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England (Counties as in 1851-1901) => Dorset => England => Dorset Lookup Requests => Topic started by: phill100 on Saturday 13 March 10 20:18 GMT (UK)
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Would it be possible for someone who knows Weymouth to clear up a small mystery?
There is a pub situated opposite the Weymouth Railway Station, called "The Railway Tavern". Was that pub originally named "The Clifton Hotel"? Or, does The Clifton Hotel still exist in a street behind The Railway Tavern?
The background of the request is that a g grandfather (William Pruden) used to operate The Clifton Hotel (ca 1900 until after 1918) - and after asking locals about The Clifton when I visited Weymouth in 2006 was told that due to "a bad reputation" the pub was re-named. On the strength of that I photographed the pub - The Railway Tavern - from the railway station side.
In the 1911 census the pub's address (ie The Clifton) was given as 6 Queen St - which, on Google maps, appears to in a street behind the current Railway Tavern. Perhaps the pub used to (or still does?) stretch from in front of the railway station across to Queen St.?
Googling "The Clifton Hotel", on some sites, sites a Clifton Hotel at 6 Queen St.
I guess the other question is whether or not I need to visit Weymouth again to photograph the 6 Queen St. side (and if that is the case, do need to know how good the food and drink is in either the Clifton or the Railway Tavern?)? (I wonder if it would upset current owners and patrons to know that a g grandmother (Cecilia Pruden nee Lewis) died in The Clifton>)
Many thanks
Phill
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phill100,
Can't answer your query about the the Clifton Hotel being renamed the Railway Tavern but Kelly's Directory of Dorset (1911 and 1915 editions) refer to a Clifton Hotel, Queen St, Weymouth but there is no mention of a Railway Tavern/pub/Inn for the same periods. The Clifton references are
William Robert Pruden, Clifton Hotel, Queen St & Wine Merchant, 4 Crescent St
Clifton Hotel, first class commercial house; large parties catered for, tariff on application (William Robert Pruden Proprietor), Queen St. T A "Clifton Weymouth;" T N 248 (wd that be an early phone no?)
regards
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Many thanks Hanes Teulu,
That information is very interesting - also nice to learn that the establishment was a "first class commercial house"
The fact that there was no mention of a Railway Tavern at that time may suggest that the Clifton was indeed renamed.
Many thanks again
Phill
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phill100,
Clifton Hotel, first class commercial house; large parties catered for, tariff on application (William Robert Pruden Proprietor), Queen St. T A "Clifton Weymouth;" T N 248 (wd that be an early phone no?)
regards
Not necessarily particularly early. When we moved into our current house in the 1970s we had a four digit telephone number. We still have the same number but it now has eight digits in front of it. The prefixing numbers have been changed five times over time.
David
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The address of the Railway Tavern is 6 Queen Street
http://www.visitweymouth.co.uk/index.php?resource=377
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Many thanks ShaunJ
That is the same address as the Clifton - I will now accept the name change as probably factual - and will have to visit Weymouth again sometime to photograph the Queen St side of the hotel.
I obviously missed the "visitweymouth" website when I Googled each hotel - easy enough to do I suppose.
Many thanks again
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Don't forget to photo 4 Crescent St also - where he was a Wine Merchant - if it still exists.
regards
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will do,
thanks again
Phill
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The Clifton Hotel had an entrance in Crescent Street also. I lived in Crescent St when I was in the Navy and the Clifton was my local, as I just used to go out of the front door and through the alleyway into the bar. It is where I met my wife, and we have been married now for 34 years. The landlord`s name when I knew it was Tom Bill, and his wife was Pat.
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Now, this is interesting.
I had thought that my photograph of The Railway Tavern was taken from the same street as the railway station, but now having a good look at the Google street view, it seems that The Railway Tavern is on a section of Queen St such that the pub backs onto properties in Crescent St - the old wine shop and, now it seems, what must have been the "back" part of The Clifton (facing Crescent St) during WW2.
William Pruden's connection with The Clifton spanned the time of WW1 - later he must have moved to become proprietor of "The Golden Lion" pub (also in Weymouth) - his occupation in a shipping record is recorded as proprietor of The Golden Lion.
It seems as if another visit to Weymouth will have to go on the agenda - I wonder if all the pubs mentioned serve good food and ales?
Phill
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Hi, my name is Chris Bill. My Mum and Dad are the Pat and Tom Bill mentioned in earlier posts. I grew up with the most exciting times of my childhood living in The Clifton Hotel.
Mum and Dad (Pat and Tom) are the best parents you could ever wish for and are still live and active members of the Weymouth community.
I remember well the internal passageway that traversed from the Public Bar at the front (Queen Street) of the hotel to the rear in Crescent Street.
Phill - please contact me (if you wish) by separate email to (*)
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Hello, my brother Chris Bill has already added a post, but my mum Pat thought you might like a bit more information about the pub itself. My parents took over the Clifton Hotel in 1968 - they bought the tenancy from Len and Nan Gill. Before that they believe it was owned by the Anderson family. They sold the tenancy of the Clifton Hotel in 1971 to Councillor Peter Talbot. At the time my parents bought the tenancy, the property was owned by the Devenish Brewery.
In 1968 the Clifton had 2 bars, 24 bedrooms and an enormous ballroom overlooking the railway station.
As Chris mentioned, the long alleyway ran right the way through from Crescent Street and I remember barrels of beer being rolled along it into the stockroom. There were also very old fashioned tiled ladies and gents' toilets with the old brass "penny" locks.
Although the Clifton Hotel as I remember it was very Victorian with a beautiful tiled hallway, it is probably much older. In fact when my parents decorated the dining room, my dad discovered that room had previously been the stables and actually found the horse troughs. They also found lots of items for silver service such as soup tureens and huge platters as well as maids' uniforms with mop caps.
After my parents sold the Clifton Hotel in 1971, it was changed into flats by the new owner, with just the bar remaining open to the public. As far as they can remember, the Clifton was renamed the Railway Tavern probably only within the last 10 years.
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Many thanks Chris and drooney (and your mother) for all your information (and apologies for the delay in responding - I have only recently had the chance to get back to some more research)
Given all the new information I will obviously have to get back to Weymouth and have a look at all the things you have described about the hotel.
Many thanks again
Phill