Walking. Gossip. Travel.

Tag: Norwich

Food from Every Stall on Norwich Market – Week 24 and Italian Street Food

I’m getting towards the end of my attempt to eat at every food stall at Norwich Market and this week it was the Italian Street Food outlet. They sell quite a range of different food given the size of the stall, including pizzas, burgers and calzones (or calzoni, I’m never sure). I wasn’t sure how hungry I’d be as it was Nathan’s big 30th birthday party the night before, but as soon as I arrived at the stall I was confident that I could manage a pizza.

The stall was busy when we arrived and although the team members were occupied with preparing food, the service was prompt and efficient. James and I both went for the pepperoni pizza which I thought was reasonably priced at £9. We were pro-actively told that there was a delay on food service of around fifteen minutes because it was busy, but that didn’t seem excessive and I was grateful to be told in advance. The stall accepts cards and cash, with the ordering process all feeling well managed. It also was evidently a popular stall judging by the number of customers, they’ve built up something of a reputation over the last couple of years.

They kept us informed about the order’s progress and we then meandered over to Castle Gardens as there’s no seating at the stall. This was a very good pizza, leopard spotting as I like and it looked authentic. The tomato sauce was rich and the pepperoni was suitably tasty. There were no real negatives, although as a matter of personal taste the cheese wasn’t quite as I’d like as it seemed just slightly rubbery, but it was still of a good quality and the pizza was enjoyable. The base of the pizza was thin, as I like it, and it tasted authentically Italian.

James added to the whole excitement by getting pizza stuck in his throat, just a week after he managed to nearly choke on bubble tea. I appreciate the risks to his personal safety to ensure that this market visit process can be concluded. I’d add that James was also satisfied with the pizza and speaking positively about the whole arrangement. He did mention black pepper would have been a useful addition and I agreed with him, remembering that I had a little sachet in my bag and that met my needs. It didn’t meet his as I only had one sachet, but he should come prepared.

Overall, I very much enjoyed this visit and I’ll likely be back to try the other options, not least the chicken burger which I saw someone else have and it looked tempting and appetising. The team members were friendly, the service was efficient, the prices were reasonable and the pizza was of a good quality.

September 29, 2023
Streets of Norwich – Mountergate

Part of my Streets of Norwich project…. [updated in September 2023]

Mountergate has also been referred to as the southern end of St. Faith’s Lane and the small section where it meets Prince of Wales Road is now better known as Eastbourne Place. The road name comes from the corruption of the parish name of St. Peter Parmentergate, which over time became Permountergate, and then Mountergate (and Mountergate Street).

Norwich City Council is very proud of its car parks and they put to one side perhaps too readily an English Heritage report asking them to reconsider building this. I’d rather that the council were proud of Norwich’s heritage and stopping knocking things down, but there we go. This is likely another one of those decisions that will be regretted in thirty years, although the building on the front part of this site was in fairness of no great historic loss.

As can be seen here, the car park beautifully blends into its environment.

There’s a road opposite the car park which leads to the Premier Inn and riverside walk.

On the left of this photo is a building which has been left empty since around 2005, whilst the beautiful car park still keeps going on the right.

The same neglected building from the front.

When certain Norwich City councillors were excitedly talking about their new car park, they were asked by some heritage bodies to moderate their plans to try and save the historic fishmarket site. The fishmarket buildings weren’t that appealing visually, but there was historic interest to them, even though they had only been constructed in 1914 when they moved from their previous site on St. Peter’s Street.

English Heritage said:

“The complete demolition of the fishmarket would result in the loss of this heritage interest and the buildings’ contribution to the historic environment. We would urge the council to consider alternative uses of part of the site that would allow retention of the fishmarket, but also alternative designs for the car park.”

So, there was potential for the council to change their plans slightly to build their car park, but to save some of the fishmarket site. What the council actually did was ignore all of that, but they did save the plaque which they’ve attached to their lovely new car park. So, when people come to have a look at the fishmarket site, which was of historic note albeit very run-down, they can now see where it was. Great.

