The Old Pubs of Chester 1

What's New?
• The Royal Oak in Faulkner Street, Hoole, closed its doors in August 2008 and remained closed in November, at which time the Spital Vaults in Spital Walk, Boughton also continued to sit empty. Large 'pub to let' signs now hang above the doors of both these characterful locals.
• Photographs and drawings of some of Chester's vanished pubs, hotels and beweries may now be seen in our new gallery.
• An illustrated feature about a much-changed corner of Chester and the long-vanished Bridge Street businesses, wine merchants P L Brooksbank and the public house John Rowe Duttons is here.
• Yates's in Frodsham Street closed its doors for the last time in March 2008. Owners Laurel Group announced in the local press a "national closure programme"- 90 "wet led" outlets (what an ugly phrase!) closing as a result of "the smoking ban and poor trading conditions". More to the point, to quote the excellent Chester@Large website, "Once an honourable institution that performed the well-intentioned function of serving inexpensive, but decent quality wine to those who would otherwise have fetched up drinking unspeakable rotgut, it ended up going full circle, serving cheap rotgut to an unspeakable clientele".

A nation of winers? The British Beer and Pubs Association announced in November 2007 that the British appear to be becoming a nation of wine drinkers. Beer consumption has fallen to its lowest level since the Great Depression of 1930s- we drank 9.6 billion pints of the stuff last year compared to 12.2 billion in 1979, a fall of 11%. In constrast, wine consumption is up by 46%.
Duty on beer during this period has risen by 26%, whereas that of spirits has increased by a mere 3% and wine by 16% - although that only goes so far in explaining why our pint costs so much these days! Consequently, many more people are now drinking at home; 'off sales' from shops and off-licences account for half of all alcolohol sales now compared to a mere 20% in 1979. Looks like there'll be a few additions to this list of 'lost' (more like 'thrown away') pubs pretty soon...

"Wine is but single broth, ale is meat, drink, and cloth." 16th century English proverb.

These pages, thanks largely to your valued contributions, dear readers, have rapidly grown to excessive length so we're planning a new layout as soon as time and money (a sore point) allow.
Talking of money... our Chester Virtual Stroll and its associated sites (such as this one) have, we hope, been entertaining you for well over a decade now, but we really can't function for much longer doing this for free. Please, please consider helping us out in whatever way you can: donations are always gratefully received, sponsorship of individual pages or chapters equally so. If you have a pub, bar, restaurant or whatever, do yourself a favour and put your advertising banner on the page or pages of your choice- support the living pubs of Chester!

"Beer was the driving force that led nomadic mankind into village life... It was this appetite for beer-making material that led to crop cultivation, permanent settlement and agriculture." Alan Eames

he production and consumption of strong drink has long been enjoyed in Chester. We know nothing concerning the drinking places of the Roman occupants of the fortress of Deva Victrix, but much, perhaps, may be inferred from the Roman city of Pompeii, where there were said to be 900 bars (thermopolium) and taverns (tabernae) to serve a population of a few thousand- in addition to the seamen, travellers and traders of the port. Many of these establishments have been wonderfully preserved, down to the drinking vessels (sometimes chained to the bar to deter theft) and grafitti scratched upon their walls.
Granted, Pompeii was an affluent, settled civilian town at the heart of the empire whereas Deva was a frontier military fortress, but we do know that considerable quantities of wine were brought here from the continent and that the legions also became increasingly fond of a brew that had long been produced on these islands, cervese (beer). Accounts dating from AD 90-130 found at the fort of Vindolanda on Hadrian's Wall show that considerable quantities of the stuff was purchased from local producers and one such, 'Atrectus the Brewer' (Atrectus Cervesarius) is the first named brewer in British history. And there seems little reason to doubt that others just like him played their part in satisfying the thirsts of the thousands of soldiers, sailors, merchants and others here in the great fortress of Deva.

"Before the Roman came to Rye or out to Chester strode
The rolling English drunkard made the rolling English road"
G K Chesterton

Much about the drinking establishments of Saxon Chester are an equal mystery to us- as the 19th century local historian Thomas Hughes wrote, "The Anglo-Saxons had their eala-hus (ale house), win-hus (wine house) and cumen-hus (inn) but there are no records of their whereabouts". We do know, however, that a variety of weak beer was the staple drink of the entire population, being much safer than water, and the law stated that anyone brewing or selling bad ale would have to pay a fine of four shillings, or be forced to "sit in a chair full of dung" (certain modern brewers please note!) A chair mounted on the end of a long pole- the 'ducking stool'- was also utilised to repeatedly dunk bad brewers into filthy ponds.

