Walking. Gossip. Travel.

Category: Norwich

  • Streets of Norwich – Eastbourne Place

    Streets of Norwich – Eastbourne Place

    Part of my Streets of Norwich project….

    Not much has changed on this little street since the above map was published in 1885. The only change is to the name, as St. Faith’s Lane used to go all the way from Tombland to King Street. It sort of still does, although St. Faith’s Lane as a road name stops at Prince of Wales Road, then becomes Eastbourne Place and then becomes Mountergate.

    This map, from twenty years earlier, seems to suggest that Eastbourne Place was constructed in the early 1860s as there are no buildings marked here. Why they choose the name Eastbourne, I have no idea…..

    And the building would have been possible because of the construction of Prince of Wales Road, which was in the late 1850s (the above map is 1849), which finally opened in 1862.

    The area in front of Eastbourne Place has been messed around by the council on numerous occasions, the once little wooded area barely now exists, although at least the nearly always broken public toilet has been removed.

    The building on the left-hand side, which is now blacked out, was until the 2019 a branch of Domino’s, but it has a long history of being a food outlet, as in the 1860s John Sword opened up a refreshment rooms here which sold tea, coffee and other drinks. He also provided accommodation, which I assume was in the rooms which are now occupied by the nightclub Loft.

    The Presto Bar was also here, which housed a 60-foot long model car track, which still exists as Presto Park, although has been much changed over the decades. I think the Presto Bar occupied the same space as the refreshment rooms opened up by John Sword.

    This area looks better now than it has for some years, the space in front has been opened out and the number of cars reduced, although some more greenery would be nice. And someone needs to open up where Domino’s once was….

  • Streets of Norwich – Bank Street

    Streets of Norwich – Bank Street

    Part of my Streets of Norwich project….

    The above map is from the 1870s, with no substantial changes to Bank Street since then, although the area to the south of it was turned into a hotel.

    On the left is the entrance to what was Wade’s Court, although has also been known, and is now signed as Wade’s Yard. On the right is the back of the Royal Hotel, which takes up the whole block and which was built between 1896 and 1897. When they were demolishing the buildings on the site they discovered archaeological remains from the outer precincts of Norwich Castle. Built with 65 bedrooms for guests, the hotel remained trading until 1977 when a lack of car parking saw its demise. Fortunately, plans in the 1970s to demolish it and replace it with a glass office block were rejected, with the building more recently being used for offices.

    The second building on the left, with the sign hanging up above the door, is the former Bank Tavern. Later on part of the Steward & Patteson brewery, this pub first opened in the early part of the nineteenth century and it remained trading until November 1965.

    Looking back down Bank Street towards Bank Plain.

  • Norwich – TGI Fridays

    Norwich – TGI Fridays

    Back to 2017, and the much missed (well, by me) unlimited appetisers which were offered by TGI Fridays in Norwich.

    That’s the offer, you can order endless appetisers for £9.99 if you want huge amounts of the same thing, or £12.99 to order from any of the dishes listed. The staff member told me that no-one had ever ordered the same appetiser for £9.99 to his knowledge, I suspect it’s just there to lower the headline price so they can say “from £9.99”.

    My visit here was with Liam, and we planned to get through all of the options between us if we could, with a few exceptions obviously such as the salad. The options were a pulled pork sundae, garlic ciabatta bread, taquito bites, BBQ houmous, mozzarella dippers, nachos, potato skins, loaded fries, bruschetta, chicken wings, house salad, onion rings and crispy fries.

    The pulled pork sundae, which consists of mashed potato with BBQ pulled pork, bacon, cheese and jalapenos.

    Chicken wings in a cola sauce (there were a choice of different options for the chicken wings, with the others being BBQ, hot, scorpion hot and boneless).

    Um, I have no idea, but I think it might be the garlic ciabatta bread with cheese.

    Potato skins.

    Onion rings.

    Taquito bites.

    Boneless chicken wings, which were very moreish.

    I’m not that keen on mozzarella dippers, so fortunately Liam went for those.

    Nachos.

    They definitely need to do this again. The service was efficient and engaging, although it’s hard for the waiting staff to be able to offer any upsells, so it’s a different style of service to usual, especially since the soft drinks have free refills. There were no real delays in more food being brought out, noticeable by how much we got through. The highlights for me were the onion rings, boneless chicken wings and the taquito bites, with only the pulled pork sundae being a bit of a mash of tastes and textures that I wasn’t that thrilled about.

    The food at TGI Fridays is usually reasonable, although priced at the higher end of the scale, so this was a useful offer in terms of getting better value for money. Unfortunately, I’m not sure that they’ve repeated this offer since 2018, but perhaps when Covid-19 is over then it might come back.

