This feels really quite sad, it’s the Dog & Partridge pub in Wretham, located right by the Peddar’s Way path (here’s some information about that courtesy of the LDWA). It first became a licensed premises in at least the 1780s, but it finally closed its doors in 2019 and is now a residential property.
In 1904, the local press reported that Charles Crook, a local man aged 74, had died suddenly whilst walking along the road. His body was taken to the Dog & Partridge where it was laid to rest whilst waiting for an inquest. I can’t imagine that JD Wetherspoon would be entirely pleased if that was the policy today and someone died near one of their pubs.
More recently, the pub has had a troubled history. It closed in 2002 for four years, before being brought back to life. The owner claimed that the smoking ban caused issues and despite updating the accommodation in 2010, it wasn’t enough to make the venue profitable.
The owner told the local press at the time:
“There have been several attempts to have traditional pub darts and pool teams but the villagers themselves asked that such activities be stopped so that they didn’t clash with similar activities already undertaken at the village hall.”
I’d suggest that’s a sub-optimal arrangement as a pub with accommodation might have been more useful to the area than a village hall, but who am I to comment…… Anyway, it limped on for a few years and they couldn’t sell the venue, so it closed for good in 2019. Much as I’m sure the perfect operator could have made it work, it would have required a huge effort given its location and there aren’t many perfect operators about.
I’ve cycled and walked Peddar’s Way, so I would have gone by here in the past, but, I can’t remember this village. The pub did have some accommodation, but I’m not sure how many users of the path would have used it. The road is the A1075, which is relatively busy, but it’s not the major route into Norwich.
What might have saved this pub is if Wretham and Hockham railway station had survived, as that would have allowed walkers to access the beginning of Peddar’s Way by staying here. Unfortunately, the Crab & Winkle railway line which ran between Swaffham and Thetford closed in 1964, another poor transportation decision. It wouldn’t have taken long to walk from the railway station to the pub.