The Old Inns and Alehouses of Hayfield

A lot of village history can be found intermingling with the names of the local Inns and Hotels, for example:- The “Bull”, “Packhorse”, “George”, and “Royal”, also the “Lamb Inn”, on the outskirts of the village, are places which can tell us quite a lot. They are all either Inns, Hotels, Public Houses or Taverns, and each name is good and appropriate, “Hotel”, “Hostel”, “Hospice”, is derived from the Latin “Hospes” – guest.
Tavern is from the Welsh word “Tafarn”, which is derived from the Latin “Taberna” and gets the name from the Romans, who, as they built the roads, also built inns or as they called them “Tabernae”, at a distance of twenty miles, which was about one days march. The Public House is one in which all men, all the public can meet freely, whilst the Inn is exactly what the name denotes – the inside of a house.

In olden days, the town houses of the nobles were spoken of as “Inns” whilst we still speak of the Law Societies and their buildings as the “Inns of Court”. Many Public Houses of today, owe their origins to the Monasteries, which at one time flourished in this country. These religious houses catered for the traveller, they helped the people in need, but expected the man with money to pay for his shelter and food. The monasteries subsidised houses, which became Inns, and these Inns had chapels of their own, to which the pilgrims to the shrines returned thanks for their safe journey.
Some of these Inns or hospices were called by the name the “Lamb”, or “Lamb and Flag”, from the coat of arms of the semi military orders, and the semi religious military “Knights Templar”, “knights of Jerusalem”, and the “Hospitallers”.

About the late fourteenth century, when towns became larger, another class of Inn was built, licenced and controlled by the Lords of the Manor, these places generally bore on their sign, the arms of the said Lord. One such as this is the well-known “Snake Inn”. This was originally a shooting box for the Duke of Devonshire, and was first called the “Devonshire Arms”, its portal being decorated with the actual crest and motto of the Cavendish family, viz “A Snake Nowed” i.e. a snake in a knot; and this is how the Hotel or Inn got its name. It has of late given its name to the Glossop to Sheffield highway, some people believe that the name of Snake is given to the road owing to the way it winds about, but it is not so.

The Inns were for a long time closely connected with the church and local government – much more than they are today. Certainly a birth fraught with the greatest consequence to the whole of the human race, almost took place in an Inn, for had there been room in that Inn, there, assuredly that birth would have happened there and not in the stable.

Regulations concerning church going affected Ale houses to a marked degree. In the days of the Tudors and the Stuarts, religion was closely connected with the state, so that non-attendance at church became more of a political then religious offence and absence from church meant the affliction of a fine and even imprisonment. It was the central authority in those days, it decided what was good for a man, and regulations were drawn up, for the better observance of the Sabbath in the year 1610, among them were that:-

1. Every Ale-house keeper with his wife and family, had to go to church every Sunday.
2. That no Ale-house keeper after the beginning of the last peal to morning prayer, could offer any person, not being of the household to eat, drink, or remain in their house during the time of divine service, but had to shut the door, so that all persons might go to church.
3. If any persons were found in the Ale-house during the time of divine service, the Ale-house was to be put down, and thenceforth not licenced again.
4. If any Ale-house did not allow the churchwarden to search their house, he was to be discharged from brewing and not licenced again.
5. These regulations had to be read by the minister in church once every quarter of the year.

When Oliver was Lord Protector of the realm, he put down many things and imposed many restrictions.
“ For as such as his Highness the Lord Protector of the Commonwealth, hath taken note of the mischief’s and great disorders that daily happen and are committed in Taverns, Inns and Alehouses, the justices are enjoined to take special care for the effectual suppressing of all such Alehouse keepers, as are convicted of the profanation of the Lords Day, by receiving into their houses any company, or of swearing, drunkenness, suffering tippling, gaming or players at tables, Billiards, Shovel Board, Cards, Dice, Ninepins, Pigeon Holes, Trunks, or of keeping Bowling Alleys or Bowling Greens or any of them, or any other games”.

