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The Black Bull was
located on King Street, and was originally half its later size.
The first known reference to it was in the Nottingham Journal of 1807, when
an auction was held there. The building was marked on a map of 1835.
The inquest into a shocking local murder-suicide took place at the house of
Mr Francis Witham, the sign of the Black Bull, in September 1830. Henry
Shooter stabbed and killed his father George Shooter before killing himself
with the same knife. The surgeon, giving evidence, said that Henry Shooter
had stabbed himself eighteen times, three of which were fatal wounds. The
verdict was that Henry had killed his father while insane and then stabbed
and killed himself, “being insane at the time”.
In 1838 it was advertised as the departure point of Samuel Bailey's van to
Nottingham on Wednesdays and Saturdays.
In 1842, the owner of the property Mr Witham, who would have been 72 at the
time, installed a tenant at the Black Bull, but the tenant’s license was
“stopped” by the magistrates. A report, questioning the decision, was
printed in the Nottingham Review on 16th September 1842, which said:
“Another strong expression of feeling has been produced at
Sutton-in-Ashfield, in consequence of the Magistrates last week stopping the
license to the Black Bull, a very old Public House, many years kept by Mr
Francis Witham, and at present by Mr John Tomlinson, who has lived there a
few months only, and nothing whatsoever proved against the house; not an
information has been made against him -- not a public meeting has been held
at his house, nor the least gaming; and yet the license is stopped. Our
correspondent says:-- I am told that publicans at Mansfield, who have
actually been fined, were only lectured and got their licenses; then how is
it that Tomlinson’s license has been stopped?”
Although a memorial (what we would today call a petition) was prepared,
supporting the return of his license, there is no further record of John
Tomlinson at the Black Bull.
In July 1853, a cricket match was held between teams from “The Unicorn” and
“The Black Bull”. The Unicorn won. “Score: Elliot’s side, 104; Heath’s side,
98.” Charles Heath was the landlord of the Black Bull at the time.
In September 1887, John Butterworth applied for permission to “extend the
premises into the adjoining cottage”, which was also then owned by the
Butterworths. The application was granted, and the extended building
included a large club room, 33ft long by 16ft wide, two additional bedrooms,
and a storeroom upstairs, while downstairs there was a private sitting room,
tap-room, bar parlour and larger kitchen accommodation. This meant there
would be only one shop separating the Black Bull from the Newcastle Arms.
In August 1888, the building was sold to Messrs R. Warwick & Sons of Newark.
The Butterworth family continued living there and during their time it was
also known as the “Black Bull Hotel”. John Radford Butterworth and his wife
Elizabeth were licensees there for almost forty years.
The Black Bull is listed at 15 King Street in the 1941 directory and was
marked on a map of Sutton in 1947. Warwick & Richardsons Brewery, as it was
then known, was taken over by John Smith’s Tadcaster Brewery in 1962. The
last map showing the Black Bull marked as a public house was the OS map
dated 1967-1977.
The building must have ceased use as a pub before 1976, when an application
was made to change use of 15 King Street “for storage and maintenance of
equipment”. At some point the building was either rebuilt, or more likely
was structurally altered to create two separate shops.
There are currently two retail units at 15a and 15b King Street. |