“Whoever makes a poor beer is transferred to the dung-hill.” Edict in the City of Danzig, 11th Century

“The selling of bad beer is a crime against Christian love.” Law Record, the City of Augsburg, 13th Century

In the 14th century Chester mystery plays (see also a few photographs by the author here), Christ redeems a bunch of characters from Hell- apart from the brewer who heads straight for eternal damnation after admitting,

In 1655, Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell divided England and Wales into eleven areas and placed each under the authority of a major-general. These officers were instructed "to encourage and promote godliness and virtue" and, in conjunction with the other justices of the peace, to put the existing laws against drunkenness into more effectual execution. Later the officers were ordered to see that "no house standing alone and out of a town was to sell ale, beer or wine, or to give entertainment." The local regional officer was very severe on horse-racing in Cheshire, where men have always liked horses, and he was equally severe on ale houses- his agents reported that in Cheshire they were "the places of receipt of wickedness, drunkenness, Sabbath breaking and other impieties"- and nearly 200 of them were suppressed in the city of Chester alone. Breweries were prohibited from selling beer to any suppressed or unlicensed ale house keeper. A desire for moral reform doubtlessly lay behind these actions but there was an additional reason for them- ale houses, and especially those standing alone and out of a town were considered to be possible places of association for Royalists and as such dangerous to a minority Government which verged very closely on dictatorship.

"Alcohol sloweth age, it strengtheneth youth, it helpeth digestion, it abandoneth melancholie, it relisheth the heart, it lighteneth the mind, it quickeneth the spirits, it keepeth and preserveth the head from whirling, the eyes from dazzling, the tongue from lisping, the mouth from snaffling, the teeth from chattering, and the throat from rattling; it keepeth the stomach from wambling, the heart from swelling, the hands from shivering, the sinews from shrinking, the veins from crumbling, the bones from aching, and the marrow from soaking." Anonymous, 13th century

The Chester Directory for the year 1792 recorded around 140 inns in the small market town, and in 1858, Thomas Hughes recorded 36 trading in Northgate Street alone, and several considered by him ancient then continue to flourish today. There is an old and oft-repeated local saying that Victorian Chester boasted "a pub for every day of the year"...
Nontheless, times- and the brewing industry- have changed and well-loved pubs continue to disappear or are 'improved' out of all recognition- often including an unnecessary change of name. In some cases the buildings are retained and adopted to other uses: the boarded-up Wheatsheaf Inn on Christleton Road re-opened as Wheatsheafe Antiques and the historic Bear & Billet Inn in Lower Bridge Street in 1999 was briefly converted into a pizza restaurant of all things, complete with an absurd new name, Benson's at the Billet. In 2002, the 18th century Ye Old Vaults in Bridge Street, affectionately known as Barlow's (see below) became yet another yuppy clothes shop. We will meet with numerous other examples in the following pages.
Over 500 Chester pub names have been recorded over the centuries, but such evocative names as The Sun, Moon & Angel, The Dairy Maid, The Brewer's Dray, The Corkcutter's Arms and The Blackamore's Head have sadly disappeared without trace (these and others are listed under unknown locations). Here, however, we present an alphabetical list of many more of Chester's public houses that have vanished- and continue to vanish... Your additions, reminisciences, pictures- or corrections- are most welcome!

"What two ideas are more inseparable than beer and Britannia?" Rev Sydney Smith, English clergyman and writer.

Black Diamond Street: The Ostrich Vaults.
The George Hotel (no. 5) The George was, after much delay, converted for residential and commercial use and now, replete with a brand new sign 'The Old George', houses a pizza company and hi-fi retailer with flats above.
An advertisement in a 1903 guide book mentions a room in the George, Black Diamond Street, decorated with paintings of Chester: “The GEORGE HOTEL Black Diamond St., is well worth a visit, on account of its Grand Room of UNIQUE OIL PAINTINGS of CHESTER in the olden times.” One wonders what became of them. The landlord at this time was Richard Billington. In 1942 it was Win Hughes.

Blacon: On 10th July 2003 time was called on the Lord Byron in Shelley Road. The 1960s local was demolished and replaced with a 41-bedroom old people's home. A campaign and petition against closure by regulars, who considered the Byron a "vital community resource and popular meeting place", was ignored by councillors and planners who, to quote the local press, "felt that the loss of the pub could be accomodated by other facilities in the area, such as the Highfield pub". In addition, they said, the proposed residential home "is considered to likely to improve the streetscape".

