"Complete"Bell and Bear

[mumbles]

Black Country Bugle are looking at history of Bull and Bear which we have used for annual get together.
I would be interesting to see who lived there as 400 years old and was a farm and pub

[mumbles]

Sorry should be Bell and Bear

This looks like it in 1911 Census
Bell Inn Gosty Hill Halesowen Rowley Regis Staffs.
Samuel Lowe Head 52 Licensed Victualler Brewery Co. Manager
Mary Lowe wife 48 born Blackheath Staffs. Manageress
John Lowe son 26 Motor Engineer Cycle & Motor Manufacturer
Albert Lowe son 19 Electrician Dynamo Fitter
Emma South servant 30 General Servant
Rest born Rowley Regis Staffs.

Must be right one as Bell Cottages next door

[mumbles]

Collection of plans, The Bell Inn, Gorsty Hill, Blackheath
Ref No: PS2/2/4/51
Repository: Sandwell Community History and Archives Service
Date: 1903 - 1936
Creator: Rowley Regis Magistrates Court
Description: 4 plans of The Bell Inn in Gorsty Hill, Blackheath. 2 copies of a plan of the premises in Gorsty Hill, Blackheath as is showing a cellar plan, a ground floor plan, first floor plan, block plan (drawn to a scale of 1/500) and section AA. Drawn to a scale of 8 feet to 1 inch. Drawn by OM Weller in August 1936. 69cm by 39cm. Plan of The Bell Inn, Gorsty Hill, Blackheath. Full License (Licensee Samuel Lowe). Drawn to a scale of 8 feet to 1 inch by James Plant in April 1903. Shows ground floor plan, cellar plan and a chamber plan. 70cm by 59cm. Plans for proposed alterations to The Bell Inn, Gorsty Hill belonging to Mr Samuel Lowe. Drawn to a scale of 8 feet to 1 inch. Shows a present plan, a proposed plan, first floor plan and section AA. 73cm by 60cm.

[mallosa]

Poss
Marriage 1882
LOWE Samuel DOWNING Mary Cradley Heath, Holy Trinity Sandwell Register Office 19/1/99

Just noticed, they are already on BCC - http://bcconnections.tribalpages.com/fa ... owe-Family

[mumbles]

Thanks mallosa
I think I can find Licensed victuallers on Gosty Hill back to 1841
and connections to people on bcc including connection to my tree
I will add later and see what we can connect or what others think of it before I connect

[Antie Em]

I put something together about the pub for our "do" there a couple of years ago. It included a bits of history and a family tree. I can't find it now on my computer, but Jan might still have a copy.

[Antie Em]

Found some of it here :

viewtopic.php?f=33&t=13056&hilit=bear&start=15

[Rob]

Found some of it here :

viewtopic.php?f=33&t=13056&hilit=bear&start=15

Interesting reading Antie Em.

[mumbles]

Put on this thread to assist research

The Bell and Bear, Gorsty Hill

From an article in the Black Country Bugle in 1976, when it was hailed as Pub of the Month.

The Bell Inn, located on Gorsty Hill, close to the Blackheath, Cradley Heath and Halesowen boundaries has been a noted ale-house for longer than any living man can possibly remember.

Inns, and even roads were few and far between if we go back 200 years into Black Country history, but on Yates map, dated 1775, we find Gorsty Hill clearly marked.

Only eight dwellings are shown bordering the whole of the thoroughfare, which ran from the centre of present-day Blackheath to Halesowen.

A farmhouse and barn are where The Bell now stands, and it is probable that the public-house we know today sprang from these original buildings with some obvious conversions.

The Feredays - On BCC here : http://bcconnections.tribalpages.com/tr ... onnections

The Fereday family were in ownership at that time, occupying their wayside dwelling, which was then surrounded by green pasture meadows and fields, swaying corn, with the dense thicket of Coombs Wood in the hollow across the road.

Tremendous changes were on the horizon. Within the next thirty years, a nearby canal system and the opening of several local pits brought rapidly increasing population and industry. Traffic between Halesowen and Rowley grew accordingly, and it became profitable for the owners of Fereday Farm to open up a kind of roadside hostelry, to accommodate wagon drivers and those who travelled on horseback along the busy Halesowen/Rowley Road.

The location of this establishment was nothing less than ideal being positioned on an almost level stretch of highway, sandwiched between the considerable slopes of Coombs Holloway and the upper reaches of Gorsty Hill.

Drivers found it an ideal spot to give their horses a breather between these two severe gradients and "wet their own whistle" at the same time.

That was when the farmstead was first converted into a tavern with stabling and a Wheelwright and Blacksmiths forge.

