Community (Warminster) – Page 154

Craven House May Have Been The Black Duck

Monday 2nd November 1987

Craven House at Silver Street, Warminster, is reputed to have once been an inn and its name may have been The Black Duck. This could have occupied the south-facing part of the building (the frontage to Emwell Street). On this side there is still a large entrance with room for seats in the porch. A stream (now culverted over) ran through the garden here, continuing on along Emwell Street (or Back Street as it was formerly known), to join the River Were under the south side of George Street.

The Hart And Compass, Warminster

Reg Cundick and Danny Howell in the book The Inns And Taverns Of Warminster, published in November 1987, stated:

The Hart And Compass
Halliday says this inn was operating in 1740 and gives it location at West End, Warminster [the area we know today as Vicarage Street]. Daniell fails to mention it, so perhaps, when he was writing (1870s), it could have existed with another name. This suggestion is plausible when you take into consideration that we know many of Warminster’s other inns have changed names at different periods. A lack of documentary evidence prevents exact location of The Hart And Compass inn.

The Iron Pear Tree

Reg Cundick and Danny Howell in the book The Inns And Taverns Of Warminster, published in November 1987, stated:

The Rev. John Jeremiah Daniell recorded the name The Iron Pear Tree for an inn in Warminster; so did Halliday, who stated that it was in existence in 1740 and was located at Pound Street, opposite The Pound – the old name for the area known today as Pound Row.

The King Arthur, Public House, Warminster

Reg Cundick and Danny Howell in the book The Inns And Taverns Of Warminster, published in November 1987, stated:

The King Arthur, which opened on 2nd December 1981, was an amalgamation of the King’s Arms and the Bunch of Grapes, two pubs situated next to each other on the eastern side of Weymouth Street.

The owners, Ushers Brewery, of Trowbridge, closed the King Arthur in early March 1987 after an inspection by the West Wiltshire Environmental Health Department. A brewery spokesman stated that after careful consideration they had decided to refurbish half of the King Arthur and to re-open it as licensed premises, appointing a new licensee. The other half (the old Bunch Of Grapes) at the southern end was to be converted into flats on its first and second floors, with a retail outlet on the ground floor.

When it opened again in June 1987 the inn was renamed The John Barleycorn.

The King’s Arms, Weymouth Street, Warminster

Reg Cundick and Danny Howell in the book The Inns And Taverns Of Warminster, published in November 1987, stated:

The King’s Arms at Weymouth Street was the third and last of Warminster’s inn to use the name The King’s Arms. It was situated next to the Literary Institute on the corner with Market Place. The inn was part of a block erected to conform with the Town Hall which was built on the opposite side of the street in 1830.

The inn belonged to the Longleat Estate, who put it up for sale on 5th September 1919. The sale particulars described part of it as containing stabling for twelve horses and a coach house with an extensive loft. The latter was usually the place where the coachmen had to sleep overnight.

The cellars here, are extensive, are probably those of the previous inn on the site. A Mr Plowman, who was landlord until October 1928, entered the cellars one day and discovering some loose stonework, pulled it out to reveal a cavity behind. When the rest of the wall was removed, another small cellar was found. This contained some broken racking and bottles, and some racks complete with bottles of wine. The Brewery claimed the wine and eventually auctioned it. This vintage ended up on the maiden voyage of the Queen Mary in 1935.

In December 1974, the landlord, D. Pullen, found a 30 pound I.R.A. bomb planted beneath his car, which was parked in the archway leading to the rear of the premises. It was successfully dealt with by an army bomb disposal team. At the time it was the largest I.R.A. bomb ever planted in this country. Warminster Police commented that it had probably been placed there because the public house was well-patronised by British servicemen from the town’s barracks.

The licensee in 1981, A. Hobday, applied for a licence to retail beer and spirits from the premises, and also from The Bunch Of Grapes next to it. The two pubs, when amalgamated, would be re-named the King Arthur. The licence was granted, and the two pubs officially opened as one on 2nd December 1981. The owners were Ushers Brewery of Trowbridge.

In Its Heyday The Angel Was A Large Inn

Reg Cundick, in The Inns And Taverns Of Warminster book, published in 1987, referring to the Angel inn, noted:

In its “heyday’ the Angel was quite a large inn. It was situated on the south side of the High Street, at the top of the hill. The inn’s doorway can still be seen today, used as the entrance to the West County Cleaners and Herbert J. White’s, the jewellers (which occupy the ground floor). The building used to be the largest posting house in the town and was also the stopping place for the Bristol mail coaches. Extending well back at the rear, it offered plenty of room for coaches and ample stabling for horses.

