Lifeboat 1910s

Folkestone Daily News 13-2-1913

 

Annual Licensing Sessions

 

The Licensing Bench on Wednesday, February 12^th, was constituted as follows: Messrs. Ward, Boyd, Leggett, Swoffer, Stainer, Herbert, Fynmore, Hamilton, and Linton.

The Chief Constable read his report (for which see Folkestone Express).

The Chairman said the report of the Chief Constable was very satisfactory, but the Bench were still of opinion that there were too many licensed houses in a certain portion of the town. Therefore a number would have their licences withheld until the adjourned sessions on the ground of redundancy. Formal opposition to the renewals would be served so that full enquiries could be made into the trade of these houses, with a view of referring some of them to the Compensation Authority.

The following were the licences which were held over: The Raglan, Dover Street; Oddfellows, Dover Street; Royal Oak, North Street; Isle of Cyprus, Bayle; Lord Nelson, Radnor Street; Lifeboat, North Street; Wellington, Beach Street.

Folkestone Express 15-2-1913

Annual Licensing Sessions

The Brewster Sessions were held on Wednesday morning. The Justices present were E.T. Ward Esq., Major Leggett, Lieut. Col. Fynmore, Lieut. Col. Hamilton, G. Boyd, G.I. Swoffer, R.J. Linton, and J. Stainer Esqs. Mr. Boyd and Mr. Stainer did not take part in the licensing business, not being on the committee.

The Chief Constable read his report as follows: Gentlemen, I have the honour to report that there are at present within your jurisdiction 119 places licensed for the sale of intoxicating liquor by retail, viz., Full Licences 73, Beer On 7, Beer Off 6, Beer and Spirit Dealers Off 15, Grocers, etc. Off 9, Confectioners` Wine On 3, Chemists Wine Off 5. This gives an average, according to the Census of 1911, of one licence to every 281 persons, or one on licence to every 418 persons. As compared with the return submitted last year this is a decrease of two licences. At the general annual licensing meeting last year a new licence was granted for the sale of beer off the premises at Morehall, and two other off licences were discontinued.

At the last adjourned general annual licensing meeting the renewal of the licence of the Rendezvous Hotel was referred to the Compensation Committee on the ground of redundancy, and at the meeting of that Committee on the 7^th August, 1912, the licence was refused, and after payment of compensation the house was closed for the sale of drink on the 28^th December last.

During the past year fifteen of the licences have been transferred; one licence was transferred twice.

Six occasional licences have been granted for the sale of drink on premises not ordinarily licensed for such sale, and 34 extensions of the usual time of closing have been granted to licence holders on special occasions.

During the year ended 31^st December last 85 persons (62 males and 23 females) were proceeded against for drunkenness; 64 were convicted and 21 discharged.

In the preceding year 54 males and 31 females were proceeded against, of whom 66 were convicted and 19 discharged.

The number convicted of drunkenness last year, viz., 46 males and 18 females, is, I find, the smallest number convicted in any year since 1896.

Of those proceeded against, 31 were residents of the Borough, 34 were persons of no fixed abode, 13 residents of other districts and seven were soldiers.

No conviction has been recorded against any licence holder during the past year. Proceedings were taken against the holder of an off licence for a breach of the closing regulations, but the case was dismissed.

Eleven clubs where intoxicating liquor is sold are registered in accordance with the Act of 1902.

There are 17 places licensed for music and dancing, eight for music only, and two for public billiard playing.

I have no complaint to make as to the conduct of any of the licensed houses, and offer no opposition to the renewal of any of the present licences on the ground of misconduct.

The Chairman said it was a very satisfactory report indeed, but they felt that there were still too many licensed houses, particularly in certain portions of the Borough, and the Justices would direct that a certain number of the applications for renewal should be deferred till the Adjourned Sessions, so that they might have evidence as to the trade those houses were doing, and decide whether any of them ought to be referred to the Compensation Authority.

The houses to be dealt with were seven in number, namely; the Raglan Tavern, the Oddfellows, the Royal Oak, the Isle of Cyprus, the Lord Nelson, the Lifeboat, and the Wellington.

With those exceptions the existing licences were granted.

Folkestone Herald 15-2-1913

Annual Licensing Sessions

Wednesday, February 12th: Before Mr. E.T. Ward, Lieut. Col. Fynmore, Lieut. Col. Hamilton, Major Leggett, Mr. W.G. Herbert, Mr. J. Stainer, and Mr. G. Boyd.
The Chief Constable presented his annual report (for which see Folkestone Express).

The Chairman remarked that the report was a very satisfactory one, but, in the opinion of the Bench, there were still too many public houses in certain portions of the town, and they would defer the renewal of certain of the licences to the adjourned sessions, so that they might have evidence as to what trade they were doing, and see if any of them were to be referred to the compensation authority.

