Here follows our best effort at a scholarly backstory of the Queens Arms: its origins and changes through times past.
The first problem is the missing apostrophe: what does ‘Queens Arms’ mean?‘ Does it mean ‘Queen’s Arms’ or ‘Queens’ Arms’? Is ‘Queen’ a person or the name of something? What about ‘Arms’? So many questions!
So, we first investigate some royal Arms to see if there’s a possible connection…
Based on the premise that ‘Queen’s Arms’ might mean the arms of the queen, or that ‘Queens’ Arms’ might mean the arms of more than one queen, we examine some royal arms in the carousel on the right.
As it is doubtful that any royal buttock ever graced a bar stool in this off piste place, we can conclude that ‘Arms’ has its usual meaning in this context – a heraldic Coat of Arms. The pub name demonstrates the landlord’s loyalty to royal authority - ha!
However we do not know for certain whether there is any connection between the Queens Arms and the monarchy.
…are dainty but firm.
Depending on the sobriety of those with whom she suffers audience, Her Majesty’s fancy ranges from the light and delicately floral to the heavy, velvety and strong.
…are loose and limp.
Prince Philip’s taste is for a sharp nose, rich and slick, with a thick dense head; his tipple is apparently Boddingtons – Guinness is not his ting at all, at all.
…are gesticulative and considered.
One particularly enjoys a certain bubblegumy, aromatic, rustic, autumnal elegance combined with a touch of earthy, horseblankety, pungent roughness.
…are energetic and full of go.
Making babies is hard work: I need something stiff and juicy – so I go for citrusy, spring-like, spruce-like, juniper-like, minty, spritzy, sparkling, zippy effervescence, for that extra bounce.
…were wavy and fine.
Some kind of Gin & Dubonnet concoction darling would do splendidly; otherwise any kind of alcoholic concoction is better than none – hic! – and make it a large one! I’d die young without my 70 units a week.
…were commanding and austere.
We do like it rather fussy, with a little dry bitterness, plenty of body and a lasting head; something brown perhaps, to bait a Scottish groom.
…to everyone at the Queens Arms.
Thank you for reading this poppycock!
Now where did one leave one’s Pimm’s?
What we do know for certain is that this back street corner public house was once a rather important inn, called the Queens Hotel.
Why build a hotel at the back of nowhere?
Well the answer lies in the adjacent Brixham Railway Station. This was the Torbay and Brixham Railway terminus from 1868–1963 – read some fascinating history. The disused railway bridge across from the pub is all that remains. The station occupied the estate to the right of the bridge. Furzeham School, to the left, did not open until 1889.
The original steam locomotive on this link line was the ‘Queen’, built in 1852 by Wilson and Co. (see here & here). It was a broad gauge engine, in use from 1870–83. Great Western Railway took over the Brixham branch line in 1882. The tracks were converted to standard guage in 1892.
The Queens Hotel is thought to have been named in commemoration of this first steam locomotive, the ‘Queen’.
The landlord at the controls of the
‘Queen’ loco.
Undoctored source: John Speller
Outline diagram of the ‘Queen’
locomotive.
Source: John Speller
The Queens Hotel, far right with the tall
chimney, and view of Brixham Station looking north-east.
Photo: Paul Wright, Disused Stations
Brixham Station platform,
1958.
The tall chimney of the Queens
Hotel is on the far left.
Photo: Robert Darlaston
Brixham Station forecourt, 1964,
shortly after closure.
The Queens Hotel with its tall
chimney is above the left half of the bridge.
Photo: Ben Brooksbank
The Queens Arms now, viewed through Station Road
railway bridge.
Photo: Gary Clater
It is not clear when the Queens Hotel (below)…
…became the Queens Arms (below).
So what do we know about the Queens Hotel? Well the 1908 Travel Guide ‘What to See in England: A Guide to Places of Historic Interest, Natural Beauty or Literary Association’ by Gordon Home (public domain) has this to say:
LANDING-PLACE OF WILLIAM III.
How to get there: Train from Paddington. Great
Western Railway.
Nearest Station: Brixham.
Distance from London: 222-1/2 miles.
Average Time: Varies between 5-1/4 to 6-3/4
hours.
1st 2nd 3rd
Fares: Single 34s. 0d. 21s. 4d. 17s. 0-1/2d.
Return 59s. 8d. 37s. 4d. ...
Accommodation Obtainable: “The Queen’s
Hotel,” “The Bolton,” “The George Hotel,” “The
Globe,” etc.
On the southern side of Tor Bay is Brixham, the fishing village selected by William of Orange as a landing-place when in 1688, at the request of the English Parliament, he brought over an army raised in Holland. It was from here, too, that he commenced his victorious march to London with thirteen thousand men–Exeter, Bristol, and other towns throwing open their gates to welcome the Prince of Orange. The French, on the momentous occasion of the visit of Admiral Tourville to the English coast during the reign of James II., found Tor Bay a safe place for their fleet to anchor, and William of Orange, probably having heard of this, chose the same portion of the Devonshire seaboard. The exact spot on which the Dutch prince first placed his foot on shore is marked by a brass footprint, and close by stands the statue of England’s third William, overlooking the quaint quay, the brown-sailed fishing-boats, and the old-world village.
