The Coach and Horses public house, Mews Road, St Leonards on Sea

The Coach and Horses public house on Mews Road closed in 1950 and is now a private house, 3 Mews Road. The house below it is no. 1 and there is no sign of a no. 2 (the map below suggests it was incorporated into either no. 1 or the adjacent East Ascent house, while a street view suggests the former).

The large premises above it is no. 4. However, in the 1954 map on the National Library of Scotland site that is no. 1. The current no. 3 is numbered as such while the house at the bottom of the street is unnumbered.

Appropriately enough, the former Coach and Horses was just south of Victoria Mews and Harold Mews, with their stables and staff. These served the well off who either lived or were staying on Marina, or in terraces such as Maze Hill and The Lawn. Victoria Mews has been rebuilt as housing while Harold Mews has been converted to other uses.

The first evidence I am aware of for licensed premises on Mews Road is in the 1841 census. Thomas Ranger, age 35, was running a beer shop. He was living with Mary Ranger, 25, presumably his wife, and a female servant, Sarah Britt. The 1841 census gave much less information that later censuses. Relationships were not given; the place of birth for all three was Sussex; and the ages of adults were rounded down to e.g. 20, 25 and so on. Nor is there an address.

Thomas appears to have later moved on to the nearby Horse and Groom, at 4 Mercatoria. The Hastings Observer, 29 March 1879, has Brett recalling that brothers William and Thomas Ranger of the Coach and Horses succeeded its first landlord, Stephen Milstead.

In the 1872 map given below, the X within a box indicates a covered or arched passageway, while the closely hatched boxes indicate greenhouses or conservatories. The U-shaped building in the north, with its arched entrance into a yard, now has a large gate instead with a door next to it; this is now 4 Mews Road.

There is quite a lot of detail in the Brighton Gazette, 28 August 1845, when Edwin Hooper applied for a full license so that he could sell spirits and wine as well as beer. This was before the magistrates on the Hastings borough bench. The account tells us that it had been licensed for beer for eight years, and that Hooper had apparently been there since early 1844. These facts may have been mentioned at the time in the newspapers — such information was routinely reported — but searches in digitised newspapers often fail to find what is actually there.

EDWIN HOOPER, who keeps a beer-shop called the Coach and Horses, in the parish of St Mary Magdalen, applied for a public-house license.

Mr Langham, in support of the application, said the house had been licensed for eight years, but had been kept by his client for the last 15 months or thereabouts, and he now applied for a victualler’s license. He was aware that the general rule was, that two propositions should be laid down, namely, — that the house was useful to the public, and that the landlord was a well conducted person, and such as might be entrusted with a license. With regard to the first position, he was instructed that the nearest public-house to the one in question was the Anchor Inn, which was distant 129 yards, or 380 feet.

Dr M’Cabe – and 10 inches. (A laugh.)

Mr Langham – Well, 380 in round figures. The next house is the Horse and Groom, which is distant 180 yards. I hold in my hand a memorial from 30 respectable persons, — the first of whom is Mr Murray, the officiating minister of the parish, — in which they certify that “the applicant is a person of good morals, and that he is in every way qualified to conduct an inn.” We consider a licensed house would be of great advantage to the convenience of the persons residing in the immediate neighbourhood.

The usual forms having been proved to have been complied with, and the distance proved by Mr Edwards, the Mayor enquired if there was any further evidence ?

Mr Langham – None.

The application was refused, despite the endorsement of the Rev. Murray. I earlier wrote about the mentioned Anchor in The Anchor, a former pub on East Ascent, St Leonards on Sea. I am doubtful about the Horse and Groom being 180 yards away if The Anchor was 150 yards away.

In the same, 2 October 1845, Hooper applied from his beerhouse for a license for a bagatelle board. This was refused on the grounds that drink was not allowed on such premises.

In the same, 3 September 1846, a second application for a full license was allowed. It was ‘strongly recommended by Mr Burton and by his immediate neighbours.’ In reply to a question, his lawyer agreed that the house belonged to Mr Burton. I was under the impression that the Burtons had promised the Horse and Groom that there would be no fully licensed premises in this westerly direction.

