Pubs and Hostelries
Over the years, the village has been blessed with many places of refreshment. Sadly, most of these have disappeared to become family homes, offices and a (very good) Indian restaurant - those few still active are highlighted in the list below. On this page - very much a work in progress - we recall and record as many of these establishments as possible.
In this endeavour, we are indebted to the late Philip Watkins, who between 1989 and 1994 produced painted views of Wollaston which included many of the buildings described on this page. Mr Watkins' collection of paintings may be seen in the Museum.
The following public houses and drinking establishments are featured on this page:
The Band Club
The Bell
The Boot
The Crispin
The Cuckoo
The Fox & Hounds
The Hill
The Marquess of Granby
The Wollaston Inn (Nag's Head)
The Working Men's Club
The Heritage Society would welcome any additional information to add to this page.
The Band Club
The Excelsior Band Club was situated towards the north end of the High Street (number 86), close to Beacon Hill. It has been closed for several years and is being converted into living accommodation.
The Bell
The Bell is now a family home (called The Old Bell) at the junction of Cobbs Lane and Bell End.
This building has a varied history, including some time as a Hair Stylists, judging by the old postcard reproduced below.
User comment (TC): Joan Stock owned the property that was originally The Bell. She lived in the attached house at least through the period when it was the hairdressers. I recall visiting with my mum after the hairdresser had closed when Joan was stripping the room that would have been the bar of the pub back to its original fireplace and tiled floor. She was organist at Strixton church for many years too.
The Boot
The Boot was situated at the south end of the High Street, at the junction with Rotten Row. It was severely damaged by fire in April, 2011 and has since been converted to a family home.
The Crispin Arms
The Crispin Arms was situated at number 14, Hinwick Road, opposite the entrance to Council Street (and very close to the Nag's Head). It closed in 2015 and has since been converted to offices for landscape garden company Timotei.
The pub signs from the Crispin Arms were donated to the Museum.
The coat of arms has a Latin motto which apparently belongs to the surname Penne - Dum clarum rectum teneam - May I keep the line of right as well as of glory. See article on genealogy.com here.
The Cuckoo
The Cuckoo was next door to The Hill, at the top of Cobbs Lane (although its address is 120 High Street). It closed in August, 2013 and was converted to a very good Indian restaurant (Shahjahan) which has since been taken over by another Indian restaurant, the excellent Khandan.
The Fox & Hounds
The Fox & Hounds was in Church Lane and was long ago converted to a family home. The building is identifiable because of the shape of the roof.
The Hill
The Hill occupies the right hand side of the building which also includes Keep House, next door to The Cuckoo at the top of Cobbs Lane (although its address is 122 High Street). It started life as Scott Bader's Social Club and continues to be operated by a sub-Committee of that organisation.
You can access The Hill's Facebook page here.
The Marquis of Granby
The Marquis of Granby was at number 2, London Road and was built in the 16th Century. It was converted to a family home many years ago.
It is a Grade II Listed Building. The Historic England reference can be found here.
The Wollaston Inn (Nag's Head)
The Wollaston Inn is situated at the junction of London Road and Hinwick Road.
First referred to in 1787 as Mr Lucy’s Hostelry, this pub was known as The Nags Head until 2003, under which name it had a formidable history as a music venue under landlord Big Bob Knight - see here. And here.
You can access the Wollaston Inn's Facebook page here.
The Working Men's Club (or 'The Works') is at 72 London Road and one of the few remaining drinking establishments in the village.
You can access the Working Men's Club Facebook page here.
