Tag: Norwich

After the excitement of Warsaw Beer Festival, I thought I’d do something different for a change and so I went to help at Beer Con in Norwich. I accept that it’s quite similar, but it’s a different country so that’s enough variety. Lucy from Norwich CAMRA had recommended a few talented volunteers from the beer festival to help out, as well as me although I come with just slightly less talent. But inclusion is important.

The event, organised by Boom Towers, was held at St. Mary’s Works in Norwich which was formerly a shoe factory operated by Sexton, Son & Everard.

More on the volunteering arrangement on my third day post (yes, it is going to be that exciting I’m stretching this to three posts, so that’s both blog readers already besides themselves with excitement), but just to note now that Bailey and Leanne offered a very friendly welcome and were supportive, visible and positive for the whole event. I’d add that the other Boom Towers staff were also friendly, but I’ve forgotten their names and two is enough to mention otherwise it looks less sincere anyway.

The keg wall.

The cask and cider bar where I was located for the trade session.

The cask selection. There was a really decent selection of over thirty cask beers between this and another bar at the event, covering a range of beer styles. I won’t meander on with stories of individual beers from this section, but it would be wrong not to mention Chubbles from Cloudwater and the All Calls Diverted to Answer Phone from Pomona Island. Always a delight to see beers from Deya, Verdant, Burnt Mill and Ampersand to name just a few. If anyone wants more details, they can pop to https://untappd.com/user/julwhite and unpick things from there.

I thought that this looked like my friend Richard’s parking, but I didn’t message him anything as I don’t like to cause offence.

Bar snacks for when I had a little rest. I was, by chance, put on the cask beer bar in the morning with Terri, one of the Artichoke Hearts bar billiards team, so that was a bonus. Always good to get (well, share) some gossip and the above average Jen was around to assist with that further.

In the evening I moved to the wine selection. I was able to show off my knowledge of white, red and rose wine to an impressed audience. Although that is the limit of my knowledge, that there are three types of wine and an orange one. Being able to enthuse about the four primary colours of the vineyard is probably as far as I’m ever going to go, despite attending countless wine tastings where its discovered I only really like dessert wine or barley wine (which isn’t a wine).

Ivan proved very useful with a little incident, so he was very much in my good books all evening. Ivan is a cellar expert with no qualifications but an ability to do things in the cellar, whereas I’m a cellar expert with qualifications and little ability to do much in the cellar of use. Well, I can rearrange casks and keg in order before they go on, but that’s of limited use to a cellarman (or cellarwoman).

Actually, there’s probably a debate to be about the contrast between a qualified expert with no ability and an unqualified expert with all the ability as I sometimes wonder whether that’s the very foundation upon which the British hospitality industry is built.

And a reward for my efforts. The pork pie was delicious but I picked the jelly out. I ignore those who say that it’s the best bit as it evidently isn’t.

I was going to go home after my busy day, but then I got muddled up and walked to the White Lion. I thought that was a nice treat for landlord Oscar though and he recommended this little number from Ampersand, which I was prepared to try as I’m good like that. And with that, I got muddled up again and went to the Artichoke which was a nice treat for landlord Julian (wiser one).

This line in a newspaper article in the Norwich Mercury 200 years ago this week doesn’t really suggest the significance of this marriage.

Joseph Pease (1799-1892) was a railway pioneer and one of the supporters of the Stockport and Darlington Railway Company. He also later became the first Quaker MP and was one of the advocates for increased animal rights. He was also the son of Edward Pease, who is known as the ‘Father of the Railways’ which seems a nice title to have.

Emma Gurney (1800-1860) was the youngest daughter of Joseph Gurney, a banker from the Gurney family whose operations were subsumed into Barclays Bank later in the nineteenth century.

This is a statue commemorating Joseph Pease, a photo I took in Darlington in 2022 where I managed to explore a fair amount of railway history.

This was a proper political power couple, their families bringing together wealth, railway experience and connections. The marriage would have taken place at the Friends Meeting House on Upper Goat Lane in the city. The current building was opened in 1826, on the site of the former meeting house, so I’m assuming that this might have been one of the first marriages there. Although this assumes that the Norwich Mercury was right, as some other sources are saying that they married in Darlington, which adds confusion to the mix.

