The Wheatsheaf History


The Wheatsheaf was said to have been a drover’s pub at one time, but this seems unlikely as it was deemed to be a hotel, and as such served travellers arriving in the village by coach. If it was ever a drover’s pub then this must have been before the coaching era.

According to Pigot’s Directory of Lincolnshire 1841, "A coach to Norwich from Newark came through the village each morning at 11am and called at The Wheatsheaf. Another coach going in the opposite direction, from Newark to Norwich, would call at 5pm".

Coaches calling at The Wheatsheaf would pick up a guide to lead them over the boggy terrain to Spalding or Sleaford, whichever direction they were travelling in. The land had not been fully drained at that time and a stranger to the district would not be familiar with the dry ground.

There was once stabling for sixteen horses at the back of the hotel and cottages for the ostlers positioned around the yard. The tethering rings for the horses were there until just after the Second World War, according to a newspaper article.

The coaches would also leave their mailbags at The Wheatsheaf and it was from here that local people would collect their letters. This meant that in effect it was the village’s first Post Office. Some time at the turn of the century, Bank House, the property adjoining The Wheatsheaf, became the Post Office and the mail was left there.

A few years later the Post Office moved to High Street in what is now part of Forresters Court Art Gallery and eventually to its present position.

A document seen at The Gentleman’s Society in Spalding showed that in 1801 The Wheatsheaf belonged to John Jessop. He was part of a large family who owned much property in the village at that time. The ‘sheaf passed to his son Zebedee Jessop and then to his son, another John. This meant it belonged to the same family for the best part of half a century.

However, the Jessops did not live at The Wheatsheaf all the time but sometimes put in a landlord. In 1820 or thereabouts, Edward Cole, landlord of the Neptune Inn on the river bank near Skirbeck church, moved to Swineshead to become the landlord. By 1826 William Kirkham had taken over as ‘mine host’ for a while.

In 1833 Zebedee Jessop, the then owner, died leaving it to his son John Jessop, who had been landlord for some years. John owned The ‘sheaf until 1851 and during this time as landlord of the pub he was also described as being a brewer and a farmer of two hundred acres. Presumably he owned the Westholme Brewery which served The Wheatsheaf.

In 1851 John and Jane Jessop were living at The Wheatsheaf. They were responsible for doing some alterations to this establishment as a bill heading was found amongst some papers at the archives shows. The smart new bill heading advertised The Wheatsheaf as having ‘Post Horses, Good Stabling, Lock-up Coach Houses’ and underneath in smaller letters it said ‘John Jessop, having made considerable improvements in his House and Premises, hopes to receive a share of Public Patronage.’

From 1856 there were various landlord including Seth Cawthorne, who was followed in 1872 by William Durtson Bagg, who was succeeded by James Ward around 1876. At the time of the 1881 Census Charles Bland, aged 36, and his wife Louisa were running the hotel. Who owned the property during these years is not yet known.The Wheatsheaf also had it’s own brewery at Westholme, down Church Lane. In 1883, the Boston Guardian, dated 23rd August, contained an article regarding an application by John Bramley of The Wheatsheaf Brewery to have a licence to supply small amounts of liquor as an ‘off-licence’. Some of the local licencees objected, notably John William Rawlinson the landlord of The Red Lion, George Rawlinson of The Golden Cross, Mr Reynolds of The Swan and Dickinson Lynn of The Green Dragon. The licence was denied. At this time the brewery was called Bramley & Groom – Wheatsheaf Brewery. William Groom, the other partner in the brewery, lived at Drayton House and as well as being involved with the brewery he was said to be a farmer and grazier, and also a miller at Wyberton.

By 1891 John Pickersgill was the landlord and in 1895 the Independent Benefit Society was meeting at The Wheatsheaf. The Boston Guardian reported that in January of that year the members attended a ‘splendid dinner provided by Host Pickersgill’.

However, all the occasions taking place at The Wheatsheaf were not so jolly. Three months later on 1st April a sale took place at the pub. A disturbance broke out amongst a group of people. The landlord intervened and was punched to the ground by a Swineshead labourer George Holland. The landlady, Elizabeth Pickergill, attempted to pull George Holland off of her husband and she herself was struck by George’s brother Henry. A local farmer George Cole stopped the fight and threw out the fighting brothers assisted by locals James Moore and John William Witherington. At their trial the brothers were described by PC Clarke as "men who gave a great deal of trouble and if they couldn’t find anyone else to fight with then they would fight amongst themselves".

