Walking. Gossip. Travel.

Category: North Walsham

North Walsham Pub Day (Revisit) – Peasants’ Tavern

Julian and I were beyond excited to once again visit North Norfolk’s leading transportation hub and mark my words, it won’t be long before North Walsham International Airport is opened. Imagine the possibilities of that, direct access from Las Vegas to its Norfolk equivalent, I can just see the A380 landing now.

Anyway, back in April 2023, Julian and I visited every pub in North Walsham, including an attempt to visit the Market Tavern which was a bit shut. I noted at the time:

“We were told in the Hop In that the landlord died which is why it closed, but hopefully it can re-open again in the future as a pub as the venue seems entirely viable financially.”

Well, I’m pleased to note that Charlie (from the King’s Head in Norwich) and team have taken over the premises and it is now thriving once again. Julian and I decided that we needed to visit Charlie and also complete our North Walsham pubs.

We spent a few hours at the pub which is located just off the main square. The pub re-opened in April 2014 and had previously been known as the Carpenter’s Arms and the Market Tavern. The latter pub name was introduced by Pete Callaway in 2013, when he opened the pub with a focus on pie & mash, and that name survived until he sadly passed away and the pub closed. I can find nearly nothing about this building, although it’s listed and was originally constructed in the early nineteenth century.

And always a delight to be in the company of the hugely talented Charlie. And Julian of course. He must be nearly 30 now and he’s lost none of his enthusiasm, I hope that I’m still as energetic at his age.

A nicely balanced selection of real ales from a range of local breweries. It was no surprise to discover that they were all impeccably kept.

Julian spent the day drinking mostly this, which surprised everyone, but Charlie was too professional to question it as there’s a drink for everyone. I questioned it though as I’m not professional. There are a few non-alcoholic options available, something of a must in pubs now. Unless they’re really badly run pubs which think that Stella, Madri and Budweiser are the height of sophistication, but I mustn’t be judgemental….

Spot on with the crisp selection, I’m always sceptical about pubs that just have Walkers. The beer on the right is the Rheingold from Derby Brewing Company, which was hoppy and rustic, whilst the one on the left is the Winter Stout from Panther, a creamy number with coffee and chocolate flavours.

They have a craft beer fridge and I noted with some excitement the Raspberry Dark Chocolate Coconut Cluster from Vault City. It didn’t disappoint, although for my own Bounty loving tastes, I would have preferred more coconut. However, there was a nice level of sourness and the raspberry and chocolate were much more evident. Marvellous, a case in point of how a bar can offer cask ales and craft beers to suit the needs of the many.

There’s a tastefully decorated room to the rear and also a pleasant little external courtyard area for the warmer summer months, or for the cold months as well if you’re a smoker. The pub is also open long hours, from 12:00 until 23:00 every day of the week. On the matter of seating, I very much liked the higher chairs by an area near to the bar, but they didn’t block the bar for those who wanted to see what was available on the pumps. There were also numerous power points for customers to use, as well as wi-fi. Looking at some older photos, the transformation has been extensive and very much in keeping with the building, it is a vast improvement. I can imagine the amount of blood, sweat and tears that went into planning and delivering on this evolution of the property’s use.

I accept that I’m slightly biased in writing this (although I’m very independent), but this is a quite marvellous pub. It’s got a traditional vibe with its focus on beer, community, conversation and pies, but it’s also got the craft beer edge that I also like. I’m not sure that they’d refer to it as a micropub, as it’s quite a chunk of space to the rear, but it has that sort of energy. I very much hope that this pub does well, and I’m confident it will with the quality of the people there, and maybe there might be a little series of these venues across North Norfolk. And I can pledge that Julian and I will do our best to visit them all.

December 4, 2024
North Walsham Pub Day – Orchard Gardens

Situated just a few minutes walk away from the town centre is this former Victorian townhouse, now the Orchard Gardens, which was the fifth pub visit on our day trip to North Walsham. It’s been a pub since the late nineteenth century and was a Watney Mann pub until Punch Taverns briefly took it over and nearly ruined it before it became free trade.

