I’ve never seen this image before, but it’s Riverside Road in front with Pull’s Ferry at the rear. The road that the photo is taken from is Ferry Road.
And here’s what that looks like today. I hadn’t noticed, but that wall on the left does look pretty old.
[I originally posted this in July 2018, but have reposted it to fix the broken image links]
This Stonegate pub is located near to Ely Cathedral and the building looks interesting and well presented. It seems that the pub was formerly known as the Greyhound in the nineteenth century, but it hasn’t retained any of its historic interior.
I didn’t sense any ghosts or hauntings during my visit…
There was nothing particularly interesting in terms of real ale, but there was a choice of four different ales, which is a reasonable number. The Hobgoblin was the darkest they had during my visit and it tasted well-kept and was at the appropriate temperature.
The bar was organised, the staff were serving customers in turn and it all looked clean and tidy.
I had intended to get food, but there were signs for their Friday special offer of a meal and a drink, but few menus actually available to explain what was on that offer. Indeed, I found the menu too late, otherwise I’d have ordered from it.
The main menu was quite reliant on their two meals for £9.49 or £10.49 and all their desserts were two for one. This inspired thinking makes the menu mostly useless for one person, so I abandoned my plans to eat there which was a little frustrating. The entire menu, especially the breakfast selection, does though seem rather dated and tired, similar to what Wetherspoons were doing fifteen years ago. Having said that, I didn’t notice anyone seeming to be unhappy with their food, so it seemed to be meeting expectations.
The pub was advertising its music quiz.
There was a quieter area to the rear of the pub, which was extremely hot during my visit, but this was during the summer heatwave and so wasn’t really the pub’s fault.
Overall, the location was pleasant and the prices were towards the lower end of the scale for pints. They also offer a discount for CAMRA members which makes the pricing even more acceptable. The staff were also friendly and helpful, so there was a welcoming feel to the whole pub.
[I originally posted this in July 2018, but have reposted it to fix the broken image links. I didn’t note at the time, likely as I didn’t know, that this is the taproom of the rather wonderful Three Blind Mice brewery]
I had intended to visit Ely museum and some other historic sites today, but it’s too hot, so I decided to visit some pubs instead. This wasn’t a difficult decision if I’m being honest.
The Drayman’s Son was the pub that came recommended, and I certainly wasn’t disappointed with my visit. It was on-trend, friendly, innovative and interesting. Ely isn’t perhaps overwhelmed by pubs like that, so I hope that this one does well.
The barman was helpful and engaging, and actually responded to my question of “do you have any dark beers?” in an enthusiastic manner. Sometimes the response in summer to that question is more like I’ve stabbed their kitten to death on the bar. He was conversational and engaging as well, it was an excellent first impression. There’s an interesting beer selection as well, there were numerous options on there that were tempting.
They had Prasto’s Porter from Boudicca Brewery, so I didn’t feel I couldn’t order that (I’ve rather overdone the negatives there…). Emma should be pleased with me! The porter was excellent, served at the appropriate slightly chilled temperature and having a rich and pleasant taste.
A map of where customers to the pub had come from. It’s a nice idea that works well in a pub like this. And, given the ridiculous heat when I visited, that fan was really appreciated.
Quirky and interesting, it’s a well thought out use of this former shop.
I like the railway memorabilia, it’s appropriate to Ely and it adds extra character to the pub. The pub also offers a discount to CAMRA members who show their card.
It’s only a small pub and there are just individual toilets, but they’re clean and functional.
I liked this pub, it’s contemporary without feeling forced or staged, and the service was friendly and engaging. The beer selection had been thought through and the pint I had was well-kept. In a town where pubs can fall into the trap of being just too generic, this was perfect.
