SOCIETY ARMS TO WISHING WELL
The Society Arms (Marlowes)
This picture just shows the building society, behind the shop, which is now the Society Arms |
Society. The new pub was opened in 1997,
following an 18-month conversion of the
original building.
The Spotted Cow (Cotterells)
A FORMER inn of Cotterells, that once stood opposite what is now number 74. The pub was kept by the Thorpe family for no less than 36 years. This was a busy little pub, well known in the area for its spotlessly scrubbed white wood tables. Locals may well remember the tables standing outside every day, awaiting their daily scrubbing down. Something of a sensation swept through the town in 1901, when Mr John Rhodes of Marlowes, a well-known pork butcher, was found dead near Oxleys Bridge on the canal. Mr Rhodes, treasurer of the Spotted Cow’s Slate Club, had left home early that morning, only for his body to be found floating in the canal a few hours later. An inquest, held at the nearby Whip and Collar
returned an open verdict.
The Star Beer house
(Blackbirds Moor, Boxmoor)
UNTIL 1933, the Star cottages were a familiar site in the middle of Blackbirds Moor in Boxmoor. There were as many as 13 cottages
attached to the Star beer house, owned by brewers Locke & Smith. They were eventually demolished following a sanitation report, which reported that: ‘The backyards are in a state of slush after the slightest rainfall.’
The Steamcoach
(St Johns Road)
MAY well have been named after Joseph Cranstone’s partially successful road steam
carriage experiment of 1867. However, the inn sign shows a very different type of vehicle, which may indicate the name to be more in keeping with the proximity of the local railways.
The Swan (Boxmoor)
THIS inn has been at this site for more than 200 years, ever since Box Lane was a secluded, shady track to Bovingdon. It was a favourite stopping place for waggoners carrying hay and timber. Shown in billeting returns as early as 1756. The horse trough that stood outside has been moved across the road onto the moor, and to this day still bears the inscription Benskins Watford Brewery. Records show that the
licensee in 1776 was one James Fern, he in turn was followed by James Wright, Daniel Darrell and Thomas Pratt, and by 1787 one William Munt was in charge.
Moving along in time to the First World War, the pub acquired the nickname The Dear Boys, directly attributable to the then licensee, a Mr Way, who was well known for his regular response to locals of ‘thank you dear boy’, hence the nickname.
The Swan and Trout
(Saffron Lane)
FORMER inn of Saffron Lane, now Queensway. It would have actually stood roughly where the fire station is today.
The Three Blackbirds
(St Johns Road)
ONE of the oldest public houses of the area, shown in billeting returns of 1756. The building has been enlarged and modernised during which an old-fashioned baker’s oven was unearthed.
Records tell us that the licensee in the late 1890’s was one Samuel Miles. The pub was, and probably still is, nicknamed The Birds by the
locals. One humorous story concerns a Mr
Ripley, who managed to knock down the 18- foot pub sign, narrowly avoiding injury in the process. He had been overtaking another cart at the time.
The Three Crowns
(Belswains Lane)
The Three Crowns |
The Three Horseshoes
(Leverstock Green Road)
FORMER inn and public stores of Leverstock Green Road, this inn stood next door to the original White Horse public house. By 1933 it had become the Three Horseshoes garage, which incorporated a tearoom for passing cyclists. All that remains today is the name, adopted by the local Mobil garage.
The Three Horseshoes
(Winkwell)
Early 20th century view of Three Horseshoes |
THE name Winkwell is thought to be, possibly, derived from old English Wincel, meaning a corner and weil (a spring or well). It is an interesting public house, showing various stages of building additions over the centuries. The area is referred to in local documents of 1623, which was the approximate date of the original construction, of what is now the inn. Although the 17th century building has been much altered, it still has a gabled tile roof, together with a 19th century veranda.
One Benjamin Glenister is known to have been the beer retailer in 1838. The swing bridge was replaced in 1865, and was further overhauled in November 1878. The inn is probably as busy today as it was all those years ago, when there was a wharf, and coal etc was carted up to Westbrook Hay.
The Three Tuns
(Belswains Lane)
PROBABLY one of the most put together pubs of the town, as can be seen from any photograph. Indeed, in 1918, the smaller part of the pub, nearest Nash Green, served as a secondhand clothes shop run by Mrs Coleman.
The Tudor Rose
(Long Chaulden)
OPENED 44 years ago in 1957, the name celebrates Hemel Hempstead’s connection with the Royal Tudor dynasty, and in particular to Henry VIII, patron of the town’s first market charter.
Tom Long the Carrier
(Piccotts End)
A FORMER 17th century inn of the area, known from a survey of the manor as early as 1676.
The Top of the World
(Warners End Road)
OPENED at Christmas, 1956, the pub was named to commemorate Sir Edmund Hilary’s team’s conquest of Mount Everest.
The True Blue Inn
(Redbourn Road)
FORMER inn of Cupid Green, which stood at the junction of Redbourn Road and St Agnells Lane. Locals will say it was so named because of the fact that the external woodwork was painted bright blue. The stables and sheds stood until the 1960s. Today the building is private residence.
The White Horse Public House (Leverstock Green Road)
FORMER name of the now Litten Tree on Leverstock Green Road. One of the earliest recorded landlords, as far back at 1840, was one William Cooper. However, this would have been at the original location further up the road, where a far older beer house was recorded. The original building was demolished in the 1960’s, and the new White Horse was built on the junction with Green Lane, where the Litten Tree stands today.
The White Lion
(London Road)
17th century inn, shown in House of Lords documents as early at 1617, but in Featherbed Lane? In 1948, justices at the Brewster Sessions granted the pub a licence to sell wines. Previously, the pub had been just a beer house, but licensee William Hurrell had completely redecorated the premises. The White Lion was now a spotlessly clean and nice house. 418 people had signed a petition in support of the new licence, and Mr Hurrell’s solicitor told the court that the pub had become the working man’s club, and that a man should be able to take his wife, daughter or sweetheart there and buy them a glass of port or sherry instead of beer.
The White Lion
(Saffron Lane, now Queensway)
FORMER 18th century inn, shown in Manor court books as early as 1723, which show it as having previously been a cottage or tenement, with a malthouse, kiln house, strawhouse and barn, with two lean-to’s and three acres of land. It was said to be of a size adequate enough to house 60 inmates. The building was eventually demolished in 1837, after use as a workhouse.
The Wishing Well (Marlowes)
ONE of the latest in the long line of public houses on Marlowes, this is situated on the Parade opposite the Dacorum College, occupying what used to be the Midland Bank building.
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