From Civic Society Street Survey
The destruction by fire of the oldest hostelry in Alnwick, the Four Horse Shoes. was threatened on Saturday night. It is the only remaining dwelling in the county town which has a thatched roof and thick walls, and is supposed to have been built with masonry taken from Alnwick Abbey after the demolition of the monasteries in the Middle Ages. and as such the old inn has been an object of much curiosity to visitors, As in buildings peculiar to the time, a large open antiquated fireplace was connected with the inn, and this some means had taken fire. The outbreak was observed about eleven o'clock through the adjoining property. a building centuries old, becoming filled with smoke, and where some of the flooring of the upper room was ripped off, but eventrelly the seat of the fire wes discovered in the large beam of the Four Horse Shoe chimney built into the masonry, The fireplace was pulled down and the smouldering fire extinguished.
Four Horseshoes by Barbara Woodhouse
Photo of four horseshoes
Photo of Four Horsehoes
Photo of four horsehoes
Historic England listing: 56, Bondgate Within
Keys to the past: 56, Bondgate Within
Shopfront extension 56, Bondagte Within - plan