King Street. Once one of Norwich’s busiest streets, with some fine buildings (Image: Newsquest archive), there were said to be over 80 of them, stretching from the Cinder Ovens at the Gates to the Compasses in Upper King Street.

King Street has been and continues to be in the news for a variety of reasons, and we must treat what remains with the utmost respect.

This was once the beating heart of Norwich, serving as a bustling gateway to the city. One end of the village, on the hill that leads up to Ber Street. Conisford Street, which leads to the King’s Ford over the Wensum, has a long history dating back to Saxon times.

Starting as a footpath between a cliff and a river, this was once the city’s most important commercial and residential street, running from Bracondale to Tombland and housing thousands of people.

Four themes run through its story: trade (thanks to the river), manufacturing, housing, and religion.

Agnes, top left, with other members of the Colman’s Luncheon Club who cooked up to 120 meals a day for the managers, directors, accountants, clerks, and the like.

(Image: Family Collection) Ships used King Street, and merchants built warehouses along a maze of narrow lanes that connected the street to the river. Leather, wool, cloth, and grain were all exported from Mediaeval Norwich.

Norman stone for construction, wine, spices, Flemish fabrics, and more. Merchants built beautiful stone and timber halls.

Some of England’s most well-known families lived there, including the Boleyns, Cokes, Berneys, Howards, and Hobarts.

During the Georgian period, many large houses were divided into tenements and courtyards, and their gardens were transformed.

Many of the boys and girls who lived between King Street and Ber Street attended Horn’s Lane Infants School (Image: Supplied).

Industry moved in, from world-famous companies like Colman’s, Boulton & Paul, Laurence Scott, and breweries to many smaller ones that employed thousands of people living between King Street and Ber Street, where there were dozens of shops.

One of them was Mary Agnes Davey, also known as “the Gal Agnes,” who, with Andrew Cowan, wrote the brilliant book “Hard Up Street: Growing up on King Street, 1919-1947,” in 1997, which included some of her favourite recipes.

Her previous book, “Recipes of a Norfolk Housewife,” published 20 years ago, spawned two more cookery books that people adored. She appeared on the radio and television.

She grew up in one of Ship Yard’s brewery houses and worked at Colman’s Luncheon Club, preparing approximately 120 meals per day, before becoming our very own ‘celebrity cook’, which she enjoyed.

Agnes remembered the cattle in the street and the various characters selling their wares, including the man selling linen props shouting Prompo!

Prompo!

Prompo!

and the watercress seller bawling Wab! Wab! Wab! and how people never locked their doors.

All dressed up for the camera. Agnes’ grandfather and grandmother with their children. Her grandfather, John Herring, was a drayman at Young’s & Crawshay’s brewery on King Street (Image: Family Collection). After WWII, factories closed and houses were demolished.

It was the end of an era.

“City planners could be extremely ruthless. “I believe they demolished many structures that should never have been demolished, but I suppose they were young men eager to move on, and it was a new beginning for everyone.

“Some of the houses that did come down were in a very bad state,” she mentioned. “They were good days when I was there – hard days, I know, but sometimes I think I’d like those days back,” she said, adding, “I’m glad I was born on King Street, that’s for sure.

“I had a very happy childhood.” With gratitude to Richard O’Callaghan, who wrote “The Village,” a brief history of King Street.

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