Some graffiti on the former Topshop which doesn’t seem an unreasonable statement, namely the “potential housing kept empty by millionaire landlords”. This building on Haymarket has been left empty for two years and was meant to be taken over by Morrisons this year on a 15 year lease. Morrisons have only just confirmed that they don’t want it any more, meaning that the large building looks like it’ll be left empty for some time to come. It’s all a bit sub-optimal.
Well, this is a marvellous idea (not least as some of my favourite venues are taking part) as 11 Norwich pubs in the NR3 postcode have come together to organise a beer mile. The excitement will be taking place between Thursday 10 August to Sunday 13 August, although as I’m walking some of the Shotley 50 event this weekend, I’m unlikely to be visiting very many of the pubs.
However, I wanted to take part in at least some form, so I went to visit the Leopard to collect a map of the event and also get my first of the trading cards. There was already interest on the Thursday afternoon and the staff member thought it would be a success, so perhaps this might become an annual event. The weather is favourable at the moment (not favourable to me as I like rain) which might also help bring out the crowds.
My first stamp and trading card, this one from the Leopard.
The pubs, which have over 200 beers between them, are :
Artichoke
Brewery Tap
Cottage
Duke of Wellington
King’s Head
Leopard
Malt and Mardle
Plasterers Arms
Ribs of Beef
Rosebery
Stanley
Julian and I went on a little meander at the weekend to the London Tavern and the Griffin Hotel as part of our attempt to visit every pub in Norfolk and Suffolk. There aren’t many pubs left in the town centre of Attleborough, but I was merrily reading the story of the Bear pub which was located on Queens Road. The odd story of this pub’s demise was written about in the Diss Express on Friday 16 April 1999, although they were hopeful of finding a resolution at the time, when the owner Spring Inns announced they wanted to sell the building. Spring Inns had purchased the property from Pubmaster and they were one of the pub companies that was swept up by the larger pubcos, leaving a trail of destruction in their path, but I digress.
But the relevant part here is that the new landlady, Susan Dickerson, had been the landlady of her pub for just two days before Spring Inns announced their decision. That feels highly sub-optimal. She had been promised a two year lease and had left her job working on the checkout of one of the town’s supermarkets. She had thrown herself into her new pub, operating it on a community basis with three pool teams, a darts team and a bowling team. Dickerson was hopeful of a positive outcome as she clearly loved her pub, but it shut anyway and was turned into housing. It was a sad end to a pub that had been trading since the late eighteenth century and it looks like a traditional old building that would have been a credit to the town.
There are some other stories from the pub over the centuries, including from 1853 when a James Back and a William Barnes were drinking in the venue. They then thought it would be a marvellous idea to race two friends, John Anderson and a lad called Gooch, on their horse and cart and Back and Barnes were riding in a waggon without reins. This ended in disaster when there was a crash with Anderson dying and Gooch being seriously injured. The two drunken men were fined £1 each, but the Bear weren’t considered culpable in the whole arrangement. Numerous coroner courts and public auctions were also held at the Bear, a reminder of when pubs were very much part of their local community and their functioning. They still are to a large degree, but unfortunately there are far fewer of them.
Anyway, I’d like to know more about this pub and if anyone does have any recollections or photos, let me know at jw@julianwhite.uk.
And next up in my series of eating at every food stall at Norwich market which is ‘And Eat It’ who specialise in homemade cookies, cakes and brownies.
I don’t have a particularly sweet tooth (although I can eat eight chicken bakes from Greggs, such is my savoury tooth) and so a lunch of a cake isn’t what I would usually opt for, but this market food investigation has to be rigorous and thorough with those filled cookies being particularly tempting. I narrowed my choice down to between the Lemon Meringue and the Milky Way options, with the latter proving to be the one which sounded the most decadent to me.
The welcome was immediate and friendly, although I was a little surprised that when James asked for a recommendation they didn’t explain what was available meaning he only discovered too late that there was an option he would have rather gone for. I was intrigued at just how wide the range was, there’s no shortage of choice here. It was an inviting and informal stand, I can imagine children must be surprised and delighted when they walk by here. I was overcharged, but the team members resolved it quickly and they accept cards and cash. Everything looked spotlessly clean and organised, with the cakes all being well presented.
