the history of yeovil's pubs
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railway inn / tavern / hotel
Hendford Hill
Hendford was Yeovil's
first station
and opened on 1
October 1853. The Railway
Hotel in
Hendford, variously
known as Reid's
Hotel, the
Hendford Hotel,
the Railway Inn,
Railway Tavern
and the Railway
Hotel, opened
around 1858 to
serve the
travellers using
the station. The
station closed
in 1861.
The Railway Hotel (marked 'B' on the map at left) was possibly built on the site of an old alehouse, the Barley Mow.
The Railway Hotel is a deceptively large building, double fronted to the street elevation and two storied with a windowed attic gable above a signage fascia. It is built in stone with dressed stone string and cornice courses and stone surrounds to doorway and windows. Multiple extensions to the rear are in red brick with stone window surrounds. The whole is under a hipped Welsh slate roof. The entrance has a dressed stone surround and a flat, corbelled hood while the fenestration comprises twin-light stone mullioned windows flanking the entrance at ground floor level with matching windows at first floor. A two-light double-dome-headed window is aligned over the entrance with a similar window to the side lane that leads to the stable block at rear.
Yeovilians
remember.... |
I could find
no information
on the first
licensee Alfred
Reed other than
the two
references below
and little more
on the next
licensee,
Archibald
Campbell other
than he was born
in Scotland
around 1830.
Edward Horwood,
the son of John
Horwood and
Susanna, née
Willy, was born
in Barwick, just
south of Yeovil,
around 1825. He
married in
October 1849 and
in the 1851
census he was
listed living in
Chilthorne
Domer, just
north of Yeovil,
with his wife,
Sarah, and baby
daughter, Susan.
Edward's
occupation was
given as farmer
of 60 acres
employing two
labourers. They
left Chilthorne
sometime after
1854 and were
living in Yeovil
by 1858. In 1866
Edward was
listed as the
licensee of the
Railway Inn but
he had certainly
left the Railway
by 1871. In the
1871 census he
is listed as a
haulier, living
with Sarah and
six children in
Kingston,
Yeovil. After
this the family
moved to Ealing,
west London and
Edward tried his
hand at a
variety of jobs;
in 1881 he was a
general dealer
in Ealing,
Middlesex, in
1891 he was a
widowed market
gardener in
Ealing but by
1901, at the age
of 75, he was
living on parish
relief in Old Brentford, west
London. Edward
died in
Brentford in
September 1905.
James Weaver was
born in Curry
Rivel, Somerset,
in 1827 as,
indeed, was
another James
Weaver and the
only way of
telling them
apart was that
our James Weaver
married Mary
Matilda while
the other James
Weaver married
Mary Ann. James
was first listed
as the licensee
of the Railway
Tavern in
Kelly's
Directory of
1875 and in the
1881 census was
listed as a
timber dealer
and innkeeper
while Mary M was
listed as the
landlady. They
were listed
again in the
1891 census with
James'
occupation
listed this time
as a hotel
keeper. James
died in June
1892 aged about
65 and Mary M
took over the
license of the
Railway Inn
until her death
at the age of 67
in December
1899.
Walter Bond, the
next of the
Railway's
licensees, was
born about 1855
in Yeovil, the
son of labourer
William Bond and
his wife, Sarah,
née Hodges. In
1861 the family
lived in
Wine Street.
By 1871 the
family had moved
to Rustywell,
off Hendford,
and 16-year old
Walter was
working as a
porter at
Hendford Halt
railway station.
Walter married
Yeovil-born
glove machinist
Lydia in 1876.
By the time of
the 1881 census
Walter, now a
printer's
compositor, and
Lydia were
living at 62
South Street
with their baby
daughter,
Louisa. Within
the next ten
years the family
had moved yet
again and by
1891 William was
licensee of the
Crown Inn in
Huish. They
stayed here
until 1897,
according to
Walter's listing
in Kelly's
Directory, but
by 1901 Walter
was running the
Railway Inn in
Hendford. In the
1911 census
Walter and Lydia
were living at
32 Crofton
Avenue with
their 13-year
old
granddaughter,
Daisy Adams.
Walter was once
more working as
a printer's
compositor.
I
could find
nothing on the
following two
licensees, C
Dennett and JJ
Dennett -
perhaps they
were related to
Harold Dennett
who ran Yeovil's
'other'
Railway Inn
in
Middle Street
during the
1940's, '50's
and '60's? Does
anybody out
there in
cyberspace know?
Vincent Moore
was born in 1880
at Stanford
Bridge,
Worcestershire,
the son of
farmer Vincent
Moore and his
wife, Fanny. In
1901 24-year old
Vincent was
employed as the
butler at Trent
Manor House, two
miles northeast
of Yeovil. In
1907 Vincent was
listed in
Whitby's Yeovil
Almanack
Advertiser as
the licensee of
the
Volunteer Inn
just a few yards
away along
Hendford. By
1911 he was aged
31 and was
living with his
20-year old his
wife of one
year, Gladys,
and his
five-year old
daughter Hilda,
at the Railway.
Both Vincent and
Gladys were
listed as
licensed
victuallers.
gallery
This photograph dates to about 1910 and looks up Hendford Hill with the Railway Hotel at left, next to the Hendford Supply Stores in Aldon Terrace. Hendford Halt station was to the right of this photograph, in what is now Bradford's builders' merchant yard.
The same image as above was also used in this postcard dated 1913.
Courtesy of
Chris Rendell
Almost the same view photographed in 1985. Note that at this time the small shop seen in the previous photograph next door to the Railway Inn was still trading (and that the baby in the pram was all grown up). At the far end of Aldon Terrace was Saunders' garage and car sales.
Photographed in 1960 by Charrington & Co Ltd's surveyors as part of a 'stocktaking' exercise of photographing Brutton's pubs prior to the brewery takeover.
