The Harris family were the owners of the Netherend Inn in 1891 and 1903. Elizabeth Harris was the owner in 1891 and Annie Harris had taken ownership in 1903. More research is required to establish if they were mother and daughter or perhaps sisters. They both ran the pub as a free house. The Netherend Inn was licensed as a beer house with an annual rateable value of £15.7s.6d. Closing time was at 10 pm.
The Sealed Knot Civil War re-enactment group revived a Good Friday tradition in April 2000 when hot cross buns were distributed to the children of the village from the steps of the Netherend Inn. Sallie and Keith James, regulars at the pub, lived in a property where a legacy was entailed by owner Mary Smart on their home in 1685 which decreed that her estate should bequeath the annual sum of £1 to provide bread for the widows and orphans of the parish.
In July 2008 owner of the Netherend Inn, Dave Dunstan, expressed his concern about the downturn in trade claiming that the credit crunch was adversely impacting on trade, “It’s a long hard push at the moment no matter what we try. We have regular quiz and cribbage teams in the winter but people don’t come and drink in village pubs as often as they used to.”
Alastair Fraser was the Councillor for Tidenham in 2010. Alastair was a farmer and cared for more than 100 animals, including a three-year old blind wild boar called Stevie Wonder. When an orphaned two-week old wild boar was found in the woods near the Netherend Inn in January 2010 it was taken care of by landlord Dave Dunston who contacted Alastair for advice. Nicknamed Ella, the baby wild boar was fed on goat’s milk. Dave said, “She’s lovely and litter trained too. At one point she was running around then she scampered off to the litter tray, had a wee, and then run off again.” Alastair Fraser added, “She is ultra-intelligent, just like a dog really. She is wonderful to look after. I won’t be releasing her back into the wild, she will have to much of a human footprint. She will join the collection now.”
Landlords of the Netherend Inn include:
1891 Henry Clutterbuk
1892 Fred Anderson
1903 James Houlder
1939 Mrs Edith F. Thomas
1989,2010 Dave Dunstan