I admit that I had to Google this as I hadn’t heard of Walter Pardon, but my music knowledge is mostly limited to the Wurzels so that’s not entirely surprising.

For anyone interested, here’s one of his folk songs.

The pub was larger than I had realised and it had a cosy ambience to it, it seemed a generally comfortable environment.

There were three ales available, Greene King’s Abbot, Lacon’s Encore and Reedlighter from Woodfordes Brewery.

I’m not a cyclist so I don’t mind where bikes are shoved, but Julian is more into getting them back into use.

We sat, for the second time in a day, by the dart board and some festive tree arrangement in the corner.

This wasn’t under-poured, I had consumed a little before remembering to take the photo. I went for the Reedlighter from Woodfordes and it was well-kept and at the appropriate temperature but as a beer it was a little thin for me.

An Adnams Ale poster of their brewery set-up from nearly fifty years ago.

I was very tempted by this pizza arrangement, which I think is a pop-up set-up from a different vendor, but I was still more than full from my earlier pie at the King’s Arms. For what it’s worth, which I admit is very little, if I had been settled in for the evening I’m confident that I would have gone for the ‘Nduja pizza.

I liked this pub, it felt like a comfortable family venue which has numerous events going on which include live music. The opening hours aren’t as transparent as they could be, the opening times vary on different sites and the closing time is ‘late’ which I find an entirely unhelpful proposition for customers. But anyway, that slight complaint aside, I liked the set-up here with numerous different seating areas and also a pool table in a separate part of the venue. The service was polite and personable, the atmosphere was inviting and I liked their food offer so I’d suggest that combination is a win for the local community.

April 8, 2023
North Walsham Pub Day – Market Tavern

The Market Tavern on Market Street would have been our fourth pub of the day in North Walsham, but it’s unfortunately closed. The Auction House sign says that the “business is not affected” but the signage of the pub has come down and its future doesn’t look entirely promising. We were told in the Hop In that the landlord died which is why it closed, but hopefully it can re-open again in the future as a pub as the venue seems entirely viable financially.

April 8, 2023
North Walsham Pub Day – King’s Arms Hotel

Our second pub of the day had what I considered to be the most interesting building, the substantial structure of the Kings Arms Hotel. It was constructed in the seventeenth century, although was much modified in the following century, but that’s still plenty of heritage. The pub’s web-site claims that Horatio Nelson might have popped in for a drink which is not entirely fanciful as he was at Paston Grammar School which was located next door, although he left there when he was 12 so who knows….

There are plenty of pubs which were formerly hotels and keep that word in their name, not least the Bell Hotel in Norwich, which seems a little confusing to me. However, the King’s Arms still welcomes overnight visitors and the reviews for their accommodation seem broadly positive with all the guest rooms located on the first floor.

There were three real ales available, Timothy Taylor’s Landlord, the Ghostship from Adnams and Abbot from Greene King, with prices feeling around average. I’m somewhat out of date with my knowledge of shots as it’s a long time since I’ve run anything which sells them, but the Dead Man’s Fingers rum looked intriguing in their garish packaging. But Julian and I were sticking to the beers and didn’t want to get distracted with shots, a sign of our professionalism to our day trip.

We didn’t have a food plan for the day, so I asked if they were serving food and these menus were supplied. As they looked suitably interesting we decided to get food here.

The problem a large pub has is ensuring that it feels homely and that there doesn’t seem to be tumbleweed floating across the plains of the carpet. There were no such difficulties here, there were plenty of customers from all age groups with this being one of the more comfortable environments we found during the day. I went for the Landlord from Timothy Taylor’s Brewery and this tasted as expected, at the appropriate temperature and well kept.

Historic photos of the pub.

A little shrine of pub history, I liked it.

This sign was more confusing than it needed to be (or to me at least, I’m easily confused), but the ladies and gents were to the right.

