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Serving the communities of Bures St Mary and Bures Hamlet
©One Bell Public House

 

The One Bell PH was located along the Nayland Road, opposite the Factory site.

pub pic nayland rd
Vehicle on right owned by International Stores, Sudbury. Registration number GU 5654. (circa 1930) Nayland Road in 2003.
One Bell would have been situated on the left side, where the white wooden fence now stands.

This pub may well date back to the mid 1600`s. It was given the name "One Bell" because at that time, the Church only had "One Bell" installed in the tower.
Indeed a plaque in the Church, indicates the first bell was installed in 1658, so it was presumably named after that date.

This obviously pre-dates the Eight Bells PH by many years.
In its early days the terraced cottages to its right, were then stables. In the middle of this row, was an arch which led to the rear of the building.
At some point the arch was filled in, by one of the cottages we see today..

The earliest record found (Kelly`s Directory) show the registered owner in 1869 as William Carter.

map

pub

Above
Map dated 1900
One Bell & Dairy outlined in red.
To the north of the pub, there is an alleyway which leads to the cottages at the rear

 View Looking towards to Horseshoes PH.
Note:- Viyella Factory on left and no footpaths, circa 1947.
 

Here are some of the registered owners/tenants, but obviously not all :-
William Carter(1869)
William Hume (1885)
Emma Hume (1900)
Henry Lunnis(1908/22)
Samuel Lambert(1925)
Harry Raffety(1929/33)
Mrs DeLaine(1939/47)
Holman, Ray, Lavin, Edwards and finally Dingwall(1958 -71)
With the exception of Mrs Dingwall the other spot dates were taken from County Records, ownership may well have continued either side of the dates given
Trumans purchased the PH from Daniells around 1950.

invoice
Invoice from Daniells dated 1947
Invoice for electricity dated 1946

REPAIRS and DECORATION 1957


 

FIRE DAMAGE

Sometime during early 1960, The One Bell suffered a fire which may well have started in the Pub Lounge.

Quotation for the repair and decoration work

 

The pub finally closed down in 1971. Trade collapsed, when the Viyella Factory opposite closed down.

Later the pub was demolished and the site became part of the Cheese Factory opposite. It was used as their car park up until approx 1995/96, when the factory site was cleared for residential houses.

 

Co-incidentally there was also a "One Bell" public house in Little Cornard located in Upper Road near to the TV mast.

First mention of the "Bell" family in Lt Cornard was possibly circa 1758
Could they have been the original owners of the pub ??

This was clearly marked on the 1928 OS map as a beerhouse, although we know from newspaper reports it was thriving in 1910.

Suffolk Free Press newspaper entry for 1910 reports
A fire has destroyed the Bell Inn at Lt.Cornard. The alarm was discovered by the landlady Miss Jane Bell who alerted her neighbours, Harry Rowe and Frank Isom. The owners are Messrs Mauldon."

Suffolk Free Press newspaper entry for 1911 reports
At a meeting of the Petty Sessions, Mr Mauldon said that the Bell Inn at Lt Cornard which had been destroyed by fire has been compltely rebuilt. The tenant, Miss Jane Bell was so afffected by the fire she could not continue and she asked the bench if the licence could be transferred to her nephew Ernest Reeve. Granted."

Closed circa 1961

 

After the 1910 fire, the property was rebuilt which can be seen today along Upper Road.


Information kindly supplied by:-
Suffolk County Records, Joyce Dingwall (last tenant)and Jenny DeLaine
01.01.07
Lt Cornard information supplied by Eileen King, village recorder
13/05/2015
Updated Pudney details 06/11/2022