NEW INN

Halifax Road

	The New Inn was established as a beerhouse in a three-storey property on Roomfield Lane at the junction with Stackhills Road in the 1840's, possibly by John Marshall. John had been running a beer house at Castle Street in 1841 before he acquired the New Inn.

It was practically adjacent to the Rope and Anchor and John must have had the foresight to see that two pubs could survive being in such close proximity to each other. The area was full of mills and foundries all with workforces that needed a place to quench their thirst after a day's work. No matter how hard up some of the men and their families were, they would always find money for their beer ration, even if it meant that their families had to go hungry. John also became a landlord of the Rope and Anchor and so raked in the profits from both houses.

The first mention of a tenant at the New Inn beer house is in 1853 when James Greenlees was the keeper. James was a master blacksmith by trade and employed an apprentice. He, his wife Hannah and their children occupied the premises until at least 1865. By that time, James had died and Hannah is listed in the Post Office Directory for the year 1866 as Hannah Greenlees and Son as blacksmith and beer retailer. There were two sons, Sam and Matthew, Sam a blacksmith and Matthew a tinner. In later years Sam went on to become a veterinary surgeon and died in 1875 aged 36 whilst Matthew eventually became a farrier and died in 1886 at only 46.

John Marshall, who was the original owner of the New Inn, had left the Rope and Anchor in the 1860's and by early 1870 he was occupying his own premises at the New Inn. He was now 60 and he and his wife Betty kept themselves occupied in their later years by running the beer house. After John lost his wife, he went to live with his widowed sister Elizabeth Mitchell at Baltimore.

The beginning of the next decade saw Robert Crook as the New Inn's new host. Robert was a young man who had been born in Liverpool around 1855 and he, his mother and sister kept a very prosperous business going at the New Inn, evidenced by the amount of lodgers in 1881. There were 20 altogether, men from all over the country employed in a variety of trades from a tailor to brush maker and a glut of bricklayers and labourers. Obviously work was abundant in the building trade at that time.

They were ably entertained by the pub's resident pianist, an Irish girl called Dina and the evening sing songs would be heard echoing around Roomfield Lane after a few pints had been sunk by the thirsty brickies on pay days.

Neptune Inn, Hebden Bridge. Photo by kind permission of Frank Woolrych	Robert had moved on by 1883 and later became landlord of the Neptune Inn at Hebden Bridge and later still he moved to Manchester and was running a city centre pub near Withy Grove. Maybe this is him at the door of the Neptune.

By 1883, a Mr. William Hirst had taken over the New Inn and established an Almanac Show. In the February of 1883 there were149 entries, which was surpassed in 1884 when there were 200.

The late 1880's saw another change in the person of Stansfield Gibson. Stansfield had been born into the trade, being the son of Joshua, an innkeeper, butcher and farmer who in 1851 was at Bridge Lanes, Hebden Bridge.	Bridge Lanes. Photo by kind permission of Frank Woolrych

Joshua had also been born into the trade, being the son of John and Sarah who was also an innkeeper at Hebden Bridge in the early 1800's. So Stansfield certainly had the pedigree to become a landlord. He started his career in the alternative family trade of butchering, like his brother Thomas. He married Harriet and remained at Bridge Lanes before going to Meadow Bottom in Stansfield. Harriet died, leaving him with four young daughters, but Stansfield didn't remain a widower for long and he married for the second time to Susannah Greenwood in 1871.

The family then moved to 46, Roomfield Lane, Todmorden, still with Stansfield working as a butcher, before he eventually became the innkeeper at the nearby New Inn. Two of his children helped out in the pub and the youngest daughter Clara went out to work as a weaver. Stansfield was again left widowed but married a third time in 1895 to a widow, Mrs. Fanny Walters.

They had left the New Inn by 1896 and Fanny died before 1901 when Stansfield married for a fourth time to Maria, a lady who came from Ramsgate in Kent. His daughter Clara was married by this time to Joseph Crossley and they continued the family tradition of publicans, carrying it into the 20th century by keeping the Craven Heifer at Mytholmroyd which is where Stansfield and his wife Maria were also to be found in 1901.

Joseph Crossley was also the son of a butcher who plied his trade at Crescent in Todmorden, so the Crossley and the Gibson families had come full circle, combining both the butchering and the licensing trade with the marriage of John and Clara. Stansfield's son Herbert also kept up the family involvement in the licensing trade by becoming the innkeeper and farmer at the Moorcock Inn on Blackstonedge Road, Littleborough.

With Stansfield retired, the New Inn got a fresh landlord by the name of Holt Chadwick who had taken over by 1896 and was advertising his establishment as "Under New Management" in the local almanac with this perky little ditty:

	"At the New Inn he is doing a pretty bit of "biz" His old friends are not cold friends for they rally round him still His tables and his stables- in fact everything that's his, Are always at your service for he caters with a will."

Holt was the son of John, a sawyer by trade, and he grew up at Lever Street and Fielden Terrace at Meadow Bottom. He married Jane Hannah Davison in 1888 and for a quite a few years they lived with Jane's parents at Dalton Street and later at Well Street. Jane's father was a tailor and the family had come to Todmorden from Durham. Holt was in turn a cotton weaver and a fish salesman before he began his stint at the New Inn.

In 1902 their daughter Elizabeth who was known as "Cissy" became 21 and a Coming of Age dance was held at the Co-Op Hall Dale St. By all accounts it was a pretty good party and was attended by all her friends and acquaintances.

The pub remained a beer house until 1961 when it obtained a full licence. It was much frequented by the audience during the intervals at the Hippodrome, which was conveniently situated across the way. Needless to say the intervals lasted for some time!!

On Friday the 13th October 1972, the building collapsed and fell down. Fortunately, it happened before opening time, so no one was hurt. Despite the efforts of the owners, Tetley's Brewery, the building was deemed unsafe and had to be demolished. A case of the Friday the 13th superstition coming true. All that remains is a car park where it once stood.

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