The Welney Website
The Pubs of Welney - Past and Present
page created 1st May 2010, amended/updated Saturday, 20 August 2011
| Spring 2011 - the pub pages below are currently
unavailable. Back again during the summer |
| PUBS IN WELNEY PARISH |
| Carpenters ArmsSusp'n Br | 17 |
| Cherry Tree Main Street | 6 |
| Cock Suspension Bridge | 16 |
| Crown (Inn) Suspension Br | 18 |
| Eagle Tavern Bedford Bank W | 3 |
| Green Man Bedford Bank W | 2 |
| Happy Home Wisbech Rd | 7 |
| Lamb & Flag (Inn) Main St | 5 |
| Rutland Arms Tipps End | 8 |
| Three Tuns Bedford Bank E | 4 |
| Welney Hotel Bedf'd Bank W | 1 |
| Wry Necked Mill 100 Ft. Bank | 13 |
| PUBS JUST OUTSIDE THE PARISH |
| Dog & Duck 100 Ft. Bank *◊ | 12◊ |
| Dun Cow Christchurch‼ | 10 |
| Farmers Boy Christchurch‼ | 9 |
| Old Ship Inn Lakes End‡ | 11 |
| Red Cow, Bells Drove† | 15 |
| Rose & Crown, Hale Fen† ** | 14 |
| Lord Nelson Inn Lakes End‡ + | 11+ |
| Three Horseshoes, Hale Fen† ** | 14 |
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notes for table in left column
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* in the parish of Hilgay, Norfolk † in the parish of Littleport, Cambs ‡ in the parish of Upwell, Norfolk ‼ in the parish of Christchurch, Cambs + the Lord Nelson is not marked on this map but it was a short dstance south of the Old Ship (No 11) where Two Ways now is. ◊ correct location is north of here, nearly half way between Venny and Dog & Duck Farms **A pub in Hale Drove approx 1½ miles east of Suspension Bridge is shown on the 1880s OS 6" map and 1920-26 OS 2½" map as "Rose & Crown (B.H)" but at a similar spot on the 1824 OS 1" map is shown "The Three Horse Shoes". I don't know if the are the same or not |
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Ale is a brew of malted barley, water and yeast. It's origins in England go back well over a thousand years ago.
It was cloudy, sweet and considered nutritious, and often sold and drunk at the brewer's own home, hence "alehouse". Modern ales are usually clear. Beer has an extra ingredient, hops, which gives it a bitter taste. Introduced into England more than 500 years, probably by the Dutch. Porter and stout have dark roasted malts added giving a distinctive taste and darker colour. First produced in the early 19th century. |
Legally, and to some extent geographically, there are or were differences. Beer houses could only sell beer (& ale and cider?); public houses could also sell wines and spirits; inns additionally provided food and lodging (and stabling if it was a coaching inn); hotels likewise but usually with better accomodation. The earliest drinking establishments in England were alehouses, serving only drink, and taverns both drink and food. I have not traced any premises classed as such in our area but there must have been some. Use and mis-use can blur all these distinctions, and social needs can change a pub's status.
From the middle of the 16th century, pubs had to be licenced by magistrates. During the late 18th and early 19th centuries cheap gin caused much drunkeness in England among the working classes. In 1830 the Government sought to reduce the problem by passing the Beer Act which allowed virtually anyone able to afford two guineas to obtain a license to brew and serve beer (but not wines or spirits) in their home. The idea apparently was that local availability of cheap beer would discourage gin drinking.
Before the act there were a little over 50,000 licenced premises; within 8 years the number almost doubled. By 1869 the increase was such that a new law brought back control by magistrates. No new beer houses were allowed but existing ones could continue. Many applied for a full public house licence but that was only granted if the applicant was "respectable" and not objected to by police or anyone else including rivals! Many of the pubs listed here owe their existence to the 1830 act and were established within a few years of it.
Some references say that owners of beer houses made big profits because of their low cost-base, but around here most seemed to have another job, as a farmer, blacksmith or brickmaker, etc, so maybe that wasn't true locally. Breweries did flourish though.
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Acknowledgements and Sources: The picture top right is by Philip Murphy and taken from "Tales of the Old Country Farmers" a lovely book written by Tom Quinn and published by David and Charles. The map is from the Welney Parish Action Plan and is © Crown copwright, 100024314 - 2008 with pub locations added by the webmaster. The brewery and licencee details shown on the individual pub pages are from the brilliant Norfolk Pubs Website run by Richard Bristow; from extensive research by Tony Smart; and from 'Downham Market and Around...' an excelent book by Chistopher Shaw, published 2009 and available from Dent's Butchers in Hilgay, which has a good section on Welney including the old pubs. |
In 1990, when my wife and I moved to Welney, just three of the pubs in Welney (parish) listed in the left column were still open. Today only the Lamb & Flag remains, and long may it do so for it is an excelent place to drink and dine.We did get to the other two, but I very much regret not getting to the Three Tuns often enough.
Of the others pubs shown, only the Dun Cow survives.
I hope the pub pages linked will bring back a few good memories.
| related pages on this website |
| related pages on other websites |
| Norfolk Pubs Website |
| Pub History Society |
| Elgood's Brewery, Wisbech |
| Pub signs |
| Bullard's Brewery; |
| Morgan's Brewery |
| Steward & Patteson Brewery |
| Elijah Eyres Brewery |
| Huntingdon Brewery |