Coach and Horses

9 Jan 1892, Striking a Woman with a Bottle

[Before the Mayor (Alderman J. Brown), Alderman Sir Joseph Devereux, F. B. Buckland, Esq., and Aldermen W. S. Cantrell and J. W. Wellman].

Caroline Elizabeth Rich, of Windsor, was summoned for assaulting Mary Dobner on December 31st. Complainant said that on the previous Thursday she went to the Coach and Horses for half a pint of beer. Defendant took her bottle from her and struck her with it, blackening ber ye and breaking the bottle. Superintendent Armour and Police-constable Maclain gave corroborative evidence, the latter stating that both women were under the influence of liquor. Defendant said she knocked the bottle out of complainant’s band in self-defence, and her elbow came in contact with her forehead. Emily Perry and Anthony Draycott, hawker, who were at the Coach and Horses on the occasion, confirmed the statement of the accused. The bench inflicted a fine of £1 including costs.

22 Feb 1896, Endorsed for Transfer

The license of the Coach and Horses, Oxford-road, was endorsed for transfer from Zipporah Gregory to Thomas James Kirtland, bricklayer, Oxford-road, Windsor.

4 Feb 1899, A Chimney Fire

Thomas Kirtland, of Clewer Within, was charged with allowing his chimney to be on fire on January 25.-Police-constable McLain said he saw the chimney of defendant’s house – the “Coach and Horses,” Oxford-road – on fire, the flames shooting up several feet above the chimney. Defendant told him a man had put a basket on the fire; witness did not see any basket on the fire, but a quantity of soot. Defendant did not know when the chimney was swept, but Dean, the chimney sweep, could tell him. Witness said he saw Dean, who stated that it was so long ago that he did not recollect it. Defendant’s wife said the chimney was swept in March or April last. A fine of 2s. 6d. was inflicted.

17 Aug 1945, A Year Late: Windsor Golden Wedding

Postponed for a year because they did not wish to bother about it”, Mr and Mrs Henry Carpenter, of 9 Arthur Road, Windsor, celebrated their golden wedding on Monday quietly at their home. It was on 13th August, 1894, that they were married at Holy Trinity Church, Windsor, so that they passed the half-century mark twelve months ago.

Mr Carpenter, a native of London, came to Windsor sixty years ago and was in business as a fruiterer until his retirement some years since. When he came to Windsor he worked for his uncle, Mr J. Carpenter, who was the first fruiterer to sell foreign fruit in Windsor. He is 75 years of age this month. His wife, Mrs Annie Maria Carpenter, in her seventy-eighth year, was born at the “Coach and Horses”, Oxford Road, Windsor, where her father, the late Mr Daniel Gregory, was licensee at the time.

Both Mr and Mrs Carpenter enjoy good health. They are members of Windsor Conservative Club. They have three sons, all married, and there are ten grandchildren, one of whom is serving in the Royal Air Force in Italy.

The Kirtland Family

They are a large Windsor & district family and their influence can be found in many places in local history. For example, three children of Thomas James and Emma Kirtland ended up at The Sun, 27 Peascod Street, with Wally Kirtland holding the licence.

1988, Family Pub Crawl

In a letter to the W&EE, a GD Artley told a story about him and his in-laws. Coming from Yorkshire, he married a Windsor lass in the fifties. On Fridays and Saturdays they would go for a drink starting at the Coach and Horses; the father-in-law’s aunt, Annie Kirtland, was the landlady. They then went on to the Why Not? and the Clarence, finishing off the evening at the Elephant and Castle, where his wife’s aunty, Ethel Beanland, was the last but one landlady.

1989, It’s A Small World

A BW Stiles replied to the letter, with a similar story. He, with his wife and 6 yo daughter, were often at the Coach and Horses on a Saturday night. They probably knew each other. He went on to say Annie Kirtland’s husband, Tommy, was his mother’s brother.

Beer House and Common Lodging

The Coach and Horses was originally a beer house, probably selling beer, cider and perry. It is unknown whether wine and spirits were allowed until much later. It was also a common lodging house (aka doss house) providing communal accommodation for a small fee per night. Rooms could have 8 or more people in them, with shared beds. Even in Jan 1945, the Coach and Horses was approved by Windsor Town Council. This could lead to “friction” between “guests“.

On Thu 20 Jun 1901, a court case was heard before the Mayor of Windsor involving William Phillips, John McCarthy, and John Firth, who were accused of the violent robbery of William Stevens at the Coach and Horses beer-house. Stevens, a visiting costermonger, testified that after going to bed in a crowded room, Firth attempted to steal his trousers containing 17s. 6d., while Phillips and McCarthy allegedly held him down and assaulted him. While the landlord and a police constable confirmed the immediate aftermath of the chaotic attack and the subsequent arrest of the three men, the specific monetary evidence found on the suspects was inconclusive. Consequently, due to conflicting evidence, the Mayor discharged McCarthy and Phillips, but sentenced Firth—who had a prior criminal record and claimed to be intoxicated—to three months of hard labour.