The first known record is from 1878, when William Brown was landlord.
A privately owned building later supplied or owned by J. Bell of Burton Brewery, sold to Salts Brewery in 1902, then on to Bass Ratcliffe & Gretton Ltd. 1927.
A strange drunk and disorderly case occurred in March 1888, when, amongst other things, a customer demonstrated his strength by picking up a table with his teeth.
In March 1930, three hundred people were held up by a police cordon around the Black Boy in one of the most sensational of Leicester’s betting raids. A police constable, disguised as a navy, went in to spy on illegal betting in the pub and the police raided the Black Boy. Licensee Joseph Thorpe, forty-five, was arrested with seven other men who were found with betting slips. A police tender was sent for to remove all the men to the police headquarters, and a special court was held to deal with the licensee and the others.
This is one of the pubs I, as drayman’s mate, would deliver Bass Blue, Red & Green bottled beer, with Sid Savage, the draymen for John Pollard, Abbey Street, late 1950s. The landlord would let me have half a pint of Bass, whilst Sid had one of his many pints during the day’s delivery. I was fifteen at the time, somewhat in awe of some of the characters in the Black Boy. I remember a fair sprinkling from the Emerald Isle used the pub.
Barry Lount
The end of the road for the Black Boy, torched in March 1972, the fire gutting all three floors. Shortly after demolished, along with surrounding buildings.
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