The
attractive village of Caldecott is located in the south-western corner of
Rutland close to the boundary of Leicestershire and Northamptonshire. The Eye
Brook flows through the village and into the River Welland just to the
south-east. A flour mill stood next to the brook but it last ground wheat around
1910 before being converted into the village hall. Caldecott is now on the main
A6003 between Uppingham and Rockingham. Indeed, part of the village once formed
part of the Rockingham Estates though the Marquis of Exeter was the Lord of the
Manor. However, a small Roman settlement existed near the river long before any
such manorial claims. The walls of the church recycled Roman tiles and some have
made claims that the building was constructed on the site of a Roman temple.
There is a small Norman window reset in the chancel wall of
Saint John the
Evangelist which is essentially an Early English building that was restored in
the early 1860's. The date of 1648 can be seen on the additional porch.
Built
in 1955, the village hall
stands on the site of the Black Horse Inn which closed its doors to the
public in 1927. The building was demolished eight years later.
Henry and Sarah Jeffs were mine hosts at the Black Horse Inn during the
early 1860's. Born in the village around 1798, Henry Jeffs was also a
joiner and carpenter. Sons Pridmore, Smith and Augustus all followed in
his footsteps working with wood. Their mother Sarah Ann was born in
Middlesex. She took over the running of the
beer house following Henry Jeff's
death in 1867. By the early 1870's, Sarah Ann's son Pridmore was
living next to the pub whilst working as a carpenter and joiner. He had
a successful business and was employing two men. His sons also continued
the family tradition of woodworking. Inevitably, Pridmore and his wife
Mary took over the Black Horse Inn before moving to
the
Old Plough Inn. Kelly's trade directory
for 1891 lists a Joseph Wignell as a beer retailer in the village but
the census shows Emma Wignell as the innkeeper of the Black Horse
Inn.
Recorded as a widow, I assume she lost her husband in that year. She
lived on the premises with three young children and her mother and
father Charles and Ann Ward. Despite being 70 years of age, her dad
still worked as a shepherd. Emma Wignell's brothers,
Samuel and Herbert also lived on the premises. Emma Wignell re-married
to John Spriggs, a locally born shepherd and, together, they kept the
pub into the Edwardian period.
The Castle Inn is
included here because it is on the edge of Caldecott. However,
historically and because it is on the opposite bank of the Eye Brook, it
really belongs to Great Easton in Leicestershire. The pub is named after
Rockingham Castle to the south. William Conqueror ordered the
construction of the original castle, the moat of which remains along
with the foundations of the Norman hall and the twin towers of the old
gatehouse. The castle was used by King John when hunting in Rockingham
Forest. Today's castle dates from Elizabethan times and has been owned
by the Watson family since it was granted to them by King Henry VIII.
Charles Dickens was a regular visitor to the castle and he dedicated
David Copperfield to Mr and Mrs Watson. Despite being named after the
fortification, the Castle Inn was the principal port-of-call for
passengers arriving at the nearby Rockingham Station, a matter of yards
from the building. Operated by the London and North Western Railway, the
line connected Rugby and Peterborough.
This building traded until 1948
when the licence was transferred to the Plough Inn across the road.
Malt
is thought to have been worked here from the 16th century and there is
the date of 1578 above the front door. Another date [1838] with the
initials R.M. is more prominent, suggesting a partial rebuild or
restoration. These letters are the legacy of Robert
Morris who was the publican at the Old Plough Inn at this time. He was
born in the village around 1779 and at the time of the 1841 census lived
at the Old Plough Inn with his children Robert, Jane, James and William.
The latter was only one year old and, with Robert Morris being recorded
as a widower, it suggests that his wife died in complications related to
the birth. The other children were considerably older. Robert Morris
employed Thomas Loveday and Mary Shilton as servants, suggesting that
the Old Plough Inn was enjoying good trade. Robert and Jane were still
living with their father in the early 1850's, a time when Hannah Brown
operated a bakery next to the pub.
This building took on the role of
the Plough Inn when the licence was transferred from the pub across the
road [see Old Plough above] around 1948.The building fronts the main road but is in the corner of the old green
where nearby there was the village pump. The people of Caldecott relied
on this until piped water was installed in 1957. Up until that point it
was a case of trudging down to the pump with a bucket.An older feature of the
village green were the stocks but these were stolen in 1835.The yard of the Old Plough was used for part of the village fair along
with the green.
Moving from
the
Black Horse Inn,
Pridmore and Mary Jeffs were running the Old Plough in the early 1890's.
Their granddaughter Laura Corbett worked as a domestic servant. By this
time, nearing the end of the 19th century, Thomas Brown had followed his
mother by running the village bakery. Just along the street Annie Rains
was the post-mistress. She was still running the village's post office
when Robert and Sarah Richards were in charge of the Plough Inn at the
turn of the 20th century.
The building of the White Hart
Inn has survived but the last pints were pulled around 1950. The pub was
formerly called the King's Head. Harris Palmer was
the publican in the early 1860's. Born in Swinstead, Lincolnshire, he
moved into the
beer house with his second wife Mary. He had previously lived in
Freiston where he worked as an agricultural labourer. This was also the
occupation of William Wade who was the publican in the early 1870's.
Born in the neighbouring village of Great Easton in 1845, he kept the
pub with his wife Mary. She was born in the village. The couple had two
young sons Benjamin and William. In adult life Benjamin would later move
to Lancashire when he worked as an engine driver on the railways.
William, who was born in the White Hart Inn, also became an engine
driver and he moved to Gloucestershire in later years. Throughout the 1880's the White Hart Inn was
kept by Charles and Ann Harris. Charles was born in the Northamptonshire
village of Harringworth in 1828 but his wife hailed from Yarwell.
Contains
over 380 quality photosfrom
the Mitchell's and Butler's archive,
this large format book is
invaluable for anyone who has an interest in Birmingham and its
pubs past and present.
A pictorial history of the public houses of
Burton upon Trent, from the early days right up to the present, is
illustrated with over 170 images of pubs long gone, many of them
demolished.
Paperback edition of the classic and popular
guide to the Black Country by Harold Parsons who describes with
affection and pride the towns, villages and landscape of the region
The
book compiles the story of brewing in Warwickshire from the creation
of a common brewery in Coventry in 1801 to the establishment of
major forces during the 1830's.
Written by a former librarian
at Birmingham, this book records the pubs of Birmingham city centre
in an area now within the present Inner Ring Road. Over 100 images
are featured.
This
book takes you on a picturesque stroll along Broad Street with
nearly 250 photographs and captions to celebrate the thoroughfare's
rich history. Used copy in Good Condition.
This book
features 200 Nottingham pubs, each with a photograph plus
substantial captions. Many of the photos are from the early 1970s
before the council’s mass demolition actions.
A pictorial history
of Gloucestershireincludes external and
interior brewery views, the workers, owners and transport.
An attractive book that is a superb visual
record.
