Ertach Kernow - Sinners refuge central to Cornish communities.
Cornish pubs and their early evolution
Cornish churches were often central to medieval communities along with chapels of ease and daughter churches in more isolated larger parishes. Later they were joined by their smaller cousins the non-conformist chapels and meeting houses especially those within the wider Methodist movement from the 18th century. Whilst most of the medieval churches remain, many evolving into multi use community centres Cornish Methodist chapels and churches have declined at an alarming rate. Fortunately from a heritage aspect they have found their way into residential accommodation so not totally lost to history as the population becomes more secular.
Besides religious buildings there were also those other buildings central to communities, the pub or other traditional ways of describing them as inn’s or taverns. The word tavern evolved from the Roman word tabernae which simply described a shop or stall within living accommodation. Archaeology has indicated the location of tabernae in prime positions near or in commercial centres it could be implied that they served as taverns, bakeries and the like providing refreshment for workers and nearby businesses. The tabernae mainly sold wine the favourite Roman tipple, but with the coming of the Anglo-Saxons following Romes withdrawal from Britain came ale and alehouses.
Later development, what became known as inns, was the need to provide accommodation for travellers and often facilities for taking care of equine-related animals. These provided rudimentary lodgings with strangers often having to share a room or even a bed. What inns were in fact were the earliest of ‘rural hotels’ and there is much evidence of these from the 14th century. Where there’s fun and enjoyment regulation and taxes usually soon followed with licencing laws and restriction on sales. There were official Ale Tasters during the time of Richard II, perhaps a job with a mixed blessing.
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As travel became more commonplace these inns developed to provide better accommodation and facilities for horses, ponies and other animal transport. The term public house became used in the late 17th century to help differentiate inns with accommodation to those establishments which did not, and to other hostelries still termed alehouses. There are many references to tippling houses and acts of parliament tried to restrict what they offered, just basic boozing, and not inns supplying food, lodgings and entertainment. The inns were seen as less profitable, greater profit was in suppling alcoholic beverages often not brewed on the premises. John Taylor the 17th century author, known as the ‘Water Poet’, travelled nearly 600 miles from London to Land’s End and back again. He wrote of his 1649 visit to Cornwall in ‘Wanderings to see the Wonders of the West’. Of his visit to Mevagissey he wrote ‘that town hath in it two taverns, and six ale-houses, to every one of which I went for lodging, and not anyone would harbour me, when I sought for a constable to help me, but no constable was to be found; the people all wondering at me, as if I had been some strange beast, or monster brought out of Africa.’
Gradually the differential between the various types of hostelries selling alcohol was lost and the abbreviated term for public house ‘pub’ became best associated with most types of drinking establishment. Here in Cornwall there was one other type of drinking den known as kidleywinks. These somewhat illegal enterprises were places where legally just ale was licenced to be sold under the Beerhouse Act of 1830, and to be known as beerhouses. There had been an increase in demand for harder spirits such as gin and this act was to encourage consumption of beer, seen to be healthier than spirits. A favourite alternative tipple in Cornwall was brandy, often smuggled, leading to these Cornish named kidleywinks. One explanation for the origins of the term kidleywink was given in The Cornishman newspaper in 1881 by a Mr F Holman at a meeting of the Penzance Natural History and Antiquarian Society. ‘At the time the name arose the beershops were not all kept by honest dames, for they were then fond of keeping a little smuggled brandy, which was put in the kettle, so as to deceive the officers of the law, and those who were in the secret, when they came into the room and wanted some of the brandy would wink at the settle. Hence arose ‘ kettle-and-wink,’ or ‘kidleywink.’’
