The Bricklayers Arms Public House Caddington

1 Dunstable Road March 2012

The Bricklayers Arms Public House: 1 Dunstable Road, Caddington

1 Dunstable Road is an attractive property and one of the oldest private dwellings in the village. It used to be a public house called The Bricklayers Arms.

The first reference to The Bricklayers Arms is in 1825 [CLP13]. This was the date it opened as the series of records containing the reference began in 1822 and it does not appear for the years 1822 to 1824. Sadly the only references to the establishment occur in licensing registers and directories, Bedfordshire and Luton Archives and Records Service holds no material solely and specifically about the public house. This is because it was owned by a brewery located in Hertfordshire.

In the countywide licensing register of 1876 the owner is given as Alfred Pryor of Hatfield who had bought James Spurrell's brewery in 1837. Alfred died in 1876 and his son Edward took over the business, going into partnership with his brother-in-law Percy Reid in 1881 the firm being known as Pryor Reid & Company. In 1902 the firm merged with Glover & Sons and became Hatfield & Harpenden Breweries Limited, the owners of the Bricklayers when it closed in 1911. In 1920 the brewery was sold to the growing Benskins Watford Brewery.

The countywide licensing register of 1903 states that the property was "fair, roof needs repair, clean and satisfactory". It stood 126 yards from the nearest licensed premises (The Chequers) and had a front door and one "from yard at side".

The Rating and Valuation Act 1925 stated that every piece of land and property in the country was to be assessed to deretmine its rateable value. 1 Dunstable Road was assessed in 1927 and the valuer visiting the property [DV1/C16/93] found it owned and occupied by A. Collins. The property comprised a reception room, a kitchen, a scullery and a living room downstairs with three bedrooms above. Outside stood a timber barn, a brick and a slated earth closet. The valuer noted: "Porch leans on house" and "Was once a Public House". Water came from a well. Collins also owned two unheated glasshouses, one of them measuring 30 feet by 17 feet 6 inches.

References:

• CLP13: register of alehouse recognizances: 1825-1828;
• PSL6a/1: Register of Alehouse Licences: c.1890-1922;
• PSL6a/2: Register of Alehouse Licences: 1922-1964.

List of Licensees: note that this is not a complete list. Italics indicate licensees whose beginning and/or end dates are not known:

1825-1839: Thomas Stokes;
1850: Richard Wilson;
1854: John Payne;
1861-1876: John Chesham
1877-1880: William Conquest;
1880-1882: Samuel Timms;
1882-1886: Thomas King;
1886: Charles Smith;
1886-1889: Frederick Cripps;
1889-1891: Jonathan Sims;
1891-1900: Arthur Kilby;
1900-1901: Luther Coleman;
1901-1902: Joseph Foster;
1902-1903: Thomas Kempster;
1903-1904: Johannes Kalberer;
1904-1905: Isaac John Moore;
1905-1906: Thomas William Roberts;
1906-1911: Alfred Godfrey;
Public House closed 17th January 1911