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The Mischief is a pub in Norwich, England. Situated in a former courtyard house, which belonged to mayor of Norwich Alexander Thurston, the pub retains both sixteenth century features alongside the nineteenth century façade. The Mischief is notable as the first location of the Jacquard Club, a folk music group which hosted musicians such as Paul Simon.

History

The Mischief occupies the remaining parts of a sixteenth-century courtyard house, with the east end (which faces the road) being rebuilt in the nineteenth century when the road was widened to accommodate trams.^[1] It is situated on Fye Bridge Street, to the south of St Clement's Church. The house belonged to grocer and mercer Alexander Thurston who became mayor in 1600. In 1599, he incorporated stone fireplaces with his merchant's mark in the left-hand spandrel and the arms of his wife's family, the Aldrich family, in the right-hand spandrel. One of the fireplaces still exists and is behind the bar.^[2] The north range is constructed of flint on a limestone pedestal.^[2] On the north wall of this range are two six-light and one seven-light mullion windows on the first floor and three gable dormers.^[1] Inside, the original floor and ceiling joists are later replacements. On the south wall of the north range, which overlooks a central courtyard, is an eight-light mullion window with arched transom. The wall also shows the spandrel of a wide arch which would have been situated above a large bay window, suggesting that the north range was once a hall. The rebuilt east range holds the parlour and an eight-light mullion window overlooking the courtyard.^[2] The first floor contains two windows, with one a in a recessed canted bay.^[3]

The pub was called The Wine Vaults, trading under Carter Steward and Co Wine Vaults in the 1890s until being renamed The Mischief in 1963. The name is derived from the John Crome's depiction of William Hogarth's The Man with the Load of Mischief or Man Loaded with Mischief, which showed a man carrying a woman on his back, who is drinking gin and holding a monkey and magpie, a representation of mischief, which once hung outside the pub. Considered sexist, the sign was changed to depict a mischievous boy and later a group of mice.^[4] Crome's "famous" sign was included in a 1936 exhibition of pub signs held in London.^[5] The pub became a grade II listed building on 26 February 1954.^[3]

Musician Albert Cooper and his brother Tony founded the Jacquard Club, a folk music group in 1960^[6] or 1964.^[7] Named after Joseph Marie Jacquard,^[7] the club was located in the basement of the Mischief until the club moved to the White Lion on Magdalen Street. In the Mischief, the club most hosted performances from the likes of Paul Simon, Judy Collins, Ralph McTell in the Hickory Nuts, Tom Paxton,^[6]^[7] and George Melly.^[8] Unlike other parts of the city, the area near to the Mischief retains many pubs from the nineteenth century; there are five in the 100 yards (91 m) between the Mischief and the Maids Head Hotel.^[9]

Bibliography

Holmes, Frances; Holmes, Michael (2015). Norwich Pubs and Breweries: Past and Present. Norwich Heritage Projects.
King, Chris (2022). "Houses and Society in Norwich, 1350-1660: Urban Buildings in an Age of Transition". Cultural and Social History. 19. Boydell Press: 104–106. doi:10.1080/14780038.2021.2002531.
Pevsner, Nikolaus; Wilson, Bill (2002). The Buildings of England: Norfolk 1: Norwich and North-East. Yale University Press.

References

^ ^a ^b Pevsner and Wilson 2002, p. 282
^ ^a ^b ^c King 2020, p.130-131
^ ^a ^b "The Mischief Tavern". Retrieved 14 September 2023.
^ Briggs, Stacia (16 November 2020). "10 of Norfolk's strangest pub names explained". Norwich Evening News. Retrieved 14 September 2023.
^ "Roadside Art". Halifax Evening Courier. 21 October 1936. Retrieved 14 September 2023.
^ ^a ^b Heaton, Trevor (5 December 2016). "Revealed: The photographs that tell the story of Paul Simon's 1965 Norfolk gig". Eastern Daily Press. Retrieved 14 September 2023.
^ ^a ^b ^c Holmes and Holmes 2015, p. 147
^ Wakefield, David (13 April 2000). "And now, from Norwich". The Stage. Retrieved 14 September 2023.
^ Holmes and Holmes 2015, p. 133