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Category: UK

Aylsham Pub Day – Black Boys Inn

This large former coaching inn is located at the town’s market place and was the last of the pubs that Julian and I were visiting in the day. It has been a hospitality venue since the middle of the seventeenth century and was historically a Bullards and then Watney Mann pub. I was pleased to note that the pub owners, Colchester Inns, have prepared a history of the venue for their web-site which is something that I always appreciate.

The pub’s name has given them some publicity recently, with the owners saying they would reflect on the matter if the local community and their customers felt that they should. That seems a sensible position to me, although I’m staying out of anything too controversial in that regard. With regards to the history of the venue’s name, the pub states:

“We believe the pub was named after King Charles II, who was nicknamed The Black Boy on account of his black hair and swarthy complexion”.

The heritage here is undeniable, with parts of the building dating back to the late fifteenth century. It’s said that visitors to the pub have included Princess Victoria, Horatio Nelson and Daniel Defoe, which seems an interesting collection of figures to be proud of. It was a popular coaching inn during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, providing accommodation and sustenance for those travelling between Norwich and Cromer.

One book that I recommend is “The Newmarket, Bury, Thetford and Cromer Road: Sport and history on an East Anglian Turnpike”. They note about the Black Boys:

“The Black Boys owes its existence on this scale to the near neighbourhood of Blickling Hall, perhaps the most famous mansion in Norfolk and certainly the most beautiful and stately. Blickling is scarce a mile distant, and is so small a village that it must have been to Aylsham in general, and to the Black Boys in particular, the custom fell in those old days when the Hobarts of Blickling Hall entertained so royally.”

There were four different real ales available, the most we saw in the town, with the offering including Wherry from Woodfordes, Doom Bar from Sharps, Adnams Bitter and ThreeOneSix from Grain.

Those just wanting a drink are welcome in the venue, but it is primarily a restaurant in terms of its set-up and the aroma on entry suggested quite a strong seafood offering. The prices are towards the higher end of the scale, priced at a level that we felt was too expensive for us and that’s why we were pleased to see Stamp next door offering something a little more affordable. However, the on-line reviews are very positive, so the quality of the food offering seems high, likely meaning that they must be doing an awful lot right.

Julian and I were unsure about the flooring in such an historic venue, I’m wondering what’s underneath that artificial looking wood effect flooring, perhaps some original wooden floorboards? The interior was clean though with the atmosphere feeling relaxed and comfortable, everything seemed polished and organised.

A few heritage touches were still visible.

I went for the ThreeOneSix from Grain Brewery, a well kept golden ale which tasted as I expected.

This felt like a very well run venue and the on-line reviews for food and accommodation are high. It seems to be aiming for a relatively wealthy demographic and it was busy when we visited, so they seem to be hitting that target effectively. The service was friendly and warm, with a team member coming to check at the table if we’d like to order food. There were no issues that we weren’t, but there didn’t seem to be an appropriate bar area to sit in.

It wasn’t quite what I expected from the venue, which I thought would still have more of a pub atmosphere to it, but it was still welcoming and I liked the choice of four different real ales. The accommodation offering seems reasonably priced and I can imagine that those staying do get more of a sense of the pub’s history and heritage.

June 1, 2023
Aylsham Pub Day – The Unicorn

This cavernous building is the Unicorn pub and was the second venue that we visited on our little day trip out to Aylsham. Thanks to the excellent Norfolk Pubs web-site, I know that the venue first opened in the late seventeenth century and in the nineteenth century was operated by the Coltishall Brewery and then the Weybourne Brewery. I’m not sure about the origins of the pub name, but I do have an idea which relates to how in Norfolk the three horses pulling a coach were often referred to as a unicorn. Given that this is a former coaching inn, maybe that’s how it obtained its name.

I had to take a photo of the three beer options over the heads of customers seated at the bar to know what options there were. Each to their own, but it’s really not ideal when customers entering a pub have to almost guess what drinks there are available and struggle to know where to stand to order them. The three options were Ghost Ship from Adnams, Encore from Lacon’s and the old reliable of Landlord from Timothy Taylor’s, so I felt that the selection was decent.

Anyway, back to more important matters, the service was friendly and helpful, so all was well there, with the prices charged being reasonable.

