The change in psychological attitudes and social conditions wrought by six years of warfare necessitated an appraisal of company policy as a result of which a threefold strategy was adopted in respect of the company’s licensed houses.

Modernisation of dilapidated properties with particular regard to the provision of sanitation and basic facilities was basically the continuation of a process embarked upon in response to local authority demand in the late 1930s and largely disrupted by the war. An assessment of the commercial potential of specific inns in accordance with projected social trends was also undertaken with a view to the refurbishment, and where necessary, replacement, of licensed houses.

In addition, a programme was formulated concerning construction of a series of new public houses, each being dignified as ‘hotels’ to signify their prestigious nature and modernity. Shortages of materials allied to bureaucratic control posed constraints during the first decade of the post war era, progress being largely confined to improved sanitation, water supply and adequate lighting and ventilation to decaying inns, mainly in rural or semi-rural locations. Even here, however, problems arising from procurement of planning permission and required building materials occasioned frequent delays to the mutual frustration of the company directors and public health inspectors and officials.

The situation required a high degree of co-ordination, anticipation and flexibility as shown by reference to the company’s attempts to comply with a demand by Osgoldcross R.D.C., in January 1952, for improvements to sanitary arrangements at the George & Dragon Inn, West Haddlesey, the Cross Keys Inn, Hillam, and the Bluebell and Chequers Inns, Monk Fryston. After delay due to internal discussion the matter was placed in the hands of the Pontefract architect, John Poulson for plans to be prepared. (1) To facilitate co-ordination Poulson was asked to take full responsibility for dealing with all representatives of central and local government concerning matters such as planning approval, building licenses, bye-laws, Town & Country Planning regulations, etc., etc. (2)

The plans were approved by the Licensing Justices in August 1952 and the following month licences were issued by the Ministry of Works to allow work to be undertaken at a specified period between October 1952 and March 1953. Simultaneously, a licence was obtained in respect of proposed alterations at the Hope & Anchor Inn, Pontefract. (3)

The refurbishment of the Hope & Anchor Inn had been scheduled for 1939 but left in abeyance upon the outbreak of war. In September 1951 the Licensing Justices forced the issue by suggesting sundry improvements and requesting their immediate adoption. The Company pleaded its considerable building commitments and the difficulty in obtaining the necessary licences as the reason for the delay and while expressing its willingness to implement the proposals of the Justices, sought a temporary postponement. (4)

The Justices, concerned principally for the lack of adequate sanitation, insisted on prompt action and consequently, Poulson was engaged to remedy the problem. Inevitable delay occurred and in March 1952 the Justices again sought to ascertain the intention of the company

“…to bring the Hope & Anchor into line with modern standards of licensed premises.” (5)

A satisfactory reply was made and the proposed improvements obtaining necessary approval, the work was undertaken by the Pontefract builder, W.F. Wagner, at a cost of £386, being completed in September 1952. In 1954 a total refurbishment of the inn was undertaken by Drake & Warters of Wakefield, costing in excess of £1,000, some eight years after the post war proposal for restoration if the inn was made. (6)

The plea of the company for deferment on grounds of cost is understandable when considered within the context of the expenditure involved in fulfilling the requirements concerning the other four inns, which as the accepted tenders show, totalled £2,482 viz: -

An example of the flexibility required in order to ensure that the work was completed within the prescribed time scale stipulated by the authorities is illustrated with reference to the above projects. When R.M. Thompson Ltd., expressed doubt concerning their ability to complete the Chequers and Cross Keys contracts, Poulson reassigned the Cross Keys contract to Wagner at a slightly increased price. The problem arose from unforeseen drainage difficulties at the Chequers Inn which in addition to delay increased expenditure by almost £100. (8) Drainage of a septic tank at the Cross Keys, Hillam, also increased expenditure by £70, the cost being minimised, however, by diverting the discharge into a nearby stream, an action taken in obvious disregard of public health and environmental pollution but totally acceptable at that period. (9)

Provision of basic sanitation at company houses was a continuous feature during the 1950s and in some cases extended into the following decade due to the financial burden on the company. Provision of a bath and wash basin at the North-East Hotel, Balne, and the George & Dragon, West Haddlesey, for the respective tenants, first proposed in July 1955, was deferred pro tem and not undertaken until the following year. Despite the inadequacy of the toilet facilities at the Fox & Hounds Inn, Thorpe Audlin, it was only in consequence of local authority pressure that action was taken in October 1955 and then only by the provision of chemical toilets for both customers and tenant as a stop gap measure. (10) Some indication of the costs involved is shown by tenders for sanitary improvements submitted by various small builders during the period. Taking an example from each end of the chronological spectrum also provides an indication of inflationary increase viz: -


A caveat must be entered of course concerning the differing extent of the work. As easement of bureaucratic control occurred during the 1950s the sole inhibition was rising costs yet local authority enforcements had to be met. Late in the decade improvements were undertaken at the Ancient Shepherd, Cridling Stubbs, £200, the Plough, Kellington, £163, and the Railway Hotel, Hensall, where dilapidation necessitated treatment of walls and woodwork against woodworm, £265. (11) In January 1958, K.U.D.C. Public Health Department, expressed concern about several of the company houses at Knottingley. Work not exceeding £25 was immediately put in hand, including the provision of hot and cold running water at the brewery offices. (12) However, in the case of the Anvil and Bay Horse inns, structural deficiencies resulted in provision being made for partial rebuilding and complete renovation. (13) Such was also the case with regard to the Railway Hotel, Askern the following year, the Old Crown Inn, Great Houghton and the Rose & Crown, South Kirby, (1960) all three being totally or substantially rebuilt. (14)

New toilet facilities for both sexes were built at the Featherstone Hotel in 1956 and a urinal at the Foresters Arms, Norton, a W.C. at the Anvil Inn, Knottingley, while in 1959 the toilets at the Railway Inn, Pontefract, were re-tooled at a cost of £33 (15) and alterations were made to the toilets at the Ancient Shepherd, Cridling Stubbs, the Bradley Arms, Featherstone, and at the Lime Keel Inn and Commercial Hotel, Knottingley, in 1960. The work on the two Knottingley houses was in excess of £800 each, while that at the Bradley Arms cost £2,977. (16) Alterations to the toilets at the Sun Inn, Featherstone, Royal Hotel, Norton, and Railway Hotel, Hensall, received attention in 1961, the work at the latter costing £1,854. (17) The following year £400 was spent upgrading toilet facilities at the Greyhound Inn, Ferrybridge, and £716 at the Boat Inn, Knottingley, with drainage problems being rectified at the Red Lion, Knottingley, as part of a comprehensive makeover. (18) Sanitary improvements costing £1,736 were made at the Northfield Hotel, South Kirkby and also at the Turk’s Head Inn, Pontefract, in 1963 while in 1964 The Shoulder of Mutton Inn, Kirk Smeaton, was connected to the public drainage system, the company paying £130 as half the cost of the work which was undertaken by Hemsworth R.D.C. Toilet conversions were also a feature at the Kings Head, Beal and the North Eastern Hotel, Balne, the same year. (19)

In addition to the catalogue of expensive sanitary improvements were other jobs concerning standards of hygiene within company houses resulting from the desire to cater for the trade arising in consequence of rising living standards, increased leisure time and vehicle ownership. Many licensed houses, particularly in rural areas, were woefully deficient in standards of food preparation and service with inadequate facilities to meet the requirements of the 1955 Hygiene Act. Consequently the company was soon beset by demands from local authority public health departments for remedial action.

Osgoldcross submitted a list of four inns in October 1956: the Ancient Shepherd, Cridling Stubbs, Plough, Kellington, Chequers, Monk Fryston, and the Railway Hotel, Hensall, demanding immediate attention to all. (20) Almost simultaneously the Pontefract Borough public health inspector listed six inns in the Borough with inadequate bar facilities such as hot running water, wash basins and drainage. The inns named were the Hope & Anchor, Curriers Arms, Black Boy, Railway Inn, Turk’s Head, and Willow Park Hotel, the two latter also requiring extractor fans due to inadequate ventilation. (21)

The company, aware of the implications of the enforcement of the Hygiene Act, had already commenced limited operations. In 1955 a ‘Creda’ water heater had been installed in the bar of the Old Crown Inn, Great Houghton, and following a programme of action designed to ensure compliance with the Act, a wash basin and drainer

“complete with all services”

was installed at the Half Moon, Reedness in 1959. (22)

Constrained by alternative demands requiring financial provision, progress was slow, particularly in respect of inns such as the Red Lion, Knottingley, which offered no catering service. Here, until 1961, the bar not only lacked hot water and sinks and an adequate drainage system, but the tenant was also denied modern sanitary arrangements. (23)