Boughton: The Red Lion. No. 30, corner of Beaconsfield Street. Landlord in 1942, John Holmes. The site is now occupied by a bank.
The Coach & Horses.
The Black Lion- no. 166, corner of The Mount- illustrated right. now a landscaped, but otherwise empty, space. It was supposedly demolished for road widening but also, allegedly, because of the 'undesirable' nature of some of the regulars, or so we were informed- by one of them! The landlord in 1942 was John H Tushingham. Reader Paul Adamson told us, "The Black Lion closed in the early seventies. The final licensee, Gordon- I don’t remember his surname- was a nice friendly young bloke who ran a good pub. He was a keen scuba diver when not pulling pints but tragically drowned in an accident whilst diving off the Wirral either just as the pub was closing or very shortly after. I can still recall in vivid detail a large charcoal caricature he had posed for smiling down from its perch above the optics. As your other correspondent mentioned, there was a rumour, rife at the time, that the place closed on account of its undesirable patrons. I don’t to this day know the real reason they knocked this handsome building down but an old regular said to me one night in there just before the axe fell, “You mark my words son-they’ll knock this place down and do nowt with it”.
The excellent Mount Inn continues to thrive just around the corner. Another photograph of it is in the gallery.
The Harp Inn (no. 58), also now a grassed-over empty space. Landlord in 1942 Ernest Brazendale. A photograph of it is in the gallery.
The Universal Inn (no. 71, corner of Victor Street, landlord in 1942 John T Stockton) and The Cheshire Sheaf (no.70, corner of Fosbrook Street, both illustrated above) were demolished and their sites sites were until recently occupied by a petrol station, now a building site- watch this space for what arises there. The Sheaf's licencee in 1942 was Mrs Phyllis Slynfield. The Universal can be seen again here.
The Exchange Vaults.
The Waterloo Inn Vaults (no. 67)- now the Chester Backpacker's Hotel.
The Bars Hotel, later Cindarella Rockafella's, with it's 'monk's retreat' and impressive facade- which could easily have been preserved- demolished to make way for large housing development. JD wrote to tell us, "One of the pubs I can vaguely remember a few years ago was The Schooner Inn which was next door to Cinderella Rockerfellas. If I remember correctly it changed to The Sports Bar which was at its busiest on a Sunday night". Reader Hoolite also recalled, "Oh, yes, I remember Sports Bar alright. Lots of neon and chrome in the 'Amercian' tradition, a couple of pool tables, long bar on the right hand side as you walked in. Guaranteed major ruckus on most nights, being positioned right next door to Cinders, which was the first club I ever went into being about 16- they weren't too choosy".

"Always remember that I have taken more out of alcohol than alcohol has taken out of me." Winston Churchill

Bridge Street: The Sign of the Rising Sun - mentioned in a 1750 edition of the Chester Courant (there is also, in that publication, a mention of The Sun Inn existing in 1725- the same place?) Recorded as being used as a polling station in 1809
The King's Arms, whose landlady in 1815 was Mrs Griffiths.
The Rose & Crown- recorded as being used as a polling station in 1809
The Union Arms - also recorded in the polling station list in 1809
The Crown & Angel: "at the end of Saynte Olas Lane eastward".
The Three Pigeons- a 1750 edition of the Chester Courant advertised stage chaises setting out from here "every Moday to reach London in four days".
The Harp & Crown- later renamed The Grotto Hotel- see entry below...
The White Swan.
Rowe Duttons- a wine merchants and public house which was part of the Brooksbanks company (see below) with, unique in Chester, a licence with allowed them only to open six days a week (closed on Sundays) and then only until 9pm. Their extensive crypt and cellar later housed the Chester Chronicle's printing presses and paper store. Today the site is occupied by Cafe Uno-Italiano. A special feature about the Brooksbanks business, with some fascinating photographs by Keith Rhodes and Chris Langford, is here.
The London Bridge Hotel- nos. 49 Bridge Street and 57 Bridge Street Row. Landlord in 1898: Thomas Horn, in 1942 Thomas S Evans. Situated immediately to the right of Feathers Lane. Its name derived, not from the famous bridge in the capital, but from its proximity to Messrs Beckett's 'London House' and also to the bridge which ran over Feathers Lane (which is still there today) and which led to the extensive stables at the rear of The Feathers Hotel (see next entry). This bridge, which allowed continutity to Bridge Street Row as it crossed the lane, could be divided in the middle to allow high loads of hay, etc, to pass through. It was rebuilt, along with the rest of St. Michael's Row, in 1891 by Thomas Lockwood and was on street and row level with a steep stairway at the rear of the building, "very handy for a quick getaway" as Len Morgan recently wrote... It lost its licence around 1950, and became a branch of the Pearl Assurance Company. Today, the old pub is a coffee bar and clothes shop at one of the main entrances to the Grosvenor Precinct- or The Mall, as it is called now.
The Feathers Hotel ("and commercial inn") in Bridge Street was for at least two centuries one of Chester's foremost coaching inns. In 1851 the landlord was W. Robinson, who advertised "superior accomodation for visitors and families, neat cars, gigs etc". The Feathers was demolished in 1865 to make way for St. Michael's Arcade, whose high and elaborate pseudo-Tudor elevation now forms one of the entrances to the Grosvenor Precinct. What was once the entrance to the extensive stables situated behind the old inn remains with us today, and commemorates its name: Feathers Lane.
In 1658, the will of Thomas Heath stated, "my wife Anne Heath to have my messuage situate in Bridge-street in Chester called The Plume of Feathers, now in the possession of Edward Burrowes, innholder".
The Grotto Hotel- no. 34, corner of Commonhall Street next door to Barlow's- see below. In the 1980s the Grotto became for a while Sir Edward's Wine Bar until being transformed into a branch of Liberty's clothes store. It had formerly been known as The Harp & Crown, mentioned in a 1751 Cheshire Sheaf as being "next to Common-Hall Lane". In 1707, one Thomas Heath petitioned "to build a shop in the Row before the Harp and Crown Inn". It was recorded as being used as a polling station in 1809. It was one of a number of properties in Chester to be subject to the Execution Rent. Execution Rent Tenants were bound to keep watch for the city on three nights in the year, namely on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and St. Stephen's Day (26th December) and they were bound to mount guard over and conduct felons and robbers as far as the gallows. For their services these tenants were "exempt from attendance on all inquisitions, juries and assizes, except when held before the Lord, the Prince and the Earl of Chester".
The Ship Tavern- mentioned in a 1749 Chester Courant, when the landlord was a Mr Matthews.
The Highland Man- mentioned in a 1750 Chester Courant. In later years it was recorded as 'The Island Man'. Was the landlord a Scotsman who dropped his aitches? In 1752, Edward Williams advertised that he had moved from "The Highlandman to a well-accustomed inn, being the Sign of the Old Yacht in Watergate Street".
The Sign of St. George.
The Livre- in existence in 1805
The Lower White Bear- possibly an old name for the still-thriving Bear & Billet.
The Holywell Packet.
The Black Dog Tavern- recorded in the Cheshire Sheaf as existing in 1815, lying on the north side of 'Bromfield's Entry', "That favourite resort of many of the principal tradesmen". Dick Hoskins, a once well-known local comedian, "a power on the Chester stage", in later life became the landlord. "Many a dramatic star stayed a night at the Black Dog and afforded pleasant recreation and harmony, no doubt, to Dick's then numerous and mirthful circle".

