Page 12 - Moreton Village Only Book
P. 12
12 Moreton Village Only
During the mid 1800’s when the
population of Moreton was probably at its
height (242 in 1839, 202 in 1851 and 160
today) the hamlet enjoyed the luxury of
two pubs in a small, mainly Methodist (and
therefore teetotal) community. As there has
never been a village hall, it is likely that
the pubs served an important social
function as meeting places as well as
brewing and serving beer. Records show
that what we know today as The Old Bell
was, in 1851, the “One Bell Inn” and living
there were Thomas Lester, a butcher and
shoemaker who employed two men and his
wife, Anne, and their five children (all
under twelve). It is assumed that Anne
Lester was the landlady of the One Bell
Inn. By 1881, the “One Bell Inn” had
become “The Bell Inn” and the landlord
was Harry Richmond who lived there with
his wife Harriet and their baby.
The Royal Oak sign as it used to hang There is no record of when the Royal
on an Elm tree – circa 1900. Oak was established (presumably after
1651 when the name became popular for
pubs) – it was locally famous, as we have
mentioned, in the 1860’s, for its blind
landlord John North. His culinary
speciality was to smear malt on a piece of 1881 Map of Moreton.
pork, wrap it in old sacking and bury it for
six months to “season”! In 1870 the Royal
Oak burned down and was later rebuilt. It
closed its doors and called time for the last
time on 24th December 1999 ending many
centuries of the tradition of a village pub
in Moreton.
The Royal Oak – early 1920’s.
