YOUNG, John Riddington :
The Inns & Taverns of Old Norwich, devotes a good
deal of space (page 71) to the history of this famous
house; including a photograph taken in 1924 on page 72.

The Trustees of the Great Hospital Charity are
freeholders, as they have always been.
When the hospital monks were in charge, this pub was
thought to be their principle brewhouse; also supplying
the Red Lion at the other end of Bishopgate.

The Saxon well used for brewing dates back to the
11th Century; the living-quarters to the 13th C.
and the famous Dutch gable to the 15th Century.

Robert Harvey Howes was landlord by 1845, and also
noted as a coal-merchant in 1851. His widow Elizabeth
took over in 1861 and lasted until the very end of 1879.

She is reputed to have taken sand from Yarmouth beach
and brought it to her pub by wherry. She sold the sand
to other publicans for their floors and spittoons.
It is also known that the sand was used to cover
contraband liquor from the Port of Gt. Yarmouth.

Pursuant to the Compensation Act (1904), the Police
made two failed attempts to close the house :-
1.
The renewal of licence was opposed by the
Chief Constable, as reported 11.02.1905.
It was said that the house stood some 10 yards back
from the road; and, in the early hours, was shut off by
large locked gates, preventing proper police supervision.

The house was said to stand 90 yards away from the
next nearest licensed house, and was frequented by
employees from the local timber yard and gas works.

The defending solicitor, Mr. Reeve, raised
a laugh in Court by saying that 90 yards was :
a good distance, that, for Norwich !.

Continued . . .

It was undertaken not to lock the gates
and the licence was renewed.

2.  At the 1908 Sessions, as reported in the
Norfolk Chronicle of 8th February 1908, the police
said that there were 3 other licensed houses within
200 yards and that the house stood back from the
roadway and was difficult to supervise.
The police added that it was a very old house
and inconvenient.

It was pointed out that gates, that had been cause for a
previous police complaint, had been removed and that
the house was a pleasant old fashioned one . . . and its
accommodation and conveniences were sufficient for
the neighbourhood requirements.

Again the house survived, by the
unanimous decision of the Bench.

A pre-war photo can be found on page 52 of :
PLUNKETT, George : Commemorative Collection.

A picture c. 1945 can be found on page 92 of :
KENT & STEPHENSON : Norwich Inheritance.

A photo taken c. 1947 is on page 39 of
THOMPSON, Leonard P. : Norwich Inns.
A similar photo is on page 67 of TEMPLE, Clifford :
Norwich - Archive Photo Series.
A photo taken c. 1971 is on page 53 of KENT, Arnold :
Norwich in Pictures.

A photograph taken c. 1973 is on page 116 of
NOBBS, George : Pubs to Visit (E. Anglia).

Young's book, page 73, describes the building as the
former home of Sir Thomas Erpingham,
mentioned in Shakespeare.

In 1962 the oriel window was saved and moved
across the road to Number 10 Palace Plain.

The pub stood a few yards East of Whitefriars' Street,
on the corner of a lane leading to Cullingford's
Paper Mills.

Also a photo appears on page 13 of
PLUNKETT, George : Disappearing Norwich.

The post-1922 photo is repeated on page 110 of
AYERS, Brian : English Heritage (Norwich).

There was another, older similarly named pub
on the North side of the river, in St. James parish.
That side was the much more probable site of the Friary.

Robert Scotter was landlord by 1830,
and was replaced by 1842.

In 1841 the Norfolk and Norwich Monitor reported that
Robert Scotter was a Hair Sorter living at St. Martins
Palace Plain.
He appeared in court for the purposes of settlement
of a domestic argument with his second wife,
Mary Ann Scotter, over finances.

Mr Scotter denied the accusations and vowed that
he would never live with her again, and would defy
any man to live with her and treat her well.

Mr. Scotter was ordered to keep the peace towards
his wife for 3 months in his own recognizances of £20.

Acknowledgements to Richard Bristow