In the 1851 census the household for an unnumbered Coach and Horses was:

William Birch, head, M[arried], 42, inn keeper, born Sussex Battle

Jane Birch, wife, M, 36, born Sussex Battle

Ellen French, serv, U[nmarried], 18, born Sussex Battle

George Ball, serv, U, 17, born Sussex Hastings

In the 1861 census Birch was a farmer in Hollington. He died in 1873 at 8 Clarence Terrace, Silverhill, and was described in the probate entry as a gentleman. His widow remarried in 1876 at St Matthew’s church. Her new husband was Charles Breeds, a merchant from Ore.

The Sussex Advertiser, 2 May 1854, has an advert for the pub’s sale on its own premises on the 15th May. Note that the time was ‘six for seven o’clock’ which is odd as anyone wanting a drink could come in at any legal time. Perhaps to grab a good seat ?

The mention of the ‘late occupier’ is strange as the landlord was both alive and in business there. | am guessing that the freehold was originally Burton’s and that it or a long leasehold was what was being sold. The advert implies that the yard to its north (as seen in the map) was part of the premises. The newspapers do not appear to have stated who bought it let alone for what price.

The Hastings and St Leonards News, 25 December 1857, announced that the license had been transferred from William Birch to Alexander Taylor. In the 1851 census Taylor was a mariner at 10 Shepherd Street.

The 1858 edition of Melville’s directory, besides Taylor, gives a rival on Mews Road. This was David Ellis, listed as a beer retailer. He had an interesting connection, as we shall see stated in the 1861 census.

Two weeks before that census there was a very long account of a trial for theft in the Hastings and St Leonards News, 22 March 1861. It was a Quarter Sessions case, so a level up from the local magistrates.

Edward Miller, a servant, was charged with stealing a plaid scarf shawl, value £2 5s, from his master Richard Lamb. William Lattimore, coachman to Lamb, was a witness. We are told ‘Mr Lamb’s family were visitors for six months at St Leonards; they left in February.’ This was at 70 Marina. Miller had entered service the Friday after Christmas and remained three weeks. It was one of three shawls that had hung in the hall. Jane Saxby was sister to the prisoner, who had worked for Mr Burton until a year ago.

Witness Alexander Taylor, pleasure-boatman — the second occupation — and landlord of the Coach and Horses, St Leonards, deposed:

I have known prisoner two or three years. I have seen him wear a Scotch shepherd’s plaid every evening during the winter when it has been cold weather… I remember hearing my wife says to him, when he has come for his supper beer, “Miller, I should like to have your scarf; it would make me such a nice warm shawl.” He replied, “I bought this in London.” This might be twelve months since. Prisoner was in service in the Marina, very near my house, for nearly two years. I have never heard anything wrong against prisoner’s character.

The prisoner had previously been at 64 Marina. He was found not guilty. I was hopeful of finding him locally in the 1861 census, but no luck.

The census on the 7 April 1861 gave the following adjacent premises:

Coach and Horses Bar House:

David Ellis, head, M, 36, bricklayer, born Kent Tunbridge Wells

Sarah Ellis, wife, M, 35, born Kent Tunbridge Wells

Sarah Ellis, daughter, 9, scholar, born Kent Tunbridge Wells

Clara Ellis, daughter, 6, scholar, born Sussex St Leonards

Edward Ellis, son, 4, scholar, born Sussex St Leonards

Coach and Horses Public House:

Alexander Taylor, head, M, 45, boatman & victualler, born Sussex Hastings

Jane Taylor, wife, M, 42, born Kent Hawkhurst

William Taylor, son, U, 21, joiner, born Sussex St Leonards

Alexander Taylor, son, U, 18, plasterer, born Sussex St Leonards

Henry Sutton, lodger, U, 42, ostler, born Surrey Epsom

William Dack, lodger, U, 25, coachman, born Norfolk Leichan [?]

