1. Going Back
The pub-building boom of the 1920s and 1930s featured
a good deal of Mock-Tudor design. Partly for this
reason we go back as far as 1890, by which time this
style was well-established in domestic buildings
- at least for the wealthy.
The 'overspill' to the north of Magdalen Gates was
monopolised - brewery-wise - by Steward & Patteson.
The four new S. & P. pubs were :
1890 Stanley
1892 Marlborough Arms
1895 Branford Stores
1898 Cygnet
The Marlborough Arms and the Branford Stores
include Mock-Tudor features.
3 more pubs preceded the rush, only one of which has
some Mock-Tudor influence, and was the first of the
Morgan's Brewery efforts :
1902 King Edward VII.
N. B. All three pubs were re-builds.
Youngs & Crawshay (YCY) then began cutting their
teeth on two pubs : 1910 Earl of Leicester
and the
William IV - in the early-20th Century (1913?).
These YCY pubs had very individual architectures,
and the Mock-Tudor style was ignored.
2. The Rush Begins
There was an expected pause during and
immediately after the 1914-1918 War.
Significantly, the first pub in the 1920s rush was also
from YCY; and did jump on the M-T bandwagon :
1922 Crawshay Arms - a re-build.
For local competition reasons, Lacon's Brewery
responded with a new but plainish pub :
1922 Lacon Arms, followed in 1925 by
the Falcon;
also new and in a plain domestic style.
S. & P. at last resumed their activities in 1927 with
the Manor House and Windmill - the latter was
re-built, and the only one designed using M-T.
Activity hotted-up in 1928, with 3 breweries involved,
including Bullard's - for the first time.
Boundary : YCY. With Mock-Tudor influence.
Fiveways : Bullard's, plus a bit of M-T since deleted??
Romany Rye : YCY.
Designed as part of the shopping parade, so no M-T.
Volunteer : S. & P. With fairly minimal M-T.
Only the Volunteer was a re-build.
1929 saw only the new S. & P. pub
Galley Hill,
with substantial M-T design features.
3. The Hectic 1930s
Not all the mass of new buildings were
completely new pubs. Re-builds are marked *
1931
Brickmakers * (Sprowston ) S. & P.
1931 Crown (Costessey) YCY
1931 Tuckswood YCY
1931 White Hart * (Costessey) Bullard's
1932 Artichoke * YCY
1932 Larkman S. & P.
1932 Mitre * Bullard's
1933 Constitution * Bullard's
1933 Firs Bullard's
1933 Park House S. & P.
By now, Bullard's are getting into gear;
more than matching YCY.
As for design, they stuck with M-T in all cases.
YCY had a special design for the Artichoke,
but the other two were M-T oriented.
S. & P.'s pubs had only the merest hint of M-T;
and then only in respect of the Park House.
Recent modifications at the Brickmakers
give the very opposite impression.
A Turning-Point
1935 saw the demise of the Mock-Tudor fad.
Of the 3 pubs built in 1934, two were in that style,
and were new pubs : The Bull (Hellesdon)
- S. & P.
and the Gordon - Bullards
The third was also the odd one out in two other
respects - being a re-build by Morgan's Brewery :
The Gate House, Dereham Road.
4. The Mid-30s Duel
The 8 pubs built from 1935 to 1937 incl. were
shared equally between YCY and S. & P.
S. & P. re-built only one; but YCY built only
one new pub.
There was a subliminal hint of Mock-Tudor
at the Heath House.
1935 Woodcock S. & P.
1935 Morrison Lodge S. & P.
1936 Blue Boar * YCY
1936 Heath House S. & P.
1936 Kingsway * YCY
1936 Oval YCY
1937 Sportsman * YCY
1937 Tuns * S. & P.
The Tuns on All Saints Green was probably
the first of the rather brutal 1930s
horizontally-emphasised pub buildings.
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5. The 1938 pre-Blitz Blitz.
No fewer than 8 pubs were erected in that single year.
Well, 7 - to be truthful, as the re-build of the
Dart,
by Morgan's, was a major conversion project.
Duke of Norfolk S. & P.
The Grove S. & P.
Ipswich Tavern * Bullards
Kings Arms (Mile Cross) S. & P.
Morning Star * Bullards
Whiffler YCY
The final item (Woolpack)
was Morgan's only
other project, and a genuine - large - re-build.
Evidently, Bullards carried out 2 re-builds; while
YCY and S. & P. were the only two breweries
breaking new ground, pre-WWII (also see 1939).
6. The Last Gasp
In 1939 S. & P. built the new
George & Dragon in
Sprowston; although the original pub had been located elsewhere.
This building was a carbon-copy of the Kings Arms
(Mile Cross) erected the previous year.
Lastly, in the late-1930s, Bullard's re-built the
Thorn
near the City centre. This, like the 2 Bullard's re-builds
in 1938, was designed in the more aggressive style of the time.
7. The Shrinking Heritage
Regarding some later, "modern" - if less attractive -
pubs, the Tuns of 1937 is still a pub, as is the
Morning Star of 1938. Both re-named, of course.
The Thorn, just mentioned, is now a restaurant.
The only real casualty was the Ipswich Tavern (1938)
demolished, as long ago as 1974, by the Norwich Union.
However, the unique design of the George & Dragon
(1939) was lost in that case; and its sister pub, the
Kings Arms, has been on Death Row since 1999.
This is a potentially disastrous prospect.
Of the 8 pubs listed in paragraph 4, the Woodcock,
Morrison Lodge and Kingsway have all been
demolished for new housing.
The Sportsman survives under another use, and the
remaining 4 (includes the Tuns) soldier-on as pubs.
8. What Price Mock-Tudor?
Still going backwards, we must now review the
state of the pubs built in the early 1930s.
The Tuckswood is the only "mock-tudor" pub
demolished, along with the Park House.
The Firs will survive (modified?) as a Tesco store,
and - if the pub remains closed - the Constitution
may well survive for other uses.
This leaves 4 pubs still strugglng to stay in business.
The 1920s pubs
The Crawshay Arms and Manor House have
sadly gone altogether.
Successful conversion for residential use has occurred
at the Lacon Arms and Volunteer; while the Galley Hill
and Romany Rye were handed over to other businesses.
Again this leaves just 4 surviving (for now) pubs.
The remainder
As explained in para. 1 we have not attempted to follow
the fate of many late-19th pubs; a subject for a separate
review, perhaps!?
The main interest has been the Mock-Tudor phase of
pub design : pubs often built on an heroic scale.
So, for completeness, we deal with those 7 cases.
Paradoxically, the two destroyed pubs were of
individual design, and devoid of Tudor influence.
This is of no consolation, as their destruction was
- in each case - a calamitous event, aesthetically.
Namely, the Cygnet and the Earl of Leicester.
Some doubt hangs over the impressive and very
mock-tudor Branford Arms, but the other
4 pubs are still functioning. [March 2011]
9. Stop Press
Like Mrs. Dale, I am very worried about
the Bull at Hellesdon.
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