|  The
stories behind
our street names
 Elizabeth
Fry Road (Colman Road)
She was the Angel of Prisons — the Norwich
woman who devoted her life to helping others and ended
up on the fiver. Elizabeth Fry has become one of the
most famous faces in the land after she was featured
on the banknote.
More about Elizabeth Fry
EATON ROAD (Ipswich to Newmarket Roads)
FORMERLY called Eaton Lane, but it is shown on Morant’s
map of 1873 as Freeman’s Lane or Half Mile Lane.
It forms the north-west boundary between the parishes
of Eaton and Lakenham. The City of Norwich School was
built at a cost of £39,000 and then stood in 14
acres of ground.
It was opened in 1910 under the headmastership of W
R Gurley — famous for his mortarboard, gown and
spats.
EDWARD GAMBLING COURT (off Nelson Street)
 To
have one road named in your honour is a tribute . .
. but to have two! Now that is a rare achievement.
And they remember a man who devoted most of his life
to helping the people of Norwich.
His name was Ted Gambling and when he died almost 11
years ago he was described as the “backbone”
and the “father” of Norwich City Council.
More about Ted Gambling
EXCHANGE STREET (Market Place to St
Andrew’s)
NAMED after the famous old Norwich Corn Exchange, which
is now incorporated in Jarrold’s premises.
It was built on the site of Sir Benjamin Wrench’s
Court, where the Norwich School of Painters once had
its headquarters.
The lower part of the street had been known as Post
Office Street because the old post office stood there.
At one time, it was also called Museum Street.
It was built in 1829-30 on land that had been the coaching
yard for the old Tunns Inn.
 EADE
ROAD (Angel Road to Aylsham Road)
A GREAT man. A great doctor. And a great lover of
the humble tortoise... that was Sir Peter Eade, the
man they named this road after (pictured here as a young
man, and an old man - with his tortoises). Here we have
another leading character from old Norwich whose memory
has disappeared in the mists of time. And this one saved
lives!
Sir Peter was physician at the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital
from 1858 to 1888 and a man who loved the city and its
people. He wrote the history of the hospital from its
foundation to 1900 — and also the history of the
Jenny Lind Infirmary for Sick Children and the Norwich
Dispensary.
Sir Peter was a Freeman of the City of Norwich and a
member of numerous organisations. A former mayor and
a former sheriff, he was also a profile writer, being
an authority on the parish of St Giles, where he lived.
He wrote a number of books and articles about what he
saw around him. On the evils of drink and the need to
improve the living conditions for thousands existing
in city slums. And he penned books all about his beloved
tortoises.
Colleague Sydney Long, writing in Sir Peter’s autobiography
published after his death, said: “A more honourable
man and patriotic citizen of Norwich it would be impossible
to find.”
He was born in Acle in 1825, and later moved to Blofield,
where his father was a doctor. In those days, the village
still had stocks and he remembers seeing people locked
in them by their ankles. Young Peter spent the first
13 years of his life being educated at home, and was
then sent to Yarmouth Grammar School, which he describes
as “the most unhappy of my whole life”.
In 1844, he went off to study medicine in London, before
settling in Norwich. He worked at the city dispensary,
and was appointed physician at the Norfolk and Norwich
Hospital in 1858. At the time, the hospital had 144
beds for patients and 26 for nurses, servants and officers.
He had to deal with an epidemic of a “new”
disease called diphtheria.
By now, Peter was starting to play a leading role in
Norwich life. He married Ellen and moved into a large
house in St Giles, although he admitted in his autobiography
that he lost much of his money in bad investments. He
went on to represent the city as mayor and sheriff and
served on a host of organisations — while carrying
out his job at the hospital where he did so much pioneering
work.
And, of course, he always found the time to care for
his much-loved tortoises, which he bought from a Norwich
hawker. “They are in many respects both curious
and remarkable animals. Intelligent, quaint and affectionate,”
wrote the kind doctor.
He died in 1915 at the age of 90.
ELM HILL (Princes Street to Wensum
Street)
A GRAND place for a punch-up — that was old
Elm Hill where the blood often flowed as men emerged
from the four pubs to settle their differences.
Today this picturesque and peaceful cobbled backwater
with its quaint buildings is the most famous street
in Norwich.
More about Elm Hill
ELVEDEN CLOSE (Newmarket Road)
YOU may not know where Elveden Close is,
but I’ll bet you’ve driven past that tall
memorial on the All — probably been stuck in a
traffic jam beside it!
The memorial on the Norfolk/Suffolk border remembers
those who died in the First World War and when built
it was written: “The column and spire with their
heavenly aspirations come as a welcome sight.”
For many weary travellers heading home it is a landmark
to herald the return to Norfolk.
The Elveden estate had had several owners and it was
rebuilt by the colourful Prince Duleep Singh, formerly
Maharajah of the Punjab.
Later it was acquired by Edward C Guinness, first Viscount
of Iveagh.
Covering 23,000-acres it was once said to be the largest
arable farm in England and described as a “great
experiment in farming.”
ENFIELD ROAD (Earlham)
 |
| The Octagon Chapel
where William Enfield worked . |
William Enfield was the minister at the
famous Octagon Chapel, Colegate, in Norwich, which has
done, and still is doing, so much good work in the city.
He worked there from 1785 until his death and was highly
respected by both rich and poor.
In the early years of the first French Revolution, he
wrote for a publication produced by the Liberal Party
in Norwich called The Cabinet.
In it, he said of Norwich: “I can truly say that
I know of no town which offers so eligible a residence.”
William died in 1797, aged 57, and was buried in the
Octagon Chapel where there is a monument to his memory.
ESPERANTO WAY; LADY LANE; MILLENNIUM
PLAIN
(Bethel Street to Theatre Street)
A TRIO of names that have been used to
describe an ancient part of the city centre that has
been changed beyond all recognition.
More about Esperanto Way
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