Lost Norwich - Disappearing City Streets

[@davidkitchen7941]

Great video thanks. The street name Ladies Lane is so much more pleasant than the modern day Esperanto Way.

[@JohnAtkinsLostNorwich]

Thank you, I'm glad you liked it. I agree with you about Lady's Lane, but Esperanto Way is no more.

[@seanbarron2890]

This was fascinating viewing. Being a young whipper-snapper I can only remember Bell Avenue - what I remember most about that is the pet shop and the travel company. A lot of the coaches seemed to set off from there, I remember going on a few school trips from there!

[@JohnAtkinsLostNorwich]

So many people can remember Bell Avenue. That would have been there until Castle Mall/Quarter emerged in the early 1990s. The other streets I mentioned disappeared before that. Thanks for commenting.

[@James47298]

Fascinating as always

[@JohnAtkinsLostNorwich]

Thank very much, glad you liked it 👍

[@The_Brit_Girls]

A great idea for a video! Fascinating insights into what has disappeared over time. Ah, I remember the burger van on the Cattlemarket. Was there a pet shop there too at one time? I remember when I was a teenager walking across the Cattlemarket with my Dad and brother when we went to watch Norwich play. Haha, the gentleman at the end does look like he's checking his mobile phone!

[@JohnAtkinsLostNorwich]

Thank you for adding such splendid memories!

[@davegoldsmith4020]

Good one John, a video that shows lots of changes, I remember well the line of shops on Bell Avenue, one was a pet shop, we used regularly, when we first married. I seem to remember we used to catch a bus near by as neither of us could drive. Happy memories of Mr Pastry

[@JohnAtkinsLostNorwich]

Thank you Dave, yes I think that area was a bus stop.

[@MrJohn768]

@JohnAtkinsLostNorwich yes, I think you are both right...I remember getting a bus there..not a stop I normally took but I saw Geoffrey Palmer from As Time Goes By coming out of Studio 2 pub as I walked past Gosh! That's blown away a lot of dust...wonder why I remembered that ? 😲

[@JohnAtkinsLostNorwich]

@@MrJohn768 funny how that blowing away of dust can happen!

[@allancrotch2953]

I loved the old Odeon . Saturday mornings would be a walk stopping at Savages bakery for a hot penny roll at the bottom of Spencer st coming up to Bull Close and a cut-through from Magdelen st what seemed like a bomb site to the Odeon 6 Pence old money Saturday morning rush. A couple of hours of Flash Gordon, a few cartoons, or maybe Zorro.Then an afternoon over Moushold playing Cowboys and Indians .Happy days.

[@JohnAtkinsLostNorwich]

Thanks very much for that great description!

[@roycrawford372]

Another very interesting video thanks.

[@JohnAtkinsLostNorwich]

Thank you, glad you liked it 👍

[@johnraby4214]

An remember the burger van near the Bell pub, I used to use it after a night out at Tudor Hall. Keep them coming John

[@JohnAtkinsLostNorwich]

Thank you - I intend to!

[@simonconner5351]

Well researched as always John. This is particularly fascinating and sadly shows how some of the character of Norwich in those old streets has disappeared, albeit a lot of it was beyond saving.

[@JohnAtkinsLostNorwich]

@@simonconner5351 thanks Simon. I guess there's always a balance between what can be saved and what can't, and that isn't always obvious from photos.

[@pauljmccluskey5532]

I certainly remember Bell Avenue back in the mid to late 70s, with the public toilets, cafe, travel agency and pre-Castle Mall, looking over a large car park, with amusement arcade building and Zak’s burgers alongside. Esperanto Way, I always remember going to the original library and walking along there, and remembering how sad it was, seeing it all disappear after the 1994 fire. Thank you as always for such an informative and thoughtful video 😊

[@JohnAtkinsLostNorwich]

Thank you for your kind comment and the additional information you've provided.

