Walking. Gossip. Travel.

Author: admin

  • Long Stratton – St. Michael’s Church

    Long Stratton – St. Michael’s Church

    Long Stratton was once formed of two villages, the parish of St. Michael’s in the north and St. Mary’s in the south. The church here is mostly from the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, likely replacing an earlier building located on the same site. The heritage of the church, which was originally known as St. Michael’s and All Saints, is though recognised as it’s Grade I listed.

    There was also another nearby church (and very nearby, it’s about a two minute walk away), St. Peter’s, but this was demolished in 1520 after it fell into disuse. The parish of St. Peter had merged with St. Michael under the reign of King Henry VIII and its location is visible in the above photo. Quite why there were ever two churches so close, I’m not entirely sure.

    The tower is contemporary with the rest of the church, but is a relatively short affair. There was once more of a village that surrounded the church, but much of this has been lost and the manor house was demolished in the late sixteenth century.

    The chancel end of the church, with this section being built in 1487, under the supervision of the rector John Cowall.

    There’s quite a chunky buttress at the chancel end of the church.

    Despite the tower being quite low, the church still doesn’t feel entirely out of proportion. I do wonder though if there were ever plans to build higher than this.

    Unfortunately, I’ve had a run of bad luck in getting into the churches run by the Long Stratton and Pilgrim Team Ministry, and it seems so have some others. The situation isn’t ideal and hopefully the buildings will be opened up again when this current health crisis goes away.

    A few churches seem to allow this in their graveyards and personally I’m not entirely convinced that it’s appropriate so near to graves. Anyway, it’s a lovely little church in what feels quite a remote countryside location, although in reality it’s just a short walk into the town of Long Stratton.

  • Long Stratton – Oh My Cod!

    Long Stratton – Oh My Cod!

    I haven’t been to the metropolis of Long Stratton in a fair while, so my morning meander today was to see some churches in that area for a change. And, also, to visit another chip shop as I haven’t been to one this week. It’s quite a zestful chip shop name, but they had a web-site and I got a positive vibe from them. The shop is also open for long hours, I suspect the owners here must be pretty hard working.

    My first impressions were very positive as they accept cards, including Amex, and the welcome was wholesome and I felt it was genuine. The staff member was friendly, although slightly befuddled by the complexity of the order made by the customer after me, but all went well. All was clean and felt safe, with the food options being quite wide, including fish, pizza, chicken, burgers and pies. I wonder whether a chip shop can really achieve quality in all those areas, but at least it gives plenty of choice.

    I opted for the medium chips and a deep fried battered Mars bar, which came to a very reasonable price of £3.20. The quality here was good, the Mars bar was prepared without any undue delay and that was the high quality gooey mess that I expected, very decadent. The chips were also of a decent quality, and I’ve decided that if I need to put ketchup on then they aren’t top notch. These chips remained sauce free, so all was well there.

    This is another one of my favourite chip shops, although having written that I’ve only been once, but I’d go again. I liked the service, this was the sort of staff member who I think would remember customers if they returned a few times, he was that sort of engaging person. Keenly priced, they accept cards and the quality is high. All rather lovely.

  • Norwich – Brewery Tap

    Norwich – Brewery Tap

    This is another pub that I’ve visited many times, but never made the effort to write about, but since it’s in the Good Beer Guide and I’m trying to visit every pub in it (I accept that’s a forlorn task), now seems an appropriate time. It’s part of the Fat Cat estate in Norwich, but it’s got a more modern and contemporary feel to the whole arrangement.

    There was a small queue when we arrived, but it was efficiently managed and the staff were fully in control of the situation. We had to wait whilst Nathan waved at all his friends in the pub beer garden. Perhaps this is how the late Duke of Edinburgh felt when the Queen was waving to her admirers whilst he stood behind waiting to get in for the food and drink. Anyway, after that faffing about, we were seated and it transpired we were seated underneath a heater. I liked this a lot.

