Address: 74, The Green, Barton-under-Needwood
The Royal Oak dates back to the 1760's and is located in the area previously known as Barton Green at the end of Wales End. Nowadays Wales End became Workhouse Lane and finally Wales Lane and Barton Green is now "The Green" but other than that, little has changed.
Listed landlords at the Royal Oak were James Barnes (1835-51), William Bates (1841), Sarah Eliza Barnes (1861-62), John Holmes (1868), William Bullock (1871-72), Robert Newcombe(1876-88), Mary J & John Henry Smith (1891), William Henry Smith* (1892), James Shephard (1896-1900), Henry Shephard (1901), Robert Newcombe (1904-08), Richard William Preston (1911-12), Henry Hall (1916), Annie Cowpe (1921), William Co(w)pe (1924), Harold W Cowling (1932-36), William Henry Manton (1940), Eric & Cath Meakin and Katy & Steve Boulter (2006-16).
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| 1841 Census |
A James Barnes was listed on Staffordshire directories from 1835 to 1851 at the Royal Oak although at the time of the 1841 census a William Bates was the publican. When you examine the census records you will see that both father and son were called James Barnes and were running the business together in 1851 as Inn Keepers and Timber Merchants.
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| 1851 Census |
James Barnes Jnr died in 1858 and his wife Sarah Eliza is left running the Inn as a widow on the 1861 census.
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| James Barnes Jnr Probate 1858 |
The Royal Oak has long been an integral part of the community and renowned for the quality of it's beer. It is described by the "Inapub" website in the following way...
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| 1861 Census |
Sarah Eliza Barnes later moved on with their daughter Elizabeth and ran a Grocer's shop on Main Street (1871 Census) and then moved to Yoxall to live with her son-in-law Edward Dagley and Elizabeth (1881 Census). Edward was a grocer too and they lived next door to the Shoulder of Mutton (now long gone) in Yoxall.
Budget 2013:
Glasses raised at Royal Oak over news that 'alcohol escalator' tax has gone for a Burton
It is estimated that one in every eight pints drunk in Britain is brewed in Burton. Four miles down the Trent at the 250 year old Royal Oak pub in the pretty village of Barton-under-Needwood the fire was roaring and foaming glasses of Marston Pedigree were going down a treat with locals as was news of the Chancellor’s penny off beer.
Also slipping down nicely was news that the dreaded alcohol escalator tax would be scrapped – at least on the brewing town’s most famous export. It is the first time that duty on beer has been cut since 1959 although three quarters of a typical £3.50 pint will still go to the Treasury.
Campaigners have long blamed the annual price rises for contributing to the destruction of Britain’s local pub culture with the loss of 10,000 hostelries in the past decade. But the Royal Oak, a current Campaign for Real Ale pub of the year, was thriving.
Placing his empty glass back on the table, retired health worker Alan Rogers, 60, believed George Osborne could be on to something. “I support a local pub as an element of society and I would far rather visit a traditional pub rather than go and buy very cheap stuff from a local supermarket so anything that reduces that differential is a benefit for society,” he said.
His wine-drinking wife Jane Rogers, 60, a retired hospital technician, however was all together less enamoured by the Tory Chancellor and not just for the fact he had not included her favourite tipple in his Budget giveaway. “The man is an idiot. I don’t think he has any conception of the problems faced by the lower paid, those on benefits or the disabled. He is just not in touch with reality,” she said.
Solicitor Jonathan Cunningham, 45, said he also had other matters on his mind – not least the Coalition’s plans to reform Legal Aid. The price of a pint was quite literally small beer, he said. “It won’t make the slightest bit of difference. We have much more important things to concentrate on rather than a penny on a pint,” he added.
Mick Davis, 56, a semi-retired financial adviser, agreed. “Tinkering around with a penny here and a penny there won’t change our habits in any way. If it was 50p that might make a difference,” he said.