Right: The junction of Pepper and Bridge Streets before the coming of the Inner Ring Road.

Ye Old Vaults (28 Bridge Street and 26 Bridge Street Row)- affectionately known as Barlow's, after one William Barlow, who was landlord in 1898- closed for good on the 15th March 2002 when owners Scottish & Newcastle found that it (to quote the Chester Chronicle) "did not fit in with their company portfolio, which is geared towards theme pubs". Frank Marnell, secretary of the Chester Licenced Victuallers Association (and landlord of the Watergate Inn), commented, "the brewery has sold out on Ye Old Vaults".
Established in 1789 and refurbished in 1900, Barlows was unusual in being on two levels, one bar on the street and the other on the Row above. You could walk from the cellar up to the top floor, three floors above street level, making it one of very few complete Rows buildings in Chester.
It was yet another Chester pub with a reputation for being haunted- over the years there have been reports of loud groaning wails and banging noises. It is said that these emanated from the spirit of an old-time landlord who had been very proud of his inn and dedicated his life to maintaining its quality. Unlike the philistine Scottish & Newcastle, sadly, who briskly turned the listed building into a 'shopping development'- the frontage was torn out and replaced by bland plate glass windows and the premises has become yet another clothes shop with self-catering holiday flats above. We can only hope that the outraged landlord's spirit does his worst.
(See the ghosts entry in our site index for links to many other reputedly-haunted Chester pubs.)
Talking of spirits, William, a descendent of George Barlow used to blend and bottle his own whiskey at the back of the pub he also used to bottle beer and soft drinks. A later George Barlow was licencee in 1942 and Nev Hewitt in 1976-79. Interestingly, the name 'Hewitt' appears on the building's facade in the famous 19th century painting of Bridge Street by Louise Raynor.
Reader Annette Edwards wrote to tell us that one of her family, Arthur Wilcoxon was the publican at the Olde Vaults from 1871 to at least 1875. By 1877 he had moved to 9 Paradise Row, a long-vanished street that once faced onto the Roodee.
Barlow's upstairs bar or lounge was know as “the passion parlour" in World War II as it was a favourite, intimate rendezvous for servicemen and their lady friends.

Advertisment in the Chester Courant, December 4th 1750: "To be let, proper for an inn or an ale-house, with stables or without, a good accustomed house, with very good cellars, formerly The Horse & Baggs, lately The White Horse, in the Bridge-street, Chester, at the corner of White-Fryer's Lane".

"In my opinion, most of the great men of the past were only there for the beer." A. J. P. Taylor, historian

Lower Bridge Street: The Lamb or Ye Olde Lamb. Popularly known as The Dive Bar, it was situated in the basement of Brooksbanks Wine Merchants and separated by a narrow lane, Little Cuppin Street, from the ancient, but still-extant Falcon Inn.
This interesting photograph, remarkable even to those who thought they knew this area well, shows its final days in 1961, just before it was demolished to make way for the widening of Grosvenor Street as part of the Inner Ring Road scheme and its site is now lost beneath the busy road junction we know today. (See another rather fuzzy photograph of it and, possibly, its landlord, here). The photographer would appear to have been standing in the ruins of the recently-demolished Red Lion (see below).
Its predecessor, on the same site, was a timber building whose upper storey protruded so far over the street and whose creaking beams sagged so fantastically that it quickly achieved a reputation as being Chester's most picturesque building and was portrayed by many visiting artists. Originally constructed as the home of historian and heraldic artist Randle Holme III in 1655, it was later converted into shops, a market and finally into an inn- The Lamb Inn, which gave its name to a long vanished Row, Lamb Row. So unfeasable was the structure, however, that the whole thing inevitably collapsed into the street in 1821. The Chester Chronicle reported at the time, "this ancient pile, like all the works of man, underwent a severe shock from the hands of time... the projecting portion of the south end suddenly gave way and tumbled into the street with a loud crash. An immense volume of dust rose from the ruins, and it was some time before bystanders could ascertain what damage was done and whether any injury had been sustained".

