Yard parish plates [0810] 1936-03-19
Parish boundary plates (St Edmund 1829, St Clement 1821, St Clement 1809).
Silver Jubilee Magdalen St Loose's store [0500] 1935-05-01
Silver jubilee decorations.
Magdalen St 29 [2704] 1938-08-08
Coronation Magdalen St 29 Horth's [1565] 1937-05-09
1937 coronation decorations.
Magdalen St 29 17c doorway [0411] 1935-03-24
Magdalen St 29 doorway spandrels [5935] 1978-08-01
Spandrels of 17c doorway "1612" "S.T.F." Probably the residence of Thomas Shipdham, mercer, Sheriff 1620 and Mayor 1631.
Magdalen St 31 [6451] 1987-04-25
Magdalen St Gurney Court north side [2480] 1938-06-18
Magdalen St Gurney Court north side doorway [0410] 1935-03-24
Late 17c or early 18c doorway.
Magdalen St Gurney Court east side [0408] 1935-03-24
Here lived the Gurney family (Quakers and bankers) until moving to Earlham Hall.
Magdalen St Gurney Court east side [2736] 1938-08-24
Magdalen St Gurney Court east side doorway [0409] 1935-03-24
Late 17c or early 18c doorway.
Magdalen St Gurney Court south side [2479] 1938-06-18
Magdalen St Gurney Court east side rear [5932] 1978-07-28
Magdalen St Gurney Court east side rear [6442] 1987-03-12
Magdalen St 33 to 35 [2554] 1938-07-17
Magdalen St Loose's Yard east side [1417] 1936-09-18
St Saviour's church and cherry tree COLOUR [0959] 1936-05-15
St Saviour's tower from Stump Cross [3189] 1939-07-30
Originally much taller it was reduced to its present height in the mid 19c.
St Saviour's south side [2267] 1938-04-07
14c and 15c work.
St Saviour's interior view east [2205] 1938-03-26
St Saviour's interior view west [2207] 1938-03-26
St Saviour's 14c font [2206] 1938-03-26
Traceried and slightly battered bowl. The columns of the shaft spring from beasts.
St Saviour's John Baseley monument [2208] 1938-03-26
John Baseley, Mayor 1791, flanked by sword and mace rests.
Magdalen St 47 Green and Wright's to 51 [5039] 1966-05-01
Green and Wright's wine shop.
Magdalen St 47 to 49 former Duncan Arms PH [2553] 1938-07-17
Magdalen St Ling's Court south side [1654] 1937-05-29
Magdalen St 47 to 51 Queen Victoria PH [0899] 1936-04-16
Magdalen St 51 Queen Victoria PH [2552] 1938-07-17
Magdalen St 47 to 51 rear [5150] 1967-05-29
Magdalen St 53 herringbone brickwork [0131] 1934-06-17
Early in 1934, workmen stripped off the plaster from the front of the upper storey to reveal the original early 17c half-timbered construction. Between some of the uprights the brick infilling was laid in herringbone fashion, while between the others the bricks were laid horizontally.
Magdalen St Bayfield's Yard north side [1487] 1936-10-04
Magdalen St Bayfield's Yard Tudor archway [0515] 1935-05-05
Magdalen St 75 77 Rose PH to 85 [2735] 1938-08-24
Magdalen St 77 to 85 [0949] 1936-05-12
Facing Anglia Square from the opposite side of Magdalen St, Nos 77-85 formed an interesting block of three-storey timber-framed Tudor buildings. Their first floors projected slightly above the pavement, but only this and the low ceilings of the ground-floor shops gave the passer-by a clue as to their real age. No 77 was formerly the Rose tavern, but perhaps this was not its original name as it adjoined the Woolcombers Arms Yard. Scheduled as a building of architectural or historical interest, the building was badly damaged when on 10th July 1972, an accidental fire swept through the upper floors. So much damage was caused that it was deemed unsafe to carry out a reconstruction and a few weeks later the whole site was cleared.