The pie is listed on the menu as traditional British, which frightened me slightly, but I asked and was told that they had beef or chicken. I wasn’t entirely sure that this sounded entirely tempting, but I went with the chicken pie and had suitably low expectations of a sub-optimal experience. I needn’t have though, this was a perfectly good meal with the chicken pie being sizeable, the chips being firm on the exterior and fluffy inside alongside peas which retained some bite. But the star of this little show was the gravy which was served in a large quantity and had an onion taste to it which added positively to the whole arrangement. Although the chicken pie did seem to have been brought in, the meal was filling and tasty so I had no complaints. There was also a check back during the meal and I got the impression that the pub would have promptly fixed any problems. Julian went for the scampi and chips which was also served as a large portion, indeed so substantial that he was defeated towards the end, but he mentioned the quality of the food.

The pool table area of the pub, one of several separately defined areas of the venue.

I very much liked this venue, it had lots of character, the service was polite and the surroundings were comfortable. The food exceeded my expectations and I rather got the feeling that I was carrying on the tradition of generations of enjoying sustenance in this pub. And just perhaps I was sitting in the same place as Horatio Nelson, who knows….

April 8, 2023
North Walsham Pub Day – White Swan

The first pub in our little day trip was the White Swan, a listed building located opposite the church and a hospitality venue since the end of the eighteenth century which is also from around the period it was constructed.

There were two real ales available, the Black Sheep Best Bitter and the Hobgoblin Gold, with prices being towards the higher end of the scale.

We were drinking half pints for reasons of economy and the Black Sheep Bitter was adequate but I’m not sure it was at its absolute best, but the bacon fries helped to lift things a little.

The interior was quite eclectic, but this was a pub that seemed to have a broad trade base and was trying to cover the needs of those wanting to watch sport, listen to live music, play pool or have a quiet pint. The environment was welcoming and the pub was clean, with the service always being friendly with a community feel to it.

I was pleased to see numerous photos around the pub of how it once looked, with this one being from the period that it was operated by Bullards. Apparently in August 1977 the landlord of the White Swan, Barry Cunningham, organised a race where drinkers pushed a pram around the pubs of North Walsham having a pint in each. It sounds an interesting affair, especially as there were once more pubs in the town than there are today.

Pool tables make an appearance in nearly all of the pubs in North Walsham. Shame they don’t have a bar billiards table, but that’s a different matter.

I know that pianos in pubs were once far more commonplace and secretly I’m glad that this is no longer the case, as drunken people banging about on the keys would disrupt my analysis of beer. This reminds me of how many pianos were smashed up in the 1980s in the name of sport, something that seemed to be a common event at village fetes. I’m not really interested in things that involve destruction, but whatever amused people at the time I suppose.

But, back to the pub and away from my flights of fancy, this was a traditional community pub which offered a comfortable environment and broad appeal.

April 8, 2023
North Walsham Pub Day – Two Julians

Firstly, apologies to my two loyal readers who are faced with my out of sequence posting, but I’ll try and get this series of posts all completed this morning. It’s from the day trip of Thursday this week with my friend Julian to the city centre of North Walsham in North Norfolk. We were planning to visit six pubs in North Walsham, finishing at the Good Beer Guide listed Hop In. We boarded the Sanders Rocket in Norwich with the journey to the provincial capital of North Norfolk taking just over 50 minutes.

The pubs we were visiting (and I’ll link these in when I’ve finished posting) were:

Black Swan (third pub visited in the day)

Hop In (sixth pub visited in the day)

Kings Arms Hotel (second pub visited in the day)

Market Tavern (fourth pub visited in the day – although closed)

Orchard Gardens (fifth pub visited in the day)

White Swan (first pub visited in the day)

There is also one more pub in the suburbs of this great regional metropolis, which is the Bluebell, but we didn’t have time to get that far. Julian did record some video of the day as we’re planning these days out to be a regular feature over the next few weeks and months. As things go, we’re planning Dereham for our next expedition. There are more photos from our day out in North Walsham at https://www.flickr.com/photos/julianwhite-uk/albums/72177720307312981/.

The new and improved X55 bus. Given that the £2 single fare cap is in place until the end of June, this is all making bus travel feel much more desirable.

And we arrived safely at North Walsham’s International Travel Hub. By travel hub, they mean bus stop as it’s nowhere near the railway station and there’s no other transportation departing from here other than cars. However, to be fair, they have arranged the bus stops and signage so that everything is clear and it feels safe.

