Sileby History
Its people and places. A community through time.
The Plough Inn
High Street
Public House
The Old Plough Inn - Up for Sale c1963-4
Source : John Whittington
10 High Street - June 2009
Plough Inn : simplified Barradell family tree
Owners are shown in red
The Parkinson Legacy
When the Plough Inn public house was sold on Monday, 5th March 1849, it was described as a 'commodious and well accustomed Old Licenced Public house'. It was purchased by Harriett Parkinson, whose husband Henry had recently died in 1845. The Parkinson's were well versed in running a public house business; they were licenced victuallers at the Red Lion on King Street before Henry's death.
Harriett Parkinson's ownership of the Plough would last for nearly half a century (48 years). She was also the licensee for over 30 years until around 1883, when her son Henry John became the pub landlord. By 1897 he had also taken over the ownership of the premises.
Harriett died in 1918, most probably from complications associated with the Spanish 'Flu. A note in the Loughborough Echo of the 25th October 1918 said that 'she was 73 years of age and had resided at the house in which she died (the Plough Inn) for the past fifty years. She was well known and highly esteemed in the village'.
Plough Inn : Queueing outside? c1905-10
Twentieth Century : Drama, Depression and Demise
The early part of the 20th century saw the Parkinson family continue with their occupation of the Plough. Henry John was licensee and landlord when PC William Adiel Wilkinson was shot at the parish church gates on the evening of 25th May 1903. The policeman staggered down High Street before collapsing and dying of his injuries in the roadway almost opposite the Plough. Dr W B Garvin, the local surgeon ordered that the body be brought into to the skittle alley at the Plough where it could be examined. A post mortem was carried out by Dr Garvin on the 27th May, and the next day an Inquest into the body of PC Wilkinson was held at the Plough by Mr H J Deane, the Loughborough District Coroner.
In February 1920 Henry John survived a court action after a serious accusation of overcharging was made by a visiting food inspector. The case was eventually dismissed but due to illness Henry John had not been there to witness his exoneration. This was one of the last times that Henry John is mentioned in the records; he was buried on the 14th October 1920, aged 75. Trustees administered Henry John's estate, and they decided to sell the Plough Inn at auction.
On the 8th December 1921 the Plough Inn was sold to James Henry Sneesby of Leicester for £4000. According to local newspapers over 250 people had crammed in to the inn's clubroom to watch proceedings. Although Sneesby had won the auction, it was reported that there was much interest from brewery companies, especially as the pub had its own 'modern' brewery. Therefore it is no surprise when Sneesby sold the premises on to All Saints Brewery of Leicester within a couple of years of his own acquisition.
All Saints Brewery were taken over by Ind Coope in 1929, along with its 81 pubs. From 1931 to its final demise, the Plough Inn's licence shows that Ind Coope & Allsop Ltd was the lessee, and its products were sold at the pub. In the space of a decade the Plough had become part of a brewing conglomerate, far from its original family business roots. This change was reflected in its business practices. From 1923 the pub was managed by external licensees. However, due to a downturn in business, mainly caused by the Depression, the licensees came and went with regularity. From 1923-1932 there were five listed landlords. The last of the five, James Devoy, had failed in 1932 and he blamed his misfortune on bad trade and unemployment 'in the district'. Things improved up to and after the Second World War under Clarke Carvill and John Woodford, but after Woodford's departure in 1955 the pattern of short term licensees started again. The final licensee was Benny Lay who was landlord around 1962. One of the final references to the inn is in an advertisement for a 'versatile' pianist to play weekends at the Plough, issued by Benny Lay in September 1962. After over two hundred years of continuous business, the Plough Inn finally closed its doors after its licence was refused by Leicestershire's Licencing Compensation Authority at its meeting held on the 24th June 1963.
Plough Inn : Ind Coope Pub Sign (undated)
Much More Ado
Although the pub was primarily a hostelry, it had other important functions. As already mentioned, the pub had its own brewery that was much sought after by other brewery companies in the 1920s. The Plough was still a fully functioning inn in the late 1920s offering a place to sleep for those willing to pay.
In common with some of the other local pubs, public auctions were often conducted at the Inn. The clubroom was also the focus of many social activities in the village. The Junior Female Friendly Society met there until it was dissolved in 1913.
The Plough was particularly reknowned for its skittle alley, and in the 20th century its teams played in the Everard Cup and in the Syston and District (Long Alley) Skittles League. Later in the century, teams from the pub competed successfully in darts and table tennis. The table tennis club in particular produced many county players in the early 1950s.
Number 10, High Street is the former home of the Plough Inn. The building has been Grade II listed since 1984 and its listing description gives its use at that time as a mini-market. The frontage is in two parts; a late 17th century half timbered gable with brick infill to the left, and an 18th century brick structure to the right. At the rear is a Victorian extension and a separate two storey clubroom.
Early History : Barradell and Cobley
The history of the pub can be traced back to at least the 1750s. In the two hundred or so years that there are records for the Plough, only three families and a brewery owned the property. They were the Barradell/Cobley, Parkinson and Sneesby families, and the All Saints Brewery.
