The Bell (also known as The Old Bell, The Blue Bell Inn) used to occupy the thatched cottage currently called ‘The Old Bell’ which stands opposite the village shop in Meldreth High Street.
Built in 1676, the building used to be three dwellings. The earliest record we have for The Bell as a public house is 1726 when one Richard Hadgar was granted a licence to sell beer and wine from the premises. This makes it one of the first public houses in Meldreth.
In 1764 the tenancy passed to James Wing of Meldreth for the sum of £38 and it remained in the Wing family until 1837 when it was offered for sale by auction. It would appear that by this time the premise was just one single dwelling.
By 1862 Samuel Woods held the licence and he remained in the cottage with his wife Rebecca, raising their seven children, until The Bell closed in 1910.
Some time after 1910 the name was changed to ‘Dormers’ but it reverted back to The Old Bell in 1996.
For more information, please see The Old Bell’s website, which has been developed by Tony Jeffreys one of the current owners (2022).
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