Crispin House - 2 Crispin Lane

The Beerhouse - James and Hester Cullimore

Luke Withers, a beerhouse keeper, acquired the property in 1838, probably because Job Hodges was unable to make the mortgage repayments.  The deed of January 1838 refers to a messuage and a cottage so it would appear that at that time there were still two dwellings on the property.

We are uncertain as to whether Luke ever lived in the house.  The deeds say he was 'in possession' of the house, but by 1840 the Tithe Survey, Luke was living in St John's Street and the property was occupied, but not owned, by James Cullimore.  The tithe map also reveals that there is only one occupied house on this property, the one owned by Luke Withers and occupied by James Cullimore.  However the map shows an area next to and adjoining the house which is given the hatching that indicates a non-occupied building.  This could be the first indication of the house becoming 'The Crispin' beerhouse.

The 1841 census shows James Cullimore was living there with his wife, Hester, and they were shown as running a beerhouse.  We also know from the census records that James Cullimore was born in Thornbury about 1815.  He married Hester Smart in 1840.  The marriage was registered in Bristol.

The property was to be occupied by the Cullimore family for more than 70 years. 

In 1851 the census shows that James was aged 35, still a beerhouse keeper, and Hester was aged 28.  They now had a family: William aged 8, Luke aged 6, and Laura aged 2. 

We have also found out how The Crispin got its name.  A beerhouse normally had insufficient trade to support a family and the man had to supplement his income with another trade.   Although the censuses only describe James as a beerhouse keeper, we have discovered that when he baptised his children  he described himself as a shoemaker or cordwainer.  In the 1842 Thornbury trade directory he is listed under both shoemaker and beerhouse keeper.  St Crispin is the Patron Saint of shoemakers.

The baptism records of St Mary's also show that James and Hester had two other children who died young.  A son, James, was born in 1841 but died a month later.  Mary was born in 1844 but lived for only 8 months.

The family was still in the house in the 1861 census.  Their son, William, was now working as a carpenter's apprentice and Luke was a cooper's apprentice.

Luke Withers, the owner of the property, died in 1868 aged 91, apparently having never married.  In his will, Luke bequeathed the property to William and Luke, the sons of James and Hester on the condition that James and Hester could continue to live in the house until their deaths or, in event of James dying first, that Hester could continue to live there until she died or re-married.  He also arranged for an annuity of £15 12s to be paid to Laura, James and Hester's daughter. 

We have been unable to determine the exact relationship between James Cullimore and Luke Withers who was to give the property to the Cullimores in his Will.  In fact, in an Inland Revenue document dated May 1900 William Cullimore, the son of James Cullimore makes a signed statement that he is "a stranger in blood to Luke Withers".  We have taken this to mean that there is no close family relationship between the Withers and the Cullimores. 

We are grateful to Heather Palmer, a researcher from the Thornbury Museum Research Group, for pointing out that James Cullimore was probably the son of Joseph and Martha Cullimore of Whitfield.  They baptised a son, James Cullimore, on 31 July 1814.  If this is indeed the same James Cullimore, then it seems likely that his mother was the Martha Cullimore who was a housekeeper with Luke Withers in 15 St John Street in the 1841 and 1851 censuses.  We still don't know what connection Martha was to Luke - it is possible that her maiden name was Martha Withers, a sister of Luke's but we have unable to find anything to confirm this.

James Cullimore died in 1869 aged 54 years.  The 1871 census shows that Hester continued to run the beerhouse which in this census is referred to as 'The Jolly Crispin'.   The children have all left home.  Hester has Matilda Symes, a visitor aged 15 living with her. 

In 1881, Hester was still running The Crispin, but she now had William and his wife, Eliza and their family living with her. 

In 1891, Hester aged 70, still running the pub.  She has the four youngest of William's children living with her.  Hester died in 1899 aged 77. 

Click here to read what happened next to the property.

This page was last updated: 09/08/2007