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MANY PUBS IN SWAVESEY IN PAST CENTURIES ... ...
BUT ONLY THE WHITE HORSE & TRINITY FOOT NOW.

By - Tim Phillips

It was fascinating trying to determine how many pubs used to exist in Swavesey and then to speculate why there used to be so many. It is my opinion that the number and quality of pubs in a village are a representative microcosm of the economic and social success of a community. As a consequence of the economic, social and transport changes that occurred between the end of the 19th century and the end of the first world war in 1918 many English public houses ceased to operate. This was as true for Swavesey as it was for other English villages such as the Stannary Market town of Ashburton in Devon which in its day was one of the few towns authorised to collect tax on the production from the local tin mines.

There were at least twenty six recorded public houses, beer retailers and hotels in Swavesey which I believe had a population of about three hundred and fifty households in the middle of the last century. This would suggest that if the entire population was not alcoholic there must have been other reasons for the existence of one public house for every thirteen houses.

The following facts indicate some of the changes that have occurred in the social conditions, water supplies, sanitation, transport, civic services and housing over the last hundred years. These no doubt account for the much larger number of public houses then that were required to support a smaller population than are required today.

1 - Drinking-water supplies were not available and even well-water in many places was not considered fit to drink due to the risk of infection by water born diseases. Typhus, dysentery and cholera were endemic and often fatal since there were no antibiotics. Typhus should not be confused with typhoid fever (tropical) although the symptoms are similar. Typhus was caused by the excreta of lice containing a microbe picked up on bare feet which found its way into the body through cuts and abrasions This was not eliminated until a proper understanding of the need for sanitation was known and action taken to provide hygienic, less crowded living conditions. The Public Health Act of 1875 introduced by Disraeli led to improved mains water supplies and refuse collections. Until such time as potable water supplies were made available pubs provided people with the only healthy alternative to water.

2 - Agriculture was labour intensive requiring many more people to work in the fields and orchards than are required today. Many agricultural workers would therefore need to slake their thirst before starting work at daybreak. After eight or ten hours of hard physical work there would have then been a need for the men, women and children to refresh themselves at a local public house. Much labour was required for the production and harvesting of crops of vegetables and fruit; for example: cucumbers, potatoes, apples, pears, asparagus, besides the manual cutting of hay, barley etc. and the need to dry and thrash the grain. These and other tasks are now carried out by machines.

3 - Swavesey market was an important trading centre attracting many visitors from a wide area to buy goods brought to market by lighter from Kings Lynn and later by train, which would not have been available in the visitors' localities. Both traders and visitors would have required accommodation and also stabling for horses. No doubt the population in the village would increase significantly for the duration of the market.

4 - Houses were generally small and unsuitable for many people to gather together, or to carry out civic functions for which civic offices would not have been available. For this reason public houses were probably in greater demand than their modern counterparts and were no doubt open all hours until the introduction by Gladstone of the Licensing Act in 1872, restricting the opening hours of licensed premises. Examples of some of the functions carried out in public houses are illustrated in the Swavesey Chronicle 1778 -1899. These include but were not limited to the following:

• Payments of rents to stewards for land
• Sales of land and buildings by auction or bidding
• Sale of tenements
• Sale and auction of property
• Coroners inquests and autopsy
• Law Court cases
• Committee meetings to discuss local issues such as drainage & enclosures
• Stabling  of coach   and  customers' horses
• Accommodation of itinerant workers during railway construction, etc.

5 - Pubs is a general term which is assumed to include Hotels, Inns, Ale-Houses and Beer-Retailers. The last two groups may not necessarily have been licensed premises until the second half of the 19tn century. These may have been private houses in which the resident landlord, or landlady, may have brewed their own ale, or stocked a few barrels for sale to their friends and neighbours.

6 - Last but by no means least was the requirement for "swipes" throughout the community. This was a weak, washy, turbid or inferior beer (ref. the fourth edition of The Concise Oxford Dictionary 1911, revised 1951). It was often given to children for breakfast in the early part of this century. Most people were without transport to go to a local brewery and therefore needed a local pub, on their doorstep, at which they could buy "swipes" or beer. In earlier times "swipes" may also have been a term for a late evening light meal consisting of weak beer, bread and cheese, or other light snacks. This meaning and use of "swipes" has lingered on in at least one public school, founded in 1858; but I have not come across its use anywhere else.

A map of Swavesey on which the locations of all the pubs, existing at the end of the nineteenth century, have been marked indicates an excellent distribution of drinking houses throughout the village. This would ensure that nobody had to walk far to buy a pint of beer, or "swipes". Most however are located close to Market Street where people would be shopping, or waiting for the farrier to attend to their horses before returning home. This was obviously the best location for selling drinks and services to the people.

There was a saying in the village (published in the Cambridge Weekly News on Thursday June 1st 1989), brought to my attention by Mr Stephen Bull:

"If a man stood at the top of Market Street he could throw a cricket ball into the yards of: the George and Dragon, White Horse, King William IV, Little Rose, Black Horse, Beer House, Rising Sun and Cricketers."

That are eight different licensed premises within reach of a good throw of a cricket ball. It is not clear which premises the Beer House refers to. It could have been: Bottle House, Bird in Hand or Sir Harry Smith. The Chequers and Railway Tavern would have been long shots, but certainly no further than a throw to the Cricketers of about 170 yards, or the equivalent of eight cricket pitches.

The pubs, inns, ale-house and beer-retailers that I have been able to identify from old records are listed on the following pages. Brief details have been included and sources of the information included in the notes at the bottom of the second sheet. My thanks go to John Shepperson for providing me with much of the information to work on.

A marked-up map of Swavesey including photographs of houses in the village that were once pubs or inns was put on display at the exhibition in the White Horse on Saturday 20tn March 1999. Photographs exist of most of the pubs, even some of those that have since been demolished. If anyone has old photographs of any of Swavesey public-houses and would be prepared to let them be copied photographically please contact the writer.

Copyright Tim Phillips, 28rd April 1999