The Rose And Crown, High Street, Warminster

Reg Cundick and Danny Howell in the book The Inns And Taverns Of Warminster, published in November 1987, stated:

The Rose And Crown, High Street, Warminster
An inn with the same name (The Rose And Crown) but much older than the one at East Street, Warminster, was situated on the south side side of the High Street, Warminster, west of St. Laurence’s Chapel. The shop of Hodges, the gents’ outfitters, currently occupies this site today.

Daniell and Halliday recorded a King’s Head on this site in the 1700s but the Rose And Crown is mentioned in a Longleat Estate Survey of 1743. The present building was erected in 1730 and improved in 1841 (Victoria County History of Wiltshire, volume VII, page 95). Further alterations were made in 1856; this date appears below a shield-shaped stone above a door on the eastern wall of the building.

The Three Mariners, Warminster

Reg Cundick and Danny Howell in the book The Inns And Taverns Of Warminster, published in November 1987, stated:

The Three Mariners occupied a site on the north side of East Street, immediately opposite the present entrance to Carson’s Yard. The inn was up for sale in 1706 and was mentioned again in 1715 (WRO 1399/10 and 1399/11). There does not appear to be any other record of it or any details about when it closed.

Following life as an inn, the building was converted into a private house. From about 1824 onwards it was the home of various members of the two families, namely the Carsons and the Toones, who ran the nearby ironworks known as the Wiltshire Foundry. The last of these, William Carson Toone, emigated to Canada in 1903. The house, which was known as Inglebury at that time, was put up for sale by auction, at the King’s Arms Hotel, Warminster, on 18th September 1902. The auctioneer, Claude Barber, referred to the fact (on the authority of Toone’s solicitor, Mr Wakeman) that the property was once a licensed house known as The Three Mariners.

Henry Faulkner opened his “Fancy Bazaar”, selling toys and stationery, on the ground floor of the property in June 1904. After 1915, Ernest Stiles had the shop, selling drapery and furniture. By 1923 it had become a retail outlet for George Bush & Co., who were house furnishers. The building, which was three storeys high, was purchased and demolished after 1968 when plans were proposed for developing the site. This area, behind the General Post Office, is still vacant and awaiting redevelopment today.

The Royal Oak At Chain Street, Warminster

Reg Cundick and Danny Howell, writing about The Royal Oak public house, at Chain Street, Warminster, in the book The Inns & Taverns Of Warminster, published in November 1987, stated:

Both Daniell and Halliday listed this inn. Halliday gave the latest date for it as 1740. It had certainly ceased to operate by the time of the 1801 Survey Of Warminster, when it was recorded as “the late Royal Oak, Chain Street.” It was then a private house occupied by W. Randall.

The houses on the north side of Chain Street were demolished when George Street was constructed and the road widened in 1807.

The Ship Inn, Warminster

Reg Cundick and Danny Howell in the book The Inns And Taverns Of Warminster, published in November 1987, stated:

The Ship Inn was recorded by both Daniell and Halliday. It was in existence during the early 1700s.

It was situated immediately west of the building known today as Warminster Arts Centre (the former Athenaeum).

The Ship closed in March 1901 and was demolished soon afterwards, allowing the former cul-de-sac of Common Close (now The Close) to join with the High Street, making it a through-way with Portway. The Close was made a one-way street, much later, in July 1943.

The last tenant of The Ship was George Hitchings, and the last owner was Mr. Hicks, a baker and confectioner in business at the High Street. He was known locally as “the midnight baker” on account of the late hour he often returned to his shop after making his deliveries to the villages around Warminster.

When The Ship closed, the licence was not discontinued, because Hicks applied for it to be transferred to him so that he could sell drink from the house next door to his shop. He was granted the licence on condition that he made certain alterations to his property. Hicks said the house would be re-named when such work was completed but it would not be called The Ship.

By February 1903 no alterations had been carried out, and at the annual Brewster Sessions, a Brewery representative said the licence would be relinquished. The magistrates agreed with this decision because the Nag’s Head beerhouse at Portway had applied for a full licence and in consequence there would be no change in the number of licensed houses in the town.