The sad tale of disappearing pubs

It is difficult to imagine Britain without its pubs but five are closing every day in Britain and those that remain are under attack from all sides. The latest figures show that by 2012, one in eight of our pubs will have gone under and more than 4000 will go out of business in the next two years. This is due to the smoking ban, cut-price alcohol in supermarkets and higher duties on their way.

There used to be Smoking Rooms in most pubs. Why not, declare some folk, restore these and install an extraction fan? Pubs are part of our heritage but many villages are facing the prospect of no pub at all. Many of our pubs can be traced back to Roman times.

There was a profusion of pubs in Kinver but over many years there has been a steady decline. There was the Unicorn then owned by Edward Green with the tenant being Henry Hawkes. The Green Dragon was first licensed in 1718. In about 1902 it was rebuilt as an upmarket hotel, but it was not very successful. In 1934 it became the Constitutional Club.

The Red Lion became a Chinese restaurant. The Elm Tree was sold for housing development. Gone were the George and Dragon, the Old Plough and many others. The Cottage of Content used to be the last public house as you left Kinver for Enville. It is now inhabited as a private building.

The White Harte was built at the end of the 16^th century. The owner was J.H.H. Foley and the landlord Edward Green. Exactly opposite the White Harte was the Swan Inn and owned by Hannah Stringer with Samuel Mullard as landlord. The George and Dragon was owned and kept by Joseph Watkins. The Cross Inn was owned by Thomas Raybould and kept by Armel Turley.

By 1890 Kinver was noted for the number of public houses. Since that date at least six have been closed, four in the High Street and two others only a hundred yards away from it. The historic inn is the White Harte which was kept for some years by Mr Samuel Stevens. After him came several who remained a very short time.

By 1895 there came Mr Raglan Mills Neale, who remained until his death in about 1930. Popularly known as ‘Rag’ he was certainly one of the best known men of his time; he also held some public offices.

The White Harte, situated in the centre of the village, gained by being on the great thoroughfare from Chester to Bristol. The inn had extensive stables and was the resting place for hundreds of pack-horses. It was also used as a rendezvous for hunters. It was here that the ‘Court Leet’ was held. The Foleys, as lords of the manor, presided over the ‘Court’ which was one of the customs of feudal times. One of the duties performed was the election of ‘Mayor’ for Kinver, an office of very small significance for few knew there was one and less knew of the duties pertaining to the office. Another even more historic inn or hotel was the Stewponey. The occupier in 1880 was named Nash. He remained until about 1885. Afterwards it was taken over by Mr George Elwell who was also the owner of Greyfields and it remained in his family until sold to Mr Foley. The origin of the word ‘Stewponey’ is uncertain and some controversy has arisen on the point. Baring Gould, who made a considerable study of the district before writing his novel ‘Bladys of the Stewponey’ attributed its name to a former title ‘The Estepana Tavery’, said to have been given to the place by an old soldier who was quartered during the wars at Estepona in the south of Spain. He settled at this tavern on his return to England with a Spanish wife. Other views said it derived its name from the Stour, from an inn called the Poney and a nearby stew and fishpond, and from stepony, either a kind of ale or a kind of raisin wine.

An inn stood on this site in the early 18^th century. It then had a bowling green and was described in 1744 as ‘the house of Benjamin Hallen, being the sign of the Green Man and called the Stewponey’. In about 1840 it became the Stewponey and Foley Arms. It was then a posting house. The house was extended in the 19^th century and rebuilt in the later 1930s.

The roomy old house was pulled down about 1935 and an up-to-date inn erected with its Lido and other accessories. In the 1880s and earlier the Stewponey was known for its Whitsuntide fair, which few people in the village missed. Large crowds congregated from the Black Country.

The fair was originally connected with the Whit-Tuesday bequest of the Stewponey Beecher Club which met at the church and then marched the two miles to their annual feast at about 1pm. This was headed by a brass band and later addressed by the patrons, Lord Lyttleton, Lord Cobham and Mr Foley. For very many years this friendly society, which provided for sickness and old age benefits, filled a very useful function. But it outlived its usefulness and, although still solvent, it was finally broken up and its surplus funds were divided among its members.

The oldest house, if not the oldest inn, dating back to the 13th or 14^th centuries is the Whittington or ‘Dick Whittington’ inn. This was turned from a private house into an inn in 1788. There have been many changes over the years but the exploitation of the tradition that Sir Richard Whittington, the famous Lord Mayor of London, was born here has not been forgotten. Undoubtedly a knightly family held the place and a son of the family might easily have gone, or been sent, to London and there made his fortune and risen to be Lord Mayor in the ordinary course of events, without any aid from cats or other animals. It is more than doubtful that Richard and a cat walked to London.

The inn reached a rather low ebb about 1890 to 1900 and the tenants of the Earl of Stamford, who then owned the house, had a hard struggle to live. It was discovered that the house was some 50 yards over the 3 miles from Stourbridge town clock and therefore all Stourbridge people who visited the inn on Sunday were bona-fide travellers and so entitled to a drink at any hour. As the walk across the fields was a very pleasant one many travellers , thirsty and not thirsty, found their way there and on a fine Sunday the place was packed and more beer sold on that day than all the rest of the week.

The police and licensing authorities disputed the distance but although very carefully measured it obstinately remained over three miles and they were helpless until the landlord of the day, Mr Southall, played into their hands by either serving a drunken man or serving in closing time. A conviction for this offence was followed by an objection to the licence and a compromise was made by granting the licence but restricting the sale of intoxicants to six days a week.

Of the other numerous inns there is little of interest to recall except that the popularity of Kinver as a summer resort restored the fortunes of them all and some of the licence holders made a moderate fortune. The two Enville Road inns remained in the hands of Mr Walker and Mrs Roberts respectively for periods of some 40 years.

Next in numbers and possibly first in importance came the allied trade of malsters of which there were four. The buildings of these almost adjoin the extensive buildings near to the Stour, probably because a plentiful supply of readily available water was essential to their trade. The malsters were all substantial men – William Brindley, William Piper, Thomas Bobbins and Thomas Skett. The third of these malt kilns remained active until about 1880. Another allied trade, that of coopering, had two representatives but these occupied a cottage and a small house.

A final note. The Vine Inn has new owners. It has great character and an excellent restaurant with a wide variety of English food, wine and ale.