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Streets of Norwich – Hampshire Hog Yard

Part of my Streets of Norwich project….

Located along St. Swithin’s Alley is the remnants of Hampshire Hog Yard, which was accessed from behind the Hampshire Hog pub, from which it took its name.

This is one of the six remaining thatched properties in Norwich and its current name, rather sensibly, is the Thatched Cottage. It was built as a residential property in the seventeenth century and became a pub in the early nineteenth century. The licensee in the 1880s was John ‘Licker’ Pratt who fought Jem Mace in a two-hour long bare knuckles fight and I can’t imagine that was pretty. Pratt won the contest though and I suspect he wasn’t concerned about dealing with any problems that might arise in his pub after that. It remained as a pub until 1912 when the authorities were trying to reduce the number of licensed premises. The street line used to go up to the frontage of the house, so there wasn’t historically a garden area as there is today and George Plunkett has a photo of this from 1938.

The Norwich Preservation Trust acquired the building in 1971 and renovated it over the next few years. George Plunkett offers some additional information about the pub, noting:

“A yard at the rear bears the name of the Hampshire Hog, the sign of an adjacent tavern, being possibly the last house in England where the game of logats was played. The logats, resembling policemen’s truncheons, were to be tossed as near as possible to a wheel-shaped jack which had previously been thrown towards the opposite end of the ground; there was some similarity to the game of bowls. A set of logats is preserved in the Strangers Hall Museum.”

The sign, which isn’t immediately obvious to those walking by, to the former entrance to Hampshire Hog Yard. The yard was cleared just before the Second World War as part of the project to remove slum dwellings in the city, with no access now possible. In 1906, it was advertised that all the housing in the yard, and some besides, was for sale at public auction and, at that time, the properties here were unlikely to have been in a particularly good state of repair.

I’m not sure how old that sign is (someone has produced a guide to London street signs to help age them, but I’m not sure that any such facility exists in Norwich) but it must be at least eighty years old and is likely a fair chunk older than that.

As for why the Hampshire Hog got its name, I’m unsure. A pub with the same name in London has its origins as a nickname for members of the Royal Hampshire Regiment, rather than anything to do with pigs. Perhaps there’s some similar link here.

May 21, 2023
Gdansk Group Trip – Day 5 (Chleb i Wino)

My lunchtime restaurant of choice for the group was Chleb i Wino and I was even willing to sit outside as I suspected that it might be quite busy. To my delight, the outside area was full but they were able to find us a table for six of us indoors. At least that meant I wasn’t at risking of being attacked by a wasp or having cigarette smoke wafting over the table.

Not being a Belgian beer expert, I must admit to not having heard of the Grimbergen brewery, but I liked this idea of tasting three different beers from their range. The Dubbel (the darker one in the photo) was the pick of the bunch for me, a pleasant aftertaste and a beer that I’d willing order again. The other two in the tasters range were the Blonde and Blanche beers.

I have a separate video of the whole matter, more of which in a later post, but Bev managed to have another crisis. She was playing about with the beers and managed to jam one of the glasses into the wooden holder. The helpful server tried to free it, but eventually he had to return it all to the bar to fix the problem. He brought just the glass back, he clearly and correctly didn’t trust Bev not to jam it right back in to its wooden holder. I didn’t say anything of course, I let the server deal with the matter as he is clearly trained in handling difficult customers.

The Caesar salad, which doesn’t look great in this photo, but it tasted much better with plenty of chicken although it was lacking in any dressing. However, it sufficed my needs as it’s one of my favourite dishes and the ingredients seemed to be of a high quality.

Don’t ask.

Steve getting ready to list his beers on Untappd, which is one of the main reasons for going out if you ask me.

And they had a Banoffee dessert and this was much better than I had expected, loaded with toffee and banana, very delicious. Richard was particularly excited by this as he’s from the Eastbourne area and the dessert originated in Jevington in the 1970s, a location which we’ve walked on numerous occasions over the years. The dessert was served at the Hungry Monk in the village, but sadly that restaurant has now gone and has been turned into housing.

The restaurant wasn’t keen on splitting the bill, but it was busy and they just wanted us out because there was a queue of people waiting to get in, so Ross resolved the situation in a very mature manner. The service was always polite, even when Bev caused issues, with everything feel well managed and efficient. It’s a very well-reviewed outlet, and they have a couple of others in the city, with a variety of mostly Italian dishes and I’ll merrily visit here again.

May 19, 2023
Gdansk Group Trip – Day 5 (Museum of the Second World War)

This museum about the Second World War is of international importance and is sited here because Gdansk was where the conflict broke out. I’ve visited before and written at length about it, so I didn’t go along with the others but I felt it was absolutely worth them visiting. Susanna took longer than the three hours she had been allocated, but I was very forgiving of that because this is such an important museum. It is unfortunately quite an emotional experience, there’s no way of hiding the torment and hatred that took place in the 1930s and 1940s, but the story should never be forgotten.

