Inside Salisbury: Pubs you probably never knew existed

A blast from Salisbury's drinking past

Welcome to another issue of Inside Salisbury.

Today, we are taking a stroll through just some of the city’s earliest drinking establishments. Salisbury has been known for its many pubs across the decades but looking back even further, we can see so many have come and gone over the centuries.

On a personal note, I find it so interesting to consider where these early pubs may have been as our city evolved.

Of course, it is not always easy to find a great deal of information about those early drinking establishments or to confirm exactly where they were located. Some buildings may not even exist now.

In this issue, you will see references to Inns, Alehouses and Taverns. To clarify, Inns were essentially licenced houses authorised to sell beer, wine and spirits. These were at the high-end of drinking establishments.

Bona fide travellers were entitled to have food served to them at any time of the day or night. Inns had rooms for people to stay in overnight and tables for horses along with forage (fodder) for the animals.

Taverns were licenced to sell beer and wine. Generally, they would cater for local people but may have had some rooms available for travellers.

Alehouses (Beerhouses) tended to be smaller. These were often smaller and often, brewed their beer. They were not licenced to sell wine or spirits.

In 1869, the Wine and Beerhouse Act was brought in.

It meant that Beerhouses had to follow the same rules as Inns and Taverns although it was not possible to sell wines or spirits. Many alehouses disappeared following this act.

The Duke of York in York Road was the last remaining Beerhouse in Salisbury but eventually, it obtained a full licence in 1951.

We will soon be delving deep into the histories of some of the drinking establishments that are still around today. Please subscribe to this newsletter so you don’t miss out.

We also have some great interviews coming up.

Annette J Beveridge

https://insidesalisbury.uk

Email: contact@insidesalisbury.uk

The White Swan

The White Swan was once situated on Brown Street. There is some confusion over the date the White Swan was trading, but a licence was issued in 1720.

Some tragedies occurred during the years the pub was in use.

Firstly, Mrs Lake, the landlord’s wife was discovered drowned in a ditch in 1781.

The coroner’s conclusion was ‘lunacy’.

In December 1806, a fire broke out at the back of The White Swan but the fire was fortunately extinguished by the city’s fire engines preventing before it could spread to nearby properties.

From 1825-1827, the pub was often up for sale.

James Hibberd became the landlord in 1826. In 1830, Hibberd was bound over to appear before the Magistrates. This was for keeping a disorderly house so this may be why his licence application was refused in 1829.

In 1834, Mrs Hibberd died. She apparently collapsed while ‘fastening her stays’. The verdict by the Coroner was rather unusual. She ‘died by the Visitation of God’.

Not much else is known about Hibberd or the White Swan.

The Bishop Blaise

The Bishop Blaise pub was located on Milford Street and was licenced in 1786. It is said that the name comes from a martyr, Saint Blaise, who (allegedly) had his flesh torn with iron combs. Blaise became the Patron Saint of Woolcombers and this has a direct correlation with the industry that made Salisbury wealthy.

Thomas Sellwood, the listed landlord in 1793, was bound over to keep the peace towards his wife and others. Within a year, he had died and all the pub’s furnishings were put up for sale.

In 1974, the licence was given to Lawrence Flemington but there was a proviso. The name had to be changed from The Bishop Blaise to the Duke of York. It is not known why.

Read more: Wealth, architecture, Sir Christopher Wren and Nelson

The Blue Post

Not much is known about the Blue Post but it may have been an unlicenced pub in the city before 1775. It was located in Milford Hollow - the track running alongside Godolphin School and it follows the Salisbury-Clarendon Palace route.

The house is now used by the school.

Owned at the time by John Chaunt, the pub was also called Cheesecake House. There are records of a theft when someone stole a bottle of rum, a bottle of brandy and some bread.

We do know the pub was closed by 1856.

The Flower Pots

The Flower Pots drinking establishment was located on Culver Street in the 1700s. Documents found noted that a licence had been granted.

The pub was advertised as available to let in 1755.

In 1760, an item was put up for sale ‘A curious Piece of clockwork machinery, representing a lady, which moves about a large room in a very easy genteel manner’.

The Flower Pots was described as having a large walled garden, a good cellar, and a brewhouse. It was last advertised to let in 1762.

Hatterestaverne

This may be one of the earliest inns in Salisbury.

The Hatterestaverne was located on Mynsterstrete. (Not to be confused with the current Minster Street).

Mynsterstrete was the original name for the High Street and it continued beyond St Thomas’s Church onto Castelstrete (Castle Street).

The exact location of the pub is unknown but it was present in 1396.

The King of Prussia

The King of Prussia was situated on Milford Street. Martha Berry was known to be the landlady in 1813 and although there is little information on the pub, we do know that she was also registered as the landlady of a pub called The Bell in Milford Street in 1822.

The Crown and Guns

There is some confusion about this alehouse.