THE BUSH TAVERN, BRISTOL'S FAMOUS COACHING INN, AND JOHN WEEKS, ITS
WORTHY BONIFACE, 1775-1819.--THE WHITE LION COACHING HOUSE, BRISTOL.
ISAAC NIBLETT.--THE WHITE HART, BATH.
It appears that John Weeks was landlord of the Bush Tavern, Bristol,
from 1775 to 1801, and continued to be a coach proprietor until 1806. In
the Eastern cloister of Bristol Cathedral there is a mural tablet
erected to his memory, with a well-executed medallion portrait of him in
profile, with inscription as shown in the illustration.
Verger Sproule, of old time, who was born in the first year of the
nineteenth century, once told Mr. Morgan, present senior lay clerk, that
he well remembered John Weeks, and that the portrait on the tablet was
an excellent likeness of him.
In "Mornings at Matlock," by Robey Skelton Mackenzie, D.C.L., author of
"Titian: an Art Novel" (London, Henry Colburn, publisher, 1850), a book
which contains a collection of twenty-six short stories supposed to have
been told by people stopping at Matlock, there is an interesting story
relating to what was known as the Bush Guinea. Briefly told, Dr.
Mackenzie's Bush Guinea story runs thus:--"It was the delight of this
Boniface (John Weeks) on every Christmas Day, to cover the great table
with a glorious load of roast beef and plum pudding, flanked most
plenteously with double home-brewed of such mighty strength and glorious
flavour that we might well have called it malt wine rather than malt
liquor. At this table on that day every one who pleased was welcome to
sit down and feast. Many to whom a good dinner was an object did so; and
no nobler sight was there in Bristol, amidst all its wealth and
hospitality, than that of honest John Weeks at the head of his table,
lustily carving and pressing his guests to 'Eat, drink, and be merry.'
Nor did his generosity content itself with this.
[Illustration: MURAL TABLET IN BRISTOL CATHEDRAL.]
"It was the custom of the house and of the day, when the repast was
ended, that each person should go to honest John Weeks in the bar and
there receive his cordial wishes for many happy returns of the genial
season. They received something more, for according to their several
necessities a small gift of money was pressed upon each. To one man a
crown; to another, half-a-guinea; to a third, as more needing it a
guinea. On the whole some twenty or thirty guineas were thus disbursed.
"On one particular year it had been noticed during the months of
November and December, that a middle-aged man, whom no frequenter of the
Bush Inn appeared to know, and who appeared to know no one, used to
visit about noon every day, and calling for a sixpenny glass of brandy
and water, sit over it until he had carefully gone through the perusal
of the London paper of the previous evening. On Christmas Eve, honest
John Weeks, anxious that the decayed gentleman should have one meal at
least in the 'Bush,' delicately hinted that on the following day he kept
open table. Punctually at one o'clock, being the appointed hour, he
appeared at the Bush in his usual seedy attire. John Weeks called his
head waiter, a sagacious, well-powdered, steady man, to whom he
confidently entrusted the donation which he had set aside for the
decayed gentleman. The decayed gentleman quietly put it in his pocket,
from which he drew a card. The inscription on the card was simply
'Thomas Coutts, 59, Strand.' Amongst the heirlooms which she most
particularly prized, the late Duchess of St. Albans, widow of Thomas
Coutts, used to show a coin richly mounted in a gorgeous bracelet, which
coin bore the name of 'The Bush Guinea.'"
Numerous as the passengers were by the many coaches starting from the
Bush Inn, yet evidently John Weeks was in the habit of finding enough
food for them to eat, and the wherewithal to fortify themselves with,
ere they set out on their long coach journeys. The Bill of Fare for the
guests at that hostelry during the festive season of 1790 shows that our
ancestors had an excellent conception of Christmas cheer. For variety
and quantity it could not easily be surpassed, and in these
"degenerate" days could not even be equalled. But let it speak for
itself.
CHRISTMAS, 1790.