    I mentioned yesterday that the Artichoke has pretty much the best selection of beer in Norwich, but the Brewery Tap really isn’t far behind. The highlights of the beer options for me were the Extra Brownie Pints from Brew York and the Raspberry Gose from Yonder Brewing. But, the selection of beers was well balanced and there were some exciting little numbers in the “coming up” section of the on-line menu. Ordering was via staff coming to the table, and that all worked pretty efficiently, with the beer knowledge being excellent. The pub deserves to be full with such beer, staff friendliness and staff knowledge, which it was throughout most of the night.

    Nathan spent much of the evening pressing the little button to turn the heater on, partly due to pressure from me and partly due to pressure from another table. That heater did though make things much easier throughout the evening, as inevitably it got quite chilly when it got dark and heading towards closing time.

    The food menus. I’ve never eaten food here before (other than crisps, although I think I’ve eaten crisps at just about every pub in Norwich), but food seemed to be going to a lot of tables, so it felt almost impolite not to join in (or that was my excuse on this occasion).

    Dr. Pepper is one of the best soft drinks going as far as I’m concerned, so the pulled pork soaked in that nectar from the Gods seemed a decent choice. And, it worked beautifully, the portion size was filling and the pulled pork was tender and had a rich taste. The chips themselves weren’t overly exciting, they were just, well, chips, but the topping more than made up for that. Some of the food prices, such as the burgers, are a little punchy, but it was served hot and tasted fine. The food was served until 21:00 and the staff helpfully went around telling customers when the last orders were, an opportunity we took advantage of.

    Another rather lovely visit and I like the thought that has gone into the food, the service and the beer selection. Incidentally, I note that CAMRA say “you’ll find a working set of traffic lights, which indicate whether the bar is open or not”, which I’ve never noticed before, but I’ll look out for when customers are allowed to visit the bar and actually sit inside.

  • King’s Lynn – Globe Hotel

    King’s Lynn – Globe Hotel

    Well, this is nice, some normality has resumed as ‘my office’ has returned to a pub beer garden. I’d rather be inside a pub if I’m being honest, but this is a perfectly decent compromise whilst the weather isn’t too bad. And it’s nearly May when pubs can fully open up again, or at least, they can hopefully fully open up again.

    The Globe Hotel is the JD Wetherspoons in King’s Lynn and it’s the only pub that I’m aware of at the moment in the town that’s open with a spacious beer garden. I don’t normally head this far down the beer garden, but there’s a pleasant view of the River Great Ouse for those sitting in this area.

    The view from the other direction and the pub has a very long beer garden and I was surprised that it wasn’t a little busier in the pub. I had rather expected there to be a staff member on the door managing the number of customers, but the beer garden can hold so many people that there was no queueing required.

    My drink arrived promptly and I was very sensible in just opting for a soft drink. A concern then occurred to me, which was that it was bloody freezing with the wind coming in off from the river. Also, a herd of seagulls were decimating the area and swooping down on tables, managing to smash two glasses during the process of lifting food from tables which were no longer occupied. This meant I slightly regretted ordering food, since I was in the middle of  Force 9 gale and was in danger of a pterodactyl attacking me. A staff member mentioned that customers have had steaks taken before, which doesn’t sound an ideal situation if I’m being honest.

    When my food arrived, the staff member helpfully carried it over to a quieter, and much warmer, part of the beer garden after I commented about my poor choice of table selection. The seagulls didn’t bother this section of the beer garden and it was also something of a sun trap, away from the hurricane area nearer to the river. It’s just a Wetherspoons burger meal, so I needn’t dwell on that for too long, but it was all fine and entirely met my expectations. Keenly priced, at the appropriate temperature and a reliable option.

    Service was all very efficient, the pub garden was kept clean (mostly due to the staff, although the seagulls were helping with food removal) and life feels just that bit more normal again. Long may this normality continue……

  • Norwich – Artichoke Pub

    Norwich – Artichoke Pub

    The Artichoke is the pub that I visit most in Norwich, although I’ve never made the effort to write a post about it on here. Since pubs have re-opened now, or at the least the outside of them have, I thought I’d go to my favourite Norwich licensed premises, and it’s where I stayed nearly the entire day. Thanks to Brian, Gordon, Nathan, Megan and James for keeping me company during the day…….