There was a question asked of the council at the time about surely their own public transportation plans were failing if their only solution was to keep building car parks. I’m not sure they came up with an answer to that.

Anyway, there’s no point in being negative. One advantage in the council knocking down sites of interest is that there are fewer listed buildings for me to note.

This is one listed building that remains, a seventeenth-century former factory site which still has some character to it, even though there have been a couple of extensions in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries when it was used in the manufacture of boots and shoes. Behind it is St. Faith’s House, which fronts onto Baltic Wharf.

A more modern office building, and then the entrance to the new St. Anne’s Quarter building development. Somewhere along here was the site of the Orchard Tavern, which was the only pub located on Mountergate.

The pub was badly damaged during an air raid in 1940 and the owners, the Lacon Brewery, decided that they wouldn’t rebuild it.

Taking a look at the 1939 Register, St. Faith’s Tavern was located at 17 Mountergate and the landlord Fred Furze lived on the premises with his wife, Melinda. The pub closed in 1961 and it was once located at the corner of Mountergate and Synagogue Street.

Everything on the left has been lost to the St. Anne’s Quarter site (although much had already been lost to war damage), but the wall on the right-hand side has been retained.

And that wall leads to this gate, which led into where the Rose Lane iron-works are marked on the map. Now replaced by the Parmentergate Court housing project, at least this element has been kept as part of the site redevelopment. George Plunkett, who I’ve never known to be wrong on anything, wrote that the walls were from the Co-op shoe factory and were “retained as a baffle against traffic noise for Parmentergate Court”. Another source says they’re the old iron-work walls, and I have no idea which they are, unless both were at the site at the same, or different, times. On balance, I can’t imagine Plunkett was wrong though.

The road, which is pedestrianised at this point, then meets King Street and straight over is Stepping Lane. A century ago, there would have been a road on the left-hand side, which was where Synagogue Street once stood. Much of this was lost during air raids in the Second World War, with the synagogue the street was named after being badly damaged, and then moved to a new site on Earlham Road in 1948.

September 25, 2023
Streets of Norwich – Ninham’s Court

Part of my Streets of Norwich project…. [updated in September 2023]

Ninham’s Court is a thoroughfare which connects Bethel Street to Chapelfield and it hasn’t changed its route over the last few centuries.

In this 1880s map, the thoroughfare was known as Masters Court and it takes its current name from the artist Henry Ninham, who lived at one end of the street. Ninham, who lived at the Chapelfield end, was a landscape artist and member of the Norwich School of Painters. He rather helpfully painted and drew many images of Norwich’s yards, courts and old buildings, with these sometimes being the only memory of them since they have long since gone.

Photos from the route of Ninham’s Court, which is a narrow passage which reminds me somewhat of the rows in Great Yarmouth. The moss growing on the wall adds some atmosphere, but otherwise this isn’t really a street that anyone should necessarily travel to visit…..

This photo is of limited use here (but George Plunkett can help here with this photo and also this one), but along the route are some houses which were likely built in the sixteenth century, although the fifteenth century undercrofts of older structures remain. This is the text about this property from the new city council’s heritage walk, which is what took me down this thoroughfare in the first place:

“In the alley is the house of Nugent Monck, who founded the Norwich Players here in 1911. His company first performed in the large drawing room, which accommodated a small stage and an audience of about 70 people. Their popularity meant he needed more space and moved to the site of the current Maddermarket Theatre in St. John’s Alley.”

There was an article in the Norwich Mercury in September 1896 where freehold properties were for sale in the alley, split across nine lots with an annual rent of £204 12s.

One resident of note was Robert Briggs, whose death the Norwich Mercury announced in 1901. He had become something of a notable character locally as he was the last Norwich survivor of the famous 1854 charge of the Light Brigade at Balaclava.

