The Inns of

By MICHAEL P. MURPHY
T HE wi nds that wh istle dow n
th e co rrido rs of ti me ha v e car-

Swan ."

T he men

who

painted

them m ade no claim to artis tic tal -

ried away all the sign boa rds that once swu ng in the breeze fro m the inns and taverns of old St. Joh n's,
Go ne . too . are the in ns and taverns

and the men wh o p layed the part of "Mi ne Host" in the m, No recollectio n of the period in wh ich th ey flo urished now exis ts even in the memor y of the oldest inhabita nt. H istor y mak es sca nt m en tion

ent. but in those days of w idespread illit eracy the signs thernsel ves stood out prominently as guide posts to person s unable to read, and co nseque ntly served a useful if not esthetic pu rpose . In th e Royal Gazette of December 2 4, 1807 , there is a list of
persons licensed to keep taverns in

of th e old -ti me hostelries and it is

o n ly fro m the narrat iv es of w riters

the tow n of St. Jo hn 's fo r the ensuing year. Th e nam es of the taverns are inte resti ng to not e. F rom

who w ere famili ar w ith th em that

" River Head to Mr. Bou cher's, Bulley's Fa rm" there stood the we can deriv e any w orthwh ile inBun ch of G rapes, the Rose and fo rm atio n conc ern in g th em . There we re inn s and tave rns o f Crow n, th e Ship, th e Br itanni a, the Ne lson, th e Ta vern fo r all W eath so me so rt in St. J ohn 's eve n from ers, th e Flower P ot. th e Hop e, the earl iest tim es al thou gh hi storian s. who are quick to record dr y-as-du st Stru ggler, the Dov e, and th e Royal matters that have litt le bearin g on St anda rd. The list fro m " Bo ucthe ord ina ry, everyday life of th e her's to Hu dson 's (Jo b's) Cove" people, ma ke littl e or no reference including the Ship Assistance, th e to them, Fro m old records we find An gel. th e Aginco urt, the Swa n. that even as far back as th e vear the R ed Cow , the Jolly Fis her ma n, 1708 there was a n inn doi ng bus- the Blu e Ball, the Shoul der of Mu tiness on the Lower P ath in St. ton , the White Hart. th e Royal Joh n's, Oak, and the Soldier, T he thi rd All taverns and inns bore dis- and last divisio n of the list containti nctive sig ns . I n most cases th e ed the names of tave rns fro m
signs were ro ugh copies of those

carried by in ns back in the O ld Co untry . They were by no means works of art. In fact , they were only crude rep resentations of the
subjects mentioned in the nam es of

"Hudson 's Cove to the eas te rrnost

the inns such as " T he Dove, " "The Red Cow ," "T he Ship, "The
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pa rt of St. John's." They were the Lo ndo n T avern , the Wheat Sheaf. the Bird in H and, the U nio n Flag , the Butchery, the Sun, the D uke of Y or k, the T h ree Crow ns, and the Plough at Brine's Bridge .
ATLANTIC GUARDIAN

Old St Johns
THE QUAINT OLD-TIME TAVERNS HAD COLORFUL NAMES
The L on d o n T av ern was a famo us p lace in its day . It w as h ere that th e Ben evol ent Ir ish Society w as o rga nized and for so me tim e held its m eet in gs. It wa s a we ll-e q u ip pe d h o stelry in every recd th eir patron s an d w as co m patible also w ith th e rou gh a nd read y tim es in w hic h t hey fl ourish ed .

The Crown Tavern L et us tak e a g la nce at o ne t h at was t y pi cal of such esta blish me n ts in St . J o hn ' s in th e early eig h tee nt h centur y. In o utw ard ap pe ara nce it lo ok ed no differen t fro m t he ave rage dw elling h ou se o f that period . It ca tered. how ever. to rath er sel ect patr on s such as G o vernm ent offic ials. Arm y and Na vy o ff ice rs. m erch ants and pr of essional men . and had little w elcom e for persons of lesser d egr ee. It was known as th e Cr own Tav ern . was sit uated near the h ead o f Pilot' s Hill . and was erect ed so me time during the 1790s. From th e upper windows a goo d vi ew could be had of the Narrow s and . no doubt. at a tim e wh en th e o n ly co n nect io n w ith th e outsid e w orld wa s by sea. th e entranc e to th e harb o r mu st hav e been a co nsta nt o bject o f int erest. The C row n T av ern was a tw o -sto rey struct ure with a ga ble ro o f and a large attic w ith tw o bay w indow s at th e fro nt. The seco nd sto rey h ad fou r win d ow s faci ng th e harbor. The g ro u nd flo o r. wi th th e main door in the cent re. co ntained
two large room s i n fr ont . one on

