Bird in Hand, Aldermans Green Road, Aldermans Green
| Alternative Addresses: | Sowe | ||
In 1889 this pub was owned by the Corporation of the Sons of the Clergy, whoever they were! It was leased by Phipps Brewery of Northampton for 21 years for £37 per annum. At some time later it became an Atkinsons pub and then M&B. In 1977 M&B swapped it to Courage in the national pub swaps.
Research by 'philex31' on the Historic Coventry Forum would suggest that the Sephtons and their extended family had connections with many of the pubs in the Longford area: Boat (Blackhorse Road), Boat (Grange Road), Greyhound, Elephant & Castle, Miners Arms, Bird In Hand, Green Man, Old Crown (Windmill Road), New Inn, Saracens Head, Coach & Horses, Engine. Also, away from Longford were the Park Gate Hotel and the New Inn (Stockingford). The majority of the Coventry Sephtons appear to be descended from James Sephton, a canal-boat builder, who arrived in the Hawkesbury area c1805 from Shardlow in Derbyshire. Somewhat at odds with this boozy background, other family members operated temperance hotels in the city centre (The Victoria Hotel, Warwick Row and The Priory, Bayley Lane). The proverbial saying "a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush" is of great antiquity and may have suggested this sign, a popular one since the seventeenth century. Traditionally it was illustrated by a mailed fist on which a falcon was perched. | |||
LICENSEES:1855 - 1861 Frederick Barnett 1863 - 1864 John Simpson 1866 - 1868 Mrs Hannah Simpson 1874 - 1892 John Sephton (also a boat builder at Hawkesbury and Tusses Bridge) 1900 Mrs Mary Jackson 1904 George Moore 1908 John Slee 1912 William Ford 1924 - 1940 William Bennett 1955 - 1962 Frederick C. Reeve 1985 Greg Barrett | |||
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