I’ve done it before, I’ll do it again. Here I go on another dry pub crawl around the towns of Cheshire , this time in and around the township of Frodsham
…
The
Bear’s Paw, Frodsham
Originally built as a coaching inn in
1632 – the door lintel is inscribed ‘W:L:ANNO:DOMINI:1632’, this red coursed
sandstone building has had a number of different names during its 380-year
lifetime. It was built on land owned by the Savages of Rocksavage, the lords of
the manor of Frodsham in the 1600s, and initially named the ‘Lyon ’s
Paw’, perhaps because their coat of arms includes six lions rampant. The reason
the name changed to the ‘Bear’s Paw’ is disputed – one source I found said that
‘In 1697 Earl Rivers of the Savage family reverted to Roman Catholicism and,
following the outcry that resulted from this, the name was changed to ‘Bear’s
Paw’’ [Arthur R. Smith, ‘The Bears Paw - a brief
history’, Journal
of the Frodsham & District History Society, no.39, 2009, pp.20–22).
Another source noted that the crest of the Savage family is, in fact, a
bear’s paw, so perhaps this accounts for the change of animal in the inn’s
name. To my eye, the erect animal paw depicted at the top of the coat of arms
could easily be interpreted as either a lion’s or a bear’s paw.
In the 18th century the addition of a
post office room led to the name being extended to ‘Bear’s Paw Hotel and
Posting House’. Then, with the coming of the railway in 1850, the pub’s name
changed once more, this time to the ‘Bear’s Paw and Railway Hotel’. Around 1905
the name was shortened to the name it still bears (pun intended!). As you can
see from the two images displayed above, the pub’s sign has changed in recent
months, some time between my visit last summer and my visit in November 2014.
The
Cholmondeley Arms, Frodsham
According to a sign in Frodsham, this
public house was previously owned by the Atlas Brewery and operated as a beer
house called ‘The Albert Inn’. The building isn’t as old as it might seem – the
front gable bears the date 1891 and the external façade has changed little since
the photograph (above right) was taken c.1900. One interesting fact: the pub’s
cellar was apparently used as an air raid shelter in the Second World War.
Lord Cholmondeley (pronounced Chumley),
later the Marquis of Cholmondeley, became Lord of the Manor of Frodsham and
owner of most of the land thereabouts on his marriage to the daughter of the
4th Earl Rivers in the early 1700s – hence the name of the pub.
The
Golden Lion, Frodsham
This inn, formerly a hotel, is built on
an original burgage plot (i.e. the land was owned by the local Lord of the
Manor who received a yearly rent or some form of service for its use) which means
records exist for the site from as early as 1361 when it was granted to Henry
Torfote, an up-and-coming local man at the time. The present building dates
from the early 19th century although the cellars are believed to be much older.
According to the Frodsham Pictures website ‘The Golden Lion’ was known as ‘The White Hart’ from 1822 to 1845, during which
time it was owned by Mather’s Brewery in Penketh. Ownership passed to
Gasgarth’s of Altringham in 1879 and then to Samuel Smith in 1967. Not
surprisingly, it is a grade II listed building.
The
Queens Head, Frodsham
According to their own website, ‘The Queen’s Head’ was:
built in the early 16th
century, this grade two listed pub is the oldest coaching inn in Frodsham,
originally having stabling for 23 horses, of which [some] are still visible
today. Known at the time as The King's Head the name was changed when Queen Victoria came to the
throne in 1837. The pub is part of the Sandstone trail, which is one of the
most popular walks in Cheshire .
The trail runs straight through the property making the Queen’s Head a popular
gathering point for walkers and tourists during the warmer months.
The detail about the Sandstone Trail
running straight through the property appears to be an exaggeration according
to the trail website but you get the general idea that the pub is a good
starting point for the walk. I admit I don’t particularly like the new-fangled
sign (below, left) – I’m sure a portrait of Queen Victoria would look much better.
The
Hanging Gate, Weaverham
What an intriguing name this is! Sadly,
the pub’s website offers no information about the pub’s history or the origin of the name. This
gastro-pub is owned by the New Moon Company which operates 6 similar ‘fine wine
and dining’ establishments in England ’s
North West .
Fortunately, the local historical society
has the story on its website:
An early 18th century
farm pub, originally called Gate Inn (gate meaning highway). It was the last
farm pub in the village. Formerly two small rooms, which became two bars. The
pub was part of the Marbury Estate, which accounts for its other name, The
Barrymore Arms. Indeed, Lord Barrymore's agent used to collect his rents here.
In 1932 it was sold to Greenall Whitley and became the Hanging Gate....
The
Farmers Arms, Kelsall
Once again the pub’s website gives no
clues as to this pub’s history, though some research produced the fact that it
used to be called ‘T’ House at Top’, a reference to its situation at the top of
the hill on the former Kelsall to Winsford Road.
Kelsall is a medium-sized Cheshire town, equidistant between Chester and Northwich, and about 7 miles from
Frodsham. In Victorian times, the town was an agricultural centre with a
population that never topped 700, and presumably included a lot of farmers. I love the rural view on the sign. These days its relative proximity to Chester and Northwich
means it’s also a commuter town and its population has risen to around 2500.
The
Boot Inn, Willington
‘The Boot Inn’ is made up of a
picturesque row of sandstone and red brick cottages that were built in 1815 and
is tucked away up a country lane, hugging the side of a hill, in an area known
locally as ‘Little Switzerland’. The setting is quite charming, with orchards
of fruit trees and single large oaks dotting the landscape.
‘The Boot’ was originally called ‘The
Cat’ and I found a charming story about how it got that previous name.
According to Thecatwillington’s one and only blog post, ‘From around 1912 for about 20 years this tiny tap house (part of a row of 3
houses), was owned by an old widow who had a large cat that used to lie on the
bar. The local men would say to their wives, "I’m just going up to see the cat,
love." According to Old Harry who was 86 and still drinking there in 1980 he said they would inevitably return home pissed.'
The Boot Inn’s current name may well be a
derivation of Boothdale, the name of the nearby steep-sided valley. It seems
the three cottages were knocked together in the mid 1850s and, though I haven’t
sampled any of the local ales, I have it on good authority that the Weetwood ales – Cheshire Cat,
Eastgate and the Weetwood Best bitter – are particularly good local
specialities.
The
Horseshoe Inn, Kingsley
The little village of Kingsley
is about 3 miles from Frodsham – its name comes from the phrase ‘meadow of the
king’, hence ‘king’s lea’, hence Kingsley.
The Horseshoe Inn used to be the
Horseshoe Hotel and, according to its website, it was owned by the Smith-Barrys until 1872 when it became a Greenall’s house.
The website also includes a list of the licensees going back as far as 1797 and
a photo from 1921, showing a horse-drawn landau outside the hotel. Judging by the sign, I’m guessing there used to be a smithy on this site.
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