The licensees of the Raglan Tavern, the Oddfellows, Dover Street, the Royal Oak, North Street, the Isle of Cyprus, the Lord Nelson, the Lifeboat, and the Wellington were called forward.

The Chairman said the renewal of the licences of those public houses would be deferred until the adjourned licensing sessions, and notice of opposition would be served in the meantime on the ground of redundancy. The Chief Constable would be directed to serve the notices.

The licences of all the other houses were then renewed.

Folkestone Daily News 10-3-1913

Adjourned Licensing Sessions
 

Monday, March 10^th: Before Messrs. Ward, Hamilton, Stainer, Herbert, Harrison, Morrison, Linton, Boyd, Stace, Jenner, and Giles.

There was again a large crowd in Court on Monday morning, when the fate of 7 licensed houses (referred for redundancy) hung in the balance.

At the commencement of the proceedings the Chief Constable said the Bench had to consider the seven licences adjourned from the annual sessions on the ground of redundancy. He invited the Bench to hear the evidence in regard to such houses separately and give a decision after hearing all the evidence.

In the case of the Lord Nelson and the Lifeboat (Messrs. Ash and Co.), Mr. Arrowsmith (barrister) appeared to show cause for the re-granting of the licence.

The Lifeboat

An ante-1869 beerhouse, situate in North Street, (Messrs. Ash & Co); rateable value of the house £16.

The Chief Constable said the premises were very clean and well-kept; the only objection was that of redundancy.

By Mr. Arrowsmith: The Chief Constable said the present tenant had been in the house 7 years and there had been no complaint. As far as he knew the tenant made a comfortable little living.

Mrs. Eliza Beeton, the tenant, said she did a very good trade, and in the summer lunches and teas. She had a connection with the people who came down to see their relatives at the Convalescent Home, for whom she supplied light refreshments.

Mr. C. Moxon gave the trade of the house as 112 barrels over a period of five years average. The Lifeboat was acquired by his firm in 1866.

Mr. J. Jones repeated the evidence as given in the last case as to the requirements of the neighbourhood, and opposed the opposition to the renewal of the licence.

The Bench retired at 4 p.m., and returned at 4.10, the Chairman announcing that the Lord Nelson and the Isle of Cyprus would be referred to Canterbury and the other five licences would be renewed.

Folkestone Express 15-3-1913

Adjourned Licensing Sessions

At the annual licensing sessions seven licences were deferred to the adjourned sessions, which were held at the Town Hall on Monday. The Magistrates on the Bench were E.T. Ward Esq., Lieut. Col. Hamilton, Alderman Jenner, and W.G. Herbert, J. Stainer, R.J. Linton, G. Boyd, W.J. Harrison, J.J. Giles, E.T. Morrison and A. Stace Esqs.

The Lifeboat

Mr. Reeve said in that case the house was an ante-1869, situate in North Street. The present licensee was Mrs. Beeton, who obtained the transfer in 1906. The registered owners were Messrs. Ash and Co., and the rateable value was £16. That house had a frontage of 16ft. 4in., and it had only one entrance in the front, which opened into a front bar and to a lobby directly in front. There was also a small room in the rear which opened from the lobby. It was about 9ft. 4in. by 7ft. 7in. There was no other accommodation for the public. The place was very low-pitched, the rooms being only about 7ft. high. The small living room of the licensee behind the bar was very dark. There was an enclosed yard at the back, which was divided from the next premises by a wall 5ft. 9in. in height. The nearest licensed house was the Royal Oak, in North Street, 60 yards away, and the rateable value of that was £16. There were eleven other on-licensed premises within a radius of 150 yards. The premises at the present time were very clean, well-kept, and the trade was small.

Cross-examined, the Chief Constable said the Royal Oak was not required in his opinion. Neither was the Lord Nelson, which was the next nearest house. For its size, the accommodation was very compact and well arranged. It was a small house, and he would not expect it to do a big trade. He had no doubt the present tenant was making a living. There had been no complaints lately about the house, but in 1902 there was a fine of £5 and costs.

In reply to the Chairman, Mr. Reeve said the trade came chiefly from the neighbourhood of the house. It was a small trade, but very quiet.

Mrs. Beeton said she was the tenant, and had been there seven years and three months. She did a good trade in beer, and also did a fair trade in lunches and teas, especially amongst friends of the inmates of the convalescent home. She did a good mineral trade. She had all classes of trade. In the summer people came from the Warren to get hot water in order to make their tea.

Mr. Moxon said the house was acquired in 1868. The trade in beer for an average of five years was 112 barrels. They had recently re-drained the house at a cost of £25, and the rent was £14. It was a beerhouse. The house was in a good state of repair and was nicely kept.

