Railway Hotel

Stock Road
By Jim Devlin

A pub owned by Gray & Sons, the former Chelmsford brewer. This pub, true to its name was opened to serve the Railway when it came to Billericay in 1889. Originally known as the Railway Hotel it is a typical Victorian public house.  This pub replaced a pub, the Dog & Partridge, built in the 1830s on the other side of the road approximately in the middle of where the  bridge is now and that had to be demolished to make way for the railway. Because Billericay stands on a ridge which got in the way of the line, the railway company had to dig a cutting and chose the lowest point in the ridge.

The Dog & Partridge was a favoured stop for coaches from Southend and watching the cricket on Gentry’s Meadow opposite was popular with pub goers. Gentry’s Meadow also made way for the Railway. The Railway Hotel was built in 1885 to replace the old Dog & Partridge.

The Railway (left) and Crown (right) looking north towards the railway bridge
Red Sky at Night Means There is a Bonfire in Lake Meadows, seen over the Railway pub

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  • My father Albert John Garner was born in the Railway Hotel in 1928. His father Albert James Hill Garner became landlord of the pub in 1922 from his uncle John Harman. He ran it together with his wife Martha, who ran the pub until 1964 following his death in the spring 1963.

    By Helen Preston (nee Garner) (08/08/2019)
  • I think I can shine a bit more on this particular Hotel. In my opinion my 3x great grandfather, George Bull and his family were the first people to own it. As there are loads of mentions of my distant ancestors to have unique connections to the Railway Hotel. His successor of course was his eldest son my 3x great uncle Willie Bull but that’s all as far as I have gone. All I know is that the Billericay Bull Family had connections in some way and that they were quite well-to-do for late Edwardian England of 1908-1910. Hope anyone knows a bit more, thanks.

    By Jacob Gosling (04/05/2019)

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