Christie Connections – Paul Pry

Introduction – Christie Connections with Loughborough

As you know from last a recent post, I recently finished the challenge of reading all the Agatha Christie novels, and had been surprised at how many references there were within her books to Loughborough-related things, or, at least, things that connected in some way with Loughborough.      

“Hickory Dickory Dock”

Today’s post is prompted by something I read in Hickory Dickory Dock, on p300.

Written in 1955, unlike Sleeping Murder which featured Miss Marple, HDD is a Poirot affair, a synopsis of which can be found elsewhere. In short, a number of items go missing from a student hostel, then come the murders …

One of the characters in the novel, Mrs Christina Nicoletis, is the eccentric and volatile owner of the student accommodation, and in the reference we’re interested in, she is in conversation with Mrs Hubbard, who is the warden of the accommodation, and incidentally just happens to be the sister of Poirot’s secretary, Miss Lemon. Here’s what’s said, when Mrs Nicoletis flew into one of her tempers:

“Ah, you do not think I have cause for anxiety? You know best as usual! You know everything! You are so wonderful: you cater, you manage, you spend money like water on food so that the students are fond of you, and now you want to manage my affairs! But that, no! I keep my affairs to myself and nobody shall pry into them, do you hear? No, Mrs What-do-you-call-it Paul Pry.”

The Loughborough Connection

Back in March 2022 I posted an article entitled ‘So Who Was Paul Pry?’

This post gave a detailed description of the character of ‘Paul Pry’ – a do-gooding, nosey busybody – as he appeared in a play written in 1825 by the writer John Poole (1786-1872). And it is this character that is referenced in Hickory Dickory Dock, in which, essentially, Mrs Nicoletis is telling Mrs Hubbard to mind her own business!

Apparently, according to a report in the Leicestershire Mercury of October 1839, we had a Paul Pry in Church Gate, one John Hollingsworth, who knocked over William Smith, who he accused of catching him “playing the part of Paul Pry, by listening under [someone's] window, a practice of which he was frequently guilty.”  

However, in my earlier post about Paul Pry, I focussed on the name as the name of a local beer-off premises, that according to a newspaper report (Leicester Evening Mail of 5th March 1930), was on Leicester Road, and was once the home of the Clemerson family, when it was known as the White House, and later was Maher’s Off-Licence. Since then, research has revealed that the George Moore referred to in that article, who was of the Paul Pry and who had been in court in 1832 for not looking after his apprentice, was listed in a trade directory of 1835 as a beer retailer on Wood Gate. Later, in 1841, a report of a gun being shot up the chimney of the Paul Pry gives no indication of who was running the business, nor where it was situated, although we are told that the perpetrator lives close to the Roman Catholic Chapel – presumably on Ashby Road.

A similar situation arises in 1846 when two shoemakers – Mr Rozzell and Mr Barker – have a bit of an argument. They were drinking in the Paul Pry – but where, is not stated!

Could the Paul Pry have been in Ward’s End?

By 1851 we find that there is a publican listed in Ward’s End, called Matthew Ward. On the 1841 census return he was in Ward’s End but listed as either a farrier or a farmer. I suspect the latter, as he also appears in a polling book as owning property in Ward’s End. In 1858, Matthew Ward of the Paul Pry beerhouse (no address given) was convicted of keeping his house open on Sunday 17 th January, for the sale of beer, and was fined £1 and costs. Matthew Ward died in 1859, aged 75, and is buried in Emmanuel churchyard.

In October 1923, a letter which appeared in the Leicester Daily Mercury mentioned that a farmer stopped off at “the tavern known as the Paul Pry, in Bedford Square”, I don’t know about you, but I can never quite work out where Bedford Square ends, and Ward’s End begins, but this could well be the same premises as mention in 1851.

In 1952, the Loughborough Echo published a piece quoting extracts from an account book that was about 100 years old. This account book belonged to Mr John Cooper, a maltster from Hathern and in it is recorded the sales he made, many of which were to Loughborough folk. The first entry in the book is for 1843, but the one of more interest here is an entry for 1852, which named the Paul Pry on Ward’s End as one of the customers.

So, was there a Paul Pry on Leicester Road, and on Ward’s End / Bedford Square? I can honestly say I really have no idea!!

