Photo above: Circa 1900s. The sign board is the same although window much lager than the sketch below
First recorded in local directories in 1835.
During the 1850s the Chelsea Pensioner was kept by a Mr Long, followed by William Glover, who passed the reins on to Thomas Broughton. He relinquished the licence in February 1863, moving further along the street to the Shakespeare’s Head.
Thomas Drew took over, then Jonathan Hubbard and later Jonathan White, circa 1873. White was fined for allowing a drunken man on this premises: 10/- plus his licence endorsed. The Chelsea Pensioner was up for auction together with the brewhouse in 1881 with Jonathan White still in occupation.
In 1886, Ben Robertson was listed as victualler and brewer: two years later, William Preston. Sharpes Brewery of Sileby ran the pub during the 1890s. The Chelsea Pensioners closed in 13 July 1909 with compensation paid to brewery and landlord.
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