a pub crawl through Arlesey
part 1
As you walk south along Church Lane towards the church The Railway
Tavern (now 19 Church End) is on your right. Originally two cottages it was
converted in 1860.
• 1876 owned by Edward Fordham
• 1862 to 1877 Robert Johnson was licensee
• 1903 James Hyde was licensee
• 1915 Closed by magistrates – both the owner and licensee compensated
Towards the end of the 1900’s the property had been used a coal merchant’s
depot. It has now returned to its original use as a private house.
Arlesey is reputed to be the longest village in England’ whether or not this is
true a pub crawl taking in each of the 20 public houses that were here would
have been a lengthy walk and if you had a drink in each pub – staggeringly
so. I’d like to take you on an imaginary pub crawl around the original history
of our pubs and off licences. Although there are now only four pubs left (this
is not counting the Social Club or the Football Club) we can still see most of
the sites of the former hostelries. I have left out some more recent details.
Lets start from the railway station and proceed south. Our journey of
about three miles take us along Church Lane, High Street and Hitchin Road
with a detour towards the old brickwork sites.
Opening dates in this article were taken from the licensing return of 1876.
However the White Horse (1805) and Three Tuns (1845) must have traded
earlier as both were mentioned in older records. All the other pubs were
opened between 1840 and 1870. The dates and information here were
taken from an article by Ken Page in the Biggleswade Chronicle from 2001
and I have updated where I can, but any further comments, information or
suggestions would be most welcome.
The Old Oak c1900. The
From here we walk another couple of hundred metres following the road
round by the church, on the left hand side opposite the St Peter’s church is
the Vicar’s Inn (was the Steam Engine). John Steed, a brewer of Baldock, is
thought to have converted the property from a thatched cottage.
• 1860 opened as a Public House
• 1895 bought by Charles Wells
• 1910 a new house built of Arlesey White bricks. George Bland licensee
George Bland’s widow Eliza took over after his death, then son George and
finally Frank Bland the third generation to run the pub until the 1970’s. The
‘Vicar’s Inn’ is a Free House.
John. W. Jowitt.
name above the door is
.
plied by Terry’s the barber
Image sup
The Old Oak public house, opened in 1850 with the coming of the Great
Northern Railway close to the site of the original Arlesey and Henlow station.
It stands next to the old main A507 (Old Oak Close) before the first flyover
was built in 1969 and the road moved.
• 1891 bought by John Holden Brewery of Henlow from owner Emily
Edwards of Arlesey
• 1900 Holden’s bought