The tenth, and final, venue on our Sunday day out was the Acle Social Club, located at the Acle War Memorial Recreation Centre which is an interestingly named building. Again, I won’t give a history to this as it’s not a traditional pub arrangement.
I approached the bar to check if we could come in with our CAMRA card as this is a members’ only club. I’d add I didn’t expect they’d take the card, it’s listed on CAMRA’s website that we could do that, which the friendly team member said was fine.
There were two real ales available from Oakham Ales and I was impressed that both options were beers that I hadn’t had. I opted for the Hare and the Hedgehog, but both looked tempting.
And I was able to get chocolate here, and not just Maltesers, but the treat bag size. The pricing was firmly towards the lower end of the scale which surprised and delighted me. The beer was well kept, light and fruity, certainly one of the better tasting ones of the day.
I really liked this venue, it was comfortable, modern and I liked the variety of seating heights. It wasn’t very busy, other than for one quite vibrant group, but it was atmospheric and welcoming. There was a large board showing what food is served during the day and the prices for this were also very reasonable.
By the time we left, I was starting to think that I’d join the club if it was just a little bit nearer to me. Annual memberships are just £10 and it aims to offer a comfortable bar and dining area for those who are using the hall which is located in. Perhaps they could get a bar billiards table, then I could visit it every year on the away game….. Anyway, this was one of the highlights of the day and well done to clubs like this that sell both chocolate and crisps.
The ninth pub of the day was Branford’s Restaurant and Bar, with Jen requesting that I mention that they could do with more lighting in the car park. The venue is located within the Old Hall Hotel, but they are separately managed.
The entrance is around the back via the hotel. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect here, and I have no idea what was in the marquee, but the signage was at least clear. I can’t write much about the history of this venue, it’s not clear to me how old the building is and I can’t find out much online.
It was a wider real ale selection than I had expected with four local beers available. The service was friendly and welcoming, with the atmosphere being less of a restaurant type venue than I had expected.
The interior is spacious and there’s another dining area to add to this whole arrangement.
I couldn’t work out whether there were any heritage elements from an older building or this was all relatively new. It didn’t help that we visited the venue when it was dark outside.
I quite fancied chocolate by this point, but instead I made do with Mini Cheddars with my Adnams Broadside. This was well kept, malty and at the appropriate slightly chilled temperature.
For anyone interested, there’s quite a large menu available. The restaurant and bar are all well reviewed on-line and it felt quite busy for a Sunday evening.
I’m still not sure that I entirely understand this venue, it appears to be primarily an independently run restaurant which also has a bar, with the hotel element being run by a sister company. Either way, the beer selection was decent, the real ale was well kept and there was a friendly welcome. All really rather lovely.
The eighth pub on our list was the Lichfield Arms in Great Yarmouth, which isn’t a venue that I’ve ever heard of before. CAMRA notes that the landlord has been here for thirty years, which is an impressive stint and he’s delivered a really rather lovely community driven pub.
The pub was built here in the 1880s, originally defined as being in Gorleston, although I think it’s fair to say that this area is now considered to be part of Great Yarmouth. It was originally a Steward & Patteson pub before it became part of the Watney Mann estate, but it’s now a free house.
Initially this was just a beer house (these venues could sell beer and were often just a front room, but they couldn’t sell spirits or wines), but in 1903, the Yarmouth Independent reported:
“The next and last application was by Mr. C. J Wiltshire on behalf of Messrs. Steward and Patteson for the removal of the full license of the Little White Lion, King-street, to the Lichfield Arms beer-house, Lichfield road. This was, he said, the third time of asking, and Messrs. Steward and Patteson were prepared to surrender an off beer-house in High-street. Over 80 houses had been put up in the district since the last application, and it was greatly extending. There was a dearth of public-houses in the area, as was shown by the drink map. With respect to what had been said at previous Licensing Sessions, Mr. Bottle would be glad to know that two doctors had now gone to live in the district. (Laughter.)
