Photo above: Circa 1930s. The flags are out, a royal celebration of some kind outside the Melville Arms
Sometimes the address was given as Palmerston Street – Melville Street was tucked away between Palmerston and Chester Street, in the warren of terraces around Russell Square area. In 1865, Mary Evans was landlady although the LC reported her at the Melbourne Arms, by the end of the decade Thomas Wright is recorded as landlord.
We also know it was a rough neighbourhood even then. The local press was awash with affray and drunkenness reports – many involving the Melville Arms – vicious assaults on policemen, fighting in the street.
The Melville Arms was auctioned in 1885.
In 1889, Tom White, the eighteen month old son of landlord, Abraham White, was found dead in bed one morning. The inquest was held at the pub itself and it was concluded that the child’s death was attributed to teething.
In 1939, Mr Leicester (Leicester Mercury) excelled himself by reporting a cock parrot from the Melville Arms laying an egg.
Rear of Cottages off Palmerston Street, circa 1958. The Melville closed in June 1957, the whole of the St Matthews area was shortly erased.
‘I worked on Sheriffs, the builders c.1960 demolishing some of the housing. I don’t remember the Melville Arms and never visited it previously when I was a draymen’s mate in the late 1950’s with John Pollard’s as it was an Offilers house. We delivered mainly Bass, Banks, WMClub’s and freehouses. A shame I have not yet come across a better photo of the pub as it survived almost one hundred years.’
Barry Lount