Abandoned Boozers of Norwich #11: The Kimberley Arms

Returning to one of my earliest themes on Eastscapes: the decline of the good old traditional boozer. Whilst on the edge of Norwich's student land, I only ever called in here once: one Christmas Eve afternoon, by myself, waiting for my girlfriend to finish work in the city. There were about half a dozen regulars drinking, with the staff, from a multipack of cheap canned lager placed brazenly on the bar. I ordered a pint of John Smiths, was on the receiving end of a few suspicious looks, drank up swiftly, and headed off again.

The Abandoned Boozers of Norwich

Some very early (re-edited) images from EastScapes. The declining pub industry seemed to represent the present-day UK in a nutshell: decay, shifting community, shifting leisure patterns. So much history has been carved out on the floorboards of British inns: the bargain booze aisles of harshly-lit supermarkets don't feel quite the same.

Norwich's Banned Beer

A couple of days following the conclusion of the 2011-2012 Premier League, I was rooting around in the shed and unearthed this bottle of 'On the Ball' ale, initially given to me several years ago by a friend back when Norwich City were still playing in either the Championship or League 1. It was opened, supped, enjoyed. The bottle ended up being reused for one of my homebrewed bitters, stuck in a box, and forgotten about.

'On the Ball' was produced by the Why Not Brewery, a CAMRA award-winning Norwich-based micro brewery. Named after the Norwich City anthem 'On the Ball, City' - thought to be the oldest football song in the world - and featuring the City crest and colours, the beer was sold in local stores and farmers' markets - until, in June 2011, the club threatened legal action unless the beer was withdrawn immediately. It was.

The inevitability of this - Norwich City had just achieved promotion to the cash cow of the Premier League, and images rights and copyright are defended fiercely in what is effectively a multi-million pound business - didn't stop it from feeling, well, a bit mean-spirited and depressing. The unfair reputation of Norwich (both the city and the club) as 'small time' is certainly something worth fighting, but taking on a guy brewing ale from his shed..?

Interestingly, the club even refused a compromise of having the crest removed and the name remain 'On the Ball,' suggesting that the very phrase is (at least believed to be) the legal property of the club.

It's not known whether a 'Let's Be Havin' You!' ale would also have been prohibited...

Visit the Why Not Brewery at

www.thewhynotbrewery.co.uk

Abandoned Boozers of Norwich # 10: The Ferryboat

Closed since 2006. The Ferryboat was an important live music venue in the city until its closure in 2006. Bands and acts performed in a converted boat barn at the back of the pub. A selected list of acts to play there over the years can be found at the pub's Wikipedia entry:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ferryboat_Inn

Post-Moldy Peaches, pre-'Juno' soundtrack Kimya Dawson played there in 2004, too.

Fondly remembered by many, The Ferryboat has an additional dark curiosity nowadays since the revelation that Ipswich Strangler Steve Wright ran the pub in the late 1980s. The fact that The Ferryboat is located in Norwich's red light district did not go overlooked.

The Ferryboat is supposedly to reopen in 2011 as an eco-friendly youth hostel. Hopefully this will materialise, and will maintain some of its former life's more alternative spirit, in opposition to the increasingly soulless Riverside gentrification and yuppiefication that partly saw it closed in the first place.

Abandoned Boozers of Norwich #8: Cricketers Rest

Closed in March 2010. Opened as The Beerhouse back in 1836. In the past few years it was a regular venue (or, rather, its smaller outhouse - The Barn) for punk, rock and alternative music gigs.

Abandoned Boozers of Norwich #7: The Walnut Tree Shades

As with The Woolpack (see #5), The Walnut Tree Shades is currently 'Closed Until Further Notice,' and its decent physical condition will hopefully allow for a swifty reopening. Tucked into a city centre sidestreet, only a few seconds away from my workplace, it also doubled as an American restaurant on the first floor. I only ever drank here a couple of times, despite its close proximity. It can boast one of the best signs in the city (the great, New York-in-the-'40s style one on the outside wall), and one of the most hideous (the walnut wearing, um, shades).

Abandoned Boozers of Norwich #1: The Shoemaker

When I first came to Norwich for the university, one of the most common things I’d hear amongst fellow newcomers was the old, You know, Norwich is meant to have a pub for every day of the year.

Whether or not this was ever based on fact, I don’t know, but in mid-2010 this Norfolk adage rings increasingly hollow. Whether blame lies with the smoking ban, home drinking with cheap supermarket alcohol, the credit crunch, or elsewhere, pubs certainly feel quieter than in years past, and more and more appear to be standing empty and dead.

Back when I arrived, The Shoemaker (presumably named in honour of Norwich’s shoe-making past) was certainly open: I would pass by on the way to my girlfriend’s, but never checked it out, so couldn’t comment on its health circa 2000. Moving across the city, I promptly forgot its very existence, until almost ten years later when I ended up back in West Earlham. Wandering these streets again, The Shoemaker stands thus.

These photos were taken in May 2009. Today, 12 months later, a story in the Evening News details how The Shoemaker is about to be demolished, to make way for cheap homes. According to the article, it opened on April 16th, 1955.