Pub History Society

The Pub History Society was set up in 2001 to bring together like minded individuals who enjoy traditional unspoilt pubs and have an interest in the history of the great British boozer. We produce 4 printed newsletters a year which are sent to our membership. We also produce occasional journals containing more in depth articles.

Our main activity during the year is organising specialist pub tours. These are in various parts of the country and have included London, Manchester, Sheffield, Salisbury, Nottingham, Leeds and recently Bath. A write up of our Nottingham tour from last November is included below. We take in some of the area's most unspoilt public houses and enjoy a social glass or two during the day. The tours are open to any and all interested parties - we do not charge for these tours. Future tours are listed below in our Diary Dates.

Membership is available via our website. All previous newsletters and journals will be sent to new members.

Near the end of this e-newsletter I have detailed what is included within our past newsletters.

If anyone would like to join us on one of our tours or would like to become a member we would be glad to hear from you.

Diary Dates

23rd November 2004 to 9 May 2005 Brighton Boozers - A Brighton History Centre display.

A lighthearted look at the changing face of Brighton’s pub culture, from traditional street-corner taverns to trendy bars. Brighton Boozers also considers famous pub regulars in Brighton, some ghostly inhabitants and newsworthy events.

Wednesday 27th April 2005 -6pm. Pub History Society AGM. Wenlock Arms, 26 Wenlock Road, London, N1 7TA (nearest Tube is Old Street –Northern Line). If you don’t know us, look for the short bloke with the blue clipboard in the bar -All welcome.

Sunday 22nd May - Tipplefair 8. National Collectors Fair in Milton Keynes. Contact Peter Ballantyne on 01908 260 429. PHS will have a stand so come and introduce yourself.

Pub Tours

May 21st - Telford
July 16th - Faversham

All pub tours are subject to change - please register your interest for more up to date information.

Websites worth a look

Last Orders Please - the Index Edition is an index of lost inns, taverns, and beer houses that once served Hull's Old
Town. Compiled and researched by Richard Hayton it has now been posted online in full, with additional original photo's. It can be

viewed by accessing www.yorkshirehistory.com then navigating to 'Last Orders Please".

www.abebooks.co.uk 12,000 booksellers selling 50 million new, second-hand, rare and out of print books. Do a search for inns,

taverns or pubs usually turns up all sorts of gems.

www.historicaldirectories.org is a digital library of local and trade directories for England and Wales, from 1750 to 1919. It contains high quality reproductions of comparatively rare books, essential tools for research into local, genealogical and of course pub history.

www.alanroulstone.com - Alan Roulstone was a pub artist of some reputation. His drawings have been now been made available in CD format. The website should give you all the information you require.

Book Dealer

Having renewed my acquaintance with Bill Lloyd of Chapel Books in deepest Monmouthshire I thought it only right and proper to

acquaint others with him too. Bill is a dealer in ancient documents and associated material, usually of use to family

historians. Just occasionally he comes across deeds relating to pubs and inns from many parts of the country ( I have extracted a

couple of items below). If anyone would like to contact Bill to inquire if he has anything from your county, please do so at the

address below. He also has a website which can be found at www.chapelbooks.co.uk

Some items held by Chapel Books:-

Boars Head Inn, Braintree from 1740’s.
Castle Brewery Tap and the Elephant and Castle Inn, Colchester
The Jolly Farmers Public House, Cumberland Market, St Pancras, Middlesex.
The Swan Alehouse & Adjoining Property in Heather, Leicestershire (collection of deeds dating back to 1732)

Chapel Cottage, Llanishen, Chepstow NP16 6QT
tel 01600-860055
fax 01600-860100
Email info@chapelbooks.co.uk

The British Pint

Hugh Rock of Berkshire is collecting and researching old pub mugs, both ceramic and glass, for a future publication. He would be

very interested in contacting anyone with knowledge in this area. Are there any published sources on manufacturers or styles of

pint glass? Does anyone collect similar items?

Contact Hugh at hugh@rocksorganic.com

Warwickshire interest – a request by Doug Lowe

When I lived in Warwickshire I spent a lot of time researching for a book tentatively entitled "A History of the Hotels, Inns and

Pubs of South Warwickshire". I collected information from dozens of local books and many of the establishments themselves that

still functioned. Some of these provided me with their own literature. As a result I have several notebooks full and numerous pieces of information. I've never got round to compiling all this and might not for the foreseeable future.

