Old Stone Cross - Old Pubs and Old Ales of Tamworth

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Licensees of the Old Stone Cross 1818 - James Wallis 1851 - Samuel Smith 1860 - James William Pemberton 1864 - James Tillson 1872 - Thomas Luby 1900 - Joseph Guest 1904 - Samuel Skerritt 1936 - John T. Coleclough 1940 - Arthur W. Coleclough 1966 - 1973 Bernard William Brough 1973 - 1989 Geoffrey Evans 1989 - 1990 Abraham Millard 1990 - 1992 Paul Bricknell 1992 - 1993 George & Julie Kelman 1993 - 1993 David John Cooling 1993 - 1995 Paul Bricknell/Alec Howarth 1995 - 1996 Paul Bricknell/Richard Bird 1996 - 2000 Paul Bricknell 2000 - 2001 Neville Upton 2001 - 2002 Christopher Wilkinson 2002 - 2003 Jacqueline Watton 2003 - Julie Kane

The Old Stone Cross stands on the north side of Church Street close to the junction of Colehill and Lower Gungate. The pub's name commemorates the fact that the building is close to the site of the ancient cross [see map]. However, the pub was formerly called the Three Tuns Inn. Indeed, the thoroughfare has not always been called Church Street. In medieval times it had two names - the section between St.Editha's and the crossroads [formerly known as the Carrefour] was called High Street, whilst the section from the church to Gumpigate [Lower Gungate] was known as Butcher Street, on account of the swine market that was held near the ancient cross. And, as if to prove that Tammies know how to confuse things, the north side of Church Street was in Staffordshire but the south side of the thoroughfare belonged to Warwickshire. This state of affairs remained in force until April 1889 when the whole of Tamworth was designated a town of Staffordshire.

First recorded in 1293, the stone cross was erected in what was the market square for the Staffordshire half of the town. The stalls for the Warwickshire market were set up close to the Town Hall. Tamworth is quite unique in that it was granted a charter for two markets. The origins of the Staffordshire market extend back to Anglo Saxon times and the town's charter was renewed several times by ruling sovereignty. As Market Day was traditionally the time for enjoying a few beers in the alehouse, two markets presented Tammies with the opportunity to let their hair down twice a week. With farmers and agricultural workers descending on Tamworth for the markets, the atmosphere in the pubs was often rowdy and boisterous. No doubt, there was prevalent use of the phrase "did you spill my pint?"

The stone cross formed the centrepiece of the Staffordshire market square and was erected to convey the message to traders that law-abiding commerce in Tamworth was to be conducted in an honourable fashion. There were strict rules and regulations applied to medieval retailing. As early as 1266 a law was passed establishing that a penny should weigh the same as 32 grains of wheat, twenty pennies would equal one ounce, and that there would be twelve ounces to the pound. Eight pounds was to be the weight of a gallon of wine. It was from this legislation that there were 240 pennies to the pound until decimalisation in February 1971.

Bailiffs were charged with the responsibility of monitoring transactions and a strict weights and measures regime was initiated. Ale houses were not exempt and the Court Leet rolls for 1371 reveal that brewers were ordered to sell new ale at 1½d a gallon and old ale at 2d. Tankards wanting for ale were not tolerated. On February 13th 1290 an ale seller at The Cross called Isobel was charged with serving short measure. Quality standards were also checked by an official ale taster or conner. There were no exceptions - for example, Henry le Melemaker was fined on May 29th 1290 for "not wanting the tasters to sample his ale". Market traders in Tamworth caught swindling their customers received harsh treatment and punishment was often immediate. Crooked merchants would be dragged to the proximity of the stone cross where a stocks and pillory were also to be found. Nicholas Alcus was caught selling underweight loaves in 1294 and was sentenced to a whipping at the pillory. The stone cross was a feature of the market square until 1853 when it was removed for the roasting of an ox during the October fair.

The earliest image of the Three Tuns Inn is an etching by the artist John Buckler in 1838 [see above], an illustration that proved invaluable when the façade was rebuilt between 1973-4. Featuring large quoins and a dentilled cornice, the design is that of a classic Georgian-style traditional town house. The building was erected in the early 18th century but was constructed on top of the groin-vaulted cellars of an earlier dwelling, thought to have been a stylish Tudor house. When the adjacent cottages and Mould's Yard were demolished in 1970 for the construction of the hideous bank building, a team from the South Staffordshire Archaeological Society discovered the foundations of what was believed to be a Saxon hall. When the Old Stone Cross was altered in the early 1970's timbers were exposed in the exterior walls, suggesting that some re-cycling of the earlier building had been incorporated within the Georgian edifice. The photograph taken inside the attic shows the timbers within the brickwork and also the recycled beams used to support the roof.

