Anyone
who knows, Levi and I, knows full well that one of our favourite past
times is to have a nice pint in a good traditional pub. It seems fitting
then, that a number of our forebears were indeed publicans.
The Nightingale, Wanstead
In
2017, we hope to pay a visit to the Nightingale, in Wanstead. This pub,
still very much alive today, was run by Levi’s 4x great grandfather,
James Wyatt, in the 1850s and 60s.
Born in Beominster in 1802, James and his brother Richard, (another of Levi’s 4 x great grandfathers) moved to London in the early 1820s. He married Harriet Button, on the 3rd April 1823 at St. George’s, Bloomsbury, and they went on to have at least 5 children: Eliza (1833), Louisa (1839), Ebbert (1841), Alfred (1844) and Emma (1846) while they were living in Holborn. One of the interesting glimpses into James (and by extension Richard) is that they likely retained strong Dorset accents into adulthood – Beominster is erroneously recorded as Bermesterd in the 1851 census. Even if he was illiterate/semi-literate, I cannot imagine that James would spell Beominster with a ‘d’ on the end – presumably this is the enumerator’s own error.
Born in Beominster in 1802, James and his brother Richard, (another of Levi’s 4 x great grandfathers) moved to London in the early 1820s. He married Harriet Button, on the 3rd April 1823 at St. George’s, Bloomsbury, and they went on to have at least 5 children: Eliza (1833), Louisa (1839), Ebbert (1841), Alfred (1844) and Emma (1846) while they were living in Holborn. One of the interesting glimpses into James (and by extension Richard) is that they likely retained strong Dorset accents into adulthood – Beominster is erroneously recorded as Bermesterd in the 1851 census. Even if he was illiterate/semi-literate, I cannot imagine that James would spell Beominster with a ‘d’ on the end – presumably this is the enumerator’s own error.
In
the 1851 census, he is recorded as being a Beer Shop Keeper on the
Nightgale Road– which tallies up with the 1851 Post Office Directory as a
Beer Retailer (though the premises is not named).
James is absent from the 1861 census, but still clearly retained the pub until at least that year – his children are all there at the pub – his son, Albert (20), is listed as Bar Man.
Though the pub passes into the ownership of the Post Family by the late 1860s (James Post is named as the owner in the 1867 Post Office Directory) there is fleeting evidence that the Wyatt’s maintained connections with the pub until a few decades later. The owner of the pub in the 1881 census, Margaret Post (60), has a granddaughter, Jessie Wyatt (14) living with her at that time. It is tempting to connect young Jessie with James (possibly a granddaughter, or great granddaughter) but further research on this score is required. The pub is thriving still – with one regular beer (Courage Best Bitter) and four changing ales.
www.thenightingalewanstead.com/
James is absent from the 1861 census, but still clearly retained the pub until at least that year – his children are all there at the pub – his son, Albert (20), is listed as Bar Man.
Though the pub passes into the ownership of the Post Family by the late 1860s (James Post is named as the owner in the 1867 Post Office Directory) there is fleeting evidence that the Wyatt’s maintained connections with the pub until a few decades later. The owner of the pub in the 1881 census, Margaret Post (60), has a granddaughter, Jessie Wyatt (14) living with her at that time. It is tempting to connect young Jessie with James (possibly a granddaughter, or great granddaughter) but further research on this score is required. The pub is thriving still – with one regular beer (Courage Best Bitter) and four changing ales.
www.thenightingalewanstead.com/
The George & The Dragon, Tadley
In
terms of other pub links, Levi’s 4 x great aunt, Hannah Hedges (b.
1829, Kingsclere, Hampshire) ran the beautiful George and the Dragon Inn
in Tadley near Wolverton. Definitely on my pub wish list, this stunning
17th century pub, was run by Hannah and her husband, George Ford, who
is listed in the 1861 census as Tanner and Licensed Victualler. In 1871,
they were still living at the George and Dragon, but also farming 20
acres. Today, the pub has one regular ale (Fuller’s London Pride) and
two changing beers.
georgedragoninn.co.uk/
georgedragoninn.co.uk/
The Brickmaker's Arms, Lambourn
Another
publican was Levi’s great, great grandfather, James Candy. Born in 1848
in Wanstrow, Somerset, he married in 1883 in Winterslow, Wiltshire to
Alice Yates (b. 1861). His background was in cattle dealing and oddly
disappears between 1861 and 1891, when he reappears as a farmer living
in Greenham Berkshire with his wife and three young children. In 1901,
he was still farming, with an additional child in Hurst St Michael,
Berkshire. Then in 1911, he is recorded as being the Inn Keeper of the
Brickmaker’s Arms in Lambourn, Berkshire, widowed and living with his
daughter, Alice Annie Candy. The pub seems to no longer exist – it is
possibly the same one as the Bricklayers, which was operating a few
decades earlier.
Sadly, James Candy died in March the following year. It is little surprise that Alice Annie, then 20 and quite alone in the world decided to emigrate to Canada in search of a new life. She left Liverpool on the Empress of Ireland steam ship, arriving in Quebec on the 2nd August 1912. She married within two years to Arthur Cecil James and by 1921 was settled in Hope Polling on the Fraser Valley with her husband and children and later in North Bend (north of Chilliwack) in 1935.
Her life tragically ended in 1940, when she drowned at North Bend, while seeking to save her daughter, Loretta, and her daughter’s friend who had been swimming in the Fraser River. She was only 49 years old.
Sadly, James Candy died in March the following year. It is little surprise that Alice Annie, then 20 and quite alone in the world decided to emigrate to Canada in search of a new life. She left Liverpool on the Empress of Ireland steam ship, arriving in Quebec on the 2nd August 1912. She married within two years to Arthur Cecil James and by 1921 was settled in Hope Polling on the Fraser Valley with her husband and children and later in North Bend (north of Chilliwack) in 1935.
Her life tragically ended in 1940, when she drowned at North Bend, while seeking to save her daughter, Loretta, and her daughter’s friend who had been swimming in the Fraser River. She was only 49 years old.
The British Queen, Woodsetton
And
last but not least, my own publican ancestor – great, great
grandfather, James Flavell (b. 1851, Sedgley, Staffordshire) – a man of
all trades; he had been a saddler, was later a head manager of a sewing
machine factory in Leicester – but in between 1873 and 1887 he was the
landlord of the British Queen, in Woodsetton, near Coseley. He rented
the property from his elder brother, John Flavell (b. 1847) who owned a
colliery in the area. His older children (Joseph, 1875; Sarah, 1877;
Louise, 1882; Minnie, 1885 and Elsie (1887) had all been born in the
pub. Though it is now closed and has been turned into flats, I did have
the pleasure of drinking there back in 2007. Though the beer was not
great (the pub was on its last legs at that point) – I did raise a toast
with my father, to the ghosts of our shared forbears.
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