Is there anyone interested in continuing the project?

Doug Lowe doug.lowe@ndevon.swest.nhs.uk or via the PHS

Books

Pub related books noted on Ebay as of 10th April 2005 www.ebay.co.uk

Tales of Old Inns by Richard Keverne

The Old Inns of England by A.E. Richardson

Birmingham Inns and Pubs on old Picture Postcards

Inns, Ales and Drinking Customs of Old England

Timpson's English Country Inns

The English Inn by Denzil Batchelor

Taverns and Tokens of Pepys London

If you do an advanced search and use the keyword of inn, tavern, taverns, inns etc you should turn up a gem or two.

A book review

Licensed to Sell by Geoff Brandwood, Andrew Davison, and Michael Slaughter. Published by English Heritage ISBN 1 85074 96

Licensed to Sell is a beautifully illustrated publication that should be regarded as essential reading for any self respecting pub

enthusiast. It traces the history of the public house (principally in England) from the early, unregulated alehouses, taverns and inns of the Middle Ages, through licensing, 'gin palaces', the Temperance movement and war time restrictions to the 'Beer Orders', 'all day opening', and the yet-to-be-implemented Licensing Act 2003, which will hand control over licensing back into the hands of local councils.

The first couple of chapters are devoted to the emergence and development of the pub, which uses illustrations from sources such

as Hogarth and Cruikshank. Much of the other photographic material is provided by the photographically gifted Mick Slaughter. I

now know why it takes him such an age to take a picture, as the quality is second to none.

Later chapters are devoted to design and planning, dispensing the product and pub games. The use of old floor plans obtained from archives around the country make particularly interesting viewing.

The final chapter I found to be refreshing in its approach to various pub myths. The oldest pub story comes in for a severe bashing

as deep research dispels most of the regurgitated nonsense that has flown around for years. The license of the Fighting Cocks in St Albans for example, is first mentioned in 1822 and the building itself dates from about 1600 and not the oft quoted Saxon times. The Ferry Boat Inn, Holywell near St Ives also doesn't appear to date to the year 560 either, but is more likely to be 17th century.

Another established myth is also deflated in front of the reader's very eyes and that is Dick Turpin and his many stopping off points along the Great North Road, Essex and Nottingham. Nice to read the truth for a change!

A bibliography and glossary are included to finish off which completes the book nicely.

A well-researched and presented work.

Copies of the book are available from Pub History Society member Mick Slaughter at £14.99 which includes P&P (UK customers

only - overseas please enquire). Cheques payable to M J Slaughter to 45 Elstone, Orton Waterville, Peterborough PE2 5JZ. Copies are also available from CAMRA HQ.

The Geoff Brandwood Files

I have just been introduced to a real 1960s time-warp: it's under the Damoclean sword of redevelopment and it would be nice to

say something about it before it goes.

The Charlie Butler at 40 Mortlake High Street, London SW14, represents a rare breed of building - an unaltered pub from the

1950s and 1960s. These decades saw the swan song of traditional pub-building in this country - that is to say ones with several

rooms which always included a basic public bar and a better-class lounge or saloon. Older drinkers (like me) will remember how a

pint in the more luxurious surroundings cost a copper or two more. Since about 1970 pubs were subjected to an avalanche of

change. Quite apart from opening up of rooms, there were other major changes. In the early 1960s, supermarkets began to sell

alcohol and, by the end of the decade, this had put paid to take home supplies from 'jug and bottle' departments in pubs.

Now, the Charlie Butler was built on this cusp of pub history. Opened in August 1968, it was built by Youngs and named after their head horse-keeper who had joined the firm in 1923 and retired in 1966. On the left there is a public bar and, on the right, a pair of interconnected rooms which are named together as 'Saloon Lounge' on the outside door. But as you go into this posher side of the pub there is another small, snug-like room which seems a bit out of place. It is said to have been intended for an off-sales compartment but this idea was dropped – this seems very plausible since off-sales from the pub were being consigned to history in 1968. There are many features at the Charlie Butler which are characteristic of contemporary design - the zig-zag planning of the windows, the bevelled tiles below them, the lapped bar counter, bare stone fire-surround on the saloon-lounge side, and the display cabinets between two halves of the posher side. It is now hard for a traditional, community pub in this locality to perform to its full potential and it is expected the Charlie Butler will be going down the knacker's yard. It is expected to be demolished to make way for a new (more food-orientated?) establishment with flats above.

