KNOTTINGLEY PUBLIC HOUSES & BREWERIES
circa. 1750 – 1998
by TERRY SPENCER B.A.(Hons), Ph D. (1998)
CHAPTER THREE
THE EARLY INNS: AN HISTORICAL SURVEY
Of
the seventeen licensed public houses known to have been established by the
second decade of the nineteenth century only three, the Cherry Tree, Bay
Horse and the Swan, are still in existence today, although the latter has
transferred to a new location while the first named has been rebuilt upon
its original site.
Nevertheless,
the early inns, although long vanished, are noteworthy in the context of
their historical development. Of these, two, the Swan and the Dog, were
housed in two of the oldest and, in terms of vernacular architecture,
grandest buildings in the town at the time of their establishment.
The
Swan, better known as the White Swan, although the prefix is not recorded
until 1871, was situated at Hill Top. The inn was established in the
former Manor House built by the Ingram family in the early seventeenth
century when they became lords of the manor of Knottingley.
By the
mid-eighteenth century the mansion had been inherited by the Atkinson’s
who initially resided in the west wing and converted the eastern portion
of the premises into the Swan Inn. Further portions of the large rambling
building housed at various times thereafter, a wheelwright’s and a
saddler’s shop (the latter being in existence during the boyhood of the
present writer when it was in the possession of the Leeman family), a
blacksmith’s forge, associated with Robert Jackson, later the licensee
of the Commercial Hotel, Hill Top, and for more than a decade in the
mid-nineteenth century provided a site for the town’s prison.
In
addition, a beershop occupied an adjacent site, providing a sales outlet
for the on-site brewery of William Hurst, the whole complex having once
been part of the outbuildings of the Ingram mansion. The site was also
that from which Silvester Atkinson traded as a common brewer during the
second quarter of the nineteenth century. Again, in common with several
other inns within the town and elsewhere, the presence of a craftsmen’s
shop, capable of dealing with problems facing travellers, was a means of
drawing customers to the inn and even the reason d’etre for some public
houses.
Like
the Swan, the manorial antecedents of the Dog Inn are indisputable. Where
an element of doubt arises however, is in connection with the particular
manorial site on which the inn was situated. A sale notice dated 1843,
refers to "The Dog
Public-House, formerly the Manor House, with malt-kiln, barn stables and
outbuildings."
The
notice quite unambiguously states that the site of the Dog Inn is that of
the former manor house, being the Wildbore residence situated at the
junction of Hill Top and Chapel Street (now occupied by St. Botolph’s
Gardens). As this was also the site of the earliest common brewery to be
established within the town it would make sense to have had a retail
outlet on site. However, some years ago an inn sign bearing the legend ‘Dog
& Gun’ was uncovered on the site of the present Manor Farm House,
which although of ancient origin was never the actual manor house, being
erroneously referred to as such by succeeding generations of townsfolk
from the mid-nineteenth century onward. There is therefore a
circumstantial connection between the Dog Inn and Manor Farm and this is
further underlined by other features. The site, as may be expected,
contained a brewhouse and also a bullring. Bull bating was a popular sport
associated with public house ‘entertainment’ during the eighteenth
century. The practice was outlawed by parliament in 1823 and it is alleged
that the last bull bating in England took place on the Manor Farm site
about this time. Also, the 1841 Census names the location of the inn as
the ‘Riverside’, a point of identity more appropriate to the Manor
Farm than the Old Hall. In 1822, Mark Hepworth was the licensee of the Dog
Inn, being succeeded briefly by his wife following Mark’s untimely death
aged 32 in March 1827. By 1838 the publican is named as James Cheesborough
thereafter, however, there is no reference to the inn. The Census of 1841
reveals that the property was in the possession of Mr. Dickinson, a
draper, who had presumably purchased the premises following the closure of
the public house.
Another
Knottingley inn with which the Hepworth family had a tragic association
was the Royal Hotel. Situated in Aire Street, at an uncertain location but
believed to have been somewhere near the junction with Chapel Street, the
house was the only licensed property to be designated as a hotel before
the middle of the nineteenth century. The hotel was well established by
the final quarter of the previous century at which time Jonathon Ord was
recorded as the proprietor. By 1822, the premises had passed into the
hands of Frances Ord, presumably Jonathon Ord’s widow, who according to
one source traded as a spirit dealer and victualler from unnamed premises
in Aire Street. Again, in 1827, the official documents do not name the
premises occupied by Frances Ord, merely referring to ‘her house’. The
following year the words "who is sick" were appended to
Ord’s name at the time of her application for licence renewal, one
William Simpson being appointed temporary landlord, presumably because of
Ord’s indisposition.