Apart from official demands, from the 1950s the company began to give greater consideration to customer comfort and, indeed, the need to present a friendly, welcoming appearance to draw customers to its inns in the face of a myriad counter attractions available to the public as the increasing prosperity of the decade led to the hedonism of the 1960s. From the mid 1950s as constraints were removed, an extensive programme of exterior decoration was undertaken. No longer were the company’s own painters adequate to the demand and increasingly work was contracted out. The principal beneficiary was the Pontefract painter and decorator, R.E. Priestley (24) but other private contractors were occasionally hired. (25) Inn signs were Priestley’s speciality. In April 1959 Priestley painted company signs on the gable walls of the Commercial Hotel and the Railway Hotel, Knottingley at a cost of £54 and £37 respectively, and in 1961 had painted signs for the revamped Railway Hotel, Askern at an additional cost of 4 guineas to the £69 charged for painting the exterior of the inn. (26) The tour de force, however, had occurred in the autumn of 1951 when Priestley was commissioned to design, make and paint a teak wood sign with iron fittings and fit the same to the frontage of the Turk’s Head, Pontefract. Priestley presented two designs, one with Old English lettering which was rejected by the board of directors of the company in favour of one deploying letters presenting a more modern image. The project is the first indication of the company’s growing pride in the appearance of its houses. Costing £65, it is of interest to note the decision of the board to commission the work in its entirety rather than utilise the company’s own artisans. (27)

Individual commissions during the 1950s gave way to mass contracts by the following decade by which time the company no longer employed its own painters. A rolling programme was devised for exterior decoration with £925 being paid for the painting of 12 houses in 1962; £996 for 13 the following year and 12 more in 1966 at an average cost of £95 each. (28)

Interior refurbishment of the company inns was as important as exterior appearance. In numerous instances rewiring of electrical circuits, improvements to ventilation and the relaying of floors was an essential prerequisite to interior design and decoration. In 1952 the Sydney Hotel, Goole, was rewired and improvements made to the ventilation system by J. Lord & Son, Pontefract, at a cost of almost £300. The following year the same contractor rewired the Rose & Crown Inn, Pontefract, and its namesake at South Kirkby, adding the supply to the previously unwired upper-floor of each inn. (29) The fact that both inns had previously had electricity within the public rooms but not the tenants quarters was a common factor concerning a number of company inns where commercial expediency had dictated one course while financial restraint had decreed another. What the outcome reveals about the attitude of the company towards its tenants is a matter for conjecture but the effect of the recent war in shaping the outlook of the directors was doubtless as important as it was in producing the heightened social aspirations and attitude of the general public in the post war era. When electricity was supplied to the North-Eastern Hotel, Balne, in 1955, the entire premises were included at a cost of £39 and similarly at the Punch Bowl, Brotherton, when it was rewired entirely for £74 in March 1963 and at the Chequers, Monk Fryston in 1960. (30)

Replacement of worn floors was a substantial item of expenditure with a variety of materials being used. Coloured asphalt was employed in the public bars with that at the Shoulder of Mutton, Kirk Smeaton, costing more than £50 in 1951 and £85 at the Sun Inn, Featherstone, in 1960. (31) Rubolium was used at the Gardeners Arms in 1952 while the tap rooms of the Black Boy and the Greenfield Hotel, lino tiles were laid at a respective cost of £81 and £131 in June 1963. At the Anvil Inn, the wood block floor was removed from the smoking room in June 1961 and replaced with rubber tiles. Comfortable seating was also installed in bar rooms, as at the Turk’s Head in 1958, while upholstered seating and carpeted lounges were de rigour in all new or refurbished houses from the mid 1950s. (32) Some indication of the expense involved is seen with regard to the Westfield and Airedale hotels in May 1962. At the former, the sum of £616 was paid for laying rubber tiles in the concert and smoke rooms following the payment of £184 for the concert room seating being recovered and the rooms finally decorated by Priestley & Son for £56. The work at the Airedale Hotel involved reupholstering the concert room seating and the relaying of the tap room floor, being part of a programme of alteration and refurbishment costing £5,216 in all. (33)

Internal décor was an essential aspect of customer comfort by the mid 1950s with Priestley undertaking comprehensive decoration of the Moorthorpe Hotel for £129 in 1952 and the New Inn, Pontefract, for £194 the following year. In 1957 Priestley was paid £400 for painting and decorating the new White Swan Inn, Knottingley, internally and externally. (34) At numerous premises alterations were made to service areas with realignment of bars and the installation of modern cooking facilities and new beer engines. (35)

During the war, worn out pumps had been replaced at the Red Lion, Askern, where in 1940 £16-10-6 was spent on a new beer engine, pipes and allied fixtures. The King’s Head, Pollington, and the Cherry Tree, Knottingley, had pumps replaced in 1942, while an additional engine was installed in the bar of the Gardeners Arms, Pontefract, in 1944. (36) Three engines were replaced at the Featherstone Hotel in 1956 when the corroded metal pipes were replaced by plastic ones at a total cost of £42-15-0. (37) In 1958 a three-pull engine and beer saver costing £42-10-0 was fitted at the Rose & Crown Inn, South Kirkby and also at the Airedale Hotel the following year. (38) The Northfield Hotel, South Kirkby, obtained one three-pull and two two-pull beer engines in 1962, while the engines at the Minsthorpe Hotel and the Northfield Hotel, South Kirkby, were replaced in 1962 at a cost of £93-10-0 and £167-14-6 respectively. (39)

More efficient heating of company houses also received consideration. As early as 1945 the company had spent £50 on partial central heating at the Featherstone Hotel. (40) For the most part the emphasis was on the larger, more modern houses, constructed in the decade before the war and on the post war hotels. The Moorthorpe Hotel was partially done in 1951 when a fireplace was removed from the concert room, which, together with other service areas, was served by oil-fired radiators. (41) The system was extended in 1958 at the request of the tenants, covering all the hotel at a cost of £713, including post installation redecoration. (42) The same year, the system at the Featherstone Hotel was fully extended using second-hand materials, at a cost of £35. In late 1956 the central heating boiler at the Greenfield Hotel was replaced for £72. (43)

Central heating was installed for £900 at the request of the tenant of the Airedale Hotel in 1957 and for the sum of £655 in the service rooms of the Northfield Hotel in 1961. At the Westfield Hotel, South Elmsall, central heating was part of a comprehensive refit in 1962 (44) and was also part of the programme of alterations to the Turk’s Head, Pontefract, in 1963. Similarly, central heating was installed at the Sun Inn, Featherstone, and the Red Lion, Askern, while at Knottingley the fireplaces of the new White Swan Inn were converted when the district was designated as a smokeless zone in 1959. (45)

The retention of a small number of off-licence outlets was a feature of the post war era. Such outlets had been established at locations where a degree of urban development sufficient to create a market demand had occurred but which were not in close proximity to public houses. The off-licences varied in nature with regard to the ownership of premises and the terms of trade. Thus, the erstwhile off-licence in Pontefract Road, Normanton, was initially a company leasehold for a five year term before being purchased as a freehold property in 1922. (46) Freehold permission conferred greater control over tenants in terms of selection and conditions of tenancy making it easier to ensure compliance with the stipulations of the licensing body. (47)

The rise of workingmens’ clubs between the wars had, in general, resulted in a decrease in the number of off licences, a fact reflected in the disposal of company owned premises at Normanton, Featherstone and Low Valley. (48) The period from 1951 to the rapid increase in the number of supermarkets in the late 1960s was, however, one of relative stability concerning off licence premises. (49) Throughout the interim period, the company owned five off-licences located at Love Lane and Carleton Terrace, Pontefract, Station Lane, Featherstone, Ambler Street, Castleford, and Carr Lane, South Kirkby. The economic viability of these premises was naturally governed by the vagaries of trade and social circumstances. In the 1960s as the

“…never had it so good”

factor found expression in individual prosperity, the company applied to upgrade certain premises from ‘beer only’ restriction to full licence status, including the off-licence at Featherstone and those of the Lime Keel Inn and Commercial Hotel at Knottingley. (50) Conversely, by 1966 demolition at South Kirkby as part of a slum clearance operation had affected trade at the Carr Lane off-licence to the extent that it was impossible for the company to obtain a replacement tenant. Compelled to transfer the off-licence facility to adjacent privately owned premises, in March 1966 the company sought to make the commercial prospect more advantageous to the new retailer by obtaining full licence status for the off-licence department. At the same time expensive legal action was taken by the company to ensure its control of the licence. The whole enterprise was of brief and dubious value, for in October the shop ceased trading. (51) Less drastically, a change of tenancy at the Carleton Terrace off-licence two years earlier may indicate some diminishment of trade due to the opening of the nearby Carleton Hotel a few years earlier. (52)

