Pitt Street, now a scattering of industry and a quite a few nice trees. The entrance to Gildencroft, an alleged old jousting field now opened up to the corner of St Augustines and the churchyard, breathing some green into the traffic.
Pitt Street once stretched from the corner of Muspole street to St Augustines, truncated by the growth of the Ring Road, Duke street absorbing one end of it up to that new fangled roundabout at St Crispins, with that space age development at Anglia Square.
The road was considerably narrower right up to the late 1960s, two lanes of Austins and Morris’ would fit up it, past the faded Georgian hodge-podge of traders building and mini mansions on this main route North up through St Augustines Gate and out into the county.
The only vestige on this stretch is the old Photomation building next to the not as old Morris Print building and Norwich Framing Centre which appears to be a residual building that may have once formed part of a yard. Then there’s a bit of scrubby bank that used to be shops, then the more or less intact precincts of St Augustines with it’s old courts and yards. the whole of the west side is destined to be redeveloped, It’s admittedly ghastly but so are the various new plans. Time will tell.
Original photos courtesy Jonathan Plunkett, from the fabulous George Plunkett collection.
I’m interested in 64-66 Pitt Street. It was the business address of Lincoln’s shoes
It was as far as I’m aware the Singer Sewing Machine Factory, at least in 1938. I’ve also not heard of Lincoln’s. Your best bet is to go the the Norfolk Heritage Centre at the Library in the Forum, top floor, and ask to look through the Kelly’s Directories, it may well have changed use over time and could have become or been a shoe factory. The only one I’m aware of was Kirby’s which was at 65 Pitt Street from around 1900, was bought out in the 1960s to the Liverpool Shoe Group, moved to Fishergate to Batson and Webster and then closed in 1967. The area was cleared shortly afterthat, with the only remaining buildings being the Pub on the corner, now artists studios, at the run up to What was Morris Print which is now a car wash, which I believe was built in the early 1970s which adjoins another older Victorian building. The other side of Pitt Street was cut back to widen the road, so the only thing that remains is the back wall and interior of part of one of the buildings in the framers (50 – 56) which you can still see inside. It also possible that it was further up Pitt Street was longer prior to the introduction of the roundabout, stretching back up to St Mary’s Plain.