The Bird-in-Hand beerhouse was at 1, often numbered 1 and 2, South Street from before 1855 until 1921. Its exact location is however something of a mystery.
It is well established that the Plasterers’ Arms, later the Prince Alfred, was at the corner of South and Cross streets, as 12 South Street. In other words, at the corner of what is now Crystal Square car park. Today South Street is parallel to the east side of London Road, and has two exits to that road at the south end, the first wide, the second narrow. This is modern: previous to redevelopment after World War II there was only the first exit, as the road did went round a corner towards London Road. The current second exit at the time led only to East Street, a dead end. It no longer exists, with only a short stump hinting at its former existence.
Most streets are numbered either as odds on one side, evens on the other, or in a continuous numeration. The fact that the beerhouse was repeatedly referred to as nos. 1 and 2 might suggest that it was opposite the Plasterers’ Arms at no. 12. That location is now part of the Old England, but not until 1938. See the map below, which was surveyed in 1872 and published in 1875. This clearly labels the Old England and the Plasterers’ Arms, but not the Bird-in-Hand. Nor is that beerhouse labelled on the rest of the street. The Prince of Wales, at the other end of Cross Street, was not labelled either so that does not exclude the location, as only some pubs were named on the maps. I suspect that the difference is that only fully licensed public houses, selling wine and spirits as well as beer, were included, either labelled with their names or marked as P.H.
In 1866 and twice in 1876 the beerhouse was referred to as being on Cross Street, suggesting that it was indeed on the corner. In 1890 there was a sale of the beerhouse plus adjacent lots, which are described, and do not tally with such a location. Neither does the evidence of street directories. Read on until 1890 !
The area was heavily redeveloped after World War II, especially at the south end and the east side of South Street. In a 1954 Ordnance Survey map, which uniquely gives house numbers, the former Plasterers’ Arms/ Prince Alfred was no. 16, and 3 was at the far, southern end on the east side. 16-23 was the west side, from the extension of Old England to the far, southern end on the west side. The apparent, but still not satisfactory answer will be discussed further on at an auction in 1890.
David Russell’s Register of licencees of Hastings and St Leonards 1500-2010 contains lists by public house, taken from the actual licences as issued annually. These have gaps and inconsistencies. I have tried to add information from the newspapers but these are difficult to search as the search engine does not always recognise actual citations in the scanned text, which anyway is often inconsistently worded or indeed wrong, as we shall see. I will cite him as Russell in this post.
The first licencee he gives for the Bird in Hand is Tilden Tolhurst, in 1859. Significantly, the Hastings and St Leonards News, 2 November 1849, has him stating ‘I keep a beer-shop’ when he gave evidence in a case about a stolen watch at the local Quarter Sessions. The implication was that it was in Hastings, and was perhaps the ‘Bull Dog tap’, mentioned in that case. In the 1851 census he was the innkeeper of the Prince of Wales, Down Street, St Clements parish, aged 40, born Westfield, with his wife Ann. In 1857 Ann Tolhurst said her husband Tilden was a marine store dealer in West Street. In the 1861 census he was at 46 High Street, Hastings, age 50, dealer in second hand clothes, which he was also in a 1874 case. In 1869 and 1872 he was a fly proprietor. It was not unusual for people at the time, including publicans, to change their businesses at intervals, or to have two businesses running at the same time. He died in 1881, of High Street, Hastings, with one of his executors being William Thomas of 28 London Road, refreshment house keeper. He was 71.
I believe that Tolhurst was preceded by Richard Walker, whom Russell only cites for 1866-77. The first mention I have of him was not a pleasant one. The Hastings and St Leonards News, 13 October 1848:
Richard Walker was brought up on a warrant, charged with having assaulted Leonard Hawley, at the Railway Station Inn, at Bopeep, on the previous day.
The complainant not appearing, the prisoner was discharged.
The 1851 census has at 11 London Road this couple:
Richard Walker, head, M[arried], 43, miner, born Durham Samsley
Sarah Walker, wife, M, 36, born Herts Watford
Again Walker was charged with committing an assault, in the Sussex Advertiser, 7 October 1851, but again got off:
MAGISTRATES’ BENCH.
TOWN HALL, Thursday. – Before the Mayor, F. Ticehurst, and F.W. Staines, Esqrs.