The
Hepworth connection with the Ord family arose through the marriage of John
Hepworth and Isabella Ord, niece of the proprietor of the Royal Hotel.
Hepworth, a seaman, served under Nelson at the battle of Copenhagen in
1801. Returning home in 1803, with his pockets filled with prize money,
the twenty-two year old gave a series of celebratory suppers for his old
friends within the town. The Royal Hotel was the venue for these events
and it was at this time that Isabella Ord took the fancy of the young
sailor. Isabella was staying with her relations having recently left the
service of a nobleman’s family. After a brief courtship the pair were
married at a wedding, which was later described as being "…a
glorious wedding…and open house to all comers."
Shortly
afterwards, although his wife was expecting the birth of their first
child, economic necessity drove John Hepworth back to sea. John rejoined
the fleet in 1804 and saw active service at Trafalgar on the 21st October
1805.
A
period of peace being secured, John was paid off and returned to the Royal
Hotel to find that his wife had left their son with his grandfather while
she returned to domestic service. John brought Isabella back home but
eventually feeling the pull of the sea, left Knottingley, whereupon,
Isabella promptly returned to her former situation.
John
Hepworth did not return home for many years thereafter and when his son,
Ord Hepworth, was thirteen, his grandfather, a ship owner, fitted out a
vessel with a load of London bound coal and placed Ord on board in order
that he might fulfil a long felt need to see his mother. As the ship
navigated the river Ouse the weather began to deteriorate and by the time
the vessel had reached Hull a violent storm was raging. The ship was blown
off course onto the Whitton Sands, a desolate spot some three miles beyond
the mouth of the river Trent. There the vessel was wrecked with the loss
of all hands. The young Ord was reportedly seen clinging to a masthead for
almost four hours before fatigue overcame him. The body of the boy was
later washed ashore and he was buried in the local churchyard.
Informed
of the tragedy and the reason for the boys trip, Isabella suffered a
severe depression. Returning to Knottingley, she attempted unsuccessfully
to regain her health but was eventually committed to Wakefield Lunatic
Asylum where she died and was buried following eighteen months of mental
derangement, on the 11th November 1831.
In
1839, John Hepworth died and was buried at Knottingley, having returned
there from the sea some time earlier. Thus, the family who saw so little
of each other in life remained separated in death.
Situated
in Holes Lane near the junction with Forge Hill, the Duke of York Inn was
most probably one of the longest established in Knottingley. Its location
close to the point where the King’s Mills weir necessitated the
transhipment of all goods carried by vessels along the nearby river Aire,
ensured that the inn was well placed to serve as a watering hole for
mariners, horse haulers, warfingers and sundry carriers and shipping
agents during the heyday of river transport. Even after the construction
of the Aire & Calder canal during the third decade of the nineteenth
century the inn was well patronised by the maritime fraternity and it was
only from the last quarter of that century when the bulk of the river
trade had transferred to the canal and steam vessels gradually replaced
boat horses and their accompanying attendants that a decline in the
customary trade of the inn occurred.
The
Blue Bell Inn, later renamed several times, was also a long established
inn. Situated in Back Lane (the Croft) and accessible from Aire Street,
the Blue Bell was owned by Benjamin Branford and his wife by the advent of
the nineteenth century. In 1820 the premises were conveyed to Mark Carter,
common brewer of Hill Top, Knottingley, although Branford was retained as
the licensee. After 1822, however, there appears to be no further record
of the inn, which must therefore be presumed closed shortly after that
date. The disappearance of the name may be explained, however, as being
the result of a change of identity for a lease dated 1839 refers to the
Blue Bell "known heretofore as
the Ship and Punch Bowl but now called the Royal Oak."
An
indenture of lease of June 1858 also refers to the property "known
as the Royal Oak, formerly the Blue Bell, [situated] in
a narrow passage called Back Lane."
The
Royal Oak was known as the Oak & Standard when George Burton was the
publican and also in 1827-28 when Burton’s widow, Sarah, was the
licensee. However, an alternative source names the premises as the Royal
Oak in 1822 and this name continued in general use, being listed as the
house of Sarah Burton in 1838. By 1839, however, the premises were
unoccupied following the bankruptcy of the owner, Richard Dickson Askham.
Clearly, the multiplicity of the names marks a transitional phase in the
history of the inn, renaming being a common feature concerning changes in
ownership and legal status of licensed premises.
