John Garrett from Sprowston, sister Jacqueline Dickerson, who lives in Eaton and brother Jeffrey from Hellesdon, can thank The Maids Head Hotel snug bar for their existence.Their Grandmother, Edith Beart (1879-1972) worked as a barmaid in the snug in 1902. It was there that she met their Grandfather, David Maggs. Mr Maggs ran a successful saddlery business in Golden Ball Street, Norwich. A photograph shows his tack on display on the area now occupied by Archant’s headquarters, Prospect House, home of the Evening News.
Edith was the daughter of William and Hannah Beart. William was a gamekeeper, and worked at Cockley Cley Hall and also spent some time on an estate at Ashcombe in Devon.
They married in 1904, and had four daughters, Margaret, Dorothy, Queenie and Winifred. Queenie, who died in 2002, was cashier at the Noverre Cinema for 30 years and also worked at the Hippodrome. Winifred was the mother of John, Jacqueline and Jeffrey.
David Maggs had a drink problem and sadly the business seems to have folded soon after World War I. After 29 years of marriage to Edith, David ended up in the workhouse (now Norwich Community Hospital), dying in 1933.
Edith moved with her four daughters to an attic in Thorpe, which was so small that the two youngest children had to sleep on the landing. She scraped a living scrubbing floors in Wroxham for 6p a day and also cared for an elderly lady. Edith was a regular churchgoer and attended St George’s Tombland.
“Grandmother always stuck up for men, which is rather surprising considering her experience with our Grandfather,” said Jacqueline Dickerson. “Everybody loved her, she was a real old fashioned Grandmother.”
One of Jacqueline’s most treasured possessions is Edith’s copy of the 1900 history of The Maids Head Hotel. She noted her hours on the back page – Monday 11am to 5.30pm and Tuesday 3pm to 8.30pm. Wednesday was half day off, Thursday’s shift began at 3pm and she worked 11am to 4.30pm on Friday and Saturday. The hotel’s telephone number at the time was 85 Norwich. Residents could garage their cars for 1shilling (5p) a night, but bicycle storage was free. The rates for room for the night began at 3 shillings (15p).
The book introduces The Maids Head as…”the only purely Family Hotel and only Hotel with its own Livery Yard attached in Norwich. It is the most unique house in England, being at least 600 years old, and combines all the charm of an old-world hostelry with every up-to-date modern luxury.”
Reviews from newspapers and magazines are included. “Certainly the Norwich hotels are decidedly well conducted, and the chief of them, the ‘Maids Head’ may vie in interest with any hostelry in the country.” The Gentleman’s Journal August 15, 1896.
The booklet also features an illustration from The Graphic showing the 43rd and 44th Companies of the Imperial Yeomanry recruiting for the Boer War, in what is now the Maids Head’s restaurant, in January 1900.
John Garrett added; “You could say that if it was not for The Maids Head, that my family would not be here today. My wife, Lesley and I were at a family wedding at the hotel in December, and had a drink in the snug. We sensed our Grandmother’s presence. It was as if we were stepping back in time.”
Christine Malcolm, Maids Head General Manager, will be hanging a framed photograph of Edith Beart in the snug as a permanent reminder of ‘Love and The Maids Head Snug 1902’.