Richard Walker was charged with assaulting Richard Jackson.
Defendant pleaded that Jackson was as bad as himself.
Complainant stated that defendant and himself were at the Crown beershop, St Leonards. An argument arose, in which defendant and himself did not hold the same opinion…
It was about carrying him to White Rock and back in 12 minutes. The case was dismissed as nonsense.
We finally get the first mention I know of for the Bird-in-Hand, and a firm connection of Richard Walker with that beerhouse, in the Hastings and St Leonards News, 14 December 1855.
ANOTHER CASE. – Richard Walker, of the Bird-in-Hand, was summoned for a similar infringement of the law [being open after legal hours].
The defendant admitted that there were persons in his house after the proper hours for closing, but denied that it was a quarter to twelve, as the police-constable had reported.
The defendant had been summoned several times before, and was fined 10s, and 12s costs.
Despite the mention of being summoned before I was unable to find those cases.
The 1858 Melville and Co.’s Directory & Gazetteer of Sussex lists:
Walker, Richard, grocer and beer retailer, South street
That is the only mention of him as a grocer that I am aware of other than in the 1871 census at the same address.
Another mention of Walker was in the Hastings and St Leonards News, 25 February 1859. It also involved Tilden Tolhurst. The long case is summarised here.
William Brown, a shoemaker, was charged with converting to his own use the materials for making five pairs of Blucher boots that belonged to Mr G.A. Thorpe of George Street, for whom he had been working. James Mills, ‘clicker’ for Thorpe, had passed to Brown the materials to make up the boots. Neither they nor the lasts were returned.
Two pairs of upper leathers were sold on the 25th January to Ann, wife of Tilden Tolhurst, second hand clothes dealer on West Street, in a pawnshop type transaction. Meanwhile, we are told…
Richard Walker, landlord of a beer-shop in South street, St Leonards, deposed that he had bought the pair of boots he now produced from prisoner, on the 1st of January last. He was measured in the morning about eight o’clock, and the boots were brought home the same evening. He gave 11s for them,
The problem for the prosecution was that Brown had only been given the materials on the 18th of January. Walker stuck to his date, saying that it was a Saturday and he recalled making some remarks to his wife which confirmed the date in his memory. Mills was not sure that the boots were from his master’s workshop. The case was adjourned and I could not identify the outcome.
In the 1861 census for 1 and 2 South Street, the Bird in Hand, there was this household:
Richard Walker, head, M, 53, Beer House Keeper, born Durham Lomersley
Sarah Walker, wife, 46, born Herts Watford
Abraham Cruttington, lodger, W[idower], 60, labourer, born Hastings Sussex
The previous street in the enumeration was East Street, at the south end of South Street, rather than the north end next to Cross Street. This suggests that the beerhouse was at the south end. No. 4 was a coachman’s residence, which will be significant in 1890.
In 1866 there was a problem about being open at illegal hours. First Walker sent his wife along for the hearing, despite the fact that as the licensee he was the person in trouble. Notice the mention of Cross Street. The Hastings and St Leonards News, 21 September 1866:
Richard Walker, landlord of the Bird-in-Hand beershop, Cross street, was summoned for having kept open his house after eleven o’clock at night, on the 17th inst.
Mrs Walker attended. In reply to the Mayor, she said her husband was at home, and had sent her, “because he would rather I came.”
The Mayor – You are not summoned, but your husband. Walker must come himself.
The hearing was adjourned.
The 28 September, same paper:
Richard Walker, landlord of the Bird-in-hand, Cross street, appeared to answer a summons for keeping open his house for the sale of beer after eleven o’clock at night.
Defendant admitted the house was open, but not for the sale of beer. He was waiting for lodgers to come in.
Sergeant Raymond found several men in defendant’s house, at five minutes to twelve o’clock on the 17th inst. Mrs Walker said they were lodgers. Shortly after witness saw two of the men come out and go away home.
By Defendant – I saw one of the two men drinking in the house.
Defendant – It is more like a private house than anything else. Half-a-barrel a week is as much as is drawn.
Fined 5s and costs.
In the 1871 census, 1 and 2 South Street:
Richard Walker, head, M, 63, grocer & publican, born Durham Choden
Sarah Walker, wife, M, 56, born Hertford Watford
In the Hastings and St Leonards News, 6 November 1874, there was a brief report about Richard Walker, as landlord of the Bird in Hand, South Street, pleading guilty to being open at 11.15 pm on Monday. He was fined £1, which was stated to be the lowest possible penalty, plus costs.
