A Virtual Stroll Around the Walls of Chester

The Vanished Pubs of Chester Part 3- back to parts 1 and 2 On to part 4

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We request your assistance in compiling a long-overdue list of the lost pubs of Saltney for inclusion here.

Northgate Street: The Three Crowns Inn formerly stood where Thomas Harrison's City Club or Commercial News Rooms stands today. An inn had existed here as far back as 1272 when Richard de Knaresburgh left his daughter a shop "near the inn which was Hugh Selimon's towards the church of St. Peter's". Nothing more is heard of it for 500 years until, in 1782, The Three Crowns' landlord was Thomas Lewis. In 1855, author and guide Thomas Hughes described the inn as having an old and picturesque gable front and that its chief entrance was from Shoemaker's Row. He also remarked that it had enjoyed its finest days long before it was eventually demolished, when its sign and licence were transferred to new premises in Pepper Alley- whose name was changed to the Bridgewater Tavern in 1831.
The Northgate Tavern (no. 77, corner of George Street. For long after a furniture shop, now an employment agency) Landlady in 1898: Mrs Ellen Briggs.
The Hope & Anchor: "the fourth house south of King Street". Although a house on this site is mentioned in 1385 when it was owned by Henry de Burcheles, it is first recorded as an inn in 1648 when John Anderson was the licencee. The Hearth Tax returns for 1664 show that the inn had "33 hearths"- more than double that of any other in the city so it must have been an establishment of considerable size and importance. By 1737, when it was last mentioned, its name had changed to The Golden Talbot and the landlady was Elizabeth Brereton. Its popularity seems to have declined rapidly after this date and no trace of it can be found in the 1782 directory. A large private house arose on the site which became the Judges' Lodgings before being occupied by a firm of solicitors. It was demolished to make way for the Odeon Cinema which opened in 1936- and, disgracefully, closed in 2007.
The Sun Vaults (no 9) Landlord in 1898: William Rowlands. Closed in 1900. It was recrded as The Sun Tavern in 1675 but its name was changed by 1873.
The Duke of Ormond's Head- mentioned in a 1749 edition of the Chester Courant.
The Cross Keys Tavern (mentioned in the Cheshire Sheaf as existing in 1649, as being old even then and facing west onto Northgate Street and near to Leen Lane and St. Nicolas' Chapel.
The Wolf's Head.
The Hart - recorded as being used as a polling station in 1809
The Stag's Head - also appeared in the 1809 polling station list.
The Black Lion- also in the above list.
The Vaults.
The Shakespeare Tavern- recorded as being used as a polling station in 1809
The Elephant & Castle: Licencee 1782 George Johnson, 1846-50 Thomas Reeves, 1860 Thomas J Richards, 1873 Peter Dale, 1898 Mrs Mary Anne Evans, 1902-11 Thomas Hulse. Around 1925 the licence was withdrawn it became The Town Hall Cafe and remained so in 1945. The site is now occupied by a bland red brick structure that forms the left-hand side of Chester Library. It was first mentioned in 1533 and for long bore the name of The Chequers. The name had changed to The Elephant & Castle by 1789.
The Grosvenor Arms- no 132, east side, next to the Northgate, now Sayer's the Bakers. An earlier, timber-built tavern stood on this spot in the 18th century known as The Hen & Chickens which was said to "have reaped golden harvests when, in the days of the old Northgate Prison, unfortunate malefactors suffered, close to this spot, the last penalty of the law at the hands of the public hangman". The old inn was entirely rebuilt in the early 19th century and in 1809 was called The Wheatsheaf (it appears as this in a list of polling stations in that year), soon after becoming The Grosvenor Arms. The 'hen & chickens' is a Christian emblem of Divine Providence and the name may have been chosen by the ecclesiastical authorities at the Abbey- today's Cathedral- upon whose land it stood. It seems somewhat irreverent to have bestowed the name on an ordinary inn so it is possible the premises once served as accomodation for pilgrims who sought the hospitality of the Abbey. Licencees: 1706 Ellenor Kaye, 1782 James Clingin and John Davis, 1840 Maria Harper, 1846 Thomas Jones, 1860 Charles Whitlow, 1874 Kate Bradshaw, 1898 Absalom Hayes (see reader Jacqueline Naylor's interesting letter about him under City Road on the previous page). He was still there in 1904. The licence was withdrawn in 1912.
The Crown & Mitre- in existence in 1744 (Cheshire Sheaf). Situated on the east side of Northgate Street, midway between the two abbey gateways, a pub was recorded as existing between 1751 and 1758 under the name of The White Hart Tavern. It was recorded as being used as a polling station in 1809. By 1873, its name had changed to The Stag Inn.
An inn on the site of the still-thriving Shropshire Arms was at various times called The Crown (1741), The Crown & Mitre (1744-98), The Mitre Tavern (1817, illustrated left in this view by Batenham. The sign above the door reads "Hall, Mitre Tavern, Ale & Porter") - and The Liverpool & Shropshire House (1820). The object of this last change was to attract custom from the Shropshire Union Canal, then conveying passengers to and from Liverpool etc. Landlord in 1817 Thomas Hall, verger at the Cathedral, in 1846 Ann Lowe. In 1850, the name changed to The Shropshire Arms when the licencee was Jonathan Jones. Henry Jackson took over in 1860 and was still there in 1873. The old inn was rebuilt soon after and in 1902 was being run by Thomas Hall.
The Canal Packet - recorded as being used as a polling station in 1809.
The Brown Cow was situated on the north side of Canal Street (then called Dee Lane) and opposite the still-thriving Bull and Stirrup until that road was widened in the 1870s. Its cellars doubtlessly still exist beneath the roadway.
Huxlie's.
The Fleece Inn- recorded as being used as a polling station in 1809. It was one of a number of properties in Chester to be subject to the Execution Rent. Execution Rent Tenants were bound to keep watch for the city on three nights in the year, namely on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and St. Stephen's Day (26th December) and they were bound to mount guard over and conduct felons and robbers as far as the gallows. For their services these tenants were "exempt from attendance on all inquisitions, juries and assizes, except when held before the Lord, the Prince and the Earl of Chester".
The Masonic (no. 28) Landlord in 1898: Joseph Carsley.
The Woolpack Inn (Northgate Row) later Sidoli's Restaurant, now Weinholt's Bakery.
The Dublin Castle (35 Upper Northgate St).
The Ship & Turtle: near The Cross. Later part of Quaintways nightclub. The attractive (and very vunerable) stained glass windows of the old Ship & Turtle are now part of Rosie's nightclub. The Muggeries was a previous ale house on this site.