William Pembroke, of the Lichfield Arms, the nominal applicant, said he had a great demand for spirits, especially since there had been so much sickness, and he had been twice called up at night lately.
Mr. S. Rivett, architect, said there were 441 houses on the Lichfield estate, and 85 had been built since 1901. The nearest full licensed house was 490 yards away.
Mr. Bottle—This application comes before us with a better grace than any other we have heard. There should be a full licensed house in a district with a population of 2,000 people. At present it hasn’t one full license.
Mr Wiltshire—The need for a full license there has been fully demonstrated.
Evidence of the service of the statutory notices in respect of this and all the applications was given by the Warrant Officer (Sergt. W. Moore).”
The request was granted by the licensing committee, as long as the High Street licence was surrendered. It was though the third time that the venue had requested this.
There was one real ale available, the Edith Cavell from Wolf Brewery and that’s not a bad one to select.
The beer was well kept, tasted as expected and was, once again, expertly food paired. For anyone interested, and I’m not sure who will be, but those crisps pack quite a mustardy punch.
There is one long bar and the decoration is traditional and comfortable. There’s a screen showing sports and although the customers were quite lively during our visit, we felt entirely welcome. The venue is all quite under-stated in a very positive way and it’s primarily wet led, although they occasionally do serve food for special events.
Those signs above the toilet doors look like they’ve been there for about forty years, but I’m all for heritage and keeping things in pubs rather than constant renovation and modernisation.
I liked this pub, it felt a welcoming venue, it’s clearly another place that’s at the heart of its community and if it was the landlord of 30 years’ standing that served us, he’s doing remarkably well to keep the pub going.
Our seventh pub of the day, where Jen parked the car in a bush, was the Rumbold Arms in Great Yarmouth.
The pub first opened in the 1830s and it went through a succession of brewery owners, Steward & Patteson, Watney Mann, the Unique Pub Company and then Enterprise Inns got hold of it, although it’s fortunately now a free house.
It did once have a bowling green, although it’s not clear where from the 1880s image, but there is a large space behind the pub and I assume that it was once there.
It might not have the prettiest view at the front over the road, but just down there is the very competently built bridge that my friend Liam helped put together….
This was the first pub that we visited during the day which didn’t have any real ale. The service was friendly and there was a laid back atmosphere in the venue. It’s very much a wet led venue and there are numerous events such as live music, bingo and karaoke.
But they did have Caffreys, which is a little unusual to see. It’s a quirky little stout, creamy and with a taste of coffee.
This is another of those pubs that is important to the community and it was clean and well managed. I’ve also only just realised after looking at the photos that the pub had Roast Beef Monster Munch behind the bar and I missed an opportunity there…. It’s a shame that there’s no real ale available, but variety is the spice of life and all that…
I had thought I’d wittered on about this pub before, which is the JD Wetherspoon outlet in Gorleston, the William Adams. However, it appears that I haven’t and so I’ve had to cobble together some older photos for this post, this external photo is from 2023. This was the sixth pub of the day that Roy, Jen and I visited.
A 2018 photo of the interior, but it’s still pretty similar. My bag is a little more decrepit now though. Unfortunately, I don’t have carpet photos which is a bit of an omission, but I suspect that we’ll all cope.
The pub, which opened in March 2018, takes its name from the celebrated local lifesaver William Adams, born in Gorleston in 1864 and long remembered as the “Hero of Gorleston” for saving around 140 people from drowning, mainly while working as a bathing hut attendant and swimming instructor.
The site itself has a rather older religious and commercial history: it was previously occupied by Methodist chapels, the first dating from about 1807 and a rebuilt chapel of 1844, the latter later suffering war damage before the site was eventually cleared and used by GT Motors. There was some complexity about when JD Wetherspoon came to build the pub as two skeletons from the Victorian period were discovered in a crypt from the former church, which were reburied nearby.
Back to the visit that Roy, Jen and I made at the weekend, there were six real ales available and the prices were all towards the lower end of the scale.
Chicken done in three ways, classy as ever of me. The beer is the Noble Pair from Harviestoun Brewery and it’s not what I expected from what was named as a brown ale. However, there were some toffee and caramel flavours, all quite heavy, but still agreeable.
