| The Original Beaconsfield Arms (Picture - The coat-of-arms of Benjamin D'Israeli - |
| The Original Beaconsfield Arms (Picture - The coat-of-arms of Benjamin D'Israeli - |
| Various explanations have been offered for the name of our village pub. Some older residents of Eye are firmly convinced that it was the name of the pub on the corner of Wellington Road & Lambseth Street, and the owner took the name with him when he closed and moved to Occold. Given that it was formerly a house owned by the Bedingfield Alms Houses this seemed unlikely, and sure enough it was the Bedingfield Arms. More recently it has been assumed that it was something to do with there being a beacon on the adjacent (playing) field. But that is a very modern addition with no evidence of an earlier beacon. It is originally known in the censuses as simply The Beer House. It appears as the Beaconsfield Arms in 1881 (the year of the death of Disraeli the 1st – and only - Earl of Beaconsfield) but reverts to just The Beer House in 1891. The practice of bearing coats of arms by influential Jews came about at the mass compulsory conversion of the Moors in Spain in the 15th C. | A favourite motif was the triple-turreted castle of Castile. Disraeli borrowed this feature when the Beaconsfield Arms was created. The pub sign was tarted up in recent times and no longer bears much resemblance to the original except the two rampant lions and an oak wreath. The pint of beer looks like it could derive from the castle motif. Can anyone remember what it looked like (or better still has a picture) before repainting? Does anyone know of a better picture of the original? [see below] There are other pubs called the Beaconsfield Arms in Bridlington, High Wycombe and Southall (what a pub crawl that would make!). The former Beaconsfield Arms in Norwich is now ingloriously named ‘The Shed’ – what a come down! The anniversary of the Earl of Beaconsfield’s death is known as Primrose Day, in Disraeli’s honour. I trust that we will see a Primrose in every button-hole in the Beaky come next April 19th.
An earlier version of the Beaconsfield Arms sign, taken around 1980 |
 The Carlton Club Banquet at the Riding-School, Knightsbridge, London showing a toast to Benjamin Disraeli (1804-1881), Lord Beaconsfield. The Carlton Club was founded in 1832 in the aftermath of the victory of the reforming party which passed the great Reform Act in that year. Membership of the Club was both a token of adherence to the Conservative party and, to the outside world, a badge of allegiance.The coat-of-arms in the background appears to be that of Disraeli. |
Landlords of the Beaconsfield Arms, 1851-1901
| Date | Landlord | Age | Where born | Occupation | Wife |
| 1851 | Eli Hunt | 67 | Occold | Beer house keeper | Elizabeth |
| 1861 | James Erasmus Capon | 27 | Occold | Farmer of 5 acres and beer house keeper | Elizabeth |
| 1871 | James Erasmus Capon | 37 | Occold | Tailor and beer house keeper | Elizabeth |
| 1881 | Edwin Benjamin Capon | 35 | Occold | Farmer and innkeeper | Martha |
| 1891 | Edwin Benjamin Capon | 45 | Occold | Farmer and beer house keeper | Martha |
| 1901 | Edwin Benjamin Capon | 55 | Occold | Farmer, corn miller and beer house keeper | Martha |
Does anyone remember the landlords since then? Do tell us!
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This page was last updated on 29 March 2007 at 10:46
