The Bull and Dog and the Kings Head Inn, Freiston

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An image of a map of Freiston village.

The Bull and Dog has been welcoming regulars and visitors through its doors since the first half of the 19th Century (if not many years before).

L shaped in plan, the Inn presumably began as one or two ground-floor rooms with additional rooms added over time.

Situated on the corner of the main road into the village, close to the ancient church dedicated to St James, the building has seen many renovations. The roof was previously thatched, replaced by modern tiles and dormers overlooking the church grounds.


Aerial view of the Dog and Bull in the 1960'sAerial view of the Bull and Dog in the 1960's.

Adjacent to the Inn, to the right, is an old stable or barn, converted to residential use and now separate from the pub. In the past, the gap between the two buildings served as the entrance to the yard at the back of the Inn for stabling etc.

Inside the pub, I am met by the landlady Oliva who bought the Bull and Dog from the brewery two years ago. Oliva has been in the trade for over 20 years, but this is the first pub she has owned.

The pub interior is modern, with only a few hints of its history surviving in photographs on the walls and the exposed beams above my head.

An image of the Bull and Dog in 2022The Bull and Dog today.

I meet some of the regulars at the bar, including Jane Majury, who kindly offers to promote the project on local radio (Endeavour FM). Jane tells me a few stories about the place, such as the adjacent barn used to be a dance hall before the brewery sold it off, and in the early noughties, the pub’s chimney caught fire, closing the place for a few months.

I later found out about the sad death of Sarah Bourne, aged six, daughter of the landlord John Bourne. In 1855 Sarah died from typhus believed to be caused by contaminated water from an open-pit adjoining the churchyard.

An image of a map of the Frieston village.

At the opposite end of the village, a few hundred yards away from the Bull and Dog, stands the King’s Head Inn.

According to the website, the King’s Head dates back to the 1600s. The building is old enough to date from this period and is built in a vernacular style (traditional local style using local craftspeople and materials). It originally had one or two rooms constructed of stone (or mud and stud ) with a garret under a thatched roof.

The roof is now tiled (although some original fabric may still lurk underneath), and the external walls are consolidated with render.

An image of the iron support post in the pub building.The iron support post


Inside, the pub retains some of its old-world feel, with an open fireplace, low ceiling with exposed beams and wall seating. At some point, the pub was extended towards the rear, doubling the size of the pub.

Opposite the fireplace, an unusual iron post helps support the ceiling and marks the beginning of the later phase of the building.

The servery area is small and the counter is framed by a basket arch, a feature in several pubs along the coast.

An image of the bar and servery in the pub.The bar and servery


At the bar, I meet with Dawn and Wayne.

The couple have been running the King’s Head since August.

Dawn kindly shows me around, and after a brief chat, we part ways but not before she tells me the pub have recently re-started a darts team.



An image of The Kings Head Inn in 2022The Kings Head Inn todayIn 1961, the pub reached the national darts teams championships in London, losing to the Clayton Arms from North Tyneside in the final.

This year, the team would settle for beating their neighbours, the Bull and Dog.


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