Some history of the White Swan at St. Alban's in the county of Hertfordshire

Hertfordshire | St. Alban's | White Swan

The premises of the White Swan survived the mass clearance for the development of the Christopher Place Shopping Centre, the building forming part of a passage from Upper Dagnall Street into the shopping complex. In the 2020s, through the family running the place, the White Swan has one leprechaun leg dipped in the Irish bar movement, a trend that has, to me at least, endured longer than I envisaged. The McGuinness family, acting as tenants for Star Pubs, a retail arm of Heineken, even have the black stuff as a surname!

© Crown Copyright. Reproduced with kind permission of the National Library of Scotland under the Creative Commons Attribution licence.

Surveyed in 1878 and published two years later, this map extract shows the location of the White Swan when it was surrounded by a cluster of small buildings and a Wesleyan Methodist Chapel across the road. With a disapproving glance across the street, some of the congregation possibly repaired to the adjacent Albion Inn, a Temperance establishment, where they could avoid the evil drink after services.

© St. Alban's Museums and reproduced with kind permission.

A small glimpse of the Wesleyan Methodist Church can be seen in this late Victorian photograph in which the camera was pointing along Upper Dagnall Street. As can be seen from the earlier map extract, one would not have been able to view the church from such a position ... except that the building was renovated and enlarged between 1894-5. This saw the front elevation of the church following the building line of Upper Dagnall Street and therefore in view on this pictorial record. The man responsible for the re-modelling was the locally-based architect, Frederick Walter Kinneir Tarte. He worked with a restricted site as the trustees, displaying little foresight, sold the land behind the church in previous years. Consequently, the building had to be extended up to the pavement of Upper Dagnall Street. The architect brought forward an organ chamber, ensuring harmony with the existing building by utilising similar bricks. Costing around £700, the alterations were carried out by Messrs. J. and W. Savage, the building being re-opened with a series of services in January 1895.¹

Visitors to modern St. Alban's will find nothing of the old church - or indeed any of the surrounding buildings immediately around the place of worship. A large unsightly building, housing an Argos store, now dominates this part of Dagnall Street, all along Cross Street, and the south-western side of Spencer Street. This was constructed on the site of the extensive printing works of Gibbs & Bamforth, a firm that occupied the large tract of land when expanding their printing operation. The printing trade was an important element of the local economy and this business employed a large number of people. Returning to the Victorian photograph above, the premises shown was the retail shop of Gibbs & Bamforth, housed within a historic building that once formed part of the old Town Hall. It was in part of this structure that "the Quarter Sessions for the Borough and Liberty of St. Alban's, as were also the meetings of the Corporation. The lower part was used as the Borough Gaol, or Counter as it was called, the prisoners in which were visible from Dagnall Street as they stood behind the bars of the lock-up." ² The miscreants behind bars could possibly have been viewed by those imbibing in the White Swan as the pub is opposite the rear of the timber-framed building with a jettied first floor. The tavern, then known simply as The Swan, was trading here before the erection of the new Town Hall in 1829-30. Richard Gibbs, founder of what would become the Herts Advertiser in 1855, went into partnership with John Bamforth in 1874. He was elected a Town Councilor and served as mayor of St. Alban's in 1888.³

Articles on the White Swan in the early 2020s claimed that the pub was 250 years-old. I have not verified this but the building certainly looks to date from the 18th century. The earliest reference I have seen for a publican is John Prior in 1826.⁴

© Peter Williams Archive and reproduced with kind permission.

William Deards was the licensee of The Swan by 1834. He may have been treasurer of an early sick and dividend club based at the premises. At the Petty Sessions held on December 20th, 1834, John Hatton, stated to be a member of the benefit club held at the Swan public-house, applied to the Magistrates to know if he could claim the benefit usually paid to sick members, the Society having refused him on the basis they had sustained a loss of £150 and were, a steward stated, "unable to pay the full sum expressed in their rules, having but £12 in hand." It was reported that, as they wished to keep the club on, the Magistrates decided that they should pay Hatton 5s. per week during his illness, and while the club existed.⁵