  • Norwich – West Cornwall Pasty (Railway Station)

    Norwich – West Cornwall Pasty (Railway Station)

    There are two West Cornwall Pasty outlets in Norwich, one in the Haymarket and the other at the railway station.

    These photos are from their Christmas selection, since the outlet is currently shut due to this bloody virus. At this precise moment in time I could well do with a lovely pasty from here though…. Incidentally, I think their best two options are the chicken & chorizo pasty and the Thai green vegetable curry, with the potato wedges being rather less exciting.

    It’ll be open again soon enough no doubt…..

  • Streets of Norwich – White Lion Street

    Streets of Norwich – White Lion Street

    Part of my Streets of Norwich project….

    White Lion Street runs from Gentlemans’ Walk and bends into Orford Hill and Red Lion Street, all very much unchanged over the last 150 years. The street takes its name from the former White Lion pub, but was originally called Sadelere Rowe in the thirteenth century due to the saddle-making industry here, and later Lorimers Rowe due to the harness strap makers that were located along the street.

    Although it’s relatively short, there used to be a few pubs down this street, with the Adelphi (13 White Lion Street), the Fruiterers Arms (2-4 White Lion Street) and the White Lion / Haymarket Stores (10 White Lion Street).

    The end of the street, which is all now pedestrianised, which joins Gentlemans’ Walk.

    Looking along the road to the Castle Quarter shopping centre. WH Smiths is on the left, this is the former Fruiterers Arms and is a real loss to the city centre as this would be a rather lovely setting for a pub. The building dates to the seventeenth century and was a pub from the mid-nineteenth century until 1989.

    Looking back towards to the market place area. The building to the left of Ladbrokes was Costa, but they closed in early 2020, so it’s up for rental, with this being the former Haymarket Stores pub. The Haymarket Stores, which was once known as the White Lion, closed in 1974.

    Back in 1912, the businesses along the street were:

    NORTH SIDE

    1 – Pearks, grocers

    1A – Albert Turner, confectioner

    3 – Cozen Randall, hairdresser

    5 – Sam Ellis, fruit merchant

    7 – W. Fletcher, butchers

    9 – Eastern Counties Rubber Company

    11 – London & Norwich Cycle & Rubber Company

    13 – Back’s, wine and spirits merchants

    15 – Back’s, tobacconists

    17 – Henry Moore William, wine and spirits store

    19-21 – Grix William, dining rooms

    SOUTH SIDE

    2-4 – Fruiterers Arms, pub

    6 – Edward Richard Pooley, shoe warehouse

    10 – White Lion, pub

    12 – E. Reeve & Son, grindery

     

    The 1939 register had the following residents living on the street:

    1A – Rosetta Clarke, Douglas Clarke, Frances Webster, Olive Johnson

    6 – Norah Sage

    10 – Edward Thaxton, Emmeline Thaxton, Leonard Thaxton

    13 – William G Gerry, Lily Gerry, William J Gerry

  • Greater Anglia : Norwich to London Liverpool Street (New Trains)

    Greater Anglia : Norwich to London Liverpool Street (New Trains)

    This is the first time that I’ve had chance to go on the new train between Norwich and London Liverpool Street, I seem to have caught the older rolling stock over the last couple of months. The train was the 11:30 from Norwich, which seemed relatively quiet, even though it was taking passengers from the 12:00 service which had been cancelled. The new train has twelve carriages, and they’ve been made by Stadler in Switzerland.

    A screen showing customers where everything is on the train.

    It’s possible to see all the way down the train, but there are closeable see-through doors along the carriages. The design of the seats is clunky and rushed, the heater unit on the side is in the way of customers, as is the table’s central support which is just where knees might otherwise go. There is now just one power point between two people (unless one has a USB) and for reasons that I cannot comprehend, plugs don’t fit into many of the power sockets as the base of the seat is in the way. I was able to plug my laptop into the power sockets under the seats on the other side of the table, but only because there was no-one sitting there. It’s an unfortunate bodged job from Greater Anglia, arguably unacceptable given the price increases that they’ve introduced which should have meant they had more than enough money to do this properly.

    This slightly irritated me, some idiot putting their feet on what are nearly new seats. Fortunately, it also irritated the guard who politely, but firmly, told the passenger to stop this behaviour when he saw her.

    And safely into London Liverpool Street, all on time.

    The old rolling stock on the left and the new rolling stock on the right.

    Taking everything into account, I prefer the older train. It’s more comfortable, it’s better designed and I think it’s more functional. However, there are two caveats with that, the older train isn’t easy for those with disabilities and it also doesn’t hold as many people as the new train, so these are two big advantages with the upgrade. It’s all very nice that money has been spent on new trains, but I’m hoping that they’re taken in for an interior refit soon to try and give the finish a slightly classier and more functional edge.

