1. : Outdoors
The most striking of his bas-relief works -
for Morgan's Brewery - fills the gable end
of the Prince of Denmark, Denmark Road; and
depicts Queen Anne's husband on horseback.
This was created in 1939 and re-painted in 2007.
Other outdoor works are on the Northern end of
the Coachmakers' Arms, St. Stephen's Road and the
Southern end of the Berstrete Gates, by Bracondale.
These last two are representations of the
relevant two destroyed Gates of the City Wall.
The St. Stephen's Gate sign was made in 1937,
weighs just short of a ton, and was presented
to the City Council by the Brewery.
The scene is taken from a 1791 print, showing
a cavalier swaggering over to a girl, who may
well have just left the Coachmakers' Arms. !!
The Norwich Society state that it has suffered
from traffic fumes and is in need of restoration.
Their booklet :
John Moray Smith - A Very Public Artist
is still available for £1, or £1. 50 incl. postage,
from the Assembly House office.
Morgans added a flat-roof extension to the
Berstrete Gates pub in 1937. The date of the Smith
mural was almost certainly around this time.
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2. : IndoorsThe new building (1938) of the Woolpack,
Golden Ball Street, contained six plaques
illustrating the major aspects of the wool trade;
from sheep grazing to wool market.
The medium used - a type of resin mixed with sand -
defies analysis and is probably unique.
The series took Smith a year to complete.
Five still exist in the pub, but the sixth remained
with Morgan's brewery; and its fate is unknown.
Other indoor works were :-
In the smokeroom of the Cock, King Street :
- a prospect of the City from St. James' Hill
On the wall of the Coach & Horses, Red Lion Street :
- depicting one of the old Norwich coaches.
Moray-Smith did panels for other Morgan's pubs
around the county. Sadly, the fates of Smith's
indoor works at Norwich are now very problematical.
3. : Acknowledgements
These details are taken from John Riddington Young's
book of 1975, mentioned in the Bibliography,
and from Norfolk Nips Winter 2011 edition.
Jack Wright has taken a photograph
of the Prince of Denmark mural.
N. B. : this is a 54K download, for good detail.
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