NORFOLK PUBLIC HOUSES norfolkpubs.co.uk
NORFOLK NORWICH GT. YARMOUTH KINGS LYNN NAME SEARCH PUBLICATIONS LINKS MYSTERY HOME
CROWN FERSFIELD Index
THWAITE STREET
 WOOD LANE		 DISS HUNDRED BEERHOUSE CLOSED by c1970
DISS LICENCE REGISTER PS 16/5/1 (1928 - 1969)
CALEB ROBINSON   
VICTOR JONATHAN BOWING    
MAURICE HENRY SPALDING by 1958
Licensees :
-  
JOHN ROBINSON
& farmer
& straw merchant
(Only listed as farmer in 1868)
Died Q4 1879 - age 54 ?		 *1868 - 1880
Wednesday 24th June 1868 - Fine 1s and 13s 3d costs for being open to sell beer at midnight on 6th June. A further fine of £1 and 13s 3d costs for selling beer at one o'clock the same morning.
Licence application (Full) Wednesday 24th August 1870 dismissed since notices had been wrongly issued.
Mrs SARAH ANN ROBINSON
& farmer 18 acres
(Age 66 in 1891 - living near Hall Farm)		 08.09.1880 - 1888
CALEB ROBINSON
& farmer
Died December 1927 - age 74		 1890 to Dec. 1927
VICTOR JONATHAN LEONARD BOWING
Died March 1955 - age 71		 11.01.1928 - 1950
MAURICE HENRY SPALDING
(as Maurice Henry Spurling in 1958 directory)		 1950 to closure


Note :
No Fersfield beerhouses or other licensed premises are found in Kelly's 1865 directory and only one appears in 1892 (This house).


At the Petty Sessions held Wednesday 24th June 1868 John Robinson claimed that the excise-man had mis-led him into thinking his licence was valid beyond midnight. On 6th June he had held a dinner for up to sixty persons, it was they that Policeman Robert Williamon had discovered drinking in the house and barn. Producing the excise licence, the magistrates declared that it was only valid to sell beer from sunrise to midnight on property other than the defendants ordinary public house.


According to an article dated 12th April 1991, Maurice Spalding had taken the pub over in 1950 and closed it in 1956 because lack of trade had made it unviable.  He had arrived at the Crown in about 1928 as a 13 year-old to assist Victor Bowing.
The same article reported that in 1942, some 200 Irish labourers arrived to start work on the airfield, just outside Fersfield. Enjoying a pint, it was claimed that twelve 18-gallon barrels delivered Monday, were sold out by Tuesday evening.
The Gents toilets comprised the brick wall of an outside shed. The Ladies facilities " a rather loose arrangement", consisted of a straw bale "around the back, and plenty of fresh air".
Even after closure, Maurice Spalding renewed the licence yearly, "Just in case". He left the premises in 1991.