The interior was clean and cosy, with the carpet adding to the warmth of the pub.

There were lots of curios around the pale, it all added positively to the general atmosphere.

The half pint of Landlord from Timothy Taylor tasted as expected, was well kept and at the appropriate temperature. Served in the correctly branded glass as well, very professional of them. There was also some shrubbery on the tables to add a little something to the arrangement.

If I’m being honest, I left not really entirely understanding this pub other than they have live music on a regular basis. We were interested in ordering food, but there were no menus visible and the food menu on the pub’s web-site is a broken link so I’m assuming they no longer do food at all. A customer posted negative feedback a few months ago saying:

“Lots of empty tables outside we thought we would stop and have lunch as the big a frame board outside stated home made lunches. My partner went in to get a menu only to be told we do not do food. Might explain all the empty tables. I would suggest removing the a frame advertisement as well to save wasting other peoples time.”

I like clarity on what is available, so I can understand this review and it seems one the pub could have easily avoided. I’m never quite sure why pubs don’t just offer cheese rolls or something in the afternoon if no other food is available, or something other than crisps to keep customers suitably well fed. I’d better add that I’m quite happy with crisps, but even I recognise the need for a slightly wider dietary balance.

I’m not entirely sure what market they’re aiming for (and I accept I don’t need to, it just makes it harder to write these posts) given just how large a venue they’ve got here, but I think live music is a big driver for them so perhaps that’s their main focus. As another aside, I am slightly disappointed they have such an historic venue, but make no mention of its history on their web-site as I’m sure there must be plenty of stories for them to tell. But, back to basics and all that, the welcome was friendly, the pub was clean and there were a few real ales available so we weren’t disappointed at all with those elements.

June 1, 2023
Aylsham Pub Day – The Feathers

The Feathers was the first in our visit to all of the pubs in Aylsham and it has been operating since the early 1840s. I’m going to guess that it’s likely 1841, when Albert became the first Prince of Wales since the 1760s, as the Feathers name is frequently associated with the Prince of Wales so that fits time wise. But that’s just my guess, it could be complete nonsense as many of my theories are.

Looking at old newspapers, I note that in August 1876 it was noted in the Lowestoft Journal, that bastion of journalism, that Stephen Underwood was given a spirits licence for the Feather. At the same petty sessions, John Rounce appears in court to fund his “bastard child”, the local butcher was fined as his mare had run riot in the town, a brickmaker was drunk in Hevingham and a hawker got drunk at the Stonemason’s Arms in Aylsham and refused to leave. It sounds a fun week in Aylsham.

As was common at the time, inquests into deaths took place in pubs and the Feathers was no exception. This happened in March 1899 when an inquest into the death of Benjamin Watson was held here and it found that he hanged himself near to the Feathers after a period of illness and unemployment. I mention this as it’s easy to forget just how much history there is with these pubs and how important they are to the local community, as well as being a reminder of how tough people had it at the end of the nineteenth century with limited help available to those in pain and out of work.

Back to the present, there were two real ales available, the Ghost Ship from Adnams and the 6X Original Ale from Wadworth. This seemed a reasonable couple of options, they’re not seen everywhere and it’s positive to have a choice.

Starting off with the 6X, it was well kept and at the appropriate temperature.

Julian, who treats these study tours with professionalism and thoroughness that continues to inspire me, recommended that I try the Ghost Ship from Adnams. This seemed a little lively and was probably from a fresh barrel, but it tasted clean and was in good condition.

They’ve got a little games room to the side and I did think they could fit a nice little bar billiards table in here.

Despite what I consider my relative youth, Julian and I thought we might sign up. The whole concept of “never happy unless complaining” is an admirable and laudable aim.

Some of the rather beautiful interior decoration, although this stopped being a Bullards pub in the 1970s, then becoming Intrepreneur, Phoenix and Criterian Inns in relative quick succession following the Beer Orders in the late 1980s. That was venture capital hit pubs in a big way, something which has ultimately been rather sub-optimal in very many ways.

Anyway, back to the pub itself, and there were a couple of locals at the bar when we entered. The relationship between the customers and the staff member at the bar here was just as a pub should be, always respectful but with a healthy dose of opprobrium as well from behind the bar. This pub seems to me like one where someone new to the area would feel welcome, my standard measure of the quality of the engagement being offered. The environment was inviting and friendly, with the pub being clean and well looked after, it felt like a safe place to be.