  • Norwich City Council and Cycle Lanes

    Norwich City Council and Cycle Lanes

    Whilst I’m on the subject of Norwich City Council and its random placement of bins, without any care or foresight, I noticed this little arrangement around the corner. I can’t claim to be much of a cyclist, but I’m still not entirely sure whether cycles can go after they leave the end of this road.

    I assume this means that cycles can still use the road, but it’s so faded as to be unclear and its placement is moderately random towards the end of the road. What is surprising is that the building at the back of this photo is Norwich City Council’s offices, it’d be nice if they could at least make an effort in the area near to them. And I like the professional repairs that have been made to the paving by the utility companies…..

  • Norwich – Paolo’s Restaurant and the Bin

    Norwich – Paolo’s Restaurant and the Bin

    I saw in the local press a couple of weeks ago that Norwich City Council has taken the initiative to place a bin right outside a restaurant, just under their menu board. This seems an unkind and unhelpful thing to do given that the owner of the restaurant has said that the council didn’t bother to tell him that they were planning to do this.

    The EDP reported that the owner said:

    “I’m a struggling business as it is, as lots are at the moment, so this is just so frustrating. Since the bin has moved people have been standing smoking outside the restaurant and the noise when bins are emptied is horrendous – it just doesn’t help me at all. There’s no point in me having tables and chairs outside at the moment because it’s too cold but in the summer it’s an important part of our business. Now, who is going to want to sit right next to a bin?”

    He seems very sensible and it seems that the council haven’t bothered to do anything about it. It’s unclear to me why they can’t put the bin in a location on the other side of the road, which is outside of their own offices…..

  • Norwich – Plasterers Arms

    Norwich – Plasterers Arms

    This is one of my favourite pubs in the city, definitely deserving its position in the Good Beer Guide. It’s in a residential area and this is one of those pubs which could have easily been lost over recent years, especially since Adnams sold it in 2011 and it is only due to good pub management that it survived. It is formerly a Morgans, then Bullards and then Watney Mann pub, but is now free trade and its future seems much more secure.

    Titanic are one of my favourite breweries and it’s a delight to see something a little rarer from them, which is this Chocolate and Vanilla stout. As a drink, it’s beautiful, a lovely smooth rich beer with the chocolate and vanilla being evident without being overpowering. The service in the pub was friendly and there’s always a relaxed feel to the proceedings.

    The former location of the pub’s bar billiards table….. It’s the removal of this which has also coincided with my not visiting the pub as much, it seems a shame to have lost such a wonderful piece of gaming and the pub’s web-site still has the bar billiards table as their main image on the front page (NB, as a more recent comment, it doesn’t now, the web-site is now also bar billiards less).

    Voodoo Daddy’s was once the supplier of pizzas here and although they’ve moved on, the pub still sells pizzas and also loaded fries. It’s a while since I’ve eaten at the pub, something I must rectify later on in 2020.

    The choice of beers here rarely disappoints me, and I’m not sure that I can remember when it did actually disappoint me…. The staff are knowledgeable and engaging, so the environment always feels welcoming. All rather lovely.

  • Norwich – Ribs of Beef

    Norwich – Ribs of Beef

    In my quest to visit all the pubs in the Good Beer Guide, I’ve managed to mention very few of the Norwich award winners, so I’ll try and resolve that minor problem in 2020….

    The Ribs of Beef has a marvellous riverside location and parts of the building date back to the fourteenth century, although it was badly damaged during a fire in the city in 1507. In 2017, a fragment of the original medieval wall was discovered during renovations, a section which has been left uncovered.

    The building was originally used primarily as a residential property and it was in use as a pub by 1743 when it was first known as the Ribs of Beef. The frontage was knocked about a bit in 1898 to allow for road widening for the city trams and the now smaller building was re-opened as a pub in 1904. It was decided in 1928 by the landlord, Alfred James Kendrick, to rename the pub as the Fye Bridge Tavern. It closed entirely in 1959, so was nearly permanently lost as a licensed premises, but it was re-opened in August 1985.

    Anyway, back to the present. When we entered there was a pub quiz taking place, which I must admit isn’t something that I particularly engage with. However, it’s clear that many people do as the pub was busy and there was a relaxed and informal atmosphere to the premises.

    My drink was half a pint of the Railway Porter from Five Points Brewing, a brewery based in Hackney, London. The beer has been designed to be true to the original style of London porter and there was a richness of taste to the drink, with chocolate and coffee flavours evident. The choice of beers in the pub was also extensive, although the busy nature of the pub made it a little difficult to see the range of beers on the bar or on the boards. But, the range of beers was well curated and there are also plenty of other alcoholic drinks to choose from.

    The pub seems to be something of a success recently (and indeed for many years) and so its entry into the Good Beer Guide seems a worthy one. It’s not really a pub for me as it’s too sports orientated and I like peaceful and calm, but it’s always excellent to see a pub doing well. Very lovely.