Norwich's "shameful street".

Alright?

Warning: Today’s newsletter is rude.

I know (from your wonderful feedback) that some of you read these newsletters out to your kids. Don’t read this one.

In fact, I’d go one step further and shield your screen from the nosy gaze of anyone around you. You don’t want them to think you’re reading smut. Or maybe you do? In which case, it’s your lucky day.

In this slightly shorter newsletter, we’re visiting a Norwich street that was described in Latin as turpis vicus - the shameful street. Brace yourself.

Btw, we’ve announced September’s Norwich Pub Tour. It’s happening in two weeks exactly. Want to come? Book your tickets by clicking this button:

Gropec**t Lane.

See, I warned you.

Believe it or not, this was the original name of Opie Street, just off Castle Meadow. It says less about the vulgarity of the people in the 13th, 14th and 15th centuries and more about the severity of the word in medieval times.

You see, c**t wasn’t always as rude as it is today. You wouldn’t have written it in a cover letter to a prospective employer, but it didn’t invoke the sort of reaction it does today. Chaucer used it. It was probably in the same realm as crap. Or wanker. Putting it in a street name would’ve felt brazen, but not outrageous.

In fact, most towns and cities across England had one, including (but not limited to) Worcester, York, Southampton, Oxford, Glastonbury and at least five in London (including Threadneedle Street, which is probably the most famous of the lot).

As with most street names, it was named after the thing that happens most frequently down it. In the case of Gropec**t Lane, that meant prostitution.

(Btw, I’m not starring out the word to spare you from the thought of it (it’s in your head now - the damage is already done) but because sometimes filthy words can trigger email spam filters.)

Prostitution in medieval England.

Medieval England had a pretty liberal attitude towards prostitution compared to today’s standards, at least where the law was concerned.

It would’ve been a tolerated, regulated part of Norwich’s economy, taxed by the authorities and governed by purpose-built laws, including preventing the detention of women against their will (fair enough) and prohibiting married women or nuns from working in brothels (bit harsh?).

And because it was an accepted part of society, it wasn’t hidden away, either. Norwich’s Castle was where it was all happening, so it made sense that the brothels were in the mix.

Still, there’s a reason Opie Street was called the shameful street. Prostitution wasn’t celebrated. It was considered a necessary evil, like council tax, or having to own a Clubcard to get cheaper Tesco meal deals.

Why was it changed?

At some point in the 1500s, people decided it wasn’t civilised. The last recorded example of a Gropec**t Lane was in 1561.

Today, Norwich’s version is called Opie Street, named after Amelia Opie (1769-1853).

Opie was a Norwich-born author and abolitionist. Hers was the first of 187,000 names presented to the British Parliament on a petition from women to stop slavery, so she was pretty cool.

At the age of 18, she also wrote a novel called Dangers of Coquetry, which is essentially a cautionary tale about flirting. The protagonist, Louisa, is a serial flirt whose husband dies in a duel to defend her honour (the shock of which also kills their unborn child). Blimey.

So, in terms of finding a namesake who embodies the opposite principles of the street’s former function, you can’t really do much better than Amelia.

Okay, I’m off. Now, when you walk past this street, you can regale your friends and family with the story of what it used to be called.

I find my elderly relatives enjoy it the most.

See you next week,

Secret Norwich.