The Village Inns

The Earliest Inns / Alehouses

We have our first tantalising glimpse of evidence for an inn in Hebden as early as 1745, when Thomas Rathmell is referred to as "Inkeeper of Hebden Green" in the baptism records for Linton Parish. A few years later, William Ridley is referred to as "of Hebden, innholder" in the transcript of a deed dated 1761 held in Wakefield (ref. AU-201-276). William Ridley also appears in the burial records. In the following year, 1762, another deed held in Wakefield (ref. AX-264-2321) refers to a certain John Graham as being "of Hebden, Innholder"

We get more solid evidence from the West Yorkshire Alehouse Licences register. An Act of 1551 required alehouse-keepers to be licensed annually by two justices and to enter into recognisances 'against the using of unlawful games, as also for the using and maintenance of good order and rule'. By an Act of 1753, the clerk of the peace was to keep a register of these recognisances, and some of which have survived for the Staincliffe wapentake. In 1771, 1773, and 1778 these indicate that two licences were awarded in Hebden - one to Ralph Robinson and one to John Peacock.

Finally, in 1786 Thomas Craven is referred to as "innkeeper Hebden" in the baptism records.

New Inn / Odd Fellows / Clarendon

It is suspected, however, that none of the references above apply to what we now know as 'The Clarendon', and was originally known as the 'New Inn'. Evidence, mainly from the Land Tax records, indicates that this was built about 1795.

The Land Tax records list land holdings, their nominal rental values, their owners, and their tenant for every year (although there are gaps in the records). Because the nominal values do not change from year to year, it is sometimes possible to identify a property by correlating an owner-tenancy pair in the land tax records with an entry in the 1846 Tithe Map register.

The 1846 Tithe Map indicates that the New Inn was owned by Thomas Wall, and that the tenant was Leonard Lister. The 1849 Land Tax records show that Thomas Wall and Leonard Lister were associated with a 'house' (as opposed to land), that uniquely had a nominal rental value of 1s 6d. Having identified the property in the Land Tax records, it can be then traced back through time.

The first appearance of this property in the Land Tax records was in 1795, when unusually, it was referred to by name: "Lee Toft Gate". It was owned by William Minikin, and rented by William Thompson. The following year, again unusually as no other properties had any description at all, it was described as 'house and premises', and was owned by John Birch. The existence of the description implies that it was a new build. A manorial document of 1796 refers to "J Birch, Innkeeper".

Birch was a common family name in the area at the time, but there are sufficient clues to identify the builder with a fair degree of certainty. The first clue is that the ownership was transferred to Joseph Birch in about 1813, which implies that John Birch had died. A John Birch, then farmer of Skyrethornes, was buried in 1812. The other is that a second John Birch was owner at the time of the 1841 census, aged 45, so born about 1796. In December 1795 a John Birch, son of John Birch, was baptised in Burnsall. His father was a miner at Greenhow. This was in the days of small-scale entrepreneurial mining, and it is quite possible that he become wealthier enough to purchase some land and build an inn.

John Birch senior appears to have run the establishment until 1802, when he leased it to George Whitaker. This is confirmed by George Whitaker appearing in the 1803 West Yorkshire Alehouse register. In 1813 ownership was transferred to Joseph Birch, presumably following the death of John. Joseph was an elder son of John, having been baptised in Burnsall in 1783. He owned the establishment until his death in 1825, when his younger brother, John, took possession. Recognisances were registered for 1822 and 1826. John Birch junior owned the property until between 1841 and 1845. He was actually the landlord at the time of the 1841 census, living there with his family.

The first known reference to the name "The New Inn" is found in Edward Baines's Directory and Gazetteer of 1822, and in a recognisance registered in the same year. Its name was changed to "The Oddfellows Inn" soon after Hebden's "Star of Hope Lodge" of the Manchester Unity of Oddfellows was established in 1851, and made the New Inn the centre of its activities. It is marked as such on the 1853 6" survey.

"The Oddfellows" was renamed "The Clarendon" in about 1888, and The Star of Hope Lodge dissolved in 1893.

The facade of the existing building is obviously of Victorian build, and so must have replaced John Birch's original. It is not known whether a total rebuild was involved, or just alterations, or when it took place. However, the footprint of the building is significantly different between its representations on the 1853 and the 1894 editions of 6" Ordnance Survey, and it is reasonable to conclude that a total rebuild took place between those dates.