Miraculously, nobody was hurt, but an elderly inhabitant of the house, Sarah Adams, had a nasty shock when the wall of the room she was sitting in collapsed within six inches of her chair.
A special feature about the Brooksbanks business, with some fascinating photographs by Keith Rhodes and Chris Langford, is now here.

Also connected with a vanished Row was The Old Coach Inn which was the third house up from the corner of Duke Street in Old Coach Row- also known as Rotten Row. It is seen in one of Batenham's views of 1817 which records its sign, "W Carlile, Ale and Porter". The site is now occupied by a large, ugly and extremely inappropriately-situated car showroom. It was recorded as being used as a polling station in 1809.
The Old Edgar, on the corner of Shipgate Street (right) dates from around 1500. After years of dereliction it was restored and now serves as a private residence. A 1905 postcard advertised The Edgar Tavern, as it was then called, as offering "refreshment rooms and accomodation for cyclists".
The Talbot, originally the lower floor of the grand private mansion Park House which was built around 1717 for Elizabeth Booth. Extended in 1818, it became The Albion Hotel and then The Talbot Hotel. When it ceased to be a private home, the two acres of parkland behind the house became Chester's first public pleasure gardens. When these closed in 1865, the land was covered with the terraced houses (most of which remain with us as charming private homes today) and the old hotel commemorated by naming one of the new streets, Albion Street. The large central hall had served as a ballroom, an assembly room and an antiquesemporium and later became Claverton's and the upper floors utilised as offices. With the demise of Claverton's the place became, briefly, The Lobby. When this in turn closed, there was some hope of it reverting back to being another Lee's establishment (as when it was Claverton's) but it seemed Lee's had had their fill with Chester after their disastrous adventure with the Mansion House in Love Street (see below) and the premises are, we hear, about to become yet another estate agent's. Reader Keith Ellis told us "as far as I can recall the Talbot was a McEwans house selling Tartan Bitter. It had a car park at the side through which you could get to the Albion".
The White Bear.
The Feathers Inn.
The Vaults.
The Swan With Two Necks.
The Red Lion- no.7, corner of Pepper Street, across the road from St. Michael's Church. In November 1771, one John Manwaring, retired butler, let it be known that he had taken "the old and well-accustomed inn, the Red Lion, late of Widow Penstone's". In its time, the Red Lion was full of company when elections were on, being a 'Grosvenor' house.
A contributor to a 1927 edition of the Cheshire Sheaf wrote of the Red Lion, "although built in the middle of the 17th century, it bears no external sign of antiquity in consequence of restorations and structural alterations. In the interior, however, some idea of the age of the building may be gathered from the oak beams, floors and staircases, particularly those of the upper stories, which are in a fair state of preservation. On the first floor, at the front, there is a room containing an ornamental plaster ceiling... framed by a beading of plaster at the four corners of which, projecting towards the centre, are fleurs-de-lis on long stems. The centre of each panel is occupied by designs in relief but many coats of whitewash have all but obliterated them..."
In 1942, the licencee was Ernest G Bennion. For over 300 years, the inn occupied a set-back site at the top of Lower Bridge Street until the alterations which turned Pepper Street into Pepper Row and the Inner Ring Road. Since then, this prominent site has been occupied by the large and hideous office block / hairdressers premises, Windsor House.
Denny Colley wrote to us in August 2002 asking if we had any photographs of the old Lion as she was born there in 1944. "My aunt was the licensee but in partnership with my father. It's a shame that they pulled it down, it still had the stables at the back where the coach horses where housed". If anyone can help, contact her direct: dennycolley@onetel.net.uk. See our rather fuzzy photograph of it above.
The venerable Chester historian Len Morgan speaks of it as the 'notorious' Red Lion, "the scene of many a conflict of fisticuffs, and that's putting it mildly. It was not exactly the place to take a girlfriend or go for a quiet drink". He also added that, such was its reputation during the war, it was the only pub in Chester where US Servicemen wouldn't go, and that it was carpeted throughout in red- "for good reasons!"...
Reader Paul Adamson wrote to tell us that "I used to participate in a game of darts in there and the occasional jar of course. The elderly couple that ran the place up to its demise in 1968 were named Swallow. I used to go to school with their grandson Melvin who was a canoeist of some repute and who, I believe, was up to Olympic Standards in the early 1970s. In turn his parents ran the Albion Hotel opposite the General Station- now called the Town Crier. I would agree with Len’s comments. My father used to call the Red Lion the worst pub in Chester for trouble and one to give a wide berth to. (I didn’t dare tell him I went in there!!) However, I think this reputation was born in an earlier age most probably during the war. American Servicemen featured but I’m not sure whether they were responsible for the Wild West Scenes or they refused to use the place because of them. In any event I was still young in the late sixties and part of a group of motorcycle lads and lassies who frequented the pub. We weren’t welcome in most places on account of our apparel, but we were there and even had our own darts team called the “Wheelers”. We took on other pubs’ second teams and in the Angel (Brook Street) one night I recall throwing a winning dart after being stuck on double one with my opponent for an eternity. A huge Irishman, one of the Red Lion regulars, congratulated me with a pat on the back that I can still feel today. Heavens knows what he would have done if I’d have lost!! After they called last orders for the last time we moved onto the Black Lion in Boughton. This became our new HQ with occasional visits to the Ring O’ Bells in Foregate Street".

