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AKA The Trooper, The
Old Trooper was located on Club Row, which later became Club Street.
The Trooper was one of the three Inns in Sutton in 1675. Its name suggests
that the inn may have had its origin during the Cromwellian Commonwealth,
and the street it stood upon was reportedly named after a club that was held
at the Inn.
The earliest known landlord is from 1786, when a meeting was held "at the
house of William Brandreth, the Trooper Inn." to discuss repairs of the road
between Nottingham and Mansfield.
In 1828 the property was put up for sale by auction, when it could be viewed
“upon application to Mr Lee, the occupier, who is under notice to quit.” It
was advertised in the Nottingham Review and General Advertiser with the
following description:
“Comprising a good Dining Room, Parlour, Roomy House-place, Bar, Kitchen,
Brewhouse and Pantry on the ground floor, good Cellaring, with suitable
Lodging Rooms and Attics over the same; also a piece of ground opposite with
Piggeries, Privy, used as a manure yard, the whole containing by estimation
360 square yards of land, being of Copyhold Tenure of the Manor of
Mansfield.”
In 1830, the then landlord had a “chap” (chop/piece of meat) stolen from his
house as described in the Nottingham Review and General Advertiser on 26th
November:
“Last Sunday, Mr Webster, of the Trooper public-house, Sutton-in-Ashfield,
had a chap put into the pot to boil for dinner, and when the time arrived
for taking it out, it was discovered to be wanting. Some persons had been in
the house, but the chap who took a fancy to “pot-luck” is not made out.”
It was reported in 1832 that for some time the Trooper had hosted an
“Instructive Society”, where education lectures were offered. In April of
that year they had enjoyed a lecture on Chemistry from Mr Joseph Sales,
surgeon, and a week later Mr William Goodacre, the local clergyman, had
offered a lecture on Geography.
John Bromley, of “the public-house known by the sign of the Trooper” was
convicted in 1836 of keeping his house open all night and permitting
disorderly conduct. He appealed the conviction on the grounds that they were
drinking tea rather than alcohol. Witnesses confirmed that it had begun as a
tea-party, in the afternoon of the 21st June, but that due to rain some had
not left until daylight the next morning. Another witness confirmed there
was drinking, but could not say at what time as there “was no clock”.
Despite the fact that Mr Bromley’s licence had been renewed between the date
of the offense and the conviction, the magistrate upheld the original
decision.
In August 1840, the “old and well-accustomed Public House known by the name
of “The Trooper,” situate in the populous and increasing village of
Sutton-in-Ashfield,” was advertised to let. The reason given was that the
present occupier was giving up business on account of ill health. This seems
to time with the arrival of George Marriott as landlord.
Following a visit to Sutton by Richard Oastler in 1839, where he spoke to a
crowd in excess of 2,000, there were reports of local Chartist meetings
being held at the Trooper Inn in 1840, 1842 and 1843. But it wasn’t all
politics at the Trooper. In February 1843, Mr Marriott also held a concert
for the benefit of Mr John West.
The property was put up for sale by auction in March 1855. If the property
sold in that year, it didn’t affect the occupier, John Webster, who remained
at the Trooper until 1874.
The Trooper was sold again in 1889 when it was bought by the Mansfield
Brewery for £2,100. I’ve found no reference to a private sale or auction in
the newspapers of the time, so the brewery might have made the owner an
offer. This change of ownership came with a change of landlord, as Joseph
Renshaw replaced Samuel Oldham. The change of occupant might have also
occurred because Mr Oldham was convicted for selling adulterated gin in May
1889 and fined 30 shillings. A sample of gin served by Oldham was “proved on
analysis to contain 15 parts of added water”.
Until this time, the inn had been variously known as either the “Trooper” or
the “Old Trooper” depending on the source, but from the time the Mansfield
Brewery took it over it was only known as the “Old Trooper”.
In November 1907, Henry Graham, a 50 year old miner, was found dead behind
some cottages off Church Street, next door to the Old Trooper Inn. It was
believed that he had fallen over the wall from the Old Trooper’s yard, and
died from his injuries. “To those unacquainted with the surroundings, a
source of danger presents itself, for the wall only stands a foot above the
roadway in the (Old Trooper) yard, while the adjoining yard has a dip of
over five feet.” At the inquest, it was determined that Mr Graham had died
from a broken neck and fractured skull but there was insufficient evidence
to show how the fall occurred. The Mansfield Brewery’s representative said
the company would do their best to put some protection against the wall.
In February 1912, the Mansfield Brewery made an application to the licencing
board to allow some structural alterations to the property. This moved the
main entrance so it faced the upper green, or Devonshire Square, rather than
Club Street, and older parts of the building that faced Club Street were
removed.
Beginning in the 1930s, the houses in Club Street were gradually demolished
as part of the local “Slum Clearance” plans made by the local council. By
the Ordinance Survey of 1966-67, the Old Trooper was one of the last
buildings standing.
It was demolished c1969-1970, when work began on building the Idlewells
Shopping Centre. Its former location is beneath the library, facing the Bus
Station. |
