The 1845 Official List still shows the old name of
The Ram; while White's Directory of the same year
shows Surrey Inn.

Joseph Eagleton Clover became licensee in
January 1874. He was succeeded by his son,
Sydney Joseph, in May 1899,
who served until November 1901.

The brewery claimed war damage on both 27th and
29th April 1942, and recorded total destruction
by enemy action.
This seems to have been an overstatement, as the pub
was eventually repaired, with the business
continuing in a shed in the meantime.

It is not clear whether the shed was used until 28th July,
or from that date. Either way, the trauma seems to have
badly affected the landlord, William Marshall,
who had been present since August 1923.

On 6th October 1942 the licence passed to his
(presumed) widow Ethel. It may be that
the building was made good again by the time
she took over. Ethel served until November 1948.

There is no record that the City Council condemned
(by compulsory purchase) an almost new building
in 1955; the old one being destroyed for road-widening
and a new housing estate, after acquisition in
September 1960.

The pub had already closed on 9th May 1955,
the licence being transferred to the brewery 'rep.'

A photographic record of 1916 can be found in :
STANDLEY, Philip :
Norwich - in old postcards, Volume 2, page 15.
A photo is also found at page 114 of
PLUNKETT, George : Rambles in Old Norwich.

The pub was named after the storming of the
Redan at Sebastopol, in the Crimean War.

This was led by a local hero, Colonel
(later Maj. Gen.) Charles Ashe Wyndham in 1855.

In 1890 the landlord was also listed as a baker.

Objections were raised against licence renewal,
at the 1906 Sessions, based on structural matters.
The Chief Constable reported that another business
was carried out from the premises and the back doors
opened into closed yards, common to neighbours.

Junius Henry Cockram was landlord from June 1914.
His widow, Sophie, took over in January 1926,
but a month later her pub was 'referred' to
Compensation.

The pub was closed, under the Compensation Act,
on 31st December 1926.
She was only able to serve until the end of the year.

This seems to have been part of the giant
Trafford Estate; the owner being Edward Trafford
of Wroxham.

Robert Allen, a florist and market gardener at
"Grove Place" in 1858, was the original licensee
of the Nursery Tavern.
He died on 10th June 1885. The property transferred
within days (via the widow) to his son, of the same name.

So it was Robert Allen Junior who masterminded
the transfer of the licence, starting negotiations in
August 1886, having taken over the licence in June 1885.

In 1890 Allen is - predictably - described as
a nurseryman and florist.

The single-storey pub and Victoria Nursery were
clearly (profitably) sacrificed for more house-building.
The pub had been set back from Southwell Road
and Grove Road; surrounded by the nursery grounds.

The pub was named after the Trafford family, and
it is also on the corner of Trafford Road. The family
originally owned all the land in a wide area around,
including the Nursery Tavern.

In August 1886, Mr. Trafford of Brundall proposed to -
widen and build upon the Grove Road, the contemplated
new pub to be erected near the thoroughfare. The road
would be increased to 12 feet width, and the entire work
of alteration and building would be carried out to
the satisfaction of the Corporation.

The Trafford Arms would be erected about 200 feet
from the old Nursery Tavern, near the bend of the road
leading to the drinking fountain at the end of the
Newmarket and Ipswich roads.

The original landlord was Robert Allen Junior,
ex-Nursery Tavern. In 1890 he was still
described as a nurseryman and florist.
His widow, Mary, served only from
5th April 1909 to 11th May.
The pub opened with a Music and Singing Licence.
It was initially leased to Steward & Patteson brewery.

In March 1895, a three-hour cyclone blew two large
chimney stacks through the roof of the pub. Being a
tall building, standing on high ground - with 3 stories
under a sort of Dutch gable - the Trafford Arms was
exposed to a vicious wind.
The red brick building, owned then by
Lacons Brewery*, was built in a style in keeping with
the newly-erected or just-planned houses on
Trafford Road and Grove Road, on the Trafford Estate.

* (Eastern Evening News) This seems improbable.
  The 1914 Trades Directory confirms S. & P. ownership.

A photographic record (the old pub) can be found in :-
BANGER, Joan : Norwich At War, page 67.
Sadly, the blackened shell is the
only extant view of the original pub.
Another view of the damaged pub is on page 60 of
ANDERSON & STOREY :
Norwich - 80 years of the Norwich Society.

Continued . . .

Post-War
Steward & Patteson informed the Clerk of Justices
that they were opening temporary premises on
Thursday 15th July 1943.
Licensee from 28th Aug. 1943 until 17th Nov. 1959,
Cecil Herbert 'Nobby' Clarke served in a temporary
wooden building converted from a large (new!)
broiler-house.
Hence it was always known as "The Chicken House". 

It was in use until the first half of the present building
was completed in the autumn of 1955. The pub closed
one evening in the Chicken House and reopened next
morning in the new wing.
This wing later became the Bar.

Ted Smith (who lived opposite the pub and was a
regular until his death in 2000) bought the first pint
at 10.30 a.m.
Later the Chicken House was pulled down and the wing
fronting on Trafford Road, which became the Lounge, was built. 

Finally the two halves were joined with an ornamental
doorway and the resulting little passage room became
the Snug.
The two halves were not perfectly matched, and it is
still possible to see (on the roof) where the join had
to be fudged.

The decor was 1950s style, described as Neo-Georgian,
with elegant tropical wood panelling on the walls and bar.

S. & P. Brewery had converted the leasehold
to a freehold in March 1950, obtained from the
Trafford Estate. This enabled the brewery to
go ahead with the post-war rebuilding.

The pub fell to Watney Mann in 1967. In 1982
it was rather brutally refurbished by the owners.
Partition walls between the bars were removed
and one long bar was installed.
The wood panelling was removed and burned;
fireplaces and shoulder high alcoves of rough
brickwork were built, with wooden railing above,
and the bar embellished with wrought-iron.

In 1989 the pub was leased by Careglades Ltd.
(with another refurbishment) and then
Woodbridge Inns. 
It was again refurbished in a more pleasant
imitation Victorian style in 1990.