The Black Horse Inn was adjacent to Rock's Court and in existence in 1810 when the licencee was James Walker. Landlord in 1840 William Smith, in 1846 George Davies. In 1826 and 1827 meetings of the Smiths and Bricklayers Companies were held there. In that year is was described as "third south of the Red Lion (see above) and fifth north of the Hawarden Castle Inn, about eighty yards south of St. Michael's Church." The licence seems to elapsed about 1860. The inn was formerly the private house of John Rock, a member of the legal profession, who lived there from 1664 (when he enlarged it from two hearths to four) until his death in 1689.

Talking of the Hawarden Castle Inn, in October 2008, Norma Vachet (nee Stanley) from faraway Vancouver, Canada wrote to tell us that "my Stanley family lived in Chester at Lower Bridge Street in 1858. My Great Great Grandfather William Stanley was a 'licensed victualler' and his wife Mary (Blundell) Stanley is listed as a Publican's wife according to the 1861 census. One of their sons is listed as being born at the Hawarden Castle Inn, Lower Bridge Street, Chester".
We'd like to know more about this inn. In Lower Bridge Street, next to the splendid 16th century Tudor House, is a narrow passageway by the name of Hawarden Castle Entry which formerly led to an area of mean and squalid court dwellings. It features in one of Louise Rayner's famous watercolours and can be seen here. Did the inn serve the poor community in the vicinity of this narrow street?

"A woman drove me to drink and I didn't even have the decency to thank her." W.C. Fields

Brook Street: The Queens Arms (nos 21 & 23) Landlord in 1898, Alex. L McLaren, in 1942 John Frederick Hill. Demolished for Inner Ring Road construction.
The Glynne Arms- no. 100, corner of Francis Street. Landlord in 1942 Harold E Miller. In January 2006, reader Dave Huxtable contacted us about the old Glynne, "We understand that the building was used as an antiques shop until around 1973 when it was sold to Powell Insurance Brokers who used it for their offices until we bought it late last year again for use as our office. We are Consulting Civil and Structural Engineers and deal with a lot of Chester's old buildings. The cellar still survives, with the 'beer drop', though well boarded up to prevent access and some storage facilities. Upstairs on ground and first floors no trace remains however as it is very much converted into offices. There is a very fine porch which looks as if it is original. We have an old (1973-ish) photo of the Francis Street elevation and the front corner return to Brook Street. We are keen to see an old photo so we can 'restore' the front, and want to put in sympathetic windows, and in particular the porch back to an original likeness. If anyone can come up with a picture of the Glynne, contact Dave directly- dave@huxtablehodgson.co.uk (and we'd like a copy for this site too!)
The Ormonde Arms (no 126) Landlord in 1898: Thomas Bayley. Well restored as the Ormonde Guest House, it was originally named after the Duke of Westminster's favourite racehorse.
The Bowling Green Inn (nos 24 & 26, now the Catholic Social Club). Landlord 1898: John Lake, in 1942 Frank Joseph Calderbank. The bowling green behind was one of the oldest in Britain- having been in use since the 16th century- but, in 2001 was partially destroyed when the Catholic Church sold the land for the erection of a huge and innapropriately-situated block of 'retirement apartments'- the newly-installed residents of which had the brass neck to promptly complain about the music coming from the social club! The ancient bowling green has now been rendered useless as anything other than a mere decorative lawn.
The Angel Hotel (no 96, corner of Edgerton Street) Site now occupied by the Chester Lodge Residentual Home. Landlord in 1898: George Gregg, in 1942 Horace owen. Remembered by some oldies for 'the clock in the window'.
Talking of which, in 2004, time was called on The Liver Hotel (no.110) We heard that the hotel next door planned to extend into it but, a couple of years later, January 2006, nothing has been done and the place sadly remained closed. In October 2006 the pub's front was suddenly covered in scaffolding and, by Spring 2007, the place was looking better than it had in years, having been superbly restored and relaunched as The Lloyd's of Chester Hotel. In 1942 the licencee was W Humphries. Much earlier, in the opening pages of his Stranger's Guide to Chester (1856) Thomas Hughes, adressing visitors arriving via the new-fangled railway, wrote of the Liver, "those carpet bags and cloaks, by the way, are but superfluous companions for a jaunt around the city. Suppose then, that we drop in at the Liver, a most respectable hotel within hail of the station, and there depositing our baggage in one of the cosy bedrooms of that establishment, we will sally forth upon our mission. After one night's sojourn at this house you'll know your hotel, we promise you, for all future time".
It is said that, in former times, beer was brewed on the premises, the water for which was drawn directly from a culverted stream, the Flookersbrook, that flowed- and doubtless continues to flow- beneath the building and from which Brook Street derives its name.
Chester's only surviving cocoa house sign- and a very fine one it is- is to be seen on the facade of what is now the Donato & Sandro Italian Restaurant directly opposite the old Liver. We will learn more about these teetotal establishments when we visit the first of them to be established in Chester, The Old Nag's Head in Foregate Street...