The Eagle and Child (recorded as existing in 1721).
The Bull's Head (no 58A) Landlord in 1898: William King.
The White Lion Hotel, which stood for centuries on the west side of the Market Square, where the unsightly entrance to the Forum shopping precinct is now, was Chester's foremost and, by the standards of the day, most luxurious, coaching inn. Stages departed from its door to London, Ireland and all parts of the kingdom. Its landlord had been William Higginson, whose will in 1726 left it to his wife Elizabeth. The Higginsons of Chester were connected with the brewing and retailing of beer within the city for more than a century. The landlady in 1817 was Mercy Tomlinson. The coming of the railway brought about the decine of the old coaching inns and, in 1856, Chester author and guide Thomas Hughes, who remembered the place in its heyday, recalled that it had been, "always full of the right sort of visitors, and seldom was a stall vacant in the immense stabling at the rear... Times are changed now; every dog has his day and doubtless every Lion too: at all events, our White Lion is neither so brisk nor so vigorous as he was of yore. The present worthy landlord is himself a retired whip, and as he rambles up and down through those noble rooms, once swarming with company, must often, we fear, look back gloomily upon the past".
Next door to the White Lion was The Boot Inn, which demolished in 1784. (Another Boot Inn, established just after the Civil War in the late 1660s, is alive and well in Eastgate Row).
Adjoining these was The Saracen's Head, landlady in 1817, Mrs Leet. Her son, who was a chemist by profession and served as a Sheriff of Chester, was among those responsible for first introducing gas street lighting into the city. It was recorded as being used as a polling station in 1809.
Also once standing where the Market Hall would rise was an inn known in the 18th century as The Golden Hart. In 1815, its name was changed to The Lord Hill and in 1858, changed again to The Great Britain. It would seem that the practise of changing pub names is by no means a modern one!
Further along the street, the Red Lion (no. 59), established since at least 1600, was a few years ago renamed Scruffy Murphy's, an 'Irish theme bar', but lost its shamrocks and reverted back to its ancient name in 2001. The former landlady of the old Lion assured us that the cellar of the pub is definitely haunted!
Located in the last remaining part of the vanished 12th century Lorimer's Row (a lorimer was a maker of spurs)- and dispenser of refreshment to the traveller since at least 1494, when the first licence to serve ale was granted, is The Blue Bell Inn (Illustrated above). This is the oldest 'domestic' structure in Chester, and the only surviving example of a real medieval inn. The braced king-post roof points to a construction date for the present building of between 1250 and 1400, though parts of the building may date back to the 11th century. The Bell may refer to the house's proximity to the Benedictine Abbey of St. Werburgh and the curfew bell in the bell-yard, rung every evening to warn 'strangers' to leave the city before the gates were closed at 8pm. The Abbey's brewhouse, close to the still-surviving 'Little Gateway' just across the street, may also have supplied the inn's beer.
During the Civil War, the underground cellars of the Bell were put to good use as storage for grain and other provisions, safe from the bombardment of the besieger's guns.
A tragic story of those unsettled times gave rise to the legend of the 'Blue Bell ghost': During the conflict, the Bell provided lodgings for many a Loyalist soldier and his family. On the day of the Battle of Rowton Moor (24th September 1645) a Cavalier was staying at The Bell with his lover. He bade her farewell, saying he hoped to return by 10 o'clock that evening and she went to the upstairs window to see her man going off to battle. The news from Rowton Moor was not good and the Royalists were soundly beaten. Full of trepidation, the lady awaited his return, but alas it was not to be, her lover had been killed. Stricken with grief she staggered down into the cellar and committed suicide. Her name was Henrietta, and it is said that to this day, her ghost climbs the cellar steps and walks through the upstairs restaurant to the very window where she waited for her lover to return, all those years ago...
The unique 'cabin' extension at the front was erected "without consent" in 1684 by Elizabeth Halliwell for use as a barber's shop, which it remained until the 1920s. During the 18th century, this extension also served as a stage coach ticket office.
By 1700, the ancient inn had become a house and shop, but reopened in 1807 as The Blue Bell in order to distinguish it from several other inns in the vicinity with 'bell' as part of their name. It was recorded as being used as a polling station in 1809.
For nearly one hundred years, from 1826, the Blue Bell was run by the Hodgson family. The last licensee was the wonderfully-named Thomas Pogmore Tushingham, from 1924-30 (in which year the fine picture of it above was painted by Alfred Bennet Bamford) after which the building was bought for £1000 by the city council, who planned to demolish it for road widening. Local people, thankfully, would have none of it, and after a six-year fight, the Blue Bell was reprieved, only to be threatened again in 1960. Around this time there was even a proposal to ship the entire building to the USA! But once again, thanks to objections, it miraculously survived and for the next 22 years was the home of Snow White's clothes shop. In 1984 it reverted to its original name and became a traditional English restaurant.
Most recently, in early 2006, the ancient Blue Bell was transformed into East Glory, yet another oriental restaurant. Excellent though it is that eating and drinking continue here after all these centuries, it is quite unforgivable that the new occupants have seen fit to obliterate all trace of its ancient name. We can only sincerely hope that the Blue Bell's ghost is equally unimpressed.
The Pied Bull had originally been built around 1473 as a private house called Bull Mansion and was the home of the Recorder of Chester in 1533. It has also gone under the names of The Bull Inn and The Delta Hotel.
Today's Liverpool Arms (the 'LA') was at various times known by a bewildering variety of names: The Dog & Partridge (it was called this in 1809 when it was used aa a polling station) The Bull & Dog and, in 1789, The Loggerheads Tavern. (The sign at this time depicted two stupid-looking clowns, with underneath the motto "We Three Loggerheads Be"- the spectator, of course, counting as one of the three! Interestingly, a pub of the same name- and bearing a similar sign- exists today on the A494 between the ancient Welsh market towns of Mold and Ruthin and seems to have given its name to the entire neighbourhood. Can anyone tell us how it came to be so named and if there is a connection?)

