Coppull - Wheatsheaf Hotel

Name: The Wheatsheaf Hotel

Address: 1, Westerton Court, Spendmore Lane, Coppull

The Wheatsheaf c.1880

The Wheatsheaf has been open for business in Coppull since the 1700's although the current building is not the original as pictured above. The original tenants were the Glover family who also ran one of the largest farms in the village, Blainscough Hall.

1849 OS 6-inch Map

Reference is made to the pub's history on Coppull.net in the excerpt below: -

In 1830 Coppull was a rather unimportant agricultural area of a few cottages, houses and farms, and a small chapel to the east. A Mr. Yates lived at Ellison's Tenement (Station Farm) which was surrounded by a few cottages, then no buildings until Roe Hey Farm, the Wheatsheaf cottages by the Wheatsheaf pub and Clayton Gate Farm at the top of Birkacre. Birkacre (the field where the birch trees grow) had a bleaching and cloth printing works.

The Printers Arms was then a shop, used by the handloom weavers who worked at Millstone Platt. The Horse and Waggon was in Church Fold across from the church. A few farms and cottages were scattered along Coppull Moor Lane and Preston Road. The Oak Tree Hotel was open, but the Springfield pub was then a farm.

About 800 people lived here, most of whom could neither read nor write. After 1850 Coppull began to grow rapidly, many new rows of houses were built to become the homes of coal miners and factory workers. There were many collieries and deep shafts were sunk for the John Pit, Springfield Pit, Blainscough, Hic Bibi, Darlingtons, Ellerbeck, Birkacre and Pearsons mines. Mineral lines carried coal tubs to the main railway.

Listed landlord from census, press and directory records were Thomas Dolphin, Thomas Glover (1841-51), William Glover (1861-71), John Halton (1881), Robert Markland (1891-93), Charles Glover (1901-11), Nick Webster (2011) and Joanne Parr (2023).

1841 Census

Lancaster Gazette 15 April 1843

Preston Chronicle 08 August 1846

Preston Chronicle 06 February 1847

Preston Chronicle 18 August 1849

Preston Chronicle 20 July 1850

1851 Census

Bolton Chronicle 22 May 1852 

Preston Chronicle 11 February 1854

Preston Chronicle 28 October 1854

Preston Chronicle 30 December 1854

1861 Census

Bolton Chronicle 10 September 1870

1871 Census

Manchester Courier and Lancashire General Advertiser 11 May 1876

1881 Census

Preston Chronicle 27 May 1882

1891 Census

Coppull Parish Church burial records show that on 23rd Nov 1893 Robert Markland, licensee of the Wheatsheaf Inn was buried, aged 36 yrs. His widow Ann Markland was left to run the business and the following year she married back into the Glover family, marrying George Glover but sadly, she too died young as parish records show she was buried on 26th July 1897 at 39 years of age; at that time she had still been living at the Wheatsheaf Inn. George also died and was buried on 31st May 1899 at the Parish Church, Coppull; he was 37 years old and the Wheatsheaf Inn then passed to his younger brother Charles. 

1894 OS 25-inch Map

1901 Census

Manchester Courier and Lancashire General Advertiser
13 February 1904

The 1908 map below confirms that the old Wheatsheaf had been demolished and the new pub built between 1904 and 1908.

1908 OS 25-inch Map

1911 Census

Lancashire Evening Post 05 August 1937

1914 outing stood outside the Wheatsheaf

Lancashire Evening Post 24 August 1938

Lancashire Evening Post 01 November 1938