About The Bletchingley Arms
The Bletchingley Arms (formerly The Plough) was first mentioned in local records in 1704. The pub had stabling for 8 horses and 8 lodgers.
For over 700 years the village of Bletchingley hosted a market and annual fair, and story has it when the Fair was held in the High Street, the stall holders used to camp at the pub and, on the given mark, would rush up the street to set up their stalls on the morning of the Fair!
Bletchingley village itself has been siginificant for over 1000 years with many notable figures and buildings referenced. Richard Fitzgilbert, a cousin of William the Conqueror, was given the Manor of Bletchingley after the Norman Conquest.
Roger de Clare built Bletchingley Castle in the mid-12th Century, the castle and tower were besieged and destroyed in 1264 by Royalist forces.
Gilbert de Clare achieved borough status for Bletchingley. From 1295 to 1832 Bletchingley sent 2 MPs to Parliament and in the 18th and early 19th Centuries it was one of the rotten boroughs!
In 1540 Anne of Cleves was given Bletchingley Palace as part of her divorce settlement and Elizabeth I passed it to the Howard family.
If you have any further information or old photos relating to our pub’s history – we’d love to hear from you! Please contact us on 01483 762 378 or email hello@baronspubs.com
