Plant Pints

Every now and then whilst researching the main branches of the family tree, a diversion presents itself and you then make a detour down a branch of non-direct ancestors. You can spend weeks, even months following a twig away from that main branch but the stories unearthed can be fascinating and no less relevant just because the connection is not direct, as in one of my 4 x Great Uncle's who become one of the original Oregon pioneers!

This little story is neither as romantic or exciting as pioneering in Oregon but as it is to do with ordinary folk running Walsall Pubs, I thought I would share it with you.

My 3 x Great Uncle, George Plant was born in Lichfield in 1826. In 1849 he married Elizabeth Miles in Birmingham and shortly afterwards the newly married couple followed his brother, my 3 x Great Grandfather Thomas Plant, to Walsall where George and and Thomas attempted Walsall wide domination in Green Grocery. Alas their attempts to carve up greens in Walsall failed fairly early on as George diversified into licensed victualling firstly becoming the licensee at the Durham Ox at 24 Park Street between 1864 and 1870 and then the landlord of the Freemasons Arms on Park Street. Clearly each of the brothers found their niche, as years later the successful Greens man, Thomas, took over as licensee at the Orange Tree on Wolverhampton Street but didn't last very long. Next stop for him was Aldridge and farming!

It was whilst I was searching for further information about The Freemasons Arms that I came upon a wealth of discussion on the ever reliable blog belonging to my good friend Brownhills Bob. THIS discussion links nicely into the history of a hostelry in Walsall Wood, the Royal Exchange. It is also where this delightful photograph of the Freemasons Arms was found.

Courtesy of Ann Cross

Thanks to the wonderful Hitchmough's Black Country Pubs and to Bob's readers, I've been able to put together part of the story of this lost Walsall pub with my family connections added as free extras. Call it the free peanuts on the bar.

At some point Park Street was renumbered as the Freemasons appears in census under two different numbers, being 58 and later 24. From what I have been able to ascertain it stood towards the Town End Bank part of Park Street, which during the 1800s must have been a busy thoroughfare as it was during the latter half of that century that the business and busier part of Walsall gradually gravitated towards the Park Street area and of course Park Street was part of the newly 1920s designated A34.

The Freemasons was originally called The Square and Compasses and a list of licensees can be traced back to 1834.

My 3x Great Uncle George was the third licensee, taking over in 1871 when the previous licensee had been declared bankrupt. Clearly the business required building up and this must have been a successful enterprise as the pub remained in the Plant family for over three decades.

It seems that George had become successful because by the time he moved to The Freemasons Arms, his two sons Thomas age 21 and William age 16, had obtained useful employment as an engineer and a clerk respectively.

The Freemasons Arms was a substantial premises. In 1925 it was described as having stabling for four horses. The public bar was 19'7" x 16' x 9'4" with a lobby, smoke room, snug, billiards room and five bedrooms.

Since originally publishing this I have been contacted by a 4th cousin 2 x removed (yes, distant!) with more information about George and his sons and who also provided the beautiful photograph below of a token that George would have issued from the Freemasons.

Courtesy of Chris Plant

Poor George died in 1877 being only 50 years old. His widow Elizabeth took over the license and the running of the establishment and it remained so until she died in 1891. William her youngest son, remained resident with her throughout and appears to have taken a different route in his career by becoming a saddler.(Finally, I have discovered a saddler in the family!) He also remained single and one can imagine that as Elizabeth got older, having William there with her was of great help and support.

Elizabeth died in 1894. The license was transferred to her son William at the licensing session held on 1 September 1894 at the Guildhall and in the following February William became a member of the Walsall and District Licensed Victuallers' Society. Due remembrance was given to Elizabeth, who although not allowed a vote in local and general elections because of being female, was allowed to run a pub under licence and be a valued member of the LV Society, when the following August the Walsall and District Licensed Victuallers' and Beer Retailer' Friendly and Protection Society, noted in their minutes her sad passing and the fact that they had been represented at her funeral by Mr George Maund, who was the licensee of The Vaults on the High Street. It was not the only Plant funeral Mr Maund attended that twelve month period as we shall see later.

