A History of Horncastle, from the earliest period to the present time

by J. Conway Walter

He had not left the town very long when it became known that certain parties had received from him some of the goods which had disappeared from the grocer’s shop, which had been robbed. Sundry hams were found concealed in a hay loft, and it was generally believed that the robbery of an inn in the town, not far from the shop in question, as well as other thefts in the country around, had been perpetrated by him.

PUBLICHOUSES

One of the remarkable features of Horncastle is the number of its publichouses, and these were far more numerous formerly than at the present day. This was, of course, mainly due to the great number of dealers who attended the horse fairs, not only from all parts of England and Ireland, but from most countries on the continent; especially the great August fair, which formerly lasted no less than three weeks. The present facilities for rapid travel, by rail, and quicker means of communication, which now enable dealers to hear of horses for sale, and to visit them in their owners stables, before they are brought to the fair, has altered all this, and the fairs now last only a few days at the most.

These publichouses had also generally attached to them large yards, and extensive stabling (as may still be seen), where the best horses were shewn and tried, without appearing in the streets. In consequence of the reduced need for such accommodation many of these publichouses have disappeared. Among

the names of those which have been lost, are the Royal Oak, the Peal of Bells, Cock and Breeches, Chequers, Hammer and Pincers, Dolphin, Pack Horse, Woolpack, Fox and Goose, Marquis of Granby, Blue Bell, Horseshoes, Axe and Cleaver, Three Maids’ Heads, Queen’s Head, the George, and others which are only traditionally remembered. [162]

Several of these were almost contiguous. For instance, on the west side of the market, on the site of No. 1, now (1908) occupied by Mr. R. W. Clitherow, formerly stood a good-sized publichouse, which was destroyed by fire. Being rebuilt, it became the private residence of Mr. H. Sellwood, Solicitor, father-in-law of the late Poet Laureate, Lord Tennyson. Separated from this, northward, by only two houses, was the Black Horse Inn, still existing, and next to this, on what is now part of the shop of Messrs. Lunn and Dodson, was the Peal of Bells, and not more than half-a-dozen yards distant, on the opposite side of the street, was the very old Saracen’s Head, still existing.

On the north side of the Market Place, next to what is now Mr. Cammack’s cycle depot, was the Queen’s Head Inn, now gone; and at the north-east corner of the Market Place, one door removed from St. Lawrence Street, was the Nelson Inn, still existing; while at the south-east corner stood the large George Inn, no longer existing; and near the churchyard, under the same roof with the old vicarage, was a much patronized dram shop, kept by a Mrs. Clayton, long since removed.

Of some of these we are able to give particulars, not without interest. The Cock and Breeches was kept by Roland Oliver, a breeches maker, whose daughter migrated to London, and, as Mrs. Hibbert, kept an inn, the Elephant, in Fenchurch Street, City. At the Queen’s Head were, early last century, barracks for volunteers or soldiers, with their drill sergeants; who performed their drill and practiced with “Brown Bess” in a chalk pit, on the west side of the Edlington Road, now disused, but still represented by a deep depression in the field below the footpath to Thimbleby, and at the back of the gardens of Mr. Frank Heane, of the Garth House, and other adjoining residents.

At this same inn, the Queen’s Head, some 20 years or more ago, on removing the bricks of the kitchen floor, the workmen found a skeleton, probably that of a man who had been murdered for his money at the August fair, and in connection with this, it was remembered that a farmer living at Stourton, who used to frequent this inn, had some years before attended the fair, but never returned home, nor could enquiring friends find any trace of him.

The Nelson Hotel, on the same side of the Market Place, was formerly kept by an old man named Vesey, who was said to have been, in his earlier years, a great smuggler on the coast, but coming to Horncastle, he reformed, and was appointed constable. The sign of this inn is a portrait of the great hero of Trafalgar and the Nile, originally well painted by the artist, Northouse, but it has recently been repainted in the worst style, and almost “improved” out of recognition.