Half Moon Public House: 60 High Street, Kempston

The Half Moon is a modern building but it stands on the site of an ancient property. The earliest reference to the older property (then simply called a messuage, with no indication that it was an inn or public house) in any record held by Bedfordshire & Luton Archives & Records Service is 1595 when it was sold by Thomas Smythe to Kempston miller Richard Rolfe. It remained in the family until sold by Edmond Rolfe to Richard Allen of Kempston in 1629. Four years later Allen sold the property to John Parke of Kempston, baker. Parke died in 1648 leaving his property to his wife Katherine with instruction that it was to pass to their son John after her death.

The next unambiguous mention of the property occurs in 1742 by which time it had become the Half Moon public house|, in that year Thomas Cooper alias Farrer devised it in his will to his wife Mary, with instruction that it should pass to their son John after her death. The Kempston parish registers note the burial of a Thomas Cooper senior, victualler, in 1736 and it seems a reasonable guess that he was the father of the man making the will in 1742 and that he had been landlord of the Half Moon. Bedfordshire & Luton Archives & Records Service has a copy of his will devising a copyhold messuage in which he dwelt (the Half Moon was freehold) to his daughter Sarah and the remainder of his estate to his son Thomas, which presumably included the Half Moon. Interestingly Cooper is here described as a tailor but carrying on a public house or beerhouse in addition to another occupation was then common. An earlier version of the will, written in 1733 left his copyhold messuage to Sarah and his dwelling house to Thomas, indicating that he moved out of that dwellinghouse (presumably the Half Moon) prior to making his second and final will.

Both Thomas junior and his wife Mary were obviously dead by 1745 when Mary's goods were administered by their son John. John Cooper alias Farrer died in 1782 and in his will devised the Half Moon to his wife Mary and, after her death, to their son Thomas. The next known owner of the Half Moon was Mary Cooper Mackiness - the daughter of William and Mary Moore, Mary Moore being daughter of Thomas Cooper who had died a month after her daughter was born in 1808. William Moore was licensee by 1829.

 
Half Moon about 1900 [Z50/67/8]

Interestingly Mary Cooper Mackiness had been deserted by her husband and seven years later, in 1843, she and her father William Moore sold the Half Moon to Kempston brewer Robert Newland. Robert Newland's son, Bingham, continued his father's business but it was bought by Bedford brewer Thomas Jarvis in 1873. Tragically this ancient building, then over 300 years old, was completely destroyed by fire in 1904 and replaced by today's unexceptionable but also unexceptional structure. It is interesting to note, however, that the bottom foot or so of the building is stone and a glance at Pyne's sketch shows that to have been the case with the ancient building. It is therefore possible that the foundations of the old building formed the basis for the new one.

Thomas Jarvis' business was bought by Bedford brewer Charles Wells in 1910. In 1927 Bedfordshire was valued under the terms of the Rating Valuation Act 1925; every piece of land and building was valued in order to set the rate to be paid on it. The valuer visiting the Half Moon noted that accommodation comprised a bottle and jug room (for off-sales), public bar, tap room, servery, bar parlour, smoke room, cellar, larder and scullery downstairs, 4 bedrooms upstairs and, outside, a wc, stables ["brick and tile, not used"] and coach house ["brick & tile used as garage"]. Weekly trade was not particularly brisk at 1½ barrels and 2 or 3 dozen bottles of beer and half a gallon spirits.

Half Moon July 2007

Sources: 

