The Cross Keys Inn. Parts of the building are thought to date from the 1600s and its name was in use by 1730 when the owner Joseph Hawkins took out a mortgage on the property. Ownership passed through the Hawkins family to his son Benjamin in 1732 and then the latter’s children, Benjamin and Elizabeth, and her husband John Thomas in 1772. Benjamin and John were both churchwardens and there is an ornate family memorial in St. Lawrence. After several further owners and innkeepers, the property was purchased by Henry Fussell, a baker, in 1857. He added a shop, where the kitchen is now, so that he could continue his bakery/grocery business along with his new role of brewing and being an innkeeper. It was from this small start that Henry’s son Sidney, and his sons, built up the huge brewery business, which dominated the village, provided employment for many of its residents, and enabled the family to purchase much of the adjacent farmland and several of the larger properties in the village.
Extract from A History of Brewing in Rode by Sidney Fussell and Brian Foyston, 2006:
“The Title Deeds of the Cross Keys were certainly held in 1986 at the offices of Bass (Wales and West) at Cardiff but their whereabouts until recently and despite extensive enquiries, could not be established: thanks to the present owners of the Cross Keys many have now been recovered and we have been able to study them. The Deeds go back as far as 1730, when the then owner, one Jos Hawkins, took out a mortgage of the premises. Ownership passed to a B. Hawkins (Jos’ son and a minor at the time) two years later. After several further proceedings it was leased and then conveyed by a J. Sloper to a group headed by Mr. J. Brettel in 1809. The first reference to there being an actual Brewhouse at the Cross Keys was in a Conveyance dated 29th September 1818 (Thomas to Pritchard), viz. “Messuage Tenement or dwelling house commonly called or known as the Cross Keys with the Brewhouse, Outhouses, yard and garden thereto adjoining and belonging” [our underlining]. We know that in 1830 the tenant (rather than owner) was a Jacob Cockrell, whose relation William ran the Red Lion Inn in 1831 before Mr. Francis (see Para. 35 above).
On 11th October 1836 the premises were formally conveyed to “Mr. John Pritchard and his Trustee”, though Pritchard must have, de facto, accepted responsibility somewhat earlier for on 22nd December 1835 an Insurance Policy he had taken out described him as “Innkeeper and Victualler”. The premiums gave cover of £500 for “…his own Dwelling House, Brewhouse and Cellars all adjoining and communicating”, with an additional £200 for his household and personal effects, and a further £200 for brewing stock and utensils. In 1839 Pritchard made new Entries for the local Excise Comptroller, which will be discussed in Para. 65 et seq. below. Pritchard’s occupancy is confirmed in Pigot’s Directory of 1842 but he died intestate in 1844 and his son (also a John Pritchard) took on the property and business from a Lydia Hart (perhaps the former Trustee?). The papers of 1844 again include “…Brewhouse, Outhouses, Yard and Garden…”
In 1845 Silas Dainton, who had previously been a butcher, formally became the younger Pritchard’s tenant; Dainton insured his family goods for £80 and his stock and utensils for £220. In May 1844 he had made a similar Entry to the Excise Comptroller as earlier Pritchard had done, but possibly the latter had not prospered for he put the premises up for sale on 1st September 1852 and it was then that Silas Dainton bought them for £290, the formal Conveyance dating from November of that year; he set the Insurance of his property to £150, the stock value remaining unchanged. But perhaps Dainton also found the work too exacting for he made a good sale to Henry Fussell (see Para. 40 above), and clearly by the time of Henry’s purchase in 1857, the Cross Keys had already gained a familiar place in Road life.”
Another extract from A History of Brewing in Rode by Sidney Fussell and Brian Foyston, 2006:
“Summary of Ownership
Date Owner
1730 Jos Hawkins
1732 B. Hawkins (Jos’ son and a minor at the time)
1809 After several further proceedings it was leased and then conveyed by a J. Sloper to a group headed by
Mr. J. Brettel The first reference to there being an actual Brewhouse at the Cross Keys was in a Conveyance dated 29th September 1818 (Thomas to Pritchard), viz. “Messuage Tenement or dwelling house commonly called or known as the Cross Keys with the Brewhouse, Outhouses, yard and garden thereto adjoining and belonging” [our underlining].
1830 the tenant (rather than owner) was a Jacob Cockrell
1836 The premises were formally conveyed to “Mr. John Pritchard and his Trustee”, though Pritchard must have, de facto, accepted responsibility somewhat earlier for on 22nd December 1836 an Insurance Policy he had taken out described him as “Innkeeper and Victualler”. The premiums gave cover of £500 for “…his own Dwelling House, Brewhouse and Cellars all adjoining and communicating”, with an additional £200 for his household and personal effects, and a further £200 for brewing stock and utensils. In 1839 Pritchard made new Entries for the local Excise Comptroller, which will be discussed in Para. 65 et seq. below. Pritchard’s occupancy is confirmed in Pigot’s Directory of 1842 but he died intestate in 1844 and his son (also a John Pritchard) took on the property and business from a Lydia Hart (perhaps the former Trustee?). The papers of 1844 again include “…Brewhouse, Outhouses, Yard and Garden…”
1845 Silas Dainton, formally became the younger Pritchard’s tenant; Dainton insured his family goods for £80 and his stock and utensils for £220. In May 1844 he had made a similar Entry to the Excise Comptroller as earlier Pritchard had done, but possibly the latter had not prospered for he put the premises up for sale on 1st September 1852 and it was then that Silas Dainton bought them for £290, the formal Conveyance dating from November of that year; he set the Insurance of his property to £150, the stock value remaining unchanged. But perhaps Dainton also found the work too exacting for he made a good sale to Henry Fussell (see Para. 40 above), and clearly by the time of Henry’s purchase in 1857, the Cross Keys had already gained a familiar place in Road life.”