Wilton Place and the Brunswick Hotel had not come into being.
The Brunswick Hotel was not built until later and for some considerable time was a ‘White Elephant.’
Its first landlord was Mr. W. Jones. Unfortunately Mr. Jones succumbed to a short illness. The family left the hotel.
The Brunswick Hotel was built in the early 1860’s and, after the Rutland Arms, was the town’s largest and foremost hotel.
Initially it was a beerhouse, without a licence to sell wines or spirits and had stabling for two horses and a coach-house.
According to testimony given by William Jones in August 1864 at Smalley Petty Sessions — for the renewal and granting of Victuallers’ Licences — he had kept the hotel since about June 1862, when he also kept a grocer’s shop in the town. However in 1864 William was granted his licence and this enabled him to become a wholesale dealer in wines and spirits.
The proprietor of the hotel was James Jones who may have been William’s elder brother, at that time a grocer trading in Nottingham (or, less likely, his father?)
William Jones was born at Wheelock near Sandbach, Cheshire in 1830, the son of innkeeper James and Harriet (nee Wantling).
In 1852 he married Sarah Burstone Ashley, eldest child of excise officer Robert and Ann (nee Burstone) and the couple spent the first years of married life at Nantwich, Cheshire where sons William Ashley and Edwin were born.
In the later 1850’s the family moved to Nottingham, birthplace of children Rosa Jane (who died in infancy) in 1858, Frank Ashley in 1860 and Louisa Jane in 1861.
A short time later the family arrived at Bath Street and daughters Annie Rosa, Lucy Harriet and Rosa Mary were born there in 1863, 1864 and 1868 respectively.
Louisa Jane, Annie Rosa and Rosa Mary died of scarlatina within three weeks of each other in the winter of 1869.
Ilkeston Pioneer July 1867. © Trustees of NEWSPLAN2000
While William also traded as a draper, White’s Directory of 1865 lists him as proprietor of the Brunswick hotel as well as entering him as ‘grocer and tea dealer, and wine and spirit dealer of Bath Street’.
Harrod and Co’s Directory of 1870 similarly records two entries for William — at the Brunswick Commercial hotel, wine and spirit merchant, and agent for Ind, Coope, and Co‘s Burton ales as well as grocer and provision merchant, Bath Street.
After the birth of son Thomas Percy in 1871 the licence for the hotel passed to Thomas Whitehead and Henry Walker of Nottingham, and the Jones family moved to Broughton in Salford, Manchester where William then worked as a clerk.
In June 1874 Richard Flewitt was the proprietor of the Brunswick which was then 79 Bath Street.
By August 1878 William Ball was the landlord and in October 1879 the licence was transferred to William Stone, coming from Silesby, Leicestershire. William Ball moved on to the Sir John Warren.
Traffic warning. Saturday September 3rd 1881. 1.30pm
Travelling photographer John Ashmore — residing temporarily at the Old Harrow Inn Yard — was proceeding down Bath Street, perched on the shaft of his mobile ‘home’ (i.e. his caravan) and made it as far as the Brunswick Hotel without mishap.
However at that point he was pitched off the ‘van’ and fell under its front wheel which ran over his leg. Before the rear wheel could follow the same path he was dragged out of harm’s way by a plucky passer-by.
John was then carted off to Dr. Roland’s nearby surgery where the injuries were diagnosed as very serious.
The photographer was well-known in Ilkeston, usually spending the winter months in the town before the travelling summer season.
The hotel was demolished in the early 1960’s to be replaced by a Tesco supermarket.
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