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Unfortunately, I fear that this market stall has permanently closed relatively shortly after opening. As part of my plan to eat at every Norwich market food stall, we’ve made multiple visits over different days and it has not only been closed but there’s no signage and there’s no social media.
Meandering around the collections of the Norwich Castle Museum, this display of dead stuffed animals is hard to miss and they’re from the Bostock and Wombwell Menagerie. This travelling circus was in operation between 1810 and 1931 and when their animals died on tour, they were often given to local museums. No doubt the menagerie was most exciting at the time, especially for children, as I can’t imagine many people had previously seen big cats, kangaroos, monkeys and even a rhino to name just a few.
The above animal doesn’t have a name, or at least not one that has been recorded, but it’s an ocelot which did in January 1893 before it was stuffed and brought to the museum. I hadn’t realised, but ocelots can be kept as pets, although I’m hoping that not too many people decide to do that in Norwich as it would feel sub-optimal for too many of these to be wandering around.
As evidence that these displays were educational, this is a binturong and I’ve never heard of them before so that’s something new to me. It’s an Asian bear cat and it looks very odd to me, they’re apparently noted for their strong tail which helps them climb trees. According to Plumpton Park Zoo they are “normally shy in the wild, but very aggressive when harassed and they may urinate or defecate on a threat”. They sound like just the thing you’d want to traipse around in your menagerie.
The museum notes that in 1812, George Wombwell bred the first lion in captivity in the UK, apparently now stuffed and on display at Saffron Walden museum. This lion cub was born on tour in 1887, dying at three months old when it reached Lowestoft. If he had lived longer, he is unlikely to have had a pleasant life, as Wombwell had used the lions to fight dogs, usually a battle which the lion would win but at some cost to its health and well-being. They were controversial even back in the early nineteenth century and Parliament banned them, which is one of the earlier pieces of animal rights legislation.
This male was caught in Australia and used by the menagerie as a boxing red kangaroo. I’m not sure that zoos or the like would get away with that little arrangement any more, he died in Somerset in March 1896. The museum doesn’t note whether he died in a fight or of natural causes. For anyone who wants to read more about this way of exhibiting animals before the establishment of zoos, there’s a Wikipedia page about them.
In the collections of Norwich Castle Museum, this is a pencil and watercolour by Joseph Stannard (1797-1830) from 1808. My first thought is that this shows just what a heap of dreadful buildings that had been shoved up in front of the historic Pull’s Ferry water gate. But, back to Stannard, who had his first painting exhibited at the Norwich Society of Artists when he was just 14. He suffered from poor health throughout most of his life, dying of tuberculosis at the age of 33, but despite that short life he became an important member of the Norwich School of Painters.
Here’s what it looks like today, with the River Wensum just visible in the left hand corner. I wonder whether the marks on the right-hand tower, looking like where a window or door once was, once led into the structure that Stannard drew. I rather like looking at how buildings have changed over the centuries during their repairs and reconstructions and this structure has gone through some periods when it was quite unloved.
By the late nineteenth century, the building had fallen into some state of disrepair and the roof had fallen in which was really all quite sub-optimal. On the bright side at least, the ramshackle arrangement of rickety buildings in front of the gate have been removed, although perhaps it was those that was holding them up.
In terms of when things improved for the building, George Plunkett, as ever, helps with this as he has a photo from 1949 showing a modernisation taking place and this was overseen by Cecil Upcher. Pull’s Ferry was for centuries used as a ferry house (the ferry operated until 1943), and the gate itself was built in the fourteenth century over the canal that had been used to take stone the short distance down to the cathedral during its construction. The canal was filled in during the late eighteenth century and for a while the building was used as a pub, which strikes me as a useful enterprise.
On display at Norwich Castle Museum, these gospels were carried by Private JP Benstead during the First World War, designed to instil confidence and peace into the soldiers who no doubt needed some considerable reassurance. There were nine million Bibles distributed to British troops throughout the war years and the National Army Museum has the full text of one.