The attitude of the company in respect of rival off-licence outlets was variable. In 1954 the company decided not to oppose an application by Mr. D. Pettit to apply for an off-licence for his shop at Spawd Bone Lane, Knottingley. At that time the attempt by company agents to obtain a building licence to enable completion of the new White Swan Inn was being thwarted. As the entire England Lane estate had no public house the attitude of the company may have been an acknowledgement of the likelihood of indefinite delay and therefore making its decision a public relations exercise. (53) Completely at variance was the moral and financial support provided by the company for the action of the Pontefract District Licensed Victuallers Association in its objection to the grant of a provisional licence to a Ferrybridge chemist to sell wine and cider from his High Street premises in March 1961. Here, the proximity of the Greyhound Inn may have influenced the successful opposition by the company. (54)

The most prestigious element of company policy with regard to its licensed premises was the establishment of the new hotels. Foremost amongst these was the Darrington Hotel which, as shown above, was opened shortly before the outbreak of war in 1939. Owing to the exigencies of the war and its austere aftermath the Darrington Hotel had never attained full potential, economically or socially. It was not until 1960 that a concentrated effort was made to upgrade the status of the hotel by improvements which included the installation of an Aga cooking range and better kitchen and service facilities. The extent to which the belated improvements increased trade is, however, unrecorded. The extension to the car park the following year may be either a positive indication or equally, an expression of optimism for future business. (55)

In March 1962 Samuel Jackson & Son submitted sketch plans featuring extended bedroom and motel accommodation. The work was to be undertaken on a phased basis, the first phase to include an additional bedroom, cocktail bar and reception area. As a result of consultations with the architects and subsequent amendments to the proposals, delay occurred in implementation of the plan. (56) The seeming complacency of the directors doubtless arose from a myriad financial commitments regarding the sixty plus licensed properties belonging to the company and the somewhat outdated attitude of the board concerning the locational monopoly enjoyed by the hotel. However, by March 1963 estimates concerning the proposed alterations and extensions at the hotel had been approved with that of Alfred Hanks & Co., Ltd., at £38,200 accepted. Within weeks the estimate was withdrawn, however, and that of £38,287 by J. H. Gilbraith Ltd., accepted, the contract being signed in April 1963. (57) An alarm was sounded the following month when a rival concern sought a licence in connection with a proposed new hotel and restaurant to be built within three miles of the Darrington Hotel, prompting an objection by the company. (58) Fortunately for the company, its objection was upheld at a meeting of the magistrates at Wakefield in July. (59)

A further blow was struck in late 1965 when as part of a proposal to upgrade the A1 to motorway status, the County Council Highways Department gave notice of its intention to obtain 670 square yards of land comprising part of the forecourt of the hotel, by compulsory purchase. The land was required to enable construction of a footbridge over the road. Following protracted legal proceedings, a compromise designed to cause minimal disruption of the hotel trade ensued but the company was unable to prevent the loss of some land or construction of the bridge. (60)

The refusal by the Ministry of Works to grant a building licence in June 1952, further delayed the construction of the new White Swan, Knottingley. (61) The company agents raised hopes that following some financial adjustment to the schedule of essential work and a site inspection by the Ministry’s Licensing Officer, permission might be granted, but in the event the application was again rejected, the sole concession being that it would be reviewed from time to time. (62) In the light of the decision and from consideration of the substantial financial demands on the company’s resources, in March 1953 the board informed the agents that: -

“after careful consideration [the] Directors have decided that the question of obtaining a building licence should be delayed for the time being”

a decision endorsed the following month. (63)

Meanwhile, a decision was taken to let out land not required for construction of the inn, for arable use at £4 p.a., with safeguards nullifying tenant right upon vacation of the leasehold. (64) The building application was left in abeyance until 1954, the delay prompting several offers to purchase the site which were resisted by the company. By February 1956 there were signs of movement concerning the new inn in the form of favourable comments by the Licensing Justices concerning the grant of a provisional licence. Despite such indications, however, the company decided that work should proceed on the provision of ladies toilets at the old White Swan site. (65) In the meantime Jackson & Son Ltd., were asked to produce a sketch plan suitable for use in the construction of either the new White Swan or the Carleton Hotel. The plan was to incorporate three public rooms and conveniences with a sitting room, three bedrooms, bathroom and W.C. for the tenant. The cost was to be between £15,000 - £17,000 inclusive of architect fees etc. (66) The resultant plan, whilst suitable for either inn, was stated to be most suitable for the Carleton Hotel and recommended by the architects for use in that project. The design for the White Swan was similar to the original 1939 plan and would therefore allow the existing dormant basement to be used. (67) In September 1956 the original builder, W. Barber, informed the company that the doors and window frames prepared for use on the original construction, were still in their possession if the company wished to buy them and the matter was referred to the architect. The following month the company was asked which new house should be put forward at the Brewster Sessions and was informed that the White Swan should be given priority. (68) Discussions followed with Mr. A. Hanks (B.Y.B.) and Mr. Brunton, the architect, concerning submission of a smaller house to save expense and resulting in retention of the plans previously approved by the company but with minor modification. The plans were submitted to the Justices in February 1957. (69) At the behest of the Licensing Justices work was begun as quickly as possible after obtaining tenders and by September the premises were being painted and decorated. (70) In June, the local council had enquired about acquisition of the old White Swan site – and it was decided that the District Valuer should recommend a price. (71)

The final removal order in respect of the licence transfer was made on Saturday 16th November 1957 when the new White Swan opened and the old one closed, the landlord, Mr. Henry Edwin Taylor, transferring to the new premises. (72)

The proposed purchase of the old site by K.U.D.C. was not completed in December when the Council sought the co-operation of the company in fixing the level of the public footpath fronting the old Swan Inn, and following the referral of the premises to the Compensation Authority in March 1958, the site was the subject of an offer of £200 by McLauchlan Ltd. Consideration of the offer was deferred and meanwhile compensation on the old premises was fixed at £5,725 to the company and £570 to the out-going tenant. (73) A further bid by McLauchlan was made in November 1959 to which the company requested that the offer be renewed when the site had been cleared. (74)

In November 1960 the local council informed the company of its plan for housing development on the England Lane estate and sought to obtain the surplus land belonging to the company, lying adjacent to the new inn. The company, aware of the implications for increased trade, agreed to sell subject to negotiation of a satisfactory price. (75)

The following month an offer to purchase the site of the old White Swan was made by Oliver, Kitchen & Flynn of Leeds, on behalf of the Leeds diocese of the Roman Catholic Church. Following the excavation of a series of trial holes at the site to ascertain its suitability for development, a further offer of £1,250 was accepted by the company in January 1961, the contract being completed the following August. (76)

Before a brick was laid, the commercial potential of the Carleton Hotel received a boost with the report in August 1951 that Pontefract Borough Council was considering housing development on land behind the hotel site. An approach by the Council for the purchase of a small area of land at the southern edge of the hotel site in order to construct an access road was favourably received by the company. (77) It was not until July 1953, however, that the Council informed the company that difficulties with other landowners had made necessary a block compulsory purchase order but an assurance was given that the mutually agreed terms previously agreed upon would be retained. The land was eventually sold for £81, plus accrued interest, in July 1955. (78)

Meantime, matters concerning construction of the hotel were receiving attention. In May 1954 a £290 development fee was paid in connection with 1,800 sq yards of land for a car park and gardens and by April 1955 talks were being undertaken on an informal basis with the licensing authorities concerning the Curriers Arms, Rose & Crown, and Pine Apple inns, the two latter being involved in the licence transfer to the new hotel. At a later stage an approach by the Y.E.B. to build an electric substation on the hotel site was rebuffed by the company on the advice of its agent. (79)

In February 1956 the grant of a provisional removal licence was made enabling the transfer of the Pine Apple licence to premises to be erected at Hardwick Road, Pontefract, to be called the Carleton Hotel. Delay ensued, however, seemingly due to the parallel development of the new White Swan premises with all the administrative implications and expenditure involved, and by February 1957 the company was called upon to provide an explanation to the Licensing Justices as to the reason why work on the Carleton Hotel site had not begun. (80)

A further reason for the delay was the failure of Pontefract Corporation to proceed with the planned housing development close to the hotel site. In October 1957, Jackson & Son Ltd., asked the Council for a survey map showing the area of proposed housing development with details of projected density at ¼ mile, ½ mile and 1 mile range of the hotel site. As a result, the licensing authorities were notified that no housing development having yet occurred, the company had decided to leave building of the Carleton Hotel in abeyance pending such development. The Licensing Justices brought pressure to bear as a result of which the company considered five draft plans and sketches in March 1958 for a hotel costing £17,000. (81)

The board decided, however, to ask Mr. Hargrave, a Leeds solicitor who had sought to obtain the original building licence in 1948, to submit new plans and make renewed application to the Justices at the Brewster Sessions in December 1958. The application received approval and in June 1959 the tender of Messrs. Hanks & Son, Wakefield, of £16,551 was accepted by the Company. (82) The Carleton Hotel opened on the 13th June 1960, 14 years after first being conceived. Following the opening the 1947 agreement regarding the provisional sale of the Pine Apple property to the Playhouse Cinema Ltd., was reviewed and being found to be in order, the sale of the said property was completed for £3,000 in accordance with the original agreement. (83)

