Historic Pubs: The Royal Oak, Tilehurst

Nestled at the top of a steep driveway off Westwood Glen is a historic pub with strong links to the village of Tilehurst in Berkshire. It's recently had a change of management, hosts quiz nights and food, but its roots go back at least three hundred years. 

Historic England dates the building to the early eighteenth century, placing it during the reigns of George III or George IV. Later additions have been made to the property in the following centuries, probably to accommodate its growing local community who came here for a drink and to mingle with fellow locals. 

The Royal Oak, Westwood Glen, Tilehurst

The pub's historical trace is agricultural. This is unsurprising when you consider that Tilehurst in the early 1800s was mostly rural with farms and a few cottages and larger houses. The Fox and Hounds nearby on City Road was a blacksmith's, while St Michael's Church on New Lane Hill was the centre for weddings, funerals and worship. A number of stories surrounding The Royal Oak appear in newspapers of the time. One, from 19 May 1838, advertises a Maying, celebrating May as the start of spring. The festival is an ancient one, and has been marked since the medieval period at least, with plays, dancing, food and drink. A few miles away, St Laurence's Church in Reading hosted a Robin Hood play at the Forbury in May 1499 to celebrate the coming of spring. Tilehurst too had medieval residents, although it's not clear if they would have celebrated in the village or travelled to Reading. In 1838 at the Royal Oak, a ploughing match was held for valuable lots, silk handkerchiefs, and smock frocks. Another game offered bowling for prizes of cheese. The event was held on 28 May of that year, and underlines the significance of the local farming community, in the days before modern ploughing machinery. The custom seems to have been held regularly, with another ploughing match hosted by the Oak in May 1854. This time the first prize was two bushels of flour and the second prize a bushel of flour, a hat and a smock frock. 

Things were less merry in the winter of 1851, when The Royal Oak became tangled up in a violent attack on a pubgoer. The Reading Mercury reported on 1 February of that year that James Ilsley, noted in the article to have been from 'a family of ill repute', stood accused of assaulting James Stacey. At 10pm on a Saturday night Stacey confronted Ilsley about gossip he was supposedly spreading about him, asking him 'why are you scandalising me?'. Ilsley said he had only been at the pub because he was part of a shoe club, where he paid a subscription which built up to a pair of shoes. It also offered members a pint of beer. With Ilsley clearly caught by surprise at Stacey's accusations the two men engaged in a verbal argument, and Ilsley struck him. When interrogated by the judge Ilsley admitted that 'I did hit him but didn't knock him about'. He was fined 20 shillings including costs and sentenced to spend a month in the county gaol. 

By October 1883 a couple ran the pub, William Toovey and his wife. The landlady is not named in the article but the Reading Mercury reported that she had been 'abused very much' by a customer, Thomas Cox. After he became aggressive she asked him to leave the pub but he refused, saying he'd only had two pints of beer with a friend and hadn't caused any disturbance. Toovey's customers remained loyal to Mrs Toovey and a labourer called William Burgess backed up her version of events, leaving Cox to pay a fine to the council.

Finally, in 1886 the Oak made another appearance in the press, this time linked to a theft on the premises. On 27 November of that year Thomas Ballard sat at a table. Soon, Frederick Iremonger joined him and took off his coat, placing it on the seat next to him. When Ballard left, Iremonger realised that his coat was gone and accused Ballard of stealing it. A search began and the young man was found with the coat. Immediately Ballard insisted it was an honest mistake, but he was still sentenced to 14 days hard labour in the gaol. 

Part of the reason I love old historic pubs is because of the characters and the stories that happened over hundreds of years. Just some of these are left in the historical record, but there are so many more that we will never know. Thefts, gambling, disturbances and celebrations, a pub is the heart of any community and its stories lie secretly in its walls. This is why I love old pubs. 

Liked this? You might also like Finding the Ancient Pubs of Reading, Berkshire and The Surprising History of The George Hotel in Reading. You might also like my post on The Fox and Hounds in Tilehurst. Visit the Royal Oak's website here. 

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