It seems that William, having left saddlery for running a pub had ideas for improving the Freemasons and diversifying because by 1901 he describes himself on the census of that year as a 'hotel proprietor'. This maybe but as yet, I have not turned up any evidence that this was a successful  venture. My thoughts are that it was more B&B than Hilton, with a Walsall spin. It may have something to do with that during 1900 William also took on the license of The Three Cups at 17 Park Street, which apparently did have rooms to let. The license was transferred to him in November 1900 after the owners of The Cups decided they wanted done with the previous licensee Joseph Russell, owing to his infamy in providing what was then illegal bookmaking services from the premises. Apparently The Cups had a telephone! Never a good sign so it seems.

William looks to have been attempting pub domination of Park Street!

In June 1909 William retired at just 55 years of age, the license being assigned to Thomas Watson. This is confirmed on the 1911 census where William is described as a retired licensed victualled. He had clearly made a decent amount of money over the years but there is a little mystery concerning him. Sometime between 1891 and 1901, probably  the summer of 1896, William got married however thus far,  I have not been able to trace his wife nor any potential children. More work to do on this diversion!

On 2 March 1933 The Freemasons Arms closed its doors for the last time and the license was transferred to the Red House in Station Street, just around the corner. Presumably the pub became another shop or perhaps was demolished.

Let's backtrack for a moment though.  William had an elder brother called Thomas who back in 1871 was described as an engineer. What happened to him?

Thomas had been busy in the 1870s, getting married, having children and becoming a shop keeper and beer seller at 1 and 2 Butts Street Walsall. I now know that at number 1 Butts Street  stood the Black Horse and Thomas had the beer licence assigned to him in 1872.  In 1886, Thomas too became a full licensed victualler at The Stand Tavern in Newport Street. The Plants were now attempting pub domination in Walsall and not for the last time! This is backed up by the fact that in November 1885, just before  taking on The Stand, Thomas  purchased the Elephant & Castle on Wolverhampton Street for the princely sum of £700. He held the licence there until 1890.

The Stand is now better known as The Starting Gate and I was amazed to discover a previous albeit tenuous connection with this pub, as way back in my youth, I worked there for a short time at evenings and weekends. It was also the pub where I first came across the phenomena known as Space Invaders and Asteroids!

Elephant&Castle 1968 Courtesy of A Click in Time

Back in 1887 Thomas Plant was having problems with a different type of phenomenon, that of false pretences when 14 year old Charlotte Sadler obtained two shillings by way of a forged note asking for a loan. He wasn't the only one as it appears she to have used the same trick across town. To be fair to Charlotte she had been kicked out of her home and disowned by her family, so I guess she was just trying to avoid the workhouse in the only way she knew.

In 1887 Thomas also had the misfortune to lose his dog. Daisy was a white bull terrier (think Bull's Eye in Oliver twist!) who disappeared in November. Adverts were placed in the local paper and it would seem she was returned perhaps due to the reward being offered. I'm not sure if Daisy was a well loved family pet and guard dog or whether there were other nefarious reasons for advertising her loss taking into account her breed, she lived in a pub and Walsall had rather a bad reputation back then for dog fighting. Whatever the reason more adverts appeared six months later when she had gone missing once again.

The Stand Courtesy of A Click in Time

By 1891 Thomas and his wife had four children and were able to afford to employ a domestic servant but as we know, life was a precariously balanced existence back then and when poor Thomas died in January 1895 at just 45 years old, the  Walsall and District Licensed Victuallers' and Beer Retailers' Friendly and Protection Society were obliged to cover the cost of his funeral expenses and make a donation of £5 10 shillings to the family. Mr Maund attended the funeral of a seocnd Plant family member in less than twelve months.

The family you will be pleased to know did come through this and Thomas' son another George continued in the family trade by becoming the licensee of The Crown in Long Acre Street between 1920 and 1936.

So ends my historical connections with Walsall Pubs, well at least for the time being. You never know what diversions lie ahead however, it does amuse me no end that I have discovered three Plants that ran pubs and for while two of them must have dominated victualling in Walsall. Knowing how the Plants over the years have enjoyed an odd tipple or two, there's a great big smile on my face!

