The Norwich Yards were known for their smell. A rat-infested labyrinth of over 650 courtyards and narrow alleyways, the poorly built dwellings were thrown up in the 1800s, crammed in behind ancient buildings fronting the street. With no sewers or running water, life was hard and people were desperate. Desperate enough to sell their children.

Ellen Hardy was born in 1900 in Queen Caroline’s Yard off Oak Street, youngest of nine. When she was six her mother sold her to a travelling fair. Cocky and resilient, she learned to look after herself. When her fairground family died, Nell, as she was now known, returned to care for her mother. Local crime kingpin Barney Read hired her to speed round the city on a bike, collecting debts from his illegal gambling racket. When the law caught up with Barney, lively Nell got away. The Norwich Evening News headlines read ‘Police Raid on Betting Shop but Queen Bee Escapes.’  And from that day Nell was known as Queenie.

Queenie was never caught and there were more adventures to come. Intrigued? Visit a local bookshop and pick up Queenie of Norwich, entertainingly written by her great-granddaughter LK Wilde.

The slum Yards are mostly gone now, but see if you can find Whip and Nag Yard (Duke Street, NR3 1DL) and Wright’s Court (Elm Hill, NR3 1HQ). ‘After all, it’s not where you start that’s important, but where you end up,’ said Queenie, and she should know!