RED LION - St MICHAEL AT PLEA

William Henry Smith, second son of John Smith, of the Railway Hotel, Wells, married Miss Eliza Gardiner, youngest daughter of Mr. Gardiner, publican at the Red Lion, London Street, Norwich Thursday 14th July 1859.

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Thomas Sleath (36) and Thomas Matthews (38) were found guilty Monday 8th January 1866 of obtaining money by false pretences from licensee William Gardiner.
They had also been involved in the same ploy at the OXFORD TAVERN and the WHITE ROSE

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Licence renewal was opposed (21st?) August 1891.
A draper, by name of Mr. Caley Parker, had his business directly opposite. He claimed that on Mondays and Saturdays, sometimes for up to five hours, it was impossible to hear anyone speak in his shop owing to the noise emanating from the Red Lion. There was a violin, a piano, a squeaking instrument and a black man who sang to the music. There had been clog dancing which annoyed. He had complained to the landlord and to the police and sought to stop the nuisance and disgrace to the city.
The Chief Constable was aware of the noise complaints and there were a great many places of the same kind in the city. It was frequented by soldiers and low women and noise should be expected. It was as well conducted as any other such house.
The `Low Women' were factory girls and the Chief Constable could not say if they went to the house for low purpose. Soldiers liked a little music and singing and of course the girls would be better off in a country lane picking buttercups and daisies.
The magistrates must take the world as they find it and here they had a house which was well conducted and there was no previous conviction or licence endorsement.
Mr. Spalding, the licensee, said that he was the piano player and dancing had been stopped since March and nobody had danced in clogs, but a young man had done so in his ordinary boots.

Licence renewed since there was insufficient evidence to take it away.

On Saturday 22nd August 1891 Harry James Spalding applied for a music and singing licence to protect himself when there was piano playing or singing in the bar or one night a-week, in an upstairs room. Objector Caley Parker claimed females as young as sixteen to twenty years of age, men of loose class and a large number of soldiers used the house. After closing time the street was frequently impassable with as many as eighty people outside.
Inspector Mason said he had visited the house on several occasions and had never observed anything to call for teh institution of proceedings.
Application refused.