[@MrJohn768]

@pauljmccluskey5532 I remember staring aghast at the library in roaring flames and wondering how could this happen across the road from the fire station. So sad and so much precious things lost. 😢 why did they call it Esperanto Way ? Was it so that everyone could understand Norfolk?

[@pauljmccluskey5532]

@@MrJohn768 Very sad indeed. All I understand of Esperanto was that it was a universal language, other than that, no idea ☺️

[@jokennedy2943]

Excellent, John

[@JohnAtkinsLostNorwich]

Thanks Jo

[@IDreamOfGaming]

Thank you for another amazing video

[@JohnAtkinsLostNorwich]

Thank you, glad you liked it 👍

[@MrJohn768]

Big silver blobs all over the road !! Who remembers that in Bell Avenue ? The burger man wrapped the burgers in silver foil and the traffic squashed the discarded wrapper onto the road ! 😂 Thank you John...another masterpiece 👏 👏

[@JohnAtkinsLostNorwich]

Thank you, that's a great recollection!

[@simongee8928]

@@MrJohn768 Ahh, the original Zak's, best burgers in Norwich, no contest - ! 😄

[@MrJohn768]

@simongee8928 and then we had to move to Gurney Rd and then trundle off to Barrack Rd. Couldn't ever quite get used to eating in the City Morgue. 😃 we never guessed we were going to get ' a side of sweet potatoes ' did we ? In fact didn't know we would get a 'side' of anything...or a pizza takeaway either ! The first time I saw a mobile phone was in Pizza 🍕 Hut...a boy was talking loudly into ... and then it rang ! Just pretending he was on a call ... that was one red face 🥵 Regards

[@JohnAtkinsLostNorwich]

@@MrJohn768 brilliant 🤣I had forgotten about the morgue.

[@RichyMotoharu]

Lovely, Thank You!

[@JohnAtkinsLostNorwich]

Many thanks 👍

[@pujapete3665]

thank you

[@JohnAtkinsLostNorwich]

You're welcome - and thank you for watching!

[@norwich2321]

Very good video

[@JohnAtkinsLostNorwich]

Glad you liked it!

[@InArcadiaSum]

There was a gardeners' tools, seeds and sundries shop in Bell Avenue, and where you could walk through the middle, I seem to remember that there were Ladies and Gents lavatories. As a small boy I used to go with my grandfather when he bought cattle on the livestock market at the castle, where later there was a car park. The Bell Hotel has special memories, as I went to school at Ketteringham Hall, and my big treat on exeats was to be taken there to eat a lot of hot buttered toast, and always be fascinated by the large copy there of what I think was "The Horse Fair" by Rosa Bonheur.

[@JohnAtkinsLostNorwich]

That's fantastic - thanks so much for adding all those details. Don't remember toilets there, maybe someone reading this can confirm.

[@InArcadiaSum]

@@JohnAtkinsLostNorwich The "Lavs" appear on an OS map which must be after the market moved out, as the two car parks either side are shown as "Car Park". I have an image of the map, and the best online version I've found is on the National Library of Scotland maps-dot-nls-dot-uk site, but I expect there are others.

[@InArcadiaSum]

It's shown on OS maps of the 60s after the market left the castle as "Lavs".

[@JohnAtkinsLostNorwich]

@@InArcadiaSum thank you

[@JohnAtkinsLostNorwich]

@@InArcadiaSum thank you

[@kanarykev]

Hi John,just to give you a heads up,have you checked Portraits of Life-Jack Roberts archive? It’s on KZbin and a lot of photographs that I hadn’t seen before,another great video from you too.

[@JohnAtkinsLostNorwich]

@@kanarykev thanks very much, I'll check that out.

[@andrewwright1200]

I believe that the upper square parts of the 4 synagogue pillars form the gate posts of both entrances the replacement on Earlham road (either side of the crossing on the north side opposite the RC cathedral).

[@JohnAtkinsLostNorwich]

Oh fascinating, thanks very much for that detail. I'll have a look at that. 👍

[@hayleykerrison-wright915]

Great one John! Am interested in where you picked up the pic of Chapel Street wall message. Dodger was my dad and I thought I’d seen all the pics - but hadn’t seen that one. Was it one of George Plunketts?

