Davey Place
Davey Place| Norwich, like other old cities, once boasted of a
wide variety of signs displayed over its shop fronts.
Except for a few now in the Strangers’ Hall museum,
such as Dodson’s Golden Teapot, Griffiths’
Golden Plane, and the two described below, the majority
have disappeared, even including the ubiquitous
barber’s pole. The public houses seem now to be
alone in continuing the custom.
It is possible that the history of this particular sign went back further than that of Skoyles’ shop. For in the 1780s some copper tradesmen’s tokens (some circular, some oval) were issued bearing this symbol enclosed by the motto “Good Times will come”. A representation of Norwich Castle was shown on the reverse side, with an inscription on the edge stating that it was issued by Richard Bacon of Cockey Lane (now London Street). Another old sign to last into the twentieth century was the Golden Eagle and Pearl, to be seen for many years above Bonsers, the grocer’s shop at 10, Davey Place. This sign was originally adopted by Isaac Marsh, a silversmith, who founded his business in 1969 at a shop on the Walk where Lloyd’s Bank now stands. Successive owners ware Dunham and Yallop and Etheridge and Ellis, during whose time the character of the firm changed to that of tea dealers. The present sign was carved in 1869 by John Culyer as a faithful copy of the original. About 1875 the firm was acquired by Bonsers, who later moved to Davey Place. Early in the twentieth century the proprietors were J. Utting in partnership with my great uncle William Plunkett, and they were succeeded by E. C. Sennitt, who had similar shops in St Stephen’s and Goat Lane. On their giving up in 1938 Goose’s bookshop moved here from the Haymarket and the old sign was handed over to the Norwich Castle museum. |
 At
No 18 Davey Place, alongside the steps to Castle
Meadow, stood until 1960 a narrow building of cast-iron
and glass, one hundred feet long and two storeys high,
one of the few examples then remaining of a type of
building pioneered by the Crystal Palace in 1851.For many years it was occupied, with an adjoining warehouse, by Harry Tyce and Son, a firm described at the time of its closure in 1959 as the oldest ironmongery business in the city. Its founder, John Browne (Mayor in 1798), opened it in 1750 at premises in St Peter’s Street. In the mid-nineteenth century it was sold to Edward Orams (Sheriff in 1889), who was later joined in partnership by Harry Tyce. It was due to the retirement of Harry Tyce’s son Mr C. G. Tyce that the business finally closed. When it was announced that the freehold of the property had been sold and that the site would be redeveloped, various pleas were made for preserving the ironwork, the chairman of the Norwich Society saying that the building had “great architectural character and it would be a pity to lose it”. The suggestion was made that it should be used as a pavilion, perhaps on the Royal Norfolk showground at New Costessey, but the idea was found to be impracticable and nothing further was done. Text and photographs Copyright © G.A.F.Plunkett 2004 |
Here
in Davey Place at least two were carrying out their
original purpose into the twentieth century. One was the
golden fleece, often referred to as “Skoyles’
sheep”. This was suspended outside the shop of
Riches and Skoyles, where the Monsoon shop now stands.
The traditional sign of the wool stapler, it here drew
attention to a men’s outfitters and hatters. The
proprietor, Robert Skoyles, who had succeeded his father
in the business, died in 1940 aged eighty-four, but he
had given up the shop some thirty-five years before to go
into the wholesale clothing trade, with premises in
Pottergate.