Pubs like this must be tough to operate at the moment with the costs of operating a venue spiralling in seemingly all areas. The pub seems to be shrinking its opening times down a little, which might be a result of customers cutting costs, but the main thing is that the pub is still there being an important part of the local community. We didn’t investigate the beer garden, but it’s apparently of a generous size, so there’s no doubt opportunity for plenty of summer drinking to be had. This felt like a proper pub to me, I liked it.

June 1, 2023
Cambridge – Hopbine

This is the former Hopbine pub on Fair Street in Cambridge, now a squat, but it’s one which is claiming to have transformed the building into being in a better state than when they found it. It’s operating as a community kitchen which means it’s of benefit to the local area, although it seems a shame that it is no longer operating as a pub. There was some dispute between the freeholder and the tenant who wanted a longer lease, with the current set-up clearly being sub-optimal for likely both parties. It’s not clear whether or not it will ever re-open as a pub again.

And here’s an interesting interview with a member of the vegan squat.

May 28, 2023
Cambridge – Devonshire Arms

Emma, Bev and I were in Cambridge for the beer festival, but we arrived earlier on in the day to visit a few pubs en route to where the main event was being held on Jesus Green. I’d never visited this pub before, one of three pubs which is run by the Milton Brewery, who once operated the rather wonderful White Lion in Norwich. It isn’t usually open on weekday afternoons, but they had specially extended opening hours for the week of the beer festival.

There were no guest beers, but there was a comprehensive selection of Milton beers.

I went for the Minerva, a clean tasting and well kept golden ale. I resisted going for the Marcus Aurelius which is a 7.5% imperial stout, but that seemed a little too much for the morning.

The pub interior, empty as they hadn’t been long open.

Traditional wooden seating. The service was friendly and knowledgeable, with this being apparent when Bev asked a series of questions about what beers the pub had available.

The back room, or indeed the front room depending on which way the pub is entered from.

Some of the pub’s previously available beers, in normal circumstances they do have some guest ales.

I enjoyed this pub and it was also a positive start to the day’s activities which were leading up to the Cambridge Beer Festival. The Internet tells me that this was a Reggae pub before Milton took it over, with its name being changed from the Midland Tavern to its current Devonshire Arms. And as a little bonus, this pub is listed in the Good Beer Guide, so that’s another one that I can tick off.

May 28, 2023
Norwich – City of Ale Launch Party

This is the first time that I’ve been able to go to the City of Ale launch party and I was able to get a ticket to the trade session which was most exciting. It took place this year at the Waterfront and there was an excellent turnout from pubs, brewers and also from the general public in the later session.

The indoors bar with beer from thirty local breweries and to quote the organisers, “they are all based on our region, almost all using barley grown and malted locally, so helping carbon footprint to a minimum”. So, environmental, local and delicious. It would be wrong of me to name any particular brewery, but obviously I have to mention the marvellous Boudicca brewing.

The launch party is to promote the City of Ale trails, which I’ve roped various friends into completing this year. I’m going to have a good go at trying to do all of them, such is my continued desire to support the hospitality industry. Again, I don’t want to name all my favourite pubs, but I have to make a quick reference to the wonderful White Lion and its landlord Oscar.

I was surprised and delighted to see some keg beers from Toby’s Beers who were operating the outside bar.

Julian and Emma, from Boudicca, were also at the event and one of the first things that Julian suggested was getting a pizza from Luca. I agreed that this seemed a marvellous idea, it’s about having a balanced diet.

Clive Lewis, the MP for Norwich South, was there to give a little speech at the start of the event.

And here’s Oli shouting at him.

I very much enjoyed my six different half pints from various local brewers. I went for the Wild Steamer from Wildcraft, Hana Solo from Mr Winter’s (very agreeable), Okapi from Grain Brewery, Cold Snap from Ampersand, Another Day Done from Duration Brewing and the Golden Panther from Panther Brewery.

