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This property was located on Swine Green, later called Engine Green, and then Portland Square. In 1932 it was numbered 42 Portland Square. Despite its name, the New Inn was one of the oldest pubs in the town, dating from the 18th century. The earliest identified landlord is Jonathan Chapman, who transferred his license to Ephraim Sills in 1812. It then transferred to the Allcock family, when William Allcock and his wife Sarah kept the inn between 1818 and 1841. According to local historian William Clay-Dove, there was a popular rhyme: "Swing your leg round my dear, Mrs. Allcock sells beer" which referred to the potency of her brew. Sarah Allcock died at the New Inn in September 1843, aged 86 years. She was described as the “mother of Mrs Barnes”. William Barnes, her son-in-law, took over as landlord before being elected an Overseer of the Poor in 1845. In May 1879, an inquest was held “at the house of “Mrs Elizabeth Hawkins” on the death of William Easom, aged 68, who died at the Dew Drop Inn just before taking over the tenancy. On the morning of his death he was living with Mrs Hawkins at the New Inn. During her witness testimony Mrs Hawkins described herself as “the daughter of the deceased” despite the fact that earlier census returns had shown her as the daughter of Matthew Radford, the previous landlord of the New Inn. In August 1885, Mr W Barnes of the New Inn, grandson of Sarah Allcock, played host to the annual dinner of the Sutton-in-Ashfield Horticultural Society, when “a really sumptuous repast was provided.” In 1904, George Smith was fined 10s 6d for refusing to quit the New Inn, while in 1908 Mrs Barnes, New Inn, Sutton, was looking for a General Servant aged 20 to 22 years, who “must be able to wash” but promised “no waiting in public rooms”. At a licensing session in February 1914, solicitor J D Fidler applied for permission to make structural alterations to the New Inn at Sutton. He described it as “one of the oldest houses in Sutton, and occupied one of the most prominent positions in town”. The licensing board offered no objections, except to point out that they thought “the beer chute to the cellars should not be on the footpath in front of the house.” The application was granted, subject to the beer chute being removed from the front. The alteration also changed the location of the main entrance and updated the windows. In April of that year, the Roads and Buildings Committee of the council passed the plans for “alterations to New Inn, Portland Square, for Messrs Hardy & Co.” This is the first record we have of the New Inn being owned, leased or tied to Hardy’s Brewery of Kimberley. I have found no related property auction so it might have been a private sale. The photos showing Kimberley Ales or Hardy’s branding on the property were all taken after the structural alterations of 1914. Arthur Searson, the landlord in 1917, was described at Sutton’s Tribunal as a “Farmer, carting contractor and Licenced Victualler. Not only did he farm 22 acres, but also carted coal for the Butterley Company, and had recently been given a contract by the council for scavenging in one district of the town. He was granted three months exemption from being called up, conditional on him joining the Volunteers. Arthur Searson died in April 1918, once again described as a licenced victualler, carter and farmer. The last time the New Inn was marked on a published map was in 1960. By the OS map of 1966-67, the property had been demolished and replaced by modern shops. The Nottinghamshire Hospice charity shop and Cunnington’s Butchers now cover most of the area where the New Inn once stood.
Source: Heather Faulkes
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Other Photos
Date of photo: 1910
Site of The New Inn, 2023	Picture source: Anthony Beaumont