History of Warwick Pubs

NAGS HEAD (1) There are two references to pubs of this name. The first was for an establishment on 
Cotton End of which there seems to be a single mention dating from 1806. It stood on the North side 
of the street at the East end and the owner/landlord was William Dyke. 

NAGS HEAD (2). The second pub of this name is much better documented. This one stood at 19 Hampton Street 
and existed from at least 1849 through to the Second World War. The licensees were: 
1849 Daniel Woodward 					1862 Hannah Mottram 
1880-1881 John Casey 					1882-1902 H Symes 
1903-1906 Mrs H Symes 					1907 F J Coulson 
1908-1909 William Alfred Smith 				1910-1915 J A Bird 
1917-1944 Mrs F A Ravenhall 
Kelly's directories for 1927 and 1928 gave Mrs Ravenhall's first name as Florence. The pub was no longer 
listed in 1945. Carriers regularly departed from this hostelry between 1887 and 1917. Originally they ran 
to Langley, Norton Lindsey and Wolverhampton on Saturdays but from 1888 to 1890 they also ran the same 
route on Wednesdays. From 1898 till 1901 and then again in 1903 they ran twice a week but both times on 
Saturdays. From 1907 the Directories no longer list destinations but the carriers continued to run until 
1917 departing on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.  Today the building is a private house, but faded 
lettering for Flowers Ales is just discernible on the Stand Street frontage. 

NAVIGATION. This pub is situated at 93 Saltisford. It was probably built at the same time as the Warwick 
& Birmingham canal, which opened in 1799. The Warwick town wharves reached almost to the pub's back yard. 
In 1828/29 it was listed as run by Thomas Battin. Run by George Mander in the 1833 Election Committee report.  
The pub is also listed in 1862 when the licensee was Henry Shelswell and again in 1880 when the landlord 
was now Benjamin Goodman Green. In 1881 the pub was renamed The Antelope which still exists today under 
that name and has featured in the section on 'A'

NELSON INN. This pub must not be confused with the Lord Nelson, which is situated on the Emscote Road. 
The Nelson stood at 42 West Street at the opposite end of town, on the north side of the road and was 
first listed in 1806 when the map of the town showed the pub being owned and run by George Witherington. 
The licensees were: 
1828/29 William Humphriss 				1849 Ann Davis 
1862 Alfred Bickley 					1880 John Taylor 
1881 Mrs Taylor 						1882-1889 John Casey 
1890 John Monaghan 					1891 James Prentice 
1892-1895 Henry Bastock 					1896-1905 Thomas Davis Cook 
1906-1916 Frederick Dickens 				1917-1931 Ernest Frank Robbins 
1932-1940 Mrs Keziah Robbins 				1941-1950 William Norbury 
The pub was no longer featured in the next available Directory in 1953. It is interesting to note that 
John Casey had been running the Nag's Head the previous year, which goes to show that landlords moving 
around are not a modern phenomenon. Earlier it is likely that John Taylor died in 1880, which would 
explain why his wife took it over for a short period. In 1932 it is nice to see a pub continuing to 
run continuously in one family with Mrs Robbins taking over from her husband and running it for another 
8 years.  Once again carriers used this pub first in 1850 when there was a daily service to Stratford. 
By 1899 when the next reference to carriers is found the destination is no longer given but the service 
is still daily. A second route running on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, joins the daily service the 
following year. In 1901 an additional Saturday service is introduced and this situation continues for 1902. 
From 1904 until 1906 the three existing routes are joined by a fourth running on Tuesdays and Saturdays. 
In 1907 the routes change to one on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays; another Daily and two more on 
Saturdays. In 1908 they dropped down to just the Daily route and the one on Saturdays but in 1909 the 
Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday service returned for a year with 1910 and 1911 being the same as 1908. 
Then from 1912 until 1916 the two existing routes were joined by a Monday and Friday service. Finally 
for the final three years between 1917 and 1919 only the daily service remained. 

NEW BOWLING GREEN. This historic pub that dates back to the 15th Century was originally called the 
Game of Bowls and the early history of the building was discussed in detail earlier in the series. 
The first mention of the current name has been found on the 1806 map of the town when William Purden ran it. 
The other licensees were: 
1828/1829 Harriet Hooper 				1849 Joseph Mottram 
1880-1885 William Butler 				1886-1900 Mrs Harriet Rose 
1901-1905 Frederick Dickins 				1906-1908 Walter Wallsgrove 
1909-1912 A Stone 					1913-1914 E W Ewans 
1915-1920 E W Evans 					1921-1950 Harry Mellors 
1953-1956 Leslie Lyne 	
Although Mrs Rose was not listed as licensee until 1886 she was listed as manageress from 1883. 
It is possible that Frederick Dickins should be spelt Dickens which is a much more familiar name 
and it is also likely that the entries for 1913 and 1914 were also incorrect and the name should 
have been Evans not Ewans as the initials match the successor with the alternative spelling. 
It is good to see a landlord staying for 25 years at one pub which a rare occurrence these days and 
Harry Mellors must have been well respected as he was listed as Chairman of the Licensed Victualers Society. 
This fine timber framed pub was a Bass pub but in recent years was sold to Charles Wells, 
the brewers from Bedford, as part of their initial Midlands estate. They renovated the pub 
sensitively and kept many of the separate drinking areas, which so often get destroyed in pub 
modernisations. Now the pub presents a rare opportunity to sample the delights of Eagle Bitter 
and Bombadier, which are not to be found elsewhere in Warwick. 

NEW INN. Little is known about this pub that was situated on the Coventry Road. It was listed in 
1828/1829 as being run by Andrew Chapman and it is next mentioned in 1849 when the Landlord was 
George Chapman possibly the son of the previous licensee. Kemp in his publication entitled 
"The History of Warwick and its People", published in 1905, stated that this pub was located 
"just before reaching the canal bridge".