The Lost Pubs Project is urging those who can provide information about pubs in the area that have closed down over the years to help contribute to an archive of information about the pubs’ history.
This community project’s aim is to archive these lost pubs before they are forgotten for ever, and people have already begun submitting .
The research by The Lost Pubs Project found that there were 34 pubs in Horncastle itself that had closed down over the years, and some information has been submitted already.
Just one of Horncastle’s lost pubs is the The Queens Head, which was situated on the Market Place. This Grade-II listed pub, formerly the Queen’s Head Inn, supposedly dates back to the 18th century and is now used as Horncastle Farmers Club. Then there’s the Peal Of Bells, which was situated on the Market Place. This pub is now home to Co-op Travel.
Some information about The Cross Keys, which was situated at 2 Queen Street, was submitted by Christopher Fox: “I never knew them but my great-great grandparents, Henry and Elizabeth Brown, kept the Cross Keys in the late 19th / early 20th century.
Annie Harrison the said: “Following on from the above post Elizabeth Brown took over when her husband Henry died, the tenancy was then taken by my great grandfather John Henry Brown ( no relation) in the early 1900’s. My family have the original bill of sale from this transaction with a detailed inventory of furniture, glasses, drink etc. all for the princely sum of £15 6s 10d.!
My grandfather William Henry Brown took the tenancy on in the 1930’s when his father died and continued until his retirement in the early 1960’s. It was only a pub for a further year until it was flooded. I lived with my grandparents in the late 1950’s and remember a lot of the regulars but the over riding memory is of living below stairs and looking at the feet of people as they walked up Queen Street and the drayman delivering barrels of beer down the ramp into the cellar. My grandad took great pride in his cellar and showed me how he turned and tapped the corks on the barrels.”
One of the most recent to close was the Punch Bowl - also known as The Punch House - located at 37 High Street, which closed in 2015.
Over in Coningsby, there were four pubs that are listed as being closed down.
One of which is The White Swan, which was situated on the corner of Old Boston Road and Dogdyke Road. This pub is to be converted into homes.
Information provided by John Guy in July 2020 stated: “My Grandfather, Mr Byron Martin, was Landlord of this pub from the 1930’s until 1995.
“The pub was the first one down the road from Coningsby Airfield and so during wartime was full of fliers each night (not knowing if they would return from the next mission). The pub became a new lodge for the RAOB. Mr Martin was also in business as a Potato Merchant as well as a sidesman at the local church.”
In Tattershall, there were just two pubs that had been closed - the Fortesque Arms and the Railway Inn - which have both been reopened, the latter as The Tattershall Park.
If you know of a pub which has closed at any time in the past, please submit it, together with any anecdotes, historical information, updates or photographs that you might have, to The Lost Pubs Project’s website at www.closedpubs.co.uk.
Similarly, if one of the closed pubs on the website has since re-opened, you can also provide these details too.
1.
The former Cross Keys pub in Horncastle. EMN-220124-094311001 Photo: Midlands
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No Caption ABCDE EMN-220124-094229001 Photo: Midlands
3.
The former Kings Head pub in Bull Ring. EMN-220124-094239001 Photo: Midlands
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The former Reindeer Hotel. EMN-220124-094250001 Photo: Midlands