The antiquity and decrepitude of a number of the company's licensed houses prohibited all consideration of refurbishment or even continued use as a public house. The White Swan at Knottingley was one such property. A seventeenth century building which was originally a manor house, the property had been an inn since the eighteenth century, being acquired by Carters' Knottingley Brewery by George Carter in the last quarter of the nineteenth century. (1) By the late 1930s the building was structurally unsound and when it was reported that the walls would probably require underpinning efforts which were already underway to find a site upon which to build a replacement in order to facilitate transfer of the White Swan licence were intensified. (2)

A similar situation applied with regard to the Old Hall Inn, Great Houghton, which like the White Swan Inn, was a converted manor house. Despite an interior refit early in 1934 the outer fabric was both unsightly and unsound and an additional consideration was that the company owned and equally decrepit Crown Inn which was situated only about 100 yards from the Old Hall Inn, competed for the same volume of trade to the detriment of both. (3)

Another dilapidated looking Knottingley inn was the Aire Street Hotel which was originally a warehouse for bonded goods which by the mid nineteenth century had been adapted as a wine and spirits outlet, graduating into a licensed hotel affording accommodation to businessmen and visitors who were involved with the bustling maritime activity of Aire Street at that period. When the premises were purchased by George William Carter in 1887 the Hotel had already begun to suffer some diminution in business consequent on the gradual decline of the town's maritime trade. (4)

Similarly, the New Inn, Pontefract, which had occupied a prime site at the western end of the town since the eighteenth century, found its decrepit appearance detrimental to trade. Situated next to the Robin Hood Inn, the New Inn was probably so named to give it a competitive edge over its rival. By the 1930s, however, the New Inn belied both its name and appearance, its decrepitude supplementing the decline in custom arising from the general economic adversity of the time. Early in 1936, in an effort to boost trade, T.J. Sides was instrumental in persuading the Pontefract Golf Club to use the New Inn as its headquarters, providing the inaugural "supper and drinks" at a cost to the Company of £10-0-6. (5) Such measures were, however, merely a temporary expedient and in common with other company owned houses any revival of trade was in a large measure, dependant upon renovation or rebuilding of the premises. In the case of the Aire Street Hotel neither option was viable and in February 1938 the inn was referred to the Compensation Authority on grounds of redundancy. Arising from the 1871 Licensing Act which introduced a time limit of ten years on existing licenses following which they were to be regarded as new licences, the C.A used 1881 as the yardstick when fixing the amount of compensation for licence surrender. However, the 1904 Licensing Act had entitled licence holders enhanced payment based on customary usage where applicable. By reference to an insurance document the company were able to show that wine and beer had been sold on the premises of the Aire Street Hotel prior to 1869, thereby qualifying for maximum payment of compensation. (6) In September 1938 compensatory payment was made to the Trustees on behalf of the debenture share holders. (7) Meanwhile, the board had engaged Bentley & Sons to undertake a valuation with a view to letting out the premises for commercial use pending sale of the property, a rent of £30 per year being recommended. (8) the looming shadow of war led to the premises being considered for use as headquarters for the local Air Raid Protection service but such use was declined in October 1939 and throughout the ensuing war period the property was abandoned. (9)

The decrepitude of the Great Northern Hotel, Morley, led to its being referred to the Compensation Authority in February 1936, a move which the company decided not to oppose. (10) As with the later case of the Aire Street Hotel, the assessment of compensation was dependant upon the date of origin of the licence. the C.A. taking 1881 as the applicable date only to find that the licence was ante 1969 and therefore qualified for full compensation. (11) The sum of £680 was paid to the company in January 1937 and the delicensed premises were then advertised for domestic use. (12) A bid of £800 made by Mr H.W. Mills of Morley was eventually accepted for the property failing an attempt by Sides to obtain £1,000, the sale being concluded in March 1937. (13)

