BREWERY JOTTINGS
By Ron Dale
Joseph Bigg, a Stanstead Abbotts man, bought the Hatfield Brewery in 1815 at which
time its only outlet in Stanstead Abbotts was a pub named The Three Wheatsheaves.
By 1819 he was bankrupted and the brewery was sold to Joseph Field, at which time
it owned 31 full licences and 8 beer-only licences. When it was again sold to Alfred
Pryor in 1837 after another bankruptcy, there was no pub listed for Stanstead Abbotts.
In 1920 when the brewery was sold to Benskins, it had two local pubs listed The Rose
& Crown and The Pied Bull. (Details from Breweries in Hertfordshire: A Historical
Gazetteer. Allen Whitaker, 2006) The above-mentioned Joseph Bigg may be the farmer/landowner
who in 1840 owned much land at Easneye, according to the 1840 Tithe map, and was
also the Overseer of the Rye House Workhouse.
Another Hertfordshire brewery, Hawkes, sold to Benskins in 1898, which listed
the following pubs supplied in Stanstead Abbotts: The Bull, Five Horseshoes, Rye
(Kings Arms), Pied Bull, Red Lion. In St. Margarets for that year a pub called The
Chequers was listed, which may be a mistake.
It is not known where The Three Wheatsheaves, The Bull and the Chequers were
located. The first named may have been the old name for The Five Horseshoes as it
was rebuilt at one stage and could have also been renamed. On the 1840 Tithe Map
the Pied Bull was named The Red Bull at this time.
EXCITING FIND RE THE RED LION
Research is such a lucky dip and I have this morning found information about our
local Red Lion pub in the most unexpected place. I came across by accident the full
text of an American family history, the family of Olmsted (Holmstead). [History
of the Olmsted Family in America 1632-1912, Henry King Olmsted, New York, 1912] The
family were Puritans who left Essex for America in 1632 and their history looked
interesting so I began to read the book which was published in 1912 in New York.
In one of the family wills of a Nicholas Olmstead, I found the following statement:
‘My wife, Rachel, has had for her first husband, THOMAS GRAVES THE YOUNGER
of Stanstead Abbotts in the county of Hertfordshire. She claimed his share of the
Red Lion Inn and involved Nicholas Olmsted in a lawsuit (in 1610 or so) which was
decided in her favour. He prays in his will that his son shall have the inn.’
This was written in the will of Nicholas Olmsted (Holmsted) of Braintree, Essex,
proved at Bishops Stortford in May, 1627. Investigation found that his son was named
John Olmsted, so that we have the names of two very early owners of the Red Lion,
the earliest known to-date: Thomas Graves the Younger of Stanstead Abbotts and John
Olmsted, son of Rachel and Nicholas Olmsted of Braintree. Of course they were the
owners and not necessarily the landlords of the Red Lion but it is interesting to
note that 400 years ago the pub was still the Red Lion by name. Few pubs have maintained
their name for four centuriesw and possibly from the 16th century. The family were
Puritans and at this time Puritans were being treated very badly for non-conformism,
causing many to flee to Holland, and there was also an exodus of Puritans to New
England in America. In 1632 the Olmsted family headed by James and his two sons were
part of a large family group who fled to the New World and founded the large family
which exists there today. This family history had no apparent connection with Stanstead
Abbotts, but it was a pleasant surprise to find a nugget of gold wrapped up this
otherwise uninteresting story
STANSTEAD ABBOTTS BY THE FELONIOUS MONGOOSE
I came across the following description of Stanstead Abbotts and St. Margarets on
a website for river-boat enthusiasts headed Felonious Mongoose and dated July 2010.
I am sure the village has not altered much since then.
‘A one-horse town (or one-street town) where the horse seems to have died. There
is an impressive Kart racing track just before you get to it, after passing the Stort.
St. Margarets has the advantage of a railway station from where you can go to Hertford
or Liverpool Street.’
If all that impresses this man of few words is a go-kart track at Rye House
and a railway station from which to escape, he is blind to the history he passed
on the river. No mention here of the mysterious 15th century Gatehouse he passed
without seeing. No mention here of the beauty of the tranquil riverside and its birdlife.
And in any case, country villages are meant to be quiet one-horse places are they
not? He sounds very much like a townie who could never appreciate the beauty of a
quiet peaceful country village or the history which surrounds it. I feel sorry for
the Felonious Mongoose. He is welcome to appreciate the smell and noise of the Go-kart
Track if that gives him joy but he appears condemned to travel through life semi-blinded
to his surrounds. Let him read this website for the rich history he cannot see. Let
him read of Rye House where thousands flocked daily to see Henry Teale’s glorious
Pleasure Gardens. Let him examine the fine restored Gatehouse of 1443, where centuries
later, talk of regicide abounded. He passed Rye House and saw only the Go-Kart Track.
What a sad waste of precious life!
14TH CENTURY GLASS AT ST. JAMES
In a diatribe against Bishop Dr. John Thomas (1686-1781), Octavius Nicholls (1) accused
the bishop of neglecting to repair the ancient church of Chestfield in Kent, and
of demolishing it needlessly. He also accused him of further vandalism elsewhere:
‘ And again... in 1757 for the destruction of the 14th century glass in the churches
of Stanstead Abbotts and Eastwick, in order to replace them by modern windows.’
Octavius continued, saying that fortunately the bishop was appointed to the Bishopric
of Winchester in 1761, omitting the words before he could do any more damage. At
least we now know the exact date of these windows if still there in St. James church.
FOUR WANT WAY, ST.MARGARETS
The following record dated 1708 from Hertford Quarter (2) Sessions puts a name to
the half-mile stretch of road which today leads from the Great Amwell roundabout
to St. Margarets, presumably to the riverside which is the boundary of the parish:
Presentation that the highway leading out of the common road from London to Ware,
commonly called FOUR WANT WAY, to St. Margarets, is out of repair for half-a-mile,
one side of which is in the parish of St. Margarets and the other in the parish of
Great Amwell. It is presented that the inhabitants of St. Margarets ought to repair
their half of the road and the inhabitants of Great Amwell repair their half.
This name, whatever the meaning of ‘want’ in this case, is obviously referring
to the four-way crossroads which existed before the modern roundabout. Today this
stretch of road is commonly called Folly Hill. The records of the Quarter Sessions
are filled with many reports of damaged bridges, walls, fences, gates, riverbanks,
blocked streams and roads, all in need of repair. The court had authority to order
the repair of these by those responsible or face penalties. Later in the year a certificate
was issued by the court that the road was now in good repair. (item no. 116)
1) Chestfield’s Ruined Church, Octavius Nicholls
2) Hertford Quarter Sessions Records, 1581-1894, vol. 4, bundle FOB 1702, no. 98
