Standing next door to the Green Dragon, the Bulls Head was to suffer a similar fate to the White Swan.
A Bulls Head was recorded c 1518, destroyed in the civil war, subsequently rebuilt twice. There was a Bulls Head close to the High Cross, also a Bull in 1590.
1747 Ann Reynolds listed as licensee, (JR) 1794 Wm Spencer. 1815 William Hester. 1827 John Whitmore.
The Bulls Head, circa 1830 from a John Flower sketch. In the foreground is the earlier fifteenth century Green Dragon. From this sketch we can deduce that the Bulls Head was an Early Modern building. Circa 1850, the old Corn Exchange (Gainsborough) was pulled down, as was the Green Dragon. It is reasonable to assume that the Bulls Head was rebuilt at some point after the new Corn Exchange was erected.
One interesting story involving the Bulls Head occurred in 1835, when the Liberals replaced the old corrupt Tory Corporation. On investigating the financial operations of the previous administration, it was discovered that sales of corporation property recently concluded had not been accounted for in the books reluctantly handed over by the former Town. Further investigation revealed that amongst other matters, proceeds of the recent sale of the Bulls Head and another property amounting to £4,085 had been paid direct to the Town Clerk’s bank account. There were many other discrepancies that had gone a similar way.
This flagrant misuse of public funds was met with a counter claim from the disgraced Clerk. He claimed the money was for expenses and like Dickens’s Jarndyce v Jarndyce in Bleak House,the arguments in law went on for eighteen years until a compromise was met. Just over a year later, the town Clerk died (A Quarter of centaury of Liberalism 1820-50 by G. Searson).
1840 Buckley Ward licensee. 1845 Matthew Leesom, 1864 James Wm Kenny. 1865 Mathew Cook also the owner. Thomas Fenton 1890. it was around this time that Worthington Brewery bought the Bulls Head.
George Henry Allen victular 1898. John Rhys Morgan 1898, Mary Fenton 1901, Thomas Fenton 1901. Samuel John Dudley 1910. Williamm Fouracre 1917. Arthur Smith 1919. William Wildridge? 1928. Horace Bailey 1930. Maurice Burton 1945.
Licensees from 1950s include. John Bagguley 1955. Ronald Heare 1957. Geoffrey Slater 1959. Herbert Minter 1960. Harry Litchfield 1962. Hilda Wright 1963. (JR)
The Bulls Head, circa 1965. The Corn Exchange to its right and White Swan far left, with its later mock Tudor façade. It was very difficult to get a picture of the full façade as the market stalls were practically right up to its door, with only the pavement in-between. Both pubs fell to make way for the new indoor market. c1970.