So if you want to take a look at how pubs were being built in the 1960s, hurry along while you can. The pub is just a few minutes walk from Mortlake railway station (20 mins from Waterloo) and I can vouch for the quality of the beer.

[A quote about the Charlie Butler noted on the www.beerintheevening.co.uk website said ‘Oh my god, it's like the time tunnel. Even Austin Powers would feel out of place here. Looks like the set of Bless This House!’ –Ed]

Some Queries

Queens Head, Birchington

Does anyone have any history on William Hayward, the owner of the Queens Head Pub & Hotel in the Square at Birchington? I understand it is being turned into flats, but I would like to know some of the history surrounding the old pub.

Elaine Rogers, daughter of Pamela Hayward Rogers - er3pr@aol.com

Midway House, Stockport

I have a watercolour of a pub run by an ancestor and would appreciate any help in identifying the relevant date as i am unable to access the pub index database.The public house in question is The Midway House at Hazel Grove, Stockport. My ancestor's name was Sam Ferns and the brewery,Trumans.

Andrew - wyeder@hotmail.co

Bell Inn in Bowerchalke

The Bell Inn in Bowerchalke, Wilts closed I think about 1963. It was in the Habgood family for many years. I know that an Isaac Habgood ran the pub around 1881-1911 and possibly Eddie Habgood after that. If anyone knows of the pub, it's history or the Habgoods I would love to hear from you. The pub when closed was turned back into a house and features in the Firth Collection of pictures which can be viewed online.

redford457@hotmail.com

Newsletter Snippet

Ardour in Betting

Two gentlemen at a tavern having summoned a waiter, the poor fellow had hardly entered, when he fell down in a fit of apoplexy.

‘He’s dead!’ exclaimed one. ‘He’ll come to!’ replied the other. ‘Dead for £500!’ – ‘Done!’ retorted the second. The noise and confusion which followed brought up the landlord who called out to fetch a doctor. ‘No No! we must have no interference; there’s a bet depending.’. ‘But, Sir, I shall lose a valuable servant’. ‘Never mind, you can put him down on the bill’.

Taken from Tavern Anecdotes –compiled by Charles Hindley 1875

The Donnegal Arms, Castle Street, Belfast

I got to Belfast on Christmas night, and at Adrian Van Brackley's, the Donnegal Arms, I ordered the waiter to bring me in a quarter of a hundred of oysters, having heard that those of Carrickfergus were remarkably fine; the waiter answered "I'll bring you half a dozen, Sir, if you please." I thought this an impertinent observation to limit my supper, and told him to do as he was desired. "Well, Sir," said he, with a bow, and a smile, "I'll bring you half a dozen, and then if you want any more, you may have them." He brought in a large dish, and on it six oysters, each shell above nine inches diameter; the oyster lying on it, looked like a little boiled chicken.

Here was good claret, and excellent quarters for the night.

Recollections of the Life of John O'Keefe, 1826 [John O'Keefe - actor & playwright -1747-1833]

Pub History Society visit to Nottingham - 13 November 2004

On a bright November Saturday, dozens of sleepy locals in and around Nottingham suffered a brief invasion as note-taking strangers peered behind fireplaces and bars, looked up chimneys and under tables, downed a swift half and just as quickly were gone. Was it the taxman? Health and safety? Or perhaps a dress rehearsal for our new smoking police? No - just the autumn trip of the PHS, joined by CAMRA members from Peterborough, Huntingdonshire and of course Nottingham branches.

