Swan With Two Necks, London on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
The Swan with Two Necks was a
in
Rather than being ringed, swans' bills would be annually nicked, in Swan Upping, using a metal implement, a practice reflected in the pub name The Swan with Two Necks, a corruption of "The Swan with Two Nicks".
Until the arrival of the railways, the Swan was one of the principal departure points for travel to the north of England from London. John Taylor stated in his '' Carriers Coſmographie'' (1637) that "The Carriers of Mancheſter, doe alſo lodge at the two neck’d Swan in Lad lane (betweene great Woodſtreet, and Milk-ſtreet end) they come every ſecond Thurſday: alſo there do lodge Carriers that doe paſſe through divers other parts of Lancaſhire."
In 1772 William Mountain was admitted into the Innkeepers company as he kept the Swan with Two Necks. His son Butler William Mountain and his wife Sarah Ann Mountain would also be noted innkeepers of the Saracen's Head, Snow Hill.
Around 1835 the Swan came into the ownership of the Kentish coachman William Chaplin (1787-?) who built up a large coaching business that by then used 1,200 horses. By 1835 he was running 68 coaches using 1,800 horses and employing 2,000 men. Among the other inns he owned were the Spread Eagle,
''The Railway and Commercial Gazetteer of England, Scotland, and Wales.''
6th edition. M'Corquodale, London, 1874. p. 423. Chaplin & Horne were in competition with
Swan with Two Necks, 41 Gresham Street, Cheapside, St Lawrence Jewry, City of London
UK Pub history research and London historical street directory.
Grace's Guide – Pickfords
{{DEFAULTSORT:Swan with two necks, The Buildings by William Tite Coaching inns Demolished buildings and structures in London Demolished hotels in the United Kingdom Former pubs in London Hotels in London Pubs in the City of London
coaching inn
The coaching inn (also coaching house or staging inn) was a vital part of Europe's inland transport infrastructure until the development of the railway, providing a resting point ( layover) for people and horses. The inn served the needs of tra ...
in the City of London
The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London fr ...
that, until the arrival of the railways, was one of the principal departure points for travel to the north of England from London. Its site was given over in the early 1860s to a goods and parcels depot for a firm of railway agents and carriers.
Location
The Swan stood in a courtyard on the northern side of Lad Lane, near the junction with Milk Street, Aldermanbury, and Cateaton Street. Lad Lane and Cateaton Street were among four streets amalgamated intoGresham Street
Gresham Street in the City of London is named after the English merchant and financier Thomas Gresham.
It runs from the junction of Lothbury and Moorgate at its eastern end, to St. Martin's Le Grand in the west. Gresham Street was created in ...
in 1845."Gresham Street"in
History
Rather than being ringed, swans' bills would be annually nicked, in Swan Upping, using a metal implement, a practice reflected in the pub name The Swan with Two Necks, a corruption of "The Swan with Two Nicks".
Until the arrival of the railways, the Swan was one of the principal departure points for travel to the north of England from London. John Taylor stated in his '' Carriers Coſmographie'' (1637) that "The Carriers of Mancheſter, doe alſo lodge at the two neck’d Swan in Lad lane (betweene great Woodſtreet, and Milk-ſtreet end) they come every ſecond Thurſday: alſo there do lodge Carriers that doe paſſe through divers other parts of Lancaſhire."
In 1772 William Mountain was admitted into the Innkeepers company as he kept the Swan with Two Necks. His son Butler William Mountain and his wife Sarah Ann Mountain would also be noted innkeepers of the Saracen's Head, Snow Hill.
Around 1835 the Swan came into the ownership of the Kentish coachman William Chaplin (1787-?) who built up a large coaching business that by then used 1,200 horses. By 1835 he was running 68 coaches using 1,800 horses and employing 2,000 men. Among the other inns he owned were the Spread Eagle, Gracechurch Street
Gracechurch Street is a main road in the City of London, the historic and financial centre of London, which is designated the A1213.
It is home to a number of shops, restaurants, and offices and has an entrance to Leadenhall Market, a covered ...
, the Cross Keys, and the White Horse, Fetter Lane
Fetter Lane is a street in the ward of Farringdon Without in the City of London. It forms part of the A4 road and runs between Fleet Street at its southern end and Holborn.
History
The street was originally called Faytor or Faiter Lane, then Fe ...
. He has been called "perhaps the greatest coach proprietor that ever lived".
Chaplin sold most of his horses, however, to invest in the railways and the inn at the Swan closed around 1860. It was replaced by a new building that functioned as a goods and parcels depot for Chaplin & Horne railway agents and carriers. The ''British Almanac'' of 1862 reported that:
One of the most remarkable recent buildings in the City for its size and constructive features occupies the site of the well-known Swan-with-two-Necks, in Gresham Street. It is built for Messrs. Chaplin and Horne, the railway carriers, and has a frontage of nearly 100 feet, a depth of 150 feet, and a height of 64 feet above the pavement, while beneath are warehouses and extensive stabling. The front has a solid architectural character, in keeping with the purposes to which the building is to be applied. The ground floor, of Portland stone, rusticated, rests on a granite basement, while the three upper stories are of brick with stone dressings, a massive cornice crowning the whole. The architect was Mr. W. Tite, M.P. ; the cost has been a little under 40,000 l.A trade directory for 1869 listed the site as "the Receiving Office for Goods for the Great Eastern, London & South Western, South Eastern, London, Brighton & South Coast & London, Chatham & Dover Railway Companies." Advertising for Chaplin & Horne from 1874 indicates that the site continued to be known as the Swan-with-two-Necks but that it was only one of many depots run by the firm.Advertising
''The Railway and Commercial Gazetteer of England, Scotland, and Wales.''
6th edition. M'Corquodale, London, 1874. p. 423. Chaplin & Horne were in competition with
Pickfords
Pickfords is a moving company based in the United Kingdom, part of Pickfords Move Management Ltd.
The business is believed to have been founded in the 17th century, making it one of the UK's oldest functioning companies, although the similar ...
for much of the nineteenth century and Pickfords eventually took over Chaplin & Horne and the Swan at 57 Gresham Street became a Pickfords depot and their head office.
See also
*Blossom's Inn
Blossom's Inn was a tavern which stood in Lawrence Lane in the City of London from the 14th century until 1855. It became a substantial coaching inn and was used as a staging post by carriers of goods. In the 19th century, the lease was bough ...
References
External links
Swan with Two Necks, 41 Gresham Street, Cheapside, St Lawrence Jewry, City of London
UK Pub history research and London historical street directory.
Grace's Guide – Pickfords
{{DEFAULTSORT:Swan with two necks, The Buildings by William Tite Coaching inns Demolished buildings and structures in London Demolished hotels in the United Kingdom Former pubs in London Hotels in London Pubs in the City of London