There was a tragedy on the alley in January 1911 when three year old Ada Louisa Waterson perished in a fire. Her mother had left her, and her tied up to a chair baby sister, whilst she went off to walk to Cow Hill for fifteen minutes. When she returned she saw smoke and then realised that Ada had died by burning, likely by wearing flannelette. The Coroner was most unimpressed, he condemned the mother saying that it was deplorable that children had been left unprotected.

September 25, 2023
Streets of Norwich – Watts Court

Part of my Streets of Norwich project…. [updated in September 2023]

Watts Court connects Chapelfield and Bethel Street, running parallel with Ninham’s Court. It’s likely named after John Langley Watts, a former Mayor of Norwich and whose memorial is still in situ inside All Saints’ Church, Westlegate.

The Chapelfield end of the court, which isn’t the most decadent entrance…. And I mention this because at the other end, on Bethel Street, there was until the Second World War a rather lovely original Tudor surround to the court, unfortunately, lost in 1942 in the Blitz. George Plunkett, reliable as ever, has a photo of this entrance that he took in 1935. There’s nothing there now, the buildings here have been removed and not replaced.

Photos of the court along its length, there are traces of history in the old wall, but unfortunately, most of interest has been lost.

One resident in 1849 was John Shenfield, who lived at number 42, but his business as a chair maker and lodging house keeper must have encountered problems as he was declared an insolvent debtor. This process meant that he had to attend the Guildhall to discuss his financial matters with the court. An insolvent debtor was different from a bankrupt, it wasn’t until 1861 that insolvent debtors could apply to become a bankrupt. It would have been a worrying moment for John Shenfield, as insolvent debtors could be kept indefinitely in a debtors’ prison.

September 22, 2023
Food from Every Stall on Norwich Market – Week 23 and Thai Bubble Tea

It’s week 23 of my eating at every food stall at Norwich Market, this expedition was to Thai Bubble Tea. They specialise in, it’s no surprise to note, bubble tea which first became rather on-trend in the UK during 2021 and 2022, with many shops popping up.

The menu board which seems clear, although I must admit that these drinks are somewhat alien to me. However, nothing ventured and nothing gained with there being plenty of choice. Indeed, one of the advantages with this arrangement is the variety that can be offered in a single drink, something which might encourage customers to return. As I understand, the drink has a tea base which is then mixed with milk and a little ice, with the popping balls then added.

The stall isn’t entirely logically laid out as food service is from the other side only despite menu boards being located on all sides. I didn’t realise this, although then another customer told me as she said she’d found out the hard way. James went around to order for us whilst I reserved the seating, but better signage might prevent the confusion. I’m not sure that James knew what he was doing either, but the team member was helpful and patient, guiding him through the ordering process.

I’m sure that there was almost some alchemy going on here, with so many ingredients around the place.

Not really knowing what I was doing, I ordered the banana milk tea, but I was asked what popping balls I wanted in it and so I went for blueberry without realising I had a choice.

James went for a waffle and the bit I tried seemed to taste fine, although I think he had hoped for something slightly more decadent and rich in flavour. What was evident at this stage was the long delays in service, with the sole team member having taken 19 minutes to serve this.

29 minutes after ordering, my drink arrived. I felt sorry for the sole team member as she seemed to be managing things efficiently and remembering who had ordered what. I wasn’t in any great hurry, but I think some sort of warning of service times might have been useful as this is by far the longest we’ve waited at any market stall.

But, onto the drink. It’s an odd experience as I’ve never had bubble tea before, but the little bubbles (which are more precisely known as tapioca balls) at the bottom go shooting up the straw and they then burst. In terms of adding texture and innovation to a drink I found them rather appealing and the rest of the drink was just a tasty banana milkshake. The drink cost £4.50 and they accepted card purchases.