- GA650: messuage conveyed by Thomas Smythe to Richard Rolfe of Kempston, miller: 1595;
- GA651: messuage conveyed by Francis Rolfe, son of Richard, to Edmond Rolfe of London: 1608;
- GA652: messuage conveyed by Edmond Rolfe to Richard Allen: 1629;
- GA653: messuage conveyed by Richard Allen to John Parke: 1633;
- GA671: messuage devised by John Parke to his wife Katherine for her life, remainder to their son John: 1648;
- GA655: first will of Thomas Cooper alias Farrer: 1733;
- GA654: second will of Thomas Cooper alias Farrer: 1736, proved 1737;
- Bedfordshire Parish Register Series Vol. XXXIX p.87: Thomas Cooper senior, victualler, buried 1736;
- GA656: Will of Thomas Cooper ‘otherwise Farrer’: 1742;
- GA657: letters of administration of goods of Mary Cooper alias Farrer: 1745;
- ABP/W 1782/21 and GA659: will of John Cooper alias Farrer, innholder & tailor leaving the Half Moon to his wife Mary, remainder to their son Thomas: written 1777, proved 1782;
- Bedfordshire Parish Register Series Vol. XXXIX p.95: burial of ‘An infant from the Halfmoon, name unknown’: 1796;
- WL1000/1/Kem1/1: inclosure award including Half Moon: 1801;
- X67/935/19 and X254/88/156-157 Half Moon illustration by W.Pyne 1815;
- TY148: auction sale held at inn: 1822;
- CLP 13: Register of Alehouse Licences: 1822-1828;
- GK135/16: advertisement of auction at Half Moon: 1829;
- PSB1/1 p3 & p317: William Moore, licensee: 1829-1834;
- WL1000/1/Kem1/2: affidavit of William Moore and Mary Cooper Mackiness regarding right to convey Half Moon: 1843;
- WL1000/1/Kem1/3: conveyance of Half Moon by William Moore and Mary Cooper Mackiness to Robert Newland: 1843;
- WL1000/1/Kem1/4: mortgage of Half Moon by Robert Newland to Thomas Whitworth: 1844;
- WL234: sale of Bell and cottages at Half Moon: 1865;
- GA487: sale catalogue of properties belonging to Bingham Newland: 1873;
- WL647: schedule of deeds of properties of Sir William Long sold to Thomas Jarvis: 1874;
- WL1000/1/Kem1/5: reconveyance of Half Moon by Thomas Whitworth's trustees to William Pritzler Newland: 1874;
- Z50/67/8: photograph: before 1904;
- AD1082/1&3: press cuttings regarding destruction by fire: 1904;
- UDKP192: plan for rebuilding: 1904;
- DV1/R/25: rating valuation: 1927;
- UDKPZ110: plan for additions: 1938

List of Licensees: note that this is not a complete list. Italics indicate licensees whose beginning and/or end dates are not known: 

1736: Thomas Cooper senior;
1736-1742: Thomas Cooper junior;
1745-1782: John Cooper alias Farrer;
1782: Mary Cooper;
1801-1844: William Moore;
1847-1854 Job Litchfield;
1854 -1877: Titus Cherry (& wheelwright);
1885 William Marshall;
1891: Arthur Hill;
1891: Charles Holland;
1894: Edward Bree;
1903: Walter Tompkins; [convicted 27 Sep 1902 of selling adulterated rum - fined £1 with 13/6 costs];
1903-1904: George Anthony;
1904-1905: John Randall;
1905-1912: Samuel Walters;
1912-1913: Ralph Henry Devereux;
1913-1931: Frederick Tompkins;
1931: Ellen Tompkins;
1931: Frederick G.Savage;
1940: L.Hedley Smith;
1946-1955: Charles Francis Lovell;
1961: Thomas Winrow;
1965-1966: Hubert Crowsley and James Alfred Howe;
1966: Hubert Crowsley and Leslie Newcomb;
1966-1967: Hubert Crowsley and John Edward Williams;
1967: Hubert Crowsley and Raymond Donald Fuller;
1967-1968: Hubert Crowsley and Alan Miller;
1968-1969: Hubert Crowsley and Michael William George Bourne;
1969-1970: Hubert Crowsley and William Henry Marsh;
1970-1971: Hubert Crowsley, William Henry Marsh and Charles Frank  Howard Crouch;
1971-1972: Hubert Crowsley, David Quenby and Charles Frank Howard Crouch;
1972: Hubert Crowsley, Eric Thompson and Charles Frank Howard Crouch;
1972-1976: Hubert Crowsley, Stuart Anthony Rice and Charles Frank Howard Crouch;
1976-1977: Richard Rawson Wolstenholme Hancock, Stuart Anthony Rice and Charles Frank Howard Crouch;
1977-1978: Richard Rawson Wolstenholme Hancock, Stuart Anthony Rice and John Russell Crouch;
1978-1990: William Francis Palmer;
1990-1991: Douglas John Baker and Steven Paul Birch;
1991: Douglas John Baker and John Burgess;
1991-1992: Timothy John Standring and Barry James Warner;
1992-1994: William Flanagan;
1994-1996: Kenneth William Critchley;
1996: Alison Victoria Hayward and Brenda Dickens