According to B. J. Harker in his guide book "The Buxton of the Yorkshire", the Oddfellows: "however, has been pulled down, and a much larger and more respectable-looking house built in its place; and the latter, from which the name has been transferred to the new premises, has for the present been closed by the owner of both - Mr. Ralph Bowden."

It is likely that the rebuild took place in 1888. John Longthorne was the innkeeper during the transition period.

The following is an incomplete list of the licensees and owners of the New Inn / Odd Fellows / Clarendon over the past 225 years. It also lists some of the significant events associated with it, and the sources of the information.

Key:

• 1950:  A date by itself indicates that this is the only date we know for that licensee, although he may have held the licence both before that date, and after.
• ?1950:  A date with a preceding or proceeding question mark indicates that it is part of a range, and it is the earliest / latest date found for that licensee.
• c.1950:  The 'c' indicates that the date is correct to within a year. These dates are usually derived from the electoral registers or a commercial almanac, where there is a time lapse between registration and publication. It can be used in conjunction with '?' above, as "c.?1950".

The Clarendon / Jolly Miners

Some time between 1832 and 1841, a rival to the New Inn was established - the Clarendon. The first hint we have of it is in the 1841 census, when one Thomas Joy lists his profession as a "retailer of beer". The 1849 Land Tax records John Bentley as the owner, and Thomas Joy the tenant of a property which can, with a high degree of probability, be identified as the building adjoining Bridge House, which we know from later evidence was the location of the Clarendon.

It is known that Thomas Joy was the tenant of the New Inn in the very early 1830s, but some time before 1841, the owner, John Birch, took over the licence and moved in with his family. It is possible that Thomas Joy established the Clarendon when he left the New Inn. Thomas Joy was born in 1797, son of Anthony Joy of Rams Close. He married a young Elizabeth Bowden, from Holebottom, in 1820, and worked as a labourer and farmer before taking on the licence at the New Inn. In 1851, he was farming 17 acres in addition to running the Clarendon with the help of his wife and two of their children. Elizabeth died in 1852.

The first time we see the name "Clarendon" in print is in a newspaper advertisement in 1846, which declares that a copy of the document detailing the rent-charges to be paid in lieu of tithes was available for inspection at the "house of Thomas Joy, the Clarendon Inn, in Hebden". The meetings associated with the Enclosures held between 1848 and 1853 were also held in the Clarendon.

Thomas Joy was still the licensee in 1857, but by 1861, he had retired, and the tenant was Richard Hawley. Richard was born in Appletreewick, and was a widower. According to the 1861 census, he was also farming seventeen acres in addition to fulfilling his duties as a publican,so he presumably took over Thomas Joy's farming business, as well as the Clarendon. He died in 1867, just 39 years old. About the same time that Richard Hawley took over the lease, Thomas Hurtley, a master butcher in Leeds, acquired the freehold from John Bentley, which he retained until the inn finally closed.

John Daykin probably took over the lease from Richard Hawley - he was certainly there four years later in 1871. For him, it seems to have been a full-time job.

He was succeeded in about 1879 by John William and Elizabeth Rogers, a young couple from Grassington, who renamed it "The Jolly Miners". They probably had high hopes, but it didn't go well. One traveller described their experiences at the establishment thus:

"the lugubrious girl who waited upon us evidently had a keen eye for business, for she charged us sixteen pence for two bottles of ginger ale and a very small loaf of bread with an infinitesimal piece of butter. She must have had a shrewd notion that they wouldn't lose much when they lost our custom and consequently determined to take as much out of us as possible."

The "lugrubious girl" was probably Elizabeth, then aged about 23. This family business didn't last - it closed down in 1881, and Ralph Bowdin bought the freehold of the premises from Hurtley, and converted it into a warehouse for his thriving general stores business. John Rogers died in Grassington in 1940 at the ripe age of 89.

The following is a list of the licensees and owners of the Clarendon / Jolly Miners during its 40 years or so of existence. It also lists some of the significant events associated with it, and the sources of the information.

Key:

• 1950:  A date by itself indicates that this is the only date we know for that licensee, although he may have held the licence both before that date, and after.
• ?1950:  A date with a preceding or proceeding question mark indicates that it is pasrt of a range, and it is the earliest / latest date found for that licensee.
• c.1950:  The 'c' indicates that the date is correct to within a year. These dates are usually derived from the electoral registers or a commercial almanac, where there is a time lapse between registration and publication. It can be used in conjunction with '?' above, as "c.?1950".