The Derby & Stafford Arms was located near the junction of Alstone Lane and Alstone Croft, the pub’s name beng a reference to the nearby railway wharf which after 1840 brought in coal from the Derbyshire and Staffordshire pits. It was previously a substantial black-and-white timbered farmhouse, probably dating from the 1600’s, which had a traditional Cotswold stone roof. By 1844 half of the building had been converted to a beer-house, and was ran by John Williams who also owned the nearby coal wharf. The location of the Derby & Stafford Arms was given as Lower Alstone in contemporary listings.
The life of the Derby & Stafford Arms was short-lived as by the 1880s the building had been converted to residential use, known as Derby Cottages with the address 40 & 42 Alstone Lane. At the end of the 1960’s the cottages were demolished to facilitate the widening of Alstone Lane.
The modern offices of CDS Defence & Security in Bramery House, opposite the junction of Alstone Croft , is the approximate location of the long forgotten beer house, the Derby & Stafford Arms.
Landlord:
1844 Henry Rattenbury (beer house, Lower Alstone)
1878,1883 James Smith