The
sole inn to be established within Knottingley before 1820, which can be
dated with certainty, is the Rising Sun. The inn was established at Hill
Top at the junction with Marine Villa Road in a house belonging to William
Butler. The tenant was William Taylor, a cooper by trade, who, in April
1813, took a seven-year lease on the premises and established the Rising
Sun Inn. Taylor did not renew the lease however, but moved on to become
the publican of the Bay Horse, situated only a few hundred yards further
along Hill Top, where he commenced a family connection which lasted well
over half a century.
The
Bay Horse was originally one of a small group of roadside cottages. The
premises formed one of the many small farmsteads which were scattered
throughout the locality and were a feature of the original rural character
of the township. Two other inns which shared a common origin were the Red
Lion and the Limestone.
The
Red Lion was situated at Fernley Green on land which now forms part of the
Hope Glassworks site. The premises included a brewhouse, stables and a
slaughterhouse and shop. In the early nineteenth century the publican was
Mark Stillings who appears to have supplemented the income obtained from
the inn by trading as a glazier, an economic duality prevalent amongst
licensed victualler's within the town well into the second half of the
century. In 1857, at which time the licensee was Walter Worfolk, Mark
Stillings continued to occupy the shop on the site of the Red Lion as a
glaziers. It is a matter for conjecture whether the demographic changes
within the town with the consequent demand for housing for the growing
population had provided Stillings with the opportunity to surrender his
publicans licence and follow the trade of glazier as a full-time
occupation. However, at a later date, the shop, and presumably the
adjacent slaughterhouse, were utilised by the then licensee, William
Earnshaw Wright, who was also a butcher.
The
Cherry Tree also incorporated a separate dwelling house and shop. The
premises are first recorded in a deed of 1807 which refers to a divided
dwelling house with a portion being used as a barbers shop and residence
and were still functioning as late as the 1960s.
The
date of the said deed probably marks the establishment of the inn at the
junction of Aire Street, Cow Lane and Marsh End for the Enclosure Award
Map of 1800 indicates that no building occupied the site at that date. The
Award Schedule provides a probable insight concerning the origin of the
name of the Cherry Tree Inn and also an indication of an earlier inn
bearing the same name. The Award records a holding 2 roods 16 perches in
extent situated at Low Green and belonging to one John Pickering. The
property comprised a dwelling and garden, identified by the name of "Cherry
Tree House (in two)"
The
division of the premises is a probable indication that the house was the
public house occupied some time before 1752 by Robert Pickering, with one
part of the divided premises forming the public area and the other being
retained for private use. The fact that the earliest recorded occupant of
the Cherry Tree which occupies the present site was James Pickering
suggests the relocation of the earlier inn early in the nineteenth
century.
At
the time the inn was relocated the premises were owned by William Jackson,
a local limeburner, with James Pickering as his under-tenant. With Jackson’s
bankruptcy shortly afterwards the inn passed to the Brown family. In
common with the Bay Horse, the Cherry Tree was notable for an enduring
occupancy, for the Brown family were the continuous licensees for more
than half a century from 1809. Furthermore, their successors, the Jackson’s,
spent 25 years in occupation from 1865. The inn also had the singular
distinction of having had no less than five female licensees between the
early nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. In addition, the inn was
also the first in town to have a manager as a temporary incumbent, a
Captain Simmons being installed by Carters’ Brewery in that capacity
during the first nine months of 1882.
The
Limestone Inn, which stood at the edge of Racca Green at its junction with
Weeland Road, was a long established public house located in a former
farmhouse. The publican in residence throughout the first four decades of
the nineteenth century was William Darnbrook. The names of William and
Roger Darnbrook feature in every list of the official recognizances from
the mid-eighteenth century suggesting a continuous association between the
family and the Limestone Inn for well over a century. The ownership of the
inn during the middle decades of the nineteenth century is less clear. The
name of Ann Shillito as the owner of the property in the 1857 Rate Book
has been struck out at a later date and that of George Greenhow
substituted. However, an alternative source reveals that the premises were
rented by Gaggs, Carter & Co. from the executors of William Jackson at
that date. Greenhow is last recorded as the owner in October 1867 and at
about that date George Hall, a farmer who appears to have had previous
connections as the tenant of the adjacent farmstead, took possession of
the inn as the owner-occupier. Hall appears to have experienced financial
difficulties in raising the money required to purchase the property
however, and in August 1867 obtained a loan of £200 from John Carter by
offering the deeds of the property as security. The name of the inn was
changed from the Limestone to the Lamb Inn during Hall’s tenure,
doubtless reflecting his pastoral nature as characterised by his original
occupation. Again, the transitional duality is noticeable with John Carter
noting the premises in his account book as the "Limestone or Lamb
Inn."