Born at Welwyn in December 1798, William Deards was a plumber and glazier by trade. He owned freehold, copyhold land and buildings in his hometown, to which he returned before his death in 1841.⁶ The Deards family would subsequently be involved with the Chequers Inn at Woolmer Green.⁷

Brewery ownership of The Swan started relatively early in that the premises were acquired by Henry Parsons by 1844.⁴ Born in St. Alban's in June 1807, he was a son of the brewer, Joseph Parsons. He married Sarah Strange, the couple residing in St. Peter's Street where Henry Parsons was recorded as a common brewer.⁸ This was at the St. Peter's Brewery, near the corner of Victoria Street. The business prospered, building up a tied-estate of 30 houses, of which The Swan was part. Henry Parsons enjoyed a successful business career - by the time of his death in 1870, whilst living at Marlborough House, he was also chairman of St. Alban's Gas Company.⁹

Licensees of The Swan were, more than likely, tenants to St. Peter's Brewery rather than managers. The house seems to have added the White prefix to the sign during the early 1870s, though the census enumerator who called in 1871 recorded The Swan. This survey shows that Emma Plumb was the landlady.

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The sign of the White Swan was mentioned in a newspaper article dated December 27th, 1873, when Elizah Thompson was landlady. Her Bristol-born husband, William, a former railway inspector, probably held the licence. However, it was Elizah who appeared in court, accompanying her 8-year-old daughter, Bertha, in a case against John King, a 34-year-old bricklayer who had been lodging at the White Swan. He was charged with indecently assaulting young Bertha Thompson on December 20th, 1873. The Herts Advertiser stated that the evidence was unfit for publication. Police-Constable Sharp said that after the prisoner was locked up he heard a gurgling noise in the cell, and on checking he found that King had tied a scarf very tightly around his neck, and almost strangled himself to death. John King told the officer that he would kill himself before morning. Dr. Lipscomb said he had heard of what was stated by Constable Sharp, and in consequence thereof had written to the governor of the gaol to have the prisoner watched. He thought it a question whether the police would make a charge against the prisoner of attempting to commit suicide. I was not surprised, as was often the case, that the Mayor said there was not sufficient evidence convict the prisoner of the assault, and therefore the Bench dismissed the case. Addressing the bricklayer, the Mayor said that he hoped that it would be warning to him in future. What, when the dirty bastard does it again? What was required was ten minutes in the cell with Bennet Drake to extract a confession. The Bench strongly censured Elizah Thompson for allowing the girl to sleep in the same apartment as the defendant. It was against the rules of morality, and as a mother of nine children, Mrs. Thompson ought to have known better. She was told that she would have to pay the costs amounting to 7s.¹⁰ Bertha Thompson would later marry the potter Spencer Copestake. In 1891 the couple kept the Vine Inn at Longton in The Potteries.¹¹ In 1901 they had move to a suburb of Stoke-upon-Trent where they ran the Seven Stars Inn.¹²

In 1870, not long before the brewer Henry Parsons died, possibly putting his affairs in order, he dissolved the partnership he had with his sons Edwin and Francis, both of whom had joined the family business. It was Francis Parsons who carried on the firm on his own account, his brother taking a more leisurely path in life.¹³ Eight years later, in the spring of 1878, Francis Parsons instructed Alfred Thomas to sell the brewery and tied-estate in one lot, but only on lease [initially set at 30 years].¹⁴ This was when the nearby brewery of Adey and White took over the enterprise. However, rather than concentrating all brewing at one site, they continued to run the St. Peter's Brewery. It is conjecture on my part but perhaps it was a covenant by Francis Parsons for the brewery to remain in operation? Taking early retirement, Francis Parsons moved to Portsea in Hampshire. He was a very wealthy man but died at a relatively young age in March 1885. His brother died five years earlier at Marlborough House. The Parsons family grave is at St. Peter's Church.

Extract from the Page 5 of the Herts Advertiser published on Saturday October 16th, 1880.

£50 seems cheap for renting the White Swan in 1880. The price attracted recently-married David and Annie Ellement. The former farm servant may have found the licensed trade tough going as he returned to working the soil as a gardener when the couple moved to Erwin Villa on Verulam Road. He was born at Croxley Green but Annie Ellement hailed from Enville in Staffordshire. She had formerly been part of an army of servants who worked for the Earl of Stamford at Enville Hall.¹⁵ I wonder how this couple's life journey crossed paths - perhaps because of them being in service?