And a delight to meet Roger Protz, the great beer writer who has kindly shared a Twitter post of mine in the past and is one of my most favourite Twitter followers 🙂

This marvellous event only takes place due to volunteers and it’s responsible for thousands of extra visits to pubs in the city. The theme this year is the Strangers, the immigrants from Flanders who came to the region to avoid persecution, something also touched upon by Clive Lewis in his comments. Thanks to an idea from Roger Protz, there’s a new partnership with Belgian brewers and these collaboration beers will be available in a number of pubs during the festival, which takes place between 25 May and 25 June 2023.

May 26, 2023
Bungay Pub Day – Two Julians

After what we considered the great success of our days out in Dereham and North Walsham, Julian and I decided that it was Bungay that we should investigate for our next study tour. This is an area I haven’t much explored, only having visited the Green Dragon, but Julian has many more experiences of the hospitality venues in the town.

Excluding the golf club, there are five pubs in the town and we were able to visit all of them. They were the:

Fleece Inn

Castle Inn

Green Dragon

Three Tuns

The Chequers Inn

And I’m delighted to say that we enjoyed them all.

The excitement of lorrygate when the local denizens had their peaceful early afternoon rest impacted by a lorry struggling to get past another lorry. I say excitement, but it amused us for a few seconds. I accept that I in particular am easily pleased.

I took photos of numerous former pubs in the town, this is the Ship which was taken over by Lacon’s in 1923. I’ll get another post written at some stage about the pubs that have been lost in Bungay, there seem to be some intriguing tales from what I’ve been reading about some of them.

We had chance to look around the local church, but more about that in a separate post. This series of posts is far more about the beer without me getting distracted once again by church history.

Another grand building lost to the hospitality trade, this was the King’s Head Hotel.

And evidence of another one lost…..

There’s a story here, but I’m not quite sure what it is.

I was suitably humoured by this, it’s very true.

Unfortunately it wasn’t possible to enter the castle, but I took this photo over the fence so that’ll have to do.

It’s clearly important to explain the principles of the 24 hour clock to local potential bus passengers.

Our bus back turned up late, for reasons unknown, but just after First Bus had sent me a message on Twitter saying they were looking for it. We arrived safely back in Norwich in one piece and only a little after schedule. Fortunately we weren’t back too late as Julian and I needed to pop out to visit some Norwich pubs in the evening, as our study tours are never ending. I was especially fond of the Fleece Inn for its food and ambience, but all of the pubs had inviting atmospheres and staff who offered us a friendly welcome, it was certainly a rewarding day in that regard.

The next visit will be to Aylsham and we’re both looking forwards to it as we don’t get out much.

May 23, 2023
Bungay Pub Day – The Chequers Inn

The fifth and final pub to visit on our day trip to Bungay was The Chequers Inn, located on Bridge Street, which has been trading in some form since the seventeenth century although the bulk of the current building is from the eighteenth century. We had visited earlier on in the day to find it closed, but that was because CAMRA’s Whatpub was a little more aspirational about the venue’s opening times than the pub itself. As an aside and sort of a fun fact that I’ve learned from CAMRA, apparently “some pubs displayed the sign to indicate that they would change money or acted as bankers in some way”.

The bar area feels modern and contemporary, with the welcome from the staff member being immediate and friendly. As can be seen from the blackboards, they have regular live music including from Lee Vasey. Julian said that he remembered the pub when it was something of a real ale destination pub, but CAMRA notes that it has been under new ownership since early 2022. Julian’s reminiscences seem accurate though, as the pub was listed in the 2001 Good Beer Guide when it had six real ales and an annual beer festival going on.

There were three real ales on, including two from the local Bull of the Woods brewery, the Rock Steady and the Satan’s Session. I couldn’t find the beer on Untappd, so I’ve gone with it likely being the Satanic Majesty which has the same ABV. It was well kept and at the appropriate temperature, a basic and inoffensive session bitter. I was pleased to see the beers from the local brewery, as I think I’m right in recollecting that it was only this pub that had any on.

This was a fine way to end our pub excursion, some different ales to try and a comfortable atmosphere. Some recent reviews say that food is offered occasionally, but there was nothing evident when we visited so it might just be for special occasions. It has something of a traditional feel to it, definitely worth popping in for anyone visiting Bungay.

May 23, 2023
Bungay Pub Day – Three Tuns

The fourth pub of our day out was the Three Tuns, a substantial building which was formerly a hotel and coaching inn. CAMRA note that there has been a hospitality venue here since 1540, although a new building was required after the 1688 fire.