In February 1938 the company received representations on behalf of an unidentified prospective buyer for the New Inn, Pontefract, to be purchased without the licence. Despite its rundown appearance and the obvious need for substantial future investment the company, aware of the potential of the site, declined to sell the property. The secretary was instructed to offer the Pine Apple Inn situated in Gillygate in the centre of Pontefract as an alternative if this met with the needs of the unknown client, the licence to be transferred elsewhere. (14). Early in the twentieth century, at which time the Pine Apple building faced onto Baxtergate, which street ran parallel to Gillygate, consideration had been given to a licence transfer (15) However, in 1920 the inn was demolished and the site extensively redeveloped with the facade of the inn facing onto Gillygate, forming the central feature of a complex of shops and offices and a house. Given such investment the willingness to sell the Pine Apple is somewhat surprising. (16) The offer appears to have been rejected for in July 1939 the company initiated a move to sell the inn, complete with licence, to a party known to have expressed an interest in the site. The whole complex was offered at £3,000 but the potential purchaser was not interested in purchasing the inn and negotiations fell through being left in abeyance until the end of the ensuing war. (17)

In September 1939 the New Inn was so seriously flood damaged that notwithstanding the uncertainty arising from the declaration of war the same week, Pontefract Borough Engineer sought immediate action by the company and the decision to rebuild the inn was taken. (18) Plans were hurriedly drawn up by S. Jackson & Son who arranged for construction to be undertaken by the Pontefract builder, W. Barber on the same terms to those accepted by the firm in the construction of the Railway Hotel, Askern and the Gardeners Arms, Pontefract: cost of materials and labour plus 15%. (19) The plans were approved in October 1938 but owing to the constraints of the international situation it was not until December the year following that the inn was reported to be near completion and arrangements made for its opening. (20)

Meanwhile, Beverley Brothers, who were probably responsible for the anonymous offer early in 1938 made an open offer for the New Inn. It seems probable that the Company had an idea that the anonymous offer for the New Inn was by a rival brewer and that the alternative offer of the Pine Apple was made to call the prospective purchaser's bluff or to to forestall future bids for the New Inn site. Now, however, it was the turn of the potential buyer to offer alternative premises to the Company. Beverley Bros. suggested that their Crown & Anchor Inn in Beastfair, Pontefract, be sold on favourable terms to the Knottingley Brewery Co., and that the licence of the New Inn be referred to the Compensation Authority, enabling Beverley Bros., to purchase the premises and transfer one of their licences to the site. The offer was rejected by the Knottingley company desiring neither the acquisition of the proffered site nor the sale of the other. (21)

The rebuilding of the Gardeners Arms, Pontefract, and its upgrading from beerhouse to full licence status, began in 1937 (22) The project proved to be a protracted one, however, due to problems arising from properties within the rear yard and a threatened legal dispute with the South Yorkshire Motor Co., concerning the blockage of light to a window. Ironically, the brewery company had sold the land and property forming the basis of the dispute to the South Yorkshire Company only a few years previously. (23) The ensuing dispute caused delay and it was only when the company agreed to pay an easement of £20 per year that the rebuilt inn was able to open in May 1938. (24)

Improvements to the Black Boy, Pontefract, also commenced in 1937. Again, plans by Jackson & Son were executed by W. Barber on the basis of cost plus 15%. The refurbishment which cost £1,447-11-4 was undertaken on those terms following notification by Jackson & Son to the company in January 1938 that the plans had been approved but that the work was likely to be complicated and recommending day labour rather than contract payment. (25)

An indication of the creeping officialdom which increasingly permeated society from the second half of the twentieth century is obtained by reference to the action of Pontefract Borough Council which in January 1938 informed the company that it intended to lay a drainage pipe under land belonging to the Company at the rear of the Railway Inn and sought terms of easement for the proposed encroachment. The company was unwilling to allow the land to be used for the proposed purpose, stating the likelihood of building on the site at some future date and pointing out that the footpath known as Blackwalk, running alongside the inn was eminently suitable for the proposed drainage scheme. The Corporation persisted, however, and the company was forced into acceptance of an easement in respect of the intrusion. (26) The assertion of the company concerning the likelihood of building work soon proved to be prophetic. The building which was already old when first rented and then purchased by the company in the mid nineteenth century. It was therefore unsurprising when in January 1939 the Licensing Justices requested the company to prepare and submit plans for their consideration by the end of the year with a view to implementation in 1940. The advent of war prevented fulfilment of the plan and it was not until the mid 1960s that the new inn was built. (27) Similarly, plans for the rebuilding of the Rose & Crown, South Kirkby, which were approved in August 1939 were left in abeyance following the outbreak of the war. (28)

