|
The Denmans Head Hotel was located on the corner of the
market place and Low Street, this pub was originally called the Kings Head,
and was said to have been built in about 1750. A Friendly Society was held
there during the 1760's, where a 6d fine was imposed on any member who
cursed, swore or failed to attend church.
The part of the pub that faced the Market Place and joined to
the Durham Ox was originally two storeys, but at the bottom of the sloping
marketplace there were three visible floors.
In February 1812, an auction was advertised “at the house of
Mr Cooper, the sign of the King’s Head at Sutton-in-Ashfield.” In July of
that year, another advert named the King’s Head as “the house of Mr. John
Cooper”.
This pub became known as the Denmans Head in 1820, when the
landlord was so impressed by the defence of Queen Caroline at her trial by
Mr Justice Denman, that he changed the name in his honour.
During the American Civil War (1861-1865) Landlord James
Tummon and his wife offered soup to many distressed framework knitters who
were dependent on the regular supply of American cotton for their
livelihood.
In 1877 it was listed as "Denmans Head Commercial & Family
Hotel", and in December 1883 the property was advertised for sale by
auction, along with the adjoining butcher's shop and house next door. It was
then described as a Free public house, and the advert boasted that “The
sanitary condition of the property is excellent, a large some (sic) of money
having been recently expended on it.”
In 1891, the Denman’s Head, the house and butchers shop.were
again put up for sale by auction, being described as:
“All that Old-Established, Well-Accustomed, and Full-Licenced
PUBLIC HOUSE, known as the “Denman’s Head Inn”, in Sutton-in-Ashfield,
aforesaid, with the Stables and other Outbuildings belonging thereto, now in
the occupation of Mr. Richard Keeley. The Public House has a considerable
frontage to the Market Place, and also to Low Street, it contains a Bar, Bar
Parlour, with another Parlour adjoining. Smoke Room, Dining Room, large Club
Room, and five bedrooms, together with wine and spirit Vaults fronting the
Market Place, and is well supplied with stabling, town water, and all other
conveniences. It is also admirably situated for a large and lucrative
business, and has an excellent connection as a Commercial House.” The
property was let on a lease that expired in March 1892.
At the auction, held on 9th March 1891, the bidding started
at £2,000 and “the property was eventually knocked down to Mr John Robinson,
Daybrook Brewery, for £3,990.” John Robinson’s company soon became better
known as the Home Brewery.
In 1892, the Home Brewery requested permission to make
alterations to the building. This included extending into the roof space and
adding dormer windows to create four visible floors at the corner and three
floors higher up the slope of the marketplace.
Nottingham Archives have a photograph that they describe as
being taken during the rebuilding of the property, in the presence of Mr
Richard Keeley.
https://www.inspirepicturearchive.org.uk/image/21779/The_Denmans_Head_Public_House_being_re-built_Sutton_in_Ashfield
Richard Keeley, a native of Ireland, was the landlord of the Denman’s Head
between 1888 and at least 1901, and he died at the Denman’s Head in 1907, so
the photograph could have captured the 1892 alterations.
In 1913, the Home Brewery Company made another application to
amend previously agreed plans for the Denmans Head Hotel. They had
originally asked to extend into the next door shop and create an extra six
bedrooms. However, once the work was started they discovered that “the old
walls of the building were not sufficiently strong to carry the upper two
bedrooms”. It was also mentioned that there were, “at present, fourteen
bedrooms”. They asked for permission to keep the property as it was, and not
add the extra rooms, as they would not be able to do so without “having to
gut the house”. The Licencing Bench “unanimously agreed to the house being
allowed to stand” in its current condition.
When landlord Herbert Beaumont left the Denman’s Head in June
1923 he was described as having been “mine host” for fifteen years, which
would date his arrival to 1908. However, for some of those years, he had a
manager in charge, including a Mr William Shakespeare in 1917.
In 1978 it was the second biggest hotel owned by the Home
Brewery Company, but the Home Brewery was taken over by Scottish and
Newcastle in 1986.
In the late 1980’s, the Denman’s Head hosted Country and
Western bands on Sunday evening, and in April 1999, the Denman’s Head was
one of the twelve pubs that signed up for the town’s “Pub Watch” scheme.
The building was for sale in 2011, and in 2013 Costa Coffee
applied for permission to convert the vacant former public house into a
coffee shop. The Costa Coffee outlet was open by 2015. |
