The Falcon Public House Luton

The former Falcon Public House in July 2008

The Falcon Public House: 119 Park Street, Luton

The first record Falcon public house is in 1861 when directories list William Holyoak as licensee. It is quite likely that the Falcon was open as early as 1853 as in both that year and 1854 William Holyoak is listed as a beer seller in Park Street, so the building was probably a beerhouse before becoming fully licensed between 1854 and 1861.

In the countywide register of alehouse licences for 1876 the Falcon is described as leased by John William Green, the owner being Sarah Hester. Green's brewery stood in Park Street West and he and Thomas Sworder, whose brewery stood in New Bedford Road owned or leased the majority of licensed premises in Luton in the second half of the 19th century. In 1879 the Falcon, along with the Queens Head in Chapel Street and the Enterprise in Elizabeth Street were conveyed by the devisees under the will of E. H. Cook and other person to John William Green [WB/Green4/2/19]

In 1897 Green took over Sworder's business and turned the new firm into a public limited company as J. W. Green Limited and the Falcon continued to form part of the new business. In 1936, however, the Four Horseshoes was mortgaged to Barclays Bank to help secure the company's trust deed, being substituted for the Falcon which had closed [WB/Green4/1/Lu/FH1]. Its licence was removed on 5th February that year and transferred to the newly built Leicester Arms in Dunstable Road. The reason for the closure was probably the proliferation of licensed premises in Park Street (nine including the Falcon at this date).

Sources:

• WB/Green5/5/1: register of successive tenants of J.W.Green Limited licensed houses: 1887-1926;
• WB/Green1/1/1: J.W.Green Limited articles of association, trust deeds etc.: 1897-1936;
• WB/Green4/1/Lu/FH1: mortgage of Four Horseshoes, Park Street and Falcon to Barclays Bank Limited: 1936;
• WB/Green6/4/1: J.W.Green Limited trade analysis ledger for individual licensed premises: 1936-1947;
• WB/Green4/2/10: schedule of J.W.Green Limited deeds and documents: c.1949?;
• WB/Green4/2/11: Schedule of Deeds and Documents of J.W.Green Limited property: c.1949?;
• WB/Green4/2/19: various loose J.W.Green Limited schedules of deeds and documents: c.1954

List of Licensees: note that this is not a complete list; entries in italics refer to licensees where either beginning or end, or both, dates are not known: 

1853: William Holyoak;
1869: William Presley
1872: Charles Henry Clarke;
1873: Henry Hulse;
1873: Philip Wiggall;
1873: Charles Clifton;
1874: Joseph Upton;
1891: Henry John Reynolds;
1899: Elmes;
1902: John Gay;
1906: Shepherd;
1907: Kitchener;
1909: John William Woolston;
1911: Harry Ebor Bailey;
1935: Stanley Walter Andrews
Public House closed 5th February 1936 and the licence removed to the Leicester Arms