The King William IV

click Public Houses for list of local pubs

The King William IV Inn is in Speen

1861 Census Speen. The King William IV. Charlotte Stevens 52 widow Public House keeper, George 21 tailor, Alfred 14 tailor, Robert 12, Free 10, Fred Cartwright 29 nephew, labourer. (everyone born in Speen)

1871 Census Speen. Charlotte Stevens widow 63 Landlady of The King William IV, Speen, Robert Stevens 23 tailor, Free Stevens 19 tailor.

1891 census The King William IV, Speen. Free Gomme 45 licensed Victualler and chairmaker click Free & Caroline Gomme for their story.

1911 Census. The King William IV, Speen. Alfred Lovett 30 Innkeeper and farm labourer, Clara 30 wife. click Alfred & Clara Lovett for their story.

1939 Register (census). The King William IV. Alfred Lovett born 1880, Clara Lovett born 1881, Donald Hatt 9, born 1930

The King William IV, Speen By Miles Marshall

Have you ever noticed the very tall stack of chimneys on the old King William IV Inn at Speen? It looks remarkably like the chimney stack on the similarly steeply pitched roof of Stocken Farmhouse in. Lacey Green, in fact so similar in appearance are these two buildings, apart from the white-painted rendering on the farmhouse, that it is reasonable to suppose that they may have been built about the same time, possibly by the same builder. This similarity, I learn, was also noticed by the late Andrew Oliver who was interested in the two buildings and had reached the same conclusion. (click Andrew & Doris Oliver for more about Andrew)

The farmhouse is believed to have been built before1680 though it seems difficult to find out much about the early history of either buildings. If the house in Speen had been an inn prior to 1830, when William came to the throne, then clearly it must have had another name, but then it might have been built as a farmhouse too!

A visit to the County Archives in Aylesbury did not produce very much, but I did find a large scale map of the ‘Inclosure Award of 1823' where the house and about two acres of land is clearly marked with a reference number 770. This refers to the property. as a ‘Cottage and part of close’ held by John Free as a 'Copyholder' or tenant under the Manor of Horsenden, which at one time was the property of Sir John Grubb. The name John Free is also listed amongst the ratepayers in Speen in the Rates Book of Princes Risborough where Speen comes under the ‘Upper Hamlets'. In 1814 John Free's property was assessed at an annual Rate of £1.12.6d. on ‘house and lands‘ with a rateable value of £8.2s.6d which compares with many other Speen properties valued at no more than (£2 or £3 at that time. I traced his rate payments up to 1821 but after that it could find no mention of John Free, which was disappointing, but it does look as if the property may have been a private house or even a small farmhouse at that time.

Fortunately for us, a resident of Lacey Green, Donald Hatt was born at the Inn when his grandmother kept it and through his kindness I have been able to learn something of life in this interesting old house during the last hundred and fifty years, for the innkeepers in his family go back at least three generations, though mostly on the distaff side.

Mrs, Hatt senior took over the King William in 1950 from her mother, Mrs. Lovett, who had taken the house on from her mother, Mrs. Gomme. Mrs. Gomme had taken over from her brother, a Mr. Anderson, relatives of whom I believe still live in Loosley Row. Before this it was in the hands of the Ward family for over a hundred years.

Innkeeping in the old days was seldom profitable enough for a family man to rely upon solely for an income, so that it was often the case that whilst he followed his own trade, his wife would keep the pub. It was certainly so here for the innkeepers' husbands all had a number of interests. For many years, what is now Speen Playing Field was home pasture for a small dairy herd. A fair sized room at the rear of the house being used as a dairy where cream would be separated and butter and cheese made. It was always known as ‘the dairy' even after 1935 when Wheelers Brewery, the owners at that time, sold the pasture for £160 to the Trustees of the Speen King George V Memorial Playing Field. This was during the Lovett's time.

Both the Lovetts and the Gommes kept horses and carts and waggonettes for hire at the Inn and regularly carried goods and passengers, mostly to and from High Wycombe, but further afield when required. The most notable journey for this purpose was perhaps to Horsham in Sussex where Mr. Lovett took a consignment of Aylesbury Ducks. The journey took two days each way so he lodged at a Surrey pub.