As in the case of other new properties, experience showed practical requirements to be in advance of planned facilities, occasioning additional expenditure. In 1962, extension of the car park cost £710 and additional toilet facilities for ladies was also a feature that year. The following year, in response to a request by the tenant, the company considered an extension to the hotel kitchen to allow expansion of its catering service, as a result of which, permission was granted for conversion of the first floor sitting room to a dining room. In May 1967, the hotel’s tap room was extended at a cost of £1,846. (84)

The hiatus attendant upon receipt of a building licence to enable work on the proposed new Fryston Hotel was a period of anxiety for the Company with regard to the Milnes Arms Inn which the new hotel was to replace. Diminished trade at the Milnes Arms arising to a considerable extent from its increasing decreptitude due to locational problems was further threatened by the proposed construction nearby of a miners’ welfare hall which it was reported was to contain a fully licensed bar. The conveyance of the Milnes Arms site to George William Carter by the Fryston Coal Co., Ltd., in 1889, had included prohibitive clauses to prevent the establishment of a rival public house on nearby land belonging to the coal company. However, when the land in question was subsequently conveyed to Airedale Collieries Ltd., no such restriction was contained and therefore it was the view of the solicitors of the brewery company that the terms of the original conveyance were incapable of enforcement. (85) A further blow to the company was the demand by the Central Land Board of a development fee in connection with the proposed site of the new hotel. Plans for the new hotel were submitted for approval in January 1947 which the company felt placed the application outside the orbit of the Town & Country Planning Act of that date. The company view was rejected. (86)

As late as December 1953 the company’s agents stated that they were “very doubtful” of obtaining a building licence and recommended that an application incorporating estimated cost be submitted in the hope that the situation would be more favourable six months hence at which time, depending upon Ministry of Works response, more precise estimates could be obtained. (87) A positive outcome was forthcoming in March 1954 following which tenders were sought with a view to commencement of work in August. (88) Bids were not submitted to the board until January 1955, however, when from seven received, that of A. Askam & Son, at £25,566 was favoured, subject to a satisfactory completion date being provided. An assurance of completion by December 1955 being given, a contract was signed in May. (89)

Keyzers of Pontefract were approached to provide the soft furnishings and Armstrongs of Hull were commissioned to design and provide tables, chairs and stools. In December 1955 Keyzers asked to be excused from the project and were replaced by W. Hall (Curtains) Ltd., Hull. (90)

In February 1966 the removal of the Milnes Arms licence to the new hotel was sanctioned and the new premises were taken over by the company in September. (91) The new hotel opened on the 4th February 1956, the company deciding, somewhat surprisingly, not to advertise the event although two barrels of beer was allowed to the tenant, Mr. Arthur Milner, for public celebration. (92) Perhaps the decision to fix a neon sign costing £85, plus £22 maintenance fee, on the chimney stack of the new hotel was regarded as a sufficient means of drawing public attention to the new inn. (93)

Following vacation of the Milnes Arms and reduction of insurance on the premises, the company offered to sell the site to the National Coal Board, the offer was, however, declined. Meanwhile two men had been arrested while stealing lead from the roof of the deserted inn and the board, prompted by two “small” enquiries concerning purchase for the purpose of demolition, decided to ask Mr. S. Church for details concerning his recent enquiry. It was decided that if £50 could be obtained with the purchaser paying the cost of conveyance, the site would be sold. (94) In the event, the Company sold the property to the tenant of the new Fryston Hotel, Mr. Arthur Milner, on the stated terms in June 1956. (95)

In December 1956 at the suggestion of the incoming tenant, the company agreed to the extension of the concert room stage, doubtless to facilitate more ambitious entertainments in order to increase the volume of trade. How successful the move was is unrecorded but by April 1958 the company was searching for a new tenant and the secretary was informed to use his own discretion should a loan be required to obtain a tenant, the annual interest to be 4%. Subsequent developments saw the hotel placed under management supervised by the B.Y.B’s Managed House Department, from whom the Knottingley Company received an “economic rent” in May 1967. (96)

The sale of certain land and properties at Goole, amongst which was the Sydney Hotel, was announced by the recently established Docks & Inland Waterways Executive in January 1952. The brewery company had a direct interest, holding a 99-year leasehold on the hotel obtained in May 1883. (97)

Messrs. Horrox & Son, property valuers of Leeds, together with Messrs Wheatley & Holdsworth of Hull, architects, were jointly entrusted to act on behalf of the two brewery companies and draw up a report for consideration by the joint boards of directors meeting on the 16th January 1952, as a basis for possible action. (98) It was therefore resolved that up to £5,000 be bid for the hotel and adjoining property together with 476 sq yards of vacant land. It was further decided that Mr. Wild, the B.Y.B. solicitor, approach the auctioneers, Hollis & Webb, to effect a deal if possible and in the event of the approach being declined, seek an assurance that negotiations with other parties would not be opened prior to the auction sale. Mr. Horrox was delegated to act on behalf of both companies at the auction if necessary. (99)

The Sydney Hotel and attendant properties was acquired by auction for £6,000 on behalf of Carters Knottingley Brewery Co., Ltd., the sale being completed in April 1952. The leasehold was held by the Debenture Holders Trustees to whom the newly obtained freehold was also assigned. (100)

The property had received some remedial attention in May 1950 when at the behest of the Goole Borough Sanitary Inspector, a double sink and drainer unit of stainless steel had been installed to enable utensils to be effectively washed, drained and sterilised. Now measures were taken to refurbish the hotel with particular emphasis on catering facilities. The electrical wiring was in bad condition while the ventilation system also required overhauling. In November 1952 both items were replaced by J. Lord & Son at a respective charge of £197 and £106. (101) By 1954, improvements to the hotel had added £500 to the previous valuation of £1,500 concerning the fixtures and fittings. (102)

Sundry alterations were undertaken by the Goole builders, Platt & Featherstone in 1956 at which time plans, including the installation of central heating, were drawn up by Pennington, Hustler & Taylor, and presented together with estimates of cost for consideration by the company. (103) Following advice from the B.Y.B. Property Manager, a three phase programme of alteration and improvement was launched. The first phase was completed early in 1959 with phase two, which included exterior painting (104), being completed by August 1960. Much of the remaining work, including internal decoration, was undertaken by 1962. At that time, however, Goole Borough Council announced its redevelopment scheme and any further work was left pending further information. (105) As a result of the implementation of the Council scheme the hotel was closed following a survey which revealed it to be structurally unsound. All the money and effort of recent years was wasted in effect and the only consolation afforded to the company was an assurance from the Council that it could retain the licence of the town’s George IV Hotel in connection with the rebuilding of the same. (106) Plans to demolish the Old Hall Inn, Great Houghton, and rebuild on the same site were doomed in July 1952. The project had been approved in 1939 but left in abeyance upon the outbreak of war. In October 1951, following a request by Hemsworth R.D.C., the Company had reluctantly withdrawn its application and on the 9th July the following year the Ministry of Housing & Local Government gave formal notice that under the terms of Section 6 of the Town & Country Planning Act 1947, the Old Hall Inn (formerly a manorial hall) had been designated as a place of special historic and architectural interest and made the subject of a preservation order.

In 1954 at the suggestion of the N.C.B., a comprehensive structural and photographic survey was undertaken to enable the drawing up of a schedule as the yardstick for future company claims in respect of damage from undermining. However, in September 1959 the Company had to bear the cost of rebuilding the chimney stack. (107) In February that year the company sought to obtain renewal of the inn licence pending submission of new plans for replacement premises. The licence was granted for a twelve month period conditional upon plans being presented for approval by the licensing authorities before expiration of that period. (108)

Throughout 1959 the project proceeded apace and Pennington, Hustler & Taylor were engaged to make a survey of the old inn with a view to its preservation. The property was nevertheless regarded as a white elephant when on Sunday 21st February it was severely damaged by fire. (109) The damage was extensive, all but one room being gutted. Undaunted, the company obtained permission to continue to use the undamaged room until such time that a new inn was built. In anticipation of this eventuality a provisional removal licence was granted by the Wakefield Justices in April and in July an estimate of £15,089 submitted by Askam & Son for construction of the new hotel was accepted by the board. (110) The replacement inn was built adjacent to the old premises. In March 1961 the new inn was painted by Priestleys for £318 and following an inspection by the Licensing Justices the new premises were scheduled to open on Monday 14th June 1961. A slight delay occurred, however, and the inn opened a week later on the 21st June. (111)

