The Glass House

The Glass House is a pub in Norwich, Norfolk, England, operated as part of the J D Wetherspoon estate. It occupies numbers 11–13 Wensum Street, a site that had previously been used as small shops and as The Glass House Restaurant. The pub's name recalls both the glass company that had been on the site for several decades and Norwich's longer history with glass, including the medieval Norwich School of glass makers. As a Wetherspoon house, The Glass House follows the group's familiar formula: a large, value-focused pub offering an extensive food and drink menu, real ales, and a range of promotions and seasonal menus. The pub is open from 8:00am daily, closing at midnight Sunday to Thursday and at 1:00am on Friday and Saturday. Facilities include Wi-Fi, TV screens, a licensed outside area and step-free access. Customers can order food and drinks to their table through the Wetherspoon app. The Glass House participates in Wetherspoon's twice-yearly beer festivals and seasonal menus, including the autumn beer festival, the Christmas menu and the spritz cocktail range. Because The Glass House is a single pub within J D Wetherspoon plc, it does not have its own separate corporate history, ownership or financial reporting. Its identity is tied to its parent company, which was founded in 1979 and listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1992. The pub's own history is primarily local and architectural, reflected in the interpretive text and photographs displayed inside the premises, which cover the site's commercial past and nearby Norwich landmarks such as the Erpingham Gate.

The Glass House occupies numbers 11–13 Wensum Street in Norwich, Norfolk. According to the pub's official history, these premises were previously in use as small shops and as The Glass House Restaurant. The restaurant name recalled the glass company which had been on the site for several decades. The pub therefore takes its name from both that commercial predecessor and Norwich's broader association with glassmaking. Norwich's glassmaking heritage is significant. The Norwich School of glass makers was a medieval Norwich-based community of stained glass makers, mostly active between the mid-14th century and the English Reformation, when much of the glass was destroyed as part of the general injunction against stained glass, shrines, roods, statues and bells. The school's generally light and uncomplicated style used stylised methods of depicting floors and countryside, including motifs resembling ears of barley, seaweed, chequers or pebbles. In common with other church craftsmen, the glass painters used a characteristic border design resembling a holly leaf wrapped around a rod, which is echoed at the top of the pub fronts' ionic pillars. The pub's interior interpretation also covers local history beyond glass. Prints and text about Sir Thomas Erpingham note that not far from the pub is the Erpingham Gate, one of the entrances to the Upper Close of Norwich Cathedral, with a niche above the archway containing a kneeling effigy of Sir Thomas, probably taken from his tomb in the Cathedral. As a Wetherspoon pub, The Glass House is part of a chain whose history began in 1979, when the first Wetherspoon pub opened in Colney Hatch Lane, Muswell Hill, north London, on 9 December, having been purchased from an entrepreneur who had converted it from a bookmakers. For the first month it was called Martin's Free House, but was renamed Wetherspoons early in 1980. In the early years the company's pubs were all located in north London, with the head office above The Dog in Archway. Wetherspoon's pubs hosted their first real-ale festival in 1990, lasting four days and featuring six beers; today each Wetherspoon pub is involved in the twice-yearly beer festival, offering up to 50 beers each, 10 of which are from overseas. In 1991 The Tally Ho in North Finchley, London, opened with a dedicated non-smoking bar upstairs, one of several pioneering initiatives before the smoking ban of July 2007. The company also started its CBS scheme (cleanliness, beer and service), launched Wetherspoon News, and opened Hamilton Hall at Liverpool Street station, its first pub in central London and at a train station. In 1992 Wetherspoon opened its first two airport pubs at Heathrow Airport Terminal 4, and the company was floated on the Stock Exchange, becoming J D Wetherspoon plc, with shares issued at £1.60. The Glass House itself does not have a separately documented corporate history; its story is that of a single site adapted into the Wetherspoon format, with its name and interior displays preserving the memory of the glass company and restaurant that preceded it.

• The first Wetherspoon pub opens in Colney Hatch Lane, Muswell Hill, north London, on 9 December, initially called Martin's Free House.

• The pub is renamed Wetherspoons early in the year.

• Wetherspoon's pubs host their first real-ale festival, lasting four days and featuring six beers.

• The Tally Ho in North Finchley, London, opens with a dedicated non-smoking bar upstairs; the company also starts its CBS scheme and produces the first Wetherspoon News; Hamilton Hall opens at Liverpool Street station.

• Wetherspoon opens its first two airport pubs at Heathrow Airport Terminal 4 and floats on the Stock Exchange as J D Wetherspoon plc, with shares issued at £1.60.

Value-focused community pub within the J D Wetherspoon national chain, offering an extensive menu, real ales and app-based table service in a historic Norwich building.

• Autumn beer festival

  A 12-day festival running from Wednesday 7 to Sunday 18 October, offering a range of 30 real ales, including five from international brewers in China, Denmark, Singapore, Ukraine and the USA.

• Christmas menu

  Festive food available at Wetherspoon's pubs from Thursday 12 November until Thursday 31 December, excluding Christmas Day.

• Spritz cocktail range

  A choice of nine classic and fruity spritz recipes.

• Hot honey Chicken Bowl

  Southern-fried chicken strips tossed in a sticky hot honey sauce.

• Guest ale and craft tasting notes

  Jul-Sep tasting notes for guest ales and craft cans.

1. 1The Glass House - J D Wetherspoonjdwetherspoon.com
2. 2History - J D Wetherspoonjdwetherspoon.com
3. 3The Glass House - J D Wetherspoon pub historyjdwetherspoon.com
4. 4About us - J D Wetherspoonjdwetherspoon.com
5. 5The Glass House - Wikidatawikidata.org