    Anyway, the background to this pub is that it was quite generic in its offerings in previous years and perhaps in danger of being closed down permanently and for it to become another casualty of the pub trade. It was taken over by an independent operator, Kevin Tweedy of the Golden Triangle Brewery, and the pub has been transformed over the last few years into a venue that is busy, well managed and has an excellent beer range.

    Ordering at the moment is via either the Artichoke app or by asking a staff member directly, with payment being by card only with no cash accepted. The app perhaps needs some work as there were some technical issues with it, but if nothing else it was a useful way of seeing the beer list. The pub wasn’t as busy as I thought it’d be during the day, although it was often nearly at capacity, but never quite reached it for very long. The weather was tolerable throughout the day, but got rather colder later on and my feet started to feel just a little chilly. What did remain for the day though was the welcoming atmosphere, this is a very non-threatening location.

    The beer selection in the Artichoke is what I’d consider to be the best in Norwich, not reliant on a few generic and dull options, but instead offering an ever changing selection of beers. The outstanding ones from my visit yesterday were:

    Big Idjit from Dugges Bryggeri

    Trium Faba from Three Hills Brewing

    Must Kuld Chilli & Chocolate from Pohjala

    Yuzu Juniper G&T Raw from Three Hills Brewing

    As an assortment of beers to have available, I think that’s pretty impressive. The staff here are very knowledgeable about the beers, some of the best drinks knowledge that I’ve seen in a pub. That’s some enthusiasm and good training there, with the staff being able to make suitable recommendations when someone just asks for a lager. As for downsides, I’m not sure that there really are any, not least anything which is sufficiently annoying to comment on. Perhaps the only minor problem at the moment is that the beer garden seems to allow smoking throughout the entire area, which isn’t ideal at all for non-smokers. But, it’s not long until the inside of pubs can open again.

    These photos are from pre-lockdown, a reminder of what it was like to sit inside pubs.

    These are a random selection of the cask and keg lists that the pub has had over recent years, but there’s also a long list of cans and bottles in addition to this. Food isn’t always offered in the pub, beyond Pipers Crisps (although these are very moreish) and nuts, but on some weeknights and on Sunday afternoons there is the XO Kitchen which offers a range of small plate options.

    Anyway, as a pub, I very much recommend the Artichoke and I think it’s lifted the entire area. And, it’s also listed in the Good Beer Guide.

  • Norwich History by Parish : St. Michael at Thorn 1/2

    Norwich History by Parish : St. Michael at Thorn 1/2

    And a new little project that Jonathan and I are undertaking because this lockdown went on for longer than we had anticipated, so we had time to do this. It’s a bit niche (our project I mean, not the lockdown), I’ll accept that, but there we go. Effectively, it’s walking around Norwich, ancient parish by ancient parish and seeing what is there now compared to a map from the 1880s (and the 1920s). There’s a PDF of these boundaries to provide some extra background to this whole project.

    This week’s meander was around the parish of St. Michael at Thorn and this is one that has been badly hit by a combination of war damage and what I would consider to be quite incompetent city planning. The church was damaged during the Second World War, but it could have been replaced or the tower saved. Instead, the site was tarmaced over and turned into a car park. Housing and pubs on the other side of Thorn Lane were torn down in the 1960s and replaced with a small number of commercial units, but mostly more car parks. There are relatively few old buildings surviving on either side of Ber Street and the entire area between Surrey Road (sometimes now all referred to as Surrey Street) and Ber Street has been flattened to build car parks. All of the yards were removed and no parish boundary markers remain today that we could find.

    Such is the devastation caused by the demolition, not one single listed building seems to remain in this parish. However, there is some good news, there is another part of St. Michael at Thorn parish which is near to the castle, separated by St. John Baptist Timberhill parish, so that’s where we will visit next week.

    The centre of this parish is (or was) St. Michael at Thorn parish church, located on Thorn Lane. Or, as some local wit has amended it to here, Thorne Lane. The church was originally known as St. Michael on the Hill, but also as St. Michael Spinas, which is the Latin word for thorns. So, they’ve named a church as it had a load of thorn bushes in the churchyard, which were also still there in nineteenth century accounts.