What a golden day for the journalist too! We were puzzled by the monkey, bowled over by an untouched '30s skittle alley, and knocked out by the boxing ring discovered in one of the few surviving brewhouses: all in an area we thought we knew all about. And there's only one word for our condition at the end of the day – ‘slaughtered’ - Mick Slaughtered that is, our most knowledgeable tour guide. The daunting main course took in 14 pubs extending as far as Linby, where we were welcomed to a splendid meal at the unspoiled Horse & Groom. As ‘extras’ we managed walk-pasts at another 5 or 6 pubs and 2 historic breweries. Scheduled diversions for National Inventory or Good Beer Guide fans included a further 13 houses. I believe none of the ‘splinter’ groups visited all of the pubs, but anyone who did, and managed to pull in the last over - at the Test Match, West Bridgford - would have scored 33, hopefully not out.

Our day started at the Bell (thought by Time Team to be Nottingham's oldest), where we had a tour of the extensive sandstone cellars, though on this occasion we couldn't explore the very deepest level some 40 feet under St James' St. Our thanks to Brian & Rob of the Bell for their enthusiasm and hospitality.

The Bell had been in the Jackson family since 1898 until the relatively recent sale to Hardys & Hansons. The good news is of course that the Bell still retains the same feel that it’s always had. The Bell was included in a television Time Team challenge several years ago when the other two ‘oldest pubs’ were examined against the Bell to find out which was the true holder of the title ‘Oldest pub in Nottingham’. I’m sure this is still a hotly debated subject and supporters of the ‘Trip’ and the ‘Salutation’ still lock antlers over this one.

Taking full advantage of the top-value spanking new trams of Nottingham's Express Transit system, we shot off to Basford for a call at the Horse & Groom, once the Shipstone's Brewery tap. The cellars here are massive as they were once used as the training ground for the company. The impressive brewery building lies next door and has since found other uses following its closure.

Thence to Bulwell for a quick look at the mock Tudor Three Crowns, where surprising survivors include the Music Room and the original Skittle Alley which is still in use. En route we spotted the unusual inn sign of the Framesmith's Arms - it depicts a pet monkey kept by a previous landlord. Just around the corner we found the Newstead Abbey in St Albans Rd. Still retaining its original internal divisions, it has been most carefully refitted (although Mick regretfully had to rule out the fireplace as original - we doubt the Victorians used Pozidriv screws!). The bonus here was the two excellent milds on offer from Greenalls and Tetleys.

Onward by tram and bus to the delightful village of Linby where the listed Horse and Groom has a superb '30s 4-room layout with a real fire in each room. Our party was rapidly served and the meal we had was excellent.
Newstead Abbey

Our return journey was broken at the Fox & Crown, Old Basford which just happens to be home of the Alcazar microbrewery. Opposite is the very striking White Swan, a substantial Home Brewery house with ornate tiled façade. Internally, it seems little altered with many surviving features.

Nearby is the wonderfully complete Hutchinson's Brewery building (now Murphy & Co), which sadly hasn't brewed since the '20s. Splitting here, the hard core shot off to pull in the Vale Hotel at Daybrook and nearby Five Ways - both on CAMRA's National Inventory of outstanding pub interiors.

The Vale Hotel is one of a number of Art Deco pubs built for Home Brewery in the '30s. It appears to be intact with bar, lounge, snug and rear lounge despite suffering some minor alterations in the past, and is now Grade II listed. A choice of 6 real ales including local brews fortified the party for the short walk to the Five Ways. This is another largely unspoilt '30s 4-room pub which Scottish Courage wanted to convert into a one-room eatery - a successful local campaign halted this and got the building Grade II listed. The ground floor is in stone with Tudor style upper half, and much of the internal panelling, fittings and screens have survived: the ornate Piano lounge is perhaps the outstanding feature. Thanks to landlord Steve for showing us round.

A more leisurely splinter group made their way slowly to the Plough at Radford, home of yet another small brewery - the Nottingham Brewery Co. The original business of this name once had one of the largest local tied estates (including the Plough), but sold out to Tennants of Sheffield in 1944. The name was revived in recent years for today's micro-brewery which supplies this and a number of other local pubs with up to six "Nottingham" beers. Rebuilt in the 1920’s, the Plough is one of those places where a little bit of history can be uncovered, in this case the existence of an outside skittle alley, not to mention four original Doulton urinals!