[I originally posted this in July 2018, but have reposted it to fix the broken image link]
Gorleston is one of those towns which seems to be quite enthusiastic about the number of blue plaques which it puts up. That seems a marvellous idea to me, it’s far better to have too much history than not enough. Great Yarmouth Local History and Archaeological Society are the organisation responsible for these plaques, and there are many others located around Gorleston and Great Yarmouth. He lived at 225 High Street, Gorleston, which was also known as Surbiton Lodge but it’s been demolished and replaced by flats now. He died in 1993 and is buried at Gorleston Cemetery and Crematorium. The plaque indicates that Hamilton-Deane practised medicine here from 1923 until 1985, which makes him one of the longest serving GPs in the country.
There’s more about him and his life at http://www.edp24.co.uk/news/exceptional-gorleston-doctor-william-hamilton-deane-honoured-with-plaque-1-1068846.
This week’s visit, in between James signing autographs as we walked to the market, of eating at every food stall at Norwich Market was to Bodega, which was the ‘winner’ of when we did this in 2023. We’re struggling to fit lunch in now at all with James needing to stop to talk to all these middle-class people we pass, it’s gotten so bad I’ve had to start wearing a shirt with a collar to blend in with this whole world of wealth that I hadn’t known about. Anyway, I digress. This seems to be one of the most talked about food stalls on the market and the standards have remained high for years, so we were looking forwards to this visit.
The menu and there are many tempting options. I’m aware that I should have tried something different, but pastrami and pickles are one of my favourite things, so I went for the same again and was pleased that James showed a little more culinary bravery. As a price comparison, the Bring Back the Katz is now £9 and was £7.50 a couple of years ago, so it’s not an enormous price increase. The service was polite, efficient and welcoming, so this continued to feel like an inviting place to visit. I also liked that they had stickers, it suits my inner child and that’s going on the laptop later alongside the selection of craft beer stickers. They accept card and cash and there’s a small seating area located opposite the stall.
This looks, and indeed was, delicious. There was a large quantity of the ingredients, the pastrami was tender, the pickles added texture, the sauce was light with a slight punchiness and the bread was soft and fresh. To be honest, half a sandwich was plenty, although being greedy I wasn’t displeased to have to eat another half. All very nice and although it’s a little expensive for a sandwich, there’s a lot going on here for the money.
James went for the Coq Joke and was suitably impressed by the quality of the chicken and the size of the portion, although I think he found it just a little sickly with the sweet sauce. But, there’s still value for money there, with the ingredients being decent. James also took a Good Girls sticker, I’m not sure where he’s planning to stick it.
Once again, I couldn’t really fault this visit. The service was friendly, the ordering process was well managed, the quality was high and the portion size was generous. This is definitely one of the market’s consistently excellent stalls and long may it continue…. Only a handful of visits left now and we’ve started to discuss who the winner will be, my two loyal blog readers must be beyond themselves with excitement.
[I originally posted this in July 2018, but have reposted it to fix the broken image links]
It’s the first time that I’ve visited Wisbech for very many years, and some of the High Street is perhaps in need of some attention. Indeed, without that attention, there’s a risk bits of it might fall down.
There has been some funding provided to the town to develop a strategy to restore some of the buildings on the High Street and also to appoint a Townscape Heritage Officer. The above signage notes that they’re not trying to do too much, primarily limited by the level of funding that they have.
For buildings so close to the town’s central market, I was surprised to see these in such a poor state of repair. If the project to restore the High Street is successful, hopefully these can be restored and brought back into use for housing or retail.
The ideal has to be that Wisbech becomes a town that is wealthy enough to support two Greggs. Then they’ll know that they’ve made it.
[I originally posted this in July 2018 and have reposted it to fix the broken image links]
The full story of Dann’s clock is far better told at http://www.wisbech-society.co.uk/bridge-street-clock.html and it’s an interesting story of how a piece of Wisbech’s history was so nearly lost. It was originally erected in the 1860s as a public service for those who didn’t have their own watch (or smartphone).
It took its name from when James Dann owned his clock, watch-maker, optician and jeweller shop (he seems multi-talented) at 10, Bridge Street in the town. He was clearly proud of his illuminated clock as it was commented on in much of the advertising that he placed in the local media at the time.
