Featherstone and Purston Pubs

FEATHERSTONE'S PUBS

THE BRADLEY ARMS

The Bradley Arms Facebook page says it was established about 1790. It was probably a combined farmhouse/inn like the Lord Nelson at the other end of Church Lane. It was originally the Sun Inn and it is named as such in an 1822 directory. The name was changed to the Bradley Arms when George Bradley bought the Ackton and Featherstone estates in 1865.

A detail from a postcard.

Photo - thebradleyarms.co.uk

Photo - whatpub.com

Photo by Ian S (Geograph) 2012.

A personal photo 2019.

THE LORD NELSON INN

The earliest reference to a Lord Nelson Inn in North Featherstone is in an 1822 directory. It closed in 1867 and was converted into a house called Nelson Cottage. There were mounting steps outside the inn to make it easier to get on a horse. They can be seen on this photo with them as they were originally, outside the pub doorway. The close up shows they had been used a lot. They were eventually deemed to be a hazard to modern traffic and were removed.

Photo - from a postcard.

Photo - Dr J Gatecliff Collection.

A personal photo of Nelson Cottage 2019.

THE SUN INN

The Sun Inn was opened as a beerhouse sometime after the Lord Nelson closed. It was granted a full licence in 1875. It was demolished in 2011 to make way for housing.

Photo - Featherstone Library Collection.

Photo - Bill Henderson (Geograph) 2007.

Photo - Susan Raynor (Featherstone Bygone Days).

The site after the inn was demolished and houses built. Google Street View.

THE FEATHERSTONE HOTEL

The Hotel was opened in 1894 by Carter's Knottingley Brewery.

Photo - Bill Henderson (Geograph) 2006.

Photo - Anthony Parkes (Geograph) 2013.

Photo - Steve Durow

THE RAILWAY HOTEL

The Railway Hotel opened as the Heywood Arms probably when the Wakefield to Goole railway was built in 1848. It is named on an 1849 Ordnance Survey map. It was still the Heywood Arms in 1873 but had changed to the Railway Hotel by 1876.

Photo from a postcard.

A large extension with an upstairs function room was built in 1891. The photo of the hotel is by Dr J Gatecliff. The plaque photo is personal.

In 2007 the name was changed to the Last Orders Hotel. Photo - Betty Longbottom (Geograph).

In 2021 the name reverted back to the Railway Hotel. The following four photos are all personal.

THE JUBILEE HOTEL

The Jubilee Hotel was opened by Tadcaster Brewery in 1897. It was named to commemorate Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee. It was closed in 2008 and was converted to independent living space for people with learning and physical difficulties about 2011.

Photo from a postcard.

A personal photo 1988.

Photo - Dr J Gatecliff 1994.

The conversion from a pub was managed leaving the exterior of the building looking much as it had always done. Photo - Google Street View.

PURSTON'S PUBS

THE MALT SHOVEL INN

The Malt Shovel Inn is named in an 1822 directory and in another in 1838. It is probably in the 1841 Census but not in 1851. Where it was in Purston is not known.

THE WHITE HOUSE HOTEL

The White House Hotel was originally a private house. It was bought by Charles Raybould, a Featherstone bookmaker, in 1963, and changed into The Rainbow Club. In 1967 it became a public house, and in 1977 it was bought by Samuel Smith's Brewery.

This is a detail from a hand coloured postcard during its days as a private house.

A personal photo 1987.


A personal photo 2019

A personal photo 1987.

THE TRAVELLERS' REST HOTEL

The inn sign says it is a 17th Century Inn. The earliest documentary evidence is it is shown on a map of Purston dated 1810.

Photo from a postcard.

A personal photo 1987.

Photo by Ian S (Geograph) 2014.

A personal photo 2019.


A personal photo 2019.

THE JUNCTION HOTEL

The Junction Hotel's origin was when the Waller family moved into a large house in 1828 and turned it into a beerhouse the next year. It was originally called the New Inn, and received a full licence in 1845. It was still the New Inn in the 1861 Census, but it was named as the Junction Hotel in a court case in 1869. In its early days it had its own brewery. A large extension, complete with clock, was started in 1891 and opened in May 1892. After John Waller's death it was sold to Tetleys in 1913, and the clock was reinstalled at the council offices on Wakefield Road.

The postcard shows the original house at the front, the brewery behind, and extensions at both sides.

A 1960s Frith postcard.

Photo by Stephen Marsh.

A personal photo 1987.

A change of ownership had a new pub sign installed but it faded badly in the sunlight.

A personal photo 2020.

The 2019 Covid-19 pandemic caused the hotel to be closed and it was boarded up to prevent vandalism. In 2021 it was put up for sale by agents Christie and Co. Leeds for £325,000. Permission was given for conversion to a convenience store, and it was sold in 2022.