Nicolas Street: The Castle Inn (no. 42, next door to the modern Conservative Club). This, along with an adjoining row of cottages (nos. 30-40 Nicolas Street) was demolished in 1974 as part of the construction of the Inner Ring Road.

Overleigh Road: Pubs here are listed under Handbridge

Pepper Street: The Red Lion (corner of Bridge Street, across the road from St. Michael's Church. Since the coming of the Inner Ring Road, this prominent site has been occupied by the large and ugly office block / hairdressers premises, Windsor House. Denny Colley wrote to us in August 2002 asking if we had any photographs of the old Lion as she was born there in 1944. "My aunt was the licensee but in partnership with my father. It's a shame that they pulled it down, it still had the stables at the back where the coach horses where housed". If anyone can help, contact her direct: dennycolley@onetel.net.uk. You can see a nice old colour picture of this corner as part of our Bridge Street entry...
The Mitre Inn stood "at the south west corner of Pepper Street" and it appears in the will of Joseph Basnett in 1694. John Barker was licencee in 1782. Its sale was recorded in 1811 when the landlord was William Lloyd. William Hughes was in charge in 1840. The Mitre seems to have ceased trading soon after 1846. It was recorded as being used as a polling station in 1809.

Pepper Alley: The sign and licence of the ancient Three Crowns Inn in Northgate Street- first recorded in 1272- was transferred here when the old inn was demolished to make way for Thomas Harrison's Commercial News Rooms in 1808. Around 1831 its name was changed to The Bridgewater Tavern.