The Hayhurst Arms

Bostock Green

About Us

Here is just a little info to let you get to know us better...

History

Here is a little potted history of our pub and the local area... if you have a spare minute or two and maybe a cup of tea (or is that a G&T), we think it's well worth a read.

We are much indebted to Tony Bostock and Jane McLellan and their thoroughly researched publication "Bostock. A History of a Village and its People", which has informed just about all of of this article. Many thanks for them for allowing us to reproduce their research on this page. Their book is currently sold out and is out of print, but it may well be re-published.

Bostock Village

The origins of Bostock Village lie in Saxon times, though much of the present day village dates from the 18th century, and is virtually unchanged thanks to its status as a private country estate. The village sits in a noted Conservation Area which should help protect it for generations to come.

Many notable families have been associated with the village over the centuries, and we have named the pub the Hayhurst Arms after the France-Hayhurst family who built the property.

Map of Bostock

As Henry Brooks wrote in his foreword to the Bostock History book, "..it is the families who built, maintained, lived and live in (Bostock) who have always made it and kept it so special...it is the perfect example of a 'model village', the only one I know of that can claim a reading room/social club, laundry, village hall, bowling green and pavilion..."

The France-Hayhursts

Thomas Hayhurst was the first of the family to own land and estates at Bostock in the late 1790's. He changed his surname to "France" in accordance with his uncle James France's wishes, who had bought Bostock manor and lands for Thomas at a cost of £44,600.

The France Hayhurst family tree

The family name of France-Hayhurst came to prominence in 1869 when the Reverend Thomas France-Hayhurst succeeded to the manor and Bostock House on the death of his brother, James France France (it was common practice to give children a middle name which was the surname of their maternal grandmother - hence James France France). Bostock House was later re-named Bostock Hall when Old Bostock Hall was demolished.

Bostock Hall

The France-Hayhursts were by all accounts model landlords: not only was the estate especially beautiful, but very few English estates were in such good order. The landscaped gardens were famous, and the family would frequently open them to the village. In addition to other good works, the family built cottages for their staff including, in the early 20th century, Arthur Statham the gardener, Joseph Waring a steward, Miss Ravenscroft the estate laundress and Sam Henshaw the smith.

Bostock Pavilion and fete

In 1912, the then Lord of the Manor, Colonel Charles Hosken France-Hayhurst , donated the village green, which had been a paddock, to the community, in commemoration of the Coronation of King George V. He had spent much time and money levelling the land and seeding it, and he commissioned an ingenious black and white Pavilion, whose interior of folding polished pine partitions could be configured in a variety of ways to form separate rooms.

The oak tree opposite the pub, enclosed with a low fence and bearing commemorative plaques, is of symbolic significance to the villagers, as it marks the centre of the original County of Chester. The first oak on the spot was already mature when it was illustrated in a 1795 watercolour by Kenyon (featured on the front cover of the Bostock History book), but it was felled in 1887 as being a 'danger to traffic', and the present oak was planted that year to commemorate Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee.

Bostock Reading Rooms and Parish Rooms

What is now the Hayhurst Arms was built in 1845 as the Reading Rooms and Parish Rooms, an example of the philanthropy of the France-Hayhurst family.

The 1870's saw improvements to estate cottages which included the addition of black and white gables and decorative trellis porches - some of which are still in place today.

Bostock Green Cottages

At this time many of the public' buildings were constructed by the France-Hayhursts, including the village pump and Tenants' Hall, which was used as the venue for the annual village Christmas party when gifts from the family were distributed. In 1905 Col France-Hayhurst built the village Laundry and in the same year he provided a new water supply for the village at the cost of £400.

The Reading Rooms existed alongside the original pub in the village, which lay at right angles to the property and the road. The pub, which at different times had been called The Bull's Head, The Wolf's Head, The Trees, The France Arms, The Royal Oak, and The Five Oaks, is clearly marked on maps of 1796 and 1840, though it is not known when this original property was demolished.

Bostock Green in 1841

Also featured on the maps of 1796 and 1840 are a group of stables and a coach house behind the original pub, which still exist and which we have incorporated into the structure of the Hayhurst Arms, meaning that a portion of the property, the section to the right of the entrance if you have your back to the Green, was built before 1796.

By 1914 the Reading Rooms had been renamed Bostock Working Men's Club and Parish Rooms', and it was re-named again as the Bostock Social Club in 1923.

Bostock Social Club

In the 1920's and 30's, Captain William Hosken France-Hayhurst was the head of the family. He was High Sheriff of Cheshire, and under his leadership Bostock was a happy, content and thriving agricultural community. Captain William was particularly interested in polo and established a stud which was recognised as one of the finest in the country. He established modern agricultural practices and built Bostock Hall Farm as a modern dairy farm with an award-winning herd. He was President of the Middlewich and District Agricultural Show and President of the Chester Chamber of Agriculture.

Captain William died in 1947 and Bostock Hall was sold in 1948, so ending the association of the France-Hayhursts with Bostock.

