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The Apollo Tavern was situated
at 192 Mansfield Road.
It has traded under a few different names, being listed as the Oddfellows
Lodge in 1844, 1853 and 1855 directories and the 1872 & 1874 directories
list it as the 'Apollo and Oddfellows Lodge'. Towards the end of its life,
it changed back to Oddfellows. The name “Oddfellows” came from the Phoenix
Lodge of the Independent Order of Oddfellows (Manchester Unity). The first
landlord was a member of the order.
The Apollo was first opened in 1832 in a property owned by local landowner
Edward Unwin. The first occupant was Richard Tudsbury, a grocer who had
earlier in his life worked as a clerk and bookkeeper for Unwin & Co. By
1841, his son Charles Tudsbury was the landlord and he remained there for
thirty years, with his father continuing to live either at the property or
close by until his death.
Following Edward Unwin’s death, the property was sold by auction in May
1853, although sadly with very little information:
“A Public House called or known by the name of the “Apollo Tavern”,
together with a Dwelling House, Yard, Garden and Appurtenances thereto
adjoining … fronting the Mansfield and Alfreton Turnpike Road, all of which
said premises (except a small portion thereof, which is of Freehold tenure)
are Copyhold of the Manor of Mansfield … and formed part of the Estate of
Edward Unwin Esquire, Deceased.”
As the Apollo was one of the closest full-licenced houses to the reservoir,
it was sometimes the location for inquests where the victim had drowned. One
of these was the inquest of 25-year-old Emma Slater, who drowned at the end
of June 1869. The jury returned a verdict of “found drowned, but there was
no evidence how she came into the water”.
The Apollo Tavern had a new landlord in 1872 when a property auction was
held at “the house of Mr. George Clarke, the Apollo Tavern”. George Clarke
had previously occupied the Dog & Duck and would remain as landlord until
the property was bought by the Mansfield Brewery in 1893 for £2,290.
The Hibbert family arrived at what was then the Apollo Tavern & Oddfellow's
Lodge by 1894, with Frank Fowe Hibbert as landlord until sometime between
1901 and 1904. His sister Kate Hibbert then took over as Landlady. Frank
Hibbert was also a local councillor in various years and Kate seems to have
run the pub whenever her brother was elected to council duties. When Frank
Fowe Hibbert died in 1935, he was described as having been the landlord of
the Apollo Tavern for 17 years.
In 1907, it was the headquarters of the Angling Society, who held regular
meetings there. In 1913, the tenth annual Pigeon Show was held at the Apollo
Tavern. One of the exhibits was a bird called “King of Rome”, which was the
first bird in England to fly from Rome to England.
The Apollo was also home to both the Eastfield Side Horticultural Society
and Sutton Cricket Club in the 1920s, while in April 1851 Boxing Manager
Harold Molson opened a “new gymnasium at the Apollo Tavern” as a venue for
local fights.
The Mansfield Brewery “improved” the Apollo Tavern in 1966, while in 1986 it
was on the list of Mansfield properties that were reportedly going to be
modernised to provide entertainment and facilities for families.
Sometime before 2010 it had been sold by Mansfield Brewery and was trading
as Oddfellows.
Oddfellows was advertised as a pub available to let by New River in 2018 and
2019. The building was sold, and planning permission to demolish was agreed
in Dec 2020 after the building was described as being "in a significant
state of disrepair". The land was used to extend the neighbouring car
showroom forecourt. |