    This is the corner of Rouen Road and Thorn Lane, the edge of the parish. Only this frontage is located within the parish, but this was all Paradise Place which was an area of much denser housing. It retains the same name today, but there’s more greenery and this is some of the limited amount of new property that has been constructed in this parish over recent decades.

    Thorn Lane used to carry on to the left and go down to King Street through the old brewery, but post-war redevelopments have seen that link removed. There’s a photo from around 1910 of Kahler and Sons bakers, which was pretty much in the centre of my photo above.

    This map from 100 years ago is hard for anyone today to be able to place into the current landscape, but the top section (on the left) of Thorn Lane is still there, and King Street is still there on the right of the map. Rouen Road ploughs through the middle of the map today, roughly where the ‘A’ in Thorn Lane is located on the map.

    This is today the entrance to the EDP’s car park, but it was once where Bacon’s Square was located, named after Nicholas Bacon’s house which was located nearby. Just to the right of this, George Plunkett took a photo in 1937 (whilst standing on Thorn Street) of what was then Middle Square.

    A rather faded sign which notes the church that was once here.

    This is a planning mistake, and quite a sizeable one in my view. George Plunkett shows what was here in the 1930s, which was St. Michael at Thorn church from which this parish takes its name.

    There was likely a church here from the late Saxon period, but it was rebuilt in the medieval period and a steeple added in 1430 following another major rebuilding effort.

    There was another substantial renovation which took place in the Victorian period, with this plan dating from 1870. It could be argued that this didn’t go entirely to plan, as the tower fell down on 3 November 1886 which wasn’t at all ideal, especially as it took some of the nave with it. The cost of this restoration, which restored the tower to its previous appearance with the exception of the pinnacles and a parapet, cost £500 and the church struggled to raise this. I have some sadness here to think of how much people struggled to raise this money for their church, which they viewed as important and wanted to be successful. They did well though, the damage was repaired within one year of the tower collapse and the service at its reopening was very well attended.

    The nave and chancel of the church was destroyed during air raids during the Second World War, but the tower survived. There was talk of rebuilding the church in 1948 and costings were drawn up, but this was at a time when there were enough churches in Norwich and there wasn’t enough support for its reconstruction. Just down the road, St. Julian’s Church had also been damaged and it was decided that only one church needed saving. Indeed, the door from St. Michael’s was used as part of that reconstruction, so at least something remains. The Church of England had the power though to do more here, they were quick to demand locals pay money that they didn’t have to repair the church in times of need not that many decades before, but they abandoned it with perhaps undue haste. Anyway, George Swain took a photo of the doorway in 1952, just before it was moved.

    As for the reuse of this site, I think it was idiocy to turn this entire area into a car park. It could have been turned into a play park as happened at St. Paul’s church in the city, something that was a useful amenity to the local population. It was decided to save the towers at St. Bartholomew’s Church in Heigham and St Benedict’s Church on the street of the same name, so that could have been done here.

    Located over the road from the church, likely where the residential home is now located on the corner, was a grand house. Blomefield notes:

    “The house over against the church with a large garden, of 3 or 4 acres thereto belonging was anciently John Corbet’s; then Edward Southwell’s, after that Alderman Tho. Grene’s; after that Sir Nicholas Bacon’s city house; and during the time Bishop Reynold’s was repairing the palace, he dwelt there; it was a grand house, but is now converted into small tenements.”

    Located next to the church, and bordering onto the parish of St. John the Baptist, was the Windmill pub and then two doors down from that was the Exhibition Tavern. The Windmill pub had traded as a licensed premises from at least 1760, but the building was damaged during the Second World War and the City Corporation compulsorily purchased it in 1958. They then demolished it in 1970, but George Plunkett has a photo of Windmill Alley which he took from the churchyard in 1937 and that shows the rear of the pub. The Exhibition Tavern traded from the 1860s, but was closed in the early twentieth century when it was decided nationally to reduce the number of licensed premises.