Each licence holder brewed his own beer, and had to take his malt to be ground at the Corn Mill. The great Brew took place in October and October Ale was always something very special. One wonders if it compared in quality with that ale about which “Old John Nyren” wrote in lyrical ecstasy.
Here is his description of the brew drunk by the far famed cricketers of Hambleton in the 18th century.
“The Ale, too- not the modern horror under the same name, that drives men melancholy mad as the Hypocrites do – not the beastliness of these days, that will make a fellows insides like a shaking bog and as rotten; but barleycorn such as would put the souls of three cuteners into one weaver, ale that would flare like turpentine – genuine Boniface! This immortal viand – for it was more like liquor and was vended at 2d per pint. The immeasurable villany if our vintners would, with their march of intellect – if ever they could get such a brewing – drive a pint of it, out into a gallon. The smell of that all comes upon me as the new “Mayflowers”.
One wishes that John could taste some of our ale today for the pleasure of hearing the things that he would say about it, surely, he would say, that a pint of his glorious nectar had been drawn out into a barrel!

But back with the Hayfield hostelries. In 1577in the reign of Queen Elizabeth the First, the publicans of Hayfield, according to a return by Sir Francis Leeke, Knight Justice of the Peasse and Custorotulorum within the said county of Derby numbered 7, there were seven Alehouses and the keepers were:- Roger Hadfield, William Hadfield, Senior. Ottewell Bowden, Robert Bowden, Peter Buresford, William Hadfield Junior and Thomas Bowden. The annoying thing is that not one of them is mentioned by its name or sign until the latter end of the 17th century, search all the public records and not once before that time will you discover the names of the Inn, only the name of the man who kept it.
These 7 alehouses served the chapelry of Hayfield, which in those days included what is now part of New Mills. It is difficult to locate all the 7 – the Bull and the Pack Horse were two, as they are two of the oldest in the village, which is the oldest I doubt anyone will ever know.
In 1826, in Hayfield alone, there are only four Inns, this is apart from alehouses. They were:-

The Pack Horse kept by John Brocklehurst.
The Bull kept by Jerry Bennett.
The Bridge Inn kept by Martha Turner.
The George Inn kept by Racheal Quarmby.

In the early days (1600’s) as today, keepers of alehouses and tippling houses had to be bound by recognisances, certified at quarter sessions. The houses were closed at 9 p.m. and smoking of tobacco was prohibited, not because of the sin of smoking, but on account of defrauding the revenue by consumption of smuggled tobacco.
In 1844 the number of alehouses in Hayfield had trebled, it had become very easy to get a licence. Mrs. Quarmby was still at the “George” Isaac Rangeley at the “Pack Horse”, James Shaw at the “Bull”, and the “Grouse had been opened at Fishers Bar by Israel Warrington, the New Inn at Little Hayfield by Joseph Bowden, and half a dozen beer houses kept by George Bennett, John Handford, John Hirst, John Stafford, Joseph Turner and Samuel Waterhouse.

The Hotels, Inns and Taverns of 1895.

BIRCH HALL - Birch Vale - Joseph Lawton. Became the Waltzing Weasel in 1964. There is a Birchall on the map of 1640.
BRIDGE INN – The Bridge – Isaak Booth. Built about 1780, closed in 1923, demolished in 1926.
BULLS HEAD – Church Street – William Brittain Brown. Possibly built 1506 though there was a ‘Bull’ before this.
COMMERCIAL HOTEL – Chapel Street – Mrs. Jane Handford. Closed in 1908. Formerly Bowden’s Shop.
GEORGE INN – Church Street – Mrs. Emiline Barber.
GRAPES INN – Little Hayfield - Mr. Edward Joyce. Closed in 1958.
GROUSE HOTEL – Birch Vale – James Clayton.
JUNCTION INN – Church Street – George Harding. Closed in 1935.
NEW INN – Little Hayfield – Isaac Hudson. Now the Lantern Pike.
PACK HORSE – Market Street – James Bevan Fielden.
RAILWAY TAVERN – Church Street – Thomas Goodwin. Closed in 1908.
ROYAL HOTEL – Old Parsonage House – Henry Cottam. Vast building alterations were carried out in 1959.
SPORTSMAN – Kinder – Fred Wild.
TOLL BAR – Toll Bar – Joseph Digby.
WOOD INN – New Mills Road – John Renshaw. Built in 1871, closed in 1958.

