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Winteringham’s Inns and Pubs |
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Did Dick Turpin stay at the Bay Horse?
 Village legend has it that Dick Turpin stayed at the
Bay Horse ... could this possibly be true, or is it a village legend with no foundation? Certainly it wasn’t on his legendary 15-hour ride from London to York
as there is no evidence that he ever did this feat (though another highwayman apparently did!).
Turpin had turned to crime after being trained as a butcher, and his criminal career began close to
London, and especially in Epping Forest. He had numerous associates in his criminal activities, but after shooting one, he decided that things were too
‘hot’ in Epping Forest, and lived for a while at Long Sutton, in the south of Lincolnshire. Suspicions of him being a horse thief, and rustler of other farm
stock (at that time a crime punishable by hanging), he moved on again to Brough, and continued as a, seemingly respectable, horse dealer. Many if not most of the horses he dealt in (he was actually
stealing them and selling them ... sometimes even holding them for several months before selling them back to their original owners!) were in Lincolnshire.
So although it cannot be proved 100%, it is almost certain that Dick Turpin, now calling himself John Palmer, crossed from Brough to Winteringham very
many times on the ferry. It is equally as likely that he would sometimes have to wait at one of Winteringham’s village inns for the tides and weather to be right for crossing back to Brough. And it was
in Brough that he sealed his fate in October 1738 when he shot his landlord’s cockerel, being reported to the
magistrate, who with some diligent detective work discovered his horse stealing. The magistrate saw to it that he
was taken to York as a prisoner and eventually hanged, not for murder, nor for being a highwayman ... but for stealing horses!
You can read more of Dick Turpin’s life at these websites ... York Castle Museum, Complete Newgate Calendar
(University of Texas), Wikipedia
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Three Village Inns
Above, the Ferry Boat and the Bay Horse in the mid-sixties, below, the Waterside Inn (or Beer House) was a pub
in the 19th century.
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 Six Village Alehouses!
Almost 400 years ago there were no fewer than six pubs, inns
and alehouses in the village! These were probably called the Ferry Boat (or Ferry House), The Bay Horse, Waterside Inn, the Ship Inn, the Three Horse Shoes and the New Mown Hay.
By 1792 three alehouse licences to unnamed establishments
were issued, and by 1823 there are records for the Ferry Boat (Ann James), the Bay Horse (William Bell) and the Three Horse Shoes (John Holmes). By the time of White’s 1842 Directory the
names of the Inns were the Bay Horse, The Ferry House, and the Ship! If that were not confusing enough, it appears that the Bay Horse as we know it, was the original site of the Ferry Boat Inn -
being purchased in 1818 by John Burkill and apparently renamed the Bay Horse ... hence if, as is likely, Dick Turpin stayed at the inn at Gate End, it would be known as the Ferry Boat at that time!
Another famous person to have stayed at one of the village Inns
was Dr William Stukely in 1724.
The Ferry Boat and the Bay Horse were frequently the scenes of
major village events and celebrations, and it was ironically the building of the Temperance Hall, in 1882, which saw many of these functions taken to that building in West End. The Court
Leet was often held at the Ferry Boat, including one occasion in October 1827, as were many of the meetings concerning the enclosure of Winteringham and the buildings of the Haven drain,
the banks, the clough, and the roads in the 1790s.
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Guests who have stayed at the Bay Horse
(in date order)
Dr Stukely, Historian
Dick Turpin, Highwayman, and Horse Thief (see article, left)
James McMahon, Ordnance Survey, 1851 (see here)
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