Venue Type & Location
Overview
By 1600, the White Horse Inn was a large establishment located on the NE corner of St Martin Street (now Palace Street) and Norman’s Lane (now Pigg Lane), on the parish boundary between St George Tombland and St Martin-at-Palace. Although the inn actually stood in the parish of St Martin-at-Palace, it was sometimes called 'the sign of the White Horse in tombland' (REED Norwich 117).
Little is known of the building's architecture.
Performance History
There are several records relating to performances at the White Horse, Tombland (also known as Powle's House) in the early 17th c.
Current Status
History of the Venue
ca. 1568 Thomas Jackson proprietor of the White Horse Inn.
1587 John Bedyngfyld licensed to keep an inn at the sign of the White Horse.
1601--20 John Butcher, alias Powle, proprietor (hence the designation Powle's House).
by 1624 Thomas Marcon proprietor.
1760--1807 Continued to be licensed for operation as an alehouse.
Record Source
REED Norwich 117, 146--7, 150--1, 180--1
Patrons who owned this venue
[No data found.]
Bibliographic Sources
- Farrow, M. A. Index of wills proved in the consistory court of Norwich and now preserved in the district probate registry at Norwich 1550--1603. Norwich: Norfolk Record Society, 1950
- Farrow, M. A. and T. F. Barton. Index of wills proved in the consistory court of Norwich and now preserved in the district probate registry at Norwich 1604--1686. Norwich: Norfolk Record Society, 1958
- The History of the City and County of Norwich from the Earliest Accounts to the Present Time. 2 vols. Norwich: John Crouse, 1768
- Lobel, Mary Doreen and William Henry Johns. Historic Towns: Maps and Plans of Towns and Cities in the British Isles, with Historical Commentaries from Earliest Times to 1800. 3 vols. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins P, [1969]-89
- Roberts-Smith, Jennifer. 'The Red Lion and the White Horse: Inns used by Patronized Performers in Norwich, 1583--1624'. Early Theatre 10.1 (2007): 109--44.
- Rodgers, Mary and May Wallace. Norwich Landgable Assessment 1568-70. Norwich: Norfolk Record Society, 1999
- Tillett, E.A. St. George Tombland: past and present. A contribution to the history of a Norwich parish. Norwich: Agas Goose, 1891