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Picture source: Chris Amies

The Norfolk Arms was situated at 272 North End Road. This pub is now used as a branch of the Halifax. It can be seen in the background of this 1981 Thats Life clip.

The Norfolk Arms was a true spit and sawdust local. The letter 'M' was missing from the sign towards the end of its life in the mid to late 80's so was known to me and my colleagues (we worked nearby in North End Road for the local newspaper) as The Norfolk Arse. The rear, main bar was a stone floor affair, with the floor pitched at an angle sloping down into a large gutter-type affair meaning that the floor could be hosed down each night on close. At the front of the pub was a small pool room. One night on venturing in to play a game of pool after work with colleagues I put my hand on the table to play a shot only to discover that what I thought was a dark stain on the green baize was in fact a large, fresh pool of blood into which I had just placed my hand. On pointing this out to the barmaid we were told with a shrug, "Yeah, someone just got their head smashed into the side of the table before you came in." Our efforts to play on stalled when the white wall became too pink from the fresh blood.

Ritchie B-P (November 2020)

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