The family prospered. In 1860, Thomas Fereday owned the property. He married into the wealthy Wright family of Old Hill, and when he died in 1885, "The Bell" and surrounding lands passed to his daughter, Fanny Wright-Fereday. She married Edward Lloyd Gatacre, but they were divorced in 1877. Around that period, the inn was known locally as Fannys

Sam Lowe Long Tenure : on BCC here : http://bcconnections.tribalpages.com/tr ... =118567769

She stayed at The Bellâ until 1895 when Mr Samuel Lowe purchased the public house which he owned until his death in 1934. It was then acquired by Messrs Grigg and Brettell, who were subsequently taken over by Ansells Brewery

[mumbles]

1841 Gorsty Hill Rowley Regis Dudley Staffs.
Edmund Mason 35 Victualler
Amelia Hodgetts 17
Elizabeth Hodgetts 4
All born Staffs.
Only Victualler on Gorsty Hill but probably not The Bell

1841 Census Tory Street Rowley Regis Dudley Staffs.
Sarah Lowe 41 Nailor ?
Sarah Lowe 19
Mary Lowe 14
John Lowe 8
Samuel Lowe 5
All born Staffs.
Not Gorsty Hill but close and think John Lowe is Landlord in 1881

1851 Census Gorsty Hill Rowley Regis Dudley Staffs.
Mathew Weston Head 70 Beerhouse Keeper born Poly ? Worcs.
Rebecca Weston wife 67 born Rowley Regis Staffs.
Elisha Weston son 41 Blind born Rowley Regis Staffs.
Note Nailor in 1841 and 1861 already on bcc

1861 Census Gorsty Hill Rowley Regis Dudley Staffs.
Sarah Lowe Head 60 (wid) Victualler
Samuel Lowe son 24 Miner (Labourer)
William Riley boarder 64 Labourer
Charles Newton boarder 19 Labourer born Bromsgrove Worcs.
Rest born Rowley Regis Staffs.
Next door is
Joseph Parkes Head 39 Beerhouse Keeper
Sarah Parkes wife 38
George Benjamin Parkes son 15 Gas Tube Manufacfturer
Joseph Parkes son 11 Gas Tube Maufacturer
Edward Parkes son 9 Scholar
Martha Parkes dau 7 Scholar
Thomas Parkes son 3 Scholar
Eliza Parkes dau 4 mths.
All born Rowley Regis Staffs.
Note :- Samuel Lowe 24 is living with John Lowe Landlord of Bell Inn in 1881
Joseph Parkes is already on bcc

1861 Census Gorsty Hill Rowley Regis Dudley Staffs.
William Smith Head 45 Victualler born Madeley Shropshire
Mary Smith wife 35
Sarah Ann Smith dau 15 Scholar
Rosannah Smith dau 11 Scholar
Martha Smith dau 7 Scholar
Henry Smith boarder 16 Labourer born Birmingham Warks.
Rest born Rowley Regis Staffs.
Note :- Samuel Lowe born 1837 RR is visitor with this family in 1851
Next door :-
John Wright Head Farmer & Victualler
Eliza Wright wife 42 born Staffs.
Eliza Wright dau 15 born Rounds Green Staffs.
Harriett Wright dau 12
Lucy Wright dau 11
Sarah Ann Wright dau 8 Scholar
John Wright son 5 Scholar
Isabella Beaumon servant 22 Dairy Maid
Note :-
Landlord of Sportsman Inn in 1881

These records contradict article in Bugle of 1976 since no mention of "Fanny" and John Lowe is Landlord of Bell in 1881

[mumbles]

http://www.bcconnections.tribalpages.co ... i=24570423

1871. Gosty Hill Halesowen Rd Rowley Regis.
John Lowe 38. Lic. Vic.
Elizabeth Lowe 29.
Marthe Lowe 14.
John Lowe 10.
Arthur Lowe 1.
Mary Lowe 5 Months.
Jannie Lowe 35. Boarder.

1881.Gosty Hill No 33. Rowley Regis, Stafford.
John LOWE Head M Male 47 Rowley Regis, Stafford, England Licensed Victualler Bell Inn
Elizabeth LOWE Wife M Female 39 Rowley Regis, Stafford, England
Martha LOWE Daur U Female 23 Rowley Regis, Stafford, England
Arthur LOWE Son Male 11 Rowley Regis, Stafford, England
Mary LOWE Daur Female 9 Rowley Regis, Stafford, England
Annie LOWE Daur Female 8 Rowley Regis, Stafford, England
Edward LOWE Son Male 7 Rowley Regis, Stafford, England
Amy LOWE Daur Female 4 Rowley Regis, Stafford, England
Lucy LOWE Daur Female 3 Rowley Regis, Stafford, England
Sarah Ann LOWE Daur Female 1 Rowley Regis, Stafford, England
Samuel LOWE Lodger U Male 44 Rowley Regis, Stafford, England Labourer At Tube Works (Iron)

Note :- John Lowe's son Samuel became Landlord of Bell 1891 to 1936
and John Lowe is probably brother of Samuel Lowe born 1837

[mumbles]

