The Pubs


Royal Oak (Harriseahead)

There have been many pubs on Mow Cop, however only a few remain to this day, but what happened to those from years gone by? The 1881 Census give us at least 2 that were running but have now since closed.

  • The first is Church House Inn, going by the name and location it could be reasonably assumed that this was near to St.Thomas Church.
  • The other was the "The Willow Inn" I have recently discovered from an old map that this was in Mount Pleasant and would today come Odd Rode, it was run in 1881 by James Skelland, however according to Keates Directory 1889-90 the owner had changed to Thomas Smith. This stood against Mount Pleasant Mill near the Hollows, there is a new estate built there know.
  • "The Millstone" was located near to the Mount Pleasant Mill on the sharp bend as you enter the village from Dales Green road.

Other pubs have been bought to my attention and would probably been houses that were set up to sell beer, similar to the Globe Inn. We have clues as to who the landlord/owners were from Keates Directory 1889-90 as they are listed only as "Beer Sellers" David Patrick, Samuel Rhodes, Charles Duckworth.

  • The Tower Inn (opposite the Castle on the Cheshire side, now just housing

Dwelling: Mow Cop (Scattered Houses) Church House Inn Census Place: Wolstanton, Stafford, England

Hannah MOULD W 48 F Mow Cop, Stafford, England Rel: Head Occ: Inn Keeper
Samuel MOULD U 25 M Mow Cop, Stafford, England Rel: Son
Caroline MOULD U 22 F Mow Cop, Cheshire, England Rel: Daugt Occ: Domestic Servant
Hannah MOULD U 11 F Mow Cop, Stafford, England Rel: Daugt Occ: Scholar
Aaron MOULD 8 M Mow Cop, Stafford, England Rel: Son Occ: Scholar
Joseph MOULD 3 M Mow Cop, Stafford, England Rel: Son Occ: Scholar

Dwelling: (Willow Inn) Mount Pleasant Mow Cop Census Place: Wolstanton, Stafford, England

James SKELLAND M 72 M Mt Pleasant Mow Cop, Stafford, England Rel: Head Occ: Innkeeper And Shoemaker
Mary A. SKELLAND M 72 M Mt Pleasant Mow Cop, Stafford, England Rel: Wife
Lewis BAILEY 6 M Congleton, Cheshire, England Rel: Grand Son Occ: Scholar

 

The Willows (By Bill Leeson)

The willows was the house next to the mount pleasant mill, ( the fustian) it was situated on the village side of the mill the house looked onto the road to dales green while the outbuildings looked towards the hollows. There were two entrances to the house, one was a gap in the wall from the roadway, it went down the field to a side door. The other entrance was a laneway between the house and the mill, and it went to the front door. I think the laneway went past The Willows and the mill and went as far as back hollows. Entering the house by the side door you found yourself in what looked like a back kitchen, this room I understand was the brew house.there was a large vat like structure with fire holes under it, the fires could be raked in or out as more or less heat was needed in the brewing of the beer. Leaving the brew room you went up a few steps to the main level of the house, the steps were to the left of the brew vat, at the top of the steps were a hallway and living area, at the end of the hallway was the front door and standing at the top of those steps and looking at the rooms and the front door gave the clue that this had been a public house. The room to the left of the hallway was the living room, my guess would be that this room was the tap-room, of course there were no taps because the beer was drawn into jugs and carriedto the bar for sale. The room to the right of the hallway was the parlour and again my guess would be that it had the same roll when it was The Willows . I am not sure how much is known about The Willows when it was a public house, or how long it held a licence. At some time or another The Willows must have served a purpose, maybe it was built to serve the men quarrying the millstones just up the road. For me this remains an unanswered question, I would like to know a lot more about  THE WILLOWS .                                                                 
Bill Leeson.

The Millstone Inn (By Bill Leeson)

 As the website says it’s on the sharp bend going into Mount Pleasant from Dales Green. The sharp bend is The Millstone Corner. The Millstone at one time was kept by my Grandparents Eli & Bertha Dean. When they took the license is not known to me, but my mother loved there when she was 15 years old and that was in 1930.
The Millstone was a regular 3 roomed pub, Public Bar (Tap Room) Smoke Room & Snug as per norm. The living quarters at the Millstone were up & down stair.  The beer was carried up from the cellar in jugs; there were no pumps at that time in the pub.
An unusual thing at the Millstone was the license, it was licensed to sell Ale-Beer, Porter Wine & Tobacco; there was no spirit’s license. The Millstone was a busy pub and had a good clientele, local business people were regular drinkers as well as other locals making it a very pub.
As mother got into her late teens she played the piano on Saturday nights, she carried this tradition on until she was 70+yrs old, not at the Millstone though but any pub that had a piano or an organ.
There were two properties at the Millstone, next door was a shop, however I do not remember it being open.
I remember a truck coming from Dales Green running through the front window of the pub, there were no injuries just structural damage.
What year my Grandparents left the Millstone I don’t know, but it lived on for many years to come

                                     Bill Leeson