Building record 6121 - The Drum and Monkey, The Avenue, Comberbach

<1> Vale Royal Borough Council, 2006, Vale Royal Borough Council's List of Locally Important Buildings (Report). SCH5487.

CRITERION E: BUILDINGS INCLUDED IN THE VALE ROYAL BOROUGH COUNCIL HISTORIC BUILDINGS SURVEY 1977 - 79

Double pile building with pedimented façade.
Slightly incongruous.

<2> Vale Royal Borough Council, 1977-79, The Vale Royal Borough Council Historic Buildings Survey Index Card, COM/HB 11 (Paper Archive). SCH5481.

<3> Kathryn Sather Associates, 2013, The Drum and Monkey, Comberbach: Heritage Appraisal, R4140 (Client Report). SCH8427.

Desk-based assessment produced in 2013 for the Drum and Monkey former public house, The Avenue, Comberbach, as part of a planning application to convert it to a private dwelling. It is a double-fronted, two storey property with a cellar and a multi-pitched roof with gable ends to north and south. The internal plan of the building has been extensively altered as has the rear and north elevation. It is representative of a common form of public house in Victorian times that had other functions as well as selling beer and at times providing accommodation.

The exact date of erection of the Drum and Monkey is still unclear, but we know that it was erected after 1845 and was in existence on the site by 1851. We know this as there is a conveyance document that details the sales of the property. It seems that other than the Newton Family, none of the owners occupied the building, and it must have been leased out for the purpose of business. The tenants have been traced through census data and trade directories. The first occupant to be registered as selling alcohol, Mary Clarke, was the widow of the former landlord of the Spinner, and her father had run the aforementioned public house before she and her husband took over. When she is registered as living on the site in 1861 the property was named The Avenue Tavern. She was classed as a Beer Retailer. There must also have been some form of accommodation provided by her at the tavern, as one lodger is recorded in the census data for that year. In the 1870s the property was occupied by Thomas Newton, who is listed in various sources as a Provisions Dealer (1871 Census) and also a Shopkeeper and Coal Dealer4. Thomas Newton remained at the property until 1891, by which time it is known as the Avenue Inn. The Census of 1881 records Newton as a Beer seller and Grocer. Between 1891 and 1911 the property was occupied by Thomas Kirkham and it has retained the name Avenue Inn. Kirkham is again described in two ways, Dealer and Publican (1891 Census) and Beer retailer and Shopkeeper5. The property moved into the hands of the Hitchen family by 1911, with Edward Hitchen being the first member of the family to run the business. He is described as a Publican in the 1911 Census and a Beer Retailer and Shop Keeper in the 1914 Kelly’s Directory of Cheshire. The business had passed to Edward’s son Harry by 1939 and with no description of the exact nature of the business at the time, he is simply listed next to the name Avenue Inn in the 1939 Kelly’s Directory of the area. We can assume that the pub was a “free house” for much of its history, as this was the most common way of running a pub in the 19th century6. However, a photograph of the building dating to the 1990s shows a sign with the Tetley’s logo, indicating that it may have been purchased by the brewery at some point. The building continued in use as a pub, with the later addition of a first floor flat and 1980s extensions to the rear to form the cellar and kitchen areas. Most recently the owner of the public house went into administration and the building was put on the market.

<4> Spencer, K, 2013, The Drum and Monkey, The Avenue, Comberbach, Cheshire - Archaeological Building Recording, R3592 (Client Report). SCH7412.

Building recording including photographic survey undertaken in 2013 for the Drum anad Monkey prior to its conversion to a private dwelling. The interior ground floor has been altered, but the exterior and upper floor remains intact. A brick property rendered with rough cast and painted cream. The western, front elevation is symmetrical with three bays and a central doorway. It has timber framed windows with stone lintels and some stone surrounds. There is a plinth, applied pilasters and string courses which appear to be Portland cement. The roof materials are a combination of concrete slates and natural stone slate. The report contains a detailed description of the exterior and interior of the building.