Fradley village, Staffordshire.

[JPG]

1842

Isaac fisher - Bell
John Paskin - Bulls Head
Thomas Leicester - Crown
Joseph Radford - Swan

[alyson123]

Hi,
I used to live in Alrewas, the village very close to Fradley, back in early 80's and frequented the area alot back
then. I do'nt recall a pub in the actual village but there was The Swan (locals called this The Mucky Duck!) at Fradley Junction (not actually in the village) I am pretty sure this would not have ever been called The Bell as a
relative was the lock keeper here back in early 1900's- so know this quite well. I do however remember a pub
that was very close to the village itself which was actually closed down in my era, it was a brick building and looked to be very old. They actually built the A38 (Lichfield to Burton on trent) alongside it, but I do not remember what became of it ......... possibly converted to residential or demolished. Also there was another pub situated on the other side of the road (A38) which I think was demolished. Sorry I cannot recall the names of these two but you will understand I'm going back 30yrs!
You could try old maps of the area, I think this would be your best bet of finding The Bell.

[Treefan]

Hello alyson123, many thanks for your message.
Someone has just told me that they think that the Bell Inn may have been one of the buidings that was demolished in the 50's to make way for the widening of the A38 which seems to be what you have suggested too. I shall look into this further.

Thanks again,
Treefan.

[alyson123]

Hi again Treefan,
After my recent post to you, low and behold I found one of my relatives in Fradley and are buried
in the churchyard!!  ........ anyway in my research of this ancester I came across The Bell Inn in
Whites Gazeteer 1834 desc. "Isaac Fisher, Bell beerhouse, Dunstall Bridge Fradley" - Thought this
might be a further clue as to its location.
Regards
Alyson


 

[Treefan]

 
That's a brilliant spot Alyson  ~  thank you so much. As you say, every little clue all helps.

Thanks again,
Treefan.

[JPG]

The Bell Inn was a very old square brick building that was demolished back in the late 1950s, along with the humped bridge it stood on, for the widening of the A38
The Bell was on the left side of the main road coming from Lichfield, near to the Fradley South housing estate and close to Dunstall Cottage and the old derelict garage that used to be Boggis's garage.
Historically it was a beerhouse rather than a pub, the difference between a pub & a beerhouse being that a pub could sell both spirits and beer.
The Jones and Fisher families, who were related, kept The Bell for many decades during the second half of the 1800s and the first half of the 1900s.

Courtesy of the author on a forthcoming book about the village

Regards

[Treefan]

JPG, many thanks for your wonderfully informative message which I was very grateful to receive.
I am most interested to learn more about the book to which you refer ~  perhaps you could explain more details to me please.
My Jones family were farmers in & around Fradley for many generations going back to the early 1700's at least & so I am very keen to learn more about the village & it's history.
I only knew of Thomas Jones's connection to the Bell Inn beerhouse ~ he was the brother of my great grandfather. Thomas married the widow of the Fisher family who ran the beerhouse & it seems that he then gave up farming on Rye Croft Farm to become landlord of the beerhouse when he married. The farm was then left in the hands of his brother who had previously served an apprenticeship as a wheelwright.
I have been struggling to learn information regarding my Jones ancestors so I would be very interested to read the book when it is published to hopefully gain more knowledge of Fradley & perhaps my family too.
I am hoping that I may have some luck somewhere along the line & hopefully obtain an old photo of the beerhouse & farm.

Many Thanks,
Treefan.

[alyson123]

Well done JPG! ....... that has put this one to bed!
Do'nt suppose it mentions any of my Lea ancesters in the book circa 1800's??
Regards
Alyson

[DollyB]

I am just now putting my Virtue/Richards/Norton  family tree onto Ancestry's family tree maker and was searching for possible scenes from Fradley around the 1850's plus, particularly the Bulls Head Inn and Dunstall Farm.  My 3 x great-grandfather John Paskin was a farmer and prop. of the Bulls Head in the 1851 census, cannot find him 1861 census, but 1871 census he is Farmer of 52 acres, Fradley.  His son Thomas 1881/1891 census was prop. Bulls Head.  In 1901 Thomas was Farmer, Dunstall Farm.  John Paskin's wife Hannah's maiden name was Fisher, born abt 1809, Alrewas.  I really don't know where I'm going with this but maybe there is a connection out there with Isaac Fisher and the Bell Inn.