History of Warwick Pubs

Written by John Crossling (JohnCrossling@aol.com).

GARDENERS ARMS  There is a single reference to this pub in Kemp's History of Warwick published in 1905. 
He writes "a road leads to the Union Workhouse and to a district called the Packmores. An Inn called the 
Gardeners Arms was in the district at one time." 

GEORGE INN AND COMMERCIAL HOTEL  This pub appears on the 1806 map of Warwick when its owner was Mrs Lamb 
and the landlord was William Timms. The pub was run by Maria Timms in 1849 and 1851 which was the last 
time the hotel was mentioned.  It was situated at 9 Market Square and was a popular coaching inn around 1830. 
Long distance coaches were going to London and Birmingham daily on a coach called "The Crown Prince". 
The "Royal Pilot" ran from Bristol and Bath to Coventry three times a week while the "Vittoria" went to 
Coventry on Mondays through to Saturday; to Leicester daily and to Stratford on Avon on Sundays through 
to Friday. The "Royal Mail" and the "Union" also ran daily to Leicester. The "Telegraph" ran daily to 
Birmingham while the "Regulator" and the "Amicable" went to Leamington Spa. 

GLOBE INN COMMERCIAL AND POSTING  This Hotel still standing on the Corner of Theatre Street and Ironbridge 
was recorded as early as 1788 on a town map when it was run by Tobias Edwards. In 1806 the map recorded 
the owner and landlady as Mrs. Hawkes. In 1833 - Catherine Phillips
From 1849 until 1968 19 licensees are recorded: 
1849 - 1857 Henry Elvins 				1874 Elizabeth Keyte 
1880 Miss Griffiths 					1881 - 1885 Henry Maycock 
1886 George William Mason 				1887 - 1890 A.E. Gurney 
1891 - 1904 W.M. Ward 					1905 - 1908 Charles Isaac Ball 
1908 - 1909 Mrs Ball 					1910 - 1916 A.H. Harris 
1917 - 1920 Mrs. Harris 					1921 - 1927 T. Harris 
1927 - 1941 Mrs. Elizabeth E. Harris 			1942 - 1947 Frank Edward Oxborrow 
1948 - 1952 Arthur John Haynes 				1953 - 1958 Mr. and Mrs. R.L. Fairbrother 
1959 - 1967 Mr. and Mrs. L.P. van Noord 			1968 Mr. and Mrs. Ford 
Henry Elvins was recorded as being innkeeper and auctioneer in 1857 while George William Mason in 1886 
was also a police constable. Arthur John Haynes was also recorded in one directory with the surname Haines 
but as the former spelling was used more frequently I am assuming that it was the correct one. 
The Harris family ran the Hotel for 40 years passing from husband to wife to son to daughter-in-law. 
The pub is now called the Globe Hotel a name it first acquired in 1888.  Despite its situation it never 
attracted the main coaches and only had a local Saturday service to Eathorpe, Offchurch, Taddington and 
Wellesbourne in 1849. To Napton and Shipston in 1862 and to Southam and Ufton in 1881. From 1887 the 
only service was on Fridays to Napton and this continued until 1904. In recent years the hotel was 
extensively renovated and the bar area was converted into a continental cafe bar. Lots of white surfaces 
and mirrors abound, making the feel of the bar a little cold and unwelcoming, rather out of place in a 
small English hotel. This was not as successful as hoped, as there are now rumours that it may shortly 
be converted back into something more traditional. 

