A city address once erased from maps has been reincarnated nearly a century later.

Toper's Square was a Victorian-era slum off Ber Street in Norwich which was home to 22 tenement buildings - housing vagrants, immigrants and the city's most desperate. 

A 'toper' was 1800s slang for a drunkard, and the square likely got its name from the Toper's Tavern which occupied a corner of the complex, one of dozens of public houses in the area.

Prospect House's newest office space has resurrected a centuries-old nameProspect House's newest office space has resurrected a centuries-old name (Image: Newsquest)

The tenements were owned by the Great Hospital but were sold in 1868 and left to fall into further disrepair.

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It was not until after the Second World War that Toper's Square and the surrounding slums were cleared as part of a city-wide scheme to move families into council estates such as Mile Cross, the first of its kind in England.

Slums around Ber Street were cleared as early as the 1920s to make space Slums around Ber Street were cleared as early as the 1920s to make space (Image: Newsquest)

Prospect House (red) overlayed on an 1884 map of the area where Toper's Square used to beProspect House (red) overlayed on an 1884 map of the area where Toper's Square used to be (Image: Norwich Heritage)

In the late 1960s, the cleared site was earmarked for development by Eastern Counties Newspapers which began work on Prospect House, completing it in 1970. 

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The Eastern Daily Press and Norwich Evening News - now owned by Newsquest - are still among the tenants at the site but the building is owned by insurance firm Alan Boswell Group, which recently built a new 2,000sqft office space in the former loading bay on the south side.

Prospect House was built during the late 1960sProspect House was built during the late 1960s (Image: Newsquest) Prospect House pictured in 2009Prospect House pictured in 2009 (Image: Newsquest)

Lee Boswell, marketing director, said: "As part of this development, we needed to find a new name for the space to avoid visitors going to the wrong entrance.

"Our interest was piqued by Toper's Square which we saw in an 1884 map of the city and decided to resurrect. 

"We're very excited to bring this new hi-spec office space to the heart of the city and to bring the square back to life."