6 St John Street

▪ Grade II listed former Black Horse and (Blue) Bell Inns

▪ It was built in the (mid?) 18th century

▪ The inn closed in 1876

▪ It was then a bank for more than 140 years

▪ It was a Barclays branch for more than 100 years

▪ Since 2022 has been a series of hotel/bar/restaurants

Number6, the former Bell Inn or Blue Bell Inn, is on the south side of the streettowards its western end next to the Green Man andBlack’s Head Royal Hotel. Note that the building has in the past had the address 8 St John St.

The Building

The Grade II listed building is 18^th century and it is red brick with moulded eaves cornice and an old tiled roof. It has three storeys with three windows on the first and second floors with plain lintels and sills, and sashes with glazing bars. The ground floor appearance is probably 19^th century after the building became a bank.

The History of its Occupation and Use

The earliest Land Tax record for 1780 shows the owner as Richard Hayne of Ashbourne Green Hall who was Lord of the Manors of Brassington and Offcote Underwood, anda JP for Derbyshire. The Hayne family may have built the inn in the mid-18^thcentury. Richard died in 1787 and the property passed to his son John also of Ashbourne Green Hall and a JP. The occupier in 1780 was a Mrs (Rebecca?) Clarke who carried on as innholder after her husband passed away (see below left). Following the Land Tax records, William Tattershall had taken over as innholder in 1785 and then it becomes clear that at this time the inn was known as the Black Horse (see below right).

In 1798, John Downes became the owner and occupier having previously been the landlord at the Marquis of Granby at 10 St John St and it is believed that at this point the name of the inn was changed from the Black Horse to the (Blue) Bell. The inn remained in the Downes family until at least 1832.

The landlords of the Black Horse/(Blue) Bell were as follows:

Black Horse:

·       Francis & Rebecca(?) Clarke         From? until 1784

·       William Tattershall                         1785-97

(Blue)Bell:

·       John and Ann Downes                   1798-1830

·       John and Ann Cooper¹                   1831-46

·       Joseph Tomlinson²                         1847-56

·       William Miers                                  1856-61

·       Bell Inn not listed in Comm. Dir.     1862

·       Sophia Dean                                   1863– Late 1860s?

·       William Sanders                              Late 1860s-72?

·       Joseph Greatorex                           1872-74

·       George Greatorex                           1874-74/75

·       Thomas Reeder                               1874/75-76³

¹ The proprietorship of John Downes came to an end when he “accidentally fell into a copper of boiling beer” (Derby Mercury -Wednesday 14 March 1827_p3).

²Joseph Tomlinson announced his arrival (1847) at the Bell Inn and departure (1856) to the Horse & Jockey Inn (see advertisements below).

In common with many inns/taverns/public houses, the (Blue) Bell was involved in auctions of property etc. (see advertisement below left when John Downs was the proprietor and the name of the inn was given as the Bell) and events such the town annual ball (see advertisement below right when the Coopers were the proprietors and the name of the inn was given as the Blue Bell Commercial Inn).

In 1876, the inn had closed and a bank opened in its place and initially it was a branch of the Midland Banking Company but in 1881 it was amalgamated into the Birmingham, Dudley & District Banking Company Limited. This later became, the Birmingham District & Counties Banking Company Limited (1889), then the United Counties Bank Limited (1907) and finally Barclay & Company Limited/Barclays Bank Limited (1916/17).

These banks acted as bankers for the Ashbourne Building Society (see 1891 advertisement below when the Birmingham District & Counties Banking Company Limited were acting for it).

The photograph below shows the building in its early days of being a bank:

Bygone Ashbourne:Then and Now by Lindsey Porter (Landmark Publishing Ltd., 2008), p. 17

After the Ashbourne branch of Barclays Bank closed in 2019, it was replaced by the Vault restaurant and boutique hotel which opened in 2022. This did not last long and was followed by The Machine Inn hotel and restaurant-bar which opened in 2023. The Machine Inn subsequently relocated to another old bank building, at 1 Church St, and the building is now occupied by Blarney’s bar and restaurant.

© PaulThompson 2025