Norway House

18th to 20th Century.

Inscription reads:
On this site stood Norway House and Norway Yard.
By the beginning of the 19th century this fine house set in its own large garden, had become a famous boarding academy
for young gentlemen. We know that in 1805 the school was run by Bidmead & Johnson, but by 1840 control was in the
hands of James Hessey. There is a story in Mary Hill’s “Hampstead in Light and Shade” of bread and apples being
smuggled in to the hungry pupils by a kindly maidservant.
The house and garden underwent further changes of use before being swept away in 1931 to make room for a garage.
At a point nearby coaches set-off for London when Hampstead was a country town.
Erected by the Hampstead Plaque Fund