Hole in the Wall

20 Hill Street was bought by in 1858 by Samuel Heathfield, the owner of The Stag, and the family ran a greengrocer’s there with an on-licence for beer until 1916. It was then held by Walter Edwards who referred to it as the “Better ‘Ole”, a reference to a famous cartoon published in 1915, later a play, when making a Christmas collection for the troops. It is not referred to as the “Ole in the Wall” until after the 1914-18 war, when Watney, Coombe and Reid became the owners and it became a tenanted public house. Before this it was simply referred to at the licensing sessions as a beer-house. The premises reverted back to residential usage in 1971.

Images

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  St Clements 1955