Before they came to Australia in 1840 my Pederick ancestor was a proprietor of a hotel, probably located in Stokenham, Devon. Can anyone advise whether there is some way to determine which hotel?
In response to the copious amounts of gin that was drunk in the 18th century, licencing laws were passed. Therefore, by 1840, if the hotel was licenced to sell alcohol, there could well be copies of the licences in the Devon Record Office, now called the Devon Heritage Centre. Worth sending a email over to them.
Directories are another useful source. Although the early ones were a little hit and miss, they certainly were on a roll come the 19th century. You may find this or even this useful as they were usually compiled in the year/6 months prior to being published.
I have an Innholder ancestor in Hants. I found the name of his establishment (ca. 1820's) in his will (left it to his son), and also in adverts from old newspapers. Happy searching. Barb
I've ordered one of the directories that Daft Bat (Jan) suggested and I've emailed Devon Heritage Centre, hopefully I'll get some leads from them. Will be visiting the area mid October and it would be good to know which hotel was theirs or at least where it was.