Mr. J. Jones said he had known the house for fifty years. He lived about eighty yards from the house. The fishermen used the house, and had a club there. There was not another suitable house in the neighbourhood.

Mr. Arrowsmith, in his address to the Justices, said the trade of the Lifeboat was two barrels a week. The place was in splendid condition, and the tenant made a living out of the house, without any other business. It was, in fact, practically a club house for the more respectable members of the district, where they could meet and discuss local politics.   

 The Magistrates retired, and on their return the Chairman announced that the licence would be renewed.

Folkestone Herald 15-3-1913

Adjourned Licensing Sessions

The adjourned Annual Folkestone Licensing Sessions were held at the Police Court on Monday, when the licences of the seven houses deferred at the Annual General Sessions came up for hearing. Mr. E.T. Ward was in the chair, and he was supported by Mr. W.G. Herbert, Lieut. Colonel C.J. Hamilton, Mr. J. Stainer, Mr. R.J. Linton, Mr. G. Boyd, Alderman C. Jenner, Captain Chamier, Mr. J.J. Giles, Councillor W.J. Harrison, Mr. E.T. Morrison and Councillor A. Stace.

The Lifeboat

Mr. Arrowsmith appeared on behalf of Messrs. Ash, brewers, of Canterbury, in respect of the Lifeboat.

The Chief Constable, giving evidence, said that the Lifeboat was situated in North Street, and the present licensee was Mrs. Beeton. The licence was transferred on January 24th, 1906. The registered owners were Messrs. Ash and Co., of Canterbury The rateable value of the house was £16. The house had a frontage to the street of 16ft. 4 ins. There was one entrance to the house from the street, which opened into the front bar and to a lobby directly in front. There was also a small room at the rear, opening from the lobby, about 9ft. 4 ins. by 7ft. 7ins. There was no other accommodation for the public. The place was very low-pitched, the ceiling only being about 7ft. high. The small living room of the licensee behind the bar was very dark. There was no outside light. There was an enclosed yard at the back, divided from the next premises by a wall about 5ft. 9ins. high. The nearest licensed house was the Royal Oak, in North Street, 60 yards away, and the rateable value of that was £16. There were eleven other licensed houses within a radius of 150 yards. The premises at the present time were very clean and well-kept. The trade was small.
Cross-examined by Mr. Arrowsmith, witness stated that the house was not required, and the next house, the Lord Nelson, was not required either. The house was very compact and well-kept. It was not doing a big trade. The last complaint was in 1902, eleven years ago.

Mrs. Elizabeth Beeton stated that she was the tenant of the Lifeboat, and she had held the licence for seven years three months. She was doing a very good trade. In addition to the trade in beer she did a trade in lunches and teas, and she had a connection with the St. Andrew`s Convalescent Home, where the wives of patients saw their husbands, and the husbands saw their wives who came down to see them. She provide biscuits and teas to people going to the Warren in the summer. She did a middle trade, principally amongst the fishermen and S.E. men, and round the neighbourhood.

Mr. Moxon said that the Lifeboat was acquired by his firm in 1866. The trade in beer for the last five years had been on average 112 barrels. It had been very regular, and had not varied by one or two barrels per year during that time. They had recently repaired the drainage, and re-drained it at a cost of £25. The rent was £14. The house structurally was in a very good state of repair, and it was very nicely kept.

Mr. John Jones said that he had known the Lifeboat for fifty years, and it was another house he visited. He was a teetotaller, and did not go there to drink; he went for business. It was a very well arranged house, and the structural accommodation was good.Mr. Arrowsmith, in his address to the Justices, said the trade of the Lifeboat was two barrels a week. The place was in splendid condition, and the tenant made a living out of the house, without any other business. It was, as Mr. Jones had said, a house where the more respectable members of the district met quietly and discussed local politics. He characterised the size of the trade as the worst possible argument for closing it. They went there to discuss business, and were not forced to drink beer. Turning to the Lord Nelson, he said that that was doing an exceedingly good trade. According to the landlord, he catered for lunches and let bedrooms. A great argument in its favour was the Fishmarket. He pointed out to the Justices that they had a duty to the brewer as well as to the public, and they had to licence to the requirements of the public, and it might even be to increase the number of licences. He imagined that in the future, with so many houses being taken away, it would be a question of how many new houses there would be. During the last few years Messrs. Ash had lost six out of eight houses in this district. Six had gone, and only two were left, and those two houses were now being threatened. He alluded to the detriment to the trade of the firm, and said if these two houses were closed, eight houses would be taken away in one district belonging to the same firm, and the proportion, to him, seemed to be too large. He asked that both should be renewed.

The Magistrates retired for a period to consider their decisions. On their return the Chairman said that the Lifeboat licence was renewed