One Turtle, weight 47 lb.; 68 Pots Turtle; British Turtle Giblet
Soup; Gravy Soup; Pea Soup; Soup and Bouille; Mutton Broth; Barley
Broth; 4 Turbots; 7 Cod; 2 Brills; 2 Pipers; 12 Dories; 2 Haddocks;
14 Rock Fish; 18 Carp; 16 Perch; 2 Salmon; 12 Plaice; 164 Herrings;
Sprats; Soles; 22 Eels; Salt Fish. Doe VENISON: 10 Haunches, 10
Necks, 10 Breasts, 10 Shoulders; 37 Hares; 14 Pheasants; Grouse; 32
Partridges; 94 Wild Ducks; Wild Geese; 32 Teal; 27 Wigeon; 6 Bald
Cootes; 1 Sea Pheasant; 3 Mews; 4 Moor Hens; 2 Water Dabs; 2
Curlews; Bittern; 61 Wood Cocks; 49 Snipes; 7 Wild Turkies; 8 Golden
Plovers; 5 Quist; 2 Land Rails; 13 Galenas; 4 Pea Hens; 26 Pigeons;
121 Larks; 26 Stares; 108 Small Birds; 44 Turkies; 8 Capons; 9
Ducks; 5 Geese; 63 Chicken; 4 Ducklings; 18 Rabbits; 3 Pork
Griskins; 11 Veal Burrs; 1 Roasting Pig; Oysters, Stewed and
Scolloped; Eggs; Hogs Puddings; Ragood Feet and Ears; Scotch
Collops; Veal Cutlets; Harricoad Mutton; Maintenon Chops; Pork
Chops; Mutton Chops; Rump Steaks; Joint Steaks; Sausages; Hambro'
Sausages; Tripe; Cow Heel; Notlings; 3 House Lambs. VEAL: 5 Legs, 2
Loins, 1 Breast, 4 Calves' Heads. BEEF: 5 Rumps, 1 Sirloin, 5 Ribs,
1 Pinbone, Duch Beef, Hambro' Beef. MUTTON: 16 Haunches, 8 Necks, 8
Legs, 11 Loins, 6 Saddles, 6 Chines, 5 Shoulders. PORK: 4 Loins, 2
Legs, 2 Chines, 2 Spare-Ribs, 1 Porker. COLD: Boar's-Head; Baron
Beef, 3 c. 1 qr.; 6 Hams; 4 Tongues; 6 Chicken; Hogs Feet and Ears;
7 Collars Brawn; 2 Rounds Beef; Collard Veal and Mutton; Collard
Eels and Pig's Head; Rein Deers' Tongues; Dutch Tongues; Harts
Tongues; Bologna Tongues; Parague Pie; French Pies; Pigeon Pies;
Venison Pasty; Sulks; 470 Minced Pies; 13 Tarts; 218 Jellies; 800
Craw Fish; Pickled Salmon; Sturgeon; Pickled Oysters; Potted
Partridges; Crabs; 24 Lobsters; 52 Barrels Pyfleet and Colchester
Oysters; Milford and Tenby Oysters; Pines.
So far as can be ascertained, Matthew Stretch kept the tavern from 1801
to 1805, and James Anderson in 1805 and 1806. Mr. John Townsend was
"mine host" from 1807 until 1826. Unfortunately, none of his descendants
possess a portrait of him. Mr. Charles Townsend, of St. Mary's, Stoke
Bishop, Bristol, has in his possession the original lease, in which the
Bush Tavern in Corn Street was transferred, on the 18th December, 1806,
from Mr. John Weeks, wine merchant, on the one part, to Mr. John
Townsend on the other part, at a yearly rental of £395 of lawful money
of the United Kingdom--the term to be for fourteen years. The stables
and coach houses "of him, the said John Weeks," situated in Wine Street,
were included in the transfer. Out of the rental the yearly sum of £20
had to be paid by the owner, John Weeks, to the parish of St. Ewen, for
that part of the coffee house which stood in the said parish.
As showing how John Weeks safeguarded his monopoly of coach-running to
and from the Bush Tavern, there was this stipulation in the lease:--"The
said John Townsend shall and will from time to time and at all times
during the continuance of this demise take in and receive at the said
Tavern, hereby demised, all and every Stage Coach or Public Carriage
which shall belong to the said John Weeks at any time during this term,
under the penalty of Two thousand Pounds, and that he, the said John
Townsend, shall not nor will at any time during the said Term, if the
said John Weeks shall so long run carriages of the aforesaid
description, take in at the said Tavern or Coffee Room any Public Stage
Coach or by way of evasion any Public Carriage whatsoever used as a
public stage belonging to any person or persons whomsoever without the
consent and approbation of the said John Weeks &c. in writing for that
purpose first had and obtained under the penalty of two thousand pounds
to be paid for any default in the observance and performance of the
covenants herein before contained in that behalf."
According to Paterson's "Roads," John Weeks in 1794 occupied a homestead
called "The Rodney," at Filton Hay, 4 miles from Bristol on the Bristol
to Tewkesbury Road.
The following advertisement from a very old newspaper will be
interesting as indicative that in addition to the John Weeks, of Bush
Inn fame, Bristol, there was at the Portsmouth end of the Mail Coach
route another worthy of the same name, likewise engaged in the carrying
trade, but by sea instead of land:--"John Weeks, Master of the Duke of
Gloster Sloop, takes this method to thank his friends and the public for
their past favours in the Southampton and Portsmouth passage trade, and
hopes for a continuance of the same, as they may depend on his care, and
the time of sailing more regular than for many years past. He sails from
Southampton every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and returns every
Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, wind and weather permitting."