The Bulls Head
This public house along with the Pack Horse, is one of the oldest in Hayfield, and it is very singular that quite a number of these Bulls Hotels, Inns ect. are situated adjacent or very near the church, as is the case in Hayfield. It is said that the name of the Hotel – ‘the Bull’, is not the name of the animal at all, but is derived from the word ‘Bulla’ meaning the seal or licence of the Bishop or the Monastry and the Bishop or Abbot of Basingwerk has refreshed himself many times in the ‘Bulla’ during the years up to1537 when the church of Glossop and Hayfield passed out of the ownership of the abbey.
Landlords – 1916 Lorenzo Holland, 1950 Jack Stowe, 1960 Fred Watkin.

Birch Hall
– Name changed to Waltzing Weasel in 1964.
This Inn is situated on the main road between Birch Vale and Hayfield, has been in existence well over 100 years, and took its name from Birch Hall of which this place was a part or stood very near. Across the road is the gable end of another building, which has been cut back and rebuilt to allow the road through. The original Birch Hall was the family seat of the Needhams about whom I hope to add some history soon.
Landlords – 1950 Vince Mortlock, 1960 Ron Chalmers.

The George Hotel
These Hotel’s are named in honour of England’s patron saint and were religious houses in times passed. The ‘George’ in St. Albans in 1440, was not only licensed for the sale of spirits, but the Abbott authorised the celebration of Mass on the premises. The monastic Inn at Alfriston, ‘The Star’ has carved upon its oaken beams, the sacred monogram I.H.S. (A common Christogram based on the first three letters of "Jesus" in Greek). The religious character of these old inns is still shown by their signs. The Cross keys is the symbol of St. Peter, and the religious association of the Crown and Mitre is apparent.
In every vilage says the Rev. F.H. Ditchfield ‘there is an inn, a hostel such as Izaac Walton loved to sketch, an honest alehouse, where we shall find a cleanly room, lavender in the windows and 20 ballards stuck about the wall, whee the linen is white, and a hostess, cleanly, handsome and civil’.
Such was the old George Hotel during the long years that Mrs. Rachael Quarmby was the landlady. The keeping of inns in those days was not a full time job, for besides keeping the ‘George’, Rachael farmed Hazelhurst Farm and she ws also postmistress, but up to 1830, letters were only despatched once a week, on a Saturday morning (by foot post) to Chapel. In 1830, the post began to arrive every evening at 6.30 a.m. the following evening. It was at the ‘George’ that public meetings of the village were held – the Phoside ratepayers met hereto appoint the Surveyors of Highways. An important meeting was held here in 1836. the Commissioners appointed made the act of parliament, for enclosing waste land in Kinder, met here and in the midst of their deliberations, Thomas Waterhouse of Booth Farm rushed into the room, and demanded tht the road from Lower House to Carr Meadow, should be inserted on the map. He had to travel that way with butter and eggs to Glossop, and so the old road was inserted on the map with directions to the land owner to keep the same in repair.

Early in the railway history, it was thought that when the railway came to Hayfield (1868), it would eventually proceed to Edale under Kinder Scout, but this was before Chinley station and Cowburn tunnel were made. With this in view the Railway Company purchased the George Hotel, but unfortunately the Edale from Hayfield did not materialise.
Captain White of Park Hall owned the ‘George’ prior to the Railway Company, and it was he, who was then a staunch Oddfellow, built the large room at the end of the Hotel, as a clubroom for the Oddfellows and it was used by them from 1840 to 1921.
The ‘George’ was also the Coaching House of the village, and the coach ran between Holmfirth and Buxton, picking up at the ‘ George’, this also, was during the period when the Hotel was under the care of Rachael Quarmby. The name of the coach man in those days was Noah Batley. Hayfield in those days had another direct connection with Holmfirth, because it was the custom for the woolen factories in the village, to send packhorses laden with wool, to Holmfirth via Woodhead and Holme Moss, a distance of fifteen miles, in order to have the wool dyed, a process of which Holmfirth had considerable skill.
Like many old Inns and Hotels, the ‘George’ had its ‘Hole in the Wall’, which was a secret and easy means of escape for people who had reason to fear the law or as applied in the good old days, the press gang, the press gang made frequent visits to Hayfield. ‘This particular hole in the wall’ was connected with the building, now demolished, which united the pub with the next door cottage, which is now converted. There was a passage between the inn and the cottage which led to William Howard’s Woollen Mill (known as the Entry Mill, and in this entry or passage there was a concealed door which opened into the building, the building which in later years was in use as a wash house of the Hotel.
About the ‘Hole in the wall’ at the ‘George’, Henry Redfern, a writer of those days, says about a visit of Joseph Gurdy (George Henry Redfern was Joseph Gurdy) to Hayfield :- “I was but 18 when the press gang fetched me, and I shall never forget that day. Bradbury the old devil was marching round the top of the Chuch Steeple, playing his fiddle when they marched me off. I learned afterwards, that it was the old overseer who had sold me for 30 guineas”.
It was also at the ‘George’ that the Hayfield witch, Susannah Huggin was hauled and pelted with all manner of stuff when the Rev. Baddely vicar of Hayfield, tried to break or exorcise the evil spirit in the witch. ( see The Hayfield Witch).
Landlords – 1916 William Lever, 1950 Harry McDougall, 1960 Eric Smith.

