New Inn (Fore Street)

Nowadays when breweries or landlords want to send out a message about opening a new pub they tend to do so by according the premises in question a trendy name, a name which invariably sounds quite dated after a few years and is quite likely to be changed again soon afterwards. In times gone by a more simple option was exercised, the pub would just be called ‘the New Inn’. Consequently most of the New Inns that survive today are relatively ancient, indeed many date from the time that Queen Elizabeth I complained that there weren’t enough places around the country which were suitable for her to stay in.

The New Inn in Fore Street, however, would appear not to be quite that old – indeed there was no Devonport or Plymouth Dock in her day – and in fact the only information we have suggests that the pub, which was situated on the corner of Fore Street and Chapel Street, was entirely an early nineteenth century affair, although it the buildng itself almost certainly outlasted its use as an inn.

Licensees

1814 - James Tonkin
1830 - William Bloy
1838 - Henry Woodley
1844 - Henry Matthews