The “Five Bells”

Not the oldest pub in the village, but probably the most well known, the “Five Bells” is located at 17 High Street and was first open for business as far back as 1764, when The Bassingham Story (Wilson, B. & C., and Ash, 2003) informs us that the Constable paid Elizabeth Marshall for ale there after a fox hunt. By 1766 it was Thomas Taylor and by 1774 Samuel Savage, who was curiously paid by the Overseer “for letting Richard Pool Tippl in his house”. Savage was there until 1803 and either he or Taylor it was who adopted the name “Five Bells” following the fitting of a fifth bell to the church tower in 1770, although the name was never mentioned in any records until 1825.

1806 to 1812 saw John Pacey holding the licence. His son Joseph lived and grew up there, and in the book Wilson and Ash record his description thus: “A public house, however well conducted, was not the right place for bringing up a large family of boys and girls. With all the care, and I am sure every care was taken, to prevent contamination, we could not fail witnessing scenes at times calculated to corrupt our morals. As to myself, I was an enthusiast at play of all kinds, so that I soon became proficient at quoits and other similar games then in vogue, and was often praised by onlookers, for my cleverness.”

There is then a gap in my research between 1812 and 1841, but perhaps more information may come to light later?

The first National Census on the evening of 6th June 1841 gives us the next indisputable licensee name, that of 55-years-old widow Kezia(h) Poole who lived at the property with daughters Sophia (20) and Eliza (15). (Her husband, John Poole, had died aged 69 in 1837.)

Kezia(h) Poole and family in the 1841 Census. [Census information is Crown Copyright, from http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk]

The 1849 Post Office Directory lists the licensee as “Poole, Keziah Mrs.” and two years later, in the 1851 census, we find the 68-years-old Keziah a widow and “Retired Publican” living with Eliza on Water Lane, the licence having been taken on by John Rogers. (see comment below from Janice Moraitis.)

John Rogers & family at the “Five Bells” in the 1851 Census. [Census information is Crown Copyright, from http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk]

Bassingham-born Rogers at 43 was a much younger man and probably more up to the job than his elderly predecessor, and was no doubt assisted by his wife who also had two young daughters to attend to. He was there again in the 1855 Post Office Directory, and was also listed in White’s 1856 Directory. The family had moved on though by the time of the census of April 1861 to be replaced, bizarrely, by the now 80-years-old Keziah Poole and her son-in-law William Baguley who had married Poole’s daughter, Eliza. At that point Baguley was simply a gardener although it would seem that in his spare time he was also ‘learning the ropes’ because in the 1861 Post Office Directory Bag(g)uley definitely had his name over the door.

Keziah Poole & family at the “Five Bells” in the 1861 Census. [Census information is Crown Copyright, from http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk]

Only two years later, in 1863, a Mr. Colclough (first name unknown) was now the licensee. I can find no Colcloughs living in the village on a census, although in the December quarter of 1862 an Arthur Francis Colclough was born and baptised in the village, son of John Gladwin Colclough and his wife Ann, so perhaps this was our man? Who knows…

The Post Office Directory of 1868 introduces us to the first long-stay licensee, Samuel Camamile. Here he is in the 1871 Census…

Samuel Camamile & family at the “Five Bells” in the 1871 Census. [Census information is Crown Copyright, from http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk]

Born in Cromwell, Notts, around 1835, he was still running the pub in the 1881 Census…

Samuel Camamile & family at the “Five Bells” in the 1881 Census. [Census information is Crown Copyright, from http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk]

And also in the 1891 Census…

Samuel Camamile & family at the “Five Bells” in the 1891 Census. [Census information is Crown Copyright, from http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk]

That census tells us that he was 56 years old and now lived with only his Retford-born wife Elizabeth. I do not know for certain when he took charge (obviously somewhere between 1863 and 1871!) but he was still there in Kelly’s Directory of 1892, after which time he vanished, and by the time of the next census (April 1901) Camamile was a widower, living with his brother-in-law, Thomas Timms, in Bolton, Lancashire, and so we can be certain that he ran the “Five Bells” for at least twenty-four years.

