Fishergate This area may have been the first settlement that can be thought of as 'Norwich', in its original forms NORTHWIC and NORVIC. Archaeological finds in Fishergate go back to the 8th century AD, and a coin of King Athelstan (reigned 924-939), which refers to NORVIC, is likely to have been minted in a defended area on the north bank of the River Wensum. In the 19th century a property here was known as 'Mint Yard' and may have commemorated the ancient mint.