As it’s a JD Wetherspoon venue, I felt the need to take a look at some of the reviews. Things must be going well here, their average on Google reviews is very much towards the highest of the JD Wetherspoon outlets.
“I saw one man try and open a door for some fresh air and then a staff member came and rather aggressively shut it”.
I like a bit of passive aggressive behaviour when customers do things like prop doors open.
“Unfortunately I didn’t get to try the food. Me and my family along with our family dog sat outside, just about to order food when the shift leader came out and told us to leave because of our dog. We questioned the manager who was very rude and he wouldn’t give his name saying I can report him to whoever I like. I’ve been to many weatherspoons up and down the country and never been told to leave. My dog is not dangerous she is very old and wanted to rest”.
There’s always one dog review, as if the team members are going to break the pub’s national policy as the dog was old…..
“Came here today with my son and a friend all ate something different a few hours later we all had a bad stomach and vomited”.
I think the “all ate something different” might be a hint that it’s not from the food….
“Don’t sell alcohol for breakfast. Very disappointed, spoilt my holiday”.
Quite…
Anyway, this was the cheapest pub of the day, it had the best real ale selection of the day and was a handy stop for food.
The fifth pub in our expedition, and the first one that I’ve visited before, was the Short Blue in Gorleston. Nathan and I visited most of the pubs in Gorleston a few years ago and this one was a disappointment, but I’m pleased to say that matters were much better this time.
This is a quirky venue in terms of its history, its external feel looks a little like one of the Victorian pubs that have closed, but this is really positive that it’s still going. It first opened in the 1860s and it traded until 1975 when it was sold by Watney Mann and it lost its licence in 1978. That would have normally been the end and it would have become a nice house, but, fortunately it was reopened in 1987 and has traded happily since then.
The pub’s website has a longer history of the reason for the name of the pub, but in short:
“In 1795 a young Scrymgeour Hewett left his native Fifeshire to look after some property in Dagenham for an aunt, where he met, courted and married Sarah Whennel—the daughter of a Barking fishing boat owner. This was to be his introduction to fishing, eventually taking over his father-in-law’s two boats—the small beginning of the Short Blue Fleet.”
From August 1900, there is an early story of tragedy with a tram car in Gorleston that involved the former landlord John Robert Bass. The local newspaper, the Norwich Argus, reported at the time:
“DEATH IN A TRAM-CAR AT GORLESTON
An inquest was held at Gorleston on Tuesday on the body of John Robert Bass, aged about 60, of 50, Springfield-road, who died in a tram-car.
The widow stated that about 6 on Monday morning deceased ate a good breakfast, and left to catch a tram. He appeared in his usual health, and had no occasion to hurry. Generally he had good health, but during the winter suffered from a cough, and he had not had any medical treatment since the spring for this cough.
John Ward, a tram conductor, said that on Monday, just after he got a car out of the terminus, he saw deceased coming along slowly, and he took a seat in the car. Witness told deceased he had got into the wrong car, and he replied, “All right, old chap.” When he moved the car again he saw deceased sitting in it as if asleep. He shook him, but he did not speak. Another tram employee came and looked at deceased, and said he was dead. He was in quite a natural position in the corner of the car with a box of matches in his hand, and his pipe lay on the floor beneath his feet.
Dr Tipple said he was called to deceased, and found him reclining on the seat in the tramcar, and just dead. He had ascertained that he had been under the care of Dr Read for cardiac asthma. Dr Read had found that deceased had a fatty heart, and witness had no doubt death was due to heart failure.
A verdict of “Natural causes” was returned.
Bass was employed by Mr Richards, boat-builder, of Lowestoft. He was formerly a smack-owner, and afterwards became landlord of the Short Blue Tavern at Gorleston, eventually relinquishing this to work at his trade as a shipwright.”
There was just one real ale, Old Speckled Hen, which was slightly disappointing, but there seems to be some Greene King tie going on here. The service was though really friendly, there was a welcoming atmosphere here and a laid-back environment.