Another enterprise carried on in a large timber building, with tiled roof, behind the Inn was the manufacture of parts for wheelback and ladderback chairs, and some complete Windsor chairs. Local craftsmen were employed on this work using local timber from the beechwoods. It is interesting to note that the once well known Hatt Brothers, timber hauliers of Speen Farm, were uncles of Mr. Hatt senior who also had haulage interests. The two brothers never married, but lived together at the farm. They grew no arable crops but used the fields to graze their draught horses, much as they are used today for the Home of Rest for Horses.

But back to the Pub! It is quite an imposing building for a country alehouse, having good sized rooms on three floors, though the attic rooms were formerly used mainly for storage of apples and potatoes. There is a good cellar to keep beer in first class condition, and until 1954 all beer was drawn freshly from the wood for each customer and carried up 13 stone steps to the bar.

Probably built of local brick, with rather decorative string courses and a handsome brick-arched porch (possibly an added feature), the face of the building clearly shows the shapes of four earlier windows now bricked up, most likely to reduce the window tax, The windows of Stocken Farm were also altered in size at one time.

The immense chimney which rises from the big open hearth in what used to be the taproom, has stone steps built into it all the way up on the inside, so that the unfortunate boy employed by the chimney sweep could climb up and scrape off the hard crust of soot which is peculiar to smoke of wood fires. Little coal was burned in the Chilterns then with the abundance of cordwood from the beechwoods and the offcuts from the chair workshops. There was a stout iron bar across the width of the chimney, from which hung the pothooks and there was always a side of bacon on the rack suspended from the ‘ceiling. The two inglenook seats still remain though the open chimney. has since been closed in; the joys of the old open hearth being somewhat over-rated!

Mrs. Hatt tells us that there was always a big old pear tree (a William we hope?) growing against the front of the building, and that the brewers in her mother's time were Wheelers. For many years after that. it was a Simonds of Reading house until that brewery was absorbed by Courages.

My first acquaintance with the old King William was about a year before the War, one. Saturday evening in the winter when my brother and I managed to squeeze our way in for a couple of pints. The wood and tobacco smoke was as thick as the Buckinghamshire dialect, but the welcome was friendly and memorable. It was much the same on my second visit, shortly after the War, but today it is all much more sophisticated, though just as friendly, as I discovered on a recent visit.

The King William IV is now a privately-owned free house and has been so since 1981 when the present Landlord, Geoff Carter and his wife took over. They are also part owners of the freehold and told me that the deeds of the house go back to 1668. It is a Grade II listed building. The old taproom, which was extended by the previous owners, has been completely refurbished and tastefully decorated to form a new restaurant with its own cocktail bar.

The other bar has also been transformed. Gone is the juke box, the fruit machine and the space invaders, but it now has an enlarged and well furnished bar offering, besides the usual full range of wines and spirits, a wide choice. Of real ales. On draught there are: Fosters', Ruddlés' Country, Websters’ Yorkshire and Moreland bitters in addition to Ben Truman's Export, Guinness and Carlsberg Lager from the keg.

This room is now almost twice its former length allowing for tables and chairs so that some 32 guests may eat and drink in comfort away from the bar counter whilst other tables are available for cribbage and dominoes. Of course, those of us old enough to harbour nostalgic recollections of country pubs as we like to remember them, are likely to miss the dart board, though it did monopolise the bar. We have to remember that it is no easier now that it was a hundred years ago to make a living retailing beer; When we think of the number of public houses in the area that have closed down in recent years, we realise how lucky we are to retain so much of the atmosphere of 'the local about the old King William, whilst the. overheads are covered, not by making chairs or hiring out carts but by provision of appetising food for us to enjoy too.

Geoff Carter showed me, with justifyable pride, his spanking new kitchen in gleaming white tiles with all mod. cons. and from which emanated a most delicious smell. The rebuilding programme has included new toilet facilities, as clinically spotless as the new kitchen.

price to encourage you to come again. The restaurant is also open twice daily but closed all day on Mondays.

Lunching in the bar myself, I found the meal fully up to expectations. It was piping hot, daintily served and the portions generous – more in fact than this old man could eat.