Returning to the etching of John Buckler, the corner of the building on the left is that of the house erected in 1805 by the Larkin family later acquired by Tamworth's philanthropic vicar William MacGregor to facilitate the construction of the Co-operative store. In the 1898 watercolour, Evacustes Phipson has used a little artistic licence to portray Church Street as a wide thoroughfare. A more accurate sense of scale can be appreciated in the photographs taken around 1906 and 1910. The half-timbered Tudor-style building on the left is [or was] the Baths and Institute, a physical health facility donated to the town in 1885 by the aforementioned Revd. MacGregor. As the water was only changed twice a week, those entering the baths when it was fresh and clean were charged a premium price. Conversely, when the water was a bit grubby, the entry fee was a little cheaper. The Corporation took over the operation of the baths in 1892 but the building was later given to the Tamworth Industrial Co-operative Society.

Appearing in Parson and Bradshaw's Directory for 1818, James Wallis is the earliest recorded licensee of the Three Tuns Inn. Born in 1786, James Wallis kept the alehouse with his wife Lydia. The couple probably enjoyed spin-off trade from the adjoining theatre erected in the early 18th century. Performing in front of the distinguished families living in and around Tamworth, the famous actor and theatre manager Roger Kemble appeared in the building next to the Three Turns Inn when he was the director of a travelling company. It was during his travels that he married Sarah Wood in 1753. The couple had twelve children, five of whom became famous in the literary and theatrical world - and beyond. The most celebrated was daughter, Sarah Siddons, who also appeared on the stage at Tamworth during the period she worked in her father's travelling company. She later became a world-famous star of the stage in London and was idolised by the public. Indeed, she almost invented the term 'celebrity'. Her portrait was painted by Thomas Gainsborough and Sir Joshua Reynolds, the latter representing her as The Tragic Muse.

When the fortunes of the theatre next door to the Three Tuns Inn slumped, the building was  converted into a pig market before being used as Sir Robert Peel's Gungate Malthouse. In another bizarre twist, it was turned into the town's Baptist Tabernacle Chapel in 1870. One of its chaplain's, the Revd. Donald Fraser, was killed when serving as an army chaplain in France during the First World War.

After running the Three Tuns Inn for a generation, James Wallis was succeeded as licensee by Samuel Smith who promptly changed the name of the pub to the Stone Cross Inn. By this time, the pub's competition in Church Street was the Horse and Jockey and the Wheatsheaf Inn [the Rose and Crown would follow in the mid-1860's]. Around the corner in Gungate Street was the Old Star Inn and the Legs of Man, the latter evolved into the Prince of Wales. In Colehill there was the New Inn run by Benjamin Proudman.

Born in Shuttington in 1819, Samuel Smith combined his duties as victualler of the Stone Cross Inn with his business manufacturing horse hair. He kept the pub with his wife Elizabeth who was a Tammy. The couple had two young children, Mary Ann and Henry, and employed Ann Bradley as a servant. By 1860 however, Samuel Smith had moved the family around the corner to Gungate Street where, living with his mother, he concentrated on his manufacturing business.

Samuel Smith had added the 'Old' prefix to the pub name before handing over to James Pemberton. Hailing from Birmingham, he grew up in an asylum for the poor before training as a japanner. He found work in Birmingham's gun quarter and moved into the Golden Cross in Weaman Street, a pub run by the widow Sarah Eabon. His route into the licensed trade came through his marriage to Sarah Hartshorn, daughter of the owners of the Fox and Dogs at Polesworth. The Pemberton's remained at the Old Stone Cross Inn for a couple of years before moving to the Bricklayers' Arms in George Street.

James Tillson was the licensee for a short period before William Mellor Jnr. took over as publican of the Old Stone Cross Inn. He had previously lived just around the corner in Gungate Street where Truckles cheese shop was located in 2006. His father worked as a tape weaver but he had qualified as a cabinet worker. He established his workshops in the back yard of the pub but only remained for a couple of years before taking his woodworking skills on the road as a journeyman. He was almost certainly related to another William Mellor who, with his second wife Fanny, kept the Globe Inn on Gungate Street. The Mellor family originated from the Staffordshire village of Yoxhall.

The erratic come-and-go pattern of changing licensees ceased in the early 1870's when stability was restored to the Old Stone Cross Inn in the shape of Thomas Luby who, with his wife Elizabeth, remained until the end of the 19th century. Thomas Luby was born in Roscommon, Ireland in 1835 but Elizabeth was a born-and-bred Tammy. Thomas was recorded as a publican and shopkeeper. In the adjacent cottage were the tailors Thomas Camp and David Johnson. Next to them lived the Barker family who all worked as miners. Then there was the entry to Mould's Yard [named after the Mould family] where there was a cluster of cottages occupied by a bricklayer, a gardener and the fish dealer Edward Massey. These houses formed part of a close-knit community that survived until the 1960's when so-called progress wreaked havoc in the town centre. Nowadays, there are hardly any people living in Church Street.

