Nicholls - In 1906 the Norfolk was taken over by the capable and likeable H.C. Blancke, a Swiss hotel expert brought out as manager, who left it in 1913 to start a leather factory. In those years it paid off its mortgage overdraft and made a clear profit of £20,000.

Gazette 15/5/1910 - Application for General Retail Liquor Licence - C. Blanke - Manager, Norfolk Hotel

Elspeth Huxley interview with Blancke, Bodleian Library Mss Afr.s.782, Box 1/5  I took over the Norfolk from Major Stringer in 1906 and had it till 1913 when I gave it up to start a leather factory. It paid off a mortgage overdraft and made £20,000 clear. 1908 was the peak year. White women began to arrive in force in 1910 and that quietened things down a bit. Jack Riddell used to ride his pony into the dining room and jump the tables. There were two housekeepers, a redhead and a blonde, who had such a good time that they were deported. Rows went on almost every night.