A major reconstruction project which was inaugurated in consequence of official action occurred in 1937 when the Superintendent of Police at Barnsley informed the company that unless substantial rebuilding took place concerning the Crown Inn, Great Houghton, the premises would be referred to the Compensation Authority. As the only trade competition was confined to workingmens' clubs in the area it was considered that to surrender the licence of the Old Crown Inn and rebuild the nearby Old Hall Inn on land to the front of the existing premises represented a sound financial investment. While there was no guarantee that the Licensing Justices would grant a renewal licence in respect of the Old Hall Inn it was stated that there would be no objection. Official advice was to play safe and not to surrender the licence of the Old Crown Inn until the 1939 Brewster Sessions thus allowing plans for the rebuilding of the Old Hall Inn to be submitted and approved. With confidence bordering on arrogance the company was initially set to disregard the advice but upon further reflection accepted the proffered advice and in September 1938 the board approved plans with an estimated cost of about £5,000, excluding the cost of the removal of the defunct inn, (29) to be submitted to the local magistrates by Messrs Samuel Jackson & Son. (30) However, despite the thoroughgoing nature of the work, the Licensing Authority decided that technically the scheme did not constitute a rebuilding, merely transfer of an existing licence to a new site and therefore, in accordance with the terms of the current Licensing Act, matters were left to take their course. (31) In February 1939 the removal licence was granted by Barnsley Magistrates and in May it was reported that the licence of the Old Crown Inn had been opposed by the Police, thereby allowing it to be referred to the Compensation Authority in accordance with company plans. (32) Notwithstanding the favourable course of events, the scheme was aborted in consequence of the government embargo on building following the declaration of war in September 1939 and left in abeyance pending the end of the conflict. (33)

By the mid 1930s the substantial increase in traffic on the Great Northern Road (subsequently redesignated as the AI) the principal arterial route in the country, prompted a road widening scheme the adoption of which was also dictated by the government's desire to alleviate the mass unemployment of the period.

The proposed improvements had consequences for the company for the project meant the construction of a large roundabout at Darrington necessitating the loss of two roadside houses; the Crown and the Ship inns. The upgrading of the road enhanced the potential for business through development of the prime site afforded to the Company by the existing licences. Accordingly, faced with the loss of the two inns and the the accompanying loss of the licences by default, in late 1935 Sides wrote to the trustees of the late Mr T.E. Southeron Escourt, the scion of the former manorial lords, concerning the possible purchase of the Darrington Hall estate. Purchase of the hall and surrounding land was necessary to enable the company to secure a plot lying on the western edge of the newly aligned road as the site for a new hotel. The company made an offer of 2,000 but was informed that the property was subject to an existing leasehold which was not due to expire until Christmas 1937. (34) As the company's plans were not immediate, being dependant upon completion of the road project, the lease posed no hindrance and allowed time for reflection concerning the purchase and utilisation of the estate beyond the projected development of the hotel site. In July 1936 the Board decided that if the initial offer was not acceptable the matter would be reconsidered. (35)

By the autumn of 1936 negotiations were underway concerning the compulsory purchase of land by the West Riding County Council for the Darrington crossroads. (36) In December the offer of £2,000 for the whole of the Crown Inn and Ship Inn properties with provision for the Company to retain one of the licences was rejected prompting a re-evaluation by the District Valuation Officer. (37) The following month the transfer of the licence of the Ship Inn to a new hotel on the opposite side of the road was confirmed as part of the renegotiated price of £2,750 for the Crown and the Ship properties. (38) Meanwhile, the company solicitor had drawn attention to an existing agreement between Southeron Escourt and the Pontefract Colliery Co., concerning the liabiliity of the latter for any damage to Darrington Hall caused by subsidence. Sides, whose extensive local contacts included Elliott, the colliery manager, was able to procure the transfer of the vendor's rights to the company and to cover possible damage to the proposed new hotel in place of the hall. (39) Serious illness at this time proved no impediment to the business skill of the wily Sides who in negotiating the purchase of Darrington Hall managed to obtain the insertion of a clause providing indemnification in the event of any damage arising from the working of the subterranean coal seams. (40)