The crisps helped the excitement of the beer. The venue serves food from 12:00 until 15:30 on Sundays and we had arrived just towards the end of service, although we weren’t looking to eat here. Well, other than crisps. I liked that the team member mentioned when we entered that they had finished serving, that saved an awkward conversation if we had wanted to eat.
The menus for anyone who might be interested, although they’re mostly only open during lunchtimes. Sometimes less is more though.
Not wishing to moan, and it’s nothing to do with me really, but I’m not keen on these witty toilet door names, for those who don’t speak English they’re a challenge, it would be nice if they could put the symbol on as well.
Anyway, I’m glad that we came to this pub as I felt very welcome, it was clean and the staff were all personable and keen to help. It’s only a small bar, but there was at least a real ale available and they have an excellent reputation for food.
Our fourth pub of the day was the Mariners Compass public house in Gorleston. The pub was opened in 1934 as the Middleton Arms and it was operated over the years by Steward & Patteson, then Watney Mann, Brent Walker and then Phoenix Inns. In 2007, it was renamed as the Mariners Compass. I don’t know the reason for the name change, there was a pub called the Mariners Compass in Great Yarmouth long ago, but it does seem an odd thing to change.
That section of the building to the left is now a dog grooming parlour but it was formerly part of the pub. I suspect that it was originally a fish store as this was mentioned in a 1938 newspaper article.
I also quite liked this newspaper article from February 1935 and this also references that the brewery sacrificed the Earl Grey pub to get a licence for the Middleton Arms.
“That only eleven people were charged with drunkenness in Yarmouth last year” was revealed at the annual licensing meeting on Friday. The Chief Constable, Mr. S. W. Smith, in his annual report, stated that the Monastery alehouse in Middlegate Street, referred to March as redundant, was closed at the end of last year. The licence of the Earl Grey, High Street, Gorleston, was transferred to a new house, the Middleton Arms, Middleton Road, on December 18th, and the licence of the Lucknow Tavern, St. Peter’s Road, was surrendered on the same date. The Duke of York beerhouse, George Street, was closed last February, making three houses dispensed with in 1934. The Anchor of Hope, St. Peter’s Road, and Victoria Tavern, Victoria Road, were redundant, and from a structural standpoint should be referred. Brewers and owners of licensed property were anxious to meet the suggestions of the licensing justices in acquiring property for remodelling premises not redundant, to give better living accommodation.”
The real ale selection is visible in this photo, but it was evident they were laying some things out for a raffle so they politely asked us to order from the bar in the other room. And, it’s fair to say that I hadn’t expected the pub to be so busy when we arrived, it was full and that’s rather positive to see. We didn’t realise that this was the time for the weekly meat raffle and there was music and other entertainment, so our timing wasn’t ideal.
Ordering at the bar took a little while, but the bar staff were friendly and were working as fast as they could. I wasn’t entirely sure why they were selling such large bags of crisps and big bars of chocolate, but I do approve.
I ordered half of the Woodforde’s Wherry and expected a real ale, but it was served as a keg version. I didn’t even know that they did this, but Roy confirmed that they did, and I decided that I preferred this keg to the cask version. It was very reasonably priced at £1.90 for a half, which I think was the cheapest of the day other than for JD Wetherspoon.
It was quieter outside, although it wasn’t the most salubrious of drinking locations.
It was really rather lovely to see a pub that was so busy and so evidently serving its local community so well. They were fund raising and it was bringing the community together, this was very much the sort of place that it would be possible to find new friends if moving to the area. It’s not quite what I expected, but the welcome felt authentic, the atmosphere was welcoming and I was surprised and delighted.
Third on our list of pubs to visit in the day was the Cliff Hotel in Gorleston as Jen wanted to overheat us in the extreme afternoon heat.
The hotel was first constructed here in 1897 at a cost of £50,000, but it burnt down in 1915 which was a little sub-optimal, but it was soon rebuilt. The fire was reported in the national press and it was noted that “for fully two hours the hotel was blazing like a gigantic torch and the reflection could be seen 25 miles away.”