Whilst looking into the history of the Goat at Strumpshaw, I found this list of pubs that were being sold when St. George’s Brewery closed in 1864 and its assets were auctioned off. It’s an interesting little snapshot of what the brewery owned at the time.

And here’s a text transcription of the above:

“NORWICH AND NORFOLK. THE ST. GEORGE’S BREWERY,

With Dwelling-houses, Stabling, Malt-houses, and 40 PUBLIC-HOUSES, With Accommodation Lands, in the City of Norwich
and County of Norfolk.

MESSRS. Spelman are favored with instructions from the Executors of Charles Weston, Esq., deceased, to Sell by Auction, on Thursday, August 18th, 1864, at Eleven for Twelve o’clock, at the Norfolk Hotel, Norwich.

The above Old-Established BREWERY and PUBLIC-HOUSES, which will be offered in One Lot, but should no acceptable bidding be made for the entirety, the whole of the Property will be immediately put up in the following lots:—

IN THE CITY OF NORWICH.

LOT
1 { The Brewery ………. } St. George’s
{ Crown …………… }

2 Jolly Butchers ………. St. John’s Sepulchre
3 Windmill …………… St. Michael at Thorn
4 Lion and Castle …….. St. John’s Timberhill
5 Peacock …………… St. Stephen’s
6 Prince of Orange …… St. Julian’s
7 Crown …………….. St. Benedict’s

8 Queen of Hungary …… St. Margaret’s
9 Builder’s Arms …….. St. Lawrence
10 Three Turks ………. Ditto
11 Blue Bell ………… St. Gregory
12 Boy and Cup (late) … St. John’s Maddermarket
13 Fleece …………… St. Andrew’s
14 Crown ……………. St. Peter Hungate
15 Jolly Hatters …….. St. James’
16 Duke of Marlboro’ …. St. Edmund’s
17 Catherine Wheel …… St. Augustine’s
18 Angel ……………. St. Martin’s at Oak
19 Bess of Bedlam ……. Ditto
20 Cherry Tree ………. St. George’s Colegate
21 Hen and Chickens ….. St. Mary’s
22 Red Lion …………. St. Michael’s Coslany
23 Moon and Stars ……. Ditto
24 Royal Oak ………… Heigham
25 Half Moon ………… Ditto
26 Duke of York ……… Thorpe Hamlet

IN THE COUNTY OF NORFOLK.

27 Buck …………….. Thorpe Village
28 Ram ……………… Brundall
29 Goat …………….. Strumpshaw
30 King’s Head ………. St. Faith’s
31 Crown ……………. Ditto
32 Chequers …………. Hainford
33 Bird in Hand ……… Tasburgh
34 White Horse ………. Ashwellthorpe
35 Leather Bottle ……. Wymondham
36 Goat …………….. Ditto
37 Cross Keys ……….. Ditto
38 Cherry Tree ………. Seething
39 Folly ……………. Claxton
40 Cross Keys ……….. Mattishall”

There’s good news about the missing parish boundary marker which was located on Princes House and it seems that the building, and indeed the marker, is now in very good hands. Further information about this parish is at https://www.julianwhite.uk/norwich-history-by-parish-st-george-tombland/.

Andy from Princes House messaged me to say:

“The original design for Princes House from the early seventies was not the moribund architecture which you see now. The hard economic times saw the design diluted and we have played our part to add some interest and curiosity to our side of Princes Street.

You will be pleased to know that we are creating some art which will feature the Hungate St. Peter parish boundary marker which we have had professionally cleaned to remove the paint and cement splatter from it, while retaining its patina. We will describe the relevance of 1834 and the Poor Law Amendment Act and the historical boundaries referenced by the parish boundary marker. Along with this we plan on celebrating pictorially the local churches, those that are still with us and those that are not. It is our intention to have this up and displayed this spring.”

I think I might lead another walk when the work is completed.