The Mermaid

General information

During the eighteenth century, Wolverhampton was on the main coaching route from London to Holyhead, and as a result became a popular place to stop and rest.

One of the main coaching inns in the area, The Mermaid Inn at Wightwick, has bizarrely also been occupied by a temperance organisation in the course of its history.

The Mermaid Inn, which still stands to this day and is now owned by Vintage Inns, was open for business by 1780.

As well as being a coaching inn, its location close to the Staffordshire and Worcestershire canal also meant that the inn was able to serve local bargemen. Very little is known about the Mermaid’s history over this period.

Towards the end of the nineteenth century, the fortunes of the Mermaid became closely linked with those of Wightwick Manor, as both properties belonged to the Mander family.

One of the main licensees during this period was a Sarah Hawkins, who was landlord of the Mermaid from 1881 onwards. An unmarried woman, she lived at the Mermaid with a couple of servants.

In 1900, Theodore Mander rented part of the Mermaid Inn to the People’s Refreshment House Association, under the management of a Godfrey Evennett and his family.

This temperance organisation was formed in 1896 in an attempt to manage the sale of liquor.

Rather than preventing the sale of alcohol, the Association attempted to work alongside public houses and dissuade alcohol consumption using more subtle means.

The Association’s system included paying the manager a fixed salary, so there was no incentive for them to sell alcoholic drinks, whilst allowing the manager a profit on trade in food and non-alcoholic beverages. This system continued in The Mermaid Inn until the 1950s.

The Wightwick Manor estate was sold by Geoffrey Le Mesurier Mander in 1921.

The original intention was to sell the entire estate as one lot, and a £20,000 bid was received, but rejected. This led to the estate being split up into 34 lots. The National Trust took over Wightwick Manor in 1937, giving the Mermaid a new captive audience of tourists and visitors, and users of the nearby Smestow Valley and canal, which continues to this day.

Information provided by Heidi McIntosh, City Archivist and Records Manager