The strange stories behind these 5 Norwich street names

1. Rampant Horse Street

Rampant Horse Street is named after an inn that closed in 1892 (Image: Jonathan Hooton)

An inn called The Rampant Horse, which was named after a 1287 horse market held at this location, gave its name to the street.

There is a horse mosaic on the floor of a doorway outside what used to be the Debenhams department store.

This is the only thing left from the inn, which closed in 1892.

2. Davey Place

Davey Place was named after a councilman who caused outrage with misplaced comments (Image: Google maps)

This street was built as a pedestrian thoroughfare in 1813.

During the construction of the street, radical baptist alderman Jonathan Davey caused chaos in the city when he announced he wanted to "put a hole in the king's head".

Instead of being a call for civil war, Davey was attempting to demolish an inn blocking the way to the street which was coincidentally named The King's Head.

3. Trafford Road

This road was named after the Trafford family, who hailed from a village that was known as Trafford in Manchester. 

The family lived in Trafford Hall, which was located near Manchester United football stadium of the same name.

If you fancy a drink while in the area, the Trafford Arms pub is open and also takes its name from the aristocratic Mancunian family.

4. Bethel Street

Bethel Street in Norwich was home to one of Britain's oldest asylums (Image: Google)

Named after Bethel hospital, one of the first mental health facilities created in the country, this road has an unfortunate history.

The institution was built in 1713 by Mary Chapman and her husband who wanted to establish a building to house those they labelled as 'lunatics'. 

In 1960, Bethel had 122 patients and the asylum was the oldest surviving hospital in the country specifically founded for the care of the mentally ill.

The institution eventually closed in 1995 and is now a residential building in Norwich.

5. Quintain Mews Close

Quintain Mews Place is named after a swivelling jousting target used for practice (Image: Archant © 2013)

Quintain Mews Close, near Sussex Place in the centre of Norwich, has an interesting name hailing back to the medieval era.

Quintain Mews was once the site of a jousting acre, named after the 'quintain' - a swivelling target used while knights were practicing before a jousting tournament.

The jousting acre was said to have had some royal visitors. In 1340, King Edward III, Queen Philippa and their son Prince Edward are believed to have visited Quintain Mews Close to enjoy a day of tournaments.