The Pub
The site of the Dog & Duck dates back to the 16th century
and has changed very little since this time. It was once two
cottages. In 1633 two spinster sisters; Ann and Katherine
Ridgewell held them for a rent of one penny a year, which
was low no doubt because they were not very desirable residences
due to continual flooding. Later on the rent went up to 4d
perhaps because the river level was beginning to fall.
In 1777 Joseph Smith, a Saffron Walden victualler, bought
the site as a family home. When his widow died in 1800 it
became a butcher’s shop and three stalls run by William
Peachey of Walden who had married their daughter. It remained
with this family until 1851 when Henry Prior, the Linton
brewer bought the site and turned it into a public house.
He ran the Dog & Duck and several other inns in the
village right up until 1905 when a Captain Christmas of
the Haverhill Brewery purchased the pub and ran it for 12
years. In 1917 Captain Christmas sold it to The Greene King
Pub Company. From 1949 to present day the Dog & Duck
has seen seventeen changes in licensees. Sadly there are
no records of the licencees from 1917 to 1949 and their
dates of ownership.
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