Row 91, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk

View along Row 91 showing people at the side of this narrow cobbled alleyway. Row 91 is between what are now King Street and Deneside. The 'Rows' of Great Yarmouth are first mentioned in 1198. They then developed in the 1200s – 1300s forming a unique town plan. Most of the rows were only 90 – 150cm wide. This meant just opening a door could bash a passer-by. This led to a law being passed that meant all door had to open inwards. There were 145 Rows all crammed tightly in to the city’s medieval walls. The rows were not numbered until 1803. The black painted squares with white numbers on can still be seen on some buildings today. The Rows survived reasonably well until WW2. The town was heavily bombed, damaging and destroying many buildings. After the war many more were torn down as they were considered to be ‘slums’. They were replaced by new housing estates.

Location

Norfolk Great Yarmouth

Period

Victorian (1837 - 1901)

Tags

house housing poor street people medieval (1066 - 1484) world war two (1939 - 1945)