A short walk took us to the White Horse, Ilkeston Road, which as many will know was the ‘local’ for 1960's film ‘Saturday Night & Sunday Morning’ in which a drunken Albert Finney fell the length of the pub's staircase. Despite wholesale redevelopment of the surrounding sites, the pub's original 1912 brewhouse stands unchanged - the big surprise is that Radford Boys' Boxing Club which has been housed there for 35 years is still going strong. Access to the boxing ring was via one of the steepest flight of wooden steps ever seen, and Alan Smith kindly hosted this part of the tour. Back inside the pub (many thanks to Gloria) we saw the basement skittle alley, now home to a model railway club!

Back on the bus into town, some lingered to visit the Falcon while most pressed on to the Old Trip to Jerusalem (pictured to the right), where "Ringing the Bull" was just as hard as ever. History here is "conjectural", but I've recently unearthed a rather more plausible explanation for the Jerusalem connection, but you’ll have to wait for that! Glad to see that the model ship is still adorned with antique cobwebs, and now safe in a case. Our visitors were returning to Peterborough and beyond by train, so a last call at the Vat & Fiddle was in order - with a splendid choice of beers. Some hardy souls had pulled in the Mansfield Road and/or Lace Market sub-tours, but I felt we should leave a little for next time!

This of course was serious research of an educational and historical nature rather than a beer trail - but we did manage to pull in 3 brew-pubs (or 4 with the Vat). Though we didn't keep track of all the ales encountered, and occasionally sampled, with one notable exception I heard no adverse comments. A commendable number of dark beers were found, and particular favourites were Alcazar's chocolate stout at the Fox & Crown, and Nottingham's Sooty Stout at the Plough.

Peter Gurd, Nottingham CAMRA

Printed Newsletters - Whats in 'em.

Autumn 2004

The Barmaid Question - What did a Victorian Barmaid look like
The Festering Slum - Narrow Marsh, Nottingham a century ago by Peter Gurd
Pubs in Museums – Museums in Pubs
It vanished in 1973 – The Magpie and Stump, London by Patrick Chaplin
A Historic Walk Through Bonsall, Derbyshire by Jim McIntosh
Some people have died of thirst trying to find it - The Mole Trap – Stapleford Tawney by Patrick Chaplin
Beer, Brewing & Pub History from Old O S maps: A study by Peter Gurd
The Alan Roulstone Collection
Quirky Pub News - World's Biggest Liar competition in Cumbria

Books reviews of

Ye Olde Alehouses, Beerhouses Hotels, Inns, Public Houses, Taverns and Alcoholic Anecdotes of Loughborough through the ages by Bill Wells.
Images of London: Hammersmith and Fulham Pubs by Chris Amies
Historic Pubs in and around York 3rd Edition
Yesterday’s Pubs on Old Picture Postcards

Winter 2004/5

Follow up to previous issues
Magpie & Stump
Pubs in Museums – Museums in Pubs
World's Greatest Liar Competition
Room Names
Frothblowers
Barmaids

Pub History Society visit to Nottingham - 13 November 2004 (repeated above)
Walking in a W-inn-ter Wonderland by P Chaplin (winter pubs)
The Peggy Bedford pub
Pubs in and around Cromford, Derbyshire by Jim McIntosh
The Geoff Brandwood Files
Mad Football in Warwickshire (a look at the football game which is starts with the ball being thrown from a window of the Three Tuns Inn, Atherstone.

Book reviews
Hull Pubs & Breweries (Images of England) by Paul L Gibson
Licensed to Sell by Geoff Brandwood, Andrew Davison, and Michael Slaughter
The Meeting Place. A guide to some of the past history of Wakefield & District pubs by Rod Kaye.

And Finally

A company in Gwent called Airquee have just launched their newest inflatable, a traditional English pub. Previous projects by the same designer have included a church, a London bus and a telephone box.

It comes complete with mock Tudor beams, traditional fireplace (including a trout in a case above) and can be erected in 5 minutes. Beer, bar and optics obviously have to be added and the game of darts is positively frowned upon but it looks like a nice alternative to the usual bouncy castle. It also makes a difference to being able to build a pub, albeit a temporary one in 5 minutes instead of knocking one down in the same amount of time!!!!

My very best wishes

Steve Williams

Secretary

END