Charles Downs, lodger, U, 14, groom, born Kent Beckenham

John Reeves, lodger, U, 25, stableman, born Surrey Croydon

Thomas Burgess, lodger, U, 30, potman, born Sussex Hastings

This means that the premises surrounding the yard to the north of the public house included a cheap beerhouse — though run by a bricklayer — which was meant for grooms and the like. The only other example that I am aware of in St Leonards was the Saxon Shades, later the Yorkshire Grey, then the Admiral Benbow, now the Benbow Arts Space, which was close to the Saxon Hotel (rebuilt in 1905, and now the Bonjour café with flats above). Hastings had the Swan Shades, the red lettering on the wall still visible from the doors of St Clements, and the Albion Shades on the other side of George Street. As these examples suggest it should have had its own name, but perhaps the Coach and Horses Shades was a bit of a mouthful. I found it interesting that the staff all lodged at the main building rather than above the stables.

The Hastings and St Leonards News, 7 February 1862, had an account of the beerhouse being open after hours by its proprietor, Levi Pilbeam, who was apparently also a blacksmith.

SELLING BEER AFTER TIME. – Levi Pilbeam, landlord of the Coach and Horses beer-shop, Mews road, St Mary Magdalen, was summoned for having allowed liquor to be consumed in his house at twelve o’clock on Monday night.

Sergeant Raymond found six men in front of defendant’s bar, at the time specified above, with two glasses and a half-pint pot of liquor before them.

Defendant did not deny the constable’s statement, but appeared to rely on his explanation, that the drink had been drawn before eleven o’clock. The men were blacksmiths who had been helping him hang up the bellows of a new forge he was about to start, and they had had a pot or two and a song over the job.

Mr Glenister said the house had been previously complained of, but it was before defendant took it. He thought defendant must be aware that it was an offence to consume any liquor in the house after eleven o’clock, no matter at what time it was drawn.

Fined 1s and costs, 11s.

Pilbeam turned up again when, as recounted in the Sussex Advertiser, 28 October 1862, ten canaries were stolen from a large birdcage housing 169 canaries in the parlour of the Nag’s Head. The owner was Henri Veller, a bird dealer from Frankfurt, Germany, who was a lodger. Some were sold to Pilbeam, described as the landlord of the Coach and Horses. I will tell the full story when I write a post on the Nag’s Head.

Pilbeam was not the new landlord of the public house, as Alexander Taylor, boatman and landlord of the Coach and Horses, testified in a case before the magistrates reported in the Hastings and St Leonards News, 27 November 1863. Samuel French, 27, boatman, was charged with trying to obtain money from the Earl of Clare by ‘false and fraudulent pretences.’ Taylor said the letters produced were by French. He had worked with the prisoner until June, and saw him on the parade almost every day.

The Hastings and St Leonards News, 23 February 1866, had a long and comical account about selling alcohol out of hours. It related to the beerhouse as Taylor was still the landlord of the public house. It has some interesting details such as the interior being one large bar area except apparently for a room for bagatelle. It sounds as if the bagatelle license was secured after all ! ‘Mr Glenister’ was Superintendent Glenister.

George Saunders, landlord of the Coach and Horses, Mews road, was summoned for having his house open for the sale of beer, after eleven o’clock at night.

Mr Langham appeared for the defendant, and pleaded not guilty.

Police-constable Gain said that, on the morning of February 13, he was in Mews road, and saw a light in defendant’s house, at twenty minutes to one o’clock. There was a noise inside. In company with another constable, he entered the house, and then saw four men in the bagatelle room. There were two glasses of ale on the table and a pot partly full. Witness called the landlord’s attention to it, and was told it was a private party. Mrs Saunders went and filled the pot again in witness’ presence. Witness visited the house a second time at two o’clock, and heard singing. The landlady came to the door, and on hearing it was the police, she said, “What do you want ? You are a perfect nuisance.” After rapping three times she opened the door, and he found three men in the bagatelle room, beside the landlord and landlady. There was an empty pot and a glass of ale on the table. Mrs Saunders went and filled the pot again. Witness said he should report the circumstance, and defendant said ”There is no occasion for that.”