    For anyone who doubts the number of pubs in Victorian Norwich, this is what existed around St. Michael’s church in the 1870s, the PHs being public houses and the Tavs being Taverns. All I can say is what a time to be alive…..

    I don’t know why there’s a Christmas tree stuck on the side of this building in April, but this is located opposite the end of Thorn Lane.

    A sculpture which was installed here in 1999, which I’ve never entirely understood. Given that, I’ll just quote what Norwich City Council say about it:

    “The railings combine forms which reflect the tree-trunks and leaves with mechanically inspired springs and zigzag forms. They were created both for and with the residents of Brooke Place responsible for modelling the roundels in clay which were then cast in bronze and fixed to the railings.”

    Brooke Place stands today in the vicinity of where Brooke Yard was once located, although none of the streetlines match up.

    This is Brooke Place today, with the access road to it (on the John Lewis side) once being the route of Berry’s Court.

    Some street art of St. Julian of Norwich.

    This is Surrey Grove, a route that has been here for a few hundred years, although it was once a tree lined route on either side. It’s all a bit less salubrious today.

    The parish reaches Surrey Street, but on the left hand-side of Surrey Grove the only building that is part of the parish is now called the Surrey Kitchen & Bar, or what I still consider to be the Surrey Tavern. This has been a pub since at least the 1850s, and despite some regular brief periods of closure over the last couple of decades, it is continuing to trade.

    This ugly building (I think it’s ugly anyway….) is Norfolk Tower and is one of the tallest in Norwich, being the home of BBC Radio Norfolk between 1980 and 2003, when the corporation decided it needed some of the most prestigious office space in Norwich in the new Forum. The parish incorporated some of this building, but then cut back in, so it didn’t go far down Surrey Road (or Surrey Street for those who prefer that).

    Behind Norfolk Tower is another car park, but this was once where a large baptist church built in 1854 with seats for 1,400 people was located. George Plunkett took a photo of the building in 1979, but it was demolished in 1986. Some of the church might just have projected into the building on the left-hand side, although that’s another car park, this time for John Lewis.

    A closed footpath behind John Lewis, although I’m not sure where it normally leads to, unless it’s into the shop. I didn’t investigate given the signage.

    The wall here by the car park was pretty much the oldest thing remaining in this area since the council have allowed everything else to be demolished.

    This was once Glasswells Furniture Store, which opened in 1984. The building was later used as a temporary lending library following the disastrous fire which destroyed Norwich central library in August 1994.

    The path which runs behind the properties facing onto Ber Street, connecting Horns Lane with Thorn Lane. Incidentally, there used to be a Twitters Court located just by here, that would have been a popular location today if it had survived. Although I suppose people would have kept pinching the street sign, so perhaps it’s best not to be there any more.

    Just to the right, there was a Victorian urinal, handy given how many pubs were in this vicinity. And just by where that sign is today, that would have been the entrance to the Rose Tavern, which was open from the 1850s to around 1910.

    Around ten metres further down the road, this is where the Bartholomew Tavern would have stood, a pub that was open from the 1850s until the 1960s. Here’s a photo of it from the 1930s, with the entrance to Bartholomew Street being about where that tree is in the above photo. There’s an interesting dip in the road in that 1930s photo, I hadn’t noticed that before in any images.

    I like it when councils keep street lines when redeveloping an area, it anchors the area to the past even if the buildings are nearly all changed. And, I’ve never paid much attention to Garden Street, but after some checking on a dual map, it’s in exactly the same place as it once was when there was housing in the area. Indeed, the area in front of this sign was once a corner pub, the Carpenters’ Arms. This means that there were three pubs within literally throwing distance.

    There’s more information about the Carpenters’ Arms, including a photo, at Norfolk Pubs. The pub closed in 1963, so that the council could build a lovely new car park. One thing you can’t criticise Norwich City Council for is their determination to ensure there is always somewhere for people to park their car in Norwich.

    This is Garden Street today and I can see that an effort has been made to bring some light commercial zoning into the area. But, this was perfectly good housing and I think it should have remained for that usage. Instead, it’s mostly now all car park.