In 1869 the local press reported of the council meeting where the clock was discussed by the local elected representatives. The council had agreed to pay for one lamp’s worth of illuminating Mr Dann’s clock at night, because this was seen as a public service to avoid people being attacked when it was dark. Mr Dann was very pleased with this, but he discovered that his lamp was using 21,000 feet of gas (I’m entirely unclear what sort of measurement that is) and he wanted the council to pay for two lamps. I liked how the meeting reported that one alderman queried that they had paid for one, and he “didn’t know how that it was” that they now had to pay for two.
Back in its rightful place, although if I’m being honest, I only noticed it was even there because of the sign on the wall. It cost over £2,000 to bring the clock back to Wisbech and that was donated by local people and businesses, and it feels like money that has been well-spent. The clock would have lost so much of its meaning in any other setting.
The sign on the wall which brought my attention to the clock. I like reading signs relating to history, especially lengthy ones like this.
[I originally posted this in July 2018, but have reposted it to fix the broken image links]
The land on which the town’s main park now resides was originally owned by the Church Commissioners, who rented it for grazing and market gardening. I know this as the council has helpfully placed signs up around the park giving a history of the site.
The park opened in 1869 and the Town Corporation purchased the land at a cost of £2,000. This thrilled the local population who had to pay a penny on their rates for thirty years to fund the purchase, and over 100 ratepayers complained about the cost.
There was apparently a bowling green here, before they planted a grass maze on it. Note the size of the park is nineteen acres, but seemingly they couldn’t think where to put a grass maze other than on a bowling green. Bored by that idea, they’ve now turned the area into an orchard. The aim is that residents can wander through the apple trees and pick themselves an apple. It’s a shame Greggs can’t do something similar with chicken bakes…
Further information about the apple project.
This is the Richard Young memorial, which is at the northern end of the park. He was a Member of Parliament for Cambridgeshire between 1865 and 1868, and he was also the Mayor of the town from 1858 until 1863. Hansard reports that Richard Young made one verbal contribution during his time in the House of Commons. This is the report of his comments:
“Richard Young, who had returned to the House, said, he had thought his presence unnecessary”.
It’s not exactly Disraeli is it?
Here’s the inscription on the memorial.
The bandstand was opened in 1908 at a cost of just under £100. It was restored in 2017 at a cost of over £60,000, which sounds rather expensive to me, but some was spent on a new thief-proof roof. I’m not sure that anyone had pinched the previous one though.
A view over the park.
The sign notes that this area of the park was “a magnet for anti-social behaviour”, so work was completed by volunteers (and some perhaps slightly less than volunteering members of the community payback scheme) and it is a much nicer area now. They’ve also created an “insect hotel” which I hope doesn’t encourage any snakes to move in.
[I originally posted this in July 2018, but have reposted it to fix the broken image links]
This museum claims that they believe this is one of the oldest museums in the country which is still located within its original purpose-built building, and the Wisbech and Fenland Museum opened in 1847. Indeed, the museum seems overly large for the size of the town and it’s no doubt a testament to the volunteers that it has survived for over a century and a half.
The museum was first founded in 1835 when 31 members of the local community came together to form a literary and antiquary society. It now has over 50,000 items in its collections, although I’m not entirely sure where they store them all.
In an age where museums seem too willing to dispose of items, I was glad to read that the museum says “we do not have the resources to carry out a rationalisation project and consequently it is not a priority”. So, nothing will be flogged off. Sometimes having insufficient money can be for the best.
There is an entrance room, which has a small shop, and then there is a room with various items of porcelain, postcards and information about different aspects of the history of the town. This room was formerly the museum’s lecture room, and then there is the two storey main gallery which has the bulk of the items on display. This is rather a tight space, but it feels authentic and they do fit a lot into the area. There must also be a library in the building, although I believe that this was closed on the day of my visit.
What is left is a very Victorian feeling museum which offers a friendly welcome and a rather eclectic range of exhibits. Unfortunately, what I consider to be one of their most interesting exhibits, which is the original text of Great Expectations, wasn’t on display on the Saturday when I visited. The museum had been given the manuscript in 1868 by Reverend Chauncy Hare Townshend, a friend of Dickens.
