Old Norwich posters found above Tipsy Jar in Redwell Street

Advertisements dating as far back as the 19th century have been discovered in the corner site in Redwell Street, where the top two floors above the Tipsy Jar are being turned into flats.

Some of the posters have been kept well-preserved under the layers of timber cladding (Image: Sonya Duncan, Newsquest)

Norfolk Planning & Property Consultants (NPPC) were brought in to work on the project above the cocktail bar, which is still operating while work takes place.

But the team were unexpectedly transported back in time when they uncovered a series of posters more than 100 years old.

One of the posters advertises The Eastern Morning Gazette (Image: Sonya Duncan, Newsquest)

The Redwell Street building pictured in 1946 with advertising on its St Andrews Street frontage (Image: Historic England)

READ MORE: Castle exhibition of 1940s Norwich factory worker photos

Phil Sneddon, principal director of NPPC, said: "We began refurbishing the building in February.

"After stripping back three layers of timber cladding we found these really interesting posters.

"There was one for Whiteways Wines, gravy powder and the clearest images were that of Norfolk Chronicle and Eastern Morning Gazette.

Norwich Archives and Norwich University of the Arts (NUA) have gone to look at the posters (Image: Sonya Duncan, Newsquest)

"Some date roughly between the 1930s and 50s but we think there's some which date all the way back to the 1880s."

The building itself was first listed in 1780 and was reconfigured to make way for a wider road, in order to accommodate the tram line which was introduced in St Andrews Street in 1900.

Labourers with NPPC, Steven Brown and Sean Sennstrom, who are looking after the art work (Image: Sonya Duncan, Newsquest)

READ MORE: Mile Cross Festival returns to Sloughbottom Park in Norwich

Mr Sneddon added that there's been some interest from near neighbours Norwich University of the Arts (NUA) about procuring the posters.

Advertising for both The Eastern Morning Gazette and Norfolk Chronicle (Image: Sonya Duncan, Newsquest)

He said: "We've had various groups, such as Norwich Archives and NUA, come out and have a look at the adverts.

"While some have been kept well-preserved others are in a little worse condition but whatever happens to them we'd just like them to go to a good home."

Labourers with NPPC, Steven Brown and Sean Sennstrom, with some of the work inside the grade two listed building (Image: Sonya Duncan, Newsquest)

The building was listed by Historic England in 1972, having been a shop since the early 19th century.

It was the home to Country and Eastern estate agents at the start of the century and in recent years was used as a bar named The Tap House and then Panda, before becoming Tipsy Jar in November 2021.

The work is currently being carried out above popular cocktail bar the Tipsy Jar in Redwell Street (Image: Sonya Duncan, Newsquest)

Some of the better preserved images are advertising wine, gravy powder and local newspapers (Image: Sonya Duncan, Newsquest)

The Tipsy Jar, in Redwell Street, remains open during the renovation work upstairs, with the cocktail bar pictured here prior to work starting (Image: Newsquest)