As a teenager, Ruth enjoyed nights out watching live music with her parents at Jurnet’s Bar, which was in a crypt in Wensum Lodge. She decided to hold her wedding reception there as it held lovely memories for her.
Evenings out at Jurnet’s Bar
I got married at Norwich Castle in May 2018 and afterwards we booked Jurnet’s Bar for our wedding party.
When I was a teenager I’d get taken to their open mic folk music nights by my Mum and Dad. Because of the atmosphere of Jurnet’s Bar; you felt like you were going underground. I loved it. There was all this crazy music I wasn’t hearing it anywhere apart from folk clubs. Some of it was really cool with awesome guitar and some would be somebody singing a really beautiful song a cappella. Or someone would play weird alien type beeps and whistles. I thought, ‘What is this? I’m sitting in this underground chamber listening to weird alien music’ I never did sing there myself, but I went there a few times as an adult.
One time we were sitting on wooden pews in the cavern bit. Someone was playing Bob Dylan or Jimi Hendrix. My Dad, who loves all that type of music, got chatting to somebody about the Isle of Wight festival, how they had seen all the same people. I was only about 12 at the time. This guy turned to my Dad and said ‘Do you still do the drugs, man?’ My Dad said ‘No!’. It made me really laugh to see my Dad uncomfortable.
Another time, my Dad leaned on a wooden post as he waited for somebody to finish their song and it suddenly fell over. It looked like he’d broken a bit of the architecture, and he was really embarrassed. Hopefully he didn’t do any lasting damage and it was like that before we got there, but it was funny.
One night, I took my future husband there and I saw other people there, such as my line manager from work, completely dressed down, wearing crazy clothes when they normally wore a suit. But when they were in Jurnet’s Bar, they were themselves. I thought ‘Wow, my manager’s over there having a great time.’
A special place for a wedding
We looked at a couple of other places, but Jurnet’s Bar was the one that we liked best. Also it was a really reasonable price so that just made us like it even more.
It had a special atmosphere, because of where it is in Norwich and because of how you get there. You had to go down the little streets and through a courtyard entrance with cobble stones and all of Wensum Lodge following little arrows saying ‘Jurnet’s bar this way’. You’d go into the bar room with a couple of tables and then you turn the corner and go through the archway into the bit that really feels like a crypt with the arched ceiling and lots of wooden beams. They opened up another room for our wedding for the music. I love all the architecture; it just feels like something out of Lord of the Rings, kind of magical.
When we were planning the celebration, we didn’t want to do much to the space. We thought if we had our favourite music and good lighting, it’d just be perfect. It absolutely captured the magical atmosphere I remembered as a teenager. Also the connections of going with my family when I was younger made it more special. It felt like such a cool place when I was younger and now I was getting married to a man who really loved it too. My Mum wasn’t with us any more, so it’s nice that she knew the venue and she would have really liked it.
It all feels so old there. Feels a bit like a church. I don’t know the history of it, but with the crypts it could be linked to churches or that sort of building.
I had met Johnnie when I played squash at Wensum Lodge a couple of times. It’s one of those places that every time I went, I thought I want to come more often and make this my new hangout. Then after we got married there, our plan was to have an anniversary party every year and invite all the same people. But then it was COVID the year after so we didn’t and then we lost our opportunity to do that.
At first we wanted to get married at Norwich Castle. Then I thought of Jurnet’s Bar – I hadn’t been there for years and I wondered if they would do it. I just loved the pictures of Jurnet’s bar. I’d sit on my phone and imagine that it had fairy lights and music playing. So we booked it and knew it was going to be the kind of wedding that we wanted, one with a ‘hobbity’ and artsy feel.
On the big day
When we went there on the wedding day, working behind the bar was this guy who had been in life drawing classes. I remember I sat there in my really oversized wedding dress thinking, ‘I’ve seen that guy naked in the drawing class. I remember drawing him in life class.’ Then I thought, ‘I’m not going to tell my new husband that right now’, but then one of Johnnie’s cousins said ‘Oh, I recognise that guy’, because she went to art school. That’s the kind of place it was. You saw arty, interesting people, creative people.
On the actual day after Norwich Castle, we all went to Wensum Lodge. Everybody turned up and my Dad and my brother-in-law had gone ahead to sort out the lights and stuff. We played the playlist we’d made. Actually, it was a bit of a blur for me, because obviously I’d just got married and you’re just trying to talk to people.
We’d arranged with Domino’s to have this bulk delivery of pizzas – enough for a hundred people. So again, it was very low key with nice comfort food – pizza and chips and Ben and Jerry’s ice cream afterwards.
After that there was the music and dancing and we definitely had a good time. Our photographer was Johnnie’s friend, who was a professional standard photographer.
After the speeches Johnnie’s brother did a quiz for us. Johnnie’s brother is a large personality and there was a little bit of an outcry about some of the answers. And then I think we had a round of impressions as well. Then we had our first dance. Thankfully, we didn’t have a lot of room to dance, which worked out really well, because first dances are super awkward.
Afterwards a load of younger people went off to The Waterfront as it’s a stone’s throw away. We got a taxi to our hotel and all the people were in the courtyard waving goodbyes.
Closure of Wensum Lodge
When I heard Wensum Lodge was closing I thought it was really sad. I heard rumours that it might be shutting down and I thought we should support it but life got in the way. It’s really sad. It’s one of those historical places in Norwich that you don’t want to lose. A nice, arty, creative place. So old and beautiful. I always thought we’d eventually have our anniversary party there and keep going. But the closure is a done deal now.
Although I didn’t go to any classes at Wensum Lodge. I teach functional skills and I thought that’d be a really nice place to teach, because it would be adults who really wanted to be there. It’s a shame I have lost my opportunity now.
I remember when we were walking to Jurnet’s Bar and the archway in Wensum Lodge with beautiful white roses everywhere. We came back the day after the wedding – and I looked around trying to take pictures with my brain; remembering this special place where we got married. I remember coming through the door and shutting it and it all just felt really momentous.
Ruth Sellex talking to WISEArchive in Norwich on 21st December 2024. © 2024 WISEArchive. All Rights Reserved.
