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It is very likely that Thomas Grant sold alcohol from his original 'Grant's
House' from the time (around 1816) that it was built, although it was probably
not 'officially' recognised as an inn until around 1820. Sasines record that,
in February of that year, James Aitchison, a merchant from Cockburnspath,
loaned Thomas £110, the loan being partly secured by Thomas's "Dwelling
House and Stable". The funds were possibly used to extend the dwelling
house, so that it could accommodate diners and drinkers but this is,
admittedly, mere speculation.
During the course of a journey which he made in 1826 Dr Thomas Chalmers, the
renowned theologian and preacher, lunched at the inn, which he describes in
his journal as "a single story and butt and ben house". He relates
that "The landlord had been told who I was. He clapped my shoulder both
when handing me out of the gig and into the carriage. His daughter served the
table and was greatly ashamed of her mother for putting horn cutties instead
of their best pewter spoons to dinner. The mother brought out a bottle of her
best as we were leaving the house, with the purpose of bestowing upon us a
gratis dram. In short it was a delightful scene altogether of pleasant and
primitive cordiality."
When the Rev John Duncan, the first minister of Houndwood Parish Church, was
inducted in 1836, the Berwick Advertiser reported that "there was a
celebration dinner at Mr Grant's Inn in such a style as to give the highest
gratification to all present. The dinner and wine were all that could be
desired."
Thomas Grant died in 1836 and his son William inherited the inn. However, when
William proposed marriage to Magdalene Nisbet of Reston in 1846 she made it
clear that she did not want to be an innkeeper's wife. William removed this
stumbling block by building a house and shop for himself and his prospective
wife, at the same time letting the inn to James and Isabella Shearlaw
(Isabella was William's sister).
The inn then became known as "Shearlaw's Inn" and William Grant kept
on his connection with the spirit trade by blending whisky for sale in his
general merchant's shop.
The formation of a Total Abstinence Society in the village in the 1850s does
not appear to have unduly harmed the licensed trade and in February 1857 the
Berwick Advertiser reported, rather tongue-in-cheek, the visit of a Mrs
Theobald who delivered a lecture at Houndwood on the evils of alcohol –
"We understand that she was entertained during her stay in the district
under the hospitable roof of Mr Grant, spirit merchant at Grant's House, a
gentleman who is always ready to forward any good cause which professes to
have the well being of the community in his locality as its object."
In 1872 David Hay, son-in-law of James and Isabella Shearlaw, became landlord
of the inn. He erected the first 'Hay's Hotel' sign above the door and,
although the sign itself was to change over the years, the name remained the
same until 1968.
Houndwood Inn was built around the same time as Thomas Grant erected his
house. In March 1816 Captain Coulson of Houndwood House intimated –
"Estimates are immediately wanted for Building the PRINCIPAL INN on the
New Post Road betwixt Berwick and Dunbar upon an elegant and extensive
scale." The inn became a staging post on the Great North Road and in 1824
the tenant landlord, a Mr Jameson, claimed in an advertisement that he
provided posting "in a superior style at a moderate rate." On the
day of the 1841 census 19 people were staying at the inn. The census shows
that the landlord, James Turnbull, and his wife Janet were living next door to
the inn in Renton Woodend House.
The building of the railway between Edinburgh and Newcastle (completed in
1846) provided a much quicker and more convenient method of long-distance
travel than the stagecoach, and inns like the one at Houndwood inevitably
suffered a severe downturn in custom. Within about four years of the
construction of the railway the inn became the manse of the Free Church of
Scotland at Houndwood and in 1888 (when a new Free Church and manse were built
at Grantshouse) the building became a private residence (Westwood House).
Renton Woodend House (which became known as Greenwood Inn) continued to supply
liquid refreshments to both locals and travellers and it was a popular
stopping-off point for thirsty cyclists. When Will Wallace bought it at the
end of 1927 he didn't take on the licence and it was re-named 'Beechwood
House'.
Less well-documented are the illicit whisky stills which were set up in remote
parts of the countryside. Betty Mack (nee Douglas) kept a still at Ellemford
and she was 'busted' by the Customs and Excise. Although she was charged with
the offence, she was acquitted on a technicality, the custom's official having
paid for his drink without having received any request for payment from Betty.
Cheers!
Jim Crosbie
- June 2002
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