Coppull - Jolly Tar Inn

Name: The Jolly Tar Inn

Address: Jolly Tar Lane, Coppull

Jolly Tar Inn c.1900

The Jolly Tar Inn was a working farm of some 40 acres of the same name.  John  and Elizabeth Roocroft and their family moved there in the late 1850's having previously run the Oak Tree Inn on Preston Road and soon after they started running a beer house from the farm; it was situated on Jolly Tar Lane in Coppull, which was previously known as Rag Whistle Lane. 

Along with the Waggon & Horses and Parker's Arms it was one of three beer houses in this rural part of Coppull. 

Listed landlords at the Jolly Tar Inn were John Roocroft or Roscroft (1860-1873), James Bradshaw (1873), John Astley (1876-1881), Robert Turner (1891), William Taylor (1901) and John Beswick (1911).

Preston Chronicle 24 November 1860

The Bolton Chronicle reported on the same incident but further detail was given surrounding John Roocroft's reason for leaving the Oak Tree Inn.

Bolton Chronicle 24 November 1860

1861 Census - Farm

1871 Census - Farm & Beer House

Preston Chronicle 15 February 1873

Preston Chronicle 01 April 1876

1881 Census - Farm & Beer House

1891 Census - Farm & Inn

1901 Census - Farm & Beer House

1907 Map

1911 Census - Farm & Inn

The Inn is no longer in business today and maps from 1927 onward show the property as Jolly Tar far. Exactly when it closed I can't ascertain, but I suspect the business was closed in the early 1900s in the crackdown on the many beer houses around the country driven by changes brought about by the the Licensing 1903.

1927 Map

The farm has more recently undergone significant development into a private dwelling called "Rag Whistle".