大象传媒

If you ever visit what you consider to be an old pub, it's almost inevitable that a debate begins about how old that pub actually is - and what is the oldest pub in the area.

Well, if you're a regular listener to the "Good Times" history programme on 大象传媒 Radio Stoke you'll know there has been an effort to discover which are the oldest pubs across North Staffordshire.

(By oldest we mean pubs which have been continuously trading as licensed premises. If, at some time in their history they've been knocked down and rebuilt - then that still counts!)

In North Staffordshire, the hunt was led by historian Mervyn Edwards, who's also a member of the Potteries Pub Preservation Society.听

As part of his investigation, Mervyn visited all the six towns that comprise Stoke on Trent. He also went to visit Newcastle-under-Lyme, Stone, Stafford, Leek and Cheadle.

There were also a few trips to pick out those contenders that did not fall into any of those geographical areas.听

The Oldest Top Ten

1st:听 The Vine, STAFFORD - 1468 (or earlier?)

The Vine in Salter St was listed as The Saracen's Head in 1606, although it could well be dated back to before that as Le Saracin Head in 1468, either on the site or in that area. It was renamed as The Vine in 1763.

Listen to our radio report by Mervyn as he took a look around the pub...

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2nd: CROWN, STONE - referenced in 1575

Phil Leason can vouch for the fact that the Crown in Stone has a long history. He explains:

"The earliest evidence of the Crown comes in 1575, when it was listed as a posting house. It was owned at one time by Earl Gower, who was the Lord of the Manor of Stone, and he lived at Trentham."

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3rd: SWAN, STAFFORD - 1618-19 on present site

There is thought to have been a "Swan" in the town since the 15th century, but this one has definitely been on the present site since 1618.

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4th: VICTORIA ON THE SQUARE (originally called THE JUG), HANLEY - 1620 ?

Two features on the present building's exterior acknowledge the pub's long history. The first is a brown jug motif which alludes to its former name of the Jug Inn; and the other is a stone sign bearing the date 1620 (hiding behind a fascia board) from which we may infer that the hostelry has a genuine claim to be of 17th century origin.

The date of 1620 is also given by William Scarratt on his late C19th/early C20th drawing of the Jug.

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5th: ROEBUCK, LEEK - 1626 at latest

There has been an inn here since 1626 - Ray Poole. This date also given by the VCH, though the name of the Roebuck does not appear until 1773.

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6th: HOLLYBUSH, SALT - 1650s ?

The present licensee of the pub, Geoff Holland, has been asked many times about the age of the premises. He responds:

"My information comes from the County archaeologist. It's reputed that there has been a building here for some considerable time, but I can only verify that the pub was built in between 1590 and 1620. The structure of the building is consistent with that era.
We believe they were selling ale straight away, but our first record of licensing comes under the Mompesson Act which was directly after the Civil War when they franchised the licensing of inns to a John Mompesson - so it would have been the 1650s when the license was granted. In older maps, there is a building outlined that could possibly have been a pub and may have dated back to the 1400s.

The pub traditionally had a blacksmith's shop attached to it, and we found the foundations of the stone floors outside. Records sometimes show the name of an innkeeper at the pub and someone with the same name - perhaps a brother - working as a farrier next door."

Actually, the Christian name of Mompesson (1584-1651) was Giles and he licensed 1,200 inns between 1618 and 1621 [The English Pub, A History (1994), Peter Hayden]. The Civil War's first battle did not take place until 1642. It is true that many of our old inns date from this period.

However, confusion still reigns in regard to the pub's origins. A feature on the pub in the North Staffordshire Magazine (October, 2007) stated that the license was given during the 17th century and in the reign of Charles II. As this monarch did not take the throne until 1660, claims regarding the pub's age may be seen to conflict.

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7th: GEORGE HOTEL, BURSLEM - mid 1600s?

The origins of the George are predictably hazy, this being an ancient pub site in Burslem. It is claimed by Tate that Thomas Daniel kept an inn here in 1647 whilst Warrillow gives us the name of the same innkeeper, but a first-recorded date of 1657. Greenslade in the Victoria County History suggests the date of circa 1750.

Warrillow adds that the inn was registered as house number 57, the George and Dragon Alehouse, in 1740, and a plan of "The Town of Burslem about AD 1750", reproduced in Ward, lists the said Alehouse (number 57) as being kept by Thomas Oldfield.

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8th: SWAN, LEEK - 1693 at latest.

There is a Swan referred to in Leek in the 1560s [Victoria County History] - but not necessarily on the present site. The present Swan existed as the Green Dragon by 1693 [VCH].

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9th: BEAR, STAFFORD - around 1700?

The Bear stands in Greengates Street and boast a mock Tudor frontage. The early history of the Bear has been considered by Armand Chatfield, who offers the following:

"From my records, there has been a pub on site here since around 1700 and maybe before. It was formerly called the Old Bear Inn or the Old Black Bear Inn. From 1785 to 1835 it was renamed the White Bear, and that name is recorded in Parson's directory of 1818. Around 1835, it became the plain Bear Inn - the name it still carries. It was a coaching inn, with coaches to Manchester and Birmingham daily. The building we know today was reconstructed or refaced in the 1880s."

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NB!
The Wilkes' Head in Leek may have a claim, for although the Wilkes Head is first referred to by that name in 1786 documents, it seems previously to have been the Swan (confusing, huh?) and there was a pub called the Phoenix on the same site for many years previously.听

Terry Walsh