In almost thirty years at the Old Stone Cross Inn the Luby family grew - and grew! They had five children by 1881. The couple also employed four servants including relative Mary Luby from Roscommon and  two young women from Kilkenny. The Luby's also took in a fair number of lodgers from Sligo and Roscommon, suggesting that a lot of stout was poured inside the Old Stone Cross Inn where, amid the craic, there was probably a great deal of singing and dancing.

Joseph Guest was the publican at the turn of the 20th century. The Bloxwich-born ex-miner had previously lived at Alvecote and worked in a local colliery. He was a widower by the time he arrived at the Old Stone Cross Inn but was helped by his daughters Sarah Ann and Mary. The mind boggles thinking about where they all slept, but in 1901 Joseph Guest had thirty lodgers living on the premises. Each and every one of them worked as a railway navvy and were labouring on the rail improvements that would see the number of tracks doubled. One thing's for sure - Joseph Guest had a small army of thirsty workers to help boost the profits. It is possible that Tammies gave the Old Stone Cross Inn a wide berth during this period as the bar was probably a rough place to visit with more than two dozen blokes built like brick outhouses who, after slaving all day laying track, drank ale like it had gone out of fashion. You can imagine Joseph Guest sending a message to the brewery: "urgent: send more beer".

Joseph Guest was succeeded by Samuel Skerritt who was a tenant for Brunt, Bucknall & Co.Ltd. whose name can be seen above the pub in the photograph dating from around 1910. Founded in 1832, the company was based at the Hartshorne Brewery in Woodville near Swadlincote though, as it can be seen in the photograph, the pub advertised ales brewed in Burton-on-Trent. This may mean that the image, thought to date from 1910, is a later photograph. The reason is that Brunt, Bucknall & Co.Ltd. and the company's estate of more than 100 pubs were acquired by Thomas Salt & Co.Ltd. in 1919.  Based at 119 High Street, Burton-on-Trent, this company was founded in 1774 by the maltster Thomas Salt. Subsequent members of the family expanded the business with other sites being acquired and utilised. For example, in the early 19th the family business operated maltings at Stapenhill whilst brewing also took place on Bridge Street. Registered in November 1893, the company's tied estate extended over a large geographical area with pubs as far as Norfolk and Gloucester being supplied. The company was acquired by the Bass, Ratcliff & Gretton empire in 1927 and brewing ceased soon after this date. Erected in 1896, the former bottling stores of Brunt, Bucknall & Co.Ltd. can still be found in Woodville's High Street. In recent years it was used as a children's play barn. In November 2005 a new enterprise called the Tollgate Brewery was established on the site of the old brewery.

With the pub's ownership changing several times, the number of different ales being served in the Old Stone Cross Inn varied considerably during the first thirty years of the 20th century. One constant however was the publican - Samuel Skerritt remained at the helm until the Bass era. In the 1990's brewing industry shake-up, ownership of the Old Stone Cross was transferred to Enterprise Inns with the result that Flower's and Theakston's beers were being sold in the new millennium.

The Coleclough family kept the Old Stone Cross Inn during the Second World War. Picadilly miner John Coleclough took over the licence in 1936 and continued to work down the pit in the day and managed the bar in the evening. His wife Gladys looked after the place during the lunchtime session. John Coleclough was not the only publican in the family - his brother kept the Lamb Inn at Kettlebrook. When John died at the early age of 48, Gladys took over and was helped by her daughter Enid. They stayed for a total of 19 years. Enid Brett remembers some of the customers during this period - Robert Wood the fishmonger around the corner, Noel Claridge who worked in the shop next to Wood's, Tom Smith from the Co-op Garage and also Arthur Higginson. They would be entertained by a piano player who would play for beer. Cyril Moore and Jammy Holland were the popular pianists in town and would do the rounds at the weekends. Enid also remembers Mickey Rooney coming into the pub when he was stationed at the nearby barracks.

Legend has it that Mick Jagger was a customer in the Old Stone Cross Inn when the Rolling Stones played at the Assembly Rooms on the night of December 2nd 1963. He was given his 'ticket' by the landlord when the lead singer, apparently afraid to go outside to the toilets, relieved himself in the back room of the pub. Supporting the Rolling Stones that night were a local band called The Three Spirits.

Running the Old Stone Cross Inn during 2006 was Julie Kane and her husband Des. In fact, all three of their children plus their daughter-in-law were working in the pub making it something of a family affair. Julie and Des actually met in a pub. In the mid-1980's they were both working at the Railway Tavern in Nuneaton. They tied the knot in Tamworth and were soon running the Punch and Judy in Lichfield Street. They had a spell managing the Jekyll and Hyde at Burton before leaving the trade. However, some folks are born to run pubs and Sandyback Julie convinced Des that they should step behind the counter again. No sooner had he agreed, they were managing The Leopard in Burton. They took over the Old Stone Cross Inn during 2003 and have since fallen in love with the place.

© Kieron McMahon [Pubs and Breweries of the Midlands: Past and Present]