Freemasons Arms courtesy of A Click in Time

Ray Mason 1932 - 2019

Today we said goodbye to my Dad.

As we grew up he often told us that he wanted his last journey to be on the back of a Hayward's lorry. Today his wish was granted and I don't think I can thank J Hayward & Sons enough for everything they did to make that request come true. Thank you from all the family for making my dad's send off a truly special event.

In addition Emma from Floral Exuberance  came out with an outstanding floral tribute to Dad that he would have thoroughly approved of.  

I think it's fair to say that we gave Dad a really good send off. Rest in peace Dad.

This is the  eulogy I delivered today

"Dad, Ray, a Father, grandfather, great grandfather and as is widely accepted, awkward at times and totally his own man.

When putting this eulogy together I could only think that Dad was largely defined by his hard work and more importantly, the haulage business, hence the unusual transport for him today.

 Thank you to Haywards Transport and in particular Brendan Hayward for enabling Dad to have a wish granted, as we grew up being told that when he left us, he wanted his last journey to be on the back of a Haywards lorry.

Dad and his sister Margaret were born in Aldridge and sadly lost their Father when they were just 5 and 6 years old. They knew hard times growing up. With little money available for them Dad was expected to earn his keep from a very young age.

Age 7, he would rise early on a Saturday, get the first bus into Walsall and then two more buses to Dudley Port, to Hadley’s Dairy, owned by his ‘Auntie’ Amy. He worked all day  and then returned home to his Mom, handed over the shilling he had earned, receiving a penny back in return. 

On his 12th birthday during WW2, his Mom told him the time for schooling was over and he should get a job. He did, fetching and carrying parcels, large and small from Aldridge railway station and delivering them. So began his career in haulage.

It must have been around this time that he learned to drive, as there is a picture of him driving at Kingstanding carnival,  with his trademark mop of floppy, curly blonde hair.

But I’ll let you into a secret. Dad never actually passed his driving test

Because he never took one.  

He was in Essex at 18 starting his National Service. Around that time the old Driving Licence Office in Essex burnt down and all records were lost, so Dad used this to his advantage and got a driving licence. 

In the army he learned to drive a lorry.

What I didn't know until  after his death, is that Dad actually served five and a half years in the army. 

Something he kept to himself but then Dad kept a lot of things to himself or rarely spoke of them, for example, he never talked about being the Army Boxing Bantamweight champion.

According to his discharge documents Dad was a good driver who displayed initiative and always had his vehicle clean and ready. Not so much himself though because there follows the  remark that he could be clean and tidy when he wanted to be.

Dad had the rank of Gunner in the army and saw service in the Korean War, something he never spoke about except to say that when the guns started you kept your head down if you could.

He made lifelong friends during that time too and they did get up to some high jinx. One of my favourite stories is how he and three mates went out for a drink one night and having imbibed a little too much found themselves in danger of missing their curfew. Opposite the pub was a post office delivery van. In the struggle to gain entry one of the van’s doors was removed. Dad being the most sober drove the four of them back to barracks in the van minus one door, where they abandoned it and made their curfew.

After  national service, Dad worked as a lorry driver but he was ambitious and decided he would seek his fortune in Canada. Passport duly obtained he went for a drink one night in Aldridge Labour Club and saw a young woman on stage singing. 

He told his drinking partner that he was going to marry that young woman. 

She was of course our Mom, out celebrating her 20th birthday on 23rd April 1957. Dad never went to Canada as just three months later, they were married.

They were together for 54 years before Mom left us in 2011. An event that Dad never got over.

Dad continued lorry driving for a couple more years before his potential was realised and he became the manager at Sammy Jones’ new office in London. A few years later he went to work at J Hayward & Sons in Walsall, a relationship that continued until the day before he suffered his stroke on 7th February, when he had gone in for his regular couple of hours to shred paper. It meant he kept in touch with the company and also with the girls in the office.

Dad was always busy and always out in the evenings. In his time he was secretary of the regional branch of the Institute of Traffic Administration, secretary of Aldridge Labour Club and also held other committee positions in various local clubs including the BRD and McKecknies and finally Chair at Aldridge Conservative Club. He also had a long association with Darlaston Town Football Club and we all shared happy times watching them play and usually lose, at grounds all around the Midlands and further afield too.

