Streets of Norwich – Fishergate
Part of my Streets of Norwich project…. [updated in October 2023]
Fishergate is one of the streets in Norwich which has retained its street line and its name over the last few centuries, connecting Whitefriars to Fye Bridge Street.
The Church of St. Edmund, a fifteenth century building which was modernised (and, just a little bit ruined in my view) in the Victorian period, although it was built on the site of an earlier church which was likely Saxon. The number of residential properties in the area fell during the later part of the nineteenth century and the church fell into disuse during the early twentieth century. It was later used as a store for Norwich Puppet Theatre, although it now appears to be back in use as a religious building.
One of the Viking Norwich signs, of which there are several in this area. The street has been known as both Fishgate and Fishergate, both with the same original meaning of ‘street of the fishermen’.
The building painted light blue in the above photo is interesting, it’s the former Duke of Marlborough pub. It was closed in 1969 having been a licensed premises since at least the beginning of the eighteenth century.
To the right of the Duke of Marlborough was the Rampant Horse pub, long since demolished. This was a casualty of the removal of licenses from properties at the beginning of the twentieth century, an act which closed thousands of pubs throughout the country. To the left of the Duke of Marlborough, now no longer accessible, was Thoroughfare Yard, although this is still accessible from another entrance point.
On the matter of pubs, there was once a Carpenters Arms located on Fishergate but the records suggest it was only there in the 1830s and it’s not clear exactly where it was. There was also the Golden Fleece which was a licensed premises between sometime in the 1830s and 1867.
Formerly the offices of J Bugg Ltd, boot and leather manufacturers.
This section at the end of Fishergate, where it meets Fye Bridge Street, has been turned into a small park. I’m not sure why nothing is now here, although some buildings on this section were badly damaged during the Second World War. This little park is on the right hand side of this 1933 photo from George Plunkett.
