ROW FORTY FIVE ‑ SAINT JOHN'S HEAD ROW*1
St.John's Head Row*2
Woolsey's School Row*2
Mortuary Row*3,*4(A.Holt, E.Goate, 1940)
Row forty
five ran from North Quay to George
Street, and was called St.
John's Head Row from the public house at the South‑West corner. For many years this represented the severed head of St. John the Baptist on
a Charger, or large dish.
Christopher
Harbord had a house in this row. His
only child, Hannah, married Timothy
Steward, the founder of the
Steward family in Yarmouth. Tobias Harbord, his brother, voted in the Norfolk
election in 1714 for Sir Jacob Astley and Mr. De Grey. He made a will in 1755, and left his dwelling house to
Mrs. Steward. He also made a settlement
in favour of her son Timothy Steward, of which Charles Le Grys, and John Ramey
were the trustees. The house adjoining
the King's Head to the South was at the beginning of the 18th. Century, the
property of Benjamin Eagle.*1
"This
is a very wide row, wrote Harry Johnson in 1927, "and on the north side is
Troy Alley. Mrs. Woolsey had her school
at the north‑west corner site now occupied by the town mortuary. The visitor
is advised to visit the fine flint fronted ancient house now occupied by Messrs. Boulton's on the North
Quay, to the north of this row".*2 (Johnson also thought it worthy
of preservation!) Previously this house overlooked the river. There still exists a
splendid porch at the east of the building, giving a good impression of
the class of buildings and residences that existed in this district centuries
ago". (Alas this porch has long since disappeared. It does however
indicate that the main entrance to the
building, at least in recent centuries, was on the east side, and away from the
North Quay. There never was enough room
for a porch to project out into the road.)
"St.John's
Head Row is of average width. The sheds and stores on the south side should be
removed. Next to no. 22 near the east end of the row is an old wall with hit
and miss window".*3
Detail of
NW corner of St John’s Head Pub.
On April 11th.1941 at 0017 hrs., a bomb fell
upon an Anderson shelter here, killing
seven people. Amongst them were the occupants of no. 57 North Quay, which was
then two flats. One was a lady with
three children, and a husband in the navy, occupants of
the first floor flat, and also Alice Holt's (nee Wilson) sister in
law's sister, surnamed Merrison,
whose husband was away in the army. The
ground floor is now a shop, but then was the Merrison's flat.
St Francis Way is now on the line of Row 45.
*1 Palmer
*2 Johnson
*3 The Row survey
The
Occupants, Row Forty Five, 1886
( from
George Street to North Quay)
Barker, J.,
cab driver
Blake
Powley,
Mrs.
Dublack,
M., beatster
King, Miss,
seamstress
Starling,
R., fisherman
Underwood,
W.
Rowland,
Mrs.
Mills, J.
Cooper, J.,
carter
Ling, H.,
chimney sweep
Brown, A.
Howes, F.
Smith, Miss
...Troy
Alley...
small cottages
Leader,J.,
cow keeper
Barker,
Mrs.
Mills, M.,
photographer
Miller,
G.E.H.
English,
W., bricklayer
crew, J.,
coal heaver
Parker,
Miss