James was worried about choking on the popping balls and then promptly nearly did as we walked back, adding to everyone’s amusement, or perhaps it would be better to say bemusement. I will say that as soon as there’s no liquid left, they do become more of a challenge to deal with. It’s fair to say that these drinks should be consumed carefully by children or irresponsible adults, preferably under the supervision of a responsible adult.

Overall, I enjoyed the experience but thought that that the service time was excessive for a market stall where no warning was given of the potential wait. I liked the engagement of the team member and she was working hard, although ideally there would have been someone to help here. The stall was clean throughout and everything seemed organised, with the atmosphere feeling inviting and warm. It’s not necessarily something that I’d rush to again, but I enjoyed the experience and it’s worth trying at least once.

September 19, 2023
Food from Every Stall on Norwich Market – Week 22 and Lucy’s Chips

When Nathan and I started our challenge of eating at every food stall at Norwich market, James questioned what the point was as we should just declare Lucy’s chips the winner straight away. Nathan, quite correctly and soberly, thought it was probably better to visit all of the food stalls before making that judgement. Rolling on, it’s James that I’m now completing these visits with and it’s the first time that one of the two Lucy’s stalls has come up. I had high hopes, James and I have been visiting Lucy’s for some considerable time, albeit the other stall that they operate on the market.

The food items, which give the option of pies, mushy pies and sausages to the core food group that is chips. I hadn’t realised that they had partly branded this as a mushy peas stall and I was tempted to go for that, but then I saw the butcher’s sausage and remember how much I like that. So many choices….

I saw the Steak & Guinness pie that comes with gravy and chips for £5.50. I had to go with that, as gravy is the best thing to go with chips and the pie sounded suitably decadent. The service was friendly, even when I got muddled up with the ordering and tried to order a Steak & Kidney pie, which isn’t something they do. They accept cash and cards, with the whole process being efficient and timely even though I confused it somewhat along the way.

As for the food, this was on point and just what I consider market cuisine should be like. The pie is locally sourced, it had generous amounts of tender steak in and the sauce had a richness of taste to it. The gravy complemented the chips beautifully and this was a filling and suitably decadent lunch. For the money they’re charging, this is very competitive.

James went for the chips with curry sauce, he’s a bit more modern in his tastes than I am, I’ve decided I might make a move permanently to gravy with chips (I’ll have to break that gently to James, we’ve been doing curry sauce for decades and the change might shock him). James was surprised and delighted with his meal. Well, not necessarily surprised as he’s had their chips around 500 times, but definitely delighted.

It’s not a great photo unfortunately, but there are some doughnuts for dessert as well, but I felt I had eaten enough already at this point. We were able to eat at the stall as they had a ledge to lean on, with everything clean and organised. The standards were as we hoped for and this is definitely a contender in being the best stall at Norwich Market. All really rather lovely and it’ll come as no surprise that I recommend this delightful food stall.

September 13, 2023
Norwich – King’s Arms (Two Julians)

Another day, another study tour and Julian and I were continuing our visits to pubs in Norwich. This is the King’s Arms on Hall Road and they’ve made a substantial effort with their floral arrangements. I know this pub reasonably well, a few of us used to visit every Friday night as they let you take your own food in from the nearby takeaways. Indeed, not only that, but they also provide sauces and plates for free to make the whole thing even more comfortable.

The pub is listed in the Good Beer Guide and it’s been serving alcohol to the population of Norwich since the 1830s. The pub was free trade for a few years when Greene King sold it in 1998, but it is now a Batemans pub. They’ve got twelve different ales available which are all clearly displayed above the bar, several of them from Batemans. To give a little snapshot of what to expect, the pub states on their web-site:

“There is no music, machines, pool or darts but this adds to, rather than detracts from, the great atmosphere – the King’s Arms is often described by regulars and newcomers alike as ‘a proper local’.”

I incidentally approve of that arrangement, I can’t be doing raucous.

