Norwich once had an extensive tram network during the early twentieth century. The tram running along King Street past Dragon Hall began at Trowse station and ended in the city centre near the old GPO building.
This line closed after 1918, replaced by a new route along Bracondale and Queens Road, which itself ceased operation in 1935 when the Eastern Counties Bus Company took over all services.
Michael’s creative piece imagines a tram in 1903, accompanied by an illustration produced by artist Jim Kavanagh.
Along with many other cities around the UK, the City Council thought it a good idea to have a cheap and comprehensive system of public transport as the city expanded. The tram that ran along King Street past Dragon Hall started at Trowse station (on the main line between Norwich and Cambridge) and finished in the city centre near the old GPO building.
The line was discontinued after 1918 and a new line was built running along Bracondale and Queens Road. Along with all other tram lines, this one too ceased operation in 1935 when the Eastern Counties Bus Company took over all the routes.
Tilly the tram
Look at Tilly the little Tram, look at her come and go
All the way up King Street from Trowse to the GPO
She’s very modern and very smart and very good to see
Just what you’d expect from a Norwich tram in nineteen hundred and three
All the men on their way to work, they all jump on with a hop
And all the girls from the factories and the ladies going to shop
And sometimes if the conductor is busy going upstairs
The cheeky boys and girls jump on without having to pay their fares
There’s always lots of folks about as she trundles down the track
And Tilly likes to think of all who’ve lived there from way back
There’s Dragon Hall – it’s very old and home to many people
Squashed into their little homes under St. Peter’s steeple
Tilly’s such a faithful tram and will never let you down
But sometimes she wonders what it would be like to maybe leave the town
‘If I could be just like a bird and soar into the sky
If only’ – Tilly thinks to herself ‘- if only I could FLY’
Between the Lines
What untold stories lie buried in the archives of Norwich’s past? Which voices once echoed along King Street and through the yards surrounding Dragon Hall? What chapters of city life have slipped from memory, waiting to be brought to life again for others to experience and enjoy?
Blending historical research with creative practice, the Story Makers spent 12 weeks exploring archival sources and transforming fragments from the past into imaginative, personal and finely crafted pieces. Here, you are invited to encounter what they found: fragments lifted from washing lines and Victorian dresses; river‑soaked poetry; imagined pub conversations; great floods; and cramped yards lost to time and change. Explore their work in our digital collection.
Story Makers is made possible by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
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