The Pack Horse Hotel
This Hotel is one of the oldest in the village, (first mentioned in 1577) is as its name implies , situated on the old packhorse route between Edale and Holmfirth, via the old packhorse bridge - Bowden Bridge. Lines of Pack Horses or ‘Gals’ led by ponies with jingling bells, carried woollen goods and iron ore, back and forth along the route. In the old days horses could be exchanged or hired at this Hotel, and refreshments were supplied to the drivers. (Gals was short for Galloway in Ireland, where the ponies or ‘Gals’ came from). Many alterations have taken place in and around the pub. Two cottages were demolished adjacent to it and many changes have taken place inside chanching it from an ordinary village pub to a very smart hotel.

The first meeting to consider making a new road to Glossop, was held at the Pack Horse on May 7th 1792. this Hotel was always a busy place, especially on the two ‘Fair Days’ – ( ‘Fair’ means a periodical gathering for trade, often with amusements added). The first ‘Fair was on the 12th of May, and at this fair, cattle, horses and pigs were sold, but the second one on October 10th was for sheep only and hundreds were bought and sold. On these days pens were put up all around the Pack Horse, almost right across the road, up the Wainhouses and along Fairy Bank. These were exciting days. The noise of the cows, pigs,horses, sheep, the hub hub and shouting of hundreds of people who came from afar, (for Hayfield fair was well known) and last, but not least by any means, the tramping through the filth and dirt of the place. But amist all this, these fairs were looked forward to as the most outstanding days of the year.
On each of these occassions an amusemt fair was held in the ‘Royal’ yard and one can imagine the hundreds and hundreds of people from far and wide who gathered at the Cattle and Amusement Fair.
There was a Creighton’s Cinematograph show (a travelling cinema with a very large musical organ, which was a highlight in those days). There were also travelling dramatic shows (Edwards and Noakes) blood curdling shows such as Sweeny Todd, Dumb man of Manchester, Maria Martin and so on, these and many others were all performed in the Royal Yard on Fair Days, and other times during the year.
The song ‘Come Lasses and Lads’ or to give it its correct title ‘The Humour of Hayfield Fair’ was as the name implies written about Hayfield Fair. The author arrived in Hayfield and found it was Fair Day, and this had enticed the country lads and lasses, though almost up to the knees in dirt. He found no enjoyment here, but that of taking possession of a corner in a long room in a pub, and whilst having a drink and smoking an observing pipe. In one part of it, there was a country man in a smock frock, attempting to dance to a fiddle accompanying, to the great entertainment of his friends and neighbours around him, another smock coated fellow was amusing his friends by singing comical songs.

The Humours of Hayfield Fair.
Come lasses and lads take leave of your dads and away to the fair lets hie,
For every lad has gotten his lass, and a fiddler standing by,
For Jenny has gotten her Jock, and Nancy has gotten her Joe,
With Dolly and Tommy good luck, how they jig it to and fro.
Ritum raddle-dum, raddle-dum, ritum, raddle-dum-ri,
Ritum raddle-dum, raddle-dum, ritum, raddle-dum-ri. Ect, ECT, for another 6 verses.

Landlords – 1916 John Oulton, 1950 Herbert Woods, 1960 Terrance McGarry.

The Bridge Inn
Built in 1780, the Inn was demolished in 1926. It was situated at the North end of the bridge, below road level, one had to go down some steps to enter. The Inn was closed by compensation in 1923. The District Bank now stands on the site, before this, the bank was in the present Bank House.