Sarah Walker died in 1876, probably in the summer, at the age of 62. I have no more than that on her.
In the Hastings and St Leonards News, 11 May 1877, there was a long account concerning Henry Styles and John Elphick being charged with assaulting Samuel Black. The initial fight was in the Prince Alfred, which was definitely at the corner of Cross and South streets, where Crystal Square car park now is. After much detail about that tussle, the mention of the Bird in Hand:
Matthew Walker, landlord of the “Bird in Hand” beerhouse, deposed that he was coming up Cross street, on the evening of the 7th inst., when he saw a man strike complainant, who had got hold of a fish barrow. He was sure that man was not Elphick, but could not say whether it was Styles. There were other people there at the time, who appeared to be taking part in the struggle. He did not see Elphick there at all. That was all he knew.
After conflicting evidence Styles was sentenced to one month’s hard labour while Elphick was fined 10s and costs.
Matthew Walker was the nephew of Richard. He was definitely not the landlord, but it is quite possible that his uncle was ill and he was helping out in that capacity. Some six or seven weeks after the fight Richard died. The Hastings and St Leonards News, 13 July 1877:
June 27, at South street, St Leonards, Mr Richard Walker, landlord of the “Bird in Hand,” aged 70 years.
The probate record confirms Richard dying on the 27th June 1877 at the Bird in Hand. When probate was granted, on the 20th August, the executor was nephew Matthew Nelson Walker, miner, of 1 and 2 South Street.
It was only in September that the license was endorsed to the nephew. The newspapers managed to spell his full name in three different ways, with only the second version below being correct. I have given his name in bold to emphasise the errors. Notice also the different details supplied. The court reporter was wildly wrong about Eastbourne Street (there is an East Bourne Street today in the old town).
Hastings and St Leonards News, 7 September 1877:
ENDORSEMENTS. – The license of the Bird-in-Hand beer house was endorsed from the late Richard Walker to Edward Nelson Walker (the executor).
Hastings and St Leonards Independent, 11 September 1877:
LICENSING BUSINESS. – Matthew Nelson Walker applied for an endorsement of license for the Bird-in-Hand, Eastbourne-street… The applications were granted, conditionally on the applicants satisfying Mr Supt. Glenister as to character.
Hastings and St Leonards News, 18 September 1877:
Transfers. The Bird-in-Hand, to Charles Matthew Walker, from his uncle.
In the 1871 census at Low Fell, Gateshead, Matthew had been a coal miner, married to Martha. They had married in 1859 at Gateshead.
Russell cites Matthew Walker for 1877-91.
The beerhouse in the 1881 census is listed after 20 East Street as 1 & 2 South Street (Bird in Hand). As East Street is at the south end of the street location, it suggests the beerhouse was at the south end.
Matthew Walker, head, M, 50, Beer House Keeper, born co Durham
Martha Walker, wife, 48, born Northumberland
Martha Graham, niece, U, 22, servant domestic, born co Durham
Matthew Walker’s wife Martha died in 1890, aged 57.
The Hastings Observer, 7 June 1890, listed several adjacent properties on the street for sale by auction at the Castle Hotel on the 2 July. Lot 2 was for the Bird in Hand. The sale was ‘by order of executors’, but I don’t know the deceased’s name. We have here for the first time a description of the property, plus a mention of the lease. There is also an opportunity to identify, yet again, the precise location of the beerhouse.
LOT 2. – The “BIRD IN HAND” free Beerhouse, South Street, having bar, bar parlour, two living rooms, four bedrooms, yard and offices. It is let to Mr M.N. Walker on a 14 years’ lease, from 24th June, 1888.
LOT 3. – (adjoining lot 2) in the occupation of Mr W.S. Allen, on lease expiring in 1905, comprising stable, ice well, yard, and other buildings.
LOT 4 – (adjoining lot 3) THE ALBANY MEWS, comprising stabling for eight horses, coach-houses, large yard, and residence, having five rooms; let to Mr E.L. Dash, on a 14 years’ lease from 29th September, 1899.