As an aside, I’d suggest that this was a sub-optimal night for Bungay.

I’m not sure what I expected, but I really rather liked the grand room when we entered the pub. The service was immediate and helpful, with two real ales available. I went for the Trawlerboys from Green Jack which wasn’t quite at its best, but not in such a state I needed to return it. I was pleased that the pub accepted cards, as indeed did all of the town’s pubs, which made matters easier since neither of us had any cash.

For those who like to watch television, there is a little arrangement of sofas in front of one.

Not an ideal photo due to the lighting, but this is the main bar area. This was one of those pubs where everyone seemed to know each other, or at least other than these two strangers from Norwich, but there was nothing unwelcoming at any time.

The pool room.

The other side of the building, which is apparently one of the most haunted in the town. For a long time there were medieval banquets held in the cellar, but the building was put up for sale for £375,000 in 2008 by Admiral Taverns who ended the leases of the banquet company and a fancy dress company. It was purchased in 2009 by Paul Trevitt, but he stepped back in 2020 and defined as pub as so dangerous that he needed a riot helmet. I mean, I have been in pubs like that in the past, but it’s not ideal is it?

The external signage, which has been here for twenty years, harks back to a different time in the venue’s history. If there are now no lunches, morning coffees or medieval banquets it seems just a little out of place.

The on-line reviews for the pub are mixed, but with the pub owner saying that he felt the venue was dangerous, that certainly provides me with a different proposition in terms of writing positively about it. To be fair, he’s now apparently appointed a pub manager to bring the venue under control, but I can see the challenging edge that they have here. There’s no food offered but so much potential given the space that there is, although they have now launched karaoke on the weekends which seems brave to say the least.

Unfortunately, I imagine the interior would need an expensive restoration now and as it’s a listed building, that would be quite the project. And anyway, the ghosts might not like it. Although if there is some modernisation, the owner had better not make the mistake of a previous owner who was fined £8,000 in 2008 for removing bits of masonry from the cellar. He said that he hadn’t realised that the building was listed. The court weren’t impressed.

I enjoyed this pub though, it’s got a long heritage, there’s a strong community feel and the prices are towards the lower end of the scale. I’m surprised that the owner hasn’t made more use of the sizeable building that he has available, but maybe there’s a long-term plan or perhaps it’s just nicely ticking over. It’s quite a way from the coaching inn that it once was, but it’s still open which is more than can be said for plenty of other pubs in the town.

May 23, 2023
Bungay Pub Day – Green Dragon

This was the third pub that Julian and I visited on our day trip to Bungay and I think it’s the only one in the town that I’ve been in before. I can’t claim to have been a regular, but it’s near to where we’ve been canoeing before and I also came here whilst I was waiting for a bus to Southwold. If it had a major bus interchange hub like North Walsham I might not have needed to find a pub to wait at, but I won’t digress here.

Formally the Horse & Groom pub, these are the bar and smoke room entrances.

The beer options, the one hidden by the light is the Gold and I don’t think that they had any guest beers on when we visited. As the board suggests, they’ve been trading under this pub name since 1991 when the pub brewery was established by brothers Robert and William Pickard. Their brewing equipment is at the rear of the pub and they also do tours if contacted in advance. Given the number of former brewpubs that used to exist, this feels like a particularly veritable venue where beer is brewed on-site and it’s the only one now remaining in the town.

What I assume is one of the pub’s earlier signs.

I went for the Strong Mild.

I felt that a food and beer pairing was essential here. The beer was smooth and rich, a very agreeable mild and a beer style that I’d like to see more of. I liked these crisps incidentally, I’ve never had them before.

Julian in his alcove and note that he’s always ready to take a photograph with minimal notice.

The food menu, served between Thursdays and Saturdays, although they seem to also have food trucks on some Sundays. There look like some suitably interesting options on there, but we had already eaten in the Fleece and so didn’t partake on this occasion.

This is the only pub in Bungay which is listed in the Good Beer Guide and it has also won numerous CAMRA awards. Well-reviewed on-line, it’s a traditional pub which doesn’t feel unnecessarily staid. The service was polite and helpful, there was a relaxed and inviting feel with plenty of customers in the large outdoor drinking area. All rather lovely.

May 23, 2023