The Commercial Inn
Is now a shop at the bottom left hand side of Chapel Street – Corner of New Mills road. The Inn was closed in 1908.

The Grapes Inn
This Inn was situated in Little Hayfield, the first house on the left hand side as you enter the village from Hayfield. The Inn closed in 1959, and is now a dwelling house.
Landlords – 1950 George Riley, 1958 the last landlord was Fred Watkins who left to take over the Bull

The Grouse Hotel
On the main road at Birch Vale, situated at the corner of the old road to Chinley and Chapel.
Landlords – 1950 T. Capey, 1960 Harry Armstrong.

The Junction Inn
Was situated at the corner of New Mills Road & Chapel Road, was demolished by the County Council in 1935. it was built within a small estate called the ‘Thorns’, in its early days it was owned by Edmund Bradbury. This name Thorne was rather common at this period, because people often dwelt in a stockade, surrounded by thorn edges, (the origin of barbed wire), & so places got the name of Thorn. Such as Thornsett, Thornhill, Thornton, Thornycroft. Thornsett would mean the stockade by the Sett; perhaps there was a stockade at the entrance to the village at some time. The first publican at the Junction was a William Shaw who on the death of Rachael Quarmby removed to the George. Thomas Arnfield was the owner of the Thorns and the Junction Inn, he was a member of an old Hayfield family and did much to develop the industrial life of the village, he was also owner of one of the mills in the village (Phoeside).

New Inn
Situated in Little Hayfield, a mile from the village. Changed its name in 1954, now known as the Lantern Pike.
Landlords – 1916 James Hall, 1950 & 1960 Mrs Patterson.

The Railway Hotel
Situated on New Mills Road. Built in 1778, formerly a weavers cottage. The name of this public house was changed to the Kinder Lodge in 1974.
Landlords – 1950 Mrs. Holliday, 1960 Sam Rowbottom (retired 71).

The Railway Tavern
Situated in Church Street, almost opposite the Bull. Closed in 1908, and was later Tom Manifolds barbers shop.

The Royal Hotel
Has a very interesting and unique history and could be described as “Twice a Parsonage and Twice a Pub.”
The Royal Hotel was originally built in 1755 by the parishioners of Hayfield for the then Vicar, the Rev. John Badley, who was a personal friend of John Wesley, and records show that Wesley preached in Hayfield for the vicar many times. He must have stayed in the Royal, when of course it was the Parsonage, (this was before the annex was added) it must have been a lovely place with gardens all around, stretching down to the bank of the river Sett. The Reverend John Badley died in 1764 and his widow on examining the deeds of ‘The Parsonage’ found that they had been conveyed to Mr. Badley in person, so she claimed the building, and sold it shortly afterwards.
The Parsonage was then turned into a Public House, known as the ‘The Shoulder of Mutton’ and the succeeding parson the Reverend George Roe had to have as his vicarage a farmhouse known to Hayfield people as ‘The Old Parsonage’ or Stubbs Farm. But this place is a good hard walk from the village and so did not remain long as the Parsonage, the next Vicarage being the whitewashed house at ‘Smithfold’ on the Chapel road, this being much nearer the church.
The Shoulder of Mutton had by now become the property of the local squire Captain John White of Park Hall and he in his generosity, being quite a pillar of the church, converted the place, once again into a Parsonage and allowed the Vicar of Hayfield, to live there rent free, the living of the parish at that time being £120 per year, a far better living in comparison to what it is now. The Vicar at that time was the Reverend John Crowther who was at Hayfield from 1805 until 1832.
The Reverend John Brock who died in 1863 was the last Vicar to reside in the Old Parsonage at The Royal, and for the vacant Incumbency on his death, there were two applicants a Reverend John Harrison of Sheffield and a Reverend F. A. Rodd of Bolton and the appointment of the Vicar was in the hands of the Freeholders of the village.
Edward Lucas, brother of Charles Lucas one of the proprietors of Wood Print Works. (Messers. Taylor & Lucas owned the printworks) and the man who built Lucas Terrace in Swallow House Lane, was a churchwarden at the time and he favoured the Rev. F. A. Rodd for the appointment, but Captain Jack White, the village squire of Park Hall, owner of the vicarage and a man who managed to over rule opposers most of the time, was in favour of the Rev. John Harrison. It took a brave man to tackle the Captain at anything, for as well as the local squire and a very large landowner; he was also Captain of the Militia, Chief Magistrate, Chairman of the Board of Guardians etc. ect. But when the vote was taken, Mr. Rodd was elected by a very large majority.
But the squire had his revenge, Captain White owned the Parsonage and so incensed was he, with the turn matters had taken, that he refused to allow the new parson to reside there, and in 1865, he turned the parsonage back into a public house, which he named The Royal Hotel.
Edward Lucas was then more or less obliged to find accommodation for the newly appointed Vicar. He made a temporary vicarage out of the two end houses in Lucas Terrace, which he owned. Steps were soon taken to find the Vicar permanent accommodation in a vicarage belonging to the church and Edward Lucas played a big part in the building of this vicarage. In 1879, the present St Mathews Vicarage was built.
Landlords – 1916 Robert Box, 1950 Clem Hatton, 1960 Frank Thomas.