But there was some encouragement. “There’s nobody else to vote for. No one in their right mind would vote Labour or Liberal,” said David Walton, 71, retired IT worker. Jane George, 55, a secondary school teacher meanwhile felt there was still room for improvement: “It’s a start. But it won’t necessarily make me vote for him. He will have to do a lot more than that before I would think about,” she said.
Brian Copestake, 52, who supplies the brewing industry with cereals, felt the Government had missed an opportunity last week to redress the unfair balance between pubs and supermarkets by scrapping plans for minimum alcohol pricing last week. “For a long time the price in the pub has gone up whilst the supermarket price has gone down. When you drive through Burton every other pub is shut down. They should have put up the minimum price of alcohol,” he said.
Landlord Stephen Boulter, 53, who has been the licensee for seven years along with his wife Katy, 39, said while welcome, it was still not clear if the money would filter into the coffers of hard-pressed publicans. “We are hoping with the Government scrapping this tax that the breweries don’t think this s a good opportunity to put the beer up. Normally the escalator tax will come in and the brewery put it up too. This is what we are expecting,” he said
Brian Mole, 50, a businessman, was propping up the bar with his mates enjoying an early evening drink. “I have voted Conservative all his life and I see no reason to change. I’m quite happy with the way things are going. It’s just taking a little longer than we thought but we will get there. We could do with people smiling a little bit more – perhaps cheaper beer could help that,” he said.
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| 1871 Census |
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| 1881 Census |
Steve and Katy Boulter were amongst the winners in the 2013 Marstons Awards, the full list of finalists on the night were as follows:
NATIONAL PUB OF THE YEAR Michael Powis and Tim Newbold - The Swan, Dobcross
CASK ALE PUB OF THE YEAR Stephen and Katy Boult - The Royal Oak, Barton-under-Needwood
PUB RESTAURANT PUB OF THE YEAR Brian Baker - Marquess of Exeter, Lyddington
COMMUNITY FOOD PUB OF THE YEAR Paul Miller and Yvette Hardy - Rising Sun, Hull
COMMUNITY PUB OF THE YEAR Trevor and Pamela Ashdown - Bellringer, Stoke-on-Trent
ENTREPRENEUR PUB OF THE YEAR Tom and Laura Faulkner - The Hogget, Hook
NEWCOMER PUB OF THE YEAR Michael Powis and Tim Newbold - The Swan, Dobcross
Winning pubs revealed as top real ale haunts
10 APR 2013 BY BIRMINGHAM MAIL
Eleven pubs in the region have made it on to the Campaign for Real Ale’s list of the UK’s top 150 local real ale boozers.
The Royal Oak, Barton-under-Needwood
Landlords in the Midlands are raising a glass after their bars were named among the country’s top real ale pubs.
Eleven pubs in the region have made it on to the Campaign for Real Ale’s list of the UK’s top 150 local real ale boozers – including The Royal Oak in Barton-under-Needwood, Staffordshire; The Red Cow, in Lower Gornal; and The Hollybush in Stourport-on-Severn in Worcestershire.
Others to have topped the polls are The Weighbridge in Alvechurch; The Vaults in Knowle; The Cross Keys Hotel in Hednesford, Staffordshire; and the Seven Stars in Rugby, Warwickshire. The Duke Of Cambridge in Short Heath; The Sun Inn, in Stafford; The Barrels, in Herefordshire; and The Holy Inadequate in Stoke-on-Trent are also among the winners.
The winning pubs were chosen by branch members from the campaign group, who voted based on the standard of customer service, value for money, decor, atmosphere and the quality of the beer.
They will now battle it out for the crown of CAMRA’s Regional Pub of the Year, which will be announced in September. If they win that round they will go on to compete for the national title, which will be revealed next February.
It comes as the Campaign for Real Ale has launched community pubs month, which is being run throughout April in a bid to raise the profile of watering holes and entice more people to use them.
CAMRA claims that pubs in the West Midlands are closing at a faster rate than any other area of the country – with 12 shutting down every week.