spect and provided "acco mmodatio n fo r man and beast ". as th e old ad v ert ism ent s say. It had sta bles. a
larg e ya rd in th e [ear o f th e tav ern . and also a billiard ro om and an elab orat e bar room that w as th e best in town at that period . th e early part o f the nin et eenth cen tur y. It cate red ch iefly to the up per cla sses and to vis ito rs from for eig n countries and was generally regarded as the best hostelr y in St.

John 's,
Very few . h owever. of the establishments mentioned in the 1807 list were "in ns" in the strict sense of th e term. Very few of them . besid es d ispensing drinks. provided accommodation for man and beast. They w ere far diff erent from th e inn s o f Old En gland. No aura o f romanc e surro u nde d them . F or th e most part they had no spacio us ya rds for coa ch es. carriage s. and wa gon s : no hostl ers. no "boo ts." no rubicund. apron ed landlords : no p retty . cu rtsyin g chamberma ids : ve ry litt le. in fact, to fas ci nate a Di ck en s. a H azl itt. o r a \V ash in g to n Irving . M o st of the m we re o nly p la inl y b ui lt h ou ses licen sed to sell liquor - som e o f t he m veri tabl e div es-with a rou gh and ready at mo sph ere abo u t th em that just su itMAY, 1957

each side of t he h all . and a lar ge k itch en at th e rear. In o ne o f th e large fron t r ooms was th e bar. with shel ves fo r sto ring \,..in es and li qu ors. a nd kegs co nta in ing drau ght
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beer. A number of small rabIes and chairs, and a few cheap prints on the walls, completed the furnishings of this room. The other
room in front contained tables and

time .

On the same spot was later

erected the Phoenix Fire Hall. headquarters of the old Phoenix Volunteer Fire Brigade. A bell to warn people when an outbreak of
fire occurred was also placed there

chairs and benches and a large fireplace which in winter time was

piled high with brightly burning logs that cast a cheerful glow over
the room. In this room many im-

and it was a familiar sight until the destruction of the hall itself by fire In November of 1876.
The Bull Inn

portant meetings were held from

time to time and many matters dis-

cussed to the clink of glasses and tankards. The keeper of the Crown back in those far-off days was Henry Fowles. a native of Somerset, England, who had retired from the Royal Navy after many
years of service.

Near the foot of Prescott Street. at its junction with Duckworth Street, and just about where the Royal Stores building stands today, there once stood a tavern called the "Bull Inn." It was kept by one Abraham Saunders, a carpenter by
trade and a giant in stature, for he

The Gamecock

At the foot of Long's Hill, on

the west side where the Theatre Pharmacy is now doing business,

stood six feet six inches high in his socks and weighed two hundred and fifty pounds. Abe was of a very
quite disposition at normal times

there once stood, back in the twenties of the last century, a well-frequented inn known as "The Gamecock." Its owner and proprietor was one Peter Sullivan, a big and belligerent native of County Cork, Ireland, who was noted for his
quickness and despatch in evicting obstreperous patrons from his premises, and also for the promotion

but when aroused he was a mighty fighting man afraid of no two men
on earth. Unruly customers were

given short-shrift by Abe, but the only person who really threw a
scare into him was his wife. a lit-

of rhrilling cock fights that took place in the spacious yard behind his tavern. Peter dispensed good rum and ale and also a prime drop of good whiskey that came over on the emigrant ships and had never been contaminated by the rod of the gauger. \Vith the passing years cock-fighting fell into disrepute, and Peter Sullivan, his Gamecock Inn, and good ale and Irish Whiskey disappeared into the mists of
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tle Irish woman who tipped the scales at one hundred pounds and more than made up for her lack of weight by her sharp, ever-active tongue that castigated Abe at all hours of the day and night.
The Calibogus House
Another well-know tavern was the "Fisherman" which was situat-

