Streets of Norwich – Queen Street

Part of my Streets of Norwich project….

Queen Street is located off of Tombland and connects with Redwell Street. I’m omitting one building of interest on this street from this post, which is the Church of St. Mary the Less, which has an intriguing story of its own.

This is the Old Bank of England Court. The building to the right-hand side of the court is a former residential property built in the late seventeenth century, which is now used as offices. It is also where the offices of Edward Boardman were once located, a well-known (well, locally, I don’t think he was an international superstar in the nineteenth century) Norwich architect. The building to the left-hand side of the court is similar in once being residential, although was first built in the early eighteenth century.

The name of the court is because the Bank of England had offices here between 1826 and 1852, a regional location to try and bring some stability to the country’s banks, which had gone through a period of instability. They gave up with that idea in the 1850s, which the Bank of England operations being centralised back in London.

This is handy at the Boardman Building at the Bank of England Court (which is a different location to the nearby Boardman House), the history of a building on a panel at the front. More places should do this.

Looking back down Queen Street towards the Ethelbert Gateway, with the Church of St. Mary the Less visible on the left-hand side.

The building on the left is Seebohm House, the former Haldinstein’s Boot and Shoe Manufactory, which later became the Bally shoe factory.

Another view of Seebohm House, with the large gateway.

Norwich Brewdog, I wish it was open as usual…..

Brewdog is at 1 Queen Street, which was built as a residential property in the late seventeenth century, although it retains its fifteenth century undercroft. It has been a licensed premises since the beginning of the twentieth century, with CAMRA noting that over the last few decades that it has traded as “Hideout, Knowhere, Noir, Indulge, Hogshead, City Ale & Wine Bar, Gundry Whites Cafe Bar, Drummonds and Whites”. And as I’ve learned to love Brewdog, so hopefully it’ll stay there for some time….

Next to Brewdog is the Bank of Scotland at number 3 Queen Street, which also has a fifteenth century undercroft.

This is now Revolución de Cuba, which is the sister bar to Revolution, which is located over the road. I remember this as Yates, although it has been a Slug and Lettuce.