Visit to Woodforde's Brewery, 22 April 2025
Members: can you join us at Woodforde's Brewery, near Norwich?
Woodbastwick: the Fur and Feather (NR13 6SW), with the brewery beyond. Woodforde's Brewery was named after the Norfolk diarist at its foundation in 1981, in recognition of his brewing expertise [photo Margaret Bird 2012]
A 250th-anniversary celebration 
Norfolk malting barley ready for harvesting [photo Margaret Bird 2012]
The Parson Woodforde Society is presenting a large framed photograph of the diarist's portrait to Woodforde's Brewery, near Norwich, on Tuesday 22 April 2025 at 2 pm. Other organisations are joining us for the presentation in the restaurant of the brewery tap, the Fur and Feather.
The gift is to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the Revd James Woodforde's first arriving in Norfolk in April 1775 to view his new parish. This was just over a year before he came to reside at Weston Longville, ten miles north-west of Norwich.
The portrait of Woodforde in clerical dress (seen at the masthead on this page) was painted posthumously by his nephew Samuel Woodforde RA, but it was based on a sketch made by Sam in 1785 when his uncle was aged 45.
The founders of the brewery, Ray Ashworth and Dr David Crease, who were already keen home-brewers, named their new business in 1981 in honour of the skilled clerical home-brewer. The brewery is on the Norfolk Broads, not far from the River Bure between Salhouse and Ranworth Broads.
The Society is delighted that Dr Crease will be joining us at the event on 22 April. As well as founding the brewery he served for many years as head brewer at Woodforde's.
Please let the Society's Newsletter Editor Jill George know if you can come by emailing her at – newsletter@parsonwoodforde.org
The presentation of the portrait
The brewery's CEO Joe Parks, together with James Ramm (Head of Sales) and Chris Fuller (Marketing Manager), will represent the brewery. Also present will be members of the Parochial Church Council of All Saints' Weston Longville (Parson Woodforde's church), a long-serving skipper of the Norfolk wherry Albion (honouring the brewery's flagship amber ale named Wherry) and a former business editor of the regional newspaper the Eastern Daily Press. Members of the Brewery History Society and Norfolk Industrial Archaeology Society, representing historic malting and brewing, will join Norfolk members of the Parson Woodforde Society.
After short speeches over tea and coffee in the Fur and Feather's restaurant we can go outside into the pub garden if the weather is kind.
As the presentation is not taking place at a weekend there will not be an opportunity to join a brewery tour. The well-stocked brewery shop will however be open from 10 am to 5 pm: see the brewery's website.
Finding the venue at Woodbastwick
A large car park serves the brewery shop and visitor centre at the thatched brewery tap. The pub stands in Woodbastwick's main street, Slad Lane: NR13 6SW, just north of the B1140. A map and directions for drivers can be found at the foot of the Fur and Feather's home page.
The nearest train station is at Salhouse, on the very scenic Bittern Line from Norwich to Cromer and Sheringham. There is then a pleasant 2½-mile walk east north-east through Salhouse village along Lower Street, past the entrance to Salhouse Broad, and on to Slad Lane, Woodbastwick.
There are no direct buses from Norwich to Woodbastwick. Passengers have to change at Hoveton.
22 April: a report of the event
The very enjoyable and successful event is described, with photographs, on the public part of this website under the title Woodforde as brewer.