The improvement of the road system, quite late in the day here in Cornwall, led to passenger coaches travelling to and from larger cities especially London through to Penzance. Access roads into Cornwall from England were, before the introduction of 18th century turnpike roads, along what was termed the north and south post roads. The northern road entered via the Greystone Bridge at Launceston around the north of Bodmin Moor to Truro and the southern route crossing the Tamar at Cremyll through Looe and Fowey to Penzance. This would necessitate larger and better accommodation for travellers at certain stops as well as the horses. Journeys along rough roads were arduous and long with horses drawing a wagon managing up to a maximum of just thirty miles per day, often less. A change of horses to draw the coaches was needed especially as competition led to the much publicised ‘flying machine’ coaches. These faster coach journeys meant that horses, usually four, would need to be changed about every ten miles, certainly not more than fifteen. Consequently staging posts, inns with stable facilities and overnight accommodation sprang up throughout Cornwall. These were usually central to communities although one in particular was isolated in the middle of Bodmin Moor. Road improvements had led to the old waggoners track across the moor being used by coaches during the late 18th century. In 1750 an inn was built on land owned by the Trelawney family at Bolventor and named ‘The New Inn’. Completion of the turnpike road in 1769 led to increased traffic and the premises were renovated and enlarged in 1778. This road is largely followed by the current A30 and the inn one of the most famous coaching inns in Cornwall was renamed at the time of the first renovation Jamaica Inn.
Cornwall’s inns were not often well received by early travellers. John Norder the Tudor cartographer wrote in 1584 following his visit Cornwall ‘a straynger traveller in those partes can hardlye finde contentmente in ordinarie inns in lodging or dyet, by reason (as I take it) for that ther is noe greate haunte into those partes, unless sometimes marchantes repayre thither about their tynn, or in the tyme of pilcharde fishing; and therefore the ordinarie provisions in theis places are very meagre.’ So it seems that payments for tin or a good pilchard fishing catch potentially improved the chances of better food and lodgings. More recently rudeness by visiting tourists to those working in Cornish hospitality has reportedly increased, mostly likely unwarranted. However, Cornishman antiquarian Richard Carew wrote in 1602 ‘Strangers occasioned to travel through the shire, were wont, no less sharply than truly, to inveigh against the bad drink, coarse lodging, and slack attendance, which they found in those houses that went for inns; neither did their horses better entertainment prove them any welcomer guests than their masters.’ The horses it appears suffered as badly as their master’s from the lack of hospitality at Cornish inns and criticisms were perhaps well deserved.
Red Lion Inn, Truro. Lower two floors are from the late 17th century
Unfortunately Cornishmen had often used oats instead of barley in their brewing, with Richard Carew noting ‘to the ill refreshing of strangers’. Much later following a lengthy visit to Truro and Cornwall Andrew Brice, the author and editor of The Grand Gazetteer published in 1759, had some unflattering comments about Cornish ale. ‘They have good wine and brandy here (and that possibly not too often thinking of the custom house, as I have heard it expressed) but their ale, at least when I was some months here, was generally an abomination to the guts as well as the gust, and that in some houses and on sometimes brewed one day and guzzled down the next, if not more than lukewarm in the afternoon of the same day.’ Thankfully today Cornwall produces some excellent beers well appreciated by both local folk and visitors.
Hostelries also offered their clientele somewhere to meet, transact business and many so called coffeeshops, became established from the mid-17th century, often sold beer. A little ditty at the time ran ‘A coffee-house, the learned hold, It is a place where coffee's sold; This derivation cannot fail us, For where ale's vended, that's an ale-house.' The inventory of John Weeks a ‘stationer’ of Truro who had a ‘coffy roome’ at his death in 1692 included three hogshead of beer and two of cider. Some entertainments were quite the same as might be found in many public houses today, including singing, music, dancing and games of cards, shuffleboard and such like. However some places also hosted now outlawed and reviled activities like bull and badger baiting and more popular in Cornwall cockfighting. Some of these public houses where cockfighting took place had specially built pits to carry out this horrendous sport. Truro had a public House called The Fighting Cocks tenanted to John Lander and where explorers Richard and John Lander, celebrated in the statue column at the top of Lemon Street, were born. There was a purpose-built cockfighting pit situated at the Leats between River Street and Pydar Street which was demolished about 1880.
Whilst today the number of pubs have declined dramatically with those surviving mostly offering food and entertainment. There has been a huge growth of coffee shops as the centre of our towns and villages evolve for the 21st century.
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