April 8, 2023
North Walsham – Supermarket

I’m sure my memory must be fading…. There’s a photo (which is likely copyright, so I’ll just link to it) at:

https://www.northwalshamarchive.co.uk/1/archive/770px/the-precinct-1970s.jpg

Which shows that there were two supermarkets in the old Ship Yard, an International and a Fine Fare. Although I thought the Fine Fare was where the International supermarket was in the photo, which I thought then moved to what is now Roy’s and which then in turn became Gateway which in turn became Somerfields, who then built a store out of the town centre which is now Sainsbury’s.

However, the confusion I’ve caused myself might be resolved as I’ve found out that International was bought out by Fine Fare in 1984, and rebranded as Gateway in 1988. So perhaps the Fine Fare that I don’t remember being there simply moved into the International store at that time……

Anyway, I can’t imagine my memories of North Walsham supermarkets are of much interest to anyone, but part of the reason I posted is because the web-site I linked to above has some marvellous photos of the town.

June 6, 2019
North Walsham – Reeves Lane (The Dog)

Still on the theme of pubs in North Walsham in 1839, the Dog pub (also known for a time as the Dog Inn) was in operation from the late eighteenth century until the late nineteenth century. For part of its time it was run by the Coltishall Brewery which at one point in the mid nineteenth century operated nearly sixty pubs in the county.

By 1892, the Dog was operated by Morgans Brewery, who were trying to let the pub out. At the time Morgans operated 600 pubs and they remained trading until 1961 when they were taken out by Bullards and Steward & Patteson. There is no further mention I can find of the pub operating after 1892, so perhaps Morgans couldn’t find a new tenant and it ceased trading.

After the pub fell out of use the building became used as Craske’s fish and chip shop. If a building can’t be used as a pub, then this seems a perfectly acceptable alternative to me.

What was known as Dog Yard, I assume because of the pub, became Reeve’s Court when the council approved the demolition of some old and run down buildings with an anonymous and unexciting new one. I’m sure that they were more suitable and comfortable in which to live, but visually it’s not great. I can’t quite see from the map exactly where the Dog pub was, but it seems to be under the housing development that is known as Reeve’s Court.

June 6, 2019
North Walsham – Market Street / Bear Street (The Bear Pub)

Again carrying on my theme of pubs now disappeared in North Walsham, the Bear was once located on Bear Street, now better known as Market Street.

It’s possible that the name of the pub comes from a time of bear baiting, although I’m unsure how prevalent that would have been in the market town of North Walsham. The pub was trading from the late eighteenth century and it finally closed in 1967 when Bullards, the owner, decided that it was uneconomic.

For anyone in the town on Thursday 10 October 1850, they could have gone to watch the auction performed by William Pope auctioneers. It was the property of William Youard who was the landlord leaving the pub and for sale was “all the household furniture, china, glass and sociable” belonging to him. There was an indication of the scale of the property, as it was noted that there was “a commercial room, a dining room, an assembly room, sleeping rooms, a porter room, a bar, store room, kitchen, wash-house and yard”.

In 1872 the pub was available to be let and it was noted by the agent that “as the contemplated railroad from Norwich to Cromer will pass very near this house, it cannot fail to derive great benefit from it”.

June 6, 2019
North Walsham – Market Street (Angel Hotel)

From Google Streetview

Following on from my list of pubs from the 1839 Pigot’s Directory, the Angel (known both as the Angel Hotel and the Angel Inn) is one of those which is no longer trading. This is primarily as it was thought to be a marvellous idea to knock the building down in 1992 and build another one that looked like it. But the new building would be flats, not a pub.

It’s a shame that the council in its wisdom allowed for the destruction of a pub that had been trading for perhaps as long as 350 years, especially as they seemed to like the design so much the replacement building looked nearly the same. Although they gained a pavement for pedestrians to walk along, which I suppose is an improvement.

The building which was demolished was constructed in the late eighteenth century and built with white bricks. The landlord in the early 1890s was Edward J. Morris, apparently a well-known athlete according to the press of the time. He died at the age of 43, after he had left the Angel, and he also became the landlord of the George and Dragon in Haymarket (better known as McDonald’s now).

June 6, 2019