By Mr Langham [that is, he asked a question] – I don’t know how many rooms there are in the house. It is one large room, and the bar is in it. Mrs Saunders said it was a private party. I saw no beer sold.

By Mr Glenister – I don’t know whether there is a fire in the bar. I knew all four of the men who were there.

Mr Langham said he did not dispute anything which the officer had said, and therefore he did not wish any other evidence to the same point.

Mr Glenister said he would call Sergeant Jones, to speak to defendant’s subsequent conduct.

Mr Langham said he should object to that, as not being part of the charge.

Mr Glenister contended that it was a portion of the same occurrence.

Police-constable Atkins corroborated Gain’s statement, adding that the landlady said, “It is the only room we have got.” – At five minutes past three o’clock he visited the house a third time, with Sergeant Jones. The landlord told them to come and look at his other room; but the landlady said they should not. The landlord used bad language.

Sergeant Jones was again called, but Mr Langham objected to his evidence being taken, as the two previous times were specified in the information. He said it was only done to prejudice the magistrates.

The sergeant was not examined.

Mr Langham said the defence was, as stated by the landlady, that it was a private party. He contended that the house was not open for the sale of beer, as the constables found the door fastened. He cited two cases from the Justice of the Peace, and submitted that the landlord was perfectly at liberty to invite his friends to a private party. He called John Udell, Richard Page, and George Spice, all of whom swore that it was a treat on the part of the landlord, and had arisen from a conversation about Berkshire – the native county of the defendant. None of them paid for the beer drank, and no one additionally came in after eleven o’clock.

The Mayor – The magistrates have decided that they have not sufficient grounds to convict you. Although they have no doubt whatever that you are morally guilty, there is not sufficient legal evidence of any offence, and we give you the benefit of the doubt.

Defendant – What do the Bench consider I am guilty of ?

The Mayor – The decision is given, and we have nothing else to say.

Defendant – My word is worth more than the decision of the Bench.

As far as I am aware that was the last mention of the beerhouse.

In the 1871 census the household of the Coach and Horses was as follows:

Alexander Taylor, head, M, 55, publican, born Sussex Hastings

Jane Taylor, wife, M, 54, born Kent Hawkhurst

Charlotte Taylor, grandson, 9, born Sussex St Leonards

Taylor did not survive long, as he died at the Coach and Horses on the 9 February 1872. He did not leave a will, and so his modest estate of £200 was dealt with as an administration by his widow. The Hastings and St Leonards News, 8 March 1872, reported that the license had gone to the widow.

Jane Taylor managed to avoid trouble in an out of hours drinking case, as reported in the Hastings and St Leonards News, 10 October 1873:

A LICENSING PROSECUTION DISMISSED. – Jane Taylor, pleaded not guilty to keeping her house, the Coach and Horses, open at twenty-five minutes to eleven, on Sunday last.

Police-constable Campany stated that at the time charged, he saw two men in a room at the right of the bar; one was drinking beer from a glass. As witness went to the door, the two men came out. Mrs Taylor was at the door. He asked her whether she knew what time it was, and she said, “Yes;” and she did not think there was much the matter as the men were quiet.

The defendant expressed a wish to be sworn, and then deposed – That the two men of whom the policeman complained had come in by train. No drink whatever was served. What the constable had stated was not true.

Louisa Taylor, daughter-in-law of defendant, stated that the two men mentioned by the policemen, came in and wanted some beer, but witness refused to draw any, and that they were not served with anything.

Henry Marks, one of the lodgers, who was in the house at the time, stated that he saw the two men come in, and that they were not served with anything.

The Bench dismissed the case.

The next case was the two men, named as Thomas Farroll and John Mose, being charged with being unlawfully on the premises. Farroll denied being in the house, while Mose admitted that he had asked for a beer. Jane Taylor repeated her evidence. The Mayor said he believed her. They were each fined one shilling and costs. They were further charged with using abusive language to P.C. Campany on leaving the Coach and Horses, and so were each fined an additional shilling and costs.

In November 1874 the license went to Isaac Day. He was not there long, as in May 1876 the license went to Robert Norford. He in turn swiftly moved on, as it went to either Ernest or Ellis Jones in December 1877.

