Also known as the Commercial Inn
We think that the Commercial Inn, which in 1976 was renamed the Pony & Trap is built on land that was originally the Admirals Hawke & Blakeney. The last reference I have been able to find for the Admiral Hawke is 1853, it appears to have been located in Exeter Street (Exeter Road) to the north side of the Quakers Meeting House which we understand was behind it. It is believed that the Quakers burial ground is in the garden to the rear of the pub.
Hawke is the Admiral who defeated the French at Quiberon Bay in 1759 and was a national hero.
Unable to locate on the 1839 Tithe Map.
In 1976 the Commercial Inn was renamed the “Pony & Trap” . No-one could think of an appropriate sign for the Commercial Inn and Mrs Dorothy Pring, the wife of the landlord Alan Pring, suggested a change of name as a reminder of Mr Oburn (Obie) Luxton and his horse Snowball. Mr Luxton lived close to the pub and Snowball was stabled underneath the skittle alley for many years.
The pub sign at that time showed Mr Luxton and Snowball who walked the streets of Cullompton for 39 years. Mr Luxton first drove one of his father’s cabs to and from the railway station and later he had his own courier business with a horse and cart in Cullompton. At one time Obie would drive up through the town ringing a bell to let everyone know he was going to Exeter, to which town he would deliver parcels and letters.
Timeline
| Date | Source | |
|---|---|---|
| 1878 | George Luxton & Leather dealer and upholsterer | Whites |
| 1881 Census | George Luxton 44 Cabinet Maker employing 9 men, 7 boys Lydia Luxton 43 Eva Luxton 21 daughter housekeeper Edwin Luxton 20 son cabinet maker Fanny Luxton 18 daughter bar girl Peter Luxton 11 son Lillian Luxton 10 George Luxton 8 Louisa Luxton 3 Flora Luxton 0 Walter Reed 50 servant, paper hanger Augusta Chambers 15 male servant, apprentice cabinet maker Emma Dummett 17 domestic servant | |
| 1889 | George Luxton | Kellys |
| 1891 Census | George Luxton 53 cabinet maker and upholsterer Lydia Luxton wife 54 Edwin Luxton son 29 cabinet maker Peter Luxton son 21accountant George Luxton son 18 upholsterer Mabel Luxton daughter 13 May Luxton daughter 10 | |
| 1896 | George Luxton | Kellys |
| 1901 Census | Edmund Ayres 60 Licensed Victualler Sarah Ayres 61 wife Mildred Ayres 16 neice | |
| 1902 & 1910 | Edmund Ayres | Kellys |
| 1914, 1919 and 1923 | John Hine | Kellys |