While the purchase of Darrington Hall had primarily been to secure land for the construction of the new hotel, hence the seeming indifference concerning the effect of possible subsidence on the former, the company had, upon reflection, decided to capitalise upon the acquisition of the Hall by continuing to let out the Hall and grounds. Thus, with the imminent expiration of Captain Harrison Topham's lease, the Company gave favourable consideration to an approach from Major Henry Wells-Cole concerning the tenancy. Again, the vigilance of Sides benefited the company. Having obtained a copy of the previous tenancy agreement Sides had clause 9 altered to ensure that any future tenant paid all due rates (Schedule A property tax excepted, being a statutory obligation on landlords,) Side's action while acceptable to the Board, was a benefit it was willing to forfeit if necessary in order to procure the proposed tenancy. (41)

The conveyance of the Darrington Hall estate was concluded between the company and the Southeron Escourt Trustees in April 1937 and was accompanied by simultaneous confirmation of the transfer of the Ship Inn licence to new licensed premises to be named as the Darrington Hotel. (42)

The deft negotiations by Sides was an invaluable asset to the company and is all the more remarkable when one considers that they were undertaken at a time of serious recurrent illness necessitating admittance to hospital and major surgery on two occasions between autumn 1936 and spring 1937 and accompanied by a myriad civic duties incumbent upon his seventh period of office as Mayor of Pontefract. Inevitably, the strain proved too much even for Sides’ robust constitution and on the 3rd September 1937 he died, aged 63, (43) leaving completion of the Darrington project to his successor, William Thompson, who combined the duties of company secretary with those of manager. (44)

In September 1937 Thompson reported the successful lease of Darrington Hall for 4 years from January 1938 at an annual rent of £110 with the company agreeing to pay the rates. The terms of the lease were therefore the same as those applicable to previous tenants, thereby negating Sides' business acumen. The insertion of a clause permitting termination of the lease should the tenant be ordered away on military duties is an early indication of the developing unease arising from the political situation in Europe. (45) Meanwhile, construction of the Darrington Hotel continued with the dispossession of tenants of on site cottages. (46) In March 1938 the contract of purchase of the Crown and the Ship inns was sealed, the sum of £2,750 being paid subject to the company erecting a boundary wall not less than 3'6'' high at a cost of not less than £250 but with the legal and administrative fees being met by the W.R.C.C. (47) The following month plans with an estimated cost of £4,825 were submitted by W.Barber, Pontefract builder and accepted by the Board (48) In September the plans for the Darrington Hotel were passed. The estimated cost of £12,000-£15,000 alarmed the Board, however, and Jackson & Son were asked to resubmit an amended plan on a more modest financial scale. (49) By the year's end it was reported that the new premises would be ready for public use the following March. Arrangements were in hand for the change in the licence name from the Ship Inn to the Darrington Hotel and a prospective tenant, Mr T.R. Bennett, had been appointed and was serving his notice and hoping to take up residence at the new hotel by the end of March 1939. The secretary/manager was instructed to give a gratuity of £50 to Mrs Richardson, outgoing tenant of the Ship Inn upon closure of the premises. (50) It was also decided to appeal against the sum of £250 gross and £205 net fixed as the annual rateable value of the new hotel. (51) In view of the sum expended on the construction of the new premises it seems somewhat miserly that when the landlord subsequently suggested the installation of a grill costing £66-6-0 to maximise the security of the premises, the company demurred and suggested a randomly locked door as an alternative. (52)

By May 1939 the conveyance of the two inns was signed by the Company and the Ministry of Transport but the reluctance of the tenant of the Ship Inn to vacate the premises was noted and pressure applied by threatening withdrawal of the £50 gratuity unless the building was vacated within a fortnight. (53)

