It has long been believed that Oreston had up to five pubs at times over the centuries. It is now thought that there could have been seven. These pubs could have been a formal public house or inn, as we know them today, or simply a room set aside in a private house where refreshments would have been served.
The pubs we know of are:
- The Kings Arms, the sole survivor, on The Quay
- Minnards House, at the bottom of Marine Road (formerly Rock Lane) at its junction with Plymstock Road.
- The Forresters Arms, at the other end of Marine Road. This pub probably served the Cattedown and Hooe ferry passengers and could have been closed when the ferry landings moved to The Quay in the late Nineteenth Century with the advent of the steam ferries.
- The Foxhound, situated halfway up Plymstock Road (or Plymstock Lane as it was known) where Statfold Cottages are situated now.
- The Old Inn, the haunt of Alexander Selkirk (Robinson Crusoe), the location of which is not known definitely. A plaque on the wall of Minnards House says the Old Inn was nearby, probably amongst the old buildings that were demolished in the 1950s, but it could have been where the modern Elford Drive is now.
The names and locations of any other pubs is not known.
The introduction of Licensing Regulations and a strong Methodist movement in Oreston led to the closure of the majority of the pubs over the years.
We think Minards House was the Ferry Boat Inn we bought the house last year.
The old inn would have been situated in the rear gardens of the now town houses at turn quay/ marine road.
Local author Chris Robinson has recently published a book on the old pubs in the areas that were not originally in the City of Plymouth, such as Plymstock and Oreston. A very informative book and available from Chris in New Street, Plymouth, and various bookshops in the area.
Hi just reading about old pubs in Oreston,
I was born at 26/27 Marine Road my grandparents lived in no26 and across the hall no 27 was were I was born and lived till I was about 5 and I moved to Hooe..I know the address used to be a dairy and also a pub I think it may have been the Forresters Inn.
My grandparents were called Short my granddad was an Army Capt and people in the village used to always refer to him as Capt Short his first name was Charlies and my nan was Gert.I have very many happy memorys of Oreston .
Hi, I am a keen amateur genealogist and a couple of days ago a friend of mine Paul Martin who lives in Oreston who is himself interested in the history of Oreston told me of the 5/7 pubs of Oreston and asked if amongst any of my research data or genealogy links I knew or could find any of the missing pubs. Well I have today done a bit of looking and have found a Ferry Boat Inn. This is shown in the 1871 Oreston Census and the licencee was Richard Skinner aged 51yrs, he is also shown in an 1870 Trade directory of Oreston as being a Beer retailer, no other details. The 1881 Oreston Census also shows the Ferry Boat Inn, this time the licencee was Thomas Scoble aged 34yrs. This census shows the Inn to be 3 properties away from Lake Cottage. It does not give any indication as to how close the properties are or which street. I will keep looking for more info. Hope this is of any help.