Canal Side: The Grosvenor Arms- situated on the corner of Queen Street, now a private house. Reader John Owen wrote to tell us, "my great great grandfather John Pritchard was the landlord in the 1871 census and he was still the landlord when he died there in 1879. I would love to hear from anyone who had further information about this pub". Contact John here: j9owen@btinternet.com.
The Crown Vaults- no. 33, corner of Seller Street, opposite what is now the Mill Hotel. Landlord 1895-c1901 John Probert (read more about him on the Seller Street entry). Both were founded in the 18th century to cater to the boatmen on the canal and the workers in the chemical works, sawmills, corn mills and other industrial establishments that once proliferated in this area. Find out more here...

Castle Street: The Robin Hood Inn (Thanks to Mr Roger Moore for this one. He tells us his grandparents, Mr and Mrs Penn, ran the pub at one time).
The Spread Eagle- existing in 1725- possibly The Golden Eagle of today? It was recorded as being used as a polling station in 1809.
Also of an avian persuasion, there was a pub by the name of The Crow in Castle Street in 1809 when it also appeared on the polling station list.
The Castle Tavern- also on the above list.
The Cock (or Golden Cock) belonged to Seller’s brewery of Foregate Street by 1840. In that year they advertised it as to be let (Chester Chronicle, 14 February 1840):

"Public House to be Let. That old established Public House, known by the sign of the COCK, in Castle-street. It may be entered upon on the 3rd of February next. Apply to Seller & Sons, Brewers, Chester".

It seems that it was taken on by Charles Edwards and renamed The Castle Inn and Owen Glyndwr Tavern. According to an advertisement in the Chester Chronicle, 3 July 1840:

"CASTLE INN AND OWEN GLYNDWR TAVERN, adjoining the Castle Yard, Chester.
J. Edwards (Son of the late Mrs. Edwards, of the Holly Bush) begs respectfully to inform the inhabitants of Chester, and especially the farming gents in the neighbourhood, that he has entered upon the above house, and he trusts from the accommodation it is capable of affording, and by observing the strictest assiduity and attention, to merit a share of their patronage and support. Gentlemen attending the Assizes, Races, or on pleasure &c. will find it replete with every comfort, on moderate terms. Wines, Spirits, Ale, and London Brown Stout, of the finest quality. Breakfasts, Dinners, &c. on unusually moderate terms. Good Stabling".

The advertisement was repeated on 10 July 1840, with the name corrected to Chas. Edwards, and again on 14 August 1840 in connection with the Assizes. The whereabouts of the Holly Bush is unknown. The Golden Cock later seems to have been renamed Castle Inn and Royal Canteen for a while in the 1850s, and was called The Royal Standard from 1888. It closed in 1912.

"The function of the pub is company, human nearness... snugness not smugness". Nikolas Pevsner

Christleton Road: The Forester Arms.
Ye Olde Wheatsheaf (no.57, Licencee in 1942 Ernest Wilbraham) Now Wheatsheaf Antiques.
The Peacock. Regarding the Peacock, we recently received this: "My name is Dave Holroyd and I am the current owner of Peacock Garage in Great Boughton, having taken over from my father three years ago. We have been in business at this site since 1975, the people who had it before us were Faichneys of Chester, who had the place built around 1950. I have always been led to believe that the site was the original Peacock pub and am interested in finding out more. Perhaps you can help, or put me in touch with someone who can.thanks very much, Dave. PS. I like the site". If any readers can be of assistance to Dave, email him direct: Dave@peacockgarage.fsbusiness.co.uk

