Elephant and Castle

The Elephant and Castle

Old Warwick Road, Rowington

Up past the Church and past the school (now West of St Laurence) and Sentence Corner we reach the “Elephant and Castle”. This is a very old inn and it is thought that the name derived from a Coventrian publican who used the Coventry coats of Arms as a pub sign. In olden times the village Wake or Statute fair was held on St Laurence day and was held at the Elephant. Mine host in 1821 was Edward Perks and his wife Katherine.

A charming story surrounds the Elephant and Castle. At the end of 19th century Jane Ryland of Shakespeare Hall was a regular churchgoer. Her route to St Laurence was via Queens Drive and past the Elephant & Castle. She was offended by the drinking going on as she passed. As a result she bought the property and closed it down. In compensation for the Men of Rowington she built the “Working Mens’ Club” in Rowington Green which she gifted to the village on her death in 1935 and is still owned by the Jane Ryland Charitable Trust.

This story is probably somewhat fanciful. Three are records of Rowington Club from as early as 1906 and yet the Elephant and Castle was still trading at least in 1919. So if Jane Ryland wanted the pub closed down, it took her some years to achieve this. Her husband, JW Ryland, was the local JP so she may ultimately have had some influence in having the licence withdrawn.

After it ceased trading as a pub The Elephant was a private house called Wayside. In more recent times it was Elephant Cottage and is now once again called the Elephant & Castle