Our Pubs
The Mackworth Arms, East London
Peter Grose was our 3xGreat Grandfather and he ran the Mackworth Arms, Commercial Road, St George in the East, London between 1798 and 1817. His daughter Elizabeth Grose was born there : she later married Thomas Osborne. Peter Grose became bankrupt in 1817, and so did the publican that followed him. It seems to have been a common occurrence among publicans. The Mackworth Arms was a focal point in the area, used for auctions, inquests, and so on, and there was a market behind it with a back entrance to the pub. But even with all that, it was clearly difficult to make it pay.
The building is still there today, although it is no longer a pub.
The Globe, Stonehouse, Gloucestershire
Our 4xGreat Aunt, Mary Ann Hancock married John Partridge in 1812, and later they ran the Globe from 1848 to 1860. The Globe was a hub of the community, with auctions and a market. And notably it was the meeting place of the Oddfellows society of which John Partridge was a member. The Globe is still a pub today.
(The Hancock connection is through Richard Hooper)
George Inn, Longparish, Hampshire
The George at Longparish was run by our 3x Great Grandfather David Dugay, and his father William Dugay between 1860 and 1866. It was situated some distance away from the village in a fairly isolated spot called Cottage End near Longparish railway station. Perhaps the idea was to catch the trade from railway passengers but it wasn't successful. Several publicans of the George became bankrupt including David Dugay in 1866. This staged picture seems to have some railway staff in it
The pub was later renamed The Buck and demolished when the A303 was widened in the 1980s. The site is now a BP service station on the A303.
Lion and Lamb, Stratford, London E
Northern Star, New Southgate, London N
The connection here is through Jane Stent. She is the Aunt of Ellen Stent who married Henry George Hooper, our Great Grandfather. Jane Stent married James Digby and together they ran two pubs. First they had the Lion and Lamb in Stratford between 1861 and 1867. James Digby was originally a Pork Butcher and the pub seems to have started as an annexe to his shop, called the Pig and Whistle. He did some more building work and by 1864 changed the name to Lion and Lamb and applied for a full licence, which was initially refused. He had to make three more applications before it was granted. No pictures exist.
Then in 1868 they moved to the Northern Star, where they remained until 1883. This wasn't far from the railway station and seems to have been quite busy judging from newspaper reports of inquests, crime and so on. This is the only picture we could find.
Orange Tree Inn, New Southgate, London N
Jane Digby was the daughter of James Digby who ran the Northern Star in New Southgate, described above. She married Walter Lambert and together they ran the Orange Tree from 1884 to 1887.
It looks a very good pub, but for some reason they moved on to the next pub, The Pier Tavern.
Pier Tavern, Woolwich, Kent
Walter and Jane ran the Pier Tavern from 1887 to 1891. It was in a very rough area near to the docks, Woolwich Ferry, Woolwich Arsenal and Royal Artillery barracks. It was thus very busy but with plenty of trouble, as dozens of newspaper reports testify. Enough was enough and they gave it up in 1891.
The Chequers, Ropley, Hampshire
In 1861 Eliza Dugay, our 3x Great Aunt married John Thomas Wild. They had four children and in 1887 they took over the Chequers Inn at Ropley. Sadly Eliza died there in 1891, but her husband stayed there until 1898, when he took over the HH Inn at Cheriton.
HH Inn Cheriton, Hampshire
John Wild was publican here until his death in 1905.
Marquis of Granby, Winchester, Hants
Thomas Dugay is our cousin. He was a carpenter and builder by trade and it was common for a tradesman to run a pub as well. He took over the Marquis of Granby at 28 High Street Winchester in 1865. The pub already had a bad name for drunkenness, prostitution and crime, and it got even worse with Thomas Dugay running it. He had to give it up in 1868 when the magistrates refused to renew his licence. The pub had such a bad reputation that very soon afterwards the name was changed to the Sussex Arms. By a curious turn of fate about 5 years later Thomas was successful in bidding for some building alteration work at the pub.
The Floating Dock, Gosport, Hampshire
Joseph James Harris is our cousin from the Isle of Wight. He was a tailor by trade and also ran The Floating Dock between 1849 and 1865. We haven't found any pictures of it but here's a map showing the location circled in red. And this 1856 photo of Mumby Road Gosport is just a stone's throw away from the pub. It's the oldest known photograph of Gosport.
White Swan Inn, Ryde, Isle of Wight
George Harris is another Isle of Wight cousin. He ran the White Swan, High Street, Ryde between 1875 and 1885. But there's more to the story than that. A widow Mrs Betty Williams was the previous publican and she had been running the pub since 1839, possibly earlier. George Harris married her daughter Louisa Williams in 1849 and the couple lived in the White Swan. When Betty Williams died in 1875 George took over the licence. So he had been living there for 25 years already, and probably working part time in the bar. He was a blacksmith and farrier by trade. There was constant friction with the Catholic Chapel next door, and when George gave up the pub in about 1885, it was never again granted a licence because of the pressure from the Catholic Church.
The White Swan is the building adjoining the left of the Catholic Chapel.
New Inn, Shipbourne, Kent
William Heli Bowyer is a cousin from Kemsing, Kent, which you may remember is where the Russells came from. He took over at the New Inn in 1910 and ran it until his death in 1919. At that point his son George Richard Bowyer took over and ran it until he retired in 1938. This picture was taken in 1934 when George Bowyer was the publican.
Unlike some of the earlier pubs this one was rather more upmarket and very successful. It is still open today and has changed its name to The Chaser.
White Hart, Great Bardfield, Essex
In 1879 our cousin Alice Swaisland married Edwin Clapson in Kemsing, Kent. (Home of the Russells). Alice and Edwin moved to Great Bardfield, Essex in 1894 and took over the White Hart. Edwin also had a trade as a carrier, so the day to day running of the pub was left to Alice. In 1910 they passed on the White Hart to their son Ted Clapson, and moved to another pub called the White Hart in Coggeshall, Essex.
White Hart, Coggeshall, Essex
This one is still open today. Edwin and Alice Clapson were here until Edwin died in 1929.
Horse and Groom, Braintree, Essex
This one was also run by Edwin and Alice Clapson, at the same time as they were running the Coggeshall White Hart. It's quite likely that the day to day running was left to one of their other sons.