Extract from the Page 5 of the Herts Advertiser published on Saturday September 9th, 1882.

© Peter Williams Archive and reproduced with kind permission.

Henry Comley, publican of the White Swan in 1887, was embroiled in a legal tangle after he had been left high-and-dry by William White, a Leyton publican who had entered into an agreement to take over the pub but, through his lack of finance, reneged on the deal. White had already sent his furniture to the pub and, naturally, Henry Comley used them as barter hoping to regain the licence of his house. What a pickle of a situation. Mind you, the proceedings in court revealed that a change of ownership had taken place at the White Swan, possibly as a result of the death of Francis Parsons. This could have affected the lease agreement he had with Adey and White. Whatever the case, in 1887 the White Swan was owned by John Lloyd & Co., brewers and maltsters at Verulam Road. However, the pub formed part of a lease agreement, the freeholders being the Searancke family.¹⁶ Just prior to the lease expiring on Michaelmas 1889, the enterprise was sold to William Henry Bingham Cox.¹⁷ Through a subsequent sale and mergers, the Kingsbury Brewery was taken over by Benskin's Watford Brewery Limited in an agreement dated November 1897.¹⁸ This is the reason that the White Swan features the livery of the Watford brewery on the sign in the above image.

Extract from the Page 10 of the Herts Advertiser published on Saturday November 8th, 1890.

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Philip Gray held the licence of the White Swan during the fag end of Queen Victoria's reign. He was licensee from January 1900 to January 1901. Prior to this, from October 1896 to September 1899, he was manager [under his mother] of the New Inn at Eton. After leaving St. Alban's he worked at the Coach and Horses on Conduit Street in London. From there he applied for the manager's role at the Bear Hotel in Maidenhead, an establishment owned by Mrs. Chetwynd.¹⁹

George and Edith Robinson kept the White Swan throughout the Edwardian period. Born in the local area in 1874, he followed in his father's footsteps and entered the hat trade, working as a blocker.²⁰ This was somebody who gave straw hats their shape, all of which was done by hand in those days. George Robinson married Edith Dawkins at the Church of St. Peter at Bushey Heath in 1898. She hailed from Warwickshire where she worked as a hat trimmer.²¹ I assume, therefore, that she migrated to one of the centres of the hat industry where the couple first met.

© Google [2017] St. Alban's. Available at: http://maps.google.co.uk Accessed: 26th November 2024.

References
1. "Wesleyanism At St. Alban's : Enlargement And Renovation Of The Dagnall Street Church" : Herts Advertiser; January 5th, 1895. p.5.
2. Kent, E. Stanley [1930] "St. Alban's In The Early Nineteenth Century" in "St. Alban's and Hertfordshire Architectural and Archaeological Society Transactions 1929" London : Gibbs and Bamforth Ltd. p.241
3. "Death Of Well-Known Men" : Western Daily Press; January 1st, 1910. p.7.
4. Johnson, W. Branch [1963] "Hertfordshire Inns : A Handbook Of Old Hertfordshire Inn And Beerhouses Part 2. West Herts" Letchworth : Hertfordshire Countryside. Page 97.
5. "Petty Sessions" : Hertford Mercury and Reformer; December 23rd, 1834. p.2.
6. England & Wales, Prerogative Court of Canterbury Wills, 1384-1858 > PROB 11: Will Registers > 1839-1841 > Piece 1944: Vol. 6, Quire Numbers 251-300 [1841]
7. 1861 England Census RG 9/826 Folio 43 : Hertfordshire > Welwyn > District 3, Page 8.
8. 1841 England Census HO 107/447/8 : Hertfordshire > St. Peter > District 2, Page 27.
9. "St. Alban's Gas Company" : Herts Advertiser; July 16th, 1870. p.6.
10. "Charge Of Indecent Assault" : Herts Advertiser; December 27th, 1873. p.6.
11. 1891 England Census RG 12/2180 Folio 72 : Staffordshire > Stoke-upon-Trent > Longton > District 3, Page 43.
12. 1901 England Census RG 13/2575 Folio 77 : Staffordshire > Stone > Lightwood > District 13, Page 14.
13. "Notice" : Herts Advertiser; January 22nd, 1870. p.4.
14. "Brewery At St. Alban's" : Herts Advertiser; March 23rd, 1878. p.4.
15. 1871 England Census RG 10/2928 Folio 103 : Staffordshire > Enville > District 8, Page 14.
16. "Important Sale" : Herts Advertiser; July 13th, 1889. p.4.
17. "Sale Of The Kingsbury Brewery" : Herts Advertiser; July 20th, 1889. p.6.
18. "The Leighton Buzzard Brewery" : Luton Times and Advertiser; April 1st, 1898. p.3.
19. "The Bear Hotel" : Maidenhead Advertiser; May 1st, 1901. p.6.
20. 1891 England Census RG 12/1116 Folio 20 : Hertfordshire > St. Alban's > St. Alban's > District 9, Page 20.
21. 1891 England Census RG 12/2444 Folio 81 : Warwickshire > Nuneaton > Chilvers Coton > District 8, Page 4.