Magdalen St 105 Cat and Fiddle PH to 107 [7452] 1997-06-01
Magdalen St 115 to 117 [0923] 1936-05-03
Magdalen St 115 to 117 rear [0934] 1936-05-06
Magdalen St 119 [0924] 1936-05-03
Magdalen St 119 rear from Addison's Yard [0933] 1936-05-06
Magdalen St New Yard view west [1540] 1937-04-24
Magdalen St 129 to 131 [0922] 1936-05-03
Magdalen St 133 rear from Gilling's Yard [1539] 1937-04-24
Magdalen St 133 rear from Gilling's Yard [7390] 1996-09-01
Magdalen St 135 White Lion PH [2701] 1938-08-08
Magdalen St White Lion Yard east and south [0926] 1936-05-03
Up Magdalen St on its eastern side is a little 17c building, formerly the White Lion inn. At the back of its yard, until demolished in a clearance scheme in the late 1930s, stood an L-shaped block of Tudor houses, Nos 3 to 8 inclusive, forming with the backs of the Magdalen St properties an open square somewhat larger than the average Norwich yard. In 1934 when demolition was beginning to threaten they were described as being well built and comfortable and having the appearance of a group of almshouses. Although it was suggested that they could be made quite pleasant if back-to-back houses in Gillings Yard were pulled down to give through ventilation, they were not to be spared and the council flats of Magdalen Close were subsequently built on this and the adjoining area.
Magdalen St White Lion Yard south side [0947] 1936-05-12
Magdalen St White Lion Yard north side [2702] 1938-08-08
Magdalen St White Lion Yard south side rear [7389] 1996-09-01
White Lion Yard since renamed Hartley's Court.
Magdalen St White Lion Yard now Hartleys Ct [7745] 2000-04-23
Magdalen St 139a [7746] 2000-04-23
Magdalen St 157 Red Lion PH [0935] 1936-05-06
Magdalen St 161 to 165 [6487] 1987-09-04
        West side
Magdalen St 20 to 22 rear [6453] 1987-04-25
Magdalen St 24 Martineau House [3213] 1939-08-07
Here were brought up Harriet Martineau (born 1802) authoress, and James Martineau (born 1805) doctor of Divinity and Literature and writer in religious philosophy.
Magdalen St 24 Georgian doorway [0412] 1935-03-24
Magdalen St 24 rear formerly weaving sheds [4758] 1964-04-18
18c.
Magdalen St 24 to 26 Thirtle House view S [0881] 1936-04-12
Named after John Thirtle, one of the Norwich School of artists, who had his business here until his death in 1839.
Magdalen St 26 Thirtle House to 34 view N [0880] 1936-04-12
Nos 28-32 Magdalen St, on the southern corner of Golden Dog Lane, are examples of old dwelling houses converted into shops: No 28 with a dormer in the roof, the other two without. No 26 (on the left of the picture, with 28-34), an extension of this row, was named Thirtle House after the Norwich artist who during the early years of the 19c had a shop here. Born at a house in Elephant Yard, Stump Cross, the son of John (a shoemaker) and Susanna Thirtle, John Thirtle junior was baptised at St Saviour's church on 22nd June 1777. At about the age of 20 he went to London, where he learnt the trade of frame making, and on returning to Norwich after a few years he opened a print shop at 26 Magdalen St. Carving, gilding and frame making as well as picture restoring were also undertaken, and he soon enlarged the business to include the sale of his own pictures and miniatures. He was a founder member of the Norwich Society of Artists, which had John Crome as its leader, but after a quarrel between members he seceded in 1815 to join a rival group under Stannard, Ladbroke and Sillett.
In his later years weakness of the lungs brought an end to his outdoor sketching activities, and he died at the age of 62 on 30th September 1839. His wife Elizabeth, a sister of John Sell Cotman's wife Ann Miles, outlived him for many years, dying at the age of 95 on 23rd February 1882. The business, which had been carried on at Magdalen St up to the time of Thirtle's death, was taken over by William Boswell, another well-known name in the local art world. Thirtle House was pulled down in the late 1930s and a modern shop was erected in its place.