An offer by Mr. M. Moore to demolish the old premises was deferred until after the opening of the new inn and it was not until September 1963 that the offer of £875 by Mr. A. Finlay of Barnsley was accepted. (112) The year before, the company had purchased an adjoining plot to enable any future extension of the new inn and the subsequent demolition of the old property was prompted to facilitate the work on the forecourt and rear of the new premises undertaken in 1965 at a cost of £530. (113) The project being brought to completion, the 0.68 of an acre on which the old inn previously stood, was sold in March 1966. (114)

By 1963 plans to replace the nearby Old Crown Inn were being considered and in June the Company asked Pennington, Hustler & Taylor to draw up a plan for a two roomed inn to replace the existing premises. (115) The Company had resolved to rebuild the inn following the survey by Mr. Hustler in February 1960 which had concluded that: -

“…due to the age, nature and structural condition…

it would be unwise to attempt any major improvement…”

but work had been deferred owing to the ongoing financial commitments of the Company at that time. (116) However, in common with its neighbour, the dilapidated inn had drawn local authority attention and by mid 1962 the Company prepared for the eventual replacement of the Old Crown Inn by purchasing 2,800 sq. yards of land containing two cottages from the executors of the late Mr. Frank Swift for £3,200. (117) The cottages were soon demolished and when the tenancy of a shop on site was surrendered by Barnsley Co-operative Society in December, the land, adjacent to the existing inn, was free for redevelopment. In April 1964 plans for the replacement premises were approved. Of estimates obtained, that of £27,188 by Quibell & Son Ltd., Hull, was accepted in December. The following year the board sought permission of the Debenture Holders Trustees to borrow from their account £30,000 to cover the cost of the new inn. (118)

The replacement of the two Great Houghton inns are examples of numerous other, less ancient company houses, which were either rebuilt or significantly restructured in the period from the late 1950s and the ensuing decade.

The Anvil Inn, Knottingley, was one of several within the town surveyed by Mr Hustler of the Pontefract architectural partnership at the beginning of the period. In February 1959 Hustler had been asked to draw up a plan for the extension of the premises by incorporation of two adjoining cottages. The cost was not to exceed £3,000. (119) Estimates were obtained by February 1960 but incidental expenditure caused an increase of the pre-planned budget and in March 1961 the sum of £7,000 was loaned by the Debenture Trustees to pay for the extensive alterations. (120)

The desire of the company to improve the toilet and service facilities at the Bay Horse Inn, Knottingley, resulted in Pennington, Hustler & Taylor being asked to prepare plans for structural alterations in March 1958. Three plans were presented from which the company selected one with estimated costs of £2,400. The plan involved transformation of the linear appearance of the roadside inn by the adoption of dual rectilinear units occupying two sides of a squared site, the two open sides serving as a patio area. As the original design had been created by the amalgamation of a small group comprising farmhouse and ancillary buildings, the redesign involved substantial demolition and alteration. (121) The reconstruction was aided by the sale of two small pieces of land by McLaughlan Ltd., who owned the adjoining builders yard. (122) The extensive nature of the rebuilding operation increased the cost to £3,286, plus the cost of a specially commissioned inn sign, the work being completed in March 1959. (123)

Unlike the above inns, the Cherry Tree Inn at Knottingley was entirely demolished and replacement premises bearing the same name, built on the same site. The initial proposal following the survey of February 1960, was for extensive alteration incorporating the integral barbers shop and domestic quarters in order to provide a smoke room, music room, public bar and outsales department. (124) Work was scheduled to proceed immediately but problems arising from rehousing the ‘cottage’ tenant caused delay. (125) In the ensuing hiatus the company decided to rebuild the inn and on Saturday 28th September 1963 an application for a provisional removal licence was granted at Pontefract Magistrates Court. (126) The new Cherry Tree Inn was built at a cost of £19,660 by W. Poskett of Castleford and opened on the 15th December 1964. (127)

The Lamb Inn, Knottingley, (formerly the Limestone Inn) was originally a farmstead, the outbuildings of which were still in situ behind the inn. In July 1958 Mr. G.G. Cockroft, a plumber who owned the adjoining site, attempted to purchase the former stables but his offer was rejected by the company which had already asked Pennington, Hustler & Taylor to survey the Lamb Inn with a view to structural alteration costing about £5,000. (128) Cockroft, however, offered to sell an extensive plot of land opposite the old inn as the site for replacement premises, he to have first option on the purchase of the existing Lamb Inn site. As the result of the proposal the company obtained 2,838 sq. yards of land at 10s per square yard and the Lamb Inn and outbuildings were earmarked for sale to Cockroft, subject to permission for licence removal, which was granted in April 1959. (129)

Meanwhile, plans for a suitable replacement inn costing between £16,000 - £18,000 were commissioned. (130) A tender of £15,831 by Gibson Bros., Upton, was accepted in November 1959 and the new inn opened on the 12th November 1960. Cockroft took possession of the former site the following month. (131)

A letter dated 6th February 1956 sent to the Company by Castleford Borough Council, sought to purchase the Queens Head Inn, Albion Street, as part of the Council’s urban regeneration plan. The Company was, however, unwilling to sell. (132) The following January a block plan of slum clearance areas, including Albion Street, was presented to the Company together with the offer of a replacement site on the developing Ferry Fryston estate. Following enquiries concerning the proffered site and the placement of a ban on the sale of liquor in respect on the Albion Street site following redevelopment, formal negotiations commenced. (133) Horrox & Son undertook evaluations of both sites and an application was made for a provisional licence removal order. In August 1958 a contract was signed albeit with a release clause in the event of the licence removal being refused. (134) The dual contract was signed in January 1959 and the provisional removal licence was confirmed in April. (135)

The desire of the Council to take early possession of the Albion Street site prompted the Company into instant activity with regard to construction of the new inn to facilitate Council access by early 1960. A tender by Gibson Bros of £14,109 was accepted in August and a contract signed in November 1959. (136) The new Queen’s Head Inn opened on Saturday 11th June 1960 and the sale of the former premises to Castleford Borough Council was signed and sealed the following month. (137) The establishment of the new inn at a completely new location was a success and by January 1965 plans for extensions to the tap room and lounge were being prepared. (138)

The introduction of chemical toilets at the Fox & Hounds Inn, Thorpe Audlin, in the late 1950s is both an indication of the urgent necessity for sanitary improvement and the adoption of temporary measures by the company pending eventual rebuilding of the inn. In response to the survey by Pennington, Hustler & Taylor in November 1959, the decision was taken to replace the inn forthwith. (139) The grant of an ordinary removal licence was confirmed on the 27th April 1960 and early in 1961 Gibson Bros. commenced construction of the new inn which cost £15,370 and opened under the former name on Saturday 11th November 1961, the date being co-incidental with the opening of the company’s new Queen’s Head Inn at Ferry Fryston. (140)

Simultaneous to the building of the above inns was the rebuilding of the Rose & Crown at South Kirkby. The construction of the replacement premises had been planned before the war and placed in abeyance for the duration. Throughout the 1950s money had been spent on updating the premises to a limited extent but it was in response to the prompting of the public health inspectorate late in 1959 that the decision was taken to commence the rebuilding programme. (141) Somewhat surprisingly the plans prepared for the Licensing Justices by Samuel Jackson & Son in the late 1930s were resurrected and the firm asked to prepare sketch plans based upon the originals. (142)

The grant of an ordinary removal licence was approved in March 1960 and the tender of £14,892 submitted by J. Gilbert Ltd., Doncaster, was accepted in May. The new premises bearing the name of the former inn opened on Saturday 11th November 1961 thus making a hat trick of company openings on that date. (143)

Defects in the structural condition of the Red Lion Inn, Askern, drew the attention of the Doncaster Licensing Committee in spring 1961 and following a site inspection by the directors of the company a decision to rebuild the inn was subsequently taken. (144) Pennington, Hustler & Taylor were engaged to produce a series of sketch plans and one with an estimated cost of £20,000 was selected, subject to minor amendments, for submission to the Justices in September 1961. (145) An application for licence removal was approved in February 1962 and meanwhile the submitted design for the new house was approved. The new Red Lion Inn, Askern, opened on Friday 22nd November 1963. (146)

A declaration of intent concerning the rebuilding of the Railway Inn, Pontefract, was made by the Company as early as 1952 when an offer was made to purchase land at the rear of the old premises. (147) Throughout the ensuing decade money was spent sporadically on necessary improvements but it was only following the surrender of a leasehold on part of the adjacent land by British Railways in May 1962 that action was taken to develop the site. Plans prepared by Pennington, Hustler & Taylor for a new, modern inn, were approved by the Company in October 1963. The new premises were to be constructed behind the existing roadside inn which would ultimately be demolished leaving the larger new house with an adequate car park to the front and a large orchard garden and childrens’ playground to the rear and north side of the inn. (148) The plans were submitted for further scrutiny in February 1964 and approved by the board before submission to the Licensing Justices, who gave final approval in August 1965. (149)

