The Bull Inn, on the corner of Church Street and Bury Bar Lane, had opened by 1702. A Friendly Society met at the Bull in 1819.
Towards the end of the reign of Queen Victoria a pub crawl around Newent would have offered the chance to drink from at least five breweries. Wickwar Ales at the Black Dog and Nags Head, Godsell’s at the Kings Arms, Worcester Ales at the Traveller’s Rest, Hatton’s Northgate Brewery Gloucester Ales at the Plough Inn and Tewkesbury Brewery Ales at the Bull Inn and Red Lion. Tewkesbury Brewery leased the Red Lion but owned the Bull Inn in 1891 when the fully licensed property had an annual rateable value of £20.0s.0d. The Newent pub crawl would not have been so good from 1896 when the Wickwar Brewery of Arnold, Perrett & Co. Ltd bought out the Tewkesbury Brewery. The annual rateable value of the Bull Inn had increased by £4 in 1903 to £24.0s.0d. suggesting that the Wickwar Brewery had improved their newly acquired property. The Bull Inn was licensed until 11 pm.
It is thought that the Bull had permanently closed by the outbreak of the First World War. The building is now the Bombay Kitchen.
Gloucester Journal, 3rd April 1840:
Frederick Wm Stone, 33, was charged with stealing a piece of cloth, the property of Robert Nicholls. The circumstances were somewhat singular. Mrs Nicholls, the prosecutor’s wife was a widow living in Newent, carring [sic] on business as a tailor and beer housekeeper, at Newent in this county, and the prisoner was her journeyman. On the 3rd of Sept in last year she left her house to be married to her present husband, whom she brought home on the 4th. In a few days afterwards, according to her statement, she missed a piece of black cloth, the remnant left after making two coats; that she spoke to the prisoner about the missing cloth several times, and at length he told her that he had sold it to Ned Crumwell, a shoe-maker for a shilling, and she might have it again if she chose to pay the money; on the 28th of Sept he left her service, and he afterwards made a claim upon her for arrears of wages; she replied to that claim that she had a set-of for a beer-score; prisoner employed Mr Hankins, a solicitor, to proceed against her husband for the arrears of wages; upon which on the next day, which was six months after the alleged robbery took place, she preferred a charge against the prisoner for stealing the cloth; and she positively identified a piece of cloth, made up into a pair of woman’s boots by Crumwell as being the cloth she had missed from her shop. In cross-examination she stated that the delay in prosecution was owing to the want of witnesses – a witness named Joseph Paine, a journeyman tailor, stated that the prisoner admitted to him while drinking at the Bull Inn, that he took the cloth because Mrs Nicholls would not pay him his wages. The witness, on being cross-examined for the purpose of shaking his credibility, admitted that he had been lately liberated from prison, having been committed for deserting his wife. – Mr Gray for the defence, put it to the jury that this was a malicious prosecution got up in retaliation against the prisoner because of his having sued for his wages. Verdict Not Guilty.
Gloucestershire Chronicle, Saturday 6th November 1847 – To be sold at auction by Mr Henry Bruton. Upon the premises on Thursday 25th November, 1847, at Four o’clock in the afternoon, subject to such conditions as shall be then produced.
All that capital Freehold Public House, with the Garden, Yard, and Stables thereto belonging, called THE BULL INN, situate in the town of Newent, in the occupation of Mr William Walduck, as tenant thereof.
For further particulars, apply to Messrs. Wilton, Solicitors, Gloucester; or to the Auctioneer, at Newent.
Gloucester Journal, Saturday 1st September 1855 – BULL INN, NEWENT. The above well frequented and old-established house to be let. Apply to Mr William Walduck, on the Premises.
Gloucestershire Chronicle, Saturday 21st September 1867 – BULL INN, NEWENT: To be sold at auction by R.W. Hotham, on Tuesday September 24th 1867, punctually at Twelve o’clock:
The whole of the clean and useful household furniture, capital beer hogsheads and casks, and a variety of effects, the property of Mr Niblett, who is leaving.
Above – Gloucester Journal, Saturday 23rd April 1870
Gloucester Journal, Saturday 7th May 1870 – Newent Gymnastic Feats: On Saturday, Mons. Duvalli performed his daring feat of walking on a half-inch rope, out of the Square to the top of the Bull Inn and back; walking backwards likewise, with a sack over his head.
On Monday evening he went through the same performance with the addition of wheeling a barrel up the rope, and sitting midway on it, drinking half a pint of beer, and charging, lighting, and smoking a pipe of tobacco. He gave great attraction and was well encouraged.
Landlords at the Bull Inn include:
1822,1830 Lawrence Brown
1837 Thomas Cooley
1847,1856 William Walduck
1867 Mr Niblett
1876,1885 James Read
1890 (Oct) ‘A temporary transfer of the license of the Bull Inn, Newent, was granted from James Reed to Mr Sheepway.’
1891,1903 F. George Shipway (sic)
1906, 1908 Mrs Maria Howell (‘charged by P.S. Clutterbuck with permitting drunkeness and supplying drink to a drunken person on June 12th 1908’)