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 The
stories behind
our street names
KEMPE CLOSE (Marryat Road)
NAMED after the man who danced the Morris all the way
from London to Norwich at the end of the 16th century
. . . and became a superstar.
When William Kempe (you can spell it with an e or without)
finally arrived in Norwich a huge crowd was waiting
for him at the city gates.
More about William Kempe
KENNETT CLOSE (George Borrow Road)
HERE was a man who helped to introduce the Norwich trams
back in 1900.
George Butler Kennett was a former London solicitor
who was appointed clerk of the Norwich Magistrates in
1867.
In 1890 he got the powerful job of town clerk and it
was during his 11 years in office that the city decided
to introduce the tram system, an enormous project that
changed the face of the city and, for the first time,
provided a decent public transport system.
A big new sewerage scheme that did a lot to improve
the health of the people — especially those struggling
to survive in the slums — was also developed under
his guidance.
He died in 1901.
KERRISON ROAD (Carrow Road to Hardy Road)
SIR Roger Kerrison was a powerful man in old Norwich
who upset a lot of people – after his death. He
was sheriff in 1774 and mayor in 1778 and again in 1802.
By trade he was a banker with premises in the Back-of-the-Inns
now known as Castle Street. His grand coach and livery
with servants was a familiar sight on the highways and
byways of the city and county. For 30 years, he was
receiver-general for taxes in Norfolk. He died in 1808,
by repute a wealthy man, but at the time of his death
the banking firm of Roger Kerrison & Son was in
debt. And the Government, being unable to recover the
taxes he had collected as receiver-general, made the
firm bankrupt. The people of Norwich were shocked. They
were going to lose money; in the end the 3,600 creditors
received 16s. 4d in the pound. His properties at Thorpe,
Carrow Abbey and the hall at Brooke were sold. His son
Thomas Allday Kerrison went on to be mayor of Norwich
in 1806.
KETT'S HILL (Bishop Bridge Road to Plumstead Road)
TRY to imagine the scene. It was the summer of 1549
and Norwich was at the mercy of a Wymondham landowner
with his rag-tag army of 20,000 men camped on Mousehold.
They held the rich city of Norwich at their mercy .
. . and the wealthy were worried. Robert Kett was the
man in charge.
More about Robert Kett
KINGHORN ROAD (Colman
Road)
JOSEPH Kinghorn, sage and saint, was the much respected
minister of the Baptist Church in Norwich from 1789
until his death in 1832.
He was a minister clever enough to keep his nose out
of dangerous politics who became a popular man of the
church and a leading city citizen.
More about Joseph Kinghorn
KING STREET (Prince of Wales Road to Bracondale)
THEY say that on a dark night if you listen carefully
you can still hear the sound of Roman legionaries tramping
their way down this king of streets — making for
Caistor St Edmund in time for tea.
This is the longest and one of the oldest streets in
Norwich with an extraordinary history and now, at long
last, a great future.
More about King Street
KIRKPATRICK ROAD
(Mile Cross Road)
ONE of the great Norwich historians, John Kirkpatrick's
work opened many windows into life in the city and county
during the turbulent 18th century.
More about John Kirkpatrick
KNIGHTS ROAD (Woodward
Road)
NAMED after Mark Knights, the son of a brushmaker
who dedicated his life to writing about the city he
loved — Norwich.
His most famous works were Highways and Byeways of Old
Norwich and Peeps at the Past.
More about Mark Knights
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