Name: The Bowling Green Inn
Address: Charnock Green, Preston Road, Charnock Richard
The Bowling Green Inn is 500 years old and is located in the area that was formerly the centre of village life, Charnock Green.The Inn was originally a Coaching Inn and there was also a Blacksmith's outside where people used to change horses. It is half way between Preston and Wigan and one of the oldest Inns in Lancashire.
Listed landlords were John Rosbotham (1841-51), Henry Hayes (1861), Daniel Bolton (1864), Catherine Bannister (1866), Robert Cookson (1871), Frederick Busoby (1881), John Winstanley (1891-1901), John Craven (1906-09), Elizabeth Hannah Craven (1909-11), William Richard Williams (1921) and Tom Leighton (1960s).
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| 1841 Census |
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| Northern Star and Leeds General Advertiser 26 April 1845 |
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| 1851 Census |
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| c.1900 |
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| Preston Chronicle 03 September 1859 |
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| 1861 Census |
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| Preston Chronicle 03 October 1863 |
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| Preston Chronicle 08 October 1864 |
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| Preston Chronicle 02 December 1865 |
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| Preston Chronicle 12 May 1866 |
The Hindley Brewery was based in nearby Wigan and Robert Richardson was a beer seller from Preston who was presumably employed by the brewery around this time. By 1871 he was running his own pub, the Plough Inn on Friargate in the middle of Preston. What happened to the brewery remains a mystery but the article below records its sale in 1855, when it had been based at the Red Lion Inn in Hindley and the article below confirms that it continued as a business at least into the latter half of the 1860's.
The 1871 Census shows a William Baxendale as the Inn Keeper and Licensed Victualler at the Red Lion and Hindley's Town Directory of 1925 records Richard Parkinson a Victualler living at the Red Lion Inn so brewing beer continued well into the 20th century at those premises.
John Craven, named above the door in the first two photos, was the husband of Elizabeth Hannah, who took over after his death in 1909. In 1901 the family was in Shevington, but the birth of Thomas Barker in Charnock early in 1906 hints that John took over around then - Margaret Craven married Albert Edward Barker in late 1905.
ReplyDeleteMany thanks for the additional information Andrew...amazing how often public houses changed landlord wasn't it? I'm sure they're many more in between census and directory records that we'll never uncover. Thanks for taking the time to contribute to the blog. Richard
ReplyDeleteI loved this! I used to live there as my mother was the manager/landlady it was so eerie but amazing. I knew it was an old building the second I started living there so I'm glad I found this!
ReplyDeletemy dad tom leighton used to run the bowling green inn in the sixties i could tell you a number of scary stories about the pub and its resident ghost George what a time to be a teenager growing up in those heady days
ReplyDeleteAmazing...500 years old and it's still standing!
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