Cross Keys

It would appear to have commanded a spectacular view looking right down Cornwall Street across the Tamar into Cornwall itself. Consequently it would have been a focal point for all those pedestrians making their way up the relatively steep incline before either turning left towards the Gun Wharf, or right, towards the Dock Yard.

One of ten or more drinking holes dotted along the comparatively short Queen Street, the Cross Keys occupied a central position and was doubtless very popular for much of the first half of the nineteenth century at least.

The sign, incidentally, is a common one in Christian symbolism and refers to the statement Jesus made to St Peter – ‘I will give unto thee the keys to heaven.’ There was another Cross Keys in Stoke Village which survived into the twentieth century.

Licensees

1798 - Ann Shopland
1812 - Charles Tink
1822 - William Veale
1830 - William Phillips
1844 - William Cundy
1847 - John Marks
1852 - William Eggins
1856 - George Tucker