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With thanks to Trentham & District Historical Society
The Commercial Hotel was the first brick building in Trentham. It stands on the left of High St, on the brow of the hill, as you enter the village.
The building is curiously sited on a bend in the road, a kink thought to have been originally carved by coaches drawing up in front of the pub to collect and drop passengers.
Paddy Murphy leased out the hotel, as well as the bakery, butchery and grocery shops visible on the street frontage of the 1890s photograph above. The latter have long since been demolished.
The building has been altered many times. The 19th-century verandah, complete with iron lace, was replaced by solid pillars in the 1920s.
The hotel licence was not renewed in the 1970s and since then the building has been, among other things, a guest house and an antiques shop. It was recently sold to a private buyer.
✍️ Sue Worthington, curator of Trentham & District Historical Society.
📘 Take a Walk Around Trentham: A Guide to the Points of Historical Interest in the Township of Trentham, edited by Ina Bertrand (2006). Available for $5 (plus postage) from Trentham & District Historical Society. A package of the historical society’s publications is available for $55 from Trentham Post Office or via email.
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