Rose Place   (1 to 10)

1. : Origins

Young says that Kirkpatrick, writing in 1889 [sic], could
find no trace of the original Rose Inn. No doubt both
men would be amazed to learn of the re-discovery
(1998) of a map of the Tombland area : drawn in
the late 1630's by Richard Wright[1]

Young himself might be surprised to know that
Kirkpatrick died in 1728 !
Wright's map clearly shows the "Rose in Consford"
on the opposite, south-east corner of the crossroads.

In those days, Rose Lane was merely
part of St. Faith's Lane.
It was recorded as Rose Lane by 1688.
In view of what follows, it is valuable to note that
the junction with King Street was known as
Rose Corner in 1783 (and later Rose Place).

The landlord in 1806 was described as a Publican
(i.e. full-timer); which was fairly unusual,
and denotes a rather important house.

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2. : Competition Looms

The latter name doubtless shows that there was a
new road. Indeed one can easily be identified :
built some time between 1789 (Hochstetter's Map)
and 1855.
It was a development which turned the
simple crossroads into a five-ways junction.
This road eventually[2] became known as Crown Road.

Although 'New Road' is a possible name for a pub,
I greatly doubt that both of Church's pubs existed.
The name Horse Packet seems feasible : as a considered
afterthought, and a deliberate Luddite swipe at the new
(1813) steam-driven vessels.

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3. : Confusion Reigns

The first scenario involves :-

• Church moving to the Rose, before 1830,
      and re-naming it Rose Place.
• Thomas Watts taking over the Horse Packet,
      and renamimg it the Nelson Steam Packet.
• By 1836, Watts switching to the Rose -
      allowing James Gidney to take the other pub.
• Finally, Gidney amending the name
      Nelson.... to Sovereign....

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4. : A Rose by any other name . . .

A deliberate change to Rose Place would
surely have been pointless and meaningless.
Alternatively, a change to Nelson Steam Packet
would have created a modern and positive 'image' -
contrasting with the backward-looking symbolism of
the Horse Packet.

As for Rose Place, this - like New Road - is more of
a geographical description than a pub name.
Both items are attributed to James Church;
making three names in all.

As implied in para. 3, he was actually
listed at Rose Place in 1830.
Church seemed to show a strange lack of
confidence/consistency in his choice of names.

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5. : Upping The Stakes

These may well be the names of the vessels themselves;
which would make sense of the extra details shown in
the 1842 Directory :-
The Sovereign-pub (i.e. not the Rose) is said to be a -
"General Steam Packet House", as well as having 'Billiards'.
In 1856 the name Steam Packet House re-appears.

If (possibly) the (former) Rose also acted as a
booking-office for the Nelson, this is not reflected
in the pub listings [3]

At any rate, the Crown Road pub enjoyed the doubtful
privilege (when such events occurred) of using the
upstairs room to view public hangings at the Castle !.

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6. : The Listings

• Robson's Directory of 1839 mentions only
      Gidner (sic) at the plain Steam Packet.
• Pigot's of the same year believes that
      both pubs have the same, simplified, name.

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7. : The Truce

The Steam Packet, although the last
to adopt the name, stuck with it.
By 1859 Steam Packet (House) had been
awarded the prefix 'Old'.
This was a pretty cheeky move, as there were two more
Steam Packet pubs in King Street alone - which were
at least as old.

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8. : The Move

The original tie (i.e. by 1845) was to
Messrs. Seaman, as shown in the 1845 Official List.

Indeed, in 1859, the address is Rose Lane !.
So it seems almost certain that the original site
was at the apex of King Street/Crown Road.

Directories of 1864 & 1868 do not mention the
Old Steam Packet, which re-appears in the 1879 listings
as being in Castle Meadow - the earlier name
given to the area around Crown Road.
This accords with its current position
within Crown Road.

The licence was "lost" in 1867 and refused in 1869,
the applicant being Edmund Holmes; licensee of the
adjacent Royal Oak in 1861.

At the second attempt (1870) Holmes was granted
a 'new licence', for the new premises [5].
However, he did not take charge himself
until June 1876, and for less than three years.

The re-location, and possible revival of a closed pub,
has to be seen in the context of the Cattle Market
re-organisation of post-1861, with its loss of several
pubs in the immediate area.

In August 1891 a Music, Singing & Dancing licence
was applied for, in the name of the Old Steam Packet
at Castle Hill.

Normally Seaman's pubs would have passed,
via Messrs. Grimmer, to Lacon's Brewery in 1896.
But see Market Tavern below.

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9. : Market Tavern

By 1914 (probably co-inciding with the name change)
Bullard's Brewery had taken over.

Nevertheless, the 1914 Directory
still showed the previous name.
James Rae Somerville was landlord from
August 1908 until November 1912.

These events were unlikely to have hastened
the demise of the Rose three years later.
The advent of other "cattle market"
pubs is more significant; to name just the nearest :-

• Nag's Head (33 Crown Road) from 1867
• Builders' Arms (opposite corner) from 1868;
• Lion (just up the hill) from 1865;
• Princess of Wales (Rose Lane) from 1864.

It seems very likely that the reduction coincided
with its new role as the Market Tavern.
Surprisingly, the 1914 Trades Directory still shows
the Old Steam Packet.

By the mid-1970's, long after the Cattle Market had gone
(1960), the pub faced hard times and was closed
for about 8 years; re-opening in December 1983.

Amusingly, this was now described by the brewery
as a "Real Ale House".
Nor was this a success, and closure again followed in
March 1984; after which, in that year, the owners of
the nearby Tudor Hall took up the challenge for a time.
Certainly the pub was open in late 1990, as per the
1991 Guide.

For later developments, see Details

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10. : Footnotes

Hardly a coincidence, though, that James Watts,
of the engineering firm Rose Lane Foundry, was
the only agent listed for steam packets :
then the Emperor and British Queen.