The incident must have affected the Pickersgill who left later that year and Joseph Whitworth took over. He was described as a potato merchant and receiver of mail. The Boston Guardian and Lincolnshire Independent ran a newspaper article entitled ‘Odd Man Out – Gaming at Swineshead’. It seems that Joseph Robert Whitworth was summoned for unlawfully permitting gaming on his premises; as he had allowed three men to toss for beer. A witness, George Cole junior of Swineshead, said that of the three men the same man always lost. It was clear that something was going on and was of the opinion that the landlord knew about it. The ‘odd man out’ was a local shoemaker. Cole thought it was unfair that the shoemaker was being set up, and remonstrated with the landlord. He said he would call the Police and was then threatened by one of the men who tried to knock him down. Dickinson Lynn, landlord of The Green Dragon, was in The Wheatsheaf at the time and told the court that the landlord was present and must have seen what was going on. When Whitworth was finally fined 10/- and told by the Chairman of the Court that he should learn how to conduct his public house, he replied that he was ‘A bit of a greenhorn at the job yet, sir’. This would suggest that Joseph Whitworth had not been a licensee of a public house before taking over. However, five years earlier in 1890, when his daughter Kate was married, his occupation was stated as ‘Inn Keeper’!

In 1901 Isaac Bentley and his wife Sarah were at The ‘sheaf with their family of two, teenage boys and small daughter. Isaac was described as a ‘Brewers Agent’. By 1910 another change had taken place when Ernest Callow Stammers was the landlord at least until 1913. Somewhere between 1913 and 1921 the landlord was Mr R. Johnson. In 1921 – 1929 the landlord was Robert Wilkinson Kealey and in 1936 Henry George Morriss.

According to a newspaper article in the Boston Guardian dated 7th September 1938 the original stables were still standing in the yard at the back. It was also reported that Mr Morriss was leaving on 21st September for The Horse and Groom in Lincoln.

During the Second World War The Wheatsheaf was owned by the Ind Coope Brewery. The landlord and landlady were then Mr and Mrs Houghton. Mrs Houghton was one of the first landladies to sell Sunday lunches. She also catered for large parties of travellers passing through the village. Swineshead did not have a by-pass then and all traffic to and from the east coast passed through the village.

In 1955 The Wheatsheaf was sold by the brewery and this pub became a ‘Free House’. It was in a derelict state and no brewery wanted to invest the amount of money required to restore it to its former glory. So a Polish man, George Helsing, and his partner Mrs White, bought the place and Mr Helsing took control of the renovations. He replaced ceilings and added oak beams. Put in twenty-seven hot and cold taps (As there was no modern plumbing in the building) and panelled the walls of the bar. He added carved furniture and fittings to give the place character. Mrs White added horse brasses – one hundred and thirty of them! They were placed around the fireplace. An old ‘Plague pan’ dating from 1665 was hung on the wall in the corner of the bar (These pans were originally used to burn herbs to fumigate houses to allow the removal of dead bodies). George Helsing and Mrs White gave the place a new lease of life and created the impression of a real ‘Olde English Inn’. They left in 1958/9 to be replaced by Stan Regulski; he himself left eighteen months later.

Dr Nabin Mukerji purchased The Wheatsheaf in 1960 when it came on the market. He was a retired Indian doctor of medicine who had been forced to retire due to ill-health. He is claimed to be one of the first patients to undergo a hip replacement. He and his wife lived in the hotel and employed a manager, Eric Hardy, formerly of The Fortesque Arms, Tattershall. It was sold in 1963 and advertised as having nine bedrooms and a banquet room.

Since then there have been a succession of owners and landlords. In 2002 The Wheatsheaf was sold to the Punch Taverns Group. The first landlord under the new ownership was Phil Baker.

In 2004 the lease was acquired by three local businessmen. Changes have been made to the pub including the installation of en-suite bathrooms to all of the letting rooms. There are also plans in place to return The Wheatsheaf to a Free House. Continuing a colourful history of traditional Lincolnshire hospitality.

Landlords:

1820 Edward Cole

1826 William Kirkham

1841 John Jessop

1849 John Jessop [Also a brewer]

1856/61 Seth Cawthorne

1872 William Durston Bagg

1876 James Ward

1882 Charles Bland

1891 John Pickersgill

1894 John Pickersgill

1896 Joseph Whitworth

1913 Ernest Callow Stammers

1921 Robert Wilkinson Kealey (Until 1929)

1929 – 31 William Walker

1931 Mr Whittaker (Only 6 months)

1931 – 36 S Harmston Pattison

1936 – 38 Henry George Morriss

1940s Mr & Mrs Houton

1955 George Helsing & Mrs White

1958 Stan Regulski

1960 Dr Mukerji

1981 – 85 John & Rita Hewitt

1985 – 87 Mick & Maureen William John & Liz Watkins

1987 – 93 Mr & Mrs Poulton

1993 – 98 Anthony & Julia Luto

1998 – 02 Daryl Scott

2002 – 04 Phil Baker

2004 Anthony Luto, Carl Gibbard & Steve Gilmartin