The Rising Sun

The Rising Sun public house was situated next but one to Hollis’s shop at 5, Bank Road. All the adjacent dwellings in Church Road West and up to number 14 in Bank Road were demolished to make way for the road called Concorde and Dawley Bank Roundabout. The pub was originally the Dawley Parish Workhouse up to 1836 and was converted into two houses in about 1933 by Mr. Leonard Smith senior. Len Smith junior relates that his father, who was a bricklayer, was unable to work due to rain, and on the spur of the moment, he and Mrs. Smith decided to attend the auction at the Elephant & Castle public house in Dawley. There was some concern about the property, because it was rumoured that the mineral rights owners, planned on sinking a pit close by. The only bid entered was one of £330 by Mr. Smith and so it was knocked down to him. Mr. Smith was a strict tea- totaler, and so the sign “Rising Sun”, which was painted on above the door, had to go. He could not remove the paintwork, and so he knocked the wall out and put a window in the hole.

The lady in the photograph, whose maiden name is Phillips, later married Mr. Percy Pointin who operated the Forest Glen at the foot of the Wrekin. The Particulars and Conditions of sale between The Shrewsbury & Wem Brewery with Mr. Leonard Smith are dated 2nd August 1933, and from other evidence found in a bound indexed list of deeds and documents relating to properties in Telford now belonging to Telford Development Corporation found in Wellington library, it is confirmed that the pub was the former workhouse. This schedule of deeds also gives us the various owners from 1852 and combined with the censuses we can determine the occupiers up to 1933.

The Return of Licensed Houses of 1901 states that it was licensed before 1861 and the owners at this time were William Hall & Co., Brewers, from Wem and the occupier was Samuel Rushton.

Mrs. Caroline Pitchford was the occupier in 1861 and this is the first census where we find the pub is named. Isaac Picken was the occupant in Kelly’s 1913 trade directory.