LOT 5 – (adjoining lot 4) No. 4, SOUTH-STREET, having two living rooms, two bedrooms, and yard; let to Mr J. Apps on a weekly tenancy.
Notice that only Lot 5, the fourth property, is numbered, as no. 4. This of course would suggest that the Bird in Hand was no. 1, with no. 3 being the Albany Mews. Newspaper mentions of the Albany Mews cite it as being on London Road, implying that it was on the western side of South Street, and that therefore the Bird in Hand was on the left hand side as one entered the street.
Usually I cannot find a mention of the actual sales, but in this case the 5 July edition stated that Mr G.W. Veness bought the beerhouse for £1000. This was George William Veness, who in the 1891 census at Fairmount, St John’s Road, Bexhill. He was 57, born Hastings, an auctioneer and estate agent. He also owned the Royal public house opposite the railway station.
If you look at the map below you can see the layout of the south end of South Street, with the broader London Road parallel and to its west. The elongated X indicated covered passageways, often leading from mews.
The map’s layout would suggest that Albany Mews was one of those mews. If on the west side, it’s difficult to work out the ‘adjacent lot’ data. If on the east side, this makes more sense, with only one large building on the corner with London Road, then several houses opening on to East Street, and then Albany Mews further north. That large number has since been rebuilt and extends well to the east, and is the site of Della’s fast food outlet at 19 London Road. Its back meets South Street now that it connects with the remnant of East Street. The trouble with that interpretation is the consistent mentions of Albany Mews being on London Road, meaning it should be on the west side.
I then turned to Pike’s directories. These are valuable as instead of merely listing buildings in number order, they also indicate where those numbers begin and end. For example, the first, 1880/81 edition lists for South Street, right from London Road, no. 1, Bird in Hand, Walker M., then at no. 2 Allen’s ice stores, then at no. 3 Albany Mews. No. 12 is the Prince Alfred, and there is a no. 14. This would mean that, looking at the map above, the large building on the corner, with a small yard to its east, is the beerhouse, then, going round the corner, Allen’s establishment, then at no. 3 Albany Mews. However, Albany Mews is on London Road ! The 1890 edition confirms this layout. What about the frequent mentions of it being 1 and 2 ? Where are the stables for Allen’s establishment ? I cannot explain it, and perhaps the map captures a layout that had altered. I suspect, also, that renumeration of the street occurred at some point to add to the problems.
The 1891 census gives a new landlord, but notice that Matthew was now a lodger in his former beerhouse.
The 1891 census, 1 & 2 South St:
Edward S. Barnes, head, M, 26, beerhouse keeper, born Sussex St Leonards
Elizabeth A. Barnes, wife, 27, born Newcastle on Tyne
Edward G. Barnes, son, 2, born Sussex St Leonards
Violet Barnes, dau, 5 mo, born Sussex St Leonards
Mathew Walker, lodger, W, 66, Retired Beerhouse Keeper, born Durham Low Fell
Matthew died in 1905 in London.
Russell cites Edward Barnes for 1892-97, then Albert Cornford for 1898-1904.
The Hastings Observer, 31 May 1900, had brief details of another auction of freehold properties at Woodhams, by order of the trustees of the late Mr Thomas Price. They consisted of similar if not identical properties to the 1890 sale but with fewer details:
THE BIRD-IN-HAND Beer-house, SOUTH STREET, St Leonards-on-Sea.
No. 4, SOUTH STREET, St Leonards-on-Sea.
COTTAGE, two sets of STABLES, YARD, and ICE HOUSE in South-street.
I did not identify the results of the sales, or further details of the properties.
The 1901 census, 1& 2 South St (Bird in hand):
Albert Cornford, head, M, 28, beer-house Keeper, born Sussex Hastings
Emma A. Cornford, wife, 28, born Sussex Hastings
Norman A. Cornford, son, 3, born Sussex Hastings
Edith M. Cornford, dau, 1, born Sussex St Leonards
William S. Lettine, boarder, S[ingle], 35, fishmonger’s assistant, born Sussex St Leonards
The couple had married in 1896 at Hastings. In the 1891 census he had been at no. 57 of that road, a baker’s assistant. The Hastings Observer, 25 January 1902, has a letter about an appeal for funds for the East Sussex Hospital by Emily M. Allfrey of Plas Newydd, Prince’s Road. It includes ‘Mr Cornford, Bird-in-Hand, who was one of the sufferers, has most kindly worked hard and sent me a large sum.’