Dad was like a walking road map of Britain. If you said you were going somewhere he knew the best route. 

And

What he didn’t know about Aldridge wasn’t worth knowing. He had a story for everyone he had ever known who had lived there and he could tell you who ran what shops when, who had lived where and who was, in his words ‘yampy’ or not worth knowing. 

One day I was telling him about the 1939 National Register and he wanted to see who he remembered as living in Aldridge back them. 

Don’t forget he was just 7 in 1939. 

So I gave him the name of one person in one house in one road in Aldridge. To my amazement he then went along whole streets, telling me who lived where and who they were next too. As I followed his memory on the register, he got everyone right, nobody was missed. What a memory.

Dad loved animals and in particular dogs and horses. The ashes of his last dog Sam are being buried with Dad today along with roses from the garden where Mom’s ashes were scattered, so they can all rest together. 

My sister Nicola tells a story of learning to ride a horse at the farm of friends over in Essington one Sunday morning and Dad didn’t like the way she was being taught, so in his Sunday best suit, he climbed on the horse that was bare back and proceeded to show them all how to ride. 

That farm was also where another much loved dog called Snoopy came from. Mom had already said no to having the dog but Dad clambered up the hay in the barn where Snoopy had been born and he was brought home. On the way, Snoop did what dogs do and messed in the car and then he was placed on the floor in the kitchen, fleas jumping from every hair. Dad, Stewart and Nicola all waited with trepidation to see what Mom did. Mom fell in love with him as we all did.

As I’ve said, Dad always worked hard, providing for his family, being prudent with his money “How much? I aye payin that!” 

I remember him doing a long day at the office and then going out driving lorries at night so that he could pay for me and Nicola and Stewart to go on school trips abroad. We never wanted for any of the essentials whilst growing up, we enjoyed good holidays and he was always there for us when we were older and a crisis occurred and we needed a bailout loan.

It is fair to say that Dad wasn’t very good at showing his feelings but we all knew how much he loved Mom and in later years when finances allowed, he showered her with gifts of beautiful bespoke jewellery which she adored. They had their bad times but somehow always came through them and I remember that on holidays, when Dad was at his best (well except for the palaver of finding free parking spaces because he would never pay for parking) they were always laughing together.

Dad was forthright with his views and opinions and was never scared of voicing them. As one person said to me recently, he called a spade a spade. As a consequence, everyone knew where they stood with him. This was in marked contrast to how he was after his stroke, that robbed him of his speech for such a long time. Several nurses on the ward asked if he had always been so placid, which amused me no end, as placidity was not a word ever associated with Dad. Grumpy git maybe but not placid!

The other thing everyone commented upon was his smile and how lovely it was. Just like Mom. They both had incredible smiles.

In later years his Grandchildren brought much joy to his life. He loved seeing them all. He always had advice at the ready for all of them but with Jack, the youngest, he took a keen interest in his footballing exploits, telling him that he needed aggression when playing, not just in his feet but in his head.

And in the final two years of his life Dad had the pleasure of enjoying his one Great Grandchild, Zion. Zion brought a lot of joy to Dad who was a different man after seeing him, whistling, singing and telling me time and time again, what a lovely lad he was.

There are many things I will miss about Dad. Sometimes his requests were weird. ‘Erm Linda?’ ‘Can you get Aiden to pop to the chippy and get me roe and 7 chips’. ‘7?’ ‘Yes, 7, are doh want more’.One day back in April when Dad was starting to regain some of his speech he wanted something. It took us half an hour to understand what he wanted and yes, it was roe or fish and 7 chips.

Dad was decent, hard working man who could be cantankerous and argumentative but he had a kind heart and would always help someone out if they needed it. Last Christmas at Dad’s request I put together a hamper of Christmas goodies for a friend of his who had been and was seriously ill. Dad got a taxi and took it around to him just before Christmas Day.

He was a one off and we’re all going to miss him but at least he is now reunited with his beloved Barbara. Long may they both rest in peace."