BELL AND BEAR
71, Gorsty Hill Road, (33, Gorsty Hill), OLD HILL
OWNERS
Thomas Fereday [1860]
Fanny Wright Fereday
Samuel Lowe (acquired in 1895)
Messrs. Grigg and Brettell (acquired in 1934)
Ansells Ltd.
Colin Waring
Punch Taverns [2007]
LICENSEES
Edmund Mason [1851] – [1854]
Thomas Fereday [1860] – 1865);
Joseph Hackett [1861]
Fanny Wright Fereday (1865 – [ ]
John Lowe [1870] – [1881]
Samuel Lowe [1892] – 1934)
Vince Trevis [late 1930’s]
Thomas Bishop [1940]
Colin Waring [ ] – 1978)
Bill Vallence [1985]
Colin Waring (1988 – [1995]
Stephanie Corcoran [2004] – [2007]
NOTES
BELL INN [1851], [1861], [1880], [1892], [1896], [1912], [1916], [1921], [1924],
[1940]
Edward Mason was also a wheelwright.
Black Country Bugle - Pub of the Month
“…..That was when the farmstead was first converted into a tavern with stabling and a wheelwright’s
and a blacksmith’s forge ….. The family prospered. In 1860, Thomas Fereday owned the property.
He married into the wealthy Wright family of Old Hill, and when he died in 1865, the BELL and
surrounding lands passed to his daughter Fanny Wright Fereday. She married Edward Lloyd Gatacre
2007
but they were divorced in 1877. Around that period the inn was known locally as “Fanny’s”. She
stayed at the BELL until 1895, when Mr. Samuel Lowe purchased the public house which he owned
until his death in 1934. It was then acquired by Messrs. Grigg and Brettell who were subsequently
taken over by Ansells.”
John Lowe, beer retailer, Gorsty Hill [1870]
1871 Census
Gorsty Hill
[1] John Lowe (38), licenced victualler, born Rowley Regis;
[2] Elizabeth Lowe (29), wife, born Rowley Regis;
[3] Martha Lowe (14), daughter, born Rowley Regis;
[4] John Lowe (10), son, scholar, born Rowley Regis;
[5] Arthur Lowe (1), son, born Rowley Regis;
[6] Mary Lowe (5 months), daughter, born Rowley Regis;
[7] Samuel Lowe (35), boarder, labourer, born West Bromwich:
1881 Census
33, Gorsty Hill
[1] John Lowe (47), licenced victualler, BELL INN, born Rowley Regis;
[2] Elizabeth Lowe (39), wife, born Rowley Regis;
[3] Martha Lowe (23), daughter, born Rowley Regis;
[4] Arthur Lowe (11), son, born Rowley Regis;
[5] Mary Lowe (9), daughter, born Rowley Regis;
[6] Annie Lowe (8), daughter, born Rowley Regis;
[7] Edward Lowe (7), son, born Rowley Regis;
[8] Amy Lowe (4), daughter, born Rowley Regis;
[9] Lucy Lowe (3), daughter, born Rowley Regis;
[10] Sarah Ann Lowe (1), daughter, born Rowley Regis;
[11] Samuel Lowe (44), lodger, labourer at tube works, born Rowley Regis:
It had a successful bowling team in the 1920’s.
It was the headquarters of Blackheath Town FC. [1927/28]
Vince Trevis kept racing greyhounds.
Closed
It reopened in 1988
Colin Waring was married to Hilary.
[

[nelly]

Try this site for local watering holes:

http://www.longpull.co.uk/downloads.html

From that site we get:

Bell and Bear

71, Gorsty Hill Road, (33, Gorsty Hill), OLD HILL
OWNERS
Thomas Fereday [1860]
Fanny Wright Fereday
Samuel Lowe (acquired in 1895)
Messrs. Grigg and Brettell (acquired in 1934)
Ansells Ltd.
Colin Waring
Punch Taverns [2007]

LICENSEES
Edmund Mason
[1851] – [1854]
Thomas Fereday [1860]– 1865);
Joseph Hackett [1861]
Fanny Wright Fereday (1865 – [ ]
John Lowe [1870]– [1881]
Samuel Lowe [1892]– 1934)

[mumbles]

More or less completed and made loads of connections as Licensees sons and daughters married other Licensees sons and daughters.
I am still following up and feel I am on a pub crawl of Blackheath.
Fereday Divorce was interesting as Frances Wright Fereday was petitioner and grounds were Adultery of her husband Edward Lloyd Gatacre with an Elizabeth Rawlings of Crickhowell Brecknockshire and cruelty to wife in that he knowingly passed a venereal disease to her. Edward Lloyd Gatacre then went on to marry a 17 year old who was very much his junior

[mumbles]

Just found that Linell connects to Bell and Bear
as Rosannah Smith dau of William Smith and Mary Lowe married Joseph Boilstone born 1843 ( connects to Linell)
Mary Lowe was part of Lowe family who were licensees of Bell and Bear