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The photograph
here dates from just after the Second World War but
little had changed from the property that was kept by
your ancestor Honor Stainton. To the left of the bay window
there was a large entry for waggon access to the yard behind the
pub. Above the entry there was another bedroom. The man on the
doorstep in this photograph is thought to be the father-in-law
of the licensee Arthur Gilbert, a publican who managed the
Ward
Arms
for many years during and after the Second World War. He
kept the pub for
Ind Coope and
Allsopp's of
Burton-on-Trent. You have rightly identified Honor Stainton
as the innkeeper in 1861, by which time she was a widow. In
fact, she was recorded as such in the census conducted ten years
earlier. Her son Samuel was documented as a butcher in 1851.
This business may have been conducted on the same premises.
Daughter Phebe, though only 16, was recorded as a pawnbroker,
demonstrating that the Stainton family were not short of
entrepreneurial flair. An elder daughter, Ann, worked in the
Ward Arms
alongside her mother and another daughter named
Caroline no doubt helped around the house. Elizabeth Stainton,
though still a scholar, probably had a list of chores which she
attended to at the end of class. Interestingly, a maltster named
Edward Jones lived in a neighbouring property; he may have been
involved with ales sold at the Ward Arms
in the early-mid 19th
century. In White's trade directory for 1851 Honor Stainton was
listed as the publican of the
Ring-of-Bells. Tracing
backwards, the Ring of Bells was listed in White's 1834 trade
directory in which Matthew Stainton was listed as the publican.
The 1841 census shows Matthew and Honor Stainton at the Ring of
Bells with
the aforementioned maltster Edward Jones living next to
building. Honor Stainton died in 1881. As you have identified,
the Ring of Bells was kept by George Hadley in 1855. He was a
saddler by trade and kept the pub with his wife Elizabeth. The
house was almost opposite the Ward Arms on a kink of the road
among a row of shops. Kieron
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That's really great and both confirms and
enlarges upon my research to date.. A couple of small points to
add to the research findings. In the 1851 census, the youngest
child of Honor, my great grandmother Sarah [b.1840] is not
listed - she may well have been staying with a relative on that
night - but she was definitely alive - and embroidered a berlin-work
tapestry with her name on it in 1856! In the 1881 census Honor
is entered as living with daughter Phoebe, now wife of William
Whitehouse at 42 Hawes Lane. Is that close to the pub? Thank you
so much again for your help.....we intend to come up to Rowley
Regis soon to visit the church where all these ancestors,
including my own parents, were married.
Margaret Stephens
Pembrokeshire
29th August
2009
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I had to travel to
Tividale today so I nipped into Blackheath library to see if
there was any information on the
Ring of Bells public house.
I didn't realise that the local history group had produced a
wonderful magazine called The Rowley Rag. Lo and behold in one
of the issues there was an article entitled "Another Mystery
Solved" in which, Mrs Margaret Owen, an elderly resident of the
village, was asked the question "where was the
Ring of Bells?"
Here is her reply: "....possibly about 1937-38, numbers 18-19
and 20, Church Road were condemned, and we all moved. Aunt
Elizabeth from Number 20 moved to the lower end of Hanover Road,
we moved to Portway Road, I think Mr & Mrs Cole went to live in
Springfield, but by 1939 we moved back to the village into the
Ring of Bells. When my family lived there it was no longer a
licensed premises, the front door into this house was on the
pavement at a slight angle. My brother Major remembers the sign
over the front door, it had been painted over, there were eight
bells and Major believes there was a connection with the bells
in the church and the bells were all named. Downstairs there
were two rooms plus a kitchen, but it still had the old settles
in and also an ingle nook fireplace. The rooms were partitioned
off as they were quite large, the cellar was still there as were
the sills where the beer barrels were stored. The kitchen had
the usual things, sink, copper and some quite long ovens, I
remember father telling me at sometime it was a bakery? Possibly
it was Sefton's from Old Hill or Cradley Heath. Upstairs there
were two rooms, one was quite a large room, possibly an assembly
room, because it had a clothes closet in the corner and both
rooms had fireplaces. At the rear of the house there were stalls
and lofts, and also the toilet." A priceless description of the
old pub and hats off to the local historians who asked the
all-important questions. Kieron
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