In August 1878 E. Jones’ license went to T. Hatton.

The Hastings Observer, 15 November 1879, had an account of fifty to sixty members of the Original St Leonards Bonfire Boys Society, in their annual dinner, who ‘sat down to an excellent spread, placed on the table by Host Hatton, whose catering gave every satisfaction.’ After grace, and the cloths having been removed, toasts were made to the royal family; the army, navy and volunteers; friends and subscribers; kindred societies in the borough; the health of the committee; the health of the secretary (with ‘musical honours’); the health of the Captain; the Collectors; the St Leonards Bonfire Boys; the visitors; the press; and the host and hostess. By then the audience must have been quite merry, and may not have noticed Mr Hatton responding to this final toast. The dinner was repeated the next year at the Coach and Horses, with nearly one hundred being present. Other dinners reported on included a cricket club; a tontine club; and the Excelsior Drum and Fife Band. This last, their first annual supper in January 1882, was held in the same room they used for practice.

The 1881 census listed, for the Coach & Horses PH, Mews Road:

Thomas Hatton, head, M, 50, publican, born London

Elizabeth Hatton, wife, 55, born Seston Kent

Hatton appears to have kept his head down, as the next significant mention I have of him is in the 1891 census, for the Coach & Horses Inn:

Thomas Hatton, head, 60, licensed victualler, born London

Elizabeth Hatton, wife, 65, born Kent Isted [?]

At some point Charles Page took over. In the 1901 census for the Coach & Horses Tavern, Mews Road:

Charles Page, head, M, 51, licensed victualler, born Sussex St Leonards o/s

Alice Page, wife, M, 45, born Sussex Winchelsea

Frederick Page, son, 16, born Sussex St Leonards o/s

Florence Page, daughter, 11, born Sussex St Leonards o/s

Ethel Page, daughter, 6, born Sussex St Leonards o/s

Amy Page, daughter, 3, born Sussex St Leonards o/s

Gertrude Medigan, serv, S, 24, general (domestic), born Ireland

In the 1891 census the family had been at nearby 6 Market Passage, south of Norman Road. Charles was a fly proprietor employing one man.

The 1911 census finally gave a house number, no. 2, and stated that it had six rooms. This would have been the living accommodation and not the bar premises. The household head also had to state the number of children and how many were still alive.

Charles Page, head, 61, married 36 years, 8 children, 5 alive, licensed victualler, born Sussex St Leonards on Sea

Alice Olive Page, wife, 54, born Sussex Winchelsea

Frederick Charles Page, son, 26, S[ingle], manager of business, born Sussex St Leonards

Florence Page, daughter, 21, S, dress maker, skirt hand, worker, born Sussex St Leonards

Ethel Elizabeth Page, daughter, 16, S, at home, born Sussex St Leonards

Amy Page, daughter, 13, S, school, born Sussex St Leonards

Nellie Robins, grand daughter, 12, S, school, born Sussex St Leonards

The Hastings and St Leonards Advertiser, 11 September 1913, had a photo of a man with a cloth cap and a moustache, with a long caption:

Mr George Gilham, who has been for some years at Warrior Square Station, and is going to New Zealand. On Monday evening, at the Coach and Horses, East-ascent, Mr Gilham was presented with a travelling rug and a purse of money, subscribed for by the Coach and Horses Benefit Society and other friends. His railway comrades presented him with an umbrella.

Many public houses hosted benefit societies, who would take contributions and pay out on certain occasions, notably at death. In the 1911 census Gilham was at 13 Kenilworth Road, aged 36, carman railway co., born St Leonards. In 1914 he was a labourer at Gisborne, New Zealand, and he died there in 1944.

The 1911 census listed Frederick, the son, as a business manager. On the 27 February 1912, St Matthews’ Church, Silverhill, he married, as of the Coach and Horses, Mary Anne Elizabeth Clayton, of 15 Battle Road, daughter of a bootmaker. The Hastings Observer, 2 September 1916, listed him, aged 31, as passed for garrison duty abroad. He was claimed by his father Charles, proprietor of the Coach and Horses, as manager, so apparently he ran the pub. Efforts to sell the business were being made. If the son went the business would have to be closed, as, owing to an injured leg, the father could not do the cellar work. The application was refused.

