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In 1851, William Whitfield was listed a brewer living
in Newport Street, next to Back Newport Street on the stretch between Great
Moor Street and Trinity Street. William was a brewer and when he converted part
of his home into a beerhouse he gave it the name the Brewers Arms.
This appears to have been later in the 1850s. The pub
doesn’t appear on an 1853 list of beerhouses, but it was being used as such by
1861. Whitfield was living there in 1861 with his wife, Catharine, two daughters
and a grand-daughter. Later that decade – though six years apart - the two
daughters, Hannah and Jane, each married one of the Almond brothers, Lawrence and John.
The Brewers Arms was close to the Newtown area of Bolton. The
district was situated where the Morrisons supermarket now stands and was home
to Bolton’s Irish community, but while the Brewers Arms was considered a
rough pub it was popular with local railway workers. In 1869, an incident at
the Brewers Arms led to the death of an Irish labourer, John Heyes. A man named
Henry Horrocks, with whom Heyes had been drinking, was found guilty of
manslaughter but was ordered to be bound over to the court for the sum of £20.
[1]
William Whitfield died in 1872 and he was succeeded
by Joseph Turton. The pub then began to sell beers from John Halliwell’s
Alexandra Brewery on Mount Street and it was a Halliwell’s pub when it closed
in 1908. [2]
The building was subsequently used as a branch of
the Royal Liver Friendly Society but it was demolished in the 1950s. A new
building was erected in its place which was taken over initially by Battersby’s
department store who were previously further down Newport Street close to the
town hall. Battersby’s were succeeded Whelan’s supermarket, owned by Dave
Whelan the future chairman of Wigan Athletic. After the takeover of Whelan's in 1978 it became a branch of
Morrison’s, followed by Kwik Save, Iceland and B&M Bargains. This successor building
to the Brewers Arms was demolished in 2014 to make way for the new bus-rail
interchange.
[1] The full story of the death is told in MurderousBolton, by Steve Fielding (2009).
[2] Bolton Pubs, 1800 – 2000, by Gordon Readyhough.
Published by Neil Richardson (2000). 
Newport Street at is junction with Back Newport
Street pictured in 2012 (copyright Google Street View).
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ReplyDeleteWilliam Whitfield and Catherine (Nee Monk) also had other Children older Thomas James Monk b:? Croston Betsy Monk b:1838 Croston . William Whitfield and Catherine Halliwell from Croston around 1839...they married 15 September, 1839 at St Mary's Church, Deane...In the 1851 Census it is stated that Thomas James and Betsy being William Whitfields children....
ReplyDeleteName William Whitfield Age38 Estimated Birth Year abt 1813 Relation Head Spouse's Name Catherine Whitfield Gender Male Where born Cerston, Lancashire, England Civil parish Great Bolton Ecclesiastical parish Holy Trinity Town Bolton County/Island Lancashire Country England Registration district Bolton Sub-registration district Bolton Eastern ED, institution, or vessel 1 Household schedule number 60P Piece2210 Folio489 Page number17 Household Members
Name Age
Name
William Whitfield
Age
38
Name
Catherine Whitfield
Age
43
Name
Thomas Whitfield
Age
17
Name
Betty Whitfield
Age
13
Name
Hannah Whitfield
Age
11
Name
Jane Whitfield
Age
9
Betsy Whitfield Monk was my great, great, Grandmother...forgot to mention it in the above comment
Delete