The History of Charney Bassett

Map of 1899

The Horn Inn

‘The Horn Inn’, closed c1945 Maud Ody recalls celebrating VE Day in The Horn so it is most likely 1945, was just next to and south of ‘The Chequers Inn’ and is now a residential property, ‘Hillside’.

The building dates from the mid to late 18^th Century and is made from coursed limestone rubble with a late C19 tile roof. The name and sign (photo below) presumably derived from the legend of The Pusey Horn.

There was a hatch (‘the pop hole’) in the wall where children or anyone not wanting to go into the pub could get served. The Inn served as a kind of off-licence, also selling cigarettes, sweets and crisps.

The Horn had an entrance facing The Green and also access from Buckland Road and Chapel Lane.

Maud Ody notes on P20 of her book that (in 1924-1930) ‘the sign was one of a bullock’s horns hanging on a cord and was quite a pleasing picture when swaying in the breeze‘. And also on P43 that ‘the room used as the cellar and the room above it had once been a separate cottage and so I’ve been told. was where for many years the village ‘snob’ (shoemender) lived, but at his death was converted into the cellar for the Horn Inn.’

Around 1944 Morlands decided that it was not feasible to run two pubs in the village and The Horn was sold and became a residential property ‘Hillside’.