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Picture source: Sue Adair

The Ring O' Bells was situated on Fender Lane, closing down in 1868.

The Ring O’Bells (now Stone Farm) in Bidston was owned by a local family, known in some sources as the Radleys or in others as the Pendletons. Later on in the mid-nineteenth century, a Miss Radley (or a Mary Pendleton) married a man named Simon Croft, under whose proprietorship the place became almost as infamous as Mother Redcap’s (the long demolished smugglers' tavern in Wallasey), although it retained its established reputation for their ham and eggs, which attracted visitors from all over Wirral at holiday time. The Ring O’ Bells had its own motto, which ran thus: Walk in, my friends and taste my beer and liquor If your pockets be well stored, you’ll find it comes the quicker; But for want of that has caused both grief and sorrow, Therefore you must pay to-day: I will trust to-morrow. It is described in Albert Smith’s 1847 novel The Struggles and Adventures of Christopher Tadpole. Simon Croft, who kept his own pigs to provide the ham, succumbed to the temptation of all landlords and became a noted drunk, while the pub itself attracted a lively and mixed crowd, including prize fighters such as Tom Sayers, Jem Mace and the “Tipton Slasher” who called in on their way to train on Hilbre. No doubt they -- and the many drunks for whom the place became notorious -- appreciated the contraband wine that Simon sold. He died, no doubt happily, in 1864, and is said to have inspired the song “Simon the Cellarer”. Four years after his death, Lady Cust, daughter of Mrs Boode of Leasowe Castle, prevailed upon Mr. Vyner, the lord of the manor, to revoke the Ring O’ Bells’ license due to the continuing scandal of drunkenness on the Sabbath. Bidston has been “dry” ever since.

Gavin Chappell, author of ''Wirral Smugglers, Wreckers and Pirates'' (October 2012)

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