We are located on the site of one of Norwich’s historic yards that were largely demolished as part of slum clearances during the 1930s.
Queen of Hungary Yard (QoHY) comprised of 18 dwellings, home to 34 people who lived in dank poverty whom were on December 1936 by the Assistant Medical Officer of Health condemned to leave for their demolition owed to ‘disrepair and sanitary defects’ that rendered the yard ‘unfit for human habitation’.
Though it cannot be disputed the condition of the yards were poor, out of necessity homes were made within them and from those homes communities grew, upon their demolition a vital character of Norwich was gradually dismantled.
Many of Norwich’s Yards remain today, once well trodden thoroughfare (for better or worse) that fed into the identity of the city, now all too often dead-ends.
We’re excited to continue learning more about the history of Norwich’s yards, and if anyone has any photographs or information more specifically about QoHY we would love to hear about it. So far the best images we could find (from George Plunkett’s incredible archive of photographs) conceals much of QoHY and we hope one day to find a clearer depiction.