A WOKINGHAM pub is to be given a makeover – and a new name.
Stonegate Pubs has applied for permission to transform The Molly Millar pub in Station Road, a move which is being welcomed by The Wokingham Society.
If approved, it will be known as The Station Tap.
And the pub is also looking to open from 7am every day to allow it to add breakfasts to its menus.
The plans include minor refurbishments, including changing seating and installing a new drinks shelf.
At Wokingham Town Council’s planning committee on Tuesday, March 13, The Wokingham Society’s chairman Peter Must shared some of the history of the pub, revealing that it was originally The Railway, with an annex, The Railway Tap, opening in the late 19th century.
He said that The Molly Millar was not the original name of the pub, instead it was The Railway in 1849, but changed to The Railway Tavern and then The Railway Hotel: it stopped being a hotel in the 1950s.
A revamp saw it renamed as The Molly Millar – but Mr Must said that it had also had an inglorious spell as Big Hand Mo’s Good Time Emporium.
The Berkshire History website says of the person Molly Millar: “Molly Millar is better known locally for the Lane which bears her name. Who this lady was, however, is something of a mystery.
“One theory says the lane was named by the Welsh Drovers who passed this way with their sheep in the late 18th century and got to know Molly, an old woman who lived by the wayside.
“Local legend says more: she was not just any old lady but the town witch.”
Mr Must said: “Apart from it being the Station Tap and not the Railway Tap, there is therefore a good historical reason to choose this name. The Wokingham Society Executive Committee would not object to the change of name.”
