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A chronicle of the history of the City of Worcester and the County of Worcestershire

History of Worcester & Worcestershire

Inns Articles

The Britannia Brewery

The Britannia Brewery

The Britannia Brewery stood almost opposite Paradise Row. It later became Spreckley's Brewery. It was started by a Mr. Joseph in early Victorian times, but at first, Worcester did not take to large scale brewing, being content with home-brewed ale.But times were changing . Breweries began buying up public houses, which became.....


The Pack Horse, St. Nicholas Street.

The Pack Horse, St. Nicholas Street.

The Pack Horse was one of the staging houses on the Shrewsbury to London run, but dates earlier than the coaching ere, for it is said to have held a license since 1485. It had great accommodation, and on one September Hop Fair, the landlord..


The old Talbot

The old Talbot

Before 1835 the parish of St.Michael's was out of the city boundaries and jurisdiction. Both the Talbot and the Hare and Hounds in College Street were widely used for country business, all the amenities of the town but officially beyond its limits.....


The Shades Inn, Mealcheapen Street, Worcester

The Shades Inn, Mealcheapen Street, Worcester

This imposing house, almost opposite the Reindeer Inn, was the Shades Inn, but originally, it was the home of the Russell family, one of the principal families of the City. 


Fight to Save the Golden Lion  Finds 400 year Inventory Berrows 12.2.1984

Fight to Save the Golden Lion Finds 400 year Inventory Berrows 12.2.1984

Those battling to save Worcester's Golden Lion as a pub have made a remarkable discovery which adds weight to their campaign.

Article credits; Pam Hinks would like to thank Worcester News, formely Berrow's, for permission to reproduce copyright material  


The Plough Inn, Silver Street, Worcester

The Plough Inn, Silver Street, Worcester

The Plough Inn, off Cornmarket, which was demolished to make way for the new Walls Road in c1970, was well over 600 years old. It was originally a religious inn called the Archangel, and stood just outside St Martin's Gate, to accommodate traveler's that arrived too late to enter the City. 


Servant's Mop at Hadley Bowling Green

Servant's Mop at Hadley Bowling Green

A leaflet found in a chimney stack at Ombersley shows that the inn at Hadley was used for other than bowling, and that in the 18th century a 'Mop' was held there. The leaflet reads as follows:

 


At the Sign of the Dog, Sidbury, Worcester 1754

At the Sign of the Dog, Sidbury, Worcester 1754

In Berrow's Worcester Journal of May 1754, there was an appeal for a lost person, which mentions a tavern under the 'Sign of the Dog' outside the Turnpike gates, which then stood at the bottom of Wheatsheaf Hill, at the junction of the London and Tewkesbury roads. It reads:

 


Riot at the Crown Inn, Worcester

Riot at the Crown Inn, Worcester

The Crown Inn, Broad Street, Worcester, is a fine example of an old coaching inn of the 18th century, but in fact it is much older than that. There are references to the Crown in the City Chamberlains Account's of 1566, and again of 1578, under the heading 'Rentall of the Cities landes in St Nicholas parish' - 


Charles I and Cromwell at the Lygon Arms

Charles I and Cromwell at the Lygon Arms

This inn was originally the White Hart, and the first reference to this inn, now renowned throughout the country and to tourists abroad, is in 1532


The Crown and Sandy's Ombersley

The Crown and Sandy's Ombersley

Almost next door to the King's Arms is the Crown and Sandy's. This fine inn mentioned in the parish register in 1740, has a late Georgian front, but parts are older, and it was said previously to have been thatched. 


Charles II and the King's Arm's Ombersley

Charles II and the King's Arm's Ombersley

The Kings Arms is a very old, half-timbered inn, dating from the early 17th century, with parts going further back to the 15th.  


The Cross Keys Inn, Friar Street, Worcester

The Cross Keys Inn, Friar Street, Worcester

The Cross Key's Inn was one of a group of ecclesiastical inns near the Cathedral; the other being the Cardinal's Hat (almost opposite), the Angel de la Trompe, The Mitre and the Seven Stars, all of which have now gone . The Cross Keys did a large trade on market days till the end of the 19th century, but there were 30 licensed houses close around, and the Cross Keys, having had four tenants in 40 years, was the worst of the lot, and was closed about 1905.