    That’s another parish done, and there’s surprisingly little history still remaining here, much less than I had expected for an area so close to the city centre. Next week, the other part of the parish which I hope is more history and less car park.

  • Caister-on-Sea – Beauchamp Lifeboat Memorial

    Caister-on-Sea – Beauchamp Lifeboat Memorial

    This monument, which is located in the East and West Caister Village Cemetery was listed in 2018 and it marks the events of 13 November 1901. This was one of the darkest days for the RNLI in their history, with nine crew members losing their lives when trying to aid a vessel in distress. The Beauchamp lifeboat had been brought into service in 1892, named after the family of one of the main donors, Sir Reginald Proctor Beauchamp. During its period of operation it had been launched 81 times, and after the tragedy it was salvaged and sent to Great Yarmouth for repair. However, the local men said that they didn’t want to use the boat in future, which was agreed and the boat never saw service again. Within five weeks though, a new crew had been formed, a truly brave endeavour.

    This memorial was unveiled on Tuesday 30 June 1903 by Colonel Diver, who was then the Mayor of Great Yarmouth. Public subscription had raised over £12,000, a huge sum of money for the time, with the sculpture being designed and executed by J Whitehead & Sons of 74, Rochester Row in Westminster, London. The memorial stands twenty feet high and the base is made from Carrara marble with the top section showing an anchor, a lifebuoy, a boat’s rudder, broken oars and ropes.

    The replacement lifeboat had also arrived in Caister a few weeks before, enabling the crew to keep on assisting shipping in the area.

    An early image of the monument, although the railings have since been replaced.

    And the verse that was sung after the tragedy, a reminder that they ‘Never Turn Back’.

    WHAT is this we have done?

    Why, our duty, and nothing more—

    Our sons will do it again, as their fathers have done before. It is not for the sake of bragging ; we are sailors, one and all— They signalled peril out yonder, and we—we answered the call;

    For in face of the storm, in face of the wind, in face of the rising flood, We Caister men never turn back. For why?

    It is not in the blood.

    Aye, the tempest was raging awful, and the foam flew high on the sands, And the wind and the tide were mocking the weakness of willing hands ;

    But we launched the boat for all that (God help the poor children and wives!)

    For the noblest duty of man is the salvage of human lives. Then out on the hungry breakers, where the skies were inky black, our boat seemed swallowed by darkness—she went and she never turned back;

    And we waited, and watched, and waited all night in the riving foam, Till the dawn broke on orphaned children, and the wreck of the widowed home.

    Aye, sir, I am an old man, and in speaking the tears will start;

    But them words is the voice of Nature—they spring up straight from the heart— And I says them again, as our Caister men would say with their last breath,

    Though the flare on the sands out yonder might light them on to death

    For in face of the storm, in face of the wind, in face of the rising flood, Our Caister men never turn back—for why ?

    It is not in the blood!

    I have fought in a hundred fights when battling with the sea, They are gone, the young and strong ones, but to live in our memory;

    Here they sleep by the wind-swept shore to the dirge of the moaning waves, And the Country’s tears are the blossoms let fall on the Caister graves.

    They say that the sea is cruel; they may be right or wrong— It is not for us to think—we are bound to be hale and strong. *Aye, sir, I’ve paid my tribute, and I humbly bows my head;

    But I keep a good lookout to seaward, for the sake of them that is dead. Aye, I’m proud of our Caister manhood, I’m proud of such acts of love, When I think of the names recorded in the Log Book up above;

    And I’m proud of the words you quote, in the name of myself and crew, But not because I spoke them, but because them words is true!

    For in face of the storm, in face of the wind, in face of the rising flood, We Caister men never turn back. For why?

    It is not in the blood!

  • Caister-on-Sea – Caister Volunteer Lifeboat Service

    Caister-on-Sea – Caister Volunteer Lifeboat Service

    It was a breezy morning on the coastline today and it’s also been a notorious area over the centuries for shipping. As early as 1794, the Caister Beach Company established an operation here to salvage wrecked ships and to assist any seaman who needed help. This was part a charitable effort and part an attempt to make money from the salvage, but it was a useful service. A lifeboat was introduced here in 1845 and it was taken over by the RNLI in 1857.