I went for the XXXB from Batemans and it tasted as expected, but it wasn’t quite as cold as I would ideally have liked. Although, it was insanely hot on the day of our visit and both Julian and I turned up separately at the pub rather unsteady with all the heat. Roy was also there showing off his green finger, but enough said about that the better.

There’s a traditional and cosy feel to the pub and everything was clean and organised. The service was warm and friendly, with the pub taking cards and cash. The pub is positively reviewed on-line, but I feel for the venue as they’ve picked up some negative reviews from pubs with similar names. I’ve just tried to get a couple of the negatives ones that are evidently about somewhere else removed from Google in a bid to assist the pub, although I can’t imagine I’ll be successful. They have angered one local though who posted what appears to be piffle, with the pub commenting:

“Dont put rubbish reviews on just because you are barred. It only shows you up, not us.”

I like a pub that stands up for itself.

As another one of my random meanderings into irrelevance, I like these hand dryers that let you divert the air to a different direction. When it’s very hot, which I may have mentioned it was during our visit, the cool blow of air was actually quite useful. These are much better than those Dyson hand dryers where there’s a pool of odd smelling moisture at the base of them. Anyway, I digress as this series of posts is meant to be about pubs and not hand dryers, fascinating as that subject is and there’s probably already a niche web-site somewhere about them.

Looking towards the front of the pub, there’s a conservatory area off to the right.

Namely this one, with a garden area out the back as well.

Overall, this felt like a reliable and competently run pub and the welcome was warm and friendly. There were plenty of beers to choose from and the environment was inviting and comfortable. There were no negative issues that we encountered and it’s a useful destination to bring a takeaway meal into whilst enjoying a drink, knowing that there are cutlery and plates on hand.

September 8, 2023
Food from Every Stall on Norwich Market – Week 21 and Tasty House

It’s week 21 of my visiting every food stall on Norwich market and today’s expedition was to Tasty House (the more formal name is Tasty House South East Asian Street Food Emporium) which specialises in Asian street food including Thai and Chinese.

The menu is relatively extensive with some daily changing specials. There are some traditional dishes, vegan & vegetarian options and sides such as spring rolls. The menu and the pricing should be visible by zooming into the above image on Flickr.

I know it’s not something that I mention often as I don’t like to moan or complain, but it’s too hot in Norwich at the moment. So given that, I went for a Dr. Pepper as a refreshing cool drink. Oh, and the food, I went for the Chicken Green Curry with sticky rice. The regular size which I went for was £7, although there was a large for £8.50, with options also of Jasmine rice or noodles.

The kitchen area and the food was served promptly, but I had a minute or two to wait as James was allowing other people to be served before him in the queue. He’s very much a gentleman…. The stall usually takes card payments, but their machine wasn’t working today and so it was fortunate that we both had cash available.

I started to eat whilst standing at the counter, but a helpful team member mentioned there was a seating area at the end of the stall they run opposite. That stall specialises in serving Asian ingredients, with the back of some of the shelves visible in the above photo.

But, back to the food, which I thought was a sufficiently generous portion for the money. I liked the food, with the chicken being tender and moist whilst also still full of flavour. The sauce had a depth of taste with some heat to it, which I thought was appropriate for a green curry. The rice was sticky as expected, with everything being at the appropriate hot temperature. I felt full at the end of this meal, which isn’t always the case by any means, with the standard of the food being higher than I had expected. There was a small salad included, which wasn’t offensive (well, not more than a salad usually is) but it wilted rather quickly on the warm rice. Also, although the curry sauce was a little thin, that meant that it soaked up the rice well giving extra flavour to the whole arrangement.

James went for the crispy chicken which is deep fried in batter with a spicy sauce. Perhaps not ideally moist, James likes the crispiness to the chicken and the flavour of the spicy sauce. It likely wasn’t as spicy as he wanted, since he could do the One Chip Challenge about eight times over, but he was content and sufficiently surprised and delighted.