In the _Bristol Journal_ of Saturday, July 28, 1804, "James Anderson
(who kept the Lamb Inn, Broadmead, eleven years), begged to inform his
old friends and the public in general that he has taken the Bush Inn,
Tavern, and Coffee-house, facing the Exchange, Bristol," where he hoped,
by constant attention, reasonable charges, &c., to render everything
agreeable and convenient to those who might kindly give a preference to
his house. There had evidently been some friction at the Bush under the
late management, for Mr. Anderson also intimated that "those gentlemen
who withdrew from the Bush Coffee-room (upon Huntley's leaving it) are
solicited to use it, gratis, until Christmas next."
In an advertisement following the above, John Weeks solicited support to
his new tenant at the Bush, and added--"In the case of large dinners, or
other public occasions, John Weeks will assist Mr. Anderson to give
satisfaction."
On the site of the 'Bush,' the head offices of the late West of England
and South Wales District Bank were erected. The directors of the Bristol
and West of England Bank purchased the premises on December 31st, 1880.
Lloyd's Bank now stands on the site.
The White Lion, Bristol, was one of the most famous coaching houses in
England, east, west, north, or south. It stood in Broad Street, a
thoroughfare which belied its name as regards breadth, and could only be
considered broad by comparison with the even narrower Small Street,
which ran parallel with it. Yet at one time there were as many coaches
passing in and out of Broad Street as any street in Bristol, or even in
London!
That the White Lion had attained a venerable age may be judged from the
fact that it is mentioned in a list of old Bristol inns and taverns,
published in 1606. On May 10, 1610, the Duke of Brunswick visited
Bristol, and took up his quarters at this house. In 1621 the Earl of
Essex, and in more modern times, the Grand Duke Constantine of Russia,
lodged there. The father of Sir Thomas Lawrence was host of the White
Lion before he removed to the Bear Inn, Devizes. In 1684, it appears to
have been the occasional hostelry of a Duke of Beaufort, for in that
year, during Monmouth's rebellion, His Grace of Badminton was in
Bristol, where he commanded several regiments of militia against the
insurgents; and on that occasion "the backward stables of the White
Lion, in Brode Street, were set on fire, and therein were burnt to death
two of the Duke of Beaufort's best saddle horses. It was supposed to
have been done by the malice and envy of the fanaticks, of whom a great
many were sent prisoners from Bristol to Gloucester, and there secured
till the rebellion was over."
In Matthew's "New History or Complete Guide to Bristol" for the year
1793, there are the following entries respecting this erstwhile great
coaching establishment:--
WHITE LION, BROAD STREET.--Thomas Luce proprietor. To London: A coach in
two days sets out on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays at seven o'clock
in the morning.
WHITE HART INN, BROAD STREET.--(The White Hart adjoined the White Lion,
and was a distinct hostelry so far back as 1606.) George Poston. To
London: A coach in one day every morning at four o'clock. To Birmingham:
A coach every morning (Sundays excepted) at four o'clock, also a mail
coach every evening at seven o'clock. To Gloucester: A coach every
morning at eight o'clock. To Exeter: A coach every Monday, Wednesday,
and Friday morning at six. To Bath: A coach every morning at nine
o'clock and four in the afternoon.
The _Bristol Mirror_ made announcements touching the White Lion
thus:--"March 10, 1804. Wonderful cheap travelling. Fare inside 10s.
6d., outside 8s. The public are respectfully informed that coaches set
out every Tuesday and Thursday and Saturday morning from the White Lion
and White Hart, John Turner, Landlord, and arrive at Birmingham the same
evening. Performed by Weeks, Poston & Co.
"November 8, 1823. J. Niblett, White Lion, Broad Street, announces
change of Royal Mail coach route to London and back. The Emerald Post
coach would run _via_ Bath, Devizes, Marlborough, and Maidenhead. £1
18s. inside, 16s. outside.
"April 12, 1832: New Royal Mail coach to Bath daily at 7 a.m. Leaves
York House, Bath, on return at 5 p.m. Arrives at White Lion, Bristol, at
6.30 p.m.
"April 21, 1832. Royal Mail to Liverpool every day at 5 p.m. from White
Lion, Broad Street; arrive twelve noon the following day by way of
Chepstow, Monmouth, Hereford, Shrewsbury, and Gloucester. Return journey
Liverpool 5 p.m. Arrive White Lion 12 noon next day.
