History of The Cabinet
The Cabinet is a 400-year old building, and is
considered a village icon – it even appears on the
village sign. It is believed to be the only pub in Britain
bearing the name.
The Action group is grateful to Dale Ingram for
most of the research in the article below.
An undated leaflet, Barkway Parish: Public Rights of
Way Guide says, “The Cabinet began life as a tiny
weather-boarded house and was once used as a
meeting house by exiled French Huguenots.”
If true, is is possible that the Cabinet, dated late 17th
century by the list description, was in fact constructed
as a meeting house for the Huguenot population in
the area. It is not at all uncommon for small
congregations to adopt or construct buildings of
domestic appearance and scale for worship
purposes.
According to William Branch Johnson, Hertfordshire
Inns, published in 1962, there has been a public
house in Reed since at least 1657, when it was kept
by Hugh Ivens. He says “whether this was the later
Cabinet is
unknown”. He continues, “In 1806 the Cabinet
(named at that date) was held by Ann Valentine and
was acquired … in the 19th century by J & J E Phillips
of Royston, brewers.” A photograph of the Cabinet,
obtained from the National Monuments Record in
Swindon, shows that at the time it was taken (1960) it
was owned by Manns Brewery.
Occupation & ownership
By the Census of 1851, the Cabinet was being run by
Daniel and Martha Drage. He gives his occupation as
Agricultural Labourer and Publican. There are further
references to the Cabinet and the Drage family in
Reed in the newspapers throughout the 19th century
from
1842 onwards. It was not at all uncommon for
farmers to double up in this way, with the wife
working as 'brewster' in the scullery or an outshot to
the rear, while the husband came home at night to be
the 'host'.
In 1866 Daniel Drage's death from head injuries
following a fall from a cart and an assault by his wife
Martha is recorded in the local paper.
In the 1871 Census, Martha's parents have moved in
with her and her son George to the 'Cabenet' at Reed.
By 1881 'The Cabinet Inn' is occupied by Alfred
Bonfield, who gives his occupation as Blacksmith, and
his family. Again, it was not at all uncommon for the
tenant to hold two occupations - farmer or
blacksmith or shopkeeper as well as ale house keeper
or publican. The publican blacksmith's customers
could refresh themselves while waiting for their
horses to be shod or implements or wheels repaired,
giving the blacksmith a second source
of income. Hence the many pubs called the “Three
Horseshoes” “Anvil” and “Blacksmiths Arms” and the
preoccupation with vehicles (waggons, ploughs and
coaches) and horses of every colour. A great many
traditional pubs had a forge tucked away behind the
main building, as at the Grade II Black Horse in Brent
Pelham where it (or a replacement) survives today as
'The Old Smithy', a dwelling.
The 1891 Census records William Burns, 'publican'
and his wife Emily in possession.
George Hills, 'publican and farm bailiff' with his wife
and five dependants are recorded there in 1901.
George & Mary Ann his wife and four dependants still
in occupation in 1911. The Cabinet is recorded as
having 6 rooms, 'not including kitchen, scullery, lobby,
bathrooms,
hallways' etc.
Dave Endersby tells us that in around 1957 The
Cabinet was bought by his grandfather Arthur
Endersby and his aunt Cissy, who set about
renovating the pub and bringing it up to modern
standards. Dave’s father Frederick and various sub
contractors set about installing flush toilets, customer
toilets, rewiring, building the saloon bar and refitting
the cellar. The story is that Fredrick obtained a large
piece of wood to form the top of the saloon bar from
Newlings, the funeral directors in Royston. They
opened and trade was good. Cissy was an antiques
collector, and acquisitions were used to dress the
bars including a pianola just inside the door on the
left and some swords over the fireplace. They sold
The Cabinet to the Sedgwick Rough family in about
1963, although Arthur stayed at The Cabinet until he
died in 1966. Dave’s grandfather Arthur, and parents
Frederick and Laura, are all buried in the churchyard
at St Mary’s, Reed, and it’s not difficult to find their
headstones close to the main (south) door.