Magdalen St 28 to 32 [3214] 1939-08-07
Magdalen St 34 former Golden Dog PH to 38 [1483] 1936-10-04
Magdalen St 34 to 48 view south [3989] 1951-04-24
Magdalen St King's Head Yard view east [1639] 1937-05-18
Magdalen St King's Head Yard Regency villa [3866] 1950-06-12
Magdalen St King's Head Yard Regency villa [6293] 1984-04-24
Magdalen St 42 King's Head PH [0622] 1935-08-06
Magdalen St 44 to 48 [1484] 1936-10-04
Facing St Saviour's Lane, at Nos 44-48 is a grand 18c mansion, comprising house and shop. Now known as Sackville Place and incorporating a modern office block at the rear, it was until recently the premises of Smith and Sons, wholesale and retail druggists.
It possesses one of the best doorways of the period yet remaining in the city, similar to one at 18 Colegate and constructed, it has been suggested, to designs by Thomas Ivory. Above is a Venetian window, that is, a window of three lights, the central one wide and arched, the side lights about one-third the width and covered by an entablature. This type is convenient when a large window is necessary, as it maintains the scale, which would be broken by a large undivided window.
Magdalen St 44 Georgian doorway [0514] 1935-05-05
Magdalen St 46 to 48 18c shop front [0142] 1934-07-01
Magdalen St 46 to 48 18c shop front [4433] 1956-05-21
While massive pilasters and cornices also contribute towards a very dignified frontage, the chief feature from an antiquarian point of view is the contemporary shop front. Seen in its original form in my photographs, the shop has since been reduced to a little over half its width to make a covered passage leading to a side courtyard. To do this the two right-hand bays (a door and a window) were turned 90 degrees to form a side window looking out on to the passageway.
Magdalen St 50 to 52 [2726] 1938-08-21
Magdalen St 62 Dolls' Hospital [0621] 1935-08-06
The Dolls' Hospital at No 62 was another victim of alterations for the flyover. This was of the 17c and timber framed, but here the smooth plaster facing of its jettied upper storey had been retained. Two large dormers gave light to the attic, the roof of which had largely retained its somewhat moss-grown covering of old English plain tiles.
Magdalen St 66 to 70 Stump Cross [5043] 1966-05-15
70 Magdalen St (Barclays bank) built 1813, in the centre of the picture.
Stump Cross, the name given to the area opposite St Saviour's Church, perpetuates the memory of a stone cross that stood at the erstwhile junction of Magdalen St with Botolph St. Known in Henry VII's time as "Guylding Cross", it probably obtained its name following its partial destruction. Although in 1673 £20 was ordered to be given to the inhabitants of the parish to rebuild it, the historian John Kirkpatrick noted 50 years later that
"There is a piece of the lower part of the shaft of a stone cross now lying upon the top of St Saviour's churchyard wall next the lane leading to Rotten Row [i.e. Peacock St] which is about a yard long and I suppose is part of the old Stump Cross."
Were he to return here today there would be little left for him to recognise, apart from the church; even that has lost half the height of its tower since his time. Botolph St itself (or at any rate its southern half) has disappeared altogether, its site having been covered in 1970 by the modern shopping precinct of Anglia Square, while the St Crispin's flyover constructed a year or two later led to the disappearance of more old property.
Magdalen St 72 to 82 [5044] 1966-05-15
Magdalen St 82 to 100 [5046] 1966-05-15
Magdalen St 84 White Horse PH [1485] 1936-10-04
Magdalen St 84 White Horse Yard [0898] 1936-04-16
Barclay's bank, a red brick neo-Georgian building of pleasing design, stood at the Botolph St junction facing south along Magdalen St, while behind it, facing both streets, was Frank Price's popular drapery store. North of this was situated the White Horse inn and its yard. The inn (17c and later) had its two main storeys built of brick, and an attic storey partly covered with pantiles and part with English plain tiles. It was the last of the old buildings to be razed to create Anglia Square.