    Controversy hit in 1969, when the RNLI decided that they’d close down the lifeboat station here as their new craft at Great Yarmouth was considered powerful enough to cover this part of the coast as well. This wasn’t a decision that was universally supported, so the Caister Men decided that they’d just set up their own independent lifeboat service. When I say “wasn’t universally supported”, there were a lot of angry people. The fishermen of Great Yarmouth made a formal complaint to the Queen, and indeed numerous other people, and Buckingham Palace got drawn into the debate, albeit saying that it wasn’t something that they could intervene on.

    Much of the history of this lifeboat station is included on this useful sign (clicking on the image should make it a readable size). The most surprising paragraph to me was:

    “The loss of life along the East Anglia Coast was a national disgrace. With 14 major sandbanks, the terrible weather and the poor maintenance of the vessels all taking their toll on shipping. In one 10 year period, 9991 ships were recorded as lost between the Humber and Southwold, a 62 mile stretch of sea. This averages 1000 ships per year, or 20 ships a week”.

    This is the new lifeboat station and there are today two boats, the Fred Dyble II which is an inshore lifeboat, and the Bernard Matthews II which is an offshore lifeboat.

    This is the older lifeboat station, from the side.

    And from the front. It would have been from here that James Haylett (1825-1907) would have stood watching on 13 November 1901, when a ship was in trouble on the sandbanks. James was a retired lifeboatman who had served the lifeboats for a generation and his two sons and grandson were on the RNLI boat, the Beauchamp, that was being despatched to help. It was an enormous struggle to get the lifeboat into the sea and the conditions were so bad that the Beauchamp hit the beach and capsized, trapping many of the men. Nine men died that night from the Caister team, including two of James’s sons, his son-in-law and his grandson.

    In the inquest into the tragedy, Haylett said when asked if the lifeboatmen might have been returning, “they would never give up the ship. If they had to keep at it ’til now, they would have sailed about until daylight to help her. Going back is against the rules when we see distress signals like that”. This was reported as “never turn back” which has become a well known saying within the lifeboat service and Caister has a pub with that name.

    The lifeboat’s web-site notes that they have saved 392 lives, which is some considerable achievement. They’ve been proudly supported by the community, or at least, by nearly all the community. Some idiot tried to set fire to their building in March 2020, but fortunately a member of crew looking for a lost dog spotted the culprits and no major damage was done. It is possible, during more normal times, to go inside the sheds to see the boats and some historic exhibits.

  • Caister-on-Sea – Brilliant Fish and Chips

    Caister-on-Sea – Brilliant Fish and Chips

    Usually the word ‘brilliant’ or similar often seems to be a lie in food venue names, there’s something more reliable in ‘Dave’s chips‘ which just seems more down to earth. But, there was a lot going for this fish and chip shop, primarily that it’s the best rated in Caister-on-Sea and there is plenty of competition for that in this holiday location (not that there are many holiday makers here at the moment). It was also the chip shop that had the longest queue outside and since I’m British and really quite like queueing (it provides that sense of order that I like) I opted for this one.

    I think that it’s cash only, but the whole arrangement inside the shop felt like someone sensible had arranged it. It was clear where to stand, where to wait, where to pay, where to get salt and so on, avoiding the need for me to stand looking awkward in the wrong part of the shop. I applaud intelligent design, not least because I get slightly annoyed when idiots try and take charge of this sort of arrangement.

    The service was friendly, engaging and welcoming, all of which were managed despite them being busy. I had rushed along here at 11:32, giving just enough time for the shop to get themselves ready having opened at 11:30. I don’t want the awkwardness of trying to get in a door that isn’t yet open, so I like to give them a bit more time as it feels a little demanding turning up the minute that they open. Not that this was a problem here, half of the east coast had descended on the shop, so they were fully in action despite the relatively early hour.

