The annual rateable value of the Greyhound Inn, classified as an ale house, in 1891 and 1903 was £20.10s.0d. During those twelve years spanning the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries the Greyhound was a free house. Annie Wooles was the owner and occupier in 1891 (presumably the wife of Allan Wooles, listed as innkeeper and plasterer in 1881 (aged 21). Annie Wooles was still resident at the Greyhound Inn in 1903 but, according to the licensing returns, the ownership of the premises had been transferred to Frederick H. Hathaway who also owned the Greyhound Inn. Frederick Hathaway was a local wine & spirits merchant. In 1903 the closing time of the Greyhound Inn was at 11 pm.
The Greyhound Inn was one of several Lydney pubs that were once owned or leased by the Wickwar Brewery. Arnold Perrett & Co. Ltd also supplied beer to the Foresters Arms, Fleece Inn, Queens Head, Severn View and White Horse. It seems that the Wickwar Brewery purchased the Greyhound in 1937 from Frederick Hathaway, a local wine & spirit merchant. The inventory of sale described “all those two several messuages or dwelling houses with the gardens and all outbuildings and appurtenances thereunto belonging and adjoining .. the Inn and premises on the east thereof.. known as Numbers 4 and 6 Tuthill Street”.
The Greyhound was tied to Whitbread from the mid 1960’s to the mid 1990’s. A reminder of the past brewery heritage is a ‘West Country Ales – 1760 – Best in the West’ ceramic plaque that is still in situ.
Forest of Dean & Ross-on-Wye Pubs. A critical guide by Jon Hurley (booklet, 1991): Snug, well run little local with smoke-stained ceiling, gas fire, neat tables and chairs, wood panelling, a couple of beams, piped music and a fruit machine. Darts, piano, Hot Pies, and well-kept beer.
Landlords at the Greyhound Inn include:
1881 Allan Wooles (Innkeeper and plasterer, aged 21 in 1881)
1891,1903 Annie Wooles
1939 James George Grail
1980 R. Head
1999 Dave and Helen Palmer
2002 Pat Goodwin