The Gospel of Saint Mark has the following message from Field Marshal Roberts inside it, dated 25 August 1914:
“I ask you to put your trust in God. He will watch over you and strengthen you. You will find in this little book, guidance when you are in sickness, and strength when you are in adversity.”
On 14 November 1914, the elderly Roberts was dead, dying of pneumonia in France when visiting Indian troops fighting in the war. The religious texts were evidently important to soldiers though, it’s mentioned by the Bible Society that Professor Michael Snape from the Department of Theology at Durham University said:
‘This is a phenomenon that was recorded when soldiers who were killed on 1 July 1916 – the first day of the Battle of the Somme – were recovered and buried, many of them were found dead with the Bible, or New Testament in their hands.”
Much as reassurance must have been a real comfort, I wonder how many young servicemen pondered how on earth God had let them get into this situation and what exactly He was doing to protect them. Anyway, I don’t digress to much, I just rather liked the exhibit as it would have been a hugely important thing for a serviceman to take into war and that it has survived is likely a testament (no pun intended) to that.
On display in Norwich Castle Museum, this scene isn’t easily recognisable today as the bridge has been replaced and the railway station shifted a little bit. It’s a print by John Newman dating from the middle of the nineteenth century and shows what was then Norwich Thorpe railway station, now just Norwich as they’ve shut all the others.
A wooden bridge was constructed to cross the River Wensum in 1810, with the lattice iron arch bridge which is visible in the above print added in 1844 to serve the new railway station. A more substantial replacement was constructed in the yard of the station and in 1886 it was rolled over to use the same abutments as the previous structure. That 1886 structure is still there today and there are people still merrily canoeing and boating under the bridge.
The railway station was first constructed in 1844 and the adjoining current railway station opened in 1886 when a larger building was needed. Which is when they also needed a bigger bridge…. I think it’s quite an attractive railway station and it must have been exciting as it was the first in the city, as Norwich Victoria didn’t open until 1849 and Norwich City didn’t open until 1882.
The older railway station was initially used as a goods station, but was then faffed about with and a new brick structure added in 1921 which is still standing today.
And there’s the larger building on the left, which is still the city’s main railway station. The building on the right is the 1921 structure which I think is used by train crew now. Vehicles once entered the railway station on this corner, but that was sub-optimal from a safety point of view, so cars now come through on a road between the two buildings.
I have been inundated with messages asking about how I’m getting on at bar billiards and my team the Serengeti. I say inundated, but one person asked, but that’s enough for a blog post in my opinion. This might be mostly about the food, as I feel a breakdown of the game might be just a little excessive.
Well, this isn’t too bad. It’s the sixth win in a row for me, and it’s against the Manes this time. At the beginning of the season, the Manes captain made clear he only wanted people who weren’t as good as him at the game, hence why I joined the Serengeti 🙂 Typical that I then draw Nathan in both games, I can do without all this sporting rivalry. But, I concentrated on the food as that’s the important thing.
But, of course, I don’t get overly involved in these sporting matters, I just do what I’m told. It was a very close contest, 3-3 at the end of the singles match. This is a cup game and since the Serengeti have won both their games so far, I’m hopeful that we get to go further in the cup. All very enjoyable and close matches are always exciting. I’m not sure that my gameplay is the most interesting to watch at the moment, heavily based on keep scoring 10 points a lot, but maybe one day I’ll be able to do shots that my near namesake Jimmy White would be proud of.
But, as mentioned, the main reason that I take part is the food and I think I’ve made that clear on several occasions. The food provided by the White Lion and the curry was absolutely delicious. It’s a joy to play for a White Lion team, as we’re always surprised and delighted by the food that Oscar and his kitchen team provide. Apologies that I didn’t take a photo of the food before I dumped it on a plate, I’m not doing justice to the White Lion’s food in terms of the presentation. I only had two portions of the food which is low for me, but us Serengeti team members are held to high standards by the team captain Roy, we mustn’t be distracted. Our motto is “fun, food and victory” and that’s important to us. I say our motto, although I’ve just made that up, but maybe it could be. Back to the main matter though, I would like to mention here that the White Lion is the best pub in Norwich and should be visited at every opportunity.