May 19, 2023
Gdansk Group Trip – Day 4 (Labeerynt Bar Again)

I’ve written about this bar numerous times before, it’s one of the best craft beer locations in Gdansk. Although I think Richard thought the whole of Gdansk would be watching Eurovision, I was confident not many Polish bars would be too engaged with it, but I was delighted when we arrived and it wasn’t overly busy and there were absolutely no screens. I went for the Sinister Smoke from Palatum, a rich and smoky but smooth 8.3% imperial porter.

Richard had purchased a £25 bottle of something decadent and he was so excited, or perhaps drunk but it’s not for me to say, he smashed his glass and caused a spillage. Bev rushed to assist as she’s very pro-active and helpful like that.

Ross was less bothered in assisting if I’m being honest. I was busy recording the moment for this blog, so I unfortunately couldn’t help deal with the crisis.

And here’s the expensive drink that Richard acquired, which I must say wasn’t too bad at all as I thought I’d better taste test it for him. After an hour or so of gossiping, Richard and I had to get back to Gdynia, whilst the others had a short walk to their hotel. Bev won the prize for being my favourite member of the group with a series of lovely things she said. I’ll invite her on trips again in the future….

As an aside, after a brief worry that we had missed our last train, Richard and I only had a wait of two or three minutes before a delayed train took us back to Gdynia. It was busy but there was a congenial atmosphere on the train, which I have to say isn’t always the case with some of the late night trains in the UK. But, I digress, it was the end of another lovely day.

May 19, 2023
Gdansk Group Trip – Day 4 (Under Beer Again)

My second visit to Under Beer of the week, I won’t add much to what I’ve written numerous times before about this excellent bar.

One of the reasons I’ve returned here yet again, this time traipsing the whole group along, is that they have Funky Fluid cans in the fridges that I usually haven’t had before. Viola is part of their ice cream sour series, this time with blueberries, plums, raspberries, marshmallow and vanilla, an intriguing combination. It was very decent, but it didn’t quite have the creaminess and smoothness that some others in the series have.

However, the Triple Gelato Berries and Cream absolutely surprised and delighted me. It was creamy, rich in taste, fruity by smell, packed with flavours of blackcurrants, raspberries and some sweetness from the marshmallow. A beautiful beer and Bev was so surprised and delighted when she tried it that she excitedly ordered one to herself. Bev was slightly less surprised and delighted when it transpired that I had purchased the last one. I think I’ve done sufficiently well at selling Funky Fluid beers though, with Richard and Bev at least being keen to try them.

I wasn’t eating as I was still content with the hot dog and beer at the football, but Richard went for a cheese salad thing.

Ross enjoyed his pizza, but Bev wasn’t happy as her bagel didn’t have a proper hole in it. I did offer to create a hole if that would help, but apparently not. As usual here, the service was friendly, personable and engaging, with the team members managing to sort out the payments despite our group being quite demanding. I didn’t say anything of course, I had already paid and so I waited outside only slightly impatiently.

We didn’t linger for too long in the bar as they were showing Eurovision, and I didn’t much fancy sitting staring at the screens of that nonsense for very long. Richard would have probably sat there and watched it all night, but I was far too social for that, I felt the need to get to another bar so that we could discuss important matters in the world. Or matters important to me anyway. Another positive visit to this bar though, all rather lovely.

May 19, 2023
Gdansk Group Trip – Day 4 (Train from Gdynia Redłowo into Gdansk)

I had wondered how easy it would be to get back into Gdansk after watching the football in Gdynia, but fortunately it’s a short walk to Gdynia Redłowo which is part of the SKM line. The station was quite busy, but most people were heading back into Gdynia, meaning that the platform into Gdansk wasn’t too busy. The signage here is clear and explains how long it takes to get to the stations further along the line.

The police marching onto the station for reasons I didn’t uncover and thought best not to get too closely involved with. There was a little bit of a queue for the ticket machine and I’m always slightly nervous when there are ten people behind me in the queue and I’m using the machine I’m not used to. Fortunately, all went well, and I don’t think I held anyone up. Ticket prices were cheap, something like £1 or so.

It’s a bit clunky as a train, but it does the job well enough. It reminds of the Pacer trains that Northern were using until relatively recently.

Into Gdansk around an hour after we left the football ground. This is Gdansk’s railway station and, interestingly, it is similar to the railway station at Colmar station in France, these were two locations in the German Empire at the time of their construction in the late nineteenth century. Unusually for Poland, the renovations and modernisation to this railway station seem quite overdue as they’ve been doing them for years and I’m not sure when the final completion date is planned for. It is the biggest investment that PKP, the national rail provider, have yet made so I’m assuming it’ll be all rather impressive when it’s finished.

