Photo above: As with the Crown & Cushion and White Swan, the Griffin had an entrance in Bedford St.
Listed in 1815 Directory and as brewing its own beer in 1827. Supplied by Ind Coope in the 1890s.
By 1912, owned by Hansons of Kimberley.
JRs list of licensees: William Kenny, who was charged with permitting drunkenness in the Griffin on 18 January 1851. 1815, Sam Freason. 1827, William Richardson. 1831, Sam Marshall. 1843, Thomas Richardson. 1846, William Richardson. 1850,William Kenney.
From the magistrates records: 1855, Robert Woodman. 1868, James Smart.
1875, Thomas Coulson. 1886, Francis. 1889, Sam Bevins. 1891, James Markham. 1892, Fred Wood.
1895, Thomas Withers who died and was succeeded by Sarah Withers in 1904. Tom Withers and his family, who ran the Griffin for fifteen years, kept a terrier named Jerry. A champion rat catcher, Jerry’s feat dubbed him ‘champion rat catcher of England’. Amongst his performances was to kill five rats in ten seconds, fourteen rats in one minute, seven seconds and fifty rats in seven minutes. Due to his speed and bravery, Jerry was barred from further contests.
1907, Henry Staford. 1909, John Woodbridge. 1912, Charles Mawby. 1926, WilliamFreeman.
LICENSEE, BARMEN and CUSTOMER SEEN FIGHTING ROLLING IN THE ST. Henry Martin was sent to prison for assaulting landlord Wm Freeman and barman Herbert Walkerdine after the barman had refused to serve Martin cigarettes after time, Martin also smashed four pints seven halves and a jug. First he struck the barman, landlord who was in another room came to help eject Martin together with another barman, the four of them ending up rolling in the street still fighting. Landlord Freeman had to be treated at LRI for a severely bitten thumb. (1938)
One of the Griffins more notable landlords was Billy Frame, who ran the pub in the 1950s. He played right back for the Leicester City FC from 1934-50. playing 459 games in almost seventeen years.
Awaiting the change.
Changed its name to Jaceys Bar in September 1996 after a brief period as the Fan Club, at least the 1929 art deco façade remained intact.
1996, known as the Fan Club for a brief period, before Jaceys.
Closed by circa 2014, a sad end to a once popular pub. Its position being one of the main reasons for its demise – as with many other pubs – as housing no longer occupied the area. What was once a thriving bustling street, now seems the arse end of town, split by road ‘improvements’ and overpass before entering the Golden Mile.
I used to live there from 1952-1957
Val, Have replied to you via email, thanks for getting in touch
Jeceys was my pub of choice when I was a student c2000. Amazing place friendly, lively with a slight ‘dive’ vibe that was perfect. Thanks for the pictures and the read, I miss Jaceys, the Dry Dock The Charlotte.
thanks for your comment ant interest its appreciated
I used to work at Jaceys in the mid to late Noughties, alongside the Manager Russell, Ben, one of my best friends Steve and my then girlfriend (now wife) Suzi. Every day was a laugh and the pub used to buzz at the weekends. There was never any investment from the owners (who also owned Fan Club across the road), so everything had to be done on a tight budget. Even so, our Halloween nights were the stuff of legend, with Russell, Ben and Steve guaranteed to be dressed as Parisian ladies of the night! We even briefly managed to run a regular club night (‘Popular Slot’) in the old upstairs bar and dance floor. These were some of the best times I had working behind a bar and my wife and I had our engagement party there thanks to the generosity of Russell and the lads. This was a pub with an absolutely unique character, sadly sold due to indifference from the owners and no investment in the area from the Council. As The Village, it was meant to become a hub for the LGBTQ+ community (alongside Quebec across the road), but again, dwindling clientele, high rents and no area improvements caused the death of that too. It’s now a block of flats, with yet another barbers underneath, along with a vegetarian/vegan cafe (nothing against either, but I don’t fancy their chances of staying in business in that area of town).
Andrew, Great comment and insight into Jaceys, gives an intimate view of the pub around that time, invaluable information, many thanks.
I was in Leicester yesterday revisiting a few old haunts and decided to see if Jacies was still there. I could pick out the distinctive building it used to be in but googled it to see if their were any photos online of how it used to be, which brought me here. I drank there as a teenager from 1996 to roughly 1999. I remember the garish paintwork, combined with the Art Deco facade and the island bar inside almost gave it the air of an Irish-American bar in New York or Boston. As another poster comments, it definitely had a sleazy charm that was unique to the place. The reasons it had to close that are given seem fair enough but I would have thought a city with two Universities would have been enough to keep an Indie Bar going. Especially as The Fanclub indie nightclub is still going strong and Jacies seemed the perfect pre bar to it. I left Leicester before it became ‘The Village’ but it kind of makes sense as there were a few other gay bars around that area. It was a shame to see the building totally repurposed in the way it is today. A shame the Griffin sign had to go too 🙁 great web page though, cheers for making it 🙂
Ollie, thanks for your comment and interest, certainly paints a picture of what it was like internally. Jaceys seemed an unique venue.
Thanks again.
Barry