The Rocky Road options, which is what James would have opted for if he had seen them. He likes bricks of chocolate, whereas I have a more delicate requirement. The slices of cookie pies are visible on the bottom shelf and they looked decadent for those who like big heaps of sugary treats. I did think that some of those product names might get Julian another Facebook ban if he posted about them.
My Milky Bar option with the cookie element seeming fresh and it had the rich taste that I had expected. I hadn’t expected the centre of the cookie itself to also replicate the Milky Bar, meaning it had a deeper depth of taste than I had anticipated. Although I inevitably felt the sugar rush, it didn’t taste too sickly or sweet, I thought that the overall flavour worked well. This cost £3 and I felt that was entirely reasonable given the quality of the food, so no complaints here on that.
James went for the Toblerone and Daim cookie, which he was complimentary about and I felt that it was the option that Alan Partridge would have gone for as well.
Overall, this stall has a strong reputation and they have been going for several years. The quality of the food was high with plenty of options. For anyone wanting to buy a present for someone, this is an ideal choice and I can imagine most children and chocolate lovers would be suitably and delighted by the gift. Gifting food treats is never easy, it wouldn’t feel appropriate to dump some chips on someone, but this kind of decadent treat is far more acceptable. Anyway, I digress. It’s not quite what I’d order for lunch under normal circumstances, but it was an enjoyable treat which highlights the range of food that is available at Norwich Market.
This post is also available at www.norfolksuffolk.org.uk where our back catalogue of posts about pubs in Norfolk and Suffolk can be found 🙂
We visited Attleborough at 21:00 on a Saturday night and the two town centre pub options listed on CAMRA’s Whatspub were the London Tavern and this former coaching inn, the Griffin Hotel. I have to some degree wax lyrical about the Griffin Hotel as it first opened in the 1560s when Queen Elizabeth I was on the throne. I’m enthralled what the atmosphere of coaching inns would have been like. Travel was more dangerous and challenging during those times, so travellers reaching their accommodation for the evening would have had an element of relief. They would have been keen to have a meal, several drinks and accommodation provided, all the elements of a positive jamboree of entertainment.
The venue notes that this passageway was once paved with wooden cobbles to muffle the sound of horses arriving and departing, to prevent disturbing the sleep of the weary travellers already in their beds.
This wing overlooking the church was added in the eighteenth century.
The venue’s dining and breakfast room. It might not look the most modern, but it’s in keeping with the building and its cosy feel.
The menu.
The special’s board.
There was just one real ale, the Battle of Britain from Wolf Brewery. It wasn’t quite the choice of four or five real ales that we had seen listed on Whatpub, but it was a well kept copper coloured ale.
The bar itself is in keeping with the general decor which is full of character and I have a sense of wonder of just how many people have walked through here over the centuries. The pub was quiet when we visited, just a couple of other customers which couldn’t have been in much more contrast to the London Tavern. Julian noted that he could hear the music from the louder pub whilst in this pub, it’s nice of them to share their entertainment like that.
The smaller snug room to the left of the main entrance.
A beer pump. There were numerous framed photos on the walls, somewhat eclectic but adding atmosphere to proceedings none the less.
I very much liked this venue, the heritage is undeniable and it had a calm and cosy feel to it. This must be one hell of a challenge to operate at the moment given the sheer size of the building and the energy demands that it must have amongst all of their other costs. Attleborough no longer needs the level of accommodation that it once did when it was a coaching town, but there were still numerous places to stay and so that means room rates aren’t likely to go that high.
Their on-line reviews on Google aren’t perhaps helping them much as they picked up several negatives a few years ago, which might put current potential diners and guests off. However, their accommodation element seems to have better reviews and I imagine that this is what is sustaining them at the moment. It’s essential to the community that venues such as this continue to thrive, as it would be horrifying for an Elizabethan pub to close after so many centuries. It’s reassuring that such places are still open and it was a delight to have a drink in an environment with so much history.
This post is also available at www.norfolksuffolk.org.uk where our back catalogue of posts about pubs in Norfolk and Suffolk can be found 🙂
The London Tavern has been surprising and delighting the denizens of Attleborough since the 1830s. Norfolk Pubs has some history about how the landlords were playing a bit fast and loose during the World Wars, in 1916 they were failing to close their premises to soldiers and during the Second World War there were repeated breaches of blackout rules.