Mr. Isaac Niblett, who became proprietor of the White Lion Inn in 1823,
in which year Thomas Luce gave up the place, was a well-known individual
in the coaching world when the mail coach system was at its zenith. He
worked 600 coach and post horses--a number only exceeded by the great
London coach proprietor Chaplin, with his 1,300, and Horne and Sherman
with their 700. Of the twenty-two daily coaches between Bristol and
London the greater proportion made the White Lion their headquarters.
Amongst other coaches with which Isaac Niblett was especially associated
were the "Red Rover" and the "Exquisite." The "Red Rover" ran from
Bristol to Brighton through Bath, over Salisbury Plain, on to
Southampton and Chichester, and covered the distance of 140 miles in
fourteen hours. The "Exquisite" used to run from Birmingham to
Cheltenham, thence on through Bristol to Exeter. In the _Bristol
Directory and Gazette_ of 1859, Mr. Niblett's innkeepership is alluded
to thus:--"Isaac Niblett, White Lion and British Coffee House, family
commercial and posting house; hearse and mourning coach proprietor." The
White Hart, family and commercial hotel, Broad Street, was at that time
kept by one Charles Smith.
Mr. Isaac Niblett, like John Weeks, of Bush Inn fame, had a country
place near Bristol. He owned, and stayed from time to time at the
Conigre House, Fylton. Mr. Niblett was for some time the owner of the
old Bush Inn stables in Dolphin Street, according to evidence given in a
recent trial before the Judge of Assize at Bristol. That site, as well
as the Conigre Farm, Fylton, is, it is believed, still in the possession
of his lineal descendants.
The Grand Hotel, one of the largest in the West of England, and most
central in the city of Bristol, now stands on the sites of both the
White Lion and the White Hart Hotels. Erected in 1869, it was known as
the new White Lion until 1874, when its name was changed to that of the
Grand Hotel. The accompanying illustration of the White Lion and the
White Hart Inns, taken from a lithograph engraving of about 1880 by the
well-known Bristol firm of lithographers, Messrs. Lavars, must have been
copied from a picture produced subsequent to the old coaching days, and,
judging from the costumes of the pedestrians depicted, the period was
probably about 1860, or a few years before the demolition of the old
inns. The figure of a white hart appears in the picture over the
entrance door of that hostelry but the statue of a white lion, which for
very many years stood over the entrance gateway to the inn of that name,
and which is recollected by many persons still living, was for some
reason or other omitted from the engraving.
[Illustration: THE OLD WHITE LION COACHING INN, BROAD STREET, BRISTOL.]
The White Lion appears to have been the leading Inn in the town in 1824,
for on May 12 in that year the Mayor, Corporation, and leading citizens
dined there on the occasion of the laying of the foundation stone of the
Bristol Council House. Samuel Taylor Coleridge delivered lectures in the
large room of the Inn in 1800. It was the "blue" house, and in later
times the coach which most frequently entered its narrow archway was
driven by his Grace the sixth Duke of Beaufort, who put up at the inn on
his visits to Bristol, as he had, it is said, a great respect for Isaac
Niblett's sterling qualities and fine sporting instincts.
What an evolution in pleasure and commercial traffic has come about in
the last three-quarters of a century! When the White Lion in Broad
Street and the Bush Tavern in Corn Street were in their prime as
Coaching Inns, a four-in-hand Coach in Bristol's narrow streets and on
the neighbouring country roads was so often in evidence as scarcely to
induce the pedestrian even to turn his head round to look at one in
passing. Now such a patrician vehicle in Bristol's midst is brought down
to an unit, and it is left to Mr. Stanley White, son of Sir George
White, Bart., with his well-appointed Coach and his team of bright
chestnuts, to link old Bristol with the traditions of past Coaching
days. Strange that Mr. Stanley White should have blended in his one
person the love of a coachman for a team with the will and nerve to
render him one of Bristol's boldest and most expert drivers of the
road machine of the latest kind, to wit: the Motor Car.
[Illustration: MR. STANLEY WHITE'S COACH.]
[Illustration: MR. STANLEY WHITE'S MOTOR CAR.]
At a function in Bath in 1902, described in these pages, Colonel Palmer,
a descendant of John Palmer, presented a small curiosity to the
Corporation. Readers of Pickwick will remember that, when Mr. Pickwick
was proceeding to Bath, Sam Weller discovered inside the coach the name
of "Moses Pickwick," and wanted to fight the guard for what he
considered an outrage on his master. Among John Palmer's papers was an
old contract for the Bristol and Bath Mail Service, and one of the
parties bore the name of Pickwick, and was the landlord of the White
Hart Hotel at Bath. It was that contract which Colonel Palmer presented
to the Corporation, as a memorial both of his grandfather and of
Dickens.