GOLD CUP This was a fine, friendly back street local situated at 6, Castle Street. About five years ago 
it was converted into what has become a popular bistro called The Ricochet. The Gold Cup is recorded in 
1828 as being run by William Jordan but it is probably somewhat older than that. From 1849 there are only 
eight licensees during the next hundred years. 
1849 George Cooper 					1862 John Teague 
1874 Sara Burgin 					1880 William Hall Bartlett 
1881 - 1888 Richard Hall Bartlett 			1889 Albert Wincote 
1890 - 1916 Richard Hall Bartlett 			1917 - 1931 Mrs. Elizabeth Mansell 
1932 - 1945 Alfred Stuart Antrobus 			1948 - 1956 Leslie Arthur Beardmore 
The pub was in the hands of Richard Hall Bartlett for about thirty five years. It is possible that the 
first reference to William may have been an error while the sudden interruption by Albert Wincote in 1889 
seems strange.  I believe the fact that the pub was in the hands of publicans for quite long continuous 
spells help create the atmosphere the place had right to the end.  At the end of its existence it consisted 
of a long hallway as you walked in. On the left a door to a tiny bar which was full with about a dozen 
people in it. Further along the hall a second door on the left took you into a rather larger lounge which 
was served from the hatch of the bar between the two rooms. There was a small family room of the back of 
the lounge and a kitchen beyond that. The toilets were at the far end of the hall and outside. It had a 
great atmosphere and was renowned for the quality of the Ansells Mild. It was a sad day when it closed 
even if it was getting a little run down. 

GOLDEN FLEECE Little is known about this hostelry. It was shown on the 1851 map of Warwick situated on 
Bridewell Lane, which later became Barrack Street. It was three properties along from the Hare and Hound 
opposite the prison.  Run by Mary Ann Matthews (nee Robbins) in 1861
This site is now occupied by the Methodist church.

GOLDEN HORSE This pub was shown on the 1806 map as being on the East side of the Saltisford. The owner 
and landlord at the time was William Bourton but has not been found in any further records. 

GOVERNORS HOUSE This imposing building is situated at 153 Cape Road although first references simply state 
the Upper Cape. It is adjacent to the site of the former Warwick Jail and as the name implies was the 
offices of the governor of the jail. The prison was demolished in 1933 and surprisingly the Governors 
House was converted to a pub inside two years. In 1936 it was owned by Hunt Edmunds and run by Leslie 
Guy Rose who continued to run it until at least 1956. In 1958 it was run by Albert Daniel Spraggett; 
in 1970 the landlord was Joseph Witton; in 1976 Craig Robinson and in 1978 John Stanley Makinson. 
The last recorded licensee in 1981 was Raymond Morris. It remained a pub until the late 1980's after 
which it stood empty for several years until being converted into private flats. I remember visiting 
the pub shortly before it closed and being struck by the unusual proportions of the rooms in particular 
the thickness of the walls and the high ceilings. The pub consisted of two public rooms a bar and a lounge.

GREAT WESTERN HOTEL Situated at the foot of Station Approach this imposing Victorian pub stands high above 
the road and customers enter via a flight of stairs. It has an enclosed garden between the railway line 
and the station approach. The pub consists of a large lounge and a separate bar but probably had more 
rooms originally; it currently sells a range of Ansells beers but was formerly owned by the Leamington 
brewers Lucas & Co. It was first listed as a pub in the trade directories in 1862 and fourteen licensees 
are recorded over the following 100 years:
1862 William Webb						1874-1886 Richard Slater
1887-1889 William Davis						1890-1895 F.W.Eddon
1896 H.J.E.West							1897-1905 S.J.E.West
1906-1909 Charles A.Clarkson					1910-1922 William Such
1924 Mrs Such							1925-1932 A.W.J.Power
1933-1945 Mrs Ellen Power					1948 John William Townsend
1950-1953 H.W.M.Stott						1956 Albert J.Clarke 
Richard Slater as well as being licensee was listed as being a car proprietor in 1881 and in addition to 
that in 1885 he was also listed as an agent for the Great Western Railway. The 1896 reference to HJE West 
is more than likely a printing error and should be SJE West as is shown for the next 9 years. The 1927 
Kellys Trade directory lists the licensee as Job William Power giving us two of his names albeit in the 
reversed order! Despite its location there is no record of its use as a coaching inn or even for carriers 
except for a very brief period in 1891 when there was one daily carrier but unfortunately its destination 
was not listed. Although this pub is today known as the Great Western it was originally known as the Great 
Western Hotel and no doubt provided accomodation for travellers arriving and departing in Warwick by train. 

