Man Loaded with Mischielf

Oxford Arms, 62 Brushfield Street, Spitalfields

Spitalfields index

It was demolished by 1928 when the London Fruit & Wool Exchange, an extension of Spitalfields Market, was built over the site. The alleyway visible in the photo was called Paternoster Row.
We know from your licensee records that the pub remained a beer house until at least 1921 and in fact I would be surprised if it was discovered that it ever attained a full licence. The only real difference anyway is that a Beer House / Beer Retailer licence-holder was restricted to only selling beer (and/or cider), whilst a full licence-holder could also sell wine and spirits. There is no reference to wine and spirits on the signage visible on the pub, so we could conclude that it only held a beer licence at the time the photo was taken.
Whitbread’s breweries were in operation from 1799 to 2001, so the fact that the pub was selling Whitbread beer does not really help us to date it. ‘Entire’ was a style of beer that was not unlike Porter and was most popular in the early to mid-19th century. It may have died out by 1900, but the permanent glass signage on the ground floor fascia could have been quite old when the photo was taken. There is also a small advertisement in the ground floor window for “Whitbread’s Stout Ales”. Whitbread Stout was a very popular beer throughout the period when this photo might have been taken, so no real clues there. I notice that the sign also includes the Whitbread ‘stag’s head’ logo. Quite early branding, I’m not sure when this was introduced.
The best clue to the date of the photo is probably the clothes worn by the staff and customers. To my untrained eye, the men look to be working men of the 1900 – 1910 period. The two ladies standing in the alleyway do not look to be wearing high fashion, but an expert might be able to date their outfits. **

A listing of historical public houses, Taverns, Inns, Beer Houses and Hotels in Spitalfields, London.

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Residents at this address

1881/Amandus Richters/Beer House Keeper/46/Hamburg/Census
1881/Amandus Richters/Wife/43/Hamburg/Census
1881/Alice Richters/Daughter/16/Commercial Rd E/Census

1886/Amandus Richters/../../../Proceedings of the Old Bailey **
1886/Alice Richters / Daughter/../../Proceedings of the Old Bailey

1894/Henry Easter/Beer Retailer/../../City of London Directory **

1895/Henry Easter/Beer Retailer/../../Post Office Directory

1899/Joseph Goodson/Beer Retailer/../../Post Office Directory

1910/James Henry Goodson/Beer Retailer/../../Post Office Directory

1911/James Henry Goodson/Beerhouse Keeper/34/St Georges in the East/Census
1911/Frances Goodson/Wife/32/Old Ford/Census
1911/James Henry Goodson/Son/10/Spitalfields/Census
1911/Anne Elizabeth Goodson/Daughter/12/Bethnal Green/Census
1911/Edward Sanders Goodson/Son/8/Spitalfields/Census
1911/Lily Frances Goodson/Daughter/6/Spitalfields/Census
1911/Albert Henry Goodson/Son/4/Spitalfields/Census
1911/Harry Joseph Goodson/Son/2/Spitalfields/Census
1911/Helen Goodson/Daughter/4 months/Spitalfields/Census

1912/James Henry Goodson/Beer Retailer/../../Post Office Directory **

1915/James Henry Goodson/Beer Retailer/../../Post Office Directory

1921/Jas Henry Goodson/Beer Retailer/../../Post Office Directory


** Provided By Stephen Harris


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