But, just one more thing before I leave you in peace, in September 1891, the Loughborough cyclers indulged in a lantern parade, and the participants were decked out in gorgeous array, representing historical characters like "Ally Soper", "Paul Pry", and others!

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Posted by lynneaboutloughborough

With apologies for typos which are all mine!

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Dyer, Lynne (2025). Christie Connections – Paul Pry. Available from: https://lynneaboutloughborough.blogspot.com/2025/03/christie-connections-paul-pry.html  [Accessed 6 April 2025]

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Spotlight on the King's Head Part 2

The story of the King’s Head Part 2

Last week we looked at the most recent history of the Ramada by Wyndham Hotel, which had previously been known as the King’s Head. This week, we’ll look at the various names the establishment has had over the years, and see what, if anything, is the significance of these names. In order to do this we need to look more closely at the development of establishments like the King’s Head.

So, I know what constitutes a hotel, and I know what I mean when I refer to a ‘pub’ in the 21st century, but I’m also aware that the word ‘pub’, while these days seems to refer to something many people recognise, does hide a multitude of different names, and historical establishments – inns, taverns, coaching inns, posting houses, beerhouse, alehouses, gin palaces – all with subtle differences.

Pub origins

Apparently, the pubs of today have developed over many years. In the words of Pryah (1):

“customs and design of the public house today are the results of centuries of gradual development and their roots can be traced back to three separate types of establishment, the alehouse, the tavern and the inn.”

And this is in part confirmed by this comment about the pub – an abbreviation for public house - as we know it, as defined by Ainsworth (2):

“a house open to the public. The name refers … to much earlier centuries when individuals would open their houses for the sale of drink. In the 19th century ‘public house’ tended to refer to fully-licensed premises selling all types of intoxicating liquor, as opposed to beerhouses [or alehouses] which sold just beer.”

The thoughts of Tresidder (3), who writes about the licensed premises in Nottingham between 1758 and 1764, suggests the origins of today’s pubs stem from the posting houses, the taverns and the public houses of the past.

The inn 

The inn was often built along the main public highway, or around a market, and served passing trade, as well as the more wealthy inhabitants of a place, like merchants, guild members, aldermen, justices and the richer pilgrims.

The coaching inn

There had been a small number of taverns and alehouses along the highways from as early as the 14th century, but it was in the 17th century that the coaching network began to be established, when the first turnpike acts were passed in 1663. Despite being situated on the main London to Manchester turnpike road - turnpiked around the mid-1700s - the King’s Head in Loughborough has never been a coaching inn.

However, Charles G. Harper (4) writing in the early 20th century, has the following to say about this particular road:

“our ancestors could not complete their journeys between morning and night, and so the inn was a thing of almost the first consideration. Along these great roads of ours there were inns for every class, for every taste, and to suit all purses.”

He makes mention of these inns in the various places that the travellers passed through, including Leicester, where he finds the Grand, the Bell and the White Hart, and Loughborough where the road passes the King’s Head, the Old Bull’s Head, and the Station. The latter would refer to the Station Hotel associated with the Charnwood Forest Railway on Derby Road, as the route in question would proceed from Loughborough to Derby, and thence on to Manchester via the Peak District. 

The Bull’s Head was Loughborough's main coaching inn along this road, with stables where horses could be changed along the journey, as horses could generally only travel about 10 or 12 miles. Although the original building was demolished for road widening, the establishment continued to trade in a new building and today is destined to become a coffee house.

The post or posting house

Graham (5), in his description of Falmouth as the station for the departure of the mail packets, that is, the overseas postal service, mentions the regular coach service which ran to London and which were serviced by a number of inns and taverns.

In 1794, John Palmer had introduced the idea of carrying mail by coach and this led to the building of what were known as post houses along some of the major early roads. The post house would provide refreshment for anyone who might travel on the mail coach, as well as a change of horses and postillion. Sometimes the post house wouldn’t actually have its own stables, but there would be one very close by.

The keeper of the post house would act as the local postmaster, and would either hold onto the mail for people to collect, or would personally deliver it. The posting house might be the forerunner of the hotel, and it is certain that the King’s Head in Loughborough, once known as the King’s Head and Commercial Inn, was indeed such an establishment. Given that the Bull's Head with its stables was very, very close, it would make sense that the King's Head was a posting house, rather than a coaching inn.