The earliest record shows William Barradell as the victualler in 1753. He was most likely one of the many children of Edward Barradell, the parish clerk. William married Anne Woodhouse in 1749, and by her had one surviving child, called John. Anne died and was buried in December 1758, leaving William to marry again. On the 12th February 1760 William married his second wife, Elizabeth Sarson. They had two children, Sarah and George. William died in 1784 and by his will devised his estate to his wife Elizabeth for her life and then to be divided between Sarah and George after her death. By contrast, John, his son by his first marriage was left £10 and a number of his clothes.
Even though Elizabeth had possession of the Plough Inn, her son George took over the licence there in 1790, no doubt assisted by his new wife Mary Condon, with whom he'd married that same year. George took overall ownership upon his mother's death in July 1797, but tragedy struck when his wife Mary died just over a year later, possibly due to complications after childbirth; she was buried at Sileby in August 1798. Like his father, George was married again within a year or so of his first wife's death. He took Rhoda Cartwright as his next bride in January 1800. They carried on the business until George's death in 1817, when Rhoda became the sole owner. She found a new partner, marrying Thomas Cobley in August 1819. He was described as a miller, and was around 15 years her junior. Thomas was the owner and licensee for the next 25 years, and died relatively young, aged 51 in 1844. In 1845 the licence was taken over by John Wilkinson and later by his wife Mary. Rhoda outlived her husband by just under two years. After her death in 1846 her estate was administered by trustees, and they decided to sell the pub in 1849, giving Mary Wilkinson notice to leave.
Description - 17th September 1914
(Valuation Act : National Archives IR 58/51165/199)
MAIN BUILDING
Brick and Slated, Old, Good (condition)
a) Basement - 3 Beer Cellars
b) Ground Floor – Parlour, Smoke (room) and
Bar, 3 pulls, Tap room, Kitchen and Scullery
c) 1st Floor – 4 Bedrooms, Back W.C., Store room
d) 2nd Floor – Attic hipped
Normal Business per week :
3 Barrels of Beer
15 dozen pints (bottled trade)
6 gallons of spirits per week
Gross value of property : £2200
OUTSIDE YARD AND OTHER BUILDINGS
Well 40 foot deep, good brewing water in yard
old Brick and Slated Engine shed
Brick and Slated Greenhouse, good.
Saddle room
Skittle Alley
Clubroom over store
Brick and Slated Brewhouse : 2 Quarter plant (1889), 2 floors, good.
2 Brick and Slated Privies, good
Brick and Slated 3 stall stables, good
3 Pig Sties, good
Lumber shed
old Pig sty, timber and corrugated iron.
Owners, Licensees and Publicans
OWNERSHIP
William Barradell
Elizabeth Barradell, widow
George Barradell
Rhoda Barradell, widow
Thomas Cobley
Rhoda Cobley, widow
Cobley's Trustees
Henry Parkinson
Harriett Parkinson
Henry John Parkinson
Parkinson's Trustees
James Henry Sneesby
All Saints Brewery
Ind Coope
Dates
<1753 - 1784
1784 - 1790
1790 - 1817
1817 - 1819
1819 - 1844
1844 - 1846
1846 - 1849
1849 - 1849
1849 - 1897
1897 - 1920
1920 - 1921
1921 - 1923
1923 - 1929
1929 - 1963
LICENSEE/TENANT
William Barradell
Elizabeth Barradell, widow
George Barradell
Rhoda Barradell, widow
Thomas Cobley
Rhoda Cobley, widow
John Wilkinson
Mary Wilkinson, widow
George Barsby?
Henry Parkinson
Harriett Parkinson, widow
Henry John Parkinson
Charles Henry Parkinson
James Henry Sneesby
Walter Edward Croghan
John Rudkin
Ruth Rudkin, widow
Arthur Reginald Bowes
James Edward Devoy
Clarke Carvill
John Thomas Woodford
John Dennis Messer
Herbert H Williams
Jack Barradale
Cyril R E Wood
Benny Lay
Dates
<1753 - 1784
1784 - 1790
1790 - 1817
1817 - 1819
1819 - 1844
1844 - 1845
1845 - 1847
1847 - 1849
1849 - 1849
1849 - 1849
1849 - 1882
1882 - 1921
1921 - 1921
1921 - 1923
1923 - 1926
1926 - 1929
1929 - 1930
1930 - 1931
1931 - 1932
1932 - 1939
1939 - 1955
1955 - 1957
1957 - c1960
c1960 - c1961
c1961 - c1962
1962 - 1963
Notes on the listings
The dates are accurate to within a year of that given due to licencing records often starting part way through a year. Also, when electoral electoral rolls and trade directories are used the names quite often reflect the previous years occupiers. Due to privacy and data protection a decision was made to have a listing cut off date of around 1960 or so.
Plough Inn - looking south
(undated c1910)
Plough Inn - looking north
(undated c1910)