This paper investigates locative inversion (LI) in English from three angles: (i) what are the contextual licensing requirements for this non-canonical word order, (ii) can LI license reflexive anaphors that are unbound in this construction, and (iii) does the presence of LI increase the level of surprise for the addressee? We examine the distribution of given and new information in LI with an introducing context and use different types of subjects to probe first into how natural informants find this information and second whether this increases how surprising informants find this information. We report on two experimental studies, one focusing on the contextual licensing requirements for LI, and one focusing on whether a surprise effect is more connected to linear order or expectations that are linked to the informants’ Common Ground (CG).