|
The Portland Arms was
named after the Duke of Portland, Lord of the Manor and principal landowner
during the 19th century. It was a common pub name in the area, with a
Portland Arms in Mansfield and another at Huthwaite.
In Sutton, the building was located on the corner of Duke Street and Back
Lane, which later became known as High Pavement. It was only a short
distance from the Devonshire Arms.
A licence was obtained in 1832 by "Mr Wild", who was a Tailor by trade, and
in that same year the directory listed Joseph Wyeld of Back Lane as a Tailor
and Beerhouse Keeper. Then, in 1833, there as a newspaper report of an
attempted robbery at “Mr Wyeld’s, the Unicorn Tavern”. There was a Unicorn
in Sutton, under the occupation of George Lawson between 1828 and 1835. It
seems more likely that the Nottingham Review newspaper mixed up two
different properties.
In 1844, the directory of that year shows Edward Brooks as a beerhouse
keeper on High Pavement. By 1851 an Edward Brooks was living on the same
street, although we have no way to tell if it was in the same property. His
occupation was listed as Framework Knitter, but it wasn’t unknown for
families to run a beerhouse as a second job..
It wasn’t until 1868, that the Portland Arms was first mentioned by name. It
was the location for a meeting of the Beerhouse Keepers Association, where
they agreed to start a “Sutton Branch”. At that time “Mr Wyld” was elected
chairman.
Reuben Wyeld was first mentioned as occupying the Portland Arms in the 1869
directory, although he had been living in the property in 1861, giving his
occupation as Tailor.
The Portland Arms was bought by the Mansfield Brewery sometime prior to
1877. In 1880, at Mansfield County Court, the brewery claimed over £31 for
beer that had been supplied to Reuben Wyeld and not paid for. At the time
the report stated the defendant had been “tenant of the Portland Arms Sutton
since 1866”. He left the property in 1879, before his notice expired, in an
agreement between him and the incoming tenant.
In 1892, the newspaper reported that the Portland Arms was taken over by
William Dallison, who was described as the former landlord of the Lord Byron
Inn, Mansfield.
Henry Chadwick arrived sometime between 1881 and 1883, and in August 1891,
the licence was transferred from Henry’s name into that of his wife.
However, she was later "convicted for an offence against the licencing laws
at Portland Arms, Sutton".
In 1912 and 1928 Charles Taylor was described as a "Beer Retailer" of 62
High Pavement, but in 1939 Harold Richardson was recorded as a Publican,
Portland Arms.
A newspaper report from October 1950 said that a team from the Portland Arms
(Sutton) was placed eighth in the Mansfield Brewery Darts League.
During the 1930s, the area surrounding the Portland Arms had been scheduled
for clearance. By the time of the Ordnance Survey map of 1959, most of the
houses in Duke Street had already been demolished, leaving this pub standing
alone at the end of the street.
The Portland Arms closed in January 1962, and the building was demolished in
September 1963. The place where the building stood is now mostly an area of
grass standing in front of the AshCroft Care Home. |