GREEN DRAGON (1) Kemps 1905 publication "The History of Warwick and its People" makes reference to a pub 
of this name on Northgate Street and states "Nos 18 and 20 were formerly an inn; the house is described 
in a conveyance dated 1747 as being formerly known as the Stone House or the Green Dragon" No further 
reference has been found to this pub and certainly the present day appearance of this street makes it 
an unlikely site of a pub. 

GREEN DRAGON (2) In contrast this pub has been a well known landmark in the centre of Warwick for many years. 
It stands at 11 Market Place and is still there today although now with a different name and with a radically 
altered interior. This large building on the south side of the square has a series of glazed arches across 
the ground floor which make it distinctive. Originally these were open which is unusual for a building 
which was originally a private residence to the best of my knowledge. It was recorded on the 1806 map of 
Warwick when it was owned and run by Richard Smallbones but it has a much longer history than that as the 
County Record Office have deeds on the building going back to the early 1600s and they state that it was 
known by the name of the Green Dragon as early as 1636.  Over the next 110 years twenty licensees are 
recorded which is an unusually high number for this period. They were as follows:
1850 Filmer Keen							1862 Samuel Hollier
1874 George Reading						1880-1881 William Terry Dobson
1882-1883 George Adams						1884 A. J. Lewis
1885-1887 E. P. Wright						1888 Mrs. Wright
1889-1898 R.W. Williams						1899-1906 Mrs. Ellen Elizabeth Williams
1907-1915 Thomas Bradley						1916-1925 Ernest Jones
1926-1931 Harry Grantham						1932 Mrs. Ruth Alice Grantham
1933-1934 Henry H. Hill						1935 Wilfrid Yates
1936-1938 Norman William Hastin					1939-1948 Vernon D. Watts
1950 Thomas Hy Rotherham						1953-1956 Alfred James Clarke 
In 1885 E. P. Wright was listed as a manager which was quite unusual in those days unlike the modern 
situation! In 1938 Norman William Hastin is wrongly listed in the Trade Directory as Hartin but this 
is simply a typing error. Being situated in the market place it was ideally suited to benefit from the 
visits of coaches and carriers. These are first recorded in 1829 when a "van" for passengers and luggage 
from Leamington Spa to Coventry departed at 9am daily with the return passing through at 6pm. This 
service was operated by William Hewitt. The following year the long distance coaches are recorded with 
the "Eclipse" running to London at 10am and in the other direction to Birmingham and Wolverhampton at 7pm. 
The "Royal Express" ran to London at 7.15am and to Liverpool at 4pm. The "Regulator" went to Oxford at 
11am and came back at 3pm except on Sundays. The "Shamrock" departed at 8am for Cheltenham on Mondays, 
Wednesdays and Fridays and came back on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays at 3pm on its way to Leamington Spa.
On a more local route "Linney's Van" left at 9am for Coventry and came back at 6pm. By 1862 some local 
carriers were being recorded with a Saturday service to North End. In 1880 and through to 1886 Saturday 
services ran to Claverdon and Preston Bagot and for the last four years of this period an additional 
service ran to Henley in Arden. In 1887 destinations were no longer listed but carriers ran on Tuesdays 
and Saturdays to various places. From 1889 till 1905 they only ran on Saturdays, but from 1907 to 1909 
they ran on Tuesdays again as well. Finally between 1912 and 1915 the service was once again down to 
just Saturdays. This was the end of their operation as by then competition was coming in from omnibuses 
and trams. Some early references to this pub simply quote the Dragon but I suspect that the authors were 
simply being lazy and abreviating the real name. In more recent times it has been known as the Oken Arms, 
the Kingmaker and the Tilted Wig.

GREEN MAN (1) This 19th Century pub stood at 104, Saltisford which was probably in the vicinity of the 
present car showroom. It was first listed in 1849 although Tallis in his list of Warwick Pubs suggests 
it may have existed in 1841. It is last recorded in 1912 and during this time only 6 or 7 licensees are 
recorded: 
1849 John Gill							1862 Betsy Sanders
1881-1882 Mary Ann Bradley					1883 E. Aldridge
1884-1885 Mrs. E. Aldridge					1886-1903 Joseph Kibbler
1904-1912 Harry Bedding 
Its not possible to say whether Mrs Aldridge took over from her husband in 1884 or whether she had the 
pub in her own right the previous year. A similar problem exists over the spelling of Kibbler as the 
first three years of his occupancy it is spelt with only one 'b'. Even Harry Bedding is for the first 
two years listed as Henry. This was probably a small establishment serving the local area and it was 
only licensed as a beer house in the 1880's. In the light of the type of pub it is very surprising to 
find that it had carriers calling albeit only for three years from 1900-1902 on Tuesdays and Saturdays. 