The outbreak of war resulted in the cancellation of the lease of Darrington Hall by Captain Harrison Topham, the Board agreeing to the surrender subject to payment of £27-10-0 as compensation for decoration done during his brief occupation of the Hall. A letter was then despatched to Sir William Bartholemew, G.O.C. Northern Command, York, suggesting use of the building for the purpose of billeting troops. (54) The response of the military authorities was that the availability of the Hall would be noted. Meanwhile, Thompson wrote to the company agents at Leeds notifying them that the hall was available to let at a rent of £100 p.a. (55) The agents, Messrs Jackson, Stopps & Staff followed up by asking the company if it was willing to sell the Hall and at what price. The sum of £2,500 was quoted, the purchaser to pay legal charges and incidental expenses. (56) At the A.G.M. in November the approach and response was mentioned, it been stressed that the purchase of Darrington Hall was merely to obtain land for the erection of the Darrington Hotel which purpose having been accomplished, it was appropriate to sell off the Hall. The intention of the Board was forestalled, however, when in May 1940 the property was requisitioned as a billet for soldiers of Northern command. (57) Following the war the bulk of Darrington Hall was demolished, only the west wing and stable block being retained for residential use.

Demographic change attendant upon urban development in the interregnum between the two great wars of the twentieth century was no more clearly illustrated than at Knottingley where in common with other local authorities Knottingley Urban District Council had embarked upon an extensive programme of public housing utilising green field sites. Developments to the south side of the town at Broomhill and England Lane engendered an awareness by the company of the future potential for trade in these areas and the necessity to establish new sales outlets to offset the declining trade in increasingly depopulated traditional centres of trade within the township. Late in 1937 William Thompson drew the board's attention to the desirability of buying a plot of land at Womersley Road with a view to building a new inn to serve the Broomhill estate and transferring the licence from the Wagon & Horses Inn, Aire Street. (58) It was decided that Walter Jackson should accompany the secretary on an inspection of the site and report back the his fellow board members. However, nothing appears to have occurred until September 1938 when Thompson informed the board that a rival brewery chain had purchased land near the Broomhill estate and that there was a possibility of a licence application being made. A further piece of land was available and in view of the slum clearance being undertaken by the local council the board might consider the possible purchase of the same with a view to the transfer of an existing licence. Jackson and William Cooper were delegated to inspect the site and report back but the only action taken by the board was to inform the Company's solicitor in order to safeguard company interests in the event of any possible licence application by the rival brewery. (59)

The reticence of the company can only be explained by its heavy financial commitment in other areas. The board had already made an approach to the Council, seeking a plot as the site for a new inn on the edge of the England Lane estate with the transfer of the licence of the White Swan Inn to the new premises. (60) It was hoped that the peripheral site of the planned inn would serve both new communities and thus obviate the expense of building a second inn to serve the Broomhill residents. In the event of a rival seeking permission to obtain a licence for new premises at Womersley Road the company could object on the grounds that it was already involved with the council with a view to building a public house to serve both estates. To forestall any rival action speed was of the essence but unfortunately negotiations with the K.U.D.C. were unsuccessful, forcing the company to seek an alternative source of land. In December 1938 a plot known as Morley Close situated on the north western corner of the England lane estate was purchased by private sale for £350, the conveyance being completed in January 1939. (61)

In the event of the application for removal of the White Swan licence being refused it was decided that the company would seek a new licence and refer the White Swan to the Compensation Authority. A simultaneous decision was taken to oppose an application by rivals seeking a licence for premises anywhere in Knottingley. (62)

In February 1939 a provisional licence was granted in respect of the Morley Close site, subject to the non-renewal of the White Swan licence and negotiations commenced regarding the monopoly value of the new premises. (63) Tenders were sought and in July 1939 the contract was awarded to W. Barber of Pontefract at a cost of £2,986, excluding the boundary walls and car park. (64) The walls were only partially constructed when the war broke out in September and government restrictions resulted in the reversion of licensing arrangements and the abandonment of the site, leaving it a dangerous but adventuresome playground for local children for the duration of the war and well beyond. (65)

The attempt to thwart rival development of the Womersley Road site proved futile for the Tadcaster Brewery Co., which had purchased the Long Racca site to the east side of Womersley Road was granted a provisional licence for a new public house in 1939. Owing to the exigencies of war permission to build was withheld until March 1942. The inn was completed shortly thereafter and commenced trading before being officially opened as the Winston Hotel on the evening of V. E. Day 1945. (66)

A further property which required the ongoing attention of the company was the Purston Workingmens' Club which had never quite fulfilled its commercial expectations and had several times been on the verge of enforced closure by the Company only to be reprieved through the dedication of the club committee and the tolerance of the Board which influenced by Sides, may have believed that restoration of favourable economic circumstances would render the club commercially viable.