City Road: The Memphis (nos. 51 & 53) Licencee in 1942, Mrs G Edge.
The Four-in-Hand (no.12- near the recently-demolished Royalty Theatre,- now a garage forecourt). Landlord in 1942 John D Gray.
The Grosvenor Park Hotel, (actually no.168 Foregate Street, corner of City Road). Known as Dick Scott's. Landlord in 1942- E J H Scott. The pub is illustrated below, decked out for King George VI's Coronation Day in 1937. Next door to this was The Ring-O'-Bells (see letter below).
The Queen's Head. These last three were demolished to make way for the Inner Ring Road. Their site is now occupied by the Grosvenor Court offices and the City Road roundabout. Pictures of the Queen's Head, Ring o' Bells and the Grosvenor Park may be seen in our gallery.
Reader John Cooper recalled the area, "The Grosvenor Park Hotel was situated on the corner of Foregate Street and Earl's Villas (City Road) opposite what was Slade's Garage. My Dad used to take me there on Sunday lunchtime to see my Grandad, I guess I was about five at the time, but I do remember it quite clearly, it was a Greenall Whitley house. Just a few doors away (directly opposite Slade's Garage) was The Ring O' Bells, a Threlfall's House and that was run by Cec Lucas before he took over The Bridgewater. Then there was The Queen's Head on the corner of Seller Street (opposite what was Bradley's outfitters) that also was a Threlfall's house, although when I used to go there in the early 1970's to gamble away my wages playing snooker on payday ;-) it was a Whitbread house".
Jacqueline Naylor (nee Billington) wrote, "Have just found your website and to my joy I see a photograph of my Great Grandparent's hotel, the Grosvenor Park Hotel in City Road. My great grandfather's name was Frederick Billington (1852-1892). He died actually in the pub. His death certificate names it as the 'Park Hotel' which may have been a colloquial name regularly used. His widow, Hannah also died at the Grosvenor Park Hotel (proper name) in Dec. 1899. Her death left two orphaned children, my grandfather John Arrowsmith Billington (1885-1965) and his sister Gertrude Annie. She was born in 1888- but I do not know what happened to her other than she married an Isaac Roberts in 1913 and had a daughter (1913) and a son (c. 1916). Isaac died in 1917 and is interred in my Great Grandparent's grave in Overleigh Cemetery, Handbridge.
When Frederick and Hannah married they set up business together at the Iron Bridge Hotel in Egerton Street (see below). This had been the business of William Scott Holmes, first husband of Hannah (he died 2 years after their marriage). My Grandfather, John Arrowsmith Billington was born at the Iron Bridge Hotel. At some point (yet to be established) they sold that and moved on the Grosvenor Park Hotel.
Also on your website I see you have the name of Absalom Hayes as landlord of a pub at 132 Northgate Street. (the Grosvenor Arms- now Sayer's Bakery next to the Northgate). Absalom was the brother of Hannah. He died in 1924 and is interred in St Matthews Churchyard, Buckley in Flintshire (home town). Interestingly Absalom and his brother John Hayes (died 1915 and interred in Overleigh Cemetery also) are named as trustees of Hannah's money to benefit her orphaned children. They were also given the opportunity to purchase the Grosvenor Park Hotel for a reasonable sum and to hold the money in trust for said children (then aged 13 & 11 years). Neither of the children benefited from their mother's estate other than to finish their private education. Grandfather was educated in Mold, Flintshire. Is this a case of the 'wicked uncles' spending their charges inheritance? A belief widely held by my father's siblings and still referred to by the few remaining children of John Arrowsmith Billington." Fascinating stuff.

Crane Street (New) / Crane Bank: ('The Old Port'): The King's Arms (no. 40).
The Caernarvon Tavern (no.1).
The Jolly Tar- recorded as being used as a polling station in 1809
The Crane Punchouse - also used as a polling station in 1809
The Weigh - also in the above list.
The Ship, later renamed as The Flint Boathouse.
The Mariners. Nos 19 & 21. (illustrated left) Kept by Mr and Mrs German at one time. Situated immediately next to the railway viaduct), in 1942 the licencee was Joseph Donnachie.
The Sloop.
The Waggoners- sitated "at the Watergate".
The Clock Vaults- between Middle and New Crane Streets. During the 19th century and early part of the 20th, there were numerous inns and taverns around Crane Wharf area. Nearest to the dock were The Flint and The Bagillt Boathouse, which was first recorded in 1822 when Mr Richard Weigh was the licencee. In 1850 the licencee was a Mr Thomas Bethall- any relation, one wonders, to today's well known riverboat family? The pub was owned by the Kelsterton Brewery Company of Flintshire, before being bought by the old Northgate Brewery in 1903, it finally closed on February 18th, 1923.
The Turf Tavern was renamed The Watergate Inn and still thrives outside the Watergate today- the only remaining pub in the area.
The Watergate Tavern was recorded as being used as a polling station in 1809. Is this the same pub?
Also appearing in that 1809 polling station list were two inns in Crane Street with the intriguing names of Mrs. Cloud's and Mrs. Roger's.

Cuppin Street: The Star Inn (now Hill Dickenson solicitors).
The Recruiting Serjeant - recorded (actually in Cuppin's Lane) as being used as a polling station in 1809
The Manchester Arms.
The King's Arms.
The Standard.
The Fox & Barrel- junction of Grosvenor Street. Now a restaurant called Ego, formerly What's Cooking.
Reader Patrick Deedy recently wrote to us: "I live at no. 22, Cuppin Street, an 18th c town house on 3 floors. It is one of a pair with no. 20, and the inner wall between us shows traces of a wide archway, suggesting the houses were knocked together at some time. This would have made one large building. You mention that Cuppin Street contained several old pubs at one time. Is it possible that nos 20-22 formed one of those pubs- and when?"

"We old folks have to find our cushions and pillows in our tankards. Strong beer is the milk of the old." Martin Luther

On to Chester's Vanished Pubs parts 2 | 3 | 4 | gallery

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