ed at the head of Willicott's Lane not far from the western side of the Congregational Church on Queen's Road. Over the door was a sign
depicting a fisherman in oilskins,

with sou'wester on head and pipe in mouth, calmly looking from his
ATLANTIC GUARD IAN

sta nd o ut to wa rds the Nar rows. The proprietor of the ta vern was A ndy Brad y. a ma n of good educat io n who at one time had been a b ut ler in the Beresford mansion in Waterford. Ireland. Andy was th e fou nder of the famous "Cali bo gus Cl ub ," a mysterious association that bound its memb ers by solemn pro mise not to drink any liquor but rum and sp ruce beer mixed . The mixture was known as "Calibogus " and the Fisherman-or the " Calibogus House" as it also was k no w n - was freque nted by a nu mber of jolly seadogs and others who we re members of the club. H igh revels were held there and ma ny good stories to ld , some of whic h later fou nd their way into the local press. Da ncing. si ngi ng, a nd d rinking deep of the flowing bow l were kept up un ti l early morn in g a nd man y

were the hangovers that resulted fro m too muc h imbibi ng of the potent Calibogus at Andy 's establish ment. For the mor e sedate mem bers. Andy. being of a literary turn of mind. always kept a batch of Old Country papers on ha nd. and althou gh th e papers wer e often six months o ld they never lost their savor until a new batch arrived .

The Ship Inn

One well -known house of entertai nment fo r man and beast was the Ship Inn which stood on Duck wo rth Street o n the site where the sto re of Cross and Compa ny is no w situated. Ove r the door there h un g a sign with a pai nting of a full rigged ship on it. The owner of the tavern was Mr s. Betty Burton. the widow of Capt. Burto n of the British emigra nt sh ip Gaze lle which ma de freq uent trips fro m Br istol. Eng la nd. to Newfo undla nd a nd was later lost wi th all han ds. T hi s tavern was mu ch freq uented by the captains a nd mates o f vessels a nd by seamen in gener al. a nd was , in its day. the most popular seafarer's resort in St. John 's.

FIRE MARINE

The Traveller's Joy

One taver n on Water St reet in th e old days had a sign depicting a sailo r in a blue jacket a nd brass buttons. with the right hand ra ised aloft and beneath it the inscription , '" fight for all ." A fishe rman was represented with the inscript ion . '" pa l' for all ." At her tavern at Twenty-Mile Pond. Pe ggy Rose had the follow ing sign over the door: " Ive trusted often to m) sorrow . Pa y today and trust tomorrow ,"
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CHoSBIE &CO.. LTD.

WATER ST. ST. JOH N'S

Agents for Un derwri ters

at LLOYDS

MAY,

1957

At Riverhead there stood a tavern called the "Traveller's Joy," The tavern was kept by one Lamber, crier of the Supreme Court, and had a swinging sign which held out the following alluring invitation on the town side:

"Before the Traveller's Joy you pass, Step in and have a parting glass," And on the country side to greet
the wayfarer written:
over

first half of the nineteenth century, a few public houses kept up the old custom-such as Patrick Mullowney's Golden Stag's Head and Mrs, Leamy's tavern which stood on the site of the present day Muir's Marble Works. The sign over the door of Mrs, Leamy's showed there
sailors dancing around a demure

on

his return

was

"Now that your journey's almost

Step in. your spirits to recover. "

damsel who held a well-filled decanter in her hand. It was probably the last of the old tavern signs-and the merry maiden and the jolly tars have gone the way of all who lived, laughed, loved, and
toiled in their time and whose sign-

Though the practice of taverns carrying signs had gone out in the

boards can now be found only in

the various cemeteries of the city.

We have a

MilLION oflhem.

It has always seemed to us that the first Function of any advertisement is to get itself read,

People do not bave to read aduertisements. Therefore any art or device, even as simple and inexpensive as this adoettisement was to prepare. commands more attention than just cold type,

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ATLANTIC GUARDIAN