Old Pubs & Inns of Wollaston

Wollaston's most celebrated pub, with a history stretching back to at least 1787 when it was recorded as Mr Lucy's Hostelry. In the late 1960s and early 1970s it became one of the most remarkable live music venues in Northamptonshire, hosting Rod Stewart and The Faces, Free, U2, The Who, Yes, Status Quo, Edwin Starr, and many others — with John Peel holding a regular Friday night residency. Renamed The Wollaston Inn in 2003, the Nag's Head name was later restored. In summer 2022 it was bought by a local shoemaking family and restored as a community pub. The Nag's Head also features in the Packwood Fire account of 1905 — the bodies of the three victims were carried there for the inquest. The Cradle, the open land opposite, was a well-known village gathering point and bus stop.

The Boot stood at the southern end of High Street, on the corner with Rotten Row. Frank Piggott, publican, is recorded at The Boot in the 1939 Register, and it appears in Kelly's 1924 as one of the village's established public houses. The pub was badly damaged by fire in April 2011 and subsequently converted into a dwelling.

Harry Lucas was a blacksmith on the High Street who also ran a beer house from his smithy — a common arrangement in Victorian and Edwardian village life. Ivy Walker's memoir records him as a notable local character. The exact location of the smithy has not been confirmed.

The Cuckoo stood at 120 High Street, at the junction with Cobbs Lane, immediately next to The Hill — formerly the Scott Bader Social Club. Today the building is occupied by Khandan Indian Restaurant. One historically interesting detail: Wollaston's first school, opened in 1842, occupied the building next door — described in contemporary sources as being 'opposite Bell End'. This places the school immediately adjacent to the Cuckoo site, making this corner one of the village's historic focal points. It was a traditional village pub with three bars on different levels, reflecting the irregular floor levels of what was probably an older building. The 1939 Register records Gertrude Cluff as licensee. It remained independently operated until its closure. The Cuckoo closed on 31 August 2013 — confirmed by CAMRA. The building was stripped out and converted, first into Shahjahan Indian Restaurant, and subsequently into Khandan, which still occupies the premises today.

The Marquis of Granby stood at 2 London Road, near the foot of the hill leading up from Rotten Row — a position that made perfect sense for a coaching inn on the main route out of Wollaston towards Irchester, Wellingborough and the wider turnpike network. The building itself is very old: Historic England dates the oldest parts to the mid-17th century, with additions in the 18th and 19th centuries. It was originally T-shaped, built of local limestone, and is now a Grade II-listed private house. According to the village heritage plaque, a daily stagecoach between Wellingborough and London began calling at the inn in 1776. The service ceased in 1845 following the arrival of the railway at Wellingborough. The name commemorates Lieutenant-General John Manners, Marquess of Granby, a celebrated British commander in the Seven Years' War who died in 1770. Numerous pubs were named after him — traditionally attributed to his generosity towards former soldiers, some of whom he helped to set up as innkeepers. The lower portion of London Road was formerly known as Partridge Hill, after a landlord of the pub. The 1871 census records Robert Partridge, aged 44 and born in Irchester, as licensed victualler at the Marquis of Granby. Whellan's 1874 directory confirms him there, and also lists John Partridge as a wheelwright and Benjamin Partridge as a carrier — the family was well established locally. Robert Partridge is almost certainly the landlord after whom Partridge Hill was named. Kelly's Directory for 1924 lists John Palmer as publican, confirming the pub remained licensed into the 1920s. By the time the building was formally listed on 2 August 1972, Historic England described it as a public house 'now dwelling' — suggesting it had closed before that date. The spelling of the name varies historically between Marquis and Marquess; both refer to the same premises. The photograph shows the pub as a tied house of Campbell Praed & Co. of Wellingborough — the same brewery whose signage appears on the Bell Inn. Praed's owned more than 100 tied houses across Northamptonshire and into Bedfordshire before being acquired by Phipps & Co. of Northampton in 1954. The photograph almost certainly dates from before that sale.

The Bell Inn stood at Bell End — the short street at the top of the High Street that takes its name from the pub itself — at the junction with Cobbs Lane. Both the Wollaston Heritage Society and the Northamptonshire Historic Environment Record confirm the location. The building was partly stone and partly brick, and had been refaced at some point, which explains why its former pub appearance is no longer especially obvious. It survives as a private house now known as The Old Bell. The photograph shows the pub as a tied house of Campbell Praed & Co. of Wellingborough, whose painted sign — 'Praed's Noted Ales & Stout' — is clearly visible on the brickwork. Praed's was one of Northamptonshire's major Victorian breweries, founded on Sheep Street, Wellingborough, and incorporated in 1896. At its peak the company owned more than 100 tied houses across Wellingborough, Rushden, Kettering and into Bedfordshire. In 1954 the business was acquired by Phipps & Co. of Northampton, and brewing ceased the following year. The photograph almost certainly predates that sale, placing it in the late 1940s or early 1950s. The Bell is one of the seven public houses recorded in the Historic Environment Record as operating in Wollaston in the early twentieth century, alongside the Boot, Cuckoo, Fox & Hounds, Marquis of Granby, Nag's Head and Crispin Arms.

The Fox & Hounds stood at 6 Church Lane. The Northamptonshire Historic Environment Record explicitly identifies No. 6 Church Lane as formerly the Fox & Hounds. It appears to have been a relatively modest beerhouse rather than one of the village's larger inns. The Wollaston Heritage Society notes that it was converted into a family home long ago and can still be recognised by the distinctive shape of its roof — one of those quiet reminders that the village once had a much richer network of licensed premises than survives today.

The Crispin Arms stood at 14 Hinwick Road, opposite the entrance to Council Street, close to the Nag's Head. Its closure in 2015 is confirmed independently by CAMRA, Companies House property-charge records and the Wollaston Heritage Society. The building has since been converted to offices and business premises. The name is particularly appropriate to Wollaston: St Crispin is traditionally the patron saint of shoemakers, and Crispin Arms pub names are found across Northamptonshire's boot and shoe towns. In a village whose economy was built on the shoe trade, the name would have resonated with every customer who walked through the door.

The Excelsior Band Club stood at 86 High Street. CAMRA records its permanent closure from December 2012. The Wollaston Heritage Society notes that the building has been converted, or was in the process of being converted, to residential accommodation. The club was one of the two licensed clubs recorded in the Northamptonshire Historic Environment Record alongside the village's seven public houses — part of a licensed premises network that, at its peak in the early twentieth century, was remarkably extensive for a village of Wollaston's size.

The Hill occupies part of the Keep House building at 122 High Street, immediately beside the former Cuckoo Inn. It originated as the Scott Bader Social Club — the members' club for employees of Scott Bader, the chemical company that has been one of Wollaston's major employers since the mid-twentieth century. It continues to operate as a club under the name The Hill. The Hill was one of the two licensed clubs recorded in the Northamptonshire Historic Environment Record alongside the village's seven public houses.