Public Houses in the Parish of Newbold Verdon
Newbold Verdon has had few claims to fame over time but perhaps one of them, certainly in the early 20th century, was the number of public houses it had
for its size of population. Even today (2014) it hosts four establishments serving alcohol. So how far back does this tradition of drinking houses go and what
do we know of the establishments and the people who ran them?
Records do not tell us of when the first public house was established in the parish. We know that there were at least two at the turn of the beginning of the
19th. Century. The Sun Inn on Main Street (opposite today’s Swan Pub) was put up for sale in 1812 and was converted into two houses, so it must have been
around for some time before this period. We also know that during the deliberations of 1811 when the final enclosure of the parish’s lands was taking place,
the Commissioners appointed to oversee the enclosure met at the George and Dragon Inn sited at the end of what we now know as Dragon Lane and on to
Barlestone Road. The highway at this time was known as the Foston Lane (Blaby) to Osbaston Turnpike Road and had opened in the late 1780’s. Opposite
where the George and Dragon stood was the toll gate cottage and the inn would have made a very convenient stopping point for travellers travelling along
the road and those joining it from the village itself as well as Bosworth and Bagworth.
Thomas Carter the headmaster of Newbold Verdon Church of England School wrote a set of historical notes about the village during the 1900s. He noted the
demise of the Sun Inn (1812) and wrote of the Mill Inn (today’s Windmill Inn) that its windmill had been pulled down in 1901 after nearly one-hundred years
of use - it had been brought from Syston in 1812. He did not say the Mill Inn stopped operating. His description of the Swan Inn noted that it was the only
fully licensed house in the village and had an ‘old, long club room’ which had been rebuilt.
Thomas Carter failed to mention three other public houses that were also operating at the turn of the 19th. Century. The Red Lion Inn stood on the southern
corner of today’s Red Lion Lane and Main Street. The Jubilee Inn still stands and was built in 1877 and so named to celebrate Queen Victoria’s Golden
Jubilee. The Engine Inn stood on Main Street next to Cob Cottage, in later years becoming a butchers shop.
Ale Houses, Beer Houses, Public Houses
The table below records the landlords of the various drinking establishments in the village over the period when the national census data was available and at
its height six public houses were servicing the village. Some of the pubs (probably the Windmill, Engine and Red Lion) were only licensed to sell beer and
could best be described as ale or beer houses. The Beer Act of 1830 had led to an explosion in the number of beer houses in the country. They allowed for
individuals to brew and sell their own beers (often in their own home) but they were forbidden to sell fortified wines and spirits.
A Record of the Public Houses in Newbold Verdon
Pre 1840
The Swan
1841
1851
1871
1881
Nathaniel
Blakesley
Mr Wilkinson
(63)
‘Old Swan’
B. Jordan
Butcher/Inn
Keeper
Benjamin
Jordan
Butcher/Inn
Keeper
‘Old Swan Inn’
Thomas Jordan
J. Gardener
‘The Swan Inn’
J. Gardener
John Barrs
(miller)
John Barrs
(miller)
John Barrs
(miller)
‘Mill House’
John Barrs
Miller/publican
‘Mill Inn’
Joseph Poole
‘Mill Inn’
Beer House
Mr Herbert
Richard Herrick
(1854 Trade Dr)
Robert Freeman
(1863 Trade Dr)
‘The Dragon’
Thomas
Richards
Thomas Howgill
‘G&D Inn’
Henry
Culverwell
Robert Pruden
Mr Starbuck
Unable to
identify in
census
Unable to
identify in
census
Mary Preston
(1876 Trade Dir)
‘Engine Inn’
William Statham
‘Engine Inn’
William Statham
William Statham
Inn Keeper
John Raven
Thomas Cope
Thomas Smith
Thomas Smith
Unable to
identify in
census
James Bates
Frank Gilliver
Beer House
Mr Wakefield
Very likely to
be early 19th
Century
Nathaniel
Blakesley
Nathaniel
Blakesley
Unable to
identify
Unable to
identify in census
Unable to
identify in
census
Mentioned
in 1812
Enclosure
Minutes
Unable to
identify
James Topley
(1846 Trade Dir)
Unable to
identify in census
The Windmill
George and
Dragon
The Engine
The Jubilee Inn
The Sun Inn
The Red Lion
Inn
Landlords and
Landladies
mentioned in
Trade
Directories and
sometimes
censuses but
unable to
match with
public houses
Sold in 1812
Unable to
identify
1861
Unable to identify
in census
Unable to
identify in
census
Unable to
identify in
census
Unable to
identify in
census
Joseph Gilbert
Ann Cramp
(Butcher and
Beer Seller)
Ann Cramp
John Raven
(1876 Dir)
John Raven
John Raven
Joseph Moore
Robert Leader
(1846 Trade Dir)
Thomas Riley
(1863 Trade Dir)
1891
1901
1911
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The Swan – The exact date of its opening is not known but is likely to be about the early 1800s. At one time it housed a butchery as well as an inn.
George and Dragon – Certainly around in 1812 and possibly earlier.
The Engine Inn – The first time it was named was in 1876 in a Leicestershire Trade Directory but this does not mean it was not around before then. It would appear
that in the early censuses and Trade Directories, only the George and Dragon and Swan warranted mention by name. This may have been because the other ‘pubs’
were in fact Ale or Beer Houses and did not qualify to be named as full public houses. (see above)
The Jubilee Inn – purpose built and up and running in 1877 and still going today.
The Sun Inn – The only record is of its closure in 1812. We can only assume that it had been around sometime before then.
The Red Lion Inn – Though it only appear in the census in 1891 it is quite possible that it operated before this time but trade directories do not always identify the
public houses with which the publicans are associated.
Public Houses in the 20th Century
The records of ownership and occupation of the public houses in Newbold in the 20th century is very hazy, even for those in living memory. The first pub to go was The
Engine and this would be some time before 1911 because it does not appear in the census of that year or any trade directories. The Red Lion would have been the next to
go but exactly when the author does not know. The George and Dragon hung on in its third incarnation until the 1990s before being knocked down and being replaced by
the Newbold Verdon Medical Practice and St George’s Close.
Fortunately, we can still visit The Swan, The Windmill and The Jubilee and we also have the Newbold Verdon Sports and Social Club.