Trevor Streeton (trevor @t get2net.dk) of Copenhagen, Denmark, asks: My ancestor John Streeton or Streaton or Stretton (born ca 1760) was apparently a publican in Harpenden in the early 1800's. I was wondering whether anyone has any materials relating to public houses in Herts.

The booklets Wheathampstead and Harpenden give details of a number of inns/public houses but does not mention anyone called Streeton. The book Hertfordshire Inns and Public Houses only includes public houses which were still open in the 1990s - and again has not reference to a Harpenden landlord called Streeton circa 1800. As far as I know there are no trade directories covering Harpenden as early as 1800.

One problem is that in addition to the Inns, which catered for people travelling on The Road through Harpenden, there would be many beer houses, and some may be little more than a normal house whose occupant worked during the day but was open for home brewed beer in the evening. These can be very difficult to trace.

He continued: Some time ago I came across a web reference to the STRETTONS or STRATTONS having been notorious poachers and petty criminals. I was wondering whether there are any books on local history which might have mention of this.

Early in 2001 a software bug or data base fault caused the original version of this site to collapse and I have reposted the original posting, edited for the new format, as STRATTON & other poachers, St Albans area, 19th century. If you know of another site with relevant information please let me know. The page Crime on the Heath of my booklet A Short History of Bernards Heath mentions the Strattons. More information will be included when I get round to writing the relevant chapter of the planned fuller account of the history of the Heath.

November 2007

John Wassell (j.wassell @t which.net) writes: The 1843 Tithe awards for Harpenden list "John Steeton" as the occupier of a beer shop and orchard in what was then called "Bowling Alley". This property, once called "Bennets Butts", is now the "Plough & Harrow" public house near the "Skew Bridge" in Southdown. Two cottages nearby were occupied by "Joseph Streeton and others" in 1843 so "Steeton" may have been an error for Streeton. The cottages were at the junction of modern Queens Road and Southdown Road, opposite the site now occupied by the "Skew Bridge" public house.

If you can add to the information given above tell me.