Inns and Alehouses of Clun: Royal George Ship Inn

2024 Ship House

This lovely old cottage, now a private residence named 'Ship House' was once the Royal George Ship Inn, also known as 'Old Royal George' or simply, the 'George Inn' and was a beer house from the mid-1800s until it's closure around 1903. After that time it served as a Temperance Hotel/Tea Rooms when in the possession of the Hints family up to at least 1939 and was subsequently converted to a residential property. It is located on the corner of High Street and Ford Street (known as Frog Street in the 1800s).

1883 OS Map

The name of this beerhouse leads one to believe it dates back to the late 1700s, as the HMS Royal George was a ship of the line of the Royal Navy, the largest warship in the world when launched in 1756, some ten years after construction had commenced. Tragically, the ship sank on 29 August 1782 whilst anchored at Spithead off Portsmouth. The ship was intentionally rolled (a 'parliamentary heel') so maintenance could be performed on the hull, but the roll became unstable and out of control; the ship took on water and sank. More than 800 people died, making it one of the most deadly maritime disasters in British territorial waters. (courtesy of Wikipedia).

Early Alehouse Recognizance records of Shropshire record a John Haynes as the landlord at the pub between 1801 and 1810.

1851 Census Old Royal George - John Haynes

The 1851 census and Clun directory of that year record John Haynes as a 'joiner' by trade, but it's clear that the building was a pub by its name and he would have run it as a beer house alongside his usual business.

1861 Census - John Haynes

Ten years later John was still living there and his son, Richard Haynes was living next door, who, whilst working as a joiner like his father, was also the Primitive Methodist local preacher by 1871, the church standing adjacent to the Royal George on High Street.

1866 Probate for John Haynes

The 1868 directory below confirms that following John's death, Thomas Edmonds was living there running the beer bouse, where he remained for the next decade or so.

Slater's Directory of Glos, Herefs, Mon, Shrops & Wales, 1868

1871 Census Thomas Edmonds - The George Inn

Slater's Directory of N & S Wales etc., 1880

1881 Census Thomas Edmonds - Beer Seller

1891 Kelly's Directory of Shropshire Hyla Breese

1891 Census - Hyla Breese - Old Royal George

Hyla Breese died in 1894 leaving behind his widow Jane to run the beerhouse along with their adult children, but by 1901 she was running the business on her own with 8-year-old granddaughter Bessie Breese living there too.

1895 Kelly's Directory Jane Breese

1901 Census - Jane Breese

Radnorshire Standard 07 August 1901

I suspect after the wedding of Jane Breese's daughter Jenny that she decided to retire and put the contents of the property up for sale. The 1903 Brewster Sessions article below confirms that the building was still owned by the Haynes family who made the decision to close it as a beer house around the same time.

Hereford Times 09 November 1901

Ludlow Advertiser 14 February 1903

Postcard of the Royal George Temperance Hotel and Boarding House c.1905
(Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication)

1911 Census - John Hints Temperance Hotel

By the time of the 1911 census John & Margaret Hints along with their daughter Nellie were in residence. It had been grandly re-titled the 'Royal George Temperance Hotel' but sadly, John died the following year leaving widow Margaret and daughter Nellie behind to run the business.

1913 Kelly's Directory Margaret Hints

Interestingly, whilst Margaret Hints is recorded on the above directory running the Royal George Temperance Hotel, Richard Haynes was still living in the town and had continued to be involved in the Primitive Methodist Chapel. Margaret died in 1929 and by 1939 Nellie Hints was the sole occupant, noted to be a 'Tea Room Proprietor' at the time of the register, the business referred to as 'The Ship Tearooms'.