I've been puzzled by the pattern of tools being marked Frost, Dove St., Norwich, while none of the directory listings for James Frost give that address. So, decided to see if I could find additional listings to see if I could find any with a Dove Street address. No luck, though there are gaps in the directories I've been able to access. I'm including listings I've found, which I suspect cover two generations of James Frosts:
1830 James Frost, grocer, ironmonger, Magdalen Street
1839 James Frost, shopkeeper, Magdalen Street
1850 James Frost, grocer, Magdalen Street
1854 James Frost, shopkeeper, Magdalen Street
1856 James Frost, dealer in edge tools, St. Augustine's Gates
1864 James Frost, cutler, Magdalen Street
1869 James Frost, general tool dealer, St. John's Street, Maddermarket
1877 James Frost, saw maker, St. John's Street, Maddermarket
1879 James Frost, general tool dealer, St. John's Street, Maddermarket
1883 James Frost, dealer in joiner's tools, St. John's Street, Maddermarket
1888 James Frost, general tool dealer, St. John's Street, Maddermarket
1890 James Frost, tool warehouse, 3 St. John's Street, Maddermarket
1892 James Frost, general tool warehouse, St. John's Street, Maddermarket
1896 James Frost, general tool warehouse, 3 St. John's Street, Maddermarket
1901 James Frost, tool makers & dealers, 3 St. John's Street, Maddermarket
1904 Alfred Ernest Barrett, tool maker, see Frost & Barrett
Walter Barrett, tool maker, see Frost & Barrett
Frost & Barrett, English & American tool warehouse, 3 St. John's Street, Maddermarket
1912 Frost & Barrett, tool warehouse, 3 St. John's Street, Maddermarket
Still curious about the Dove Street mark, I next looked at some 19th century maps of Norwich. They show that St. John's Street, Maddermarket, is a one block-long street, terminating at Charing Cross/St. Andrews on the North and Pottergate Street on the South. Then, Dove Lane (or Dove Street, according to the directories), is essentially a continuation of St. John's Street beyond the latter intersection for one block, and terminates at the Market Place. Frost's premises were two doors from the Pottergate intersection, and it seems he decided to use a Dove Street address for his mark. Possibly because of Dove Street's visibility at the Market Place? Or possibly because it resulted in a simpler mark?
Hope this has been of some interest.
Don McConnell
Eureka Springs, AR