So many fondly-remembered Northampton pubs have shut their doors over the years but are still in the memories of their customers.
These photos - researched by Dave Knibb, the Northampton author of 'Last Orders: A History and Directory of Northampton Pubs' - show some of Northampton's old stomping grounds, with one or two still in business!
Do you remember stopping for a drink in any of them?
Dave's self-published book has sold more than 2,000 copies. Call 07939990790 or email [email protected], to buy a copy.
1. The Mailcoach in Derngate
Dave said: "Also formerly known as Swan Hotel. The Swan Hotel was listed as a 16th or 17th century pub. That The Swan is old, there is no doubt, but how old? It was not listed as an ancient Inn in 1585, so if it was about then, it was not anywhere near the stature it was later to become. There is no mention of it in the records from the 1675 fire, of it being either burnt down or rebuilt, which is slightly strange, not every building was recorded but many of any significance were mentioned. I’m pretty certain that The Swan was first built after the fire, but on a big enough scale to make it instantly one of the bigger inns in the town. Many of the actors and actresses stayed there while appearing at the theatre around the corner. It was renamed as the Mailcoach in the 1970s and was one of my favourite town pubs in the 1980s. Still a good pub." Photo: Dave Knibb
2. Queens Head in Gold Street
Dave said: "It’s difficult to ascertain when the Queens Head first opened. It wasn’t in the list of 16th and 17th Century pubs, yet the earliest mention I could find was from 1789 involving an auction, with the original building being large and imposing and in a prominent place in town, it’s quite possible it was purpose built as a pub/inn immediately after the 1675 Fire. But like so many places, I don’t suppose we’ll ever know for sure. In July 1941 a Stirling Bomber crashed in the town centre, wreckage was strewn up Gold Street and along George Row, a few shops had their frontages ripped out and the Queens Head had its ground floor completely destroyed." Photo: Dave Knibb
3. The Bull Hotel in Regent Square
Dave said: "The Bull was first mentioned in 1744 in a will by a W Green, so its history as a long standing pub is not in doubt, but it’s impossible to know exactly how old. Campbell Street was once called Bull Lane, presumably after the pub rather the other way round, a pubs relative importance and standing is always enhanced when a street is named after it. The Bull officially became the Bull Hotel in the 1880’s and was a prominent landmark to anyone travelling in and out of the town centre right up to its eventual closure at the end of 1984 before being demolished for road widening, in 1985." Photo: Dave Knibb
4. Engineer in Portland Street
Dave said: "The Engineer was on the corner of Portland Street and Wellingborough Road, roughly where Portland Place is now, although the site of the pub is actually under the widened Wellingborough Road. A fairly run of the mill place, it first appeared under its ‘name’ in 1859 and survived until the 1950s. An advert in July 1954 was offering the pub for sale, ‘vacant and suitable for a shop’. It then became a RAFA Club for six years before it’s demolition for road widening in 1960." Photo: Dave Knibb