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"At the St. Alban's City Petty Sessions Thursday, Henry Comley landlord of the White Swan Inn, St. Alban's, appeared in answer to an adjourned charge of having stolen a piano, table, and other furniture, the value of £50, the property of William White, of Leyton, Essex. Mr. Dumville prosecuted; Mr. Annesley defended. Mr. Dumville first made a personal explanation. He said he appeared to prosecute on the previous week at a moment's notice, and without full instructions. Mr. White, the prosecutor, was then ill in bed, and of coarse asked for adjournment. Subsequently he saw the prosecutor, and after talking over the facts he advised him that there was no ground whatever for charge of felony, whatever other complaint there might be against Mr. Comley. On that he gave the prosecutor certain advice, which he believed, he had acted upon; and he [Mr. Dumville] retired from the case, assuring the Court that there had been no compromise or collusion. Mr. Annesley said the charge had been made publicly, and had seriously affected the accused, and he, therefore, hoped the Bench would allow him to make a statement. The prosecutor had been called but did not now appear; and a broker named Butler, who had been subpœned, also treated the court with contempt. It was obvious that the prosecutor could not have consulted a solicitor before taking these proceedings. The magistrates would not have granted the summons unless upon improper representations. No blame or accusation could attach to Mr. Comley. He was at present the landlord of the White Swan. In the beginning of September he advertised the house for sale; and on the 19th September some persons who had seen the advertisement came down to St. Alban's - namely, Mr. and Mrs. White, Mr. Butler, a public-house broker, and his wife - to view the place and examine the books as usual; and they all knew that there was no keener person than a public-house broker for that kind of thing. As result, the following agreement was come to: "I, Charles Butler, of 4, Bussell Road, Leyton, agree to buy of Henry Comley, White Swan, St. Alban's, for the agreed sum of £6l. 5s., all at. Deposit £6 5s." - Mr. Annesley said the broker had used those ingenious words "all at," which meant it included everything. On the following Saturday, Sept. 24th, all four parties came down again, and paid the deposit of £6 5s., and the agreement was formally signed. As the house belonged Mr. Lloyd, whose consent was necessary, they went to him, and Mr. Lloyd, after examining White's credentials, approved of him. The White's were so satisfied with the bargain that they came before the Bench the following Thursday, and obtained permission to carry on the house till the next transfer day. Everything was regular, and there only remained the completion of the purchase. It appeared that White himself was the owner of a public-house, and was leaving one house to go into another. He had a settlement with the incoming tenant of the house he was going out of, and seemed to have relied on receiving a considerable sum on that settlement to enable him to complete the contract at St. Alban's. Difficulties arose; and the following telegrams passed: "White, to White Swan. - Cannot settle business here yet. Come soon at possible" [Oct. 1st]. - Butler to Comley [Oct. 1st], "On White paying you £105 give him possession." - White to Comley [Oct. 3rd], "No chance of settling today - letter will follow." This letter read as follows- "54 Malvern Road, Dalston. Dear sir, I am sorry to inform you that it is impossible for me to take your house, as I found to my astonishment upon going through the accounts of my late house with the brokers, that with the expenses, accounts, and interest to brewers and distillers, and commission, etc., that I have not anything to take, and my trustee will not advance me the money until the dividend is due, as in case of my death before then he would lose it. What am I to do? I am worried to death as you must be, and Butler must be paid his commission on purchase, which will amount to at least £20. The only plan I can suggest is for you to carry on the business as before, and I will move my things into some cottage and pay Butler his deposit and be done with him, and we can then enter into agreement between ourselves as soon as I get the money to pay you out. - William White." White got the protection transfer, and immediately sent down his furniture. He expected to get the money to complete the purchase, but failing this he naturally wanted his furniture back. But the difficulty was that White had possession of the license and the contract. Comley would, of course, give up the furniture on return of the license, the payment of compensation, and release from the contract; but neither White nor Butler had since come to St. Alban's, and their next proceeding was to charge Comley with felony by means of imposing upon a magistrate. The Bench would now see the case clearly; and he would add that there had been no advances for a compromise. - The Chairman said that the Bench felt that it was a hard case for Mr. Comley, but so far as it had gone there was not the least stain upon his character. The Bench considered that the parties concerned had treated the Court with a very great deal of disrespect, and they should issue warrant for Butler, who did not answer his subpœna, and also subpœna White to attend the next hearing."
"Extraordinary Case Against A Publican"
Herts Advertiser : October 22nd 1887 Page 5

