The Waggon and Horses was
situated at 67-69 St Helens Road at the top of Bright Street. The was initially
at number 69 but it soon expanded into the premises on the corner of the
street.
The first mention we have
for the Waggon and Horses is in an 1869 Bolton Directory when the landlady is
Ann Owen and the address is just given as ‘Daubhill’. Directories were often
soon out of date and this one was by the time it was published. But ‘Bernice’
on Rootsweb wrote in 2003 that her great-great grandfather, James Ormrod,
started the Waggon and Horses but lost the pub in a bad business deal. [1]
James and Jane Ormrod are
listed as running an un-named beerhouse in Daubhill in 1861. On the 1841 Census
return they lived next door to the Rams Head further down Derby Street though they weren't in the licensed trade. Indeed,
their premises later became part of the enlarged Ram's Head pub.
In 1861, Ann Owen was at
the Sir Sidney Smith on Bridgeman Street with her husband John in 1861 but she
seems to have moved to Daubhill a few years later. She married a local man,
Paul Dootson, in 1867 and they had a son, also named Paul, in 1868. The senior
Paul died in 1877.
So, Ann Owen must have moved
to the Wagon and Horses around the mid-1860s. There were huge social changes in
Daubhill at this time. Henry Lee had bought a small weaving shed in the area in
1860. He joined forces with his brother Joseph Lee, Henry Tootal Broadhurst and
Robert Scott to form Tootal Broadhurst Lee Ltd. Between 1862 and 1867 they
built Sunnyside Mills which worked in the textile industry until 1980.
The construction of the
mills led to a huge influx of new inhabitants into the area. Houses sprang up
on the opposite side of St Helens Road and when the Bolton to Leigh railway
line was diverted under Ellesmere Road further housing was built in Olive
Street, Barbara Street and Florence Street. [2]
The 1891 Census returns
for Sunnyside Street, a small row of houses at the bottom of Adelaide Street,
shows that many of its inhabitants were born in Wigan. However, there were also
people born in Blackpool and Cornwall and there was even the Lopes family from South
America.
By the time of the 1871
census Ann was at the Waggon and Horses with her sons John Owen (born 1849),
James Owen (born 1854) and the oddly named Owen Owen (born 1856). Paul Dootson
was with his mother in Daubhill.
In 1881 Ann Dootson was
running the pub with her sons, Richard Owen and Owen Owen. Both were brewers at
the pub. Ten years later, Ann had retired and was living with Owen Owen in
nearby Joseph Street. James Owen was running the pub along with his wife Mary.
The family’s tenure at
the Waggon and Horses was over by the end of the 19th century. The
1901 census shows James Owen as living in Bertwine Street. Anne Dootson had
moved to Stewart Street in Halliwell where she died in 1902. Owen Owen appears
to have gone back into brewing. By 1911 he was living at a house in Smethurst
Lane but still gave his occupation as an ale and porter brewer.
The Waggon and Horses was
taken over by Henry Maxfield who remained at the pub for the first 20 years of
the twentieth century. Maxfield was living in York Street, off Bridgeman Street
in 1871 and was working at that time as a blacksmith. He remained in the profession after moving to
St Helens Road later in the 1870s. He lived just across the road from the pub
at number 76 St Helens Road in 1881 and
was a few doors along at number 97 in 1891. It is highly likely that he was one
of Ann Dootson’s customers and took over the pub when the family left.
Maxfield remained at the
Waggon and Horses until he died in 1923 aged 72. The pub was then taken over by
an Irishman, James Higgins, who was previously a coal miner living in nearby
Southend Street. Higgins died in 1941.
The Waggon and Horses was
taken over by Magee, Marshall and Co during Maxfield’s tenure.
In his reminiscences of
the area, local historian Norman Kenyon said that he often drank at the Waggon
and Horses although he and his father-in-law Bill Morgan occasionally drank at
the Railway, further down St Helens Road which Bill thought was a better class of pub. [3]
Wholesale redevelopment
of the area bounded by St Helens Road, Adelaide Street, Barrier Street and the
old Bolton-Leigh railway line took place in the early-1970s. All properties
within those boundaries were demolished and light industrial units were built
in their place.
The entrance to Lantor’s
car park was formed out of the former Bright Street. The Waggon and Horses was
on the right-hand side at the top of the street. (Image copyright Google Street View, July 2016). These premises were occupied for many years by Bentwood Brothers Ltd.
[1] Rootsweb. Accessed 9
December 2016.
[2] There is a
preponderance of streets with girls’ names in the area: Olive, Florence,
Barbara, Adelaide, Georgina, Ivy, Bertha, Doris, Bella, Minnie, Daisy,
Alexandra and Caroline are all represented. Most of the streets still exist.
[3] Bolton, Daubhill and
Deane: A Sentimental Journey, by Norman Kenyon. Published by Neil Richardson
(1998).
No comments:
Post a Comment