For those of you who have visited the upstairs room at The Pheasant Inn, Salt Lane, Salisbury, you’ll notice how much it resembles the front room of an old house.

In fact, that’s just what it was. Built in 1638, the room was an addition to the home of a prominent Salisbury shoemaker.

His son, schoolmaster Philip Crew, willed money to his father’s old guild, requesting they should “inlarge and make my dwelling house or some part thereof” suitable for use of a hall for the Shoemakers Guild.

Crews’ Hall, as the room was known, was used by the guild for many years. When the old building first became a public house, the landlord took the name of the patron saint of shoemakers, St. Crispin, and called it the Crispin Inn.

Many interesting particulars of the premises are given in Alderman Haskin’s history of “The Ancient Trade Guilds and Companies of Salisbury,” from which it appears that the date when the premises became known as the Crispin Inn is doubtful, but soon after 1800 it is recorded that “the Methodists had the use of this hall for their Sunday school.”

The records show that in 1821 the premises were known by the name and sign of the “Pheasant,” and in 1828 the whole of the property was sold to George Pain, brewer and maltster.

From this time, in spite of Phillip Crew’s injunction that the premises should be used by the Shoemakers’ Company for ever, the Salisbury Shoemakers held their meetings at The Rainbow Inn (which became the William the Forth in Milford Street, “and,” writes Mr. Haskins, “we hear no more of the Shoemakers’ Company.”

I have a great affinity with the Pheasant.

My grandmother was born there and my great grandfather, Joe Pendle, was the publican there for 26 years until his death in 1933. Joe also served for over 21 years in the Wiltshire Regiment retiring with the rank of colour-sergeant.