Rare find of 1776 coin could uncover the true history of The Hope pub

*Historical* There’s at least 5 things we don’t currently know for certain about The Hope pub in West Street, but this rare coin could help. Let’s go…

1 When it was built

Not much appears to survive of the original building. Though a find underneath a hearth of a rare 1776 coin may indicate the year it was built. George III was on the throne, and the above image is a coin from this period. The date certainly matches with other properties on West Street. 

2 Whether it was built as two houses

It’s believed to have been two cottages as of 1820 (the earliest known mention) and they were listed in the 1841 census. It’s plausible even further back, that it was originally built as one home.

3 What the building looked like originally

It was 1871 when the building finally became known as The Hope. Was the front we see above, and the interior, first created around this time (possibly by Crowleys’ – see below), or was it simply adapted from what was there already?  

4 Whether Crowleys’ Brewery created the first pub

There’s lots of things which get lost in time. For a start the records of the Croydon branch of Crowleys’ brewery have all been lost. They were the first single brewery to supply the drinks to The Hope. Crowleys’ began brewing in Waddon in the 1600s. The Hope was a Crowleys’ pub from 1877 to circa 1928. We know that the brewery also supplied the Coach and Horses in the High Street. Plus two lost pubs, the Black Dog on North Street and The Rose Inn at Wrythe Green. Did they create the appearance of the first pub? Crowleys’ ceased operating in 1955. 

5 When exactly it became mock tudor

Why does the pub look like what it does today? Charringtons owned the pub from 1933. They were well known pub innovators, and created a marketable approach to pub design called the Cosy Pub. They would have converted this into a cosy pub style between 1930 and 1933. You can see they extended the roof at the front, so it became lower – and well, more cosy. Though strangely, they weren’t particularly inspired by the surrounding architecture of weatherboarding.

We’ve not seen the coin mentioned at the top of page, but local Charlie Waters verifies its existence via Secret Carshalton facebook. New facts can still come to light. Credit to Sutton’s Pub Histories for some of the information. Please leave your comments below to help keep all feedback across social media together.

More about the pub and West Street here…

The Wonders of West Street