the history of yeovil's pubs
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Western Gazette, 23 August 2012
Website stirs memories of historic pubs
A fascinating
look at Yeovil's
history has
revealed the
town can boast
more than 130
past and present
pubs. The
staggering
figure was
uncovered by
Yeovil author
Bob Osborn who
has created a
website that
delves into the
history of the
town's drinking
destinations
over hundreds of
years.
Today the town has 37 pubs, including a small number of bars. When you include the different names of the establishments over the years, Bob's research uncovered 168 pubs. The 63-year-old said: "It is an amazing number of pubs for such a relatively small town, or at least it was when the majority of these pubs were in business. Additionally, during part of the 19th century there was a huge number of unnamed beerhouses and I have included information on the 104 that I have been able to discover."
"Many people will remember the Hole in the Wall in Wine Street for instance and the Wine Vaults, of course. But how many realise that there were two more pubs, the Full Moon and the Running Horse, between them? Not to mention the Sun Inn opposite and the Bunch of Grapes and the Case is Altered just around the corner?
"A few months ago I spent a pleasant Friday afternoon wandering around some half-dozen of Yeovil's finer watering holes with a couple of chums. Not for the first time it cropped up in our conversation about how few pubs there were in Yeovil these days, at least within walking distance of each other – bearing in mind we'd just sauntered the length of Railway Walk from the Royal Marine to the Railway. All three of us have lived and worked in Yeovil since the 1970s, and spent a lot of time in pubs, so we collectively reminisced and tried to count the number of surviving hostelries and came up with a figure of just over 25. In fact, it is more like 35 but we had been drinking. The next day I began to wonder what had happened to all the old pubs I'd known and indeed if there were any more that I didn't know about. So I began delving into the history of yeovil's pubs – and this website is the result."
The website is full of photographs and information on Yeovil's pubs past and present, as well as information on the people who ran them. As well as the histories of individual pubs, the website features a comprehensive section on drinking laws going back more than 1,000 years. For the family historian there are lists of licensees, premises and addresses with more than 1,700 entries.
Bob's
research found
in the 1870s
there were 63
pubs in Yeovil,
62 in the 1880s,
61 in the 1890s
and 58 in both
the 1860s and
the 1900s. He
said: "Indeed
between the
1860s and the
1960s there were
always more than
50 pubs in the
town.
Additionally, it
has been
estimated that
between the
1840s and 1880s
there were
probably some 40
licensed
beerhouses at
any one time."
His research
suggests that
from the 1850s
until the 1880s
there was one
pub to fewer
than 200
Yeovilians.
Today's figure
is one pub for
approximately
every 1,000
Yeovilians.
Several of
Yeovil's pubs
closed around
the start of the
20th century,
largely down to
the Licensing
Act 1904. Pubs
lost included
the Anchor Inn,
Chough's Tap,
Cow Inn, Cross
Keys, Dolphin
Inn, Seven Stars
Inn, South
Western Arms and
the Victoria
Inn. "At this
time there was a
strong
temperance
movement in
England and a
general feeling
that there were
simply too many
public houses
for the public
good," said Bob.
"The Licensing
Act 1904
introduced a
national scheme
whereby a
licensee
surrendering his
license would
receive
compensation."
There was also
many pubs lost
to the wholesale
redevelopment of
the town during
the 1960s and
the 1980s.
The George
Inn in Middle
Street was
knocked down to
make the road
wider, only for
the council to
pedestrianise
the road. The
pub's footprint
can still be
seen protruding
from the
pavement. The
building of
Wellington
Street flats saw
the loss of the
Royal Standard
and Wellington
Inn, the
development of
the Glovers Walk
shopping complex
saw the fall of
Coronation Hotel
and the Railway
Inn, while the
widening of
Reckleford and
Kingston to
create a dual
carriageway and
hospital saw the
Market Street
Inn, Nags Head
Inn, Red Lion
Inn, and White
Lion Inn
demolished.
Bob added: "Of
course, with the
increase in pub
closures over
the past few
years and
bending to the
pressures of
modern economics
some former pubs
have been
converted into
flats or
demolished and
replaced by
small blocks of
flats or other
accommodation.
"On the flip
side, as
Yeovil's
population
expanded, much
new housing was
built on the
edges of the
town leading to
a surge of
building new
estate pubs,
especially
during the
1950s. Today we
have the likes
of the Arrow at
Abbey Manor.
"The website is something of a work-in-progress and I'm still eager to add to the history of yeovil's pubs, so if any of your readers have old photos or further information on any of Yeovil's pub histories I'd be pleased to hear from them."
The Visitor, December 2012
I mention Bob Osborn and his website all about Yeovil pubs and beerhouses... Bob has added a considerable amount to the site now. To say this is fascinating is an understatement, just Google "History of Yeovil Pubs" and the site will soon be apparent. To anyone interested in social history, history of pubs, the changing face of society over the years, or just plain interested in pubs, it contains an absolute wealth of information and some fantastic pictures. There are many pictures of the pubs of Yeovil that are not there any more. In fact, some parts of Yeovil are no longer there either! Do take a look at Bob's site; highly recommended.
