Pub landlady who made her mark in a man's world

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Ann Chapman, of Mickleover, reminisces about the days when her grandmother, Annie Eliza Allen, used to run the Whie Hart pub in Stanley and the adjoining farm, around the turn of the last century.

Pub landlady Annie Eliza Allen in her 30s

In the late 1800s, public houses were most definitely a male domain. Even in the cities it would have been highly unusual to discover females on the customers’ side of a bar and yet, for nearly 30 years, Ann Chapman’s widowed grandmother, Annie Eliza Allen, single-handedly ran the White Hart pub, in Stanley, along with the adjoining farm.

“My grandmother originally moved into the White Hart when she married the publican’s son, Charles Taft, in 1896,” said Ann. “She lived there with Charles and his family and, at that stage, she could never have imagined that the future of this country hostelry and farm would end up entirely in her hands.”

The couple were blessed with a daughter, Elizabeth Taft, in 1897, but, sadly, they were abruptly separated just one year into the new century when, in 1901, Charles met with an untimely death. He had been making some deliveries from his pony and trap when he was accidentally thrown from his seat into the road. He later died from head injuries.

“My mother was only three when she lost her father,” explained Anne. “By that time, Charles and Annie Eliza had taken over the running of the pub from Charles’ parents and my grandmother, being a strong women, decided they should stay at the White Hart and continue with the business, which also included a small farm.

“It was not that unusual for farms and pubs to be combined in those days but it was very unusual for women to run a business like that alone.

“Pubs were certainly seen as a predominantly male domain at the time and, if a woman purchased a jug of ale for the family, she would be served discreetly at the back of the premises, then expected to transport the jug straight home. It just wasn’t the done thing for women to buy and consume any drinks on the premises.”

Ann’s mother, Elizabeth Taft, aged 10, standing by the pub entrance. William Kay’s name is written above the door. He is thought to be the gentleman with the straw hat and cane (centre). The rest are believed to be bar staff and farm workers

In fact, two years later, in 1903, Annie Eliza did re-marry a William Kay who became the publican of the White Hart for a while but, sadly, he contracted tuberculosis and also died just a few years later.

Ann says that she feels proud of her grandmother for taking up the challenge of running the business alone and, at the same, bringing up her only daughter, Elizabeth, who lived with her.

It is possible that Annie Eliza may have occasionally turned to her brother, property developer Isaac Allen for help and advise. Isaac was responsible for developing the Allenton area of Derby and well used to business.

After almost 30 years of keeping the business afloat, Annie Eliza eventually decided to sell up her livestock and retire to a quieter life in 1930, choosing a residential house in Chaddesden to live out her years.

“My own mother was not really interested in running the pub,” said Ann. “She hated the smell of beer and never drank any alcohol at all – only lemonade.

“She married Walter Keeling around 1934 and, a year later, I was born continuing the ‘tradition’ of female lineage.”

After the family’s departure, the White Hart remained at the hub of the community in Stanley, its adjacent land providing a fitting venue for the village’s regular horticultural shows, which wereout popular through the 1940s and 50s.

The pub also boasted an enthusiastic darts teams and a club room, which proved a popular venue for dances and live entertainment at weekends.

After the Second World War, it also gradually became more acceptable for women to frequent local pubs.

It may have taken pubs in country villages longer to adapt than city hostelries to this new spirit of equality but, gradually, they succumbed and pubs such as the White Hart eventually became as much the domain of families and courting couples as farm labourers and English gentlemen.

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