The normally reliable company records provide no detail of estimates, construction, etc., beyond mention that in March 1967, Meredew Contracts Ltd., the owners of the neighbouring furniture factory, offered £1,000 for land at the extreme edge of the inn site, left unused when the new premises were constructed. The offer was accepted on condition that the purchaser erect a fence to separate the two sites. (150)

Hustler’s survey report of the 20th February 1960 had included the recommendation that certain outbuildings flanking the Greyhound Inn, Ferrybridge, be demolished and:

“in an effort to give a more pleasing and attractive appearance to the property” (151)

a scheme of general improvement be adopted. Action was deferred, however, until the outcome of clearance and development in connection with the re-routing of the A1 and construction of the massive flyover above the river Aire was seen. (152)

In April 1960 an approach by the Ferrybridge Village Hall Committee to place temporary structures on the land belonging to the inn was refused on the ground that the site would be required for development when the road works were complete. (153)

Rejection of an undisclosed sum for the purchase of 540 sq. yards of land adjoining the inn in October 1961 indicates the desire of the company to keep open the option of future development of the site. (154)

In February 1962 the deficiencies of the toilet arrangements at the Greyhound Inn necessitated the adoption of temporary arrangements while Pennington, Hustler & Taylor, prepared a plan for a two room replacement of the former coaching inn. (155) A further lapse of four years occurred before positive steps were taken to rebuild the inn. Presumably the financial commitments of the company combined with the road project and the implementation of the local council’s urban renewal plan thereafter, to create uncertainty and deferred action on the part of the company. Whatever the reason, it was not until November 1966 that the architects were asked to revise their plans. Plans with an estimated cost of £27,000 - £30,000 were approved by the Board in March 1967. The project was financed by the withdrawal of £20,000 from the Debenture Holders’ Trustee account. A removal licence was granted in September 1967 but no details have been found of the building or opening of the new premises on the site of the old one with the retention of the original name. (156)

Changed social conditions allied to full employment and growing individual prosperity by the mid fifties prompted a change in the relationship between employer and employed which was reflected in that of the Company and its tenants. No longer did the twin spectres of mass unemployment and grinding poverty bring fear to the populace; banished by the burgeoning welfare state and the assurance of social security. The hardship endured during six years of warfare following the privations of the 1930s had also engendered a change in psychological outlook as a result of which people were more aware of their moral if not legal rights and less willing to submit to the authoritarian attitudes and petty restrictions of yesteryear.

In a bid to attract suitable tenants the company had to offer enhanced domestic surroundings in addition to the basic conditions of employment. No longer was it considered acceptable that improvements to lighting, ventilation and sanitation be confined to the public rooms, leaving the licensee and family to accept continuation of inadequate domestic arrangements. Now tenants were bold in making suggestions and requests. In June 1958 the tenant of the New Inn, Pontefract, on his own initiative, submitted a sketch plan for improvements to the bar and smoke room while the year before, the tenant of the Airedale Hotel had asked for the installation of central heating, a request which was granted at a cost of £900. (157)

Echoes of former times are, however, still evident in the post war era. In the mid 1950s the tenant of the Sydney Hotel, Goole, was indebted to the Company for almost £1,100 while the outgoing tenant of the Fryston Hotel, owing £188 for goods supplied by the Company, paid with a cheque which bounced. (158)

In the former case the company agreed to a restructuring of the debt at a reduced rate of interest; the latter case being placed in the hands of the company solicitors. The effort to help the erstwhile licensee of the premises at Goole was to prove of no avail, for in October 1964 the company wrote off £1,115-15-4 owed by the bankrupt former tenant. (159) The situation of the tenant of the Sydney Hotel had been adversely affected by the loss of trade arising from the disturbance caused by the structural alterations for which the Company granted him the sum of £15 as compensation in January 1958. Later that year, a new tenant was provided with temporary assistance to allow him time in which to dispose of his former business. (160) The rent of the King’s Head, Pollington, was reduced by £10 p.a. with effect from April 1957 following a decline in trade when the aerodrome was abandoned after the end of the war, while in 1959 the tenant of the Turk’s Head, Pontefract, was loaned £300. (161)

The above examples reveal that while the Company was not unsympathetic to the plight of its tenants the danger of debt entrapment was still evident at that date when inability to pay still carried the threat of imprisonment. A further indication of co-operation between the Company and its tenants is seen with regard to matters concerning the interiors of company houses. In 1958, in response to an approach by the landlord of the Turk’s Head, money was provided for the re-upholstering of the seating at the inn thereby presenting a greater comfort and hopefully help to boost custom to ease declining trade. Similarly, the following year, the tenant of the Fryston Hotel was requested to take the initiative in obtaining estimates in connection with the redecoration of the concert room. (162)

A change of tenancy at the Westfield Hotel, South Elmsall, in September 1952 resulted in attention being drawn to the existence of valuable oak fitments included in the valuation at a pre-war estimation. At the suggestion of the valuer, responsibility for the specified items was assumed by the Company. Similarly, in March 1953 a revaluation in connection with a change of tenancy at the Minsthorpe Hotel allowed the Company to taker responsibility for oak fittings and allied features at a pre war valuation of £100, well below their post war value. (163) A singular situation concerning the relationship between tenant and Company arose in 1951 with the death on the 11th June of Mrs Daisy Williams, licensee of the Waggon & Horses Inn, Knottingley, since 1944, having succeeded her husband Thomas, who had been the tenant since 1930.

In her will, Mrs Williams bequeathed her entire estate to the brewery company following the payment of any outstanding debts. (164) A Mr. Parker, solicitor and executor of the will, authorised the grant of probate to the company solicitors in 1952 and following payment of a bequest of £100 to Parker, the company arranged for a gravestone to be erected and for maintenance of the grave site. Simultaneously, advertisements were placed in two national and two local newspapers in an attempt to trace any relatives of the deceased. Meanwhile, the outstanding balance of £1,146-10-9 was placed in a suspense account and in March 1953, no next of kin having been traced, the money was transferred to the company’s Provisional Building Account. (165)

The merger of Carters’ with the parent B.Y.B. company in August 1962, followed by the absorption of both companies by Whitbread Ltd., at the end of the decade, prompted a review of company policy with regard to the refurbishment and rebuilding of company houses. As a result, the licences of a substantial number of dilapidated, uneconomic premises were surrendered, the properties closed, and in most cases demolished.

The consequence of the review is clearly seen with regard to the King’s Head, Beal. In October 1963, the Company engaged Pennington, Hustler & Taylor to survey the property and ascertain how much land was available to enable future rebuilding of the inn. (166) The implied doubt concerning the sufficiency of space appears to have been confirmed by the architects for in August 1966 estimates for the re-roofing of the premises were being sought and internal alterations were under consideration. (167) The intention was overtaken by the speed of events however, and by March 1969 the inn featured on a list of company houses scheduled for closure, a fate confirmed in August that year. (168) The premises were subsequently sold and continued to function as an inn, albeit under the somewhat spurious name of Jenny Wren.

The Boat Inn, Knottingley, had featured in the survey undertaken by Pennington, Hustler & Taylor in February 1960 at which time improvements were placed in abeyance until work on other properties was completed. In September 1963 the architects completed a further survey as a result of which £716 was spent the following May on alterations to improve toilet facilities. (169) By late 1966, however, the premises were declared structurally unsound and the licence was suspended pending its transfer to new premises at Hill Top. The planned new inn was never built, however, and in February 1967 the defunct Boat Inn was sold and ultimately demolished. (170)

The closure of the Commercial Hotel, Knottingley, was mooted as early as 1960 and in anticipation of the eventual transfer, the licence was upgraded from beerhouse to full status in January 1962. (171) The plan for a possible transfer was aborted and in September 1971 the Commercial Hotel was closed, the premises sold and demolished. Today the site remains undeveloped. (172) The fate of the old dilapidated Duke of York Inn was decided in October 1967 when the premises were declared to be structurally unsound and doing very little trade due to the effect of slum clearance in the surrounding area. As the Knottingley U.D.C. had stated that there was no likelihood of housing development in the foreseeable future, the Company decided to refer the licence to the Compensation Authority. (173)

Giving evidence to the Compensation Authority in June 1968, Sgt. A. Masters reported visits to the inn on fifteen separate occasions in November and December 1967 with a complete absence of customers on every occasion. It was further remarked that while the premises were clean, the facilities left much to be desired. On behalf of B.Y.B. Ltd., a spokesman described the report as “fair and correct” and added

“Quite frankly, neither present or potential trade warrants money being spent on the premises.” (174)

Renewal of the licence was therefore refused on the 5th March 1968, with effect from its expiration date in August. Compensation of £645 was ordered with £580 to the Company and the residue to the tenant. (175)