Back to 1899, they were advertising 25 shilling weekend stays where you received Saturday dinner to Monday breakfast, with a pick-up from Great Yarmouth railway station if requested in advance. The hotel noted that they were “luxuriously furnished with every modern improvement, with magnificent sea and harbour views” which all sounds rather nice.
The signage to the bar area was clear and it all looked well decorated and welcoming. Note that the photo is quite washed out because of how sunny it was, but this is the restaurant area.
There were a couple of real ales and I went for half a pint of the Woodforde’s Wherry which was reasonably priced.
The keg options and that Salt beer is at least acceptable.
The Wherry was well kept, light and tasted as expected.
And the view over Gorleston. The table we sat at was a little dirty, but the team members were getting around cleaning them and they were all friendly and personable. There was a bit of a sea breeze and the views were quite impressive over the beach and sea.
The external terrace has been done out really rather nicely and there’s plenty of space. Most people were sitting inside as it was hotter than the centre of the sun outside, but I didn’t say anything.
It was still too early to eat (well, without needing to eat again) but the prices looked very reasonable and the food being served looked entirely agreeable.
I had thought that this venue might be a little too decadent for me, but it was accessible, informal and everything was clearly signed. There must have been a significant investment that has been made here into the hotel building generally, it all seemed in good order. I’d come here again for a drink, it was really all quite pleasant.
Second of the pubs we visited on a sunny Sunday was the Rampant Horse in Freethorpe. This has been a licensed premises since the 1830s and was once part of the Steward & Patteson empire before being taken over by Watney Mann. It then had some perhaps bad fortune by being taken over by Brent Walker, then Pubmaster and then by Punch Taverns, but I suspect that it’s now a free house once again.
The pub was advertised for sale in 1885 and the auction particulars mentioned that it had stables, yards, a covered skittle ground and a large club room. GP in the above Ordnance Survey map from the 1880s means guide post and it’s evident that there was more space available to the pub then. Today, they have only a small car park and those yards have long since been sold off.
There was one real ale available which was London Pride and that pump clip arrangement does look a little as though I’ve done it. The beer was £2.15 for a half, which was one of the cheapest of the day, although Roy paid £4.60 for a pint of the same beer so something was going wrong with the pricing.
I really loved this venue, it was a traditional country pub which didn’t feel formulaic or fake. The welcome was friendly, the surroundings were a little dark but it was all clean and comfortable. These are the kind of pubs that get refurbished and lose quite a lot of their charm, I liked this place just as it was.
I don’t have much else to add about the history, but I liked this newspaper article from July 1887 to mark Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee. It is something of a different world today….
“The picturesque village of Freethorpe was full of life and rejoicing on Tuesday, the 21st inst., when in commemoration of the Queen’s Jubilee the working men, their wives, and children, were provided with feast and amusement by the farmers and other friends. At three o’clock all the men and boys employed on the farms of Mr. George England were provided with an excellent dinner at the Rampant Horse, together with a shilling, and an ounce of tobacco each, and their half-day’s pay. The labourers’ wives received a present of grocery, and in common with all the women of this parish and Wickhampton, were treated to a substantial tea at 4.30 p.m., in one of Mr. Gilbert’s barns. Mr. Wales had taken all his men and their wives for a day’s excursion to Yarmouth, where he kindly found them a good dinner and tea. Mr. H. C. B. Gilbert’s men had their treat with his other men at Bradestone on Thursday. The farmers of Wickhampton—Messrs. Kerry and J. Riches—provided a good dinner for their men at the Brickmakers’ Arms, when all the other men of the parish—excepting those who had “gone south” for haymaking, and who each had half-a-crown sent them—joined them through the kindness of Mr. J. W. Rose and the Rector. The children and young people generally met at two o’clock in the cricket field, kindly lent for the day, together with the barn adjoining, by Mr. Gilbert, a good tea at 5.30 p.m. affording an agreeable interval between the afternoon and evening sports. During the afternoon the Wickhampton boys beat the Freethorpe boys at cricket, and “Punch and Judy” and various games took up the time; whilst after tea a regular course of sports for prizes came on. Races, tugs of war, in which the boys and girls, men, and women, took part, afforded considerable fun. Hearty cheers were given for the Queen, Mr. England, the Rector, and other friends, and a pleasant day was brought to a close about 9.30 o’clock.”
