Britannia Inn

aka Plummers Hill Beer House, Plummers Arms Inn

The first mention I can find of beer being sold from this premises is in the 1861 Census, when George Carter is listed as at Beer Seller at Plummers Hill Beer House. George died shortly thereafter, and it isn't entirely clear exactly what happened to the license. By the time of the 1871 census Simon Carter is the Beer Seller at Plummers Hill Beer House. Simon was not (as far as I can tell) directly related to George, but his son Felix married George's daughter Hepzibah in 1862 - and then in 1864 Simon married George's widow Sarah!

In Jun of 1875, on the death of his father, the license was transferred to said Felix Carter. Felix Carter remained there until sometime between 1901 and 1905, when he seems to have taken over the Lamb Inn. The license passed to his son Herbert John Carter, before being transferred to his second cousin Reuben James Carter in 1906, who was the licensee for 26 years. Reuben James Carter was the father of William George Carter, well known Paultonian, who was the landlord of the Victoria Inn for many years. He was also the cousin of Mary Elizabeth Banfield, landlady of the Blackbird for many years.

In 1930, the license was taken over by Reginald F. Ashman, the son-in-law of Reuben James Carter, who ran the pub until 1954. The last licensee was Leslie Shearn (formerly of the Crown Inn, Clandown), who ran the pub until it closed in 1957, at which point he moved to the Rising Sun.

The pub closed in 1957.

Photos

Licensees

   ????-1861 George Carter
   ????-1871-1875 Simon Carter
   1875-1901-???? Felix Carter
   ????-1905-1906 Herbert John Carter
   1906-1930 Reuben James Carter
   1930-1954 Reginald F. Ashman
   1954-1957 Leslie Shearn

The image above shows how the license moved between members of the Carter family between 1861 and 1905.

Owners

- ????-1957 Charlton Brewery

Timeline

Date	Detail	Source
07/04/1861	George Carter (age 52) is living with his wife Sarah (age 49) and daughter Hepzibah (age 21) at Plummers Hill. He is a Beer Seller.	1861 Census
19/12/1861	Burial of George Carter	Paulton Parish Records
03/09/1869	Red Lion Hotel, Paulton Inn and Simon Carter of Plummers Hill all mentioned in an article about Paulton Harvest Festival. I think this is before Simon was licensee.	Western Daily Press - 03 September 1869
28/09/1869	George Carter's license was renewed at the annual licensing session. This is confusing since George has died! Perhaps this is actually Simon.	Temple Cloud Petty Sessions
02/04/1871	Simon Carter (age 66) is living at Plummers Hill Beer House with his wife Sarah (age 60), his son Felix (age 34) and daughter Hepzibah (age 31) as well as his grandson George (age 6) and granddaughter Sarah (age 6). He is a Beer House Keeper. Note that Sarah is George Carter's widow. Also note that Hepzibah is George and Sarah's daughter (so is Simon's step-daughter) but is also married to Felix.	1871 Census
08/06/1875	License of Plummers Arms Inn, Paulton temporarily transferred to Felix Carter	Temple Cloud Petty Sessions
06/07/1875	Beer License of S Carter transferred to Felix Carter	Temple Cloud Petty Sessions
19/06/1878	Baptism of Gilbert Carter, son of Felix and Hepzibah Carter. Felix is a Beer Retailer at Plummers Hill. Sadly Gilbert was buried on 29 July 1878.	Paulton Parish Records
13/09/1879	Baptism of Gilbert Tom Carter, son of Felix and Hepzibah Carter. Felix is a Beer House Keeper at Plummers Hill.	Paulton Parish Records
26/08/1890	Britannia Inn mentioned in a serious assault case against William Banfield	Temple Cloud Petty Sessions
05/04/1891	Felix Carter (age 54) is living with his wife Hepzibah (age 50), son Gilbert (age 11) and daughter Sarah (age 25) at the Britannia Inn. Felix is an Innkeeper and Cattle Dealer.	1891 Census
22/11/1891	Felix Carter granted an extra hour on 5th December for the Druids Friendly Society Dinner	Temple Cloud Petty Sessions
31/03/1901	Felix Carter (age 60) is living with two of his sons, and grandchildren at the Britannia Inn. He is a widower. He is a Cattle Dealer and Innkeeper.	1901 Census
08/08/1905	George Crossman Hansford, of Paulton, was fined 10/- and costs for assaulting Herbert John Carter, the landlord of the Britannia Inn, Paulton. There was a dispute over some change, and the defendant struck the landlord on his ear with his fist.	Temple Cloud Petty Sessions
05/12/1905	Herbert John Carter, the licensee of the Britannia public house, Paulton, was summoned for permitting drunkeness on his licensed premises. Mr. J. E. Meltcalfe (Bristol) prosecuted on behalf of the police and Mr. J. C. Gilmore (Bristol) defended. The bench convicted the defendant, and fined him £1 and £1/19/6, costs, including solicitor's fee.	Temple Cloud Petty Sessions
02/01/1906	License transferred from Herbert John Carter to Reuben James Carter	Temple Cloud Petty Sessions
21/10/1930	License of the Britannia Inn transferred from Mr. Reuben James Carter to his son-in-law, Mr. Reginald William Ashman. Mr. Reuben Carter has held the license of this inn for a period of 26 years.	Temple Cloud Petty Sessions
1935	Reginald Frederick Ashman - beer retailer	Kelly's Directory of Somerset 1935
17/03/1939	Funeral of Reuben James Carter - licensee of the Britannia Inn for 26 years.	Western Daily Press - 17 March 1939
29/09/1939	Reginald F. Ashman is in the right place for the Britannia Inn, but not listed as licensee	1939 Register
31/03/1954	"Temple Cloud magisrates, on Wednesday, transferred the licence of the Britannia Inn, Paulton, from Mr. Reginal Frederick Ashman to Mr. Leslie Shearn, formerly of the Crown Inn, Clandown"	Somerset Guardian and Radstock Observer - 02 April 1954
17/08/1955	"Temple Cloud magistrates on Wednesday approved plans submitted on behalf of Charlton Brewery for building alterations in respect of the Britannia Inn, Paulton"	Somerset Guardian and Radstock Observer - 19 August 1955
13/02/1957	Transfer of License of the Rising Sun from Joseph William Barras to Leslie Shearn (licensee of the Britannia Inn for the previous three years).	Somerset Guardian and Radstock Observer - 15 February 1957
15/02/1957	Sale of the premises formerly "The Britannia Inn" together with the freehold dwelling "Britannia Cottage", by order of the Charlton Brewery Co. Ltd.	Somerset Guardian and Radstock Observer - 15 February 1957
12/02/1958	General Annual Licensing meeting at Temple Cloud. There were 35 fully licensed houses, 23 on-license beer houses and five off-licence beer houses. This was a decrease of three on-licence beer houses - The Britannia, Paulton, the Crosskeys and Jolly Collier, Clutton - and one off-licence beer house, the Waggon and Horses, Farmborough.	Somerset Guardian and Radstock Observer - 21 February 1958