The Hastings Observer, 4 March 1905, had much on possible closures of public houses to remove the weaker houses, as those struggling to survive were thought to be a problem. I had already covered this subject in https://bsls.org.uk/blog/the-pubs-of-st-leonards-closures-in-1905/
The Chief Constable opposed renewal of some licenses, and this included the Bird in Hand. It was considered difficult to supervise. Within 400 yards there were 16 fully licensed houses and three beerhouses. There was a stable yard at the rear (yet the map suggested it was on the eastern side). It was owned by Chandler’s Wiltshire Brewery Company. Half the £80 paid by the last tenant represented goodwill. Albert Cornford, now living at Ore, was the licensee for seven years and gave it up last year on the advice of the doctor. William Elton was the present licensee.
Cornford died on the 31 March 1906, so just over a year later, at 67 Ashburnham Road, Hastings, aged only 33. In the 1911 census the widow was living at 91 Alfred Road, Clive Vale with daughter Edith, a married aunt and a boarder. None had any occupation. In 1921 she remarried.
The beerhouse survived this attempt to close it. Russell cites William Elton for 1905-10 and also 1912-14.
Russell cites Henry Harrington for 1910-12. In the 1901 census he was in Fulham, painter, age 39, born Islington, with wife Mary and three children.
The 1911 census, for 1 & 2 South Street. 7 rooms (In both the 1911 and 1921 censuses this information was asked for, and also in 1911 details of marriage and numbers of children):
Henry Edward Harrington, head, 50, married 18 years, 6 children, 2 alive, License Victualler, born N. London
Mary Harrington, wife, 45, born N. London
Dora Harrington, dau, 16, S, at home, born Fulham London
Mabel Harrington, dau, 15, S, at home, born Fulham
In the 1921 census the family was at 18 Stone Street, Hastings, he out of work, formerly a ship painter and decorator at Tilbury Docks, his wife running a shop from the premises, and with daughter Mabel’s husband Frank Richardson a confectioner at 186 Queens Road; when they married in 1920 at St Mary in the Castle her father was a sign writer. The 1921 census is the only one where work addresses were required, a very interesting piece of information.
The Hastings Observer, 23 August 1913, recorded the license being transferred from Harington to Alfred Thomas Sivyer. Russell only cites T. Sevier for 1915-18, presumably a misspelling in the records, as well as a mistake in his time as the licensee. In the 1911 census, Alfred Sivyer was a coachman for a jobmaster at Cambridge Gardens, Hastings. In the 1915 Kelly’s Directory of Sussex Alfred Sivyer is listed at 1 South St., with no mention of his occupation.
The same, 12 August 1916, recorded the death of Alfred Thomas Sivyer at the Bird in Hand, aged 36. The widow clearly took over the pub, as was common, as, on the 29 December 1917, at Christ Church, Gillespie Hendry McMahon, 25, bachelor, Canadian N.C.O., married Beatrice Gertrude Sivyer, 36, widow, proprietress beer house, daughter of John George Monckton, carpenter. Both were of 1 South Street. This does not mean they were living together: frequently both would cite the same address to avoid complications over calling the banns; to reduce fees; and to indicate where they intended to live (all three cited by ChatGPT, the first being probably the main reason).
His military records stated that he had been a labourer in Winnipeg when he enlisted in the Canadian Army in October 1914, having been born in Dundee in 1892. The Hastings Observer, 6 July 1918, had a short, somewhat enigmatic statement:
Gillespie McMahon, an absentee from his regiment, was remanded for an escort.
Was he supposed to be in France, but remained behind ? Russell cites B.G. McMahon for 1919-21, when it closed. The Spring 1919 electoral register listed Mrs McMahon as the only voter at 1-2 South Street.
The Hastings Observer, 6 March 1920, had a detailed report on an attempt to close the Bird in Hand.
THE BIRD IN HAND.