Brixham is just such another town as Newlyn or Port Isaac, for its streets are narrow and winding, and there are flights of stone steps here and there which add considerably to the picturesqueness of the place.
Note how, being closest to the railway station, the Queens Hotel is listed first.
And here are some interesting facts about the Queens Hotel from the Pub History website:
| Year | Publican/Occupation | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 1878 | George Philp – Builder | Whites Directory |
| 1893 | John Sprague | Kellys Directory |
| 1902 | Elizabeth Sarah Martha Harris (Miss) | Kellys Directory |
| 1910 | Samuel Edward Sprague | Kellys Directory |
| 1914 | Samuel Edward Sprague | Kellys Directory |
| 1919 | Samuel Edward Sprague | Kellys Directory |
The Sprague Project website shows a large family of Spragues at the Queens Hotel around the 1890s.
Nicholas Sprague, 1833–1901, was the Licensed Victualler at the 1891 Census. Earlier, he had followed in his father’s footsteps as a Master Mariner, then he worked as a Coal Merchant. He moved from the Queens Hotel to the Conservative Club on New Road as Caretaker.
His son Samuel Sprague, 1866–?, a former Tobacconist, took on the Queens Hotel after a short gap in Sprague occupation, from a Miss Elizabeth Sarah Martha Harris. There is no mention of the John Sprague in the Project.
When the Queens ceased trading as a Hotel and became the Queens Arms public house is as yet unknown. We are working on it…
The ‘Ushers of Trowbridge’ liveries above both doors is that of the defunct Usher’s Brewery Ltd. and therefore post 1964, when the brewery first adopted that name. Ushers was acquired by Watney Mann in 1960, becoming Watney Mann (West) Ltd. in 1970, then Usher’s Brewery Ltd. again in 1980. Watney Mann merged with Grand Metropolitan Hotels in 1972. Ushers of Trowbridge operated 900 licensed premises in 1960, falling to 690 by 1980 [source: The Brewing industry: a guide to historical records; Richmond & Turton]. Ushers brewery closed in 2000 and its equipment was sold to North Korea, Taedonggang Beer Factory, to ‘help ease stress’!
Therefore, in all probability, the Queens Hotel became the Queens Arms c.1965–c.1985.
If YOU know any history about the Queens since the
1960’s, please let us know: either by email,
snail mail, or come to the pub:
The Queens Arms, 31 Station Hill, Brixham, Devon,
TQ5 8BN.
So at some point in the ’60s, the Queen’s stopped putting people up and started plying people with – BEER. Hare’s a bit of history on beer.
Ushers was controlled by Watney Mann when it acquired the Queens. Here is a History of Ushers brewery.
Watney Mann resulted from the merger of Watney Combe & Reid with Mann, Crossman & Paulin.
Watney Combe & Reid was famous for its ‘Watneys Red Barrel’ export pale ale, a keg beer produced originally at the Stag Brewery in Victoria. It was introduced in 1931, relaunched as ‘Watneys Red’ in the ’70s, and still brewed in the 1990s for export to the USA by Ushers of Trowbridge, Wilshire. It was the first keg beer.
Mann, Crossman & Paulin was famous for its ‘Manns Brown Ale’, a malty mild produced at the Albion Brewery in Whitechapel. It was introduced in 1902 and is now brewed by Thomas Hardy Burtonwood, Cheshire, for Marston’s. It was a hugely popular bottled beer.
Large commercial breweries first appeared as the industrial revolution took off, and by the mid 1930s mass production of keg beer was rife.
One young writer living in London at the time was George Orwell, working at Booklovers’ Corner, a second-hand bookshop in Hampstead. Orwell hated the newfangled methods of beer production, and the consequent degradation of taste. This is what he had to say on the subject in The Road to Wigan Pier:
[…] look at the filthy chemical by-product that people will pour down their throats under the name of beer. Wherever you look you will see some slick machine-made article triumphing over the old-fashioned article that still tastes of something other than sawdust. […] Mechanization leads to the decay of taste, the decay of taste leads to the demand for machine-made articles and hence to more mechanisation, […]
And here’s a quote from The Telegraph on page 12:
In the 1930s, artificial carbonation arrived, with Red Barrel, an experimental pasteurised drink designed for the export market, one of the first beers of this type to hit the market. By the late 1960s, serving sterilised beer from a metal keg under pressure – as opposed to “live” beer, which is left to mature in a cask or bottle, without added gas – had become the norm in many pubs.
Sterilised beer had certainly become the norm at the Queens Arms for many years.
Thankfully, the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) was set up 1971, to fight against beer which was “too fizzy, has no character and no taste”.
Today, beer at the Queens still includes keg products – some people like it – but the emphasis is on “live” beer. Having turned the pub around since taking over in November 2011, landlord Chris Simmonds earned CAMRA’s Most Improved Pub award in 2012, then earned the prostigious status of inclusion in CAMRA’s 2014 Good Beer Guide. The Queens Arms is now the South Devon CAMRA Pub of the Year!
A traditional back street corner pub
with excellent beers, pleasant staff, nice meals, good music,
weekday activities, friendly company, great community spirit.
Come and sample some award winning cask ales and real cider. Meet
Mondy the pub cat. Enjoy a Saturday night band. You’ll love it.
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