It would be wrong of me not to mention in passing that there was something of an absence of welcome when we entered, although we were left sufficiently entertained as the member of bar staff decided that she was going to go into detail with other customers about matters that I cannot possibly write about for fear of spoiling this blog’s PG rating. I don’t mind listening to more personal information than I could possibly know what to do with, but it meant that we were just standing waiting to be served for a few minutes which was a little sub-optimal as no-one was being served. But, the venue itself seemed inviting enough and it had attracted quite a number of characters so Julian was entirely in his element. A well run pub really should have an element of theatre about it, I was sensing that Julian was near to writing one of his theatre reviews with the amount of material being provided to us.
The vibe of the venue is perhaps evident from this review and the pub’s response:
“Got covered in dog slime from owners dog then it did a dump beside me which left there”
Got the rather elegant reply of:
“We are very sorry that you witnessed an extremely disturbing and upsetting incident in our garden approximately 9.4 meters from where you sat. We thank you for bringing the incident to our staff and customers attention and the world at large, hopefully in doing so it will help others never experience such an awful totally preventable occurrence.
However we must thank you for how you relaid the incident it was extremely useful for our new 18yr old barmaid having only been in the role for 5 days it gave her – her first opportunity to experience an irate customer and learn from it, sadly you left so abruptly she/we never got the opportunity to apologise to you in person.
It’s also unfortunate it would seem that Steve missed you by only a few moments as he went outside via one door whilst you entered by another so he also missed the opportunity to apologise to you in person. However as he was out there so quickly he was able to apologise to those customers still in the garden for your foul mouthed outburst you directed at them and thankfully turn it into a light hearted moment.
We are grateful for the constructive criticism and we will discuss her bad manners with her and actively look at ways we can prevent this type of incident happening again. We totally appreciate that you will never wish to visit again so will take this opportunity to offer you our sincere apologies.”
I think that’s a fair reply 🙂
They had one real ale, which was the Iceni Queenie from Steam Shed Brewing of Swaffham, a well kept golden ale. At the appropriate temperature and an interesting beer that I haven’t had before, so all was well there. They did brew their own beer, Taylor’s Brewery, on site but this stopped during lockdown and hasn’t yet restarted although there are plans to do so at some stage.
Julian enjoying the atmosphere, which had a considerable climate of activity to keep him absorbed in people watching. I can’t possibly go into too much detail, but Julian even got the attention of Facebook with his commentary on what he saw. What more praise could a pub want?
There wasn’t much pub activity in the centre of Attleborough on the Saturday evening that we visited, it was here and the Griffin which were open for our entertainment. I think it’s fair to say that for those want a lively and noisy atmosphere, go for this one, there’s likely always going to be something happening. The welcome could have been a bit more immediate, but we were in no hurry and the pub was kept clean and tidy. Definitely something of a community hub and the place to party, the number of customers suggests that they’re doing something right so worth popping into for anyone who happens to be passing by.
The latest in our expedition around Norwich market stalls was Deb’s which specialises in burgers, breakfast rolls and the like, perhaps the sort of location that many people would associate with the market. First impressions were positive, it looked clean and organised, with the team member coming straight over to welcome us.
I ordered a bacon roll which is always slightly risky for me in culinary terms as I don’t like how places such as Greggs serve the bacon, which is effectively near raw in my eyes and attached to a heap of fat. I don’t want any Ed Miliband moments with bacon rolls. I accept I’m just being very picky, but I thought I’d ask here if they’d cook the bacon a little longer for me. To my surprise and delight, they pro-actively offered to remove the fat without me mentioning that, as well as checking how crispy I wanted the bacon. I’ve never had such a cooked to order bacon roll before, this was a delightful piece of customer engagement as far as I was concerned and the server mentioned she likes bacon cooked the same way. And she’s absolutely right with that.
That bacon is served perfectly and I merrily put lots of ketchup on. This is a proper market roll from a proper market stall. They accepted cards and it came to £3.80, which I felt was entirely reasonable as there was plenty of bacon in the roll. This was like Americans serve their bacon, which is crispy and firm, no limpness here. The bun was light and fresh, it might not be exotic but this was a simple pleasure I can say.
James went for a bacon, sausage and egg roll, which he spoke highly of although in a perfect world he would have preferred a runnier egg. However, for next time, I’m sure that they’d cook everything just as he wanted it, this felt like that sort of place. James seemed to feel the need to pay immediately when they didn’t seem hurried, whereas I was already halfway through eating my bacon roll and conscious I’d pay when they asked. No point in delaying eating, especially when the bacon looked so delicious.