And here’s a photo of Oscar and the Leopard’s dog. I have to say, and not just because I want something, but Oscar was in formidable form in his match. Anyway, back to the match which was closely fought and all very exciting. Well done to Emma, Wes and Julian on winning both their matches, they were all very brave. Especially me of course 🙂
The league and cup results and tables are at https://www.norwichbarbilliards.co.uk/.
I walk by this pub most days of the week, but I can’t recall the last time that I actually went into it. It’s a Craft Union pub, meaning that it’s sports led and has cheap drinks prices. There’s one particular Craft Union pub in Norwich, which is the Garden House, where the customer service is impeccable and the real ale selection one of the widest in the city. The excellent management at that pub has certainly improved my general image of the Craft Union brand.
In terms of its history, this is one of the few city centre pubs and it’s had an array of names over recent years, including Imagine, Chandlers, Wig & Pistle, Three Tuns, Mustard and Westlegate. As more people start to move into the new residential developments in the city centre I can imagine that trade will look up for venues such as this, it’s got a prime position. The pub was built in around 1937 and there’s an excellent photo of it on George Plunkett’s web-site which was taken in 1938. Then there’s a photo taken in 1936, which is of the previous building.
The only real ale available was Doom Bar, which doesn’t excite and delight me, so I went for John Smith’s instead. The service was polite and efficient, with the pricing being so low that I felt the need to get some crisps to go with it. The pub had something of a vibrant feel, but there was international football on the televisions and it all felt sufficiently safe and well managed (the pub, I have no idea about the football). I’m pleased to note that the drink and food pairing of John Smith’s and prawn cocktail crisps met my expectations.
Some of the pub’s decor and it does have a warm atmosphere, with everything feeling clean and well presented. There was only staff member, but she pro-actively and seem to spend her entire time serving, collecting glasses or cleaning.
The chain promotes their venues to be community pubs and I think that’s evident here. Some on-line reviews say that it’s an intimidating venue and there’s an inevitability that low drinks prices can engender that at times, but I thought matters seemed entirely in hand. I’d come here again, it might not offer the most exciting choice of real ales or craft beers, but it feels genuine and authentic.
Given that this building was formerly an architect’s office, it was decided to rename the Birdcage as the Drawing Rooms in 2022. It’s not the first time the pub has been renamed, it’s been the Pottergate Tavern, Brown Derby and Morning Star.
There was one real ale available and just generic keg beers. I don’t think the pub is too much engaged with drawing in (excuse the pun) beer drinkers, although it’s Greene King and so that’s hardly a surprise. They are pushing cocktails and I think that’s their main emphasis.
Being entirely honest I thought that there was a general absence of welcome with regards to the service, which is all a little unfortunate, but there we go. The pub was shortlisted for the Greene King Night of Excellence Awards 2023 a few months ago, so perhaps things are normally different.
They don’t appear to do food as that section of their web-site has every food menu item described as “I’m a dish description. Click Edit Menu to open the Restaurant Menu editor and change my text.”, which seems an odd thing for the management to have published. Currently all their food is listed at £9.99 including the onion rings, so I assume that’s a work in progress.
The pub was clean and tidy, although it all feels rather formulaic and as if it’s been rolled out by a restaurant chain. One recent reviewer has said that “it now looks like a strip club” and I do feel that it’s lost the charm and atmosphere that it had when it was the Birdcage. They have made an effort to put power points in for customers to use, which is very positive. The music was also too loud for my liking, given that we the only customers in this part of the pub, it hardly added much to the atmosphere. However, I get that I’m not the target audience here and I’ve run a pub where I wasn’t the target audience on some nights, so that’s fair enough, it’s about ensuring the core customers feel welcome.
The sole real ale choice was Pave the Way from Greene King and Big Hug Brewing. It was well kept, but it was bland and lacking in any depth of taste or flavour. This was a disappointing element, I would have expected two real ales to be available and preferably at least one not linked to Greene King.
In terms of the reviews, they’re mixed, a variety of people finding the music too loud and the service either being rude or indifferent. However, some customers love the cocktails and they do seem to have found their niche there and the owners are experienced given that they’re currently also operating the Wild Man and the Ten Bells.