The Chief Constable explained that on the instructions of the Justices notices had been served on opposition to the renewal of four licences within an area of 60 acres at St Leonards, where there was an estimated population of 10,500 people, with 18 licenses – 15 full and 3 beerhouses, in addition to a number of other establishments with off-licenses. The difficulty was as to which particular houses should be extinguished in a locality where most people would argue licenses were too numerous. He was of opinion that the four houses now opposed should be the ones to be extinguished. The first case was that of the Bird in Hand, a beerhouse situate in South-street. The premises were not structurally good, and in his view were not well adapted for the business. He enumerated some of the numerous licensed houses in the neighbourhood, and informed the Bench that he made no complaint as to the manner in which the Bird in Hand had been conducted. – Mr Stephen Bumstead, Clerk to the Assessment Committee, gave evidence as to the gross and rateable value of the four houses. The Bird in Hand was £35 gross and £28 rateable, the St Leonards Arms £55 and £44, Prince Alfred £50 and £40, and the Prince Albert £60 and £48. – Supt. Kenward gave evidence to the effect that he had known the Bird in Hand for many years. He described the measurement of the bars, taprooms, etc., and gave in paces the distance from other licensed houses. He said the landlady told him her rent had been raised, and that it was impossible to get a living and pay the rent and rates. The police made no complaint against the conduct of the house. – Inspector Bourner corroborated. – Mr Glenister addressed the Bench at some length in support of a renewal of the licence, and called Mr E.A. Morris, who gave evidence as to the trade of the house, which was 225 barrels last year.
The same, 10 July 1920, announced that the license renewals had been refused for the St Leonards Arms, Bird in Hand, Prince Albert and the Prince Alfred. Despite this, the 19 June 1921 census for 1 and 2 South Street, with 5 rooms, gave this household. Notice that, unusually, the wife was given first, presumably as she was the licensee, and that her husband was now working for the local corporation. Note also that Beatrice’s parents were both noted as alive when her father had died several years before.
Beatrice McMahon, head, 40, M, born Brighton, Beerhouse & Ale Keeper, own account.
Gillespie McMahon, husband, 31, born Dundee Forfarshire, General Labourer, Hastings Corporation, Shepherd St
Beatrice Sivyer, dau, 10, parents both alive, whole time pupil
John Hunter, visitor, 56, S, born Kilmarnock, Ayrshire, engineer, South Eastern & Chatham Railway, Ashford
I am not sure what happened next, but the same paper, 13 August 1921, announced compensation amounts for the closed public houses and beerhouses. This money came not from taxation but by raising the money from all landlords, who at least had the satisfaction of seeing diminished competition. The Bird was awarded £2450, of which £155 went to the licensee and £2295 to Watney, Coombe and Company. It was normal for the brewery to get the bulk of the money, but this was an unusually large percentage for the brewery.
Out of curiosity I searched for what happened to the McMahons.
Immigration records show that on the 25 May 1922 all three — Gillespie, his wife, and his stepdaughter — sailed on the SS Scandinavian for Canada, to travel by the CPR to Winnipeg, ‘returning with husband to Canadian home.’
They did not stay there long, as in March 1923 the family entered Minnesota. In the 1930 census, at Chicago, he was a supervisor for an electric company. That census asked for state or country of both the residents and also for their fathers and mothers. Gillespie claimed to have been born in Canada, father born Northern Ireland, mother born Scotland. In the 1940 census, again in Chicago, age 48, he was a machinist for a refrigerator manufacturer, and born Scotland.
In 1941 at Chicago he was naturalised as an American citizen, he a packer, born Dundee. In the 1950 census at a Chicago address he was a machinist for a telephone company, when he claimed to have been born in Canada. These different countries of birth for Gillespie show that just as you cannot trust everything in newspapers, you cannot always believe official documents.
His place of birth was in fact Dundee, at least according to the 1901 census. This was at Dundee, when his widowed mother was a jute weaver, born nearby. In the 1 June 1916 census at Winnipeg the McMahon family stated that they had immigrated in 1909, with his mother Janet age 70, brother Robert, 26, engineer — and Gillespie, 24, a labourer doing odd jobs. All were born Scotland, and were Presbyterians. It appears that as often happened, while he had enlisted, he had not yet been called up for active service, although a delay of 18 months was distinctly unusual.
Beatrice McMahon died in 1961 at Brighton — I don’t know why there. Her widower died in 1965 in Minnesota.
As for the premises, in 1928 planning application DH/C/6/1/10328 was for altering 1 & 2 South Street into garages. As noted before, the whole area has been altered, including the road layout, and the site was rebuilt as Della’s and housing.