Streets of Norwich – Paradise Place

This road cuts through from Rouen Road to Thorn Lane, but there’s not much evidence of history left here, because it was all rebuilt following the Second World War.

The name of Paradise Place isn’t though modern and it dates back much further, with it likely being a garden area, as ‘paradise’ is an old English word for park. When the site was being redeveloped it was decided to reuse the old name for the new road within the housing development.

I took the above photo standing in what was once Scoles Green (long ago Scholars’ Green), and I would have been able to see the Globe and Anchor pubs from there. Unfortunately, as the road layout has changed, there’s absolutely nothing left here from that period, not even the street line. There is today a development called Scoles Green located opposite on the other side of Rouen Road, which is at least some legacy from the name.

There was a case in November 1890 which was an early claim of negligence, when Robert Clarke of 13 Paradise Place took legal action against the Prison Commissioners for England following an injury on scaffolding at Norwich prison at Mousehold Heath. The court dismissed Clarke’s pleas, saying that the Employers’ Liability Act didn’t cover the situation and the judge added:

“These cases must be looked at very narrowly and very carefully, otherwise a burden would be put upon employers which would make the carrying on of a great work intolerable”.

The Prison Commissioners were though gracious and they suggested that if Clarke didn’t pursue his claim further then they wouldn’t seek an order of costs. Mr. Clarke was unfortunate, as the Workmen’s Compensation Act 1897 would have likely have been a sufficient change in the law to mean that he would have won his case.