About
1871 the licence was withdrawn from the Lamb Inn and although Carters
purchased the premises in September 1873, presumably with reopening the
premises in mind, it was not until some thirty years later, in 1904, that
a full licence was obtained when the licence of the now defunct Anchor Inn
was transferred to the Lamb.
The
Wagon & Horses Inn was part of a whole complex of houses, shops and
miscellaneous buildings which occupied land between Chapel Street and the
Flatts. Formerly, the site was in the possession of the religious order
based at Meaux in the East Riding of Yorkshire, being seized by the Crown
at the Reformation. For this reason the freehold bestowed upon the land of
Knottingley at some early but undefined date was not applicable to the
site until it became alienated from the Crown at a later period. A deed of
December 1803, conferring the leasehold on John Laidman, a carrier of
Knottingley, is an obvious renewal of an earlier conveyance for the inn
and stable yard are stated to be "now
occupied by John Laidman"
In
February 1807, the property was sold by Thomas Naylor to Thomas Story
(sic) of Rothwell, Laidman being named as the sitting tenant. In May 1810,
Laidman purchased the property from Story. However, the following February
the property changed hands again when it was purchased by Thomas Shillito,
limeburner of Knottingley. At that time Laidman had apparently moved to
Ferrybridge and the tenant of the Wagon & Horses was John Canby.
Laidman appears to have moved from Knottingley to take up the occupancy of
the [Three] Horse Shoes, Ferrybridge, which, together with other land in
that village, was sold to Shillito. The business interests of Laidman
appear to have been quite diverse for in addition to being a common
carrier and publican he was recorded in 1850 as a butcher and fourteen
years later as a willow merchant. Canby for his part was still the
publican when the Wagon & Horses were again sold in August 1844, the
purchaser being Silvester Atkinson, common brewer of Knottingley. At some
point during Canby’s tenure the leasehold was acquired by Gaggs, Carter
& Co., for a deed dated October 1870 records the possession of the
lease. At the time of the deed the occupant of the inn was John Shay. It
seems most probable that following his withdrawal from the brewing trade
in the 1850s, Atkinson sold the inn to Robert Moorhouse who is the
recorded owner in 1859 and that the leasehold was obtained by Gaggs,
Carter & Co. about that time.
The
Ship Inn was established on the Aire bank at the edge of the Rowcroft
where vessel construction and repair was undertaken before the eighteenth
century at which period three families, the Robinsons, Sharps and Wests
are known to have occupied the site. All three names feature in the
official lists of licensed victualler's issued between 1778 and 1803.
Between 1771-78, the name of John Robinson is recorded and although no inn
is named it is safe to assume that his abode was the Ship Inn. William
Sharp is named as a publican between 1778-1803, again, presumably as
occupant of the Ship, although the list of 1778 includes the name of both
Sharp and Robinson. However, as the families were linked by marriage it is
possible that the fact provided a common link with the inn. In 1803 the
names of Sharp and Richard West are listed and in 1822 the name John
Robinson reappears in connection with the Ship Inn and continues until the
end of the decade.
The
property appears to have been owned by the Sharp family for a deed of
November 1830 refers to an agreement between William Sharp and Henry Gaggs
in January 1806. However, with the death of William Sharp in 1821, the
property was sold to John Robinson by his brother-in-law, William Sharp
Junior.
In
May 1830, Robinson was declared bankrupt, being listed as a vessel
builder, victualler, dealer and chapman at that date. Robinson’s
holdings on the Rowcroft site were considerable for in addition to the
Ship Inn they included four adjacent cottages which had previously been
used as a brewhouse, a paint shop, blacksmiths shop, boat sheds and
stables, all of which are stated to have formerly belonged to the Sharp
family.
At
the time of Robinson’s bankruptcy Mark Carter was named as a Trustee in
respect of the disposal of his property. The involvement of Carter is a
likely indication that the Brewery Company held the leasehold of the inn,
a possibility given substance by the earlier transformation of the defunct
on-site brewhouse into dwelling houses. Robinson’s insolvency resulted
in the passing of the ownership of the Ship Inn to John Austwick, master
mariner of Knottingley, but the inn was sold by him to Gaggs, Carter &
Co., shortly after the company was placed under the management of John
Carter in 1836.
