This
period in village life appears to have been stable
and given that no records exist for the ownership
of the manor of Great Thurlow from 1613 to 1715
and that the Manor Court Rolls during the 18th century
were overseen by William Soame, it is not unreasonable
to suggest that the villages were run as one.
The
nineteenth century brought a change in the fortunes
of the Soame family. Their mansion house was burnt down
in 1809, successive generations of Soames had not proved
themselves as astute in business and the family fortunes
began to dwindle. The South Sea Bubble had taken its
toll and the family presence was left to spinster sisters.
Another replacement mansion house was built in 1847,
but the sisters quarrelled about who should inherit
it. In the aftermath of their deaths, the house was
sold to pay oV the death duties of another branch of
the family and the Soame family connection with the
village died.
However, much is known about some of the other significant
buildings in the village, not least the village pub
the Cock Inn, now the only hostelry left in the
two villages. This is another building dating from at
least the early 17th century, if not before.
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The
Cock Inn
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The
building today gives the appearance
of a two-storied late Georgian establishment,
with hood moulded windows and other
details of the gothic taste. In fact
this all results from a drastic remodelling
of a rather low building which had
a centre range and two cross wings,
with first þoor rooms in the
roof space. A stud now plastered over
is said to have the date 1614, which
is consistent with its building style.
Some of the rafters and other timbers
in the present roof come from a medieval
structure and may indicate that the
hall is earlier. However the walls
were raised and the roof over most
of the Cock was rebuilt in the eighteenth
century.
The
earliest documentation concerning
the Cock dates from 1674 when on the
May 8th of that year William Soame
esquire agreed to lease the messuage
called the Cock Inn to Robert Butcher
of Little Thurlow. Included with the
inn were a close on the back side
of the house, and two little pightles
lying in the Westfield. The lease
was to run for twelve months from
Michaelmas 1674 at a rent of £11.
An addition to this document extends
the lease to 9 years. Robert Butcher
did not live to see out his lease
as he was buried in 1681. It seems
likely that he was succeeded at the
Cock by John Millington and thereafter
by Mary Millington. Her probate inventory
lists 20 hogsheads full of beer valued
at £35, another 20 empty hogsheads
and malt to use for brewing.
The
next known tenant occurs in 1784 when
the Reverend Henry Soame let it for
9 years to a baker called William
Osborne. The next reference appears
in 1841 when Thomas Sparrow was shown
in the census return as living at
the Cock with his wife Ann and two
children and two servants. Ten years
later the innkeeper was 34-year-old
William Sparrow, son of Thomas. By
1852 the tenancy had transferred to
Thomas Rowling, thereafter to Ambrose
Rowling in 1869 until 1888 when
it was leased to the brewery of Greene
King with the right to sub-let. Subsequent
landlords included George Brown, Charles
Nelson, Albert Bradnam, and Frank
Rayner. In 1912 the innkeeper was
John Rowlinson and three members of
his family followed him into the trade,
the last leaving in 1971. The inn
was sold to Greene King Breweries
in 1934.
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