The Windwhistle Inn

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The Windwhistle Inn in 2007. The Windwhistle Inn - geograph.org.uk - 507952.jpg
The Windwhistle Inn in 2007.

The Windwhistle Inn is a historic closed pub of 17th century origin at Cricket St Thomas, Somerset, England. It is located on the A30 road between Crewkerne and Chard.

Contents

History

The Windwhistle Inn dates back to the 17th century. [1] It contains a traditional bar in the original building, with later extensions providing a separate restaurant area, a large conservatory and a function room for weddings and other large parties. [2]

The inn got its name due to its location on a ridge (once known as Rana Hill), where it is fully exposed to "rushing winds". [3] It remains the only public house in England to bear this name, except for a public house in existence on the Bournville Estate at Weston-super-Mare between 1954 and 1998. [4] [5]

The inn was reputedly a favourite establishment of local highwaymen and a nearby well was claimed to have been "where the bodies of the victims were thrown". [6] Another local folklore tale claims that victims were lured or dragged down into the inn's cellar and their throats slit. [2]

During World War II, the local Home Guard used the inn as their unofficial headquarters and regularly undertook their drill practice there. It was also frequented by various military personnel over the course of the war as the nearby manor house at Cricket St Thomas and its estate was requisitioned, initially for the Royal Warwickshire Regiment, then Polish and Czechoslovakian personnel, and later those of the United States Army. [7]

The inn was purchased by St Austell Brewery in 2014. [8] It suddenly closed its doors in November 2024 after the current tenant stepped down from operating it. St Austell Brewery announced their intention to find a new tenant who could reopen the pub "as soon as possible". [9]

In literature

English poet Thomas Hardy referenced the Windwhistle Inn in his 1902 poem "A Trampwoman's Tragedy". In Hardy's notes, he recalled a visit two or three years prior to writing the poem, where on requesting tea, he was told by the landlady that he would have to fetch the water from half a mile away, as the inn only had beer available. [10]

References

  1. ↑ "Windwhistle Inn, Cricket St Thomas". Campaign for Real Ale . Retrieved 13 August 2025.
  2. 1 2 "The Windwhistle Inn". windwhistleinn.co.uk. Archived from the original on 29 July 2021. Retrieved 13 August 2025.
  3. ↑ A Handbook for Travellers in Wiltshire, Dorsetshire, and Somersetshire. John Murray. 1859. p. 255. Retrieved 13 August 2025– via Google Books.
  4. ↑ "Announcing the opening of the Windwhistle Inn" . Bristol Evening Post . 16 February 1954. p. 6. Retrieved 13 August 2025– via British Newspaper Archive.
  5. ↑ "Uncertain future for site of fire-hit pub" . Weston & Worle News. 7 May 1998. p. 5. Retrieved 13 August 2025– via British Newspaper Archive.
  6. ↑ Lea, Hermann (1913). Thomas Hardy's Wessex. Macmillan Publishers. p. 299. ISBN   0333227646.{{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
  7. ↑ Jean Kidd (14 November 2004). "Life at the Windwhistle Inn". BBC . Retrieved 13 August 2025.
  8. ↑ "St Austell Brewery to buy Somerset food pub". Insider Media. 21 May 2014. Retrieved 13 August 2025.
  9. ↑ Clark, Daniel (25 November 2024). "Popular Somerset pub suddenly closes down". SomersetLive . Retrieved 13 August 2025.
  10. ↑ The Collected Poems of Thomas Hardy. Wordsworth Editions. 1994. p. 185. ISBN   1853264024.

50°52′58″N2°52′53″W / 50.882876°N 2.8814985°W / 50.882876; -2.8814985

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