The
Bay Horse, although substantially altered several decades ago by the
demolition of several outbuildings and the reorganisation of the ground
plan to present a more open aspect to the main road, is basically the same
building as that dating back to the eighteenth century. The premises stand
opposite Forge Hill Lane and were doubtless ideally situated to obtain the
passing trade along that lane en route to the river staithes as well as
that following the east-west route through the town. In addition, the inn
was situated alongside one of the principle lime routes by which the
limestone excavated to the south and west of the township was transported
from the quarries to the waterway. The rambling lay-out of the property
prior to the renovation of the mid 1960s clearly betrayed the origin of
the house as the hub of a small farmstead before the fields in the
immediate vicinity were surrendered to the more lucrative business of
limestone extraction.
Of
the remaining inns with a foundation date preceding the nineteenth century
there is little extant evidence. By their names and their locations the
Ship Inn and the Anchor Inn bespeak maritime connections. The Ship lay
close by the river Aire at a point behind the now defunct and derelict
Palace Cinema. Indeed, the lane connecting Aire Street to the jetty
formerly situated on the Aire bank is still designated Ship Lane, though
probably less from the existence of the inn than from the access it
provided, for in addition to the aforementioned jetty, the area known as
Pickhill Garth and the Rowcroft was Crown Land which contained a yard in
which vessels were constructed and refitted and, together with the
adjacent island area, provided moorings for laid-up craft.
Although
undoubtedly of eighteenth century origin, the early history of the Anchor
Inn is almost as obscure as the facts concerning its establishment. The
name of John Whittlestone which features in the recognizances of 1803 may
be a misinterpretation of the name of John Whittlestall who is recorded as
the landlord of the Anchor in the 1820s, and thereby provide an indication
of a well established family connection stretching back into the previous
century.
A
public house which is known to have existed in the first decade of the
nineteenth century but which is not featured in the list of 1822 is quite
well documented in everything but name and may have been known as the
Three Horse Shoes. A document of February 1810 states that the inn was
situated on the south side of Weeland Road, near the common pinfold at
Racca Green. At that date the premises were occupied by Richard Birkett
but the names of two previous occupiers, Samuel Turvor and William Copley,
suggests that the inn may have been established by the close of the
previous century. The Enclosure Award reveals that the site, in excess of
three acres, consisted of dwelling houses and an adjoining garth in 1793
and belonged to Henry Stables. Shortly thereafter the site was acquired by
John Longwood who divided the land, selling one part to John Earnshaw and
the other to John Crosby. Earnshaw established the inn by combining what
had previously been two separate dwelling.
As
early as 1810 the inn had become a base for an organisation known as the
Male Friendly Building Society or alternatively, the Knottingley Brotherly
Society. Mark Carter was the President of the organisation, suggesting a
possible connection between the public house and the Gaggs, Carter
Company. Throughout the following sixty years the Society evolved into the
British Friendly Society (1829), The Pontefract & Knottingley Benefit
Building Society (1849) and the Pontefract, Castleford & Knottingley
Building Society (1853), being known by the latter name as late as 1877.
John
Earnshaw was declared bankrupt in 1811 and the ownership and history of
the property is uncertain after that date. The omission of the inn from
the lists of the 1820s may indicate a period of closure with possible
revival prompted by the Beer Act of 1830 for Richard Hill is recorded as
the licensee in 1838 and the Brotherly Society still retained the
connection with the site in 1841. Likewise, the Earnshaw family, for one
of the named parties in a document of that date is George Earnshaw, who by
1848 was the licensee of the Swan Inn and at a somewhat later date of the
Royal Albert Hotel, known colloquially as Earnshaw’s Hotel. The 1841
deed also reveals the continuation of the Carter connection with the inn
for John Carter is named as an interested party and the document is
witnessed by John Proctor, the company’s Head Brewer. In 1847 the
occupant of the premises was Christopher Sturdy who in the middle of the
following decade purchased the Royal Albert Hotel whilst a deed of January
1848 links John Tasker, a blockmaker of Knottingley with the tenancy of a
house and butchers shop on the site. The presence of the butcher’s shop
may be significant in the context of occupational duality for in 1861 a
Mrs Hannah Hill is recorded as a beer retailer and butcher, resident in
Aire Street. One may conject that she was the wife of the former publican
at the Racca Green site who may also have traded as a butcher during his
tenure of the premises.
The
last recorded documentation concerning the Three Horse Shoes Inn is a
vague reference in the archives of Carter’s Brewery Co., dated November
1866, concerning insurance cover for the premises, suggesting that the inn
was closed at some point shortly thereafter.
Apart
from the corresponding similarity between the number of inns known to have
been established by the mid eighteenth century and an identifiable number
in existence by the second decade of the following century, our knowledge
of the history of the early inns is often conjectural and much specific
information concerning the earliest known premises that we do possess is
largely drawn from the later period.
Terry Spencer, 1998
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