The company policy was to subsidise the club committee who were responsible for repayment of loans for any alterations and improvements. In 1936 the Company responded to a letter from the club secretary requesting the installation of central heating and Sides arranged for G.E. Barff of Pontefract to locate and install a second hand system suitable for the purpose. (67) The club offered an initial payment of £23 towards the cost and later paid a further £35 following the installation of the system in January 1937. (68) In January the year following Sides met a deputation from the club seeking alterations to upper rooms to provide living accommodation for the steward and his wife, suggesting the partitioning of the large room to enable the construction of a kitchen in the smaller portion. Again, the company was sympathetic to the request subject to police permission and the willingness of the club committee to repay the cost. The company also agreed to allow 36 gallons of beer for the A.G.M. of the club in the hope of stimulating increased membership. On another occasion the Company sponsored arrangements for the annual club trip undertaken by club members. (69)

The club seemed fated to stagger from one crisis to the next. In May 1938 the local council surveyor sought improvements to the drainage system and the cost was initially met by the company. (70) In August 1939, it was reported that the beer pumps were broken and in common with several pubs belonging to the company, needed to be replaced. The pumps at the club, together with those at the Featherstone Hotel were instantly replaced the others were left in abeyance owing to the exigencies of war. (71)

As previously indcated, the company had for many years sought to sell off the former Carter residence, Lime Grove, situated adjacent to the brewery building. The desire to off-load the premises intensified following the secession of on site brewing in 1937. The principal but unrealised hope of the defunct company was to persuade Knottingley U.D.C. to purchase the site and the aim of the reformed one was the fulfilment of that hope. To this end negotiations with the Council were reopened early in 1938. The initiative came from the company secretary, William Thompson, who made an informal approach to the Town Clerk and the Surveyor and was advised to make a formal approach via a letter containing a suggested purchase price, which the Board subsequently fixed at £8,750. (72).

Meanwhile, the company had received enquiries regarding the ex brewery and Lime Grove from a Leeds based estate agency and from a pseudo-governmental source concerning a leasehold on the former wine and spirit store on the brewery site. The company therefore pressed the K.U.D.C. stating its intention to sell the property by auction (subject to a reserved price) should the council not wish to buy. (73) The following month the Board was informed that the Council considered that the property was unsuitable for its purposes. The statement may have been a ploy on the part of the council to obtain a reduction in the sale price the likelihood of any alternative purchaser appears to have foundered for the secretary was asked to try to get an offer from the Council. (74) An on-site inspection by representatives of both parties was subsequently arranged, the Company having previously decided as a 'sweetner' to offer the 11 acre site at a knockdown price of £6,000, excluding any residual equipment, the price sought being the minimum sum acceptable to the company. (75) Following the on site meeting the council offered £3,500 subsequently increased to £4,000, but this was rejected by the board which reiterated the minimum acceptable price as £6,000. (76) Formal notification of its unwillingness to meet the price sought being received from the Council, the board decided to leave the matter pending sale by auction in late autumn. (77) Again, the onset of war presented fulfilment of the intention.