I could not find Frederick’s war records, but we know from two newspaper mentions that he served in the army. On the 2 September 1918 his father Charles died, leaving an estate of £1901. The executor was George Lee, a brewer’s traveller, with power reserved to Frederick. The obituary in the Hastings Observer, 7 September 1918, said he was well known and respected, from an old local family. He was an amateur rower and bowls player. He was buried in the Page family grave at Hastings Cemetery. The mourners were listed, but ‘Mr Fred Page (on active duty in France), his only son, was prevented by his military duties from attending his father’s funeral.’ The numerous flowers included a bouquet from the Coach and Horses Slate Club: slate clubs were benefit societies.

In December 1918 the license was, unusually, transferred to not one but two persons. This was the widow and the daughter in law, Frederick’s wife.

Another blow to the family was when Amy, the youngest daughter, died at the age of 21 on the 19 June 1919. Again Frederick missed the funeral, as ‘Mr Fred Page, brother of deceased, was unable to be present being with the Army of Occupation in Germany’ (Hastings Observer, 5 July 1919).

Frederick was eventually released from military duty, and in May 1921 the license was transferred to him from his mother and wife.

Shortly afterwards, on the 19 June 1921 the census for the Coach & Horses, Mews Rd., again reported six rooms and had this household:

Frederick Page, head, 36, M, born Sussex St Leonards, licensed victualler

Anne Page, wife, 33, born Kent Southborough, licensed victualler assistant

Charles Page, son, 7, born Sussex St Leonards, pupil whole time

Freda Page, daughter, 10, born Kent Tunbridge Wells, pupil whole time

In August 1924 the license was transferred from Frederick Page to Frederick Cornelius Gower. When Frederick died at his home at 2 Mercatoria in 1937, aged 52, his obituary stated that he went to Battle in 1925 when he was licensee of the Wellington. He had retired in 1936 and settled in St Leonards. Like his father he was a keen rower. He was survived by his wife, two sons and two daughters (Hastings Observer, 31 July 1937).

In May 1926 the license was transferred to Ernest Day. The newspapers failed me at this period and at some point B. Horwood took over, and then in December 1932 William George Hayward became the licensee. In April 1938 the license went to Robert David Thomson, the final tenant of the Coach and Horses.

On the 30 September 1939 the ‘Register’, compiled for rationing purposes, listed all civilians in the UK. It did not give relationships but can provide other useful information. For the Coach & Horses:

Thomson Robert D., born 23 Aug 77, married, Licensed Victualler

Thompson [sic] Florence E., born 23 Feb 79, married, Unpaid domestic duties

Philpot Brian, born 15 Feb 33, single, at school

Brian Philpot is interesting — was he one of the Philpot draper family, on Marina ? How was he connected wth the family ?

The only planning application I can link to 3 Mews Road while it was a pub was DH/C/6/2/2114, at The Keep. A decision was made on the 9 March 1948 about a change of use. The decision can have been to refuse it, or to accept it. I could not trace it in the newspapers, and have not gone to The Keep at Falmer to see it. This could have been an effort to replace the pub with housing or a commercial purpose.

The Hastings Observer, 23 September 1950, announced that there would be a meeting under the Licensing (Consolidation) Act 1910 on the 19 October to consider closing the Coach and Horses. This was by the Compensation Authority. Between those dates Thomson died, on the 7 October 1950. Of the Coach and Horses, he died at the East Sussex Hospital, Cambridge Road. His estate of £416 was dealt with by his widow Florence as an administration as he left no will.

An undisclosed amount of compensation was paid out, but it was normal for the bulk to be paid to the owner of the premises, which was Shepherd Neame, the Faversham brewery. Another planning application, DH/C/40/52/67, ‘Alterations’, was decided on the 18 February 1952. This was presumably to convert the pub into a house.