The Sailor's Return
The Sailor's Return, North End, Meldreth
Bells Postcard
The Sailor's Return in 2007
photo by Tim Gane
Barclays Parkins & Co Beer Label
Barclays Parkins & Co Beer Label
Advert for Barclay & Parkins Imperial Stout
Wells & Winch Ltd Ginger Beer Bottle
The Sailor's Return, North End, Meldreth
- North End, Meldreth, now a Private House
By Tim Gane
The Sailors Return stood in North End Meldreth, nearly opposite Stone Lane. It was a beer-house, i.e. it only sold beer and not wine or spirits. It was probably started ~1830 when the Beer-House Act of Parliament came into force.
It appears to be the only pub in the village that didn’t come under the Phillips or Fordhams umbrella and was possibly the only pub in Meldreth to sell beer from the Jarmans Golden Ale Brewery. Later it was acquired by Barclay Perkins and then by Wells and Winch and would have almost certainly sold these beers. It closed in 1956 at the same time as The Dumb Flea and The Queen Adelaide.
The Sailors Return Timeline
1851 Joseph Searle was the publican
1892 John East was the publican
1916 William / Charles Miller was the publican
1906 The 'Sailor's Return’, beer-house, with yard and stabling, four cottages and 2 acres of orchard and arable land in Meldreth was offered for sale as part were part of the Foxton Hall Estate.
1915 The Sailors Return was offered for sale by Jarmans & Co so they were presumably the purchasers in 1906. The Sailors Return was described as being built on a piece of ground called ‘The Duckhouse’ at or near a certain place called North End Green. The pub was purchased by Barclay, Perkins and Co.
1930 The Sailors Return was sold to Wells & Winch Brewery, Biggleswade.
1956 Trading ceased on May 5 1956. James Albert Turner was the last publican.
1961 Greene King bought the Wells & Winch Brewery.
Transcript for 'Memories of The Sailor's Return':
Did you know anybody by the name of Spiller in Meldreth, Jim Spiller, the Sailor’s Return, that was where Jim Spiller lived. I remember going there one evening, I’d been down with my mate ??? Bill Newell and he said we’ll go and have a pint. “Yeah, good idea Bill!” so we got to the door. “What you come after he says. "I want to have a pint", he says you would come for a pint just as I’m going out”. Anyway he got us some beer and give us it and locked the cellar off and he said well I’m off out now, pull the door to behind you, I’ll leave it on the latch so he left us in there drinking the beer and off he went. So we drunk out beer and off we went, pulled the door to and left. I had some times in Meldreth.
Click on the sound bar play button at the top of the page to hear Don talking about The Sailor's Return.
This page was added by
Tim Gane on 06/12/2010.