Magdalen St 84 White Horse Yard [5120] 1967-02-18
Magdalen St 92 to 94 [1486] 1936-10-04
Magdalen St 92 to 94 rear Hacon's Yard [5119] 1967-02-18
White Horse Yard provided a convenient short cut between the two streets, and Nos 92 and 94 Magdalen St, with a passage leading to Hacon's Yard at the rear. The last two shops together formed a two-storey building of brick and pantile construction, plastered and colour-washed, with dormers giving light to the roof space. Considered to date from the 17c, they were listed as Grade 3 under the Housing Act of 1949. The Anglia Square developers had considered the possibility of their preservation in order to retain some of the character of that part of the street, but they were not the right size for a modern shopping unit and their retention would have presented other architectural problems, so down they had to come too.
Magdalen St 96 to 100 [2725] 1938-08-21
Also destroyed by fire, but on a different occasion and through a different cause, was Hurrell's shoe factory at 96-100 Magdalen St. It was early in the morning of 2nd August 1942 that a small number of enemy raiders showered incendiary bombs as well as a few high explosives over the city during the course of a short, sharp raid. Fires were started in several places, but commercial property such as this was most affected.
Hurrell's factory was housed in an impressive building. The cement rendering of its street facade was modern and effectively disguised the fact that here beneath the surface was a mansion built during the Georgian era. One of its most notable past residents was John Staniforth Patteson, Sheriff in 1811, Alderman in 1820 and Mayor in 1823, the house having come to his father with the purchase of Beevor's brewery. Brewing was the family business and from it grew the well-known firm of Steward and Patteson, later acquired by Watneys.
After the war Hurrells rebuilt the factory in red brick and in modern design on the old site, but its existence was comparatively brief. It was acquired along with much adjoining property and demolished to make way for the Anglia Square shopping complex at the end of the 1960s. The entrance to Edward St now occupies the site.
Magdalen St 110 to 112 [2703] 1938-08-08
Magdalen St 132 Blind Institute [4908] 1965-05-19
Rebuilt 1891.
Magdalen St 136 to 144 [6581] 1989-09-07
Magdalen St 146 pawnbroker's sign [7875] 2002-04-06
Three golden balls.
Magdalen St 148 [0295] 1934-09-23
Magdalen Gate west wall from outside city [5045] 1966-05-15
Magdalen Gate west wall from outside city [5933] 1978-07-29
The opening is modern for the use of pedestrians.
Magdalen Gate west wall from outside city [5934] 1978-07-29
Magdalen Gate west wall from Wall Lane [0746] 1935-09-08
Inside. Crudely restored arched recesses.
Magdalen Gate west wall from Wall Lane [4380] 1955-09-09
Magdalen St 154 White Swan PH [4766] 1964-05-16

Magpie Rd:
        From St Augustine's St / Bakers Rd / Aylsham Rd to Magdalen Rd / Bull Close Rd / Magdalen St
Magpie Rd Tawell House Blind Association [7876] 2002-04-06
N and N association for the blind.

Malthouse Rd:
        From Coburg St to Rampant Horse St
      Formerly
St Stephen's Back St, Malthouse Lane and St Stephen's Church Lane
Malthouse Rd car park bomb sculpture [7736] 2000-03-01
The scene of great devastation caused by the air raids of 1942.

Mansfield Lane:
        From Hall Rd to Stoke Rd
      passing
Barrett Rd, Sandy Lane
Mansfield Lane Old Lakenham post office [1694] 1937-06-06
Mansfield Lane Lakenham Water Mill [4362] 1955-08-20
Established 1834 for the spinning of mohair for manufacturing purposes.
Yare Lakenham Bridge NE side [0059] 1934-03-25
A bridge on this site is mentioned in 1461 and 1556 in charters setting forth the city boundary. Since 1726, under the Tonnage Act of that year, these boundary bridges have been maintained by the Norfolk County Authority with the exception of Lakenham bridge. This has been kept in repair by the railway company since the mid-19c when they rebuilt the approach road to the adjoining railway bridge. The flood of August 1912 partly demolished it by undermining the piers but it was rebuilt in 1913. It has a single span of steel girders, the piers and parapets being of brick.

Next street: Mariners Lane

Text and photographs copyright George Plunkett

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