GREEN MAN (2) There is a brief mention of a second pub of this name on a lease transfer document in the 
Record Office dated 1802 which states that the Three Tuns on Smith Street was formerly known as the Green 
Man. It is possible that the pub of this name mentioned above opened around this time as it is most unusual 
for two pubs with the same name to exist in the same town. 

GREYHOUND The Greyhound is situated on the Emscote Road in Warwick, originally at No 22 but when the street 
was renumbered in 1882 its new address became 152. What is more surprising is that in 1909 it was suddenly 
listed as 204 and I am not aware of a second street renumbering taking place. The present building is quite 
obviously a recent replacement of the original pub dating from the late 1960's. Pubs are normally rebuilt 
following a disaster such as a fire - perhaps our readers will be able to enlighten us in this case. 
One thing that is clear from a photograph in the Museum's collections taken in 1961 is that the original 
pub of Victorian design was on the opposite side of Bridge Street to its present location. It is first 
listed in 1849 and fifteen licensees are recorded over the next hundred years:
1849 Henry Broadfoot Bollinger					1862 Benjamin Brown
1874-1881 William Henry Townsend					1882 George Keen
1883 J.T.Bolton							1884-1888 Robert Oldham
1889-1891 W.H.Hemming						1892-1893 John V.Lill
1894-1907 William Job Power					1908-1917 H.S.Harris
1919-1930 George Nicholls					1931-1936 Sam Knightley
1937-1938 James John Carter					1939-1941 John William Loveridge
1942-1956 Edwin Thomas 	
In 1880 William Henry Townsend was also listed as a maltster and in 1894 William Job Power was 
supplementing his income as a coal merchant and furniture remover; it is interesting to note that 
18 years after he leaves the Greyhound he took over at the Great Western for a further 8 years. 
The present pub consists of a basic no frills bar selling Ansells beers and presently the separate 
lounge is only used occasionally. 

GRIFFIN COMMERCIAL INN This pub was again situated in the Market Place and its address was 13 Market 
Square. A photograph taken between 1884 and 1904 shows that it was run by the old Burton brewery of 
Salt & Co. The building is next door to the former Green Dragon (now the Tilted Wig) and has been a 
gents outfitters in recent years which has just been renamed as Ciro Citterio. It first appeared on 
the 1806 map of Warwick when its owners were given as King Henry VIII Charity and the landlord was 
Edward Powers. It continued in existence until 1911 up till when a further eleven licensees are recorded:
1828-1849 William Briscoe					1862 Elizabeth Parkes
1874 Anne Phillips						1880 Miss Wollams
1881-1882 Algernon Mortimer Kelson				1883 W.Warren
1884-1902 William Briscoe					1903-1907 Mrs Alice Mary Briscoe
1908-1909 George Dawson						1910-1911 Mrs Grainger 
You will note that there have been two William Briscoe's running this pub but the dates would tend to 
suggest that this could not be the same person - this could be his son perhaps but this would be unusual 
with a gap of 50 years. Despite being a commercial inn in the Market Place it would appear not to have had 
the same status as some of the other hotels in the square as there is no record of it being frequented by 
the long distance coaches. However local services did use it; in 1862 there was a daily omnibus to 
Leamington running at 10am, 12noon, 2pm and hourly till 8pm (almost a better service than we have today!) 
In 1887 there was a carrier on Saturdays to Hampton, in 1888 there were carriers running on a Tuesday and 
twice on a Saturday. From 1889-1898 there was only the one regular Saturday service. On the last date that 
carriers were recorded in 1899 the Saturday service had increased to two. 




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