Skip to main content

Blandford Pubs, Inns & Hostelries


At one time there were around 20 pubs in Blandford including the Star, East Street - right next to Charlie Collier, the butcher's shop. Some of the town’s pubs, inns & hostelries were/are the:

Badger – at the junction of Park Road and Salisbury Road, built in 1899.

Bell – in the Market Place. In the early 1800s, horse drawn carriages left here regularly for London, Exeter & Bristol.

Black Bear – in Salisbury Street. A local clergyman bought this pub and converted it into Coffee Rooms.

Blue Boar – in East Street. This once belonged to Marston’s Dolphin Brewery in Poole.

Castle - in Bryanston Street. Formerly the Black Dog, It was owned in turn by Durweston brewer, Godwins, then Hall & Woodhouse and finally by Blandford brewer, John Lewis Marsh.

Crown & Anchor – in West Street. Previously known as the Cock & George when it was famous for its cockerel fighting. Name was changed in the 1840s when cockerel fighting became illegal.

Crown – Has been on this site since the 1630s but had to be rebuilt after the 1731 fire. Winston Churchill dined here in 1915. Bought in 1931 by Hall & Woodhouse for £14,000 and during World War Two was hit by a German incendiary device during an air raid on Blandford.

D’Amory Arms – in Salisbury Road. Formerly D’Amory Court Farm House.

Damory Oak  – in Damory Court Street. During the 1600s nearby, an old man sold ale from a hollow oak tree known as the Damory Oak.

Dolphin - in East Street. Formerly the White Hart. In 1821, public Robert Wilson was fined ten shillings (50p) and deprived of his licence for three years for allowing tippling in his public house during Sunday Church Service.

Fleur de Lis – in East Street. Owned at one time by Durweston based brewers, Godwins.

Greyhound – in the Market Place. One of the three great inns of Blandford, the others being the Crown and the Red Lion.  The Greyhound and the Crown were once owned by Robert Eyers who conducted the Blandford Town Band when they won the National Band Championship in London. During the 1831 Blandford Riots, its windows were broken.

Half Moon – in White Cliff Mill Street. Originally made from two cottages.

Kings Arms – at corner of Bryanston Street and White Cliff Mill Street. Great Fire of Blandford began here in 1731. Owned by John Lewis Marsh who opened a brewery next door in Bryanston Street. Marsh claimed if you drank his beer you could live for ever!

New Inn – in East Street. Closed to customers in 1956.

Railway Tavern – in Oakfield Street. Built in 1865 by Durweston brewer, Charles Godwin after the railway arrived in Blandford.

Red Lion – in the Market Place. Once had extensive stabling, a granary and its own brewery. Bought by Hall & Woodhouse in 1895.

Rising Sun - in East Street. Previously known as the Shoulder of Mutton and the Antelope.

Star – in East Street. Previously known as the White Bear and once described as ‘a most horrible ale house.’  In its White Bear days, it staged cockerel fights between the gentlemen of Dorset & Wiltshire. Renamed the Star around 1842.

Stour Inn – Blandford St Marty. Dates back to the 1700s.

Sword & Dagger - A 'cudgel playing contest' was held here in July 1752 with a two guinea prize 'to the man that breaks most heads and saves his own!'

Three Choughs – in West Street. Buit in 1738 after the Great Fire of Blandford (1731).

Wheatsheaf – in Albert Street. Opened in 1865.

And not turning a Nelsonian blind eye to Nelsons!

Other long forgotten inns include the Ark and the Antelope (Salisbury Street), the Black Horse (West Street), the Red Cow Beer Shop (Bryanston Street), the Cross Keys (Sheep Market Hill) and the Jolly Sailors (Salisbury Street).

(Source: Blandford Inns – Victor J Adams)

 



Comments

  1. Great to have these listed. A pub walking tour is always a great thing to do.

    ReplyDelete
  2. It’s always great to have these lists. Maybe the basis of a pub walking tour? Always popular and fun. I’m sure there would be many back stories here.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Chimney Sweep Tragedy

Crown Hotel, Blandford is reckoned to be one of Dorset’s oldest hostelries. Yet its most tragic day, during a long history, must surely be when a young chimney sweep lost his life. The chimney sweep, who was just a child, suffocated and was burnt to death in a Crown Hotel chimney which had been alight a little while before. ‘His cries were dreadful and no-one could give assistance. Part of the chimney was taken down before he was got out.’ (Salisbury & Winchester Gazette 27th March 1780) The lad had gone up one chimney and attempting to go down another had become stuck. At the time children were used to climb up chimneys to clean out soot deposits. With hands and knees, they would shimmy up narrow dark flue spaces packed thick with soot and debris. After the 1731 Great Fire of Blandford it was realised that it was important to sweep chimneys regularly while many rebuilt houses had narrower ones. Smaller chimneys and complicated flues were a potential death trap for children. The sw

Murder at Gussage St Michael

Gussage St Michael is a quiet North Dorset village with a population of few more than a couple of hundred. Yet for several months in 1913, it made headlines across the world as far away as Australia and New Zealand. William Walter Burton, a rabbit catcher, was found guilty of murdering his lover, 24 year-old Winifred Mitchell and had buried her in a lonely wood. Winifred Mary Mitchell was 5ft 5 ins tall, dark haired and was employed as a cook. She was known as ‘ Winnie ’ and ‘cookie’ . Winnie wore false teeth that had been given to her by a former employer. On the 9 th August 1913, South Australia’s Adelaide Advertiser reported. ‘ In the annals of crime, there have been few murders so carefully planned and so ingeniously carried out and it will be remembered that the judge in passing sentence of death intimated that Burton was beyond human forgiveness.’ William Burton walked alone to the scaffold and was hanged at Dorchester Prison on the morning of Tuesday 24 th June 1913. 

Tarrant Rushton's Nuclear Secret

Tarrant Rushton was a large RAF base used for glider operations during World War II. It was then taken over by Flight Refuelling for the conversion of aircraft for the development of aircraft in-flight refuelling. However, between 1958 & 1965, the Tarrant Rushton airfield had a much more secretive and less publicised role. This was in support of the nation’s nuclear bomber deterrent, as Tarrant Rushton airfield became a QRA (Quick Reaction Alert) dispersal unit.   During 1958, contractors Costain reinforced the main runway and carried out other work to ensure the giant bomber aircraft could be accommodated. At times just a few miles from Blandford, there would have been up to four RAF Vickers Valiant bombers at Tarrant Rushton ready to become airborne in minutes charged with nuclear weapons. The bombers were from 148 Squadron at RAF Marham in Norfolk. As there was no suitable accommodation at the airfield, an old US Air Force Hospital building at Martin was used. At the time, the