I mentioned above that it is fortunate that the museum isn’t currently to dispose of items. It hasn’t always been so though, as the museum trustees tried to flog off their most precious asset, the Dickens manuscript, in 1947. It results in an inquiry from the Charity Commissioners which the trustees tried to ignore, despite being told not to sell it. The will donating the item to the museum specifically said that the trustees couldn’t sell it, and it’s not clear why they ultimately didn’t, perhaps the legalities proved too much to bear. The sale would have raised around £10,000, but fortunately the trustees didn’t prevail in their plans.
I’m sad to say that I hadn’t previously heard of Thomas Clarkson, who is another important part of the museum. Clarkson was an anti-slave campaigner who lived from 1760 until 1846 and he was a student of Wisbech Grammar School. The museum tells the story of Clarkson’s endeavours, including how he spoke to 20,000 sailors and travelled 35,000 miles to find out more about the slave trade.
William Wilberforce is the much better known historical figure who fought against slavery, and there’s a fascinating museum dedicated to his life in Hull. However, the museum explains that it was Clarkson who provided Wilberforce with details and facts about the slave trade which became crucial to his speeches.
A carved oak chair from the 1870s, sculpted by Marshall George Strapps. He took up carving when working as a toll-keeper, and later in his life he collected tolls on the town’s Leverington Road. He is also buried in the town, at Leverington Road Cemetery.
My favourite exhibit in the museum was the 1657 manuscript map of Wisbech Hundred. The museum explains that the land had recently been carved up now that it was newly drained, and this map records that.
Also in the museum is a collection of birds, or what Dylan would call “dead animals” (actually I think I called it that, but he’s used the term many times since). It’s a rather Victorian style of displaying wildlife, but now it has been created it would seem wrong to destroy it.
Every provincial museum should have items which visitors can relate to, and this museum didn’t let me down. Lots of household items, although I’m obviously too young to remember any of them.
Some bottles from Elgood’s Brewery, which is a local business which first opened in 1795, and is still based on the town.
When Cadbury’s made proper chocolate….
There is also a collection of coins, which is quite an interesting little exhibit, although they only had a limited amount of space to display them. They have numerous Roman and Greek coins, most of which have been found in the local area.
Overall, I thought that this was a delightful little museum and it’s marvellous that it has survived for so long. There is no entrance charge, although donations are gratefully received, and there are numerous events which are put on by the museum.
In trying to deal with this extreme heat, I decided that I would seek solace in the pub.
The pub is tied to Harvey’s, which might be obvious from this beer selection, but it was positive to see a choice of different real ales as well as numerous flavours of Tayto crisps. The service was friendly, engaging and warm, so the environment felt welcoming and a place that I might want to actually spend some time.
The pub had a clean and inviting interior. CAMRA notes that it was built as a Victorian corner pub in 1865 and was known as the Anchor until Harvey’s Brewery purchased it in 1992. The pub has been in previous Good Beer Guides, but it seems to have fallen out in recent years, although this is more likely just because there’s strong competition in the area.
Oooh, a bar billiards table. Hopefully I’ll get to play on it one day, I think Surrey has quite an active league going on.
This was my first drink….. There’s a lot to be said for water with ice in a heatwave.
This is the Forward’s Choice from Harvey’s Brewery and it was on the turn. In fairness, I could have taken it back and informed them, but I was too hot and tired to do very much about the situation so I’ll accept that one is my responsibility as these things happen.
The Prince of Denmark from Harvey’s Brewery and this was much better, with flavours of chocolate and liquorice, with the taste being rich and very slightly boozy.
I liked this pub, it had an informal feel to it and a decent selection of beers from Harvey’s, which I don’t get to see much in East Anglia. I like the idea of playing bar billiards here and the whole environment felt comfortable and inviting. I won’t hold the beer on the turn against them as I didn’t tell them and it’s hot and these things happen. It just means I’ll have to come again to try the venue again.