The Sportsmans
The last public house on the road to Kinder Scout or Edale. Was formerly a very ordinary beer house, with lobbied entrance and rooms on either side, but in early 1959 was sold by the brewery to Mr. Des Minikin and transformed by him into a wonderful modern hotel, with cocktail bar and grill room upstairs along with six bedrooms. In 1961, the Sportsmans was sold again to Thwaites Brewery.
Landlords – 1916 Cecil Eckersall, 1950 Joe Bennett, 1960 Desmond Minikin.

Toll Bar
Situated at the junction of Swallow House Lane and Glossop Road. It closed as a public house in August 1958. This is another village Hostel, and in its early days was known as the Stone Bench Tavern, taking its name from the stone benches in front of the Inn.
In those days there was no Toll Bar corner, for the present road had not been made (about 1800). The road at that time was by way of the Sittwell Bank quarries, and came out by the Co-operative shop in Little Hayfield, the Toll Bar House stood on the site, across the road now occupied by the cottage at the Hayfield end of Mount View and from this the pub took its name.
Landlords – 1916 Mrs. Betty Digby, 1950 Mrs J. Farrow last landlady remain until closure in 58.

The Wood Inn
This Inn was situated near to Wood Printworks on the New Mills road it closed in 1958.
Landlords – 1950 E Yates

Beer Retailers in 1916 were:- James Bullock, George Hadfield, Martha Stevenson, Phillip Parker and Thomas B. Barker.

As one will notice a number of the pubs in Hayfield as elsewhere took there name from their situation, or from the people who frequented them. As mentioned earlier in this article, pubs were not mentioned by name until the latter part of the 17th century. So before an official name was given to them, no doubt a local one was attached to them long before, for example:-

Birch Hall – taken no doubt from the hall on this site.
Bridge – situated at one end of the Bridge
Commercial – probably the place where commercials or travellers stayed overnight.
Bull – probably from the seal of the Abbot ‘ The Bulla’
Grouse – where the shoot met with their bags of Grouse after the day’s sport.
Junction – placed at the junction of four roads.
New Inn – a new Inn on the outskirts of the village
Pack Horse – where the Pack Horses were stabled and changed.
Railway & Railway Tavern – Both situated by the railway. Perhaps where the railwaymen had their headquarters
Sportsmans – Set on the edge of the moors and where no doubt many sportsmen met after the shoot. Perhaps called the Sportsman, because the name Grouse was already in use.
Toll Bar – originally the Stone Bench Tavern, but after 1800, its name gradually changed to the Toll Bar as this was directly across the road.
Wood Inn – this name was no doubt linked to that of Wood Printworks and was frequented by Printers and their assistants, for workers at Calico printworks in general have always been a thirsty lot. The name Wood came from the works being set in a wood. There are still plenty of trees around the site and both Wood House and Wood Inn followed the name.

Other possible Public Houses
There are stories of other pubs in the village, but no official records to prove their existence.
The very end house in Valley Road, a double fronted building is supposed to have been a pub. Another double fronted house at the Top of the Town, 5 Church street was also reportedly a public house. Perhaps the best evidence is for the 3 cottages on the valley road. These are said to have had communicating doors behind the front doors and in the yard at the side were horse troughs and rings in the wall to tie up horses, the property opposite was used as a Toll point but was also used by the Inns horses.