The Robin Hood Inn, Boston
I'm fighting fit again and back in Boston after a horrible bout of flu knocked me for six last week. Since my last post, I have been out recording again with my colleague Ian George. We visited the Robin Hood Inn on the High Street to trial the adjustments made to the recording process after my first visit.
From the outside, one might be forgiven for thinking this pub isn't very old, judging from the exterior rendering and concrete tiled roof, but think again! The Robin Hood is known to have operated as an inn since 1784 –that’s the year the United States was officially established as an independent nation as history buffs might know.
Originally built with timber rather than brick, the front of the pub still displays signs of this (a girt timber supporting the upper floor joist just about visible from the front and side elevations) and a quick look through the windows of the pub reveal plenty of original fabric inside; timber braces, beams and posts help transport you back in time.
During the 1800s, this Inn would have welcomed customers heading out of town and those arriving from the south along the old road to London. In 1829, the Inn boasted 'excellent stabling for 40 horses' a sign of its former importance as a staging post (the Monarch Coach left for London from the Inn every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 530am). Customers were assured of 'neat wines and foreign spirits at wholesale prices’, the latter a reference to a common brewery built onto the back of the pub.
Many pubs brewed beer and The Robin Hood was no exception. In 1861 the pub and the brewery were in the hands of John Swinn. The brewery must have been an extensive operation (over 300 'sound casks of various sizes' were stored on-site), however, following the landlord's death in 1891, the pub and brewery were put up for sale. This map from 1880 shows the extent of the brewery at the back of the pub, a long narrow rectangular building twice the length of the existing pub and behind the Baptist Church an L-shaped Malthouse, long since demolished. Unfortunately, the pub wasn’t open during our site visit but I hope to return during one of my many visits to Boston in the coming weeks.
Engagement has concluded
