Four in Hand

No.26 Westwell Street stood almost half-way between the Guildhall Square and Princess Square on a site now just in front of the entrance to the Law Courts, on the eastern side of Armada Way. When opened it would have been on the outskirts of town, on the western edge (hence the well here was the “west” well) of old Plymouth.

Originally known as the Four-In-Hand, probably a reference to a Coachman with four horses in hand pulling his coach, a card-playing (four aces, four kings etc.) reference is not unknown for some pubs with this name – the name was changed in the 1870s soon after the completion of the Guildhall. The new name – the Town Hall Tavern – was doubtless aimed at attracting custom from users of the new Town Hall/Guildhall complex, a development that had witnessed the demise of a large part of old Westwell Street.

Licensees

1850 - William Harbridge
1857 - Thomas Marton
1865 - Mrs T Martin
1873 - George Wood
1880 - Mary Wotton
1888 - Edwin Randle
1907 - Mrs Mark Randle
1921 - Richard Foot
1929 - George Gillan
1941 - Ernest Gay