St Ives Photo Album - Pubs, Shops etc

St Ives Photo Album - Pubs, shops etc

The photographs of pubs, shops and other commercial premises below are listed in date order. Much of the information on licenced premises comes from Bob Burn-Murdoch's book 'The Pubs of St Ives' available from the Norris Museum.

If you would like to add a photograph to the collection, please click Get in touch. To view photos in other albums, click here.

Golding & Son, Market Hill, on Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee 1897. For current view, click here.

Golding & Son were gas fitters and ironmongers. The business changed to Kennedy Drever, who carried on the ironmonger's trade with the later addition of toy sales right up to the 1990s. Today the building is occupied by Peacocks. And the Octopus Patent Anti-Incrustator advertised in the shop windows? It was a small metal contraption for defurring kettles, boilers and pipes.

Parker & Son, Market Hill, early 1900s. For current view, click here.

Parker's were cycle agents based in what is now the RSPCA charity shop in Market Hill. Motorised cycles were still something of a novelty in St Ives, as an article in the Hunts Post from 1 August 1913 reports under the heading of 'Like a Double-Barrelled Gun!' Reg Parker was a successful racing cyclist who competed across Europe. The Hunts Post of 31 October 1913 reported him winning first prize in Bucharest, beating all previous records.

The Fountain Commercial Hotel, The Pavement, pre 1909. For current view, click here.

The Fountain existed under various names from the 1600s, retaining its final name from the mid 1800s to the date of closure in 1909. The Stiles family of bakers took over the premises, renaming it the Fountain Cafe. Today the baking connection continues, the premises occupied by Greggs the bakers.

The Cherry Tree public house, Merryland, pre 1910.

The Cherry Tree is shown halfway down on the left. It was first recorded in 1838. Apart from a short break in the 1920s, the Cherry Tree traded continuously until it closed following a fire in 1977.

George Russell's provisioner stores, East Street, pre 1910.

George Russell ran a wholesale supply business from his premises in East Street. 'Of a most retiring nature', George nevertheless supported just about every institution in the town. His obituary appeared in the Hunts Post 22 August 1913.

The White Horse Hotel, just over St Ives bridge, pre 1910.

The earliest record of The White Horse is from a reported murder in 1663. It continued to operate as licensed premises with accommodation until 1914. At the start of WWI the military authorities took it over to billet soldiers sent to St Ives for training. The White Horse never reopened after the war and was used as private accommodation thereafter.

The Bell, The Waits 1918.

The building shown had been a pub since the 1700s, originally the White Swan, the Blue Bell, the Old Bell and finally just The Bell as shown above. In the mid 1800s The Bell took in the poorest of lodgers. It was from this address that Arthur Hurl sent five sons to fight in WWI. Four returned, but Walter Hurl was killed by a German shell aged 27 years. The couple posing in this picture are Mr & Mrs Charles Brown, Charles taking over the licence in 1918. The Bell closed in 1951 and is now a private house.

The Queen Adelaide, Green Street, 1920s.

The first record of the Queen Adelaide was in 1838. It traded until 1951, when the poorly built and cramped buildings in the area were demolished to make way for The Globe car park.

Scott's Metal Merchants, 23 West Street, 1920s.

There has been a scrap metal business run from 23 West Street for about a century. C & W Scott finally stopped trading from the premises in about 2010.

The Greyhound, Carlisle Terrace, 1930s.

The first record of The Greyhound was in 1838. It traded continuously under that name until 2003, when it was renamed The Unicorn. It closed to alcohol-buying customers in 2006.

The Three Tuns, West Street, 1930s.

There's been a pub called The Three Tuns in St Ives since before 1795. Originally located in Bridge Street, it relocated to West Street in the 1870s, opposite the exit from The Globe car park. The Three Tuns served its last pint in 1959 so the owners could transfer the licence to the Seven Wives in Ramsey Road. The building was demolished apart from its outer walls to a height of seven feet.

The Cow and Hare, Crown Street, 1950s.

Edmund Pettis records the location as the Queen's Head in 1728. By 1795 it was renamed the Cow and Hare and lasted as such until the licensed premises closed in the 1960s.

The Dolphin Hotel on the left, just over St Ives bridge, 1950s.

The Dolphin Hotel, 1970s.

The Dolphin is the oldest recorded licenced premises in St Ives, mentioned as the birthplace of a child in 1594. It traded continuously until 1968 and remained empty for several years. The original premises were demolished and the current ones (subsequently extended) opened in 1985.

The Black Bull, London Road, 1970s.

The Black Bull first opened in the 1830s. It continued trading under that name until its closure in 2000.

The Dun Horse, Ramsey Road, 1970s.

First mention of the Dun Horse is in 1790. Church Lane, running alongside, was called Poor Folk's Lane up to 1871, one of the most deprived areas of St Ives at the time. The pub was renamed The Aviator in 1992 to commemorate 2nd Lieutenant Kenneth Wastell, the 19 year old RAF airman who died when his aircraft took off from Hemingford Meadow and crashed into the Parish Church steeple. The business closed in about 2014.

The Manchester Arms, Needingworth Road, 1970s.

The Manchester Arms is first recorded in 1838, a rural pub located on the crossroads to Needingworth and Somersham. The premises closed in 2014.

The Regal Cinema, The Broadway, St Ives, 1970s.

Mrs Sweeting opened the first cinema in St Ives in 1913, located in Crown Yard. In 1920 purpose-built premises were built in The Broadway. Initially named the Broadway Kinema, it was modernised and renamed the Regal Cinema, probably in the 1930s. For more information go to Memories of the Regal Cinema.

The Robin Hood, Market Hill, 1970s.

First named The Robin Hood in 1795, and then occasionally The Old Robin Hood, the location operated as licenced premises much earlier as two separate pubs named the Swan and the Angel. The pub closed in 2012.