And industry insolvency figures have revealed that up to a third of pubs are in danger of closing, according to the British Beer and Pub Association.
A CAMRA spokesman said: “We want to celebrate great British pubs and their importance to communities.
“These winning pubs have been voted the best in their local areas and are examples of the kind of well run and valued community pubs we hope to see more of throughout the UK.”
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| 1891 Census |
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| 1892 Kelly's Directory of Staffordshire |
* Whilst the 1892 directory cutting above records the landlord of the Royal Oak as William Henry Smith this appears to be in error as William Henry was the son of John Henry and Mary Jane Smith and aged just 4 years in that year.
John and Mary had been running the Swan on Main Street in 1881 following the death of Mary's father William Dugmore in 1878 who had run it for several decades prior to his death.
John and Mary had been running the Swan on Main Street in 1881 following the death of Mary's father William Dugmore in 1878 who had run it for several decades prior to his death.
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| 1901 Census |
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| Lichfield Mercury 06 March 1903 |
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| 1911 Census |
The obituary of Robert Newcombe in 1919 makes interesting reading as whilst he is recorded as the landlord in the 1880's and again in the early 1900's for a period there are numerous others running the Royal Oak between those dates yet he is listed as being an old and respected inhabitant at the Royal Oak leading me to believe he was the owner of the Inn during those years, still resided there but had tenants in to run the business. In a reversal of the Smith family's movements Robert Newcombe was actually living at the Swan on Main Street at the time of the 1911 census and whilst shown as a "Loco Engine Fitter" he was 69 years old and probably still running a busy bar.
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| Staffordshire Advertiser 08 November 1919 |
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| Robert Newcombe Probate 1919 |
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| Derby Daily Telegraph 11 March 1930 |
Royal Oak, Barton, happy with pub of the year nomination
By Burton Mail Posted: February 09, 2016 By Andrew Musgrove
Royal Oak pub on shortlisted for CAMRA pub of the year.
A Landlady celebrating her tenth year in charge of a popular East Staffordshire pub hopes to mark the anniversary by being crowned Burton and South Derbyshire CAMRA pub of the year for 2016.
Katy Boulter, along with her husband Steve, have been running the Royal Oak, off The Green, in Barton under Needwood, since April 2006, and are no strangers to awards having won the Burton pub of the year and Marston's branch pub of the year in years gone by.
Now, they are hoping to do it all again after being shortlisted by the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) alongside 12 other watering holes.
Mrs Boulter, 42, told the Mail that the nomination was 'fantastic'.
She said: "It is fantastic news for us and the business.
"It would be overwhelming to win.
"We're a traditional pub and try to be the best we can. We always try to have the best beer on as the quality of the beer is very important.
"It would be great to win – to know all that hard work is paying off and to get that recognition."
Having been behind the bar for nearly a decade, Mrs Boulter said that she enjoys the job as much today as she did when she first started.
She added: "We're still enjoying it. The lifestyle is good. It is hard work but no two days are the same.
"You don't know what's going to come through that door, it could be a perfect stranger and all we can do is make a good impression.
“The standard is very high and we know the pubs are usually nominated for the standard of their beer.
"With new pubs opening up the competition is getting higher and that is very good.
"It would be great if we won and great for the village too – the first thing people tend to do when they visit is look up the best pubs in the area."
CAMRA members will now spend the next few weeks visiting those pubs on the shortlist. They will be secretly grading those pubs on the beer on sale as well as the welcome and atmosphere in the pub. Last year's winner, The Coopers Tavern, in Cross Street, Burton, went on to clinch victory at county level before just missing out on a regional prize.
The crowning of Burton and South Derbyshire pub of the year can open the door to endless possibilities for the winner. At the same time, CAMRA branches up and down the country are making the same tough decisions on which pub will be crowned pub of the year.
The winner for Burton and South Derbyshire is expected to be revealed next month.
Read more at Burton Mail Website
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