An incidental feature of the period was the decision in June 1939 to link the company's offices to the town's mains water supply. The decision was prompted by the need to install a new pump to deliver water from the brewery well but more significantly, given the fact the well had provided water for the brewing process for well over a century and a quarter, "the poor quality of the water" (my italics). One may only assume that the private water supply had rapidly deteriorated during the four years following secession of on-site brewing. (78)

While the company policy concerning the sale of the brewery site is clear the matter is more ambiguous concerning land lying adjacent to the brewery site. In May 1938 H. Bentley & Sons, auctioneers and valuers, approached the Company on behalf of K.U.D.C. which was seeking to purchase about 1Æ acres of land behind the White Swan Inn for use as public allotments. Whilst willing to let the company was unwilling to sell the land. A further approach in July met with the same response although the council was willing to pay legal charges and the cost of fencing off the land. (79) When a further approach was made in September, the company, perhaps influenced by the prospective transfer of the White Swan Inn licence, placed the matter in the hands of Jackson and Cooper and the following month it was reported that an inspection of the site was to take place to ascertain its suitability. (80) No further details are recorded but as the land in question was still grassland at the time of the demolition of the inn in the 1960s, one may assume it remained unsold.

Offers were also made for small plots of land situated alongside Brewery Lane, the entrance to the brewery site. In November 1937, the Conservative Club, an offspring of that established by George W. Carter in the premises of the Aire Street Hotel in the 1870s which had subsequently acquired the tenancy of the former brewery bowing club, sought to purchase the site but was informed that it was not for sale. (81) Quite how the purchase was to have been financed is not clear for the following month the Club asked for outstanding rent to be waived and for better terms for the purchase of draught beer from the company and received a reduction of £2-10-0 per year in response to the former request. In July the year following the Club asked for the premises to be enlarged and for a smoking room to be included, a request which the Company declined to meet. (82) The indications are that the Conservative Club, in common with the aforementioned Purston Club was experiencing hard times and sought the help of the company with modernisation as a stimulus to improving trade.

A small plot of land alongside Brewery Lane was also applied for by Mr T.M. Hepworth as an extension to his garden. Having refused to sell for £20 early in 1938 but being willing to let out at £2-10-0 p.a., subject to six month's notice, the company was then offered £25 plus payment of legal costs and agreed to sell the land in March. (83)