According to the 1896 edition of Kelly’s Directory the tenancy passed briefly to William Wilkinson, before he too left by the time of the next edition (only four years later in 1900) which informed us that the name of Samuel Humphrey was over the door. Aged 52 in the 1901 census (below), Humphrey had been born in Tealby, Lincolnshire and he seems to have brought his young family from Southrey, Lincs. because his youngest daughter, one-years-old Lillie, was born there, as were three of his other children. His eldest daughter, Kate, was working as the barmaid at only 16, whilst wife Mary probably had her hands full looking after the four little ones.

I have no old postcards exclusively of the “Five Bells” although it can be tantalisingly glimpsed in the distance of this one from 1904.

High Street, looking north (1904).

This enlargement (below) shows that there was a previously bricked-up door in the southern wall and that Hall’s Ely Ales were on offer.

Five Bells Inn (1904)

Our next source is the 1909 edition of Kelly’s and yet again the tenancy has changed hands! Now William Clayton was running the pub, Humphrey and his family appearing to have left the village completely. The 1911 census tells us that 52-years-old Lincolnshire-born Clayton lived with his wife, four children and Jack Blondon, a farmworker who boarded/lodged with them. 19-years-old May Clayton worked as a waiter (barmaid again?), presumably in the pub. Of extra interest here is that in 1911 the census returns were filled in not by the enumerator as had always been the case before, but by the householder (unless that person was illiterate) so we can safely surmise that this document shows Clayton’s actual handwriting.

William Clayton had the Five Bells in the 1911 Census. [Census information is Crown Copyright, from http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk]

In December 2023 I was kindly loaned a couple of photographs from behind the bar, showing members of what I presume to be the Clayton family at around this time.

William Clayton and his wife Mary, possibly around 1920. Note the dog… (photo courtesy Adrian & Di Govier)

One of William Clayton’s daughters, either May or Fanny. She is holding that same dog which helps to date the two photographs from the same timeframe. (photo courtesy Adrian & Di Govier)

The Claytons were still there in the 1913 Kelly’s Directory of Lincolnshire and again in 1919, the 1921 census and into the 1926 edition of Kelly. but the 1930 copy indicates a change of licensee with John Nelson now in charge. The entire 1931 census was destroyed by fire caused by wartime bombing and so our next source of information is the 1933 Kelly’s Directory of Lincolnshire which confirms that Nelson was still there.

We now take a six year leap forward to the 1939 Register and my guess is that the landlord was Arthur James Pacy who is listed as a “Publican” living on the High Street, although the premises are unnamed. It seems strange that the pub should not be named because both “The Bugle Horn” and “The Black Swan” are in this record, but I cannot find the “Five Bells” in it anywhere. Anyway, Pacy was born on 29th July 1902 and doubled-up as a Section Leader in the Lincolnshire Special Constabulary, a wartime civil defence service. His wife Ada Mabel (née Seymour) was slightly older having been born on 29th November 1900 and, although she is listed as carrying out “unpaid domestic duties & partner in [firm?]”, we can guess that she worked as the barmaid. Also living at this address was their “incapacitated” son, Keith Seymour Pacy (born 19th July 1925), a second, younger son Laurie E. Pacy (born March quarter of 1936) and, perhaps lodging in rooms above, Ederic Kelly (born 5th February 1876 in Newark, a groom) and Tom Oliver Wilson (born 28th November 1898 in Wellingborough, a schoolmaster).

Then there is a huge gap to 1960 when Tom Booker and his wife Margaret (“Madge”) were the licensees for a year or so. Tom has kindly supplied me with some photographs that he took at the time. As you can see, at this stage the pub still looked very much as it had in the early part of the century.

Tom & Madge Booker, July 1960 (photo: Tom Booker)

Madge and unknown RAF man, July 1960 (photo: Tom Booker)

And here we are at the bar where a good time is being had by all! But can you identify any of the happy folk? I only know Tom (6) and his wife, Margaret (4), so there are plenty of gaps to be filled!

Tom soon passed the tenancy onto “Lofty” Davies who, one can only presume, must have been quite tall! 😄

Fast-forward then to 1971 and here is a very good photograph of the pub (© Historic England) showing that it had certainly undergone a few changes in the ten years since 1961.Adrian Govier has been the licensee since 6th December 1983, initially with his first wife, Jenny, but now with Diane, whilst business partner Mark Jefferies also has his name over the door. It certainly looks a lot different today!

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