May 19, 2023
Gdansk Group Trip – Day 4 (Watching Football – Arka Gdynia vs Ruch Chorzów)

Ross and I thought that it would be a marvellous idea to go and watch the football whilst the others gossiped about what a good job I had done at leading the group. I think it’s important to give people that chance to chat about just how challenging they’d been and how I had reacted so positively to the problems they’d brought me. We didn’t know whether we could actually buy tickets at the ground, but thought it was fairly likely that this wouldn’t be a problem. It wasn’t, and after a twenty minute wait in the queue we had the bonus of a ticket seller who spoke English and guided us through the process. Fortunately we both had ID as they needed to see it and before long we had two tickets from the home stand.

A man with a flare, seemed a bit raucous to me.

Outside the stadium around thirty minutes before the kick off.

And into the seats which we managed to find without too many problems.

I went off to find food and drink as that seemed to be an important part of the proceedings to me. The beer was non-alcoholic, although that is seemingly not usually the only option and the hot dog was suitably tasty and they’d made something of an effort with the presentation.

We had toured Gdansk’s football ground earlier on in the week and they said they’d only filled it when Justin Timberlake performed there. Gdynia’s ground was similar and not anywhere near capacity, meaning it all felt quite spacious.

That sun was a little sub-optimal if I’m being honest.

There was a calm atmosphere at the stadium, although they allow smoking in the stands which I think is far from ideal, but there we go.

The players from Ruch Chorzów.

This block of fans were the most vocal and had huge amounts of energy to jump up and down throughout most of the game. They tired me out just watching them, but I was impressed at their enthusiasm.

This was the final score.

The sun started to disappear just as the match finished.

And that was the end of that, an interesting experience. There was a Polish man who spoke to me in the queue and fortunately spoke English. He asked politely why I was at a match in Gdynia and when I explained I thought it was positive to come and support the local team he was most enthusiastic and welcoming. He asked how long I had been in the area and I mentioned that I had arrived in Gdansk four days before. He jokingly replied that he wasn’t interested about Gdansk, just how long I’d been in Gdynia, and I forgot that there is rivalry between the two teams.

There were plenty of families at the ground and matters seemed calm, with plenty of police in the area. Watching football is to me similar to going to a supermarket when travelling, it helps build up a bit more of a picture about the local culture and traditions. All really rather lovely and an enjoyable way to spend the early evening. With that, we went to get a train into Gdansk to see how the others had coped without me.

May 19, 2023
Gdansk Group Trip – Day 4 (Train to Gdynia and Walk to See Arka Gdynia)

The train which took us from Sopot to Gdynia and the slightly muddled nature of the Polish ticketing system in the area became apparent once again when we bought tickets. I didn’t want to wait in the queue for the ticket machine and went to the counter to buy a ticket and the five of us who used that counter were charged the same price, whereas Bev who went to the neighbouring desk was charged a slightly cheaper rate. I have worked out now what is happening here, but the system probably does need a fair bit of simplification and it looks like that new contactless machines are being rolled out which will make things better.

The Joseph Conrad monument, although it’s not clear to me what actual links he has to Gdynia in particular. Not only does he have this monument, he has also the JD Wetherspoon pub in Lowestoft named after him, I can’t imagine which he would be most impressed and excited by. Conrad is one of the greatest Polish novelists and he specialised in seafaring stories, which is perhaps why Gdynia wanted to mark his contribution.

Bev paying homage to the rear of the monument.

Lots of concrete here and the rest of the group weren’t convinced that I said this was as lovely as the pier in Sopot that we hadn’t walked down. There were pleasant views over the nearby coast though and it’s a nice walk along the promenade back to Sopot.

The group then split up, with Ross and I going to watch the Arka Gdynia football match which was about a 40 minute walk away, whilst Richard went off to a nearby bar to tell Bev, Susanna and Steve about what he had been getting up to in Warsaw. I make no further comment.

May 18, 2023
Gdansk Group Trip – Day 4 (Ice Cream in Sopot, the Pier and Taking the Waters)

Susanna suggested interrupting our busy schedule to get an ice cream, and being the liberal and benevolent leader that I am, I decided that this wasn’t a bad idea. It’s important to be flexible when it comes to matters of food and craft beer.

A colourful little selection of ice creams, with a warm and welcoming service to go along with it.

Lemon tart ice cream, very delicious.

Sopot has been part of Poland since 1945 and it had been in the early twentieth century a growing tourist resort. Although this was impacted for some time from the 1930s onwards, it is regaining its reputation for being a popular place for visitors from across Poland and beyond. Property prices are high here, there are new hotels opening and it’s all rather on trend. It’s also the home of the Sopot International Song Festival, the second largest European music festival with only Eurovision being larger.