In March 1969 four offers were made for the site, that of £500 by Mr. N. Collins, Knottingley, Ltd., being accepted. The premises were then demolished. (176)

Apart from its location in a more populous area and therefore possessing greater commercial potential, the Lime Keel Inn, Knottingley, had much in common with the Commercial Hotel, Hill Top. Both had evolved from dwelling houses and operated under beer house licences, and both underwent a programme of improvement to rectify inadequate toilet facilities in the 1960s. In the case of the Lime Keel, the sum of £809 was paid to A. Askam & Son for the alterations in 1961. (177) Upgrading to full licence occurred in October 1961, effective from the following January. (178) However, the changed social conditions of the decade and the competition posed by several better appointed inns and a nearby workingmens’ club, resulted in deterioration of trade and in 1973 the inn closed and was vacated when the licence was surrendered the following month. Unlike the Commercial Hotel premises, the Lime Keel was sold and used as a joiners shop by Mr. S. Howdle for more than thirty years thereafter. (179) In common with the above inns the Company retained the Red Lion, Knottingley, in a state of near decreptitude, minimum capital being expended and only as strictly necessary until the publication of the K.U.D.C.s urban redevelopment plan revealed any potential for refurbishment or rebuilding. For this reason the Company had previously rejected approaches from the nearby Hope Glassworks proprietors who were eager to purchase part of the land adjacent to the Red Lion in order to expand the glassworks. (180)

The survey by Pennington, Hustler & Taylor in 1962 resulted in the temporary closure of the inn in November 1965 when structural alterations of a limited nature were undertaken at a cost of £772 by A. Askam & Son. (181) By 1967 plans to extend the inn by incorporation of two adjacent cottages were placed on hold as it was considered that demolition and rebuilding the inn might be the best option. (182) The hope remained unrealised, however, when slum clearance of the surrounding area resulted in lost trade. With no immediate prospect of urban redevelopment the decision to close the inn was taken. In March 1971 the Red Lion ceased trading although the licence was valid until it was surrendered in May.

The defunct inn was sold to Gregg & Co. Ltd., who demolished the premises and incorporated the land into the glassworks site. (183)

The Black Boy Inn, Pontefract, purchased from University College, Oxford, at auction in September 1920 for £2,730, was the subject of an offer by the Halifax Building Society in 1968. (184) The inn was sold for £55,000 in July and closed in July 1969. (185)

As early as the closing years of the 1950s the Company had decided to close the Rose & Crown Inn, Finkle Street, Pontefract. In the middle of the decade transfer of the licence to the new Carleton Hotel had been considered but the licence of the Pine Apple Inn was ultimately chosen and that of the Rose & Crown referred to the Compensation Authority. (186) In June 1961 compensation of £3,560 was announced but the sum actually paid the following month was £14 less: £3,546 to the Company and £190 to the tenant. (187)

The Company then sought a buyer for the unlicensed premises and in September a local estate agent made an approach on behalf of an unidentified client. It seems probable that the said client was Mr. Cohen, tenant of the Salter Row shop owned by the company (c.f. Chapter 18) as it was later recorded that an offer of £8,000 made by Cohen had subsequently been withdrawn. (188)

Mr. A. Blaza, a local estate agent, also made an offer on behalf of an un-named client in April 1962. The initial, unstated offer was unacceptable to the Company and was subsequently increased to £5,250. (189) The Company, wary of commercial rivals, sought an increased offer accompanied by the identity of the would-be purchaser. Meanwhile, Pennington, Hustler & Taylor were asked to value to de-licensed Rose & Crown premises. The potential sale fell through however, when Blaza’s client declined to increase his offer. (190)

In September 1962 Messrs. Rowlinson of Pontefract, made an acceptable offer of £8,250 on behalf of a client but when a subsequent survey revealed the necessity for expensive structural alterations the offer was withdrawn in November. (191) It was not until two years later that a sale was concluded when R.E. Priestley & Son, the Pontefract painters & decorators, offered £6,500 for the property. The offer was increased to £7,500 which the Company accepted in December 1964. (192)

The closure of the Pine Apple Inn, Pontefract, first mooted in 1951 when trade was reported to be very poor, finally took place in 1960 following the long delayed transfer of the licence to the newly built Carleton Hotel. The premises were subsequently sold and the distinctive terra cotta façade bearing the sculptured name of the former inn remains in situ. (193)

Plans for a two roomed inn with outsales to replace the Royal Hotel, Norton, were requested by the Company in March 1964. In June, Pennington, Hustler & Taylor submitted drawings to the board in respect of a new licensed house to be constructed on land adjoining the existent hotel. (194) The plan was never brought to fruition, probably being placed on hold as a result of the unfolding negotiations concerning the takeover of B.Y.B / Carters by Whitbread Ltd. Consequently, in August 1969, the Company entered negotiations with the County Council’s Education Department concerning the sale of 0.26 acres of land at the rear of the Royal Hotel, subject to the offer of an acceptable price. (195)

Following an inspection by Mr. A. Hanks of the structural condition of the Creyke Arms at Rawcliffe in 1963, a survey was commissioned with a view to a replacement house on land behind the existing inn. (196) The plan, if not abandoned, was certainly deferred for in May 1965 D & H Mason, Hull, undertook alterations costing £725. (197) The following year some of the adjoining land was sold to the owner of adjacent property for £1 in a quid pro quo which provided the Company with drainage rights. (198)

The decision of the Company to abandon the plan to rebuild the Creyke Arms may have been influenced by the boards decision in 1965 to release a restrictive covenant on a property at Rawcliffe Bridge previously owned by Carter’s but recently purchased by the Hull Brewery Company. It seems probable that upon reflection, the board’s may have concluded that in view of competition from the Hull Brewery Co’s house expenditure on rebuilding the Creyke Arms would be disproportionate to likely returns hereby abandoning the filed to the opposition. (199)

The sale of 65 sq. yards of land at the Ropers Arms Inn, Knottingley, to facilitate local council roadworks in 1959 did not impair the possibility of future extension or rebuilding of the inn. However, by the late 1960s falling trade and widespread demolition at nearby Aire Street precluded such possibility. In March 1971 the inn closed but the licence was retained. The following year the licence was surrendered, the property sold and converted into privately owned flats. (200)

The fate of the above named inns was decided in the final years of the existence of Carters Knottingley Brewery Co. Ltd. Following the Whitbread takeover, other former company houses were closed. Those which survived were sold some decades later when Whitbread p.l.c., decided to restructure the company’s business affairs. Such developments are outside the scope of this study, however, all that remains here is to record the final phase of the existence of the Knottingley based company.

