Tom Griffiths of The Fountain
Recently we published a picture of Jack Hassall and friends outside The Fountain in the 1920's (
Click here to view), and asked Yampy readers if they could name
any others shown on the photo.
Several have now been identified, and we are currently preparing a follow up article. However, as soon
as we had confirmation that the gentleman sitting in the centre of the front row was Licensee Tom Griffiths
(and the girl in his arms almost certainly daughter Ida), we knew that this was worthy of a page in its own right!
Tom was licensee of The Fountain for 33 years until his death in 1947, and daughter Ida continued to run the pub, along
with husband Fred, until 1973. Born in Gornal around 1869 or 1870, Tom was renowned in the 1890's as a fearless amateur
boxer, and even sparred with World Heavyweight Champion Jack Johnson.
The 1901 Census tells us that at the turn of the Century he was already an inn-keeper, a profession he
followed for half a century. He did not take over The Fountain till 1914 - do any Yampy readers know which pub(s) he ran
prior to this?
Never one to baulk at a challenge, he once won a gold medal for entering a lion's cage at a Dudley fairground. To
friends and customers he was a gentle giant, who ruled The Fountain with an iron hand in a velvet glove; a true
gentleman and sportsman. He was also Vice President of Gornal Royal British Legion.
If any Yampy visitor has any information or photographs
concerning Tom, his family and/or The Fountain, we would be delighted to hear from you at
admin@yampy.co.uk
Information for the above notes was gathered from the 1901 Census (see link on our
Family Roots page), and from the excellent Gornal Pubs page at
www.midlandspubs.co.uk, which also has a later picture of Tom (please be patient, around 40 Gornal
boozers are featured, with photos, so the page takes a while to load). This website in turn acknowledges the
contribution of noted local pub historian John Richards (Phone: 01384 295436), who has prepared wall-mounted pub records for many of the
inns featured.
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