As is likely evident, this pub isn’t really for me, but I don’t think it’s supposed to be. They seem to be after the 18-25 year old market and I can imagine that might be reasonably profitable for them, although it might take another refurbishment in a couple of years to keep it current and up-to-date. In positive terms though, the pub was clean and they’ve got power points.
As of my two loyal readers might notice, the lack of posting in this series was slightly sub-optimal, but James and I are now making decent progress through the plan of mine to eat at every food stall at Norwich market. Cocina Mia is the twelfth stall I’ve visited in this series, it opened in 2017 and they specialise in Chilean food.
The menu board. As an aside, they also open on Thursday to Saturday evenings, where there’s a different and more expensive menu to choose from. More on their web-site at https://www.cocinamia.net/.
The menu board in more detail.
As it’s too hot at the moment in Norwich, I was pleased to see this free water that was available to customers. This was rather handy and a kind gesture that maybe a few more stalls could replicate.
The service was friendly and welcoming with one team member taking the orders and the other preparing the food. Customers are given a numbered ticket when they order and that is called out when the food is ready, with mine being prepared in around four minutes. I went for the chicken & chorizo empanada with a side salad. James misheard me and ordered the same, having expected me to have ordered it with chips.
The food was well presented, looked appetising and colourful, with the salad having vibrancy rather than just being a heap of lettuce leaves. The empanada was generously filled with a tasty sauce and plenty of pieces of chorizo and chicken, all very tender and moreish. The salad had a depth of taste to it as well and although I can’t say what that sauce is, I think it’s some sort of pebre and it was delicious and slightly spicy. The shredded cabbage added texture and there were plenty of flavours with the whole arrangement.
James, who realised quite late on that he didn’t have chips, also enjoyed the quality of the food and we’re in agreement that we’ll visit here again. It shows just how cultured we’ve become, we can do more than just battered sausages, chips and scraps….
As another bonus, there’s a seating area which is just for customers of this stall and also Toby’s Beers. This makes eating lunch much more comfortable as opposed to trying to balance things in a quiet area whilst avoiding the feral pigeons that keep encroaching on market territory.
The food cost £9 and they accepted cards which was handy. I thought this was very decent, a richness of flavours and I’m tempted to try the spicy beef empanada next time. This idea that we had to try every stall at Norwich market is continuing to surprise and delight me, there’s so much choice here and the quality is often excellent. All rather lovely and definitely recommended.
James, my cultural guru friend, seems to have visited every location in Norwich and he’s familiar with the Maddermarket Theatre which is all a bit decadent for me. My last theatre visit was to see the comedian Tom Rosenthal at Norwich Playhouse and I can’t recall ever going to the Maddermarket Theatre before. The theatre itself is just over 100 years old, founded in 1921 by Walter Nugent Monck. As an aside, it’s a shame that people feel the need to tag graffiti on historic buildings, it’s a tragic waste of resources to have to remove them.
We were the only customers in the bar area who weren’t seeing a performance, making it all quiet and peaceful. The performance had started just before I took this photo, it had been busier before then.
Some sort of design elements on the wall.
The bar has a range of books visible underneath the Plexiglass, or whatever it’s called.
I didn’t realise until after ordering that they had some Adnams keg beers on, I’m not sure how I missed those but it is an oddly designed Adnams beer font so that’s the excuse I’ll have to use. I went for the generic and average Camden Hells Lager, which at least wasn’t hugely over-priced which was a positive. I don’t like these fiddly little glasses which make spillages more likely, but that’s a comment on Camden Town Brewery rather than the Maddermarket.
All told, I’m not sure that the bar is worth going out of the way for, but at least they’ve made an effort with some keg beers. The surroundings are laid-back and comfortable, with no evident sign of the huge fallout there has been recently at the theatre with staff and trustees leaving. I’m not sure what evident sign I had might have expected, perhaps a little bit of theatrical fighting at the entrance or something. Anyway, it was an inviting place to sit for an hour or so, and perhaps I might go and actually see something at the Maddermarket at some point.
