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The Lost Pubs of Stratford




At one time, Stratford had its own brewery and a multitude of pubs. While a few old favourites remain and others have been added, many of the former pub buildings are now businesses, blocks of flats or private homes. DAVID ADAMSON delves into the past to unearth the Stratford’s lost pubs.

The Golden Lion Hotel, Bridge Street (55974820)
The Golden Lion Hotel, Bridge Street (55974820)

THE Flower and Sons Brewery began on Clopton Road in 1831, and until its takeover by Whitbread in 1967 it produced the beer that washed through many Stratford’s pubs.

With the brewery since demolished, blocks of flats now sit on the site, and many of the once-mighty brewery’s pubs have met a similar fate, becoming businesses or private homes.

The numerous pubs that benefited from the brewery combined to create a vibrant drinking scene in the town, something that Stratford resident of 81 years, Norman Lee, remembers with great fondness.

“When I was about seven years-old my dad started a haulage company, and he did collections of beer from Flower’s Brewery,” said Norman. “He did a lot of business with them, and there’s probably at least a dozen pubs that I used to frequent with him. His favourites were the Coach and Horses, the pubs around Bull Street, The Oddfellows and The Falstaff, where my uncle had a blacksmiths at the back.

“I think Stratford was quite an introverted place, probably a bit more like a glorified market town. You relied on what was here, and people didn’t really travel. When you think of it, why did we carry so many pubs that were probably doing no food, and only beer? How can you support three pubs within almost one street in Old Town, for instance: The Bull, The Talbot and The Masons? The people there probably either worked for London Midland and Scottish Railway, Flower’s Brewery or for the Ball Brothers foundry.

“On Wood Street you had The Horse and Jockey, which was there for a long, long time and was a very established pub, then opposite was The Plymouth Arms, which had an arch going through to the back and a dance hall upstairs, and the Great Western Arms was on the corner. Then the Green Dragon was nearby, which had a shooting gallery upstairs.”

The Coach and Horses, Henley Street (55974816)
The Coach and Horses, Henley Street (55974816)

While many of the pubs across the town will have been kept busy by local drinkers spilling out of work, the influx of tourism that is now Stratford’s main trade also began to flow into the town, something that Norman says will have had its effect.

“The theatre was always up and running,” said Norman. “Far more people visited because of it, and therefore your hotels and your bed and breakfasts took off. That again, could have taken away some of the general pub atmosphere of the town.”

The demise of some pubs’ darts and snooker teams also saw vital trade slip away.

“I think drinking habits and travel started to change pub life in Stratford,” added Norman. “People looked for other businesses or jobs because their place of work was closing or changing altogether. Prices went up and people couldn’t afford it, so it was changing their lives.”

Also regularly pouring into the town’s pubs were the recruits from the nearby Royal Engineers barracks at Long Marston, who Norman says did their part to prop up pub life in Stratford.

“They were not only an employer, the army came in and supported the pubs,” he said. “They’d come in at the weekend, drink beer and cause havoc.

“The new recruits would come in and drink in town and look for girlfriends, and I imagine there’s a few lads and girls who date back to their dad being based there, but I guess that’s another chapter in the life of the town.”

A map of the lost pubs of Stratford (55974655)
A map of the lost pubs of Stratford (55974655)

1. Coach and Horses

No43 Henley Street

Now Arcle café

2. Dog Inn

No36 Sheep Street

Was Charles French

3. George Inn

No23 Bridge Street

Now White Company

4. The Globe

No4 Great William Street

Now a private home

5. The Three Witches

Alcester Road

Now a block of flats

6. Golden Lion Hotel

No30 Bridge Street

Now Much a Shoe about Nothing

7. Great Western Arms

No31 Rother Street

NatWest since 1959

The Great Western Arms, Wood Street (55974873)
The Great Western Arms, Wood Street (55974873)

8. Green Dragon

No1 Arden Street

Now a building site

9. Horse and Jockey

No38 Wood Street

Now JobCentre Plus

10. Lord Nelson

No35 Great William Street

Now a private home

11. Masons Arms

No6 College Lane

Now a private home

12. Oddfellows Arms

No51 Mansell Street

Now empty

13. Old Kings Arms

No32 Wood Street

Now Bella Italia

14. Old Red Lion

No3 Bridge Street

Now Old Red Lion Court

15. Plymouth Arms

No15 Wood Street

Now Fat Face

16. Prince of Wales

No17 Rother Street

Former Stratford Herald offices

17. Red Horse Hotel

No29 Bridge Street

Now Marks & Spencer

The Red Horse Hotel, Bridge Street (55974818)
The Red Horse Hotel, Bridge Street (55974818)

18. Rose Inn

No14 Ely Street

Now Kingfisher fish & chips

19. Sir John Falstaff

No17 Birmingham Road

Now Stratford Court

20. Stag’s Head

No49 Rother Street

Now a private home

21. Stratford Arms

No39 Henley Street

Now Timeless Tales

The Stratford Arms, Henley Street (55974870)
The Stratford Arms, Henley Street (55974870)

22. Talbot Inn

No18 Bull Street

Now Talbot Cottage

23. White Lion Inn

No19 Henley Street

Now Crystals

24. Wheatsheaf Inn

No20 Waterside

Now The Corner Shop

The Wheatsheaf Inn on Waterside (55974868)
The Wheatsheaf Inn on Waterside (55974868)

25. The Green Man

No19 Sheep Street

Now Midsummer Garden

26. Cask and Bottle

No7-9 Union Street

Now Caz Bar

27. Swan and Maidenhead Inn

Henley Street

Now Shakespeare’s Birthplace

Share your memories – and photographs – of south Warwickshire’s lost pubs by emailing news@startford-herald.com.



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