|
Commercial Hotel |
Please Note
The article and photographs below are copyright protected and must not be used
in any format without prior written permission.
The team at St. Dennis.org.uk would like to thank Mrs. Diane Osborne née Kellow for the article and photographs below.
The Commercial Hotel is a property that was owned by the St. Austell Brewery and leased to tenants. Fred and Beatrice Best (nee Bassett) ran the Commercial alongside a coal merchants business. Sam Best, brother of Fred lived with them. Fred Best was awarded the Military Medal during WW1. Fred's nickname was Queenie. They had two children, Mavis and Leslie. Mavis married John Kellow and lived at No 4 Hendra Road, St Dennis. They had four children, Julie, Gordon, Jenny and Diane. Leslie married Daphne Luke and moved to Devon. They had two daughters, Sandra and Linda. Mavis used to help her parents at the Commercial Hotel. Fred Best died on the 20th May 1953 aged 61. His wife Beatrice then became Landlady and ran the pub with the help of Mavis. Beatrice died 15th July 1955 aged 58. Mavis then became Landlady of the Commercial and it became the family home. John continued his day job with ECLP. Sam Best continued to live with the family until his death in 1968. Behind the main building there is a large building. Mavis allowed the St Dennis Band to use this building for band practice. They used to enter via the garage. The garage had two large doors and on the right hand side there was a smaller door that could also be locked from inside the garage. I understand this is called a door in a door. Mavis and John also allowed the St Dennis football team to use this room. They installed a sunken bath and when it was home matches, Mavis used to have a boiler full of hot water for when the game finished. John's hobby was the darts team. The window was always full of silverware which Mavis cleaned every week. Mavis enjoyed music and looked forward to the evenings when either the piano was played by Isabel Cornelius (nee Pethick) or Peggy Metherell on her organ. The Commercial Hotel was run by the Best / Kellow family for approximately 54 years. Mavis and John retired from the Commercial to move to their house Pencraig, Trelavour Road, St Dennis in July 1983. The Commercial Hotel is currently called The Commercial Inn. I do not know when this was changed.
John and Mavis Kellow
Uncle Sam Best 1959
Diane, Julie and Jenny Kellow (left) and Beatrice Best (right)
Fred and Beatrice Best
Commercial Hotel Sketch
Photos courtesy of Mrs. Diane Osborne née Kellow
|