---

NOTES: Chapter 14
1. Spencer T. 'Knottingley Public Houses...' p9
2. WYW 1415-3 pp26-7
3. WYW 1415-2 p301
4. Spencer T ' Knottingley Public Houses...' p28 & p68. Blanchard D (ed) Knottingley: its Origins & Industries' Volume II (1979) pp72-134 for history of the town's maritime trade.
5. WYW 1415-2 pp249-50
6. Spencer T. 'Knottingley Public Houses...' p49. Also, Gutzke, op cit, pp47-8 re time-lapse in respect of compensation.
7. WYW 1415-3 p14
8. WYW 1415-2 p346, p352 & 1415-3 p37
9. ibid p72
10. WYW 1415-2 p252
11. ibid & p261
12. ibid p289 Also, pp266 & p270
13. ibid p287-296 passim
14. ibid p348
15. WYW 1415-17 (n.p.) Also, Pontefract Advertiser 27-1-1912
16. WYW 1415-1 (n.p) entry 23-1-1920
17. WYW 1415-3 p60
18. ibid p7 for report of flood damage c.f. Pontefract Advertiser 8-9-1938. While awaiting approval to rebuild, the back wall of the inn collapsed in January 1939
19. WYW 1415-3 p7 & 1415-2 p340
20. ibid & p80
21. ibid p41
22. WYW 1415-2 p301 & p312
23. Brewery History Volume I p106 for details of original purchase of Gardeners' Arms, Pontefract, in November 1876. When Carters sold the adjacent land and cottages they had not thought of the reconstruction of the inn but thought the conveyance covered all eventualities. For details of attempted settlement c.f. 1415-2 p341
24. WYW 1415-2 pp 326-63 passim. In the period before building controls and regulations were introduced such settlements were common c.f. Brewery History Volume I, pp28-29. As late as October 1939 the Company agreed to allow Messrs A.M. Storr, accountants whose office in Baxtergate, Pontefract, overlooked the Turk's Head Inn, to install a window providing opaque glass was used and an annual payment of 10 shillings was made in acknowledgement of the encroachment. c.f. 1415-3 p73. Also, ibid p9 for agreement with John Smith's Tadcaster Brewery Co., concerning alleged infringement arising from rebuilding of the Windmill inn, Pontefract, in relation to the company's adjacent Rose & Crown Inn.
25. WYW 1415-2 p325, 328 & 340 & 1415-3 p74
26. WYW 1415-3 p343 & p349
27. Holmes J. Pontefract Pubs Past & Present, (1982), p22
28. WYW 1415-3 p64
29. ibid p8 & p13. Also letter to Co. from Supt. of Police, Barnsley re surrender of Old Crown Inn licence - Insert ibid pp339-40
30. WYW 1415-2 p337 & pp339-40
31. WYW ibid p19 & p23
32. ibid p34, 39 & p52
33. ibid p80 & p82
34. WYW 1415-2 p249-50. The purchase of Darrington Hall and land was necessary in order to obtain the land at the west side of the new road on which to build the Darrington Hotel.
35. ibid p268
36. ibid pp270-71
37. ibid p284
38. ibid p288
39. ibid
40. ibid pp292-3
41. ibid p293
42. ibid pp299-300
43. ibid pp275 & 279 for report of Sides' illnesses & p315 for report of his death. For obituary c.f. Pontefract & Castleford Express 3-9-1937 p10 and funeral 10-9-1937 p7. For concise biography c.f. Spencer T 'Thomas Jeffries Sides, Pontefract's Forgotten Man', Pontefract Digest , M. Norfolk (ed), No16 June 2006 pp5-7 & No17 July 2006 pp5-6
44. WYW 1415-2 p315
45. ibid p320 & p340. In April 1938 the company faced a bill of £25 for 1,400 gallons of used water, as indicated by the water meter in connection with the Darrington Hall and two cottages. Examination of the pipes by a plumber revealed a leak in consequence of which the Company received a rebate of £10 c.f. ibid p354 & p356
46. ibid pp320-321. The outgoing tenant of the Ship Inn, Darrington, was offered the return of the valuation money paid on entry of the tenancy, together with a gratuity of £25 while notices of quitance was also served upon tennants of the two cottages within the grounds of Darrington Hall.
47. ibid p350. Also items of correspondence inserted between pages 149-50 concerning Ministry of Transport purchase of company land and property and costs of same and also exclusion clause concerning prohibition on construction of any hotel or public house by rival brewery companies.
48. ibid p357
49. ibid p320 & p331
50. WYW 1415-3 P31& P47. In addition to the £50 gratuity the company agreed that a debt of £400 for goods supplied would be cancelled if the tenant quit promptly. C.f. ibid p15
51. ibid p31
52. ibid p47
53. ibid p47, pp51-52 & pp57-58. The tenant of the Ship Inn vacated the premises in May.
54. ibid p69
55. ibid p72
56. ibid p76. In Dec 1938 an enquiry concerning the purchase of Darrington Hall had been made by Suprema Industries Ltd. c.f. ibid p29
57. ibid p94
58. WYW 1415-2 p331
59. WYW 1415-3 p10 & p29
60. ibid p24
61. ibid p26
62. ibid p30 7 p34
63. ibid p39 & p80
64. ibid p61
65. ibid p85
66. Spencer T. 'Knottingley Public Houses...' p58 & p127. The premises, in common with several other new properties built by brewery companies at this period did not offer hotel facilities, the designation merely being a reflection of the desire by brewery companies to gain prestige by adoption of a somewhat grandious title in order to distinguish their modern up to date premises from the older, less distinguished public houses.
67. WYW 1415-2 p280
68. ibid p289
69. ibid pp341-42 & 1415-3 p4
70. WYW 1415-2 p364
71. WYW 1415- 3 p25
72. WYW 1415-2 p347
73. WYW1415-3 pp11-12
74. ibid p19
75. ibid p23 & p27
76. The representatives of K.U.D.C. were Cllr J. Jackson (Chairman), Cllr. L. Creaser, Mr W. Berry (Town Clerk) and Mr G. Laverick (Surveyor) ibid p55
77. ibid p56
78. ibid p58
79. WYW 1415-2 p363 & 1415-3 p4
80. ibid p14 & p21
81. ibid p25
82. ibid p33 & p58
83. ibid p342, p354 & p365.

---