Taking the waters is still a popular pursuit because the area has a natural source of bromide spring water. There is a warning by the spring that because of the high salt level that those with hypertension, peptic ulcers, heart and kidney problems should seek medical advice before partaking with too much enthusiasm.

The 512 metre pier was first constructed in 1827 and is the longest wooden pier in Europe, but as we were limited for time and there was a charge for entry (from May to September anyway), this was as far as we got.

The merry group before we left Sopot for Gydnia to complete the tour of the three component parts of the Tricity.

May 18, 2023
Norwich – Food on Magdalen Street (Week 1 – The Street Cafe)

And the establishment of yet another series of posts, this time a new project of James and I which is to visit every food venue along Magdalen Street. It just has to be open at lunchtime, not be too decadent and we’ll also stretch into Anglia Square as well before it’s knocked down (or falls down of its own accord). There are quite a variety of options, it’ll be an interesting few weeks working down them.

We started here, the Street Cafe and Coffee Bar which takes up two shop units towards the far end of Magdalen Street away from the city centre.

There’s a little external dining area for those who want to sit and watch the traffic on Magdalen Street. I can’t imagine why, but I imagine it’s handy for the smokers. Anyway, after entry we were greeted and seated promptly, with the service always being friendly, personable and pro-active.

The drinks menu.

The breakfast menu.

The pricing for food isn’t cheap by any means. As a comparison, a mocha and full English breakfast in Harrods is £25.45 and it’s £19.05 here. It’s the highest pricing of any cafe that I can find in Norwich, but I have to note that it’s also one of the best reviewed so customers are clearly content. I couldn’t find any indication on the menu of where food items were sourced from, although I understand from reviews that items are locally sourced where possible.

There was a comfortable and inviting feel to the cafe so it seemed relaxed. It was also much bigger than I expected with another seating area in what was previously the next-door shop.

The cafe was nearly empty when we visited on a Wednesday lunchtime. Perhaps they get busy earlier on, but they shut at 14:00 so there’s no afternoon trade.

I don’t want to dwell on this for long, but the pricing of the soft drinks was a little high, although the alcoholic drinks were more moderate and I went for a Harrow Sparrow cyder from Aspall. This was fine, served at the appropriate temperature and in a clean glass. There’s also a waffle menu which has some sweet options including Snickers, Mars, Maltesers, Oreos, Biscoff, Cadbury and Kinder chocolate. These were reasonably priced at £7.95 and were served with sauces, creams and ice cream. The savoury waffles are a fair amount more expensive and although tempting, they came in pricier than at the Waffle House restaurant in Norwich.

I am maybe focusing a little too much here on price, and I’m conscious of the exceptional price increases that the hospitality industry is facing. However, it put much of the menu out of my lunch budget, hence why I went for a cheaper option. The pricing is still relevant to a large degree, the second best rated cafe I could find is the Kitchen in Sheringham, which is significantly cheaper. They’re also more expensive here than the Pigs restaurant, reported to be the best the breakfast in Norfolk, not that I’ve been there to comment on that. Apologies for the mentioning of price, as I’m sure the cafe wants to pay their staff fairly and do things properly, but it did feel something that stood out somewhat compared to other venues.

Given the price points, I settled for a more basic bacon roll. The quantity of bacon was generous and I was pleased that I didn’t have to remove too much fat, one of my personal idiosyncrasies which is no comment on the cafe. It was perfectly adequate, although I’d say unexceptional in terms of the depth of flavour. James wasn’t over enamoured with the quality of the sausage in his bap, although the rolls were fresh and the bacon was cooked well and at the appropriate temperature.

A slight limitation for me is that I’ve worked through so many bacon sandwiches at cafes and restaurants that I’m used to more ingredients being used such as the addition of a spicy sauce, the use of a chutney or something else that added to the depth of the flavour. The roll also wasn’t doing much for the taste or texture or the whole arrangement, but then again it’s a cafe and not some decadent upmarket restaurant. It’s also evident that this is how they’ve served it for a long time and it’s what people want, so I don’t wish to sound critical. But, it’s fair to say that I wasn’t taken away by the taste or flavours, it was just a bacon roll.

However, there’s clearly nothing wrong here as they’ve been trading since 1996 and as mentioned earlier, the reviews are very high and they’re one of the best rated cafes in the area. There’s no doubt a slight premium that very many customers are willing to pay for the quality of the service, the cleanliness of the venue and the reliability of the food. I don’t have much of a sweet tooth, but I could be tempted to try their sweet waffles if I’m need of something of a chocolate boost and I’ll post back here if I go and try one of those. And perhaps one day I might even throw financial caution to the wind and try one of their cooked breakfasts to see just how good it is.

May 17, 2023