CROCODILE TAVERN PUBLIC HOUSE, THE

This pub was first built in the 1700s and carried the address, Lower Westwick Street. It is thought that when rebuilt in 1933 that the address then became 27 Heigham Street.

The venue’s proximity to the Norwich City Railway Station meant that it didn’t fair well during WW2; damaged by bombs in April 1942 the building wasn’t repaired until March 1944. The pub was again extensively rebuilt in 1955 and this is the place many remember when talking about the pub and its musical days. Although not widely remembered in its capacity as a venue, the tenancy of Peter Millership and his wife, circa 1968 and their liking of old school rock ’n’ roll, saw The Crocodile become the home of the late sixties rock and roll revival in Norwich. Bands such as The Ramblers, The Barons, The Rockin’ Preachers and The Stateside Five who would later become Memphis Index, all played their early gigs at this venue. Many recall the classic Seeburg jukebox being crammed full of original American Rock and Roll artists and the whole pub dancing. It was a short and probably unusual phase in the life of the pub, perhaps it knew its days where numbered! The pub was taken over by ?? on ?? December 1968

Closed in August 1973 the pub stood empty for twenty years, when in February 1993 permission for demolition or redevelopment was given and the building was turned in four flats and given the snappy new title of Crocodile House. The area around the pub has since been substantially redeveloped and the road behind the pub takes the name Crocodile Court. [new information supplied by Sarah Fitt 2015]

Note: In late 1969 many of those who frequented the pub found themselves starting The Croc Club at The Cottage Public House in Thorpe, Norwich.

SCENES: 60s Rock ’n’ Roll revival