Walton-le-Dale - Gardener's Arms

Name: The Gardener's Arms Tavern

Address: 3 Gillibrand Street (Court), Walton-le-Dale

c.2025 Gillibrand Court

The Gardener's Arms dates back to the 1850s and was a beerhouse located on Gillibrand Court off Victoria Road, which was later to be renamed Gillibrand Street, roughly opposite where the old police station was built, along the side of 150 Victoria Road, as highlighted on the map below.

1844 OS Map

Listed landlords at the beerhouse were Mary Ann Pickering (1861), John Gregson (1871), John Thomas Rostron (1881), John Nowell (1891-92), Henry Edwards (1892-) and John Woods (1901).

1861 Census - Mary A Pickering

Our first landlady, Mary Ann Pickering ran the beerhouse with her sister Mary, and was a spinster. She was a local lass, the daughter of John Pickering, a weaver in the nearby cotton mill.

1817 Baptism Mary Ann Pickering

Having run the beerhouse for a number of years Mary got a taste for the trade and moved across the road to the established White Bull Inn, where she saw out her days until her death in April 1871 at just 54 years of age. She is buried in St Leonard's in the village.

1871 Burial Mary Ann Pickering

1871 Census - John Gregson

Our second landlord was another local, his parents Thomas and Jane living the village, John working as a plasterer.

1836 Baptism - John Gregson

In a similar vein to Mary Pickering, John seems to have cut his teeth at the Gardener's Arms before moving to an established inn, in this case the Plough on Friargate in the city centre, now brought back to life as the 'Plau'. 

1881 Census John Gregson Plough Inn

Plough Inn, Friargate

He was running the inn at the time of his death in 1882 and is also buried at St Leonard's.

1882 Burial John Gregson St Leonard's

1881 Census - John Thomas Rostron

Our third landord was John Thomas Rostron, who, whilst a Lancashire lad, was from Blackburn and only moved with his mother Dorothy to Walton-le-Dale following his father's death. The family previously ran the Queen's Arms Inn in Haslingden, so it was already in his blood before taking over the Gardener's Arms.

1871 Census Dorothy & John Rostron Queen's Arms, Haslingden

1885 Electoral register John Rostron Queen's Arms

1894 Electoral Register John Rostron Sir Robert Peel

As the above electoral roles confirm, John, like his predecessors started out at the Gardener's and then went on to run other pubs, namely the Queen's Arms and Sir Robert Peel in the village before retirement and his subsequent death in 1923. He was buried back in his home town of Haslingden

1923 Burial in Haslingden

1923 Probate record for John Thomas Rostron

1891 Census - John Nowell

John Nowell, our fourth landlord, was born in the village and originally worked in the cotton mills. In 1881 following his wife's death he was living on New Road and working as a gardener before taking up the Gardener's Arms in the late 1880s. 

Preston Chronical  Saturday,  Apr. 23, 1892

1901 Census - John Woods

Our final landlord, John Woods was another local lad, the son of John and Alice Woods, his father working in the local cotton mill. In his early years John also worked in the mills as a 'creeler' a production team member who works in the textile industry to create yarn, fabrics, and finished apparel.

1909 OS Map

By the time of the 1911 census there was no trace of the beerhouse, and looking at the 1909 map above, it appears by this time that the footprint of the buildings along Gillibrand Street had significantly reduced which leads to speculation that they had been demolished.

2025 Google Satellite View