From the Cave
Collection,
courtesy of
South Somerset
District Council
The Railway Hotel, circa 1967, showing the extensions to the rear of the building and the short lane leading to the stable block. The pub sign / post on the pavement in the previous photograph was demolished in the period between these two photographs by a runaway Sidney Morris gravel lorry that ended up crashing into the wall left of the pub (thanks to Roger McElliott for that snippet).
The Railway Hotel in 2012.
The bar of the Railway.
... and the pool area.
The following four interior shots of the Railway are by Chris Bromfield, courtesy of John Penny.
The skittle alley.
Courtesy of Bill and Audrey Robertson
The stable block at the bottom of Hendford Hill, behind the Railway Inn, at one time owned by the Quicksilver Mail in order to assist with the long, hard pull of horse-drawn mail coaches to the top of the hill by adding another trace of horses to pull the coaches. Photographed in the 1990s.
licensees
1858 – Licensee
not named,
Reid's Hotel
(Map of 1858)
1859 – Alfred
Reed (Harrison,
Harrad & Co 1859
Directory)
listed as
Hendford Hotel
1861 – Archibald
Campbell – Inn
Keeper (1861
census) listed
as Railway Hotel
1861 – Archibald
Campbell – Beer
Retailer
(Kelly's 1861
Directory)
1865 – Mr Wills
- Spirit license
application -
refused (Borough
Petty Sessions)
1866 – Mr Wills
- Spirit license
application -
refused (Borough
Petty Sessions)
1866 – Edward
Horwood (Kelly's
1866 Directory,
listed as
Railway Inn
1867 – Mr Wills
- ale-house
license refused
(Petty Sessions)
1870 – Job
Taylor
- summoned for
selling within
illegal hours
(Petty Sessions)
1873 – Mr Caines
- License
transfer
(Petty Sessions,
May)
1873 – Mrs Boon
- License
transferred
(Petty Sessions,
May)
1875 – James
Weaver (Kelly’s
1875 Directory)
listed as
Railway Tavern,
Hendford Hill
1881 – James
Weaver – Timber
Dealer & Inn
Keeper (1881
census) listed
as Railway Inn
1882 – John
(sic) Weaver
(Whitby's 1882
Yeovil Almanack
Advertiser)
listed as
Railway Inn
1889 – James
Weaver (Kelly’s
1889 Directory)
listed as
Railway Inn
1891 – James
Weaver – Hotel
Keeper (1891
census)
1892 – Mary
Matilda
Weaver - License
transfer (Petty
Sessions May)
1895 – Mary
Weaver (Kelly’s
1895 Directory)
listed as
Railway Tavern
1897 – Mary
Weaver (Kelly’s
1897 Directory)
1899 – Walter
Bond (Whitby's
1899 Yeovil
Almanack
Advertiser)
1901 – Walter
Bond – Hotel
Keeper (1901
census) Listed
as Railway Inn.
1903 – Walter
Bond (Whitby's
1903 Yeovil
Almanack
Advertiser)
1907 – C Dennett
(1907 Yeovil
Directory)
listed as
Railway Hotel,
24 Hendford
1908 – JJ
Dennett –
Proprietor
(Whitby's 1908
Yeovil Almanack
Advertiser)
1911 – Vincent
Moore (Whitby's
1911 Yeovil
Almanack
Advertiser )
1911 – Vincent
Moore – Licensed
Victualler (1911
census) listed
as Railway Hotel
1914 – Vincent
Moore (Kelly’s
1914 Directory)
listed as
Railway Hotel
1915 – Frederick
Charles Keates
(Whitby's 1915
Yeovil Almanack
Advertiser )
1919 – Frederick
Keates (Kelly’s
1919 Directory)
listed as
Railway Hotel
1923 – Frederick
Keates (Kelly’s
1923 Directory)
listed as
Railway Hotel.
By 1936
Frederick
Keates was
licensee of the
New Inn in
Middle Street
1935 – Thomas
Henry Masters
(Kelly's 1935
Directory)
1936 – TH
Masters (1936
Yeovil
Directory)
listed as
Railway Tavern
1938 – TH
Masters (1938
Yeovil
Directory)
listed as
Railway Tavern
1939 – Thomas
Masters (Kelly’s
1939 Directory)
listed as
Railway Hotel
1947 – WJ May
(1947 Yeovil
Directory)
listed as
Railway Inn
1949 – WJ May
(Kelly’s 1949
Directory)
listed as
Railway Inn
1951 – WJ May
(1951 Yeovil
Directory)
listed as
Railway Inn
1954 – WJ May
(1954 Yeovil
Directory)
listed as
Railway Inn
1957 – WJ May
(1957 Yeovil
Directory)
listed as
Railway Inn
1960 – WJ May
(1960 Yeovil
Directory)
listed as
Railway Inn
1965 – Licensee
not named (1965
Yeovil
Directory)
listed as
Railway Inn
1968 – Licensee
not named
(Kelly’s 1968
Directory)
listed as
Railway Hotel
1969 – Licensee
not named
(Kelly’s 1969
Directory)
listed as
Railway Inn
(The)
1970 – Licensee
not named
(Kelly’s 1970
Directory)
listed as
Railway Inn
(The)
1971 – Brian &
Pauline Pither
(thanks to John
Penny for the
info)
1972 – Licensee
not named
(Kelly’s 1972
Directory)
listed as
Railway Inn
(The)
1973 – Licensee
not named
(Kelly’s 1973
Directory)
listed as
Railway Inn
(The)
1974 – Licensee
not named (1974
Yeovil
Directory)
listed as
Railway Inn
(The)
1987 – Licensee
not named
(Denton’s 1987
Directory)
listed as
Railway Hotel