left to right: Matt and Steph Brown, creator's of Nelson's Gold with Adam Youngman, Maids Head Hotel and the Nelson's Golden Apple Cocktail.
Throughout 2019, Break was the Maids Head Hotel's local charity. During the year staff and guests raised £1,184.06. We invited Danielle Gravestock from Break to receive the cheque and celebrate the fundraising success with our staff.
The money was raised through collection buckets, a Christmas raffle and donations at special events including resident tour guide Paul Dickson's Shardlake's Norwich tours during English Tourism Week and Norfolk Day and Rob Knee from the Paston Heritage Society who gave talks about the Pastons and the Paston Letters on Norfolk Day and on 22 November. The second talk was on the anniversary of the Maids Head getting it's first official written mention in a Paston letter. A team from the Maids Head – Jonathan Brasnett, Andrew Shorthose and Rose Taylor - also completed the City of Norwich half marathon in aid of Break.
Following last autumn's refurbishment of the Maids Head Hotel's Wine Press Restaurant, Head Chef Marcin 'Magic' Pomierny, semi-finalist in the National Chef of the Year competition 2018 and 2019, has created a new A La Carte Menu to complement the contemporary look of the AA Two Rosette restaurant, featuring the finest of local seasonal produce.
The three-course menu, which will change with the seasons, also features an amuse bouche and a pre-dessert as part of the offer. Diners can opt for three or two course meals.
“I have been inspired by our new look Wine Press Restaurant to design a menu which will complement the diners' surroundings,” said Magic. “Local produce includes cod, halibut and game, Cromer crab, Eleveden Estate venison and Norfolk mussels, all given a contemporary twist. We have fully tested the menu in house and look forward to getting feedback from our guests.”
The Maids Head Hotel in Tombland, Norwich, has purchased an elegant Edwardian style Frolic 31 electric launch and, following a winter refit, the boat will take to the River Wensum in Norwich, when it will be officially named The Murtle Fish.
The boat will be driven by a Maids Head skipper, assisted by a steward, and can take 12 passengers. The Murtle Fish will be available to hire from the spring for afternoon tea afloat, wedding photography and receptions, business away days, drinks receptions and guided river tours.
A two-hour trip will depart from the Quayside next to Fye Bridge and will head to Whitlingham before returning to the city centre. The Murtle Fish will also be used to transport guests to the Maids Head's box at Norwich City FC.
Sir John Fenn (Rob Knee from the Paston Heritage Society) unveiled, on its 547th anniversary, a facsimile of the Paston Letter dated 22 November 1472, which gives the first mention of the Maids Head, the name of the inn that had taken over from the 13th century Murtle Fish. The facsimile is located just outside the entrance of the Maids Head's Wine Press Restaurant.
Rob Knee was at the hotel to give a costumed Paston talk about the work of antiquarian Sir John Fenn from Dereham, who edited, over eight years, a volume of some 200 of the Paston Letters that had come into his possession in 1771. The volume was published in 1789 and the initial print run of 750 sold out within a week.
The Paston letters and papers were found in 1735 by Norfolk historian Francis Blomefield in the muniment room at Oxnead Hall, which had been the main seat of the Paston family since the 1480s. William Paston, 2nd Earl of Yarmouth, the last representative of the family, had died in 1732.
All Things Norfolk have teamed up with the Maids Head Hotel to provide you with the chance to win a meal for two up to the value of £80 at their new contemporary look AA 2 rosette Wine Press Restaurant, which is located in the former courtyard of the 15th century inn that first took the name Maids Head.
The Lord Mayor of Norwich, Councillor Vaughan Thomas and the Sheriff of Norwich, Dr Marian Prinsley visited the hotel on Thursday, November 14 to officially reopen the restaurant following its £60,000 makeover.
Interior Designer, Nicola Lovell, working closely with General Manager, Christine Malcolm, has created a colourful and exciting restaurant with new tables, chairs, banquettes, pictures and decoration, which complement the ancient courtyard of the hotel.
The Wine Press refurbishment is the latest project at the Maids Head, which has seen £3.5 million invested by the hotel’s owners, the Chaplin family, over the last six years across all public areas and guest bedrooms.