Suffolk's Wetherspoon's and what they were before pubs

We take a look back at the history of Suffolk's pubs. 

Ipswich, The Cricketers

This was a purpose built pub in the 1930s. 

The Cricketers (Image: Newsquest)

It was originally a Tollemache pub, the style is copied from Helmingham Hall, the home of the Tollemaches since 1510. In 1957, Tollemache merged with another local brewery to form the company now known as Tolly Cobbold.

Sudbury, Grover and Allen 

The Grover and Allen in Sudbury (Image: Newsquest)

This pub takes its name from Grover and Allen, the wholesale and retail grocery which traded at the premises from the mid 1870s to the early 1900s.

Bury St Edmunds, The Corn Exchange 

The Bury St Edmunds Weatherspoon is one of the prettiest in the country (Image: Newsquest)

This grade I listed monument was designed by Ellis & Woodward and built by Lot Jackaman before opening in July 1862. 

The floor in the hall was inserted in 1969, and there are now shops on the ground floor. 

Stowmarket, The Willow Tree

The growing of willow twigs in Stowmarket led to the development of basket-making; this thrived until the early 20th century.

Founded in 1912, by Octavius Seaman, the premises were acquired from a monumental and marble mason, who was first recorded on this site in 1839.

Haverhill, The Drabbet Smock 

The popular pub used to be a factory for making drabbet smocks for agricultural workers. 

Gurteen and Sons built the factory in 1856 and it had 32 steam-driven power looms. 

Lowestoft, The Joseph Conrad

In 1834 Henry Tuttle opened a grocery and provision shop at the premises. 

The Station Square pub is named after Polish mariner and writer Joseph Conrad, who disembarked in Lowestoft in 1878 and signed on as a crew member of a small coaster that sailed out of the port.

All information has been taken from the Weatherspoon website.