"A fe ned."
"A Relic From The Amazon"
Carlisle Patriot : December 18th 1852 Page 2

"A 250-year-old pub has re-opened as a Christmas shop following England's second lockdown. The manager of The White Swan, in St. Alban's, Andrew McGuinness, said Covid-19 regulations meaning drink could only served with a "substantial meal" had forced a re-think. He said expanding its food offer would have been "financially disastrous." "With Christmas literally just around the corner, we have transformed into a shop," he said. The pub in Upper Dagnall Street relies on alcohol sales for 95% of its turnover, Mr. McGuinness said, but saw business go from "100 to zero in a day" when the first lockdown was announced in March and it offered a takeaway drinks service, along with some food. Under the latest tier two restrictions, pubs can only serve alcohol to customers eating a "substantial meal" who must leave when they have finished eating. But the cost of hiring more staff and a lack of storage space has stopped the pub expanding its food offering, he said. "Financially it would be disastrous and affect the future of the business," Mr. McGuinness said. "So we've had to put our thinking caps on and do something a bit different." In what he describes as "a bit like a Santa's grotto without Santa," the pub will still offer takeaway food and drink but customers can also buy hampers, gifts, toys and jewellery. "Not a single person has said it's not the right thing to do," he said. "This year, Christmas will be just about survival and keeping going to next year when hopefully things will improve. But I don't see things returning to where they used to be for a long time so we'll have to keep adapting to the rules and thinking of new things to do."
"The White Swan In St. Alban' Re-opens As Christmas Shop After Lockdown"
BBC News : December 5th 2020

"St. Albans' very first pub roof garden has officially opened to mark the family's 10-year anniversary at a much loved local pub. St. Alban's Mayor, Councillor Edgar Hill, joined the McGuinness family to celebrate the opening at The White Swan on Upper Dagnall Street. Not only has the new roof garden marked the family's 10-year anniversary at the pub but it marked the pub's 250-year anniversary too. The White Swan has been closed for three and a half weeks while building work took place and now the family is very excited to see it back up and running. A £75,000 joint investment by Heineken-owned Star Pubs & Bars 1 and the McGuinness family secured the new garden which has a dedicated bar and features timber decking, a mix of different seating options, barrel tables and wall lights as well as outdoor heaters and 10ft by 10ft parasols. It provides a unique secluded space that can be hired out for Christmas parties and other private functions and will be a suntrap on warm and sunny days. It can accommodate 36 seated or over 40 standing. John is St Alban's longest-serving landlord and has taken the pub on to many successes. The first year he and his family won St Alban's Festive Pub of the Year."
"St. Albans' First Pub Roof Garden Opens To Mark Owner's 10-Year Anniversary"
by Charlie Reynolds in Herts Live : October 22nd 2021