[@JohnAtkinsLostNorwich]

Thanks I'm glad you liked it. It was either George Plunkett or picture.norfolk.gov.uk. If you can't find it let me know and I'll check.

[@MrJohn768]

@hayleykerrison-wright915 That was your Dad's notice ? What was happening ? Were people complaining about the demolition for the Mall ? I was, of course, aware of it happening but I wasn't taking any notice and until now hadn't realised how much above ground had been destroyed. I have lived in Taverham since 1979 and until I found this channel I knew hardly anything about the City other than shopping and the theatre.

[@hayleykerrison-wright915]

@@MrJohn768 it was demolition done in the name of (post war) slum clearance. Many people - including my family had property compulsory purchased from then by the council ( when rules for that were different from todays). My family had a cycle business- Dodgers - and they lost property and were forced to up and move their business . They tried to fight - hence the notice, but it fell on the deaf, unsympathetic ears of the council and their crony, boys club members. It would never happen like that today.

[@MrJohn768]

@hayleykerrison-wright915 Oh...I see it now! ( I think ) Kerrison. I looked at the book about the cycle selling firm. I hadn't realised it was the story of their struggle against greed and bureaucracy. Thank you, I shall try to find it again. I will look out for any other information for you. Regards J

[@hornslane]

My grannie owned a propert at 19 Rising Sun lane, taken by compulsory purchase by the council!

[@JohnAtkinsLostNorwich]

Thanks for that, that must have been a rough time for her.

[@hornslane]

@@JohnAtkinsLostNorwich No, she also owned the Cosy Corner Cafe, top of Timberhill, where I was born

[@simongee8928]

And of course, Chapel Street was the location of Dodger's cycle shop, the Kerrisons being a thorn in the side of the Council of the time over redevelopment - ! 😄

[@JohnAtkinsLostNorwich]

Interesting, thank you Simon, I hadn't made that link.

[@hayleykerrison-wright915]

Not that being that ‘thorn’ got them anywhere and probably contributed directly to my father’s premature death.

[@simongee8928]

N​@@hayleykerrison-wright915 When those in authority believed they knew better than us ordinary folk and could simply dismiss our arguments out of hand. 🤨

[@hayleykerrison-wright915]

@@simongee8928 absolutely. Plus I think it was definitely a ‘it’s who you know’ ‘old boys club’ time and influential folk that stood to benefit from the redevelopment turned a blind eye.

[@JohnAtkinsLostNorwich]

@@hayleykerrison-wright915 sorry to hear that - standing up to authority can be very stressful.

[@katofkittyville2958]

You mentioned a pet shop at the beginning of this video,do you know when this shop disappeared as I have vivid recollections of it 😊

[@JohnAtkinsLostNorwich]

I don't know, I'm afraid, but it could have been when Castle Mall was created in the early 1990s. Lots of comments on here about the pet shop, and maybe someone reading this will know when it closed, and add it in here.

[@MrJohn768]

@katofkittyville2958 Hello... there is a photo of the part built Castle Mall in March 1990 in the EDP 19 Feb 2023 and it has been demolished on there. I bought a parakeet from that shop sometime after 1985, I think. That may have narrowed it down a bit. 👋

[@JohnAtkinsLostNorwich]

@@MrJohn768 thank you 👍

[@kevintracey4644]

I do remember Bell Lane. My mother used to breed Guinea Pigs and sold the baby Guinea Pigs to the pet shop. All a long time ago.

[@JohnAtkinsLostNorwich]

Thank you very much for helping to paint the picture that is Norwich 👍

[@PatrickLake-n1h]

The burger van, wasn't it called king beefy, burgers heated up in hot water with the onions!, One of the only places you could get something to eat after the pubs closed!!😂 Happy days!!

[@JohnAtkinsLostNorwich]

Yes, spot on, and if you were feeling a bit better off you'd go to Zacks on Farmers Avenue.