The server was conversational, engaging and pro-active, this was a laid-back and inviting stall. There are ledges around the outside of the stall for people to eat at and the food was served on proper little plates. It’s a small element of luxury in what is a traditional market stall that I’m looking forwards to returning to. Definitely one of my favourite stalls so far in this experiment. All very lovely.
This post, and all the linked ones, are also available at www.norfolksuffolk.org.uk where lucky readers can also find the ‘back catalogue’ of posts from our previous trips around Norfolk and Suffolk.
Another day, another onerous study tour. This time we boarded the Sanders thunderbolt to Cromer where we expected to visit nine pubs during the day. These were:
Kings Head (closed)
Hotel de Paris (bar closed)
With two pubs that we couldn’t access, that took our total number of venues to seven during the day, which is still a creditable effort we thought.
We also made time to visit the town’s church.
Since we were at the seaside our sustenance was chips. These were £2.50 from Mary Jane’s Fish Bar, suitably filling and the service was efficient so I wasn’t left waiting in the queue full of anticipation for them.
Back again at the transportation hub of North Norfolk, connecting in with routes to the international multimodal hub at North Walsham.
I was pleased with my view out of the window on the way back to Norwich.
Julian commented on his rather more obstructed view.
Safely back in Norwich. It was another fulfilling day, with perhaps the unexpected treat being the Cliftonville Hotel and the wide range of local beers at the Red Lion. The Gangway offered the best craft beer and I’d say it was also the friendliest welcome of the day. However, the pubs were all credits to the community that they serve and they’re doing a marvellous job of staying open in these troubled times. All of the pubs that we visited served real ale in some form, with most having at least some effort at offering craft beer as well.
The final pub on our study tour to Cromer was the Good Beer Guide listed White Horse and the owners mention on their web-site that it has been a coaching inn since the sixteenth century, although I’m assuming that it has been entirely rebuilt since then as it feels more Victorian.
There were three real ales to choose from, although nothing which surprised and delighted me. We went with the Ghost Ship from Adnams which was well kept and tasted as expected. The service was again efficient and friendly, with a prompt welcome after I reached the bar.
The pub seems to have a generally very good reputation for food judging by the on-line reviews and there was some interesting specials available.
And the standard menu.
The food area of the pub. Timing meant that we had a bus to catch (which meant we had opted for chip shop chips…..), as there are a limited number of evening options back to Norwich, otherwise this looked like one of the most tempting locations to get food. The pub is close to the town centre, but it’s located just away from the main area and it seemed to be getting more local trade than from visitors.
And the main bar area, with another section of the pub to the other side of the bar having a pool table. It was all clean and tidy with a laid-back and relaxed atmosphere. They also offered accommodation, with one family room, three doubles and two singles. Perhaps, from the customer perspective and I’m conscious that there are a number of factors with this, on the margins of the Good Beer Guide as the real ale choice wasn’t spectacular, but it was a welcoming pub which clearly has a loyal following. All clean and comfortable, this was a perfectly respectable way to end the day’s study tour and just a short walk to the bus station.
The next venue in our Cromer study tour was the Cliftonville Hotel which opened in 1867 and received its licence to serve non residents in 1963. After our failed visit to the Hotel de Paris we were a little unsure what to expect, but we could see a sign saying that non residents were welcome and the doors were open so it looked positive.
Some drinks offers to tempt passer-bys.
This is a bit decadent.
There were two real ales, both from Barsham Brewery, the Oaks and the Golden Close IPA. Some craft beer options there and no bloody Cruzcampo, so another win.
I’m not sure what I expected, but it wasn’t this. The bar and restaurant is in this grand room with a Minstrel’s gallery and plenty of character. It wasn’t particularly busy, but it seemed a suitably glamorous location for us to discuss how the study tour was progressing.
Oops, the photo is slightly on the lean…. The beer was the Oaks bitter from Barsham Brewery and it was well-kept and tasted as it was meant to. The prices were moderate and there was no obvious hotel premium charged.
Other than needing a lick of paint, it was all in a good state of repair and everything seemed clean and well maintained.
I was impressed by the whole arrangement here, the hotel had a bar which was interesting enough for non residents and I’m sure that the hotel’s guests would mostly find what they needed here as well. The staff were friendly, helpful and polite, with the atmosphere feeling inviting.
