Category: Community (Warminster)

Topics about organisations and activities in Warminster.

The Nag’s Head, Market Place, Warminster

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

The Nag’s Head, Market Place, Warminster
This inn was recorded by both Daniell and Halliday as being in existence in the early 1700s. It was listed in the 1801 Survey Of Warminster as Plot No. 305 at the Market Place. It also included a malthouse. At that time it was owned by the Longleat Estate, leased to George Lye, and occupied by Mrs. Webb. As far as can be ascertained this inn was situated in the area known today as Chinn’s Yard, an alley on the south side of the Market Place. There is, of course, an old malthouse building still surviving there today, which maybe confirms the location of the Nag’s Head.

Thomas Singer was the tenant in 1822, but he had moved to the Red Lion, Warminster, before 1830. As no other records are available, it seems likely that the Nag’s Head closed during this period.

Halliday stated in about 1830 that “it is now occupied by Elling the butcher”. The Elling family were butchers at the Market Place from at least 1830 to 1859. Halliday also noted that the property was at one time occupied by “Alderman” Gough.

By the time of the 1838 Survey Of Warminster a beerhouse at Portway was using the name of the Nag’s Head.

The Duke Of Cumberland, Warminster

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

Halliday records the Duke Of Cumberland inn being in existence in 1710 and 1740. There is no mention of it in the 1801 Survey Of Warminster, so presumably it had closed before this time. Halliday, writing in about 1830, tells us the inn’s location was then Edward Hinton’s house at West End. Hinton’s large house is listed as Plot No.185 on the Inclosure Award Map, and can be identified today on the south side of Vicarage Street, opposite The Minster Stores grocery shop.

Daniell mentions an inn with the name Duke William but gives no location. This may have been the same inn, because William Augustus, one of the sons of George II, was Duke of Cumberland. He led the British Army to victory over the Jacobites at the Battle of Culloden in 1746. It seems likely that the Duke of Cumberland inn may have been known locally as the Duke William.

Ales At The Church House, Warminster

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

During the 15th century it was customary for people of the outlying parishes to attend the mother church for festivals of Christmas, Easter and Whitsuntide (particularly the latter). Ales were brewed at the Church House to provide refreshment for the large congregations attending the festivals. The profits from the sale of the ales went to the Church; and in Warminster some of the revenue (until about 1600) was made available to the Chapel of St. Laurence. Church Ales were abolished after the Reformation but the practice continued in Warminster until the 1800s.

Both the Inclosure Award and the 1801 Survey Of Warminster list the Church House. It was situated in front of the Parish Church of St. Denys’, between the great yew and the road to Bath. It was demolished in 1813 and had been used for some years previously as a house for the sexton. The land the Church House occupied is now part of the churchyard.

A cottage in Ash Walk, opposite the main gateway to the churchyard, was then purchased and demolished, making way for the building of a new house for the sexton. The brewing of ales was transferred to here. A notice in 1814 advertised: “A Church Ale at the Sexton’s House”. The practice terminated in 1826.

The Checkers, Warminster

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

Daniell mentioned The Checkers in his History Of Warminster. He spelt the name as Chequers. Halliday records that it was Checkers in 1740 and was situated outside the Turnpike at Portway. The site of the Turnpike he referred to, is today occupied by the entrance to the Portway Lane housing estate. The precise location of the inn is uncertain because there appears to be no documentary evidence.

The Admiral Vernon

The Admiral Vernon inn, in Warminster, existed in 1700 and was recorded by both Daniell and Halliday. It was situated at Silver Street, next to the present-day Farmers Hotel, on the south side of the street, opposite the entrance to Ash Walk.

Its name must have originated from Admiral Vernon (1684-1757), who commanded an expedition to the West Indies to attack and capture Spanish colonies. He was successful in taking Porto Bello. When news of this reached England it caused people to go mad with excitement and joy.

Innumerable medals were struck, all showing Vernon’s head, with the legend “He took Porto Bello with six ships.” Over a hundred of these medals survive at the British Museum.

Admiral Vernon was responsible for the daily issue of grog (rum and water) to Royal Navy sailors. This practice, which commenced in 1746, continued until a few years ago. In 1746 Vernon was court-martialled for publishing defamatory pamphlets against the Government. The King directed their Lordships in the House to strike his name from the list of flag officers.

Vernon died suddenly in 1757. Six years later his nephew, Francis Vernon, Lord Otwell (later Earl of Shipbrook), erected a monument to his memory in the north transcept of Westminster Abbey.

In different parts of England and Scotland, Vernon’s head was for many years a favourite subject for public house signs (Directory Of National Biography, volume XX, pp267-272). Warminster’s inn with this name was changed to the New Inn, presumably after Admiral Vernon fell from grace.

The Bush Inn, Warminster

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

The site of The Bush Inn is occupied today by Wilson & Kennard’s grocery shop on the south side of the Market Place.

The Bush was in existence in the early 1700s and was recorded by both Daniell and Halliday. It closed before 1801. The 1801 Survey Of Warminster describes its location as “Plot 313, the Bush (late)”, occupied by Brodribb.

Uriah Brodribb’s grocery business eventually passed into the hands of James Dudden Brodribb (mentioned in Kelly’s Directory 1859). From circa 1867 onwards, Richard Sherring Brodribb was the proprietor of the store. By 1899 it had passed to Wilson & Mayo, shortly afterwards to Wilson & Kennard, under which name the shop’s proprietor today, Peter Mead, still trades.

The Black Swan, Vicarage Street, Warminster

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

The second inn with the name The Black Swan in Warminster is listed by Halliday and quoted as being at West End.

In the 1801 Survey Of Warminster it is described as “the late Black Swan” at Plot No.25, West End. Obviously it had closed before the Survey was made. It can be identified today as being No.10 Vicarage Street; a red brick residence (a listed building) opposite the entrance to the Minster Primary School.

The Black Swan, Near The East Turnpike, Warminster

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

There were two inns with the name Black Swan in Warminster, but at different times. The first is listed by both Daniell and Halliday. They say it was situated near the East Turnpike in the 1700s but its location is unknown today.

The Black Bull, Warminster ~ Scene Of A Murder In 1820

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

An inn known as The Bull or The Black Bull, recorded in the 1801 Survey of Warminster, was situated at West End; the tenant being A. Whittock. West End in 1801 stretched from the Obelisk to Bleeck’s Buildings at West Street.

An entry in Book 13 of The Parish Registers of St. Denys’ Church, Warminster, reads: “Patrick McKey (an Irishman) barberously [sic] murdered at the Bull Inn, West End, August 30th 1820, aged 49.”

The inn was still called The Bull in 1822 but by 1830 the name had changed to The Star.

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