Jeannie France-Hayhurst, who kindly allowed us to use the family coat of arms as our pub sign, reports that many of her ancestors were members of the cloth, including Thomas France-Hayhurst who lived at Davenham Rectory and spent £10,000 in 1860 on tiling the chancel in Minton tiles - a whopping sum then.

Minton tiles

She also reports that there are some rather more jolly people in the family tree including the somewhat colourful privateer (Fortunatus Wright) who was licensed by the government to plunder French shipping.

Fortunatus Wright

Fortunatus Wright was the captain of a privateer. It is important to distinguish between pirates and privateers, though they were both essentially engaged in the same business. A pirate is someone who basically captures and plunders ships for personal reward, whereas a privateer, during times of war, is licenced by his government to harass enemy ships and disrupt their trade. In effect, a privateer was a private warship, sponsored by investors who hoped to make a profit from captured enemy shipping and trade goods.

Any capture made by a privateer had to be judged by an Admiralty court which decided whether they were 'fair and legal' prize. If the were, the captured ships and cargoes would be auctioned off and the proceeds split between the privateer's officers, crew and owners.

Fame

Fortunatus' brigantine, Fame', under his incredibly skilled seamanship, had extraordinary success against the French - by the end of December 1746, Fame had captured no less than sixteen French as prizes in the eastern Mediterranean, with a value in those days of £400,000, including a much larger vessel of 20 guns and 150 men which had been especially commissioned to hunt down Fortunatus Wright.

If you'd like to put a name to a face, allow us to introduce you to the crew...


Front of house

Will

Manager

Will joined us from an independent restaurant in the Rochdale area. Keen to step up the management ladder and get his dream pub "the Hayhurst."! Will started his journey over at Worsley Old Hall, another in the B&P family. A keen lover of fine wines and food, Will is now adapting to village life here in Bostock and with his wife Jess and son Hugo he certainally has his hands full, but still finds time to enjoy finding places to wine and dine.

Bella

Deputy Manager

Bellas back!! Having spent a good few months away trying to sell houses, Bella has returned and is here to stay. She joins us at the Hayhurst Arms having worked up the ranks at the Old Hall in Sandbach where she lives. She's a breath of fresh air and brings a big smile and chatty nature to the pub.

Lucy

Senior Deputy Manager

Lucy, originally from Cheshire, has come full circle and is back at the Hayhurst Arms having worked at our sister pub, the Morris Dancer. Lucy is all about working hard and works that hard it's rumoured she is quicker than the speed of light.

Fin

Assistant Manager

Fin joined us during the very busy 'Eat out to help out' period and was an instant hit with customers and staff alike. He loves rollerblading, and teaches dance in his time off, that's if he's not having a pint of Floret pale ale at the bar! A very loud character, you'll always know when Fin is behind the bar.

Toni

Supervisor

Toni has recently been promoted here, which shows her passion and commitment to the pub. Always smiley and chatty, if not at work Toni loves being at the beach and drinking New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc.

Ellie

Bar/Waiting

Fletch joined the team in 2021 and really enjoy the social side of things, interacting with customers and colleagues alike. A huge fan of the dogs, she has grown as a person and recently passed her driving test which means she has more freedom to work with the team.

When not in work Fletch is busy studying for her last year of college, she's an avid saver and with her spare cash she likes to split it between Harry Styles, reading or watching motor racing.

Rachel

Bar/Waiting

Rach joined us at the Hayhurst after 16 years in the motor trade, looking for a change of pace from an office job, she enjoys a few shifts a week with us and now has a great work life balance. In her spare time she enjoys walking her dog Daisy along along the river and she also looks after her tortoise and travels when she can. Rach loves a nice cold appletiser!


Kitchen

Hannah

Senior Chef de Partie

Hannah has been with the company for a number of years now, including working front of house at our sister pubs Sutton Hall, and Old Hall. A really hard worker, in her downtime she enjoys reading and walking the dog, and is also a big fan of a Gin and Tonic. We very often see Hannah with a different hair colour each week!

Dylan

Apprentice Chef

Dylan joined us after completing a degree in Animal management over a year ago now. He enjoys the kitchen and is eager to learn his way up. In his off time he enjoys listening and making music, when not at the gym.


Maintenance

Izzy

Kitchen Porter

Izzy has been with us over a year now and loves the friendly, family like atmosphere in the pub! One of the first in in the mornings, when she's not busy helping the chefs, she enjoys reading and watching Netlfix. Izzy's favourite drink is baileys - not a bad choice at all.

Chris

Gardener/Maintenance Person

Chris is force to be reckoned with when it comes to gardening and maintenance. There is pretty much no problem he can't solve! Chris has not a bad word to say about anyone and the same can be said about him. He is a favourite amongst the staff and the customers alike who often get gardening tips from him whilst he is working on our beautiful grounds. Chris is married to Emma and they have a daughter Ella which are his world. When he is not keeping the pub looking beautiful, he is spending time with his lovely family and drinking a glass of red or two... or three!