    I went for a small battered sausage and medium chips, which came to the agreeable price of £3.20. I forgot to ask for scraps, but the lovely staff member asked if I wanted any, a pro-active style of service that I was inwardly delighted by. Fortunately, my order was simple and was prepared immediately, others with their more decadent orders had to wait outside for them to be prepared.

    Moving onto the quality of this little meal, I was entirely delighted. The portion size was too big, but that’s not a complaint, although it did take me some time to get through all the chips. They were also incredibly moreish, which was fortunate as I had so many to get through. I had tomato ketchup (I had purloined this from McDonald’s, I wasn’t splashing money about buying it), but the chips didn’t really need it. I’m not sure that I’ve had such good chips for a very long time, they were a delight alongside the crispy texture of the scraps. The sausage was generous in size, evenly battered and tasted as expected.

    I have absolutely no complaints here, I thought my £3.20 was very well spent. Nothing wrong with the sausage, but the chips were the star of this little show for me. I think I’d like to get fish from here as well, but there were seagulls circling overhead whilst I was walking down the road, which are an ever present danger in these places. However, when it’s warmer I can see me taking myself here again. I don’t have a chip shop of the year award, but if I did, this would be leading it this year.

    For those who don’t like fish and chips, the shop doesn’t judge, as they’ve also got a burger menu with quite a choice, as well as selling chicken and pies. It’s not the largest place (no pun intended), so this menu size is quite ambitious, but the reviews suggest that they’ve been getting it right.

    Very lovely.

  • Fishley – St. Mary’s Church

    Fishley – St. Mary’s Church

    The entrance to St. Mary’s Church in Fishley is really quite grand, so much so that I thought I might be walking up a private drive. Although, the village of Fishley is gone, abandoned many centuries ago, so I wasn’t in danger of disturbing anyone. Upton Church is also just a couple of fields away, making this a rather curious survivor in the landscape.

    My first impressions of this church were entirely positive, a well looked after churchyard and an interesting round tower. The environment is rural, the countryside was quiet and I was hoping that there might be some heritage to look at.

    Unfortunately, the church was locked, and they’ve even bolted the porch door in case anyone might want to sit inside and shelter. There was no keyholder information and I would say at first sight that this was a church just for locals, but there aren’t really any. There was a sign saying that the church is open on Fridays though, so there is at least some access for those who plan ahead. It would also be unfair not to note the considerable work of Ivan Barnard over recent years, and I’ll quote Norfolk Heritage:

    “In 2006, undaunted, churchwarden Ivan Barnard set out with his colleagues to restore the site to its former glory by tackling a task at a time, starting one morning by simply mending the church gates. From there, he progressed to showcasing the building through the Open Church Project and various local exhibitions and festivals, raising the total required sum of £110,000 through sponsorship, donations and six grant giving bodies, including English Heritage. The works ran for five years and were completed in 2011 with the repair of the tower, amidst costly episodes of vandalism and even opposition from the Parochial Church Council (PCC).”

    Given this problem with vandalism, the desire to keep the building locked does justify their decision somewhat, although goodness knows what the Parochial Church Council were annoyed about. This Ivan Barnard seems like a brave and courageous fighter for heritage and it’s clear he’s put the church in a much better position than it was in before.

    The round tower is from the Norman period, with the top section being from the sixteenth century.

    Although the tower was left relatively untouched, the rest of the church was heavily renovated in 1861, as part of the national wave of Victorian renovations. Some surviving sections remain though, mostly dating back to around the thirteenth century.

    There’s an air of permanence to this church, despite how its congregation has long gone. A coffin lid made of purbeck marble was found in the churchyard in recent years, which it is believed dates from around 1250 to 1350, likely moved outside during the Victorian renovations. There’s more on this story in the EDP.

    The chancel end of the church, which looks like it was quite heavily restored in 1861.

    Is that a monkey puzzle tree in the churchyard? I have little idea, but it’s unusual. The churchyard is all well maintained and tidy, with a couple of benches in it, perhaps as a compromise for the porch being inaccessible. There were no very old graves that I could find (from before 1800) and one set of family graves appears to have been touched up recently, which is unusual, but more of that in another post.