The original Blue Boar
Inn [pictured here] was some 200 yards away on the corner of Highcross
Street and Blue Boar Lane. It was demolished in the 1830's and replaced
by the Blue Boar in Southgate Street. Legend has it that King Richard
III slept at the inn on the eve of his march to Bosworth Field in 1485.
Another legend claims that King Richard hid £300 in gold coins in the
bedstead and these remained undiscovered for many years until a later
publican, Thomas Clarke, found them. He kept the Blue Boar Inn with his
wife Agnes until his death in 1603. His wife remained in charge of the
Blue Boar Inn until the autumn of 1604 when the fugitive Thomas Harrison
sought lodgings at the pub. Folklore has it that during his drinking
session he got chatting with the Alice Grimbold, a maid employed by
Agnes Clarke, who confided that a stash of gold coins were hidden on the
premises. Along with some accomplices he waited until Agnes Clarke and
the maid were on their own. The villains grabbed them and tied them up.
However, licensee Agnes Clarke put up a struggle and screamed for help.
In order to silence her Harrison shoved his fingers down her throat
which caused her to choke to death. Leaving the maid shackled up, the
thieves made off with almost £500 in gold and silver and a manhunt
ensued. They were hunted and caught. Harrison was condemned to death for
the murder of Agnes Clarke. During the hearing, the maid Alice Grimbold
was convicted of being an accomplice and sentenced to be burned at the
stake. More details of these historic pubs to follow.....
Replacing a much older
Shakespeare's Head, this building was erected following the local
council's decision to destroy much of old Leicester and forge a new dual
carriageway through Castle Park and The Newarke. So, the Shakespeare's
Head now stands close to the underpass that connects Vaughan Way with
Southgates. It would be easy for me to cry in my beer and mourn the loss
of another historic house, so I'll try to be positive and admire some of
the more appealing characteristics of the replacement building. The
curved exterior does at least attempt to convey a theatrical roundhouse
on the one side. Indeed, the structure would not look out of place next
to the Royal Shakespeare Theatre which clearly was an influence on the
designer of this public house. In more recent years, the pub was
operated by
Shipstone's so I assume this was the brewery responsible for the
construction of the building. In the 21st century, the Shakespeare's
Head has formed part of the small empire belonging to the Oakwell
Brewery.
William Millson was the
licensee of the old Shakespeare's Head in the late 1830's. William Peel
moved from a public house in Duns Lane and was running the Shakespeare's
Head by the mid-1850's. Born in Leicester in 1819, William Peel kept the
Shakespeare's Head with his second wife Sarah who hailed from Bagworth.
John and William Peel, sons from William's first marriage, also lived on
the premises. Eldest son John worked as a wood carver. William and Sarah
Peel employed Ellen Milford as a general servant. William Peel was both
publican and maltster, producing
homebrewed ales for his customers. The family moved to Highcross
Street where William, together with son William, continued to trade as
Maltsters. Thomas Mayne was the licensee of the Shakespeare's Head by
1870. He kept the pub with his wife Sarah. The couple later moved to the
Queen Victoria on Church Gate before they retired to Charnwood Street
where Thomas lived to a ripe old age.
By the 1870's the
adjacent brewery was operated by Anne Broughton who, along with her
husband Thomas, had been running the Chelsea Pensioners pub a little
further along the Southgate Street. The brewery was certainly trading as
the Shakespeare Brewery by 1880 when Joseph Cant was the publican of the
Shakespeare's Head [see advertisement below]. The ale and porter brewer
was born in Whetstone in 1852. When the maltster and brewer was working
next door, the pub was kept by his wife Mary who was helped by servant
Annie Roberts who hailed from Burtonwood. Joseph Cant employed the
brewer Joseph Almond, suggesting that production was sufficient enough
to supply other houses in the local area. Indeed, casks could be
transported further afield as the Shakespeare's Head was a noted
carriers establishment. In the 1880's Mr.Cufflin operated a weekly service to Ansty
on every Wednesday, Mr.Lord ran a twice weekly service to Aston
Flamville and Burbage, and R.Haynes travelled three times a week to
Littlethorpe. Joseph Cant had learned much of the trade from his father
who kept the Duke of Northumberland on Old Mill Lane. Joseph brewed the
homebrewed ales for his father but, after a few years at Southgate
Street, died at a very early age in
1883. The brewery became a yard for the expanding Beeston Brewery
Company Ltd. The firm installed William Burton as manager. The Beeston
Brewery involvement may explain how the Shakespeare's Head became a
Shipstone's house because the Basford brewery acquired the company
in July 1922. The brewery at Beeston was converted into a large maltings
which operated until recent years. In the early 1890's James and Elizabeth Wagg kept the
Shakespeare's Head.
