The Waggon & Horses

Article compiled from material currently held at the museum.

The early history of the public house, known recently as “The “Waggon & Horses”, is more complicated than was once thought. Parish records tell us that this inn was formerly known as “The Coach & Horses”. An entry in the burials for November 1696 is our earliest reference and mentions that a Welsh drover died on the premises and that the name of the landlord was Parsons. Another entry, for December 1708, states that a travelling man, who went about with a “poppit” show, died at the sign of The Coach & Horses – the landlord was James Barnet. In about 1720 the property was purchased by Samuel Smith from a Mr. Brown of London and for some unknown reason it was re-named “The Bell”. Smith was both a publican and a shopkeeper and later sold the premises to Abel Blofield but continued to live there as his tenant.

It seems that it closed as a public house after that because a 1783 indenture states: “Property sometime since used as two tenements in occupation of Samuel Smith and John York, now or late in tenure of Richard Wade, victualler and late called the Bell“. This indenture was drawn up when the property was sold by Abel Blofield’s nephew Richard Blofield to Joseph Wood. Some years later, in 1815, Joseph Wood’s widow Mary sold it, again now a public house and called the Waggon & Horses, to David Dulley the Wellingborough brewer. In a document dated 1840 describing the rents from Dulley’s fourteen public houses in Northamptonshire and Bedfordshire, the annual rent from the Waggon & Horses was £700, the third highest on the list.

To read about a court case when William Wright was landlord click on the button below.

Dulleys Brewery remained as its owner for many years and the c1905 photograph shows its name on the board. It is interesting to note that in the 1911 census, its then landord, Henry Coleman, stated his occupation to be ‘Blacksmith, general’ and the words ‘ & Licenensed victualler’ were added in different handwriting, presumably the enumerator’s. In 1920, Dulleys sold out to Campbell Praed of Northampton and then, in 1954, ownership transferred to Phipps of Northampton, subsequently in 1960 to Watney Mann and then to Chef and Brewer and finally, in 1976, to Charles Wells who put it up for sale in 2007.

Named below are more recent licensees found in electoral registers and other sources:

The Waggon & Horses Darts Team enjoyed considerable success immediately post World War II and in 1946 became the outright winners of the Town Darts League Championship Cup.

The premises to the right of the inn, just visible in the old photograph below, is now a car sales lot. It used to be a double-fronted labourer’s house tied to Redlands Farm but was demolished in the mid 1960s. It was mentioned in the 1941-43 National Farm Survey together with its then occupant S J Dunmore; for more details, please click below.

In 1990 the inn was the target of an unidentified and apparently indiscriminate sniper, but fortunately no-one was seriously harmed in the attack. To read a newspaper report of the incident, please click the button below.

The Waggon & Horses was put up for auction in 1976 and sold as a going concern, but at the present time it is unoccupied. Click on the following links to read about its auction details (1976).

In 2010 the license was not renewed. The building went on to become a private residence.