The old George IV Tavern at the corner of once bustling Ber Street and Horn’s Lane, which was bulldozed down in the Sixties. Photo: FRED SMITH

GEORGE IV hung high over one of the truly great Norwich streets… but time was running out for him when this picture was taken in the summer of 1962.

The old king must have watched over some amazing sights in “blood and guts street” over the years when this was a thriving and bustling community with a heart of its own.

But the bulldozers were on their way and this tall old Tavern at the corner of Ber Street and Horn’s Lane stood in the way of progress.

A week before the Evening News took this photograph, landlord Peter Ball called “Time, gentlemen, please!” for the last time following a closing down knees-up.

The magistrates had granted him an extension so Peter and his regulars could go out in style — drinking to the great and glorious days of Ber Street.

And life would never be quite the same again in this old city casbah where thousands of people once lived. There were dozens of shops and even more pubs.

Just imagine the Saxons and Romans tramping up and down this old paved way in and out of the city, one of the first and main routes in and out of Norwich.

Some historians say “Berstrete” owed its origin to the building of the castle mound or “burh” by the Angles to combat the Romans.

In documents from the days of Richard I, it is named as Behrstreet. Then it became Bergstreet, and not until 1297 was the name softened to Berstreete.

The whole area became a labyrinth of squares, openings, yards, and alleys. Homes were humble. The living was hard but there was an extraordinary bond that cemented the people together.

The Italians later moved in, adding their own unique brand of colour… businesses lined the street, where you could buy anything you wanted. People say the character of the place began to change after the first slum clearance scheme in the 1930s and was then finished off by the huge King Street/Ber Street redevelopment of the 1960s.

When this picture was published in June 1962, the Evening News said: “Whatever rebuilding will follow, we must hope it will not spoil what is one of the oldest streets in Norwich.”

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