Elm Hill

Elm Hill. . , What , Elm Hill is the loveliest old street in the City, and probably one of the best in the country. It is almost the same in appearance now as it was when most of the properties were last rebuilt, after the major fire of 1507. At that time it was home to prosperous merchants, craftsmen and civic dignitaries who built the fine jettied houses with pan-tile roofs. It also contains one of the few buildings to survive the fire, the Briton's Arms, as well as two medieval parish churches, historic riverside quays and part of the Norwich Blackfriars' complex. Along the street blue plaques tell the stories of the individual buildings and the people who lived in them., This charming cobbled street was saved from demolition during slum clearance in the 1920s. It is now a showpiece for Norwich and is much sought after for photography and filming. It takes its name from the Elm trees that once stood in the square to the north of the Britons Arms, replaced with planes after Dutch Elm Disease., When , . Before 1066: St Simon and St Jude is one of the oldest church foundations in the City. It was certainly here before the Norman Conquest, when the land belonged to a sister of the Anglo-Scandinavian Archbishop Stigand who is shown on the Bayeux tapestry. , . 24th August 1549: During Kett's Rebellion the rebels, using Elm Hill and its two churches as bases, fought the Earl of Warwick's troops here for the whole day before they were eventually overwhelmed. , . 1850s: The factory of Wright and Son, at what is now Wrights Court, made "plain and fancy fabrics" and were said to have employed 1,500 handloom weavers. This was one of several textile and shoe factories in Elm Hill., Who , Sir John Pettus (1550-1614) Lived on Elm Hill and is buried in a magnificent tomb at St Simon and St Jude parish church. He was involved in the early English settlement of America. American Pettus's were later prominent in the history of several states. , The Mercers Company was the trade organisation for dealers in fine cloths, in which Norwich specialised. The mark of the company appears on several nearby buildings, and the Pettus family, Augustine Steward, and other Elm Hill residents were Mercers. , William Bostling. Mayor of Norwich at the outbreak of the Civil War lived at what is now No 32. He was imprisoned for his loyalty to the Crown whilst Norwich elected a Parliamentarian city government.