Recruiting Sergeant, 14 Spon Street
| Alternative Addresses: | 15 or 24 Spon Street | ||
| These premises have been known by different names during their history: | FROM | TO | NAME |
| BEERHOUSE | |||
The name is possibly a reference to the barracks in Coventry, which opened in Smithford Street in 1793.
The earliest record of the pub that John Ashby has found is 1808, when the pub gets a mention in a poem.
In 1835 the Recruiting Sergeant was recorded as being a BEERHOUSE, the Pigot's directory of that year listing Mary Smith under the heading Retailers of Beer. In 1828 and all directories after 1835, however, the pub is listed under Inns or Taverns.
The building in fact is much older than this, dating to the mid-to-late 15th century. It was one of the higher quality houses in Spon Street, originally being a four-bay open-hall house with a two-bay open hall in the centre and jettied bays on either side. The building was split in two with the pub being No.14 and No.15, housing a succession of retail businesses. It was not until 1919 that the two premises became one and the pub occupied the whole building. It was restored in 1977 and 1985.
A remarkable thing is that from the first recorded licensee until the pub's closure in the 1920s, it was kept by just two families - the Smith and the Athersuch families. The change happened in 1908, but the latter days of the Smith's tenancy are a little hazy. In 1904 John Smith had his license transferred to Harry Smith, but the next record we find in the newspapers is in 1906, when the pub is put up for auction, "instructed by the Executors of the late Mr. Tylar Smith". (Tylar appears to have been the son of William and Mary, who ran the pub from 1871 until around 1896 - there being an uncertain period of three years during which Mary retired and handed the licence to another son, John, by 1899.) But then in 1904 John transfers the license to Harry Smith and in 1908 it's a Kate Smith who reportedly hands the license to Sidney George Athersuch. It's all very confusing, really!
Note, also, the prevalence of female licensees amongst the Smiths - four of them.
All of this time the pub also brewed. The licensee was not always the brewer. I can remember in the early 1970s, the only sign that this had been a pub was an exposed barge-board that proclaimed 'Fine Home-Brewed Ales'. It has in recent years gained the name 'Tudor House', and following restoration now bears little resemblance to the Recruiting Sergeant of all those years ago.
From early in 1926 the Licensing Committee were considering refusal of the renewal of the Recruiting Sergeant's license on the grounds of redundancy - this being in spite of the premises being described as old-fashioned but very clean, cosy and comfortable, well conducted, and doing a fair trade, with beer drawn direct from the cask.
In October the Authority decided to pay compensation for closure of £4,850 and in September 1928 representatives of Sarah Ann Athersuch, who had died on the 26th March that year, were preparing the pub for sale by auction on the 12th.The Recruiting Sergeant was the man who would tour the country, setting up an office at a tavern, to induce local men to join the army. The men bound themselves by accepting the King's shilling. There was a barracks in Coventry. | |||
LICENSEES:1828 - 1834 John Smith (died 19th Nov 1834, aged 52) 1834 - 1850 Mary Smith (widow of John Smith, died 10th Apr 1850, aged 65) 1850 - 1871 Sarah Smith (daughter of the late Mary Smith, died 3rd Jan 1871, aged 65) 1871 Harriett Smith (Jan to Jun, sister of Sarah) 1871 - 1889 William Smith (died 30th Aug 1889, aged 76) 1889 - 1896 Mary Smith (widow of William) 1899 - 1904 John Smith (son of William and Mary) 1904 Harry Smith 1908 Kate Smith 1908 - 1915 Sidney George Athersuch 1915 - 1924 John Athersuch (died 9th Jul 1924, aged 70) 1924 - 1924 Sarah Ann Athersuch (widow of John) 1924 - 1926 Sarah Ann Athersuch (administratrix) BREWERS: to 1887 William Smith 1887 - 1895 Mrs. Mary Smith 1895 - 1902 John Smith 1902 - 1906 Harry Smith 1906 - 1914 Sidney George Athersuch 1914 - 1924 John Athersuch (died 9 Jul 1924, aged 70) from 1924 Sarah Ann Athersuch | |||
 Street plan of 1851 | |||
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