Category: Inns, Pubs, Beerhouses and Temperance In Warminster

Information and pictures for inns, public houses, beerhouses, drinking hostelries, and the temperance movement in Warminster.

Six Deeds Relating To The Yew Tree Inn, Boreham, 1820-1862

Six deeds relating to the Yew Tree Inn, Boreham, Warminster – Parties: Fleming, Temple, Prangley, Thring, Dredge, Axford, Davies – can be found in the archives at the Wiltshire And Swindon History Centre at Cocklebury Road, Chippenham, Wiltshire, SN15 2QN. They date 1820 – 1862. The reference number is 1075/001/129.

Meeting House Certificate ~ A Room At The Back Of The Castle Inn, Warminster

Entry No.1707 in Wiltshire Dissenters’ Meeting House Certificates And Registrations 1689-1852, edited by J.H. Chandler, published by Wiltshire Record Society, 1985:

14 Feb 1848. Warminster. A room at the back of the Castle Inn, Silver Street [George Street], now in the holding and occupation of Philip Moss Westwood. Philip Moss Westwood of Trowbridge. (WRO D1/9/2/1)

The Unicorn at Warminster 1841 ~ 1842

Danny Howell writes:

The Commercial Directory 1842, records retailers of beer (as well as Tavern and public house keepers). Among the retailers of beer is “Thomas Carter, West Street.” His premises are not named though. The list of taverns and public houses includes a George Carter at the Star, West Street. Thomas and George could well have been related. Perhaps Thomas was mine host at the Unicorn?

A year earlier (1841), when the National Census was held, the entries for West Street, Warminster, record the following brief details for one particular household:

Thomas Carter, aged 30, brazier, born in Wiltshire.

Ann Carter, aged 25, born in Wiltshire.

William Carter, aged 5, born in Wiltshire.

Ann Carter, aged 3, born in Wiltshire.

Sarah Carter, aged 2, born in Wiltshire.

Charles Carter, aged 3 months, born in Wiltshire.

Harriet Tabor, aged 15, female servant, born in Wiltshire.

This household, when one works out the order followed by the Census enumerator, appears to be what is now No.61 Vicarage Street, the house immediately west of the present No.63 – the property that was once the Unicorn. Or maybe the Census enumerator didn’t necessarily keep in strict order going house to house, so he could have been recording the occupants of the Unicorn. Thomas Carter wasn’t listed as a beer retailer or an innkeeper though. He was recorded as a brazier. Maybe that was his main occupation? It was not unusual in those days for people, including inn keepers, to have dual occupations, to boost their income or help eke out a living when one trade was insufficient. Thomas Carter may have been both brazier and beer seller. Or maybe he was a brazier in 1841 at what is now No.61 and a year later moved next door, to what is now No.63, to become the landlord of the Unicorn?

To try and discover a bit more about Thomas Carter I consulted parish records, beginning with the baptisms of his children mentioned above in the 1841 Census.

The Baptism Register for St. Denys Church, Warminster, includes:

William Carter.

Ann Carter.

Sarah Carter.

Charles Carter.

In all cases the parents are listed as Thomas and Ann Carter.

The marriage of a Thomas Carter and an Ann Turner took place at the Parish Church Of St. Denys, Warminster on 12th September 1832. This could be the Thomas Carter, the brazier and possible beerhouse keeper mentioned above.

1841 Census: James Dutch Was The Brewer At The East Street Brewery, Warminster

The 1841 Census for Warminster records William Trapp (a stone mason) and his family living in the house at East Street which later became the Masons Arms public house.

The next entry in the census records James Dutch, brewer, aged 25, born in Wiltshire. (A reference to the brewhouse at East Street).

William Trapp’s first wife was Susannah Dutch.

The Bell Inn At Warminster Common In The 1838 Survey Of Warminster

1838 Survey of Warminster

1838 Survey of Warminster:
Number: 1630
New reference number: 1622
Page: 145
Address: Warminster Common
Property details: Inn (Bell), House, Stable, Outbuildings and Garden.
State: –
Owner: Stephen White.
Lessee: –
Occupier: Joseph Sutton.

The Royal Oak At Fore Street, In The 1838 Survey Of Warminster

1838 Survey of Warminster

1838 Survey of Warminster:
Number: 1497
New reference number: 1487
Page: 77
Address: Fore Street.
Property details: Beer House (The Royal Oak), Garden &c.
State: –
Owner: George Edwards (Executors).
Lessee: –
Occupier: Thomas Hill.

The Star (Inn) In The 1838 Survey Of Warminster

1838 Survey of Warminster

1838 Survey of Warminster:
Number: 1198
New reference number: 1191
Page: 32
Address: West Street *
Property details: Inn (The Star), Outbuildings and Garden.
State: –
Owner: Marquess of Bath.
Lessee: William Kirk.
Occupier: George Carter.

* This part of West Street was later re-addressed Vicarage Street.