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Palace Street   (1 to 9)

2. Horseshoe : 3. Three Horseshoes
4. Saddlers' Arms : 5. Oddities 		  7. Palace Tavern : 8. Continuum : 9. Conclusions

1. : The Street

Palace Street runs from Tombland (by the Maid's Head
Hotel) to St. Martin's at Palace Plain.
The only long-lived pub on this single-sided street
(the other side being part of the Cathedral School)
was the Three Horseshoes (or plain Horseshoes),
at No. 21 (North side).

2. : Horseshoe for Luck?

The earliest record (1822) for the (singular)
Horseshoe shows J. Johnson's pub at "Tombland".
This description is a poor geographical fit
for No. 21 above; and even implies the
adjacent parish of St. George, Tombland.

However, evidence of the 1851 and 1861 Censuses -
see below - contradicts the modern notion of a
single-sided street.

Yet, in 1830, Robert Goffin (as 'Coffin', in 1830 !)
was at the Three Horseshoes, allegedly in the parish of
St. Martin.
Uncomfortably, this throws us back (i.e. forward!)
to the location of the pub in the 20th Century.

3. : Three Horseshoes

In 1839 Goffin's pub is listed as "Close, Tombland" -
a strange echo of the 1822 entry.

The only real mystery is Goffin's absence from the
Official List of 1845; although he is listed in White's
Directory of the same year, in Palace Street.

By 1851 Goffin's widow Matilda (then aged 59) was at
the pub, its Census parish being St. Mary in the Marsh.
This parish is, of course, bounded on the North & West
sides by the perimeter walls of the Cathedral Close.

So, this makes real sense of the word 'Close'
(i.e. not near to) from 1839.
Matilda's successor, Thomas Girdlestone, is also
registered in St. Mary's parish as late as 1861.

4. : Saddlers' Arms

Back in 1822, in the time of Johnson's Horseshoe,
one Robert Drewell is listed in St. Martin's parish,
as a saddler. We observe, at once, that this profession
does not minister to horses' hoofs/hooves !

By 1836, in Goffin's era, Drewell is shown as licensee
of an un-named premises - described as "Board"
- in Palace Street.
Unlisted in 1839, it is described as a
'Beer & Porter Shop' in Palace Street in 1842.

In 1845 the Official List shows no ownership details;
indicating a Free House status.

5. : Oddities

As mentioned, the 1845 Official List
surprisingly omits Goffin.
Equally surprisingly, it includes Drewell
(at the Saddlers' Arms).

The third surprise : this is the last (extant) record
for Drewell or his pub.
However, the 1845 List does confirm
both the street and the parish.

But Goffin is once more to be found in the 1850
Directory; and was never absent from the
Trades Directories of 1845 & 1842.
This all suggests a possible, temporary, downgrading
of the Three Horseshoes to the status of a beerhouse.

 

6. : The Rose

This is a new entry for Palace Street in the 1850
Directory, run by John Page. Page is listed again in
1854; but in 1856 and 1859 Robert Ram (or Ramm)
is the licensee.
However, the P. O. Directory of 1858 lists Ramm
at the Saddlers' Arms.

The penultimate record for the Rose (1864), under
Ben Fearnside, mentions Palace Plain, not  Street :
indicating "Bussey's Corner"?.

Finally : an entry for Fearnside under
beerhouses in 1868 (Palace Street).

7. : Palace Tavern

1856 brings another new Directory entry
for a pub run by John Price.
Sadly, the now familiar discrepancy in location
also applies :-
listed at 'Tombland' (1856), but in 'Palace Street' (1859).

We might suppose that this pub and the Rose were
virtually at opposite ends of the street. If so, it was
not for long; as the second entry (1859), still with
John Price, was its last.

8. : Continuum

Records for the Three Horseshoes continued in
1854 - 59 (Thomas Girdlestone), although 1856
has a singular shoe.
G. Drake was keeping the pub by 1864,
while Fearnside was still at the Rose.
By 1868 Henry J. Warner was listed; and again in 1869.

Throughout this period, Trades Directories
persist in placing the pub in Palace Street;
but not specifying which side !!

Starting from the assumption that the original
'Tombland' pub was standing somewhere between
the Erpingham Gate and Palace Street until
at least 1861, this would indicate a site on the
very corner of the street, by Tombland,
but also on the Southern side of Palace Street.

9. : Conclusions

Some unravelling is permitted by the
Licensing Records, which - we now recall -
had the Saddlers' Arms as a 'regular' pub back in 1845.

Here the pub is re-named Three Horseshoes on
14th October 1870; co-inciding with the licensee
change to Henry John Warner
plus his newly-aquired ownership of his (new) pub.

The first conclusion -
Is that the Three Horseshoes 'moved'
across the road at that time.

The pub was presumably ejected by the
Dean & Chapter or the Governors of the
Cathedral School - for their own reasons -
and took refuge in Drewell's former premises at No. 21.

The second conclusion derives from Ben Fearnside
being listed as Warner's predecessor
(at the Saddlers' Arms) since about 1861.
This confirms that the pub was first re-named
as the Rose; and was also a beerhouse
- certainly in 1868.
It adopted the full (??) licence two years later,
as donated by the "old " Three Horseshoes.

The absence, in the Licensing Record, of the earlier
name-change is not too surprising; if the status remained
that of a beerhouse over the period 1850 to 1870.

S. & P. Brewery bought the pub from Warner in 1876;
Bullard's having held the "tie" previously (probably
from 1850 to 1870).

Two nagging difficulties remain :-

  • Para. 2 noted Goffin's pub as in St. Martin's Parish.
    But, as he was not the first landlord, the probability
    is that St. Martin should have read St. Mary.
  • There is the odd mention of Palace Plain in Para. 6.
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