NHER 55652 (Building record) - 77 Prince of Wales Road

March 2011. Building Survey.
Assessment of architectural and historical significance.
This building was constructed in around 1875, and by 1881 was the home and business of a piano tuner, Herbert Johnson. The building changed hands and until 1896 was occupied by a piano dealer, Frank Darken. In 1896 the building was purchased by Erminio Marchesi (father of Louis Marchesi), a Swiss emigrant who opened the first Swiss restaurant in Norwich. Erminio Marchesi died in 1936.
When it was completed the building had a cast-iron display window taking up the entire ground floor, and a high parapet to hide the gable-end of the roof. A central semicircular device on the parapet is a frame for the emblem of the Prince of Wales, for whom the new street was named.
The building was used for a variety of businesses from 1950 onwards, and the façade was significantly altered in the 1970s and again in 2006.
See report (S1) for furher details.
A. Cattermole (HES), 9 June 2011.