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25 – 26 Bridge Street / The Barley Mow / the Bell / the Bunch of Grapes

History of 25-26 Bridge Street

1959 Royal Commission on Historical Monuments Survey of Cambridge: has walls of plastered timber-framing and tiled roof. It consists of a 16th cent. range to the street, with a 17th cent. NE wing. There are numerous original features inside.

Early history of the site from T E Faber, An Intimate History of St Clement’s, 2006.

1279 William de Pickering paid rent to Barnwell Priory of 3s plus a pound of cumin

1295 Richard de Parham acquires lease

1349 John de Parham [probably Richard’s grandson] granted his mother Amicia a tenement in St Clement’s which abutted onto the high road and which lay between the tenements of Geoffrey Seman.

1355 One of the two cottages granted to St John’s  Hospital. Roger le Kobelere was the tenant.

1365 – 1371 Robert de Bury

1484/5 John Waryn

1490/91 John Waryn

1505 – 11 Laurence Rankyn who rebuilt the premises

1526/70 lease from St John’s College for 20s ‘ for a tenement in the tenure of William Rychardson, late William Gotte, lately let’ at 23s 6d.

1540 John Bell (II), weaver,  paid rent to St John’s.  Died 1553.

1586 lease to Harwood Cook. Contains condition that the tenant should rebuild ‘The Bell’ i.e. an inn.

Hearth Tax period: head lease held by John Lowry, fishmonger, or James Lowry of King’s Lynn, merchant. occupied by John Bullen, haberdasher.

1729-44 John Martin; he paid extra for a brandy licence in 1730 and 1731

1742-67 Elizabeth Martin for Bunch of Grapes in 1752

1768-69 John Ogram for Grapes

1770 not listed

1771-80 James, later Ann, Chiswick for Grapes

1776 John Gillam acquired head lease and therefore association with Thompson’s Lane brewery.

1781-98 Anne Chiswick for Barley Mow

1795 sold by St John’s as a single property. Bought by the sitting tenant John Purchas. Described as ‘ now divided into two tenements one whereof is now used as a public victualling house called the Barley Mow.’

1799-1856 Barley Mow listed continuously

1803 Richard Foster acquires ownership

25 – 26 Bridge Street c.1900 (MoC 2/59)(J G Simpson)

Sebleys Tea Rooms and Ham Shop (date unknown)

1830 William Todd (Pigot’s)

1839 James Banham (Pigot’s Directory)

1841  (probably 25/26 Bridge Street. James Banham and Robert Royston were neighbours according to the census so possible lived in the same building)

Robert Royston, 45, milkman

Emma, 40

Martha, 15,

Robert, 12

John, 10

Edward, 8

Frederick, 4

Joseph, 1 month

Before 1841 Robert Royston  was (1837) a shopkeeper and (1824-1832) shoemaker. For information about the Royston family see study by D Dashwood-Howard:

BOOK FINAL PRINT

James Banham, 40, waterman

Mary, 35

Ann, 15

Suzannah, 9

Samuel, 6

Samuel Higdon, 60, labourer

Samuel Higdon, 30, labourer

Joseph Higdon, 15, labourer

James Hewitt, 40, labourer

William Day, 25, labourer

Edward Freeman, 50, musician

James Goodenough, 15, labourer

Charles Mickle, 35

1851

Robert Royston, 55, pork butcher milkman and victualler, b Cambridge

Emma, 50, b Wilts

Martha R, 27, b Bath

Joseph, 9, b Cambridge

1852 Robert Reynolds (Slaters)

1853 Robert Royston, pork butcher and beer retailer

1859 Mrs Royston, tenant, Thompsons Lane Brewery records (held at Cambridgeshire Archives). Property auctioned off with rest of Foster estate. It then consisted of a shop with shop window and a tap room, plus four bedrooms, stabling and a cow house with loft above. It was bought by Magdalene and shortly afterwards ceased to function as a pub.

1861

Emma Royston, widow, victualler, 59, b Wilts
Martha R Royston, daughter, 36, b Bath
Joseph Royston, son, lawyers clerk, 19, b Cambridge
Matilda Allan, servant, 28, b Cambridge

The Lost Pubs project online records that at some point in the 1860s the premises was Sebleys Tea Rooms and Ham Shop.

1871

Emma Royston, 69, pork butcher

Clara B Royston, 21, granddaughter, pork butcher

Ann Hodson, 21, servant, b Bourn

1874

Emma Royston died 27.6.1874 and family’s connection with 25/26 Bridge Street ended

1913

Herbert Sebley, eating house keeper

1962

W Stockbridge & Sons, antique dealers

1983

Magdalene College sold property

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License

This work is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

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