Taverns

Sometimes the line of distinction between a posting house and the best tavern in the town was narrow, and some of the oldest taverns, had a superior reputation, as was certainly the case in Nottingham. Ainsworth, writing about Nottingham,  has this definition of a tavern:

“an urban drinking house serving wine and food, mostly to better-off customers. In modern times the term has been adopted by all kinds of pub establishments.”

Pryah defines a tavern as a place that “catered for farmers, lower-class craftsmen and others with a little money to spend; they probably sold wine rather than ale and in addition they also offered food and accommodation.”

The ale or beerhouse to the public house

The mediaeval alehouse served drink, and fed the social needs of the lower orders of the environs, and was rather like what we might call the local today. However, such places were not open on a permanent basis and most of the ale sold was for consumption off the premises. This developed into premises which sold only ale – a term which has been used interchangeably with the word ‘beer’ for over 200 years – so wine and spirits would not be available here. This was often just an ordinary house in which the landlord was licensed to make a room available for serving beer: often the landlord or landlady would lean through a hatch and serve drink to a customer via a pot boy, so not in individual glasses. The law was changed at some point and so such premises were also able to sell spirits, and in 1830 when the Beer Act was passed, duty on beer was abolished and so anyone was allowed to sell beer in their own house upon payment of two guineas.

The public house was the place to go for discussion and argument, and often, those who were unable to read would go to the pub to listen to the latest news being read aloud from the newspaper. Also, property sales were often held in public houses, as were shows, like the Nottingham annual Auricula and Polyanthus Show, which were often followed by a dinner. Back rooms of pubs often became home to working-class organisations, like friendly societies and later trade union branches.

The King’s Head – a coaching house? A posting house? An inn? A public house?

In a trade directory for 1822, John Fowler is listed as the postmaster at the King’s Head and Commercial Inn (and posting house), and states that the mail coach for London leaves the King’s Head at five in the evening, and that for Manchester, Nottingham and Leeds leaves the premises at nine in the morning. In addition to the mail coach, the stagecoach to London, called the Royal Telegraph, departed from the King’s Head every morning at two, and to Manchester every morning at eight.

John Fowler is still listed as the postmaster in a trade directory for 1828-9, and the London mail arrives in Loughborough at eight in the morning and is despatched at six in the evening. The mail from the North arrives in Loughborough at six in the evening and is despatched at eight in the morning.

The situation is similar in 1841 as listed in the trade directory, and John Fowler is still the postmaster. Letters from London arrive every morning at seven, and are despatched every evening at six. Letters from the North arrive every evening at six and are despatched every morning at a quarter past seven. There is an important addition to the entry in this directory that senders would do well to be aware of: “The Box closes an hour before the departure of the mails; but letters are received until the despatch upon payment of one penny each.”

In all three directories, as well as its entry under the general heading of 'Post office', the King’s Head is also listed under the section headed ‘Inns’, and followed by the names of John and George Fowler.

Conclusion

So, it would appear that the King’s Head was both a posting house and an inn. To find out if the premises could at one time also have been described as a public house, pop back next time!

References:

(1) Pryah, Chris (1984). Inns and taverns of Leicester. Blaby: Anderson Publications

(2) Ainsworth, Paul (ed.) (2015). Real heritage pubs, the Midlands: pub interiors of special historic interest. St Albans: CAMRA

(3) Tresidder, R.S. (1980). Nottingham pubs. (Get to know Nottingham – 5). Nottingham: Nottingham Civic Society.

(4) Harper, Charles G. (s.d.). Historic and picturesque inns of old England. London: Ed. J. Burrow

(5) Graham, Frank (1965). Old inns and taverns of Cornwall. Newcastle-upon-Tyne: V. Graham. 3^rd ed.     

Posted by lynneaboutloughborough 28 February 2021

You are welcome to quote passages from any of my posts, with appropriate credit. The correct citation for this looks as follow:

Dyer, Lynne (2021). Spotlight on the King's Head Part 2. Available from: https://lynneaboutloughborough.blogspot.com/2021/02/spotlight-on-kings-head-part-2.html [Accessed 28 February 2021]

Take down policy:

I post no pictures that are not my own, unless I have express permission so to do. All text is my own, and not copied from any other information sources, printed or electronic, unless identified and credited as such. If you find I have posted something in contravention of these statements, or if there are photographs of you which you would prefer not to be here, please contact me at the address listed on the About Me page, and I will remove these.

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