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The Palmer-Morewood family of Alfreton Hall owned a number of inns and beerhouses in the area, and in 1896 Charles Rowland Palmer-Morewood took the decision to sell these properties at auction. The auction was scheduled to take place at the Royal Hotel, Derby on 17 December 1896. Pre-auction notices were printed in many newspapers, and breweries, in particular, became the frontrunners once the auction had commenced.    

A small notice was printed in the Derbyshire Times & Chesterfield Herald on 31 October 1896: “PUBLIC-HOUSE PROPERTY AT ALFRETON. Considerable interest has been aroused by the announcement that Mr. C. R. Palmer-Morewood J.P., of Alfreton Park, has decided shortly to dispose of by auction all the public-houses owned him in the neighbourhood. Altogether eight houses are to be brought under the hammer, and all of them form part of the Alfreton Park estate. The following are the public-houses to sold: The George Hotel; The Waggon and Horses lnn; The Four Horse Shoes; the Nags Head; the Railway Inn; the Cross Keys, Swanwick; the Laburnum Inn, Sleetmoor and the Red Lion Inn. Greenhill Lane. This will be the largest sale of public-houses which has taken place for long time.”

This was followed by a more extensive notice published in the Derbyshire Times & Chesterfield Herald on 28 November: “BY MESSRS J. J. ORGILL, MARKS AND ORGILL - IMPORTANT SALE OF FREEHOLD LICENSED PROPERTIES TO BREWERS, HOTEL-KEEPERS, AND LICENSED VICTUALLERS. Messrs. J. J. ORGILL, MARKS, and ORGILL beg to announce that, pursuant to instructions they will submit to PUBLIC AUCTION, at the Royal Hotel, Derby, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 17th, at 3 p.m., in Eight Lots, the following well placed FREEHOLD LICENSED PROPERTIES with Possession, viz.:

• The George Hotel, Alfreton
• The Four Horse Shoes, Alfreton
• The Waggon and Alfreton
• The Nag's Head Beerhouse, Alfreton
• The Railway Tavern, Alfreton
• The Cross Keys, Swanwick
• The Laburnum Beerhouse, Sleet Moor
• The Red Lion. Greenhill Lane, near Alfreton,

all in the County of Derbyshire, and Let to Yearly Tenants (some of a great many years' standing) at exceedingly moderate rents. Such an important Sale of Licensed Property very seldom occurs, the special attention of Brewers, Hotelkeepers, and others is directed thereto. The Premises may be viewed by permission the Tenants; by cards from the Auctioneers; and printed particulars and Conditions of Sale obtained of the Solicitors. Messrs Peake, Bird, Collins, and Peake, 6 Bedford Row, London, W.C.; at the place Sale; of J. W. Eardley and Mr Pogmore; at the Swanwick Collieries and at the Auctioneers' Offices, 21 Hart Street, Bloomsbury, London.”

PHOTO: A Coach & Horses outside the George Hotel, Alfreton in 1910. It did not meet the reserve price and was not sold in the auction of 1896.

As the pre-auction notices suggested, significant interest was taken in the auction. Of the eight lots seven were purchased by breweries, some for considerable sums, but the bidding for the George Hotel fell short of its reserve price and was not sold. Most newspapers at the time did not publish auction realisations or the successful bidders, but such was the interest in this particular sale that the results were published in the Derby Daily Telegraph on the same day that the auction took place, 17 December 1896: “IMPORTANT SALE OF DERBYSHIRE LICENSED PROPERTY. Messrs. J. J. Orgill, Marks, and Orgill, auctioneers, of London, offered for sale by public auction at the Royal Hotel, Derby, this (Thursday) afternoon eight licensed houses, situate in and about the town of Alfreton, Derbyshire. The vendor was Mr. C. R. Palmer-Morewood, J.P., Lord of the Manor at Alfreton, and the proprietor of several collieries. There was a large and influential attendance, many well-known breweries being represented, and the bidding for the most part was very spirited, some high prices being realised. Lot 1 was the Red Lion, a full-licenced house in Green Hill-lane, near Alfreton, producing a rental of £60 per annum. Bidding commenced at £1,000, which soon increased by leaps and bounds until the sum of £5,700, which was offered by Messrs. Thomas Hardy, brewers, of Kimberley, was finally accepted. Lot 2 consisted of the Laburnum Beerhouse, Sleet Moor, Alfreton. The first bid was £800, and last, which was made by John Smith's Tadcaster Brewery Co., was £1,550. The next lot was the Cross Keys, full-licensed house, Derby-road, Swanwick, near Alfreton, rented at £26 a year. The first bid was £1,000, and this was increased by bids of £100 chiefly, until £3,100 was reached, at which figure it was knocked down to Offiler's Brewery Company, Derby. Messrs Offller also purchased Lot 4, the Railway Inn, King-street, Alfreton, rented at £19 15s. per annum, the price paid being £2,775, the bidding in respect to which opened at only £500. Lot 5 was the Nag's Head beerhouse, King street, Alfreton, rented at £18 a year, and the first bid for this property was also £500. After four figures had been reached the price rose somewhat slowly, the purchasers being Messrs. W. H. Hutchinson, Prince of Wales Brewery, Basford, Nottingham. Lot 6 comprised the Four Horse Shoes, King-street, Alfreton, a full-licensed house, producing an annual rental of £32. Bidding opened £2,500, and was continued with much spirit up to £4.000, when by smaller bids it rose to £4,100, at which figure it was knocked down to John Smith's Tadcaster Brewery Company. Lot 7 was the Wagon and Horses, King-street, Alfreton, rented at £60 year. The first bid was £1,000, and the second £3,000, and the final one £4,000, which latter sum was paid for the property by Messrs. Thomas Hardy and Sons, brewers, of Kimberley. The last lot was the George Hotel. Alfreton, but this lot was withdrawn at £6,900. —Mr. T. L. Riley, of Derby, was the bidder for Offiler's, and Mr. James Wright, of Derby, for Hardy's.”

In the report, the final price of the Nag’s Head Beerhouse on King Street was omitted. This eventually realised £1,600.