The beer was well kept and in good order, so there might have only been a choice of one, but that was sufficient for me and it wasn’t from Greene King.
There was food being served and the smell from the kitchen was very appealing from whatever they were cooking. The prices were again reasonable and it was tempting to get something, but it was rather early and Jen had already acquired me a chicken bake from Greggs. There were a couple of tables in for Sunday lunch and although it wasn’t busy, it felt as if the pub had a decent atmosphere.
This is certainly a pub that must be a challenge to make work in the current economic climate, so I’m very impressed that they’ve got the venue open, it’s serving real ale and welcoming customers in. All really rather lovely and this was one of my favourite pubs of the day.
Whilst looking into the history of the Goat at Strumpshaw, I found this list of pubs that were being sold when St. George’s Brewery closed in 1864 and its assets were auctioned off. It’s an interesting little snapshot of what the brewery owned at the time.
And here’s a text transcription of the above:
“NORWICH AND NORFOLK. THE ST. GEORGE’S BREWERY,
With Dwelling-houses, Stabling, Malt-houses, and 40 PUBLIC-HOUSES, With Accommodation Lands, in the City of Norwich and County of Norfolk.
MESSRS. Spelman are favored with instructions from the Executors of Charles Weston, Esq., deceased, to Sell by Auction, on Thursday, August 18th, 1864, at Eleven for Twelve o’clock, at the Norfolk Hotel, Norwich.
The above Old-Established BREWERY and PUBLIC-HOUSES, which will be offered in One Lot, but should no acceptable bidding be made for the entirety, the whole of the Property will be immediately put up in the following lots:—
IN THE CITY OF NORWICH.
LOT 1 { The Brewery ………. } St. George’s { Crown …………… }
2 Jolly Butchers ………. St. John’s Sepulchre 3 Windmill …………… St. Michael at Thorn 4 Lion and Castle …….. St. John’s Timberhill 5 Peacock …………… St. Stephen’s 6 Prince of Orange …… St. Julian’s 7 Crown …………….. St. Benedict’s
8 Queen of Hungary …… St. Margaret’s 9 Builder’s Arms …….. St. Lawrence 10 Three Turks ………. Ditto 11 Blue Bell ………… St. Gregory 12 Boy and Cup (late) … St. John’s Maddermarket 13 Fleece …………… St. Andrew’s 14 Crown ……………. St. Peter Hungate 15 Jolly Hatters …….. St. James’ 16 Duke of Marlboro’ …. St. Edmund’s 17 Catherine Wheel …… St. Augustine’s 18 Angel ……………. St. Martin’s at Oak 19 Bess of Bedlam ……. Ditto 20 Cherry Tree ………. St. George’s Colegate 21 Hen and Chickens ….. St. Mary’s 22 Red Lion …………. St. Michael’s Coslany 23 Moon and Stars ……. Ditto 24 Royal Oak ………… Heigham 25 Half Moon ………… Ditto 26 Duke of York ……… Thorpe Hamlet
IN THE COUNTY OF NORFOLK.
27 Buck …………….. Thorpe Village 28 Ram ……………… Brundall 29 Goat …………….. Strumpshaw 30 King’s Head ………. St. Faith’s 31 Crown ……………. Ditto 32 Chequers …………. Hainford 33 Bird in Hand ……… Tasburgh 34 White Horse ………. Ashwellthorpe 35 Leather Bottle ……. Wymondham 36 Goat …………….. Ditto 37 Cross Keys ……….. Ditto 38 Cherry Tree ………. Seething 39 Folly ……………. Claxton 40 Cross Keys ……….. Mattishall”
