Pub History
The Inn was founded by Jane Cox in 1765, whose husband, John, had died the year previously; she was seeking to make a living for herself and her family and she received her license later that year. According to the Ale House Recognizances which are kept at the Dorset History Centre in Dorchester, The Inn was originally a cottage known as hill view; in those days the roof line of the cottage was much lower than it is today. The original roof line can still be traced on the west wall, the bedroom windows were dormers set in the stone tiled roof, the solid walls of the ancient cottage are 28 inches thick and the initials J.C. were still to be seen carved on all the ground floor doors in the 1960's.
The reason for opening The Inn was because in 1761 the Turnpike Trust had opened a road along the route of a footpath that ran from the South end of Crack Lane to Coombe, so a great many who travelled the short cut would have been happy to stop by on their travels. Previously anyone in a cart or carriage would have had to go down Crack Lane and along Woolyards Lane to reach Swanage from Langton Matravers.
In 1801 the licensee was Robert Allen who lived on the premises with his wife, Mary and by 1841 a widowed Mary was herself the licensee; by 1842 she had handed over the license to Mr & Mrs Charles Barnes. In 1859 Mary Barnes was also widowed and again became the licensee, her successor was John Ball & his wife Mary Holmes Ball in 1860.
John and his wife were incompatible, Mary was very strong minded and John was very 'nervy'. To avoid endless rows they parted company in 1877 and Mary went to live with her mother, Elizabeth Webster who also lived in Langton Matravers. The Rector of the Parish, The Reverend Lester persuaded the Balls to get back together just before Christmas 1878.
On the 18th December 1878 the couple had been working hard in the Inn, Mary went up to bed, leaving John to lock up and put the lights out. When John had not come up the stairs a quarter of an hour later Mary crept down the stairs, but before she reached the bottom step she saw a noose hanging from a beam and a shot gun laying on the table, so alarmed Mary went back upstairs into their bedroom; she had no time to get dressed or put on shoes, she just leapt from the bedroom window into 6 inches of snow. Mary ran for her life up into the village to her mothers, who fortunately had promised to never lock her front door. Mary ran into her mothers cottage and slammed the door behind her, as she did so 2 gun shots were fired into the door. Thwarted in his attempts to murder his wife, John returned to the Inn and shot himself with the gun.
The inquest into his death brought the verdict of 'felo de se', which meant he was forbade a christian burial. In the dead of night his body was taken to an unknown field and buried in an unmarked grave, to this day the grave digger is the only person who knew where John Ball was buried. Rector Lester felt himself to blame for the tragedy and went to London to lobby MP's for a private members bill altering the law on suicide. He succeeded and the Burials Laws Amendment Act of 1880 allowed coroners to give the verdict "killed himself whilst the balance of his mind was disturbed". This would now permit a Christian burial for all suicides. After Johns death local drinkers were too spooked to use the pub until the new Ship Inn was built next door.
The next landlord was Henry Davis, and then in 1897 Mr & Mrs John Forward. The actual building had been sold to J.A. Panton in 1838, he sold it to David Faber, the director of Strong & Company of Romsey in 1897. It was in 1897 that the new, much taller building was built, the old Inn cottage was sold off to pay for the new building. In 1914 Mr & Mrs John Abbott came to take over as the licensee's and upon their death it passed to their daughter Mrs Dorothy Hunt, and then to her son-in-law Mr John Samways.
Now the Licensee's are Mr Roger Smith & Ms Susan Searle, between them they have 26 years experience of running pubs. They came to The Ship Inn on the 1st April 2009 and have already made their mark on the pub by reviving it back into the community. They hope to be at The Ship Inn for many years to come.
The Inn was founded by Jane Cox in 1765, whose husband, John, had died the year previously; she was seeking to make a living for herself and her family and she received her license later that year. According to the Ale House Recognizances which are kept at the Dorset History Centre in Dorchester, The Inn was originally a cottage known as hill view; in those days the roof line of the cottage was much lower than it is today. The original roof line can still be traced on the west wall, the bedroom windows were dormers set in the stone tiled roof, the solid walls of the ancient cottage are 28 inches thick and the initials J.C. were still to be seen carved on all the ground floor doors in the 1960's.
The reason for opening The Inn was because in 1761 the Turnpike Trust had opened a road along the route of a footpath that ran from the South end of Crack Lane to Coombe, so a great many who travelled the short cut would have been happy to stop by on their travels. Previously anyone in a cart or carriage would have had to go down Crack Lane and along Woolyards Lane to reach Swanage from Langton Matravers.
In 1801 the licensee was Robert Allen who lived on the premises with his wife, Mary and by 1841 a widowed Mary was herself the licensee; by 1842 she had handed over the license to Mr & Mrs Charles Barnes. In 1859 Mary Barnes was also widowed and again became the licensee, her successor was John Ball & his wife Mary Holmes Ball in 1860.
John and his wife were incompatible, Mary was very strong minded and John was very 'nervy'. To avoid endless rows they parted company in 1877 and Mary went to live with her mother, Elizabeth Webster who also lived in Langton Matravers. The Rector of the Parish, The Reverend Lester persuaded the Balls to get back together just before Christmas 1878.
On the 18th December 1878 the couple had been working hard in the Inn, Mary went up to bed, leaving John to lock up and put the lights out. When John had not come up the stairs a quarter of an hour later Mary crept down the stairs, but before she reached the bottom step she saw a noose hanging from a beam and a shot gun laying on the table, so alarmed Mary went back upstairs into their bedroom; she had no time to get dressed or put on shoes, she just leapt from the bedroom window into 6 inches of snow. Mary ran for her life up into the village to her mothers, who fortunately had promised to never lock her front door. Mary ran into her mothers cottage and slammed the door behind her, as she did so 2 gun shots were fired into the door. Thwarted in his attempts to murder his wife, John returned to the Inn and shot himself with the gun.
The inquest into his death brought the verdict of 'felo de se', which meant he was forbade a christian burial. In the dead of night his body was taken to an unknown field and buried in an unmarked grave, to this day the grave digger is the only person who knew where John Ball was buried. Rector Lester felt himself to blame for the tragedy and went to London to lobby MP's for a private members bill altering the law on suicide. He succeeded and the Burials Laws Amendment Act of 1880 allowed coroners to give the verdict "killed himself whilst the balance of his mind was disturbed". This would now permit a Christian burial for all suicides. After Johns death local drinkers were too spooked to use the pub until the new Ship Inn was built next door.
The next landlord was Henry Davis, and then in 1897 Mr & Mrs John Forward. The actual building had been sold to J.A. Panton in 1838, he sold it to David Faber, the director of Strong & Company of Romsey in 1897. It was in 1897 that the new, much taller building was built, the old Inn cottage was sold off to pay for the new building. In 1914 Mr & Mrs John Abbott came to take over as the licensee's and upon their death it passed to their daughter Mrs Dorothy Hunt, and then to her son-in-law Mr John Samways.
Now the Licensee's are Mr Roger Smith & Ms Susan Searle, between them they have 26 years experience of running pubs. They came to The Ship Inn on the 1st April 2009 and have already made their mark on the pub by reviving it back into the community. They hope to be at The Ship Inn for many years to come.
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