HT -r-No I .

The eld Inns of Bilston , G, T, Lav/ley,

The Cock Inn — This was a noted old housestanding on the east side of Swan BankAnd played a prominent part in local affairsas we shall presently see , I t was an oldbrick building of modera te elevation,fc^aviiy—ieaded-,--en-©SS-eaeh-side having along window , f i t t e d with tiny squares ofglass ,heavily leaded, on each side of theentrance, and dated from Elizabethan t i^es,The ceilings of its lower rooms ./ere low,the large room on the right being of consid-erable dimen3iens, with a huge oaken canopysupported "by pillar? over its capaciousf i replace, It was he.avily but sparelyfurnished in the time we are writing aboutbut was warm • - nd comfortable, such as Bilstonpeople were always so fond of , since itprovoked sociality and neighbcurliness.The room on the other side of the entrancewas smaller and .uuch b e t t e r furnished, and wasindeed ,what old folks used to d^p>l call i tthe parlour, where the b e t t e r class of eustomers congregated, In Mr Ames t ime its land-lord was one Wil"1 ian Stone a member of an oldBilstcn Family, whose social status ;aay beguessed from its having a s t r e e t named afterit, and from its landlord taking a prominentpcsitiennin the publ ic *..ffairs of the villagefor .like most ofhis fe l low inn keepers .Hewas an overseer, a Manorial constable , and aroad surveyor, Pis house was conducted withdecorum, for which it was sometimes used forvestry meet ings , and for the entertainment ofthe cl.rgy when they ca.ic to Bilstonprocessioning, as the following entries show1717 - Ye charges at Ye Cock for ye

prccessicners T3- 01721 -This year May 2ndYe \Volv erh amp ton Clergy and o the r s intheir perambulation ca.u<. to Bilstonand the outskirts , They were "treated at ye

No 3 .

The Cock Inn Continued.

Widow Stones house , Ye charge whereof wascharged to John Shales account 8.0From the entry it seems that William Stone haddied in the interval be tween the two perambu-lations, The Cock Inn had -another distinctionto which we must allude, It was the headquar ter?of the Bell-ringers fraternity , for Bell-ringing was an art much ingulgod in in those daysone set of ringers was hot enough , and so assisassistant ringers were appointed to learn theaysteries of changing ringing in case a r l n j y ctook ill or died. Besides in these old daysthere was always bell-ringing contentsbetween ringers of the various • towns andvi l lages in the district for pr ices and f a ;efu r the rmore , Its landlord was an adept in theart as well as an anthusiast. and presided oveithe gatherings of the local Bell-ringing craft

lfi:^W

But the Old Cock lost its old prest ige. ItsBell-ringing fraterni ty died cut. The nroeessioners ceased to perambulate the parish , and soeld King time who is no respecter of personsor customs cut great swathes in the meadows ofl ife with his keen 3&$fi"@S scythe .and maderoom for succeeding generations to spring upand take the place of their fo re fa the r s . A f t e rthe death of Widow Stone the house had for itslandlord William Law for in the year 1745 we hhave this entry in the regis te r .Given to .uen who ::.ade the New Bell frame todrink at Wi] • lain Laws ye old Cock Inn

The .Old Inns of Bilston .By G. T. Lawley

The Fox Tnri .. A few yards down the streetin Church St on the site of thevpresentTown Hall , formerly stood the ancient FoxInn ,The principle posting house in thevillage, The house we knew , forty of f i f tyyears ago, was a large, plain unpretentiousbuilding ,built about the year 1700 on thesi te of an ancient s trueture which datedfar back in the middle ages, and conveyedto the mind no clear idea of its predecessorwith all its old romantic associations .andlegends, When the Yorkist and the Lancastrianwere cutting aech oth rs throats over the rigright of succession to the Grown ,towhichboth sides possessed about eoual claims .But this , the most .ancient Inn in the villagehappened to grow out of elbows, dilapidatedand most unsafe at a period when architecturewas at its lowest ebb of fortune^ asexemplified in the exis t ing houses of theperiod. It was taken down and -in abortion ofbricks & Mortar erected in iits stead withnothing tc recommend it outwardly its chiefrecommendation being tha t of roominessinside, Itheld its pos i t ion as a pos t i ng house.because it had extensive stabling accomc -dation in its rear, whichwas latterlyapproached down a huge archway from the s t re ,t. Wfti le , therefcree thy front of the housewas mean ^nd contemp table . Its yard rivalledsome of the great Inns of London forvehicular traffic and stable accciMmodationFor here al"1 the carriersfrcm Wolverhamptonand Birmingham put up for rest and refresh-ment, so that it was always busy and fullof rest less l ife and activity. The coacheswhich s topped h e r e hoy/ever .never penetratedits precincts in its new period of Exis tence

But changed there horses when neccessary

The Old Fox Continued.

and went on their way ,not sorry to leave itsPuritanical plainness, though it ;us t be confessed that its ex te r io r was belied by its interiorFor its accommodation was of the bes t . I t sviands were of the best , such as travellersenjoy af ter a long and weary ride .The charmsof the old stage coach travelling has beenfre(iuen 'tly sung,But these gharrns alas cnljt applytc. sunny days and windless weather . 13u t inasmucha.9 fine weather rarely lasts, and nine monthsof the year is characterised by all the atmos-pheric conditions known to the almanac makersCoach travelling in the olden times must have bebeen a very trying time to the temper, and onlyendurable from the stopping to change the horses• ajt d i f f e r en t Inns on the route. Which enabledthe cramped travellers to get down and thaw the:their cut side 3 at the Inn fire, .and then theirinside by such comfor ters as 'ire maranatha tfoseme people we know of. The time came ,ho;veverwhen the old Fox v;as to lose its importance asa posting h o u s e . T t came to be recognised as anessential of ^uick travel1 ing that long detomrswere a drag on the wheels of progress, so earlyin the last century a direct road w a > made fromWol verb amp ton to Bilston, .and the ancient andround about road through the town was discarded. leavivg the Old Fox stranded.3® Its placewas taken by the Kings Arms in the Broadway onthe Swan Bank, Thus deser ted it fel1 into badways ,and became gradually a mere drinkingplace for miners and ironworkers. Tt was final1;?p u l l e d down to make room for the extenticn ofthe Town Hall , It is now but a faded recollectioias unsubstantial as a vision in tho night.Even in the Church registers we find no refer-ence to it as most of the other old Inn"s haveWhich is.very singular since it was nearest tothe Old Church. In Mr Ame"s day it v/as keptby a Mr Richard Dovey ^ho was one of StLeonards Churchwardens in The Year 1723.