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Norwich Merchants

Athow; Edwards; Levy & Franks; Quick

Head Office : Castle Street - 5 to 9; later 13 to 19. 1 - 6
2. Athow : 3. Edwards : 4. Levy & Franks   6. Norfolk Wherry

1. : Early Days

Since 1783 wines and spirits merchants have been
listed in Castle Street and The Back of the Inns.
Indeed these two streets, being contiguous,
can very well have been misinterpreted
in respect of the early records.

A possible contender for the honour of preceding
Quick's - as later generations always called it -
is J. Dalrymple at 13, Back of The Inns (brandy
specialist), listed in 1783 and 1802.
 

2. : Athow

John Edward Athow is first listed (also in the
Back of The Inns) in the 1845 Official List.
He was an agent for Guinness & Co.'s porter.

The premises were known as the Wine Vaults.
By 1856 Edward John Athow's name is given
(probably a son), who also had ownership.  

3. : Edwards

William Daniel Edwards took over in December 1877.
He presided for nearly 20 years, which accounts for
the name Edwards' being used in place of Wine Vaults
for much of this time.

His widow Emma held on from June 1897,
only until October.
William's ownership dates only from 1892, as the
owner(from 1878) seems to have been his father :
Edward Manning Edwards.

In 1890 the importation of Guinness' stout
was still the main claim to fame.  

4. : Levy & Franks

By May 1898 Henry Franks had been
granted the licence.
At this stage the brewers Bass & Co. had an
interest in the property, as second mortgagees.

The name Edwards persisted, probably as late as 1911;
particularly as Levy seems to have been a 'sleeping'
partner in the business.

 

5. : Quick

James William Quick succeeded Levy & Franks
in November 1906.
However, in April 1905 the business had become
owned by Whitbread & Co.  The 1914 Directory
at last discarded the name Edwards.

On 23rd August 1927 William John Quick
(a son?) was in charge.
But he allowed the licence to pass to
Clifford Wm. Aldridge 3 months later
(22nd November); and it did not revert to
W. J. Quick until May 1937 !

Probably, this important and well-known business
took up all of Quick's time in administrative work.
By 1947 Quick J. W. was listed, although this
might have been the original business appellation.
The business closed on 31st March 1963 and
moved to St. Giles' Street.  

6. : Norfolk Wherry

The premises in Castle Street (post-WWII anyway)
consisted of a strange single-storey building,
resembling a PortaKabin.
Any replacement would have made an improvement
to the street-scene.

Fortunately, there had always been a second frontage
to Castle Meadow (nos. 8 to 10); and this persuaded
Whitbread & Co. to re-develop the whole site, to
provide - inter alia - a brand new pub on two levels,
joined by an internal staircase.

The Norfolk Wherry opened on 28th April 1964; with
ground-floor shops (plus a 'tunnel' to the bar, of course)
and third-floor offices.
The lower bar was called the Barleycorn Dive, and
the upper bar (via the main entrance) was called
the Albion Bar - in honour of the last surviving
Norfolk vessel of that name.
A scale model of the wherry was exhibited
for quite a long while.

Around 1971 the pub had already proved problematical :
was closed - for a time - and offered for sale.
Apparently the new owners were Truman's Brewery,
running a 'keg palace'.

By 1977 Messrs. Ind Coope had (rather unwisely) bought the premises.
By the mid-1980s the pub, and its (lower level)
"tunnel" entrance, had definitely gone out of fashion;
and on 5th September 1985 the pub was "moth-balled".

A change of name on re-opening on 2nd September
1987, and again in 1989, failed to stem the tide.
By this stage the pub was again restricted to the
lower (Castle Street) floor (plus 'tunnel').
The final re-naming, by 1998, to Jumpin' Jak's Fun Bar
was followed by closure in 1998/1999.

A further total site re-development in the early 2000s
has resulted in the Ottakar's bookshop
(now Waterston's).

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