Recent history
Until 2003, The Cabinet was a thriving, popular village
pub, marketed as “a little gem”. It subsequently
traded successfully as a gastropub and went through
various owners afterwards.
The recent owners were:
•
up to 1997: Sedgwick Rough family.
•
1997-1998 Greg Molen
•
1998-2003 Owned by Denby & Jane St. John-
Williams, managed by Ross Moynihan and Justin
Scarborough-Taylor.
•
2003-2005 Paul Bloxham & Co Paul Bloxham and
PJ (brother in law), when the Cabinet was run as a
fine-dining “gastropub”
•
2005-2008 Simon Smith & Mark Hagger, Simon,
Dawn and others. This was the biggest Cabinet
era for weddings.
•
2008-2011 owned by Albanwise: managed by
Angus Martin.
The Cabinet closed in 2011 and was put up for sale.
The Save the Cabinet Action Group submitted
evidence demonstrating that closure was brought
about for reasons unconnected with the pub’s
viability - and that it was and remains viable as a pub.
The Action Group provided evidence to the Planning
Authority of several offers to buy the pub which were
refused by the then owners. It was eventually sold at
auction in late 2015 to the present owner, a property
developer, for £375,000. Documents before the
Planning Control Committee, submitted by the
present owner, suggested that the building was, as a
pub, valued at no more than £250,000.
It was registered as an Asset of Community Value
(ACV) soon afterwards (and was re-listed in 2019 so
its ACV status will now last until March 2024).
The kitchen was removed during 2015, and further
works were carried out in mid-2016. The developer
turned The Cabinet into a house without planning
permission or listed building consent.
Notwithstanding complaints from neighbours and
from the Parish Council, the planning authority, North
Hertfordshire District Council, took no action to
protect The Cabinet from these damaging alterations.
Recent Planning history
The developer eventually applied for planning
permission and listed building consent
retrospectively in September 2016. It generated a
huge public response. A meeting of Reed Parish
Council was convened to consider the applications.
Some 70 members of the public attended. The Parish
Council opposed both applications. 94 written
objections were submitted, and the Save the Cabinet
Action Group was formed to co-ordinate activities to
save the last pub in Reed.
On 20 July 2017, elected councillors at North
Hertfordshire District Council refused planning
permission for change of use. The original listed
building application had yet to be determined. A
new, retrospective listed building application was
submitted a few days before the change of use
decision.
The developer’s appeal against refusal of permission
for change of use was heard by way of a Public
Inquiry on 6-8 November 2018. The appeal was
dismissed on 10 December. An enforcement notice
designed to prevent the building being used as a
domestic residence was issued in July 2019. An
appeal against the notice was dismissed in February
2020, and the notice is due to come into force in
August 2020.
In February 2019 the developer submitted new
planning and listed building applications designed to
split The Cabinet in two, three rooms of which would
be a small pub, while the lion’s share would be a
house. Both of these were refused at the beginning
of April.
In May 2019, a new application was submitted, this
time for listed building consent described as being to
“facilitate reinstatement of The Cabinet as a pub”.
Unfortunately, inspection of the proposal reveals it to
be a Trojan horse and that only a small part of the
pub would in practice be open for business.
All three outstanding listed building applications were
withdrawn in May 2020. Then in June 2020 new
applications aimed once again at subdividing the
premises and changing the use of the main part of
the building were made. Building operations carried
out during the “lockdown” occasioned by the COVID-
19 pandemic revealed themselves to be in
preparation for the opening of an Indian takeaway
restaurant in the single-storey part of the building.
And so the story continues.
Photo courtesy Clive Porter
SAVE OUR VILLAGE PUB
© Save the Cabinet Action Group 2021
History
Quotable Quotes
“Do not allow our planning system to be
used in this way. There are times when I
believe we need to send a clear message
that this is not acceptable.
“Please let the villagers bring this listed
historical building back as a thriving asset
for the community and for the local
towns and villages in North
Hertfordshire.”
Gerald Morris
District Councillor for Ermine Ward
20 July 2017