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Full Moon   (1 to 5)

2. Two Pubs   4. The Walk : 5. 20th Century

1. : Market Place

There were two pubs called the Half Moon in the
vicinity of the Market Place. Their locations are
perfectly well-known, as they both survived until
at least 1854.

The question is : which one was established first,
and which one was guilty of plagiarism?
A pub of that name appears in the
Alehouse Recognizances for 1761.

But this, and many later records, are
geographically vague, as either :-

  • the same Parish (St. Peter Mancroft) applies to both;
    and/or
  • both pubs could reasonably be said to stand in the
    Market Place.

2. : Two Pubs

It is not until 1822 that both pubs appear in the same
listing : one in Upper Market and one at Gentlemens' Walk.
However, Samuel King's map of 1766 clearly shows
the one off The Walk.

Later described as No. 9 (or "Wheelhouse Court")
The Walk, this pub must therefore be considered
the original.

The pub was one of only 44 principal coaching inns
listed in the 1783 Directory. The landlord in 1761-64
was described as an Innkeeper and Victualler
(i.e. full-timer); which was fairly unusual,
and denotes a rather important house.

 

3. : The Rival

The other Half Moon was in the Market Place proper
(viz: Upper Market), and had the actual address of
No. 38.
It ceased to be a pub under the Compensation Act
in January 1923.

It was only two doors up from the Sir Garnet Wolseley;
indeed next door to what is now the upper-bar of that pub.

There was a strange reference in the
pub deeds to the Sportsman & Dog.

4. : The Walk

The pub on The Walk is not listed after 1854,
and George Nobbs says it was replaced by
Old Post Office Court (or Yard).

However, that alleyway through to Castle Street
was not a completely new development.

King's Map, already mentioned, shows an alleyway
existed in 1766; with the implication that the pub
was somewhere along the alleyway or 'Court'
i.e. off The Walk, and not facing the Market.

5. : 20th Century

This having been so, it is possible to see the Club House
pub (first listed in 1858) as the natural successor of the
Half Moon; albeit not on precisely the same site.

Certainly a survivor, of the changes wrought in
No. 9 Court, is the Walnut Tree Shades : first listed
in 1830 and - unlike the Club House -
going strong until 2010.

The Club House closed in April 1965;
and was replaced by an amusement arcade.

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