Back to the service, this was pro-active, friendly and confident. I stood in the wrong place to order, but that was because I’m an idiot rather than because it wasn’t clear. The team members were helpful and they mentioned the seating area, also noticing that we needed to throw the litter away at the end and they came to James’s aid. I felt welcome throughout and the surroundings were clean and comfortable. The food was excellent, they had cold Dr. Pepper and this is a stall that I’d merrily visit again and recommend because it felt reassuringly competent.

September 7, 2023
Streets of Norwich – Damocles Court

Part of my Streets of Norwich project…. [updated in September 2023]

Firstly, and annoyingly, I have no idea why this street has this name. Answers on a postcard…. Unless it’s a recent dig at the authorities, since Damocles is about the constant threat which is faced by those who hold positions on power.

The court isn’t named on the above map, but it’s the one in the centre, which leads off Pottergate. Indeed, it doesn’t seem to have been named anywhere before 1980, so it sounds like a modern name. The court did once lead into Wellington Square, which has long since been demolished.

Looking down the courtyard, number 100 Pottergate is on the right.

In June 1980, the Illustrated London News had an article about housing in Norwich City Centre, noting:

“Damocles Court is a mixture of upgraded old houses and new buildings in vernacular style on decaying backlands”.

I’m not sure that I’ve seen Norwich city centre defined as “decaying backlands”…..

So, for the moment, this one is puzzling and I shall wait patiently for someone to solve this little mystery.

September 7, 2023
Norwich – Rosary Cemetery (John Burrows)

[This is a repost with minor amendments, I’ve tried again to find out more about John Burrows but have had no breakthroughs of interest]

This grave at the Rosary Cemetery in Norwich caught my eye because of the use of Roman numerals, which require some thought (well, they do to me) to resolve…. It’s the grave of John Burrows who died on 16 January 1837 aged 78 years old. There are also two other names listed on the other side, also with Roman numerals used, which are Paul Thomas Edwards and Judith Edwards, but more of them anon.

The first burial in the Rosary Cemetery was in 1821, but as the established church didn’t really engage with this non-denominational site there weren’t that many more burials over the next decade. This means that John’s birth of 1758 is probably one of the earliest in the cemetery.

John was born on 30 November 1758 and was baptised on 3 December 1758 at St. James with Pockthorpe Church in Norwich, which is now better known as Norwich Puppet Theatre, and he was the son of John and Mary Burrows.

John was married on 22 October 1780 to Judith Yeomans of Trowse in the same church as he was baptised. They had their first child, again called John, who was born on 4 November 1785 and was baptised two days later, again at St. James with Pockthorpe Church. They had another child, Judith, who was born on 15 May 1791 and baptised seven days later, with no prizes for guessing at which church….

Judith, the wife of John, died at the age of just 42 on 24 June 1804 and was buried at St. James with Pockthorpe Church, yet another event for the family at this particular church.

John died on 16 January and was buried in the dissenters area of the cemetery on 22 January 1837. This is interesting, as something has happened that has made John not want to be buried at the church in which he was baptised, he was married, where his children were baptised and where his wife was buried. Instead, he’s deliberately been buried and listed as a dissenter.

I mentioned at the beginning that on the other side of the grave were the names Paul Thomas Edwards and Judith Edwards, and Judith was John’s daughter and Paul was his son-in-law. They married in January 1833, with John being listed as now living in Thorpe Hamlet and Thomas was working as a lime burner. And more about them in another post.

But, I can’t yet resolve what happened to John between the death of his wife in 1804 and his own burial in 1837, a period where his religious beliefs either changed or he felt able to freely express them. That meant that he ended up being buried along in the Rosary Cemetery until his daughter and son-in-law were buried with him a few decades later. I’m sure that there’s a fascinating story here, but I’m less sure that the documentary record exists to tell me what it is.

September 5, 2023