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NOTES:Chapter 19
1. WYW 1415-4 p267 & p271
2. ibid p275 & p288
3. ibid p265
4. ibid pp247-48 & pp250-51
5. ibid p265, p270 & p274
6. ibid p342 & WYW 1415-5 p10 & p21. The Hope & Anchor Inn was again totally refurbished in July 2003 c.f. Spencer T. ‘A Brief History of the Hope & Anchor Inn’, Pontefract Digest, M.Norfolk (ed) Issue No.5, July 2005, pp8-10
7. WYW 1415-4 p307
8. ibid p314 & p322
9. ibid p330
10. WYW 1415-5 p47, p55, p59 & p68
11. ibid p102, p114, p138 & p281. Also WYW 1415-4 p281
12. WYW 1415-5 p141
13. ibid p151
14. ibid p201, p210 & p222
15. ibid p126 & p192
16. ibid p233, p247, p249 & pp228-29
17. ibid p261, p268 & p276
18. ibid pp281-82 & p333
19. ibid p305, p318, p326 & pp329-30
20. ibid p99 & p101
21. ibid p185 & p187
22. ibid p192
23. ibid Report by C.B. Hustler 26-2-1960 inserted between pp223-24. Also c.f. p261
24. The company painters were W. Brown and his son of the same name. The former retired in 1958 and a successor was appointed c.f. WYW 1415-4 p248 & WYW 1415-5 p185
25. WYW 1415-4 p330 & WYW 1415-5 p233 & p349
26. ibid p197, p200, p264
27. WYW 1415-4 p245 & p250
28. WYW 1415-5 p254, p261, p264, p284, p309 & WYW 1415-6 p37
29. WYW 1415-4 p311, p313 & p318
30. WYW 1415-5 p35 & p307
31. WYW 1415-4 p245 & p250 & WYW 1415-5 p242
32. WYW 1415-4 p292 & WYW 1415-5 p309 & p316
33. ibid p286 & pp289-90 & p301
34. WYW 1415-4 p349 & WYW 1415-5 p118 & p137
35. WYW 1415-4 p172 & p221
36. WYW 1415-3 p103, p185 & p253
37. WYW 1415-5 p100 & p103
38. ibid p160 & p185
39. ibid p288 & p298
40. WYW 1415-3 p311
41. WYW 1415-4 p241
42. WYW 1415-5 p146 & p150
43. ibid pp100-101 & p179
44. ibid p110, p112, p286 & p290
45. ibid p216, p303 & p305
46. WYW 1415-14 Undated schedule of company deeds & documents (n.p.) Item 96
47. WYW 1415-5 p9. For details of the Carleton Terrace tenancy c.f. WYW 1415-3 p241 & p247
48. WYW 1415-14 Freehold houses schedule (n.p.)
49. The number of supermarkets increased from about 200 circa 1960 to 7,500 by 1979. Most supermarkets had off-licence departments thereby revolutionising the nature and volume of off-licence sales c.f. Gourvish & Wilson, op cit, pp408-09 & p456-57
50. WYW 1415-5 p276 & p278
51. WYW 1415-6 p30, p32 & p41
52. ibid p3
53. WYW 1415-4 p354
54. WYW 1415-5 p254
55. ibid p221 & p274
56. ibid p282
57. ibid pp305-06 & p308
58. ibid pp303-04
59. ibid pp309-10, p313 & p318
60. WYW 1415-6 p28
61. WYW 1415-4 p239
62. ibid p297 & p310
63. WYW 1415-3 p319, p321 & p325
64. ibid p322
65. WYW 1415-5 p44 & p73
66. ibid p76
67. ibid p90 & p96
68. ibid p96 & p100
69. ibid p103 & pp107-08
70. ibid p111, p117 & p137
71. ibid p125 & p146
72. ibid p140, p143 & p156
73. ibid pp164-65
74. ibid p216
75. ibid p243
76. ibid pp247-48 & p265
77. WYW 1415-4 p243
78. WYW 1415-3 p337 & WYW 1415-5 p47 & p50
79. ibid p37, p73 & p76
80. ibid p73, p114 & pp141-42
81. ibid p148, p152, p155 & p177
82. ibid p182, p202 & p230
83. ibid p232
84. ibid p52, p282, p284, p299 & p315
85. WYW 1415-4 p248
86. ibid p239, p242 & p253
87. WYW 1415-3 p351
88. WYW 1415-5 p1 & p4
89. ibid pp32-33
90. ibid p59 & p62
91. ibid p54, p64, p69 & p82
92. ibid pp68-70
93. ibid p72 & p75
94. ibid p75 & p79
95. ibid p82 & p110
96. ibid p107, p160 & WYW 1415-6 p52
97. WYW 1415-14 Schedule of leasehold properties (n.p.) The leasehold was a renewed one, the original one of 1829 having been redrawn in April 1879, November 1881 & May 1883 c.f. Spencer T., Brewery History Volume 1 p26 & p104
98. WYW 1415-4 p262
99. ibid pp263-64. The meeting was chaired by Colonel Charlesworth, Captain Irvin, Mr J. Scott & Mr H. Watkin, directors of both companies, Mr Watson, General Manager, B.Y.B. Ltd., Mr W. Thompson, Secretary/Manager, Carters Knottingley Brewery Co., Ltd., Mr Wild, B.Y.B. Ltd., solicitor, Mr Horrox, valuer & Mr Wheatley, architect.
100. ibid p265. WYW 1415-3 p266 & p270. The conveyance of the Sidney Hotel, two shops and offices with outbuildings, together with a memorial deed between the company and the Debenture Holders’ Trustees, was approved, signed and sealed, April 1952 c.f. ibid p278
101. WYW 1415-4 p194, p311 & p313
102. ibid p352
103. WYW 1415-5 pp81-82 & p86
104. ibid p181, p192, p194, p197, p204 & p206
105. ibid p235, p239, p276, p288 & p301
106. ibid p301
107. WYW 1415-4 p292. Also photocopied data inserted between pp291-92. WYW 1415-5 p13 & p96
108. ibid p189 & p191
109. ibid p194, p202, p208, p216, p222 & p224
110. ibid pp224-25, p230, p234 & p254
111. ibid p261 & p264
112. ibid p245
113. WYW 1415-14 Freehold Houses Schedule (n.p) & WYW 1415-6 p21
114. ibid p30 & p32
115. WYW 1415-5 p314
116. ibid p224 c.f. photocopied report between pp223-24
117. ibid p282, p288 & p292
118. ibid p295, p332 & WYW 1415-6 p2, p5, p9 & WYW 1415-6 p26
119. WYW 1415-5 p189 & pp196-97
120. ibid p204, p239 & p253
121. ibid p155 c.f. Spencer T. ‘Knottingley Public Houses…’ (1998) p12 & p42 re Bay Horse Inn
122. WYW 1415-5 p172, p189 & p195
123. ibid p164 & p192. In 1963 the sign was replaced by an illuminated one made of Perspex and costing £68 c.f. ibid p314. A tastefully designed sign featuring a bay horse hangs outside the inn currently.
124. ibid Insert pp223-24
125. ibid p301 & p193
126. ibid p314
127. ibid p328
128. ibid p166 & p170
129. ibid pp179-80, p182, p184, p189 & p197
130. ibid p180, p216 & p219
131. ibid p242 & p245
132. ibid p77
133. ibid p108
134. ibid p157, p161, p163, p165 & pp168-69
135. ibid pp186-87 & p197
136. ibid p188, p204 & p216
137. ibid p235
138. ibid p230 & WYW 1415-6 p12 & p14
139. WYW 1415-5 p59 & p216 & Insert pp223-24
140. ibid p226, p230, p241, p271 & p271
141. ibid p203 & p210
142. ibid p203
143. ibid p226, p230. p271 & p274
144. ibid p257
145. ibid p268. A decision was taken later to omit the plan for an outsales department c.f. ibid p277
146. ibid p272, p276 & p279
147. WYW 1415-4 p297, p301 & p314
148. WYW 1415-5 p286 & p320
149. Holmes J.O. op cit, p22
150. WYW 1415-6 p49
151. WYW 1415-5 Insert pp223-24
152. ibid
153. WYW 1415-4 p245
154. WYW 1415-5 p271
155. ibid p280
156. WYW 1415-6 p44, p49, p54 & p56
157. WYW 1415-5 p164, p110 & p112
158. ibid p22 & p110
159. ibid p23 & WYW 1415-6 p5
160. WYW 1415-5 p170 & p150
161. ibid p117 & p185
162. ibid p196
163. WYW 1415-4 p301 & WYW 1415-5 p322
164. W.Y.A.S., Wakefield. West Riding Petty Sessions. Register of Licensed Premises 1900-86. Also c.f. WYA 1415-3 p236 & WYA 1415-4 p235
165. ibid p287 & p324
166. WYW 1415-5 p230
167. WYW 1415-6 p39
168. ibid p65
169. WYW 1415-5 p317, p321 & p333. WYW 1415-6 p17
170. ibid p44 & p66. Also Spencer T. ‘Knottingley Public Houses…’ pp76-77
171. WYW 1415-5 p239, p272 & p278
172. Spencer T. ‘Knottingley Public Houses …’ p82
173. WYW 1415-6 p57
174. Pontefract & Castleford Express 6-6-1968 p16
175. WYW 1415-6 p63. WYL/2045/288-11 p143
176. ibid p175. The site and surrounding area has recently been developed by a private contractor some 40 years after demolition.
177. WYW 1415-5 p239 & p241
178. ibid p272 & p278
179. Spencer T. ‘Knottingley Public Houses…’ p61 & p98
180. WYW 1415-5 p258
181. ibid p22 & p24
182. ibid p50
183. Spencer T. ‘Knottingley Public Houses…’ pp106-07
184. WYW 1415-1 (n.p.) Entry dated 19-4-1921 records conveyance and memorial of sale from the college to the company but WYW 1415-14 (n.p.) Schedule of Deeds & Documents (undated), item 100, refers to a leasehold expiring in 1931 purchased by the company from Walker & Co., Ltd., and gives date of purchase as 1923. A sale catalogue in the archive of University College, Oxford, dated 15-9-1920 records the Black Boy Inn with a sale value of £1,500.
185. WYW 1415-6 p63. The premises were entirely rebuilt whilst retaining the original frontage. The property was resold some years ago and after a brief period as a careers office is now used as a mobile phone shop.
186. WYW 1415-5 p187, pp252-53
187. ibid p263
188. ibid p264, p268 & p289
189. ibid p284-85
190. ibid p289
191. ibid p291 & p298
192. WYW 1415-6 p7 & p9
193. WYW 1415-4 p235
194. WYW 1415-5 p334
195. ibid p65
196. ibid p323
197. WYW 1415-6 p17 & p22
198. WYW 1415-5 p33
199. ibid pp12-13. The company also held the leasehold on the Rawcliffe Bridge Hotel, entered into in February 1913 for a 99 year period c.f.1415-14 Leasehold Houses Account (n.p.) & undated
200. WYL/2045/288-10 p42 c.f. also Spencer T. ‘Knottingley Public Houses…’ p109.

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