android appBury St Edmunds Elephant and Castle (Trunk)
listed building grade II
CAMRA West Suffolk & Borders branch.
last updated Aug 16th, 2021.
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Bury St Edmunds Elephant and Castle (Trunk)
South, 52.24103,0.71133
Closed after 2000
opened 1860s
last owner/operator: Greene King
2 Hospital Rd, IP33 3JT
grid reference TL 852 637
Closed August 2012, reportedly after a long period of poor trade.
In late 2014, planning permission for conversion into a funeral parlour was granted.
'The Trunk' was a Victorian street corner pub fronting on to Hospital Road. Access to the car park was from the main Parkway. Despite overlooking a busy junction the two bars of this community pub had a village local feel to them. The rear bar was the hub for many games teams including football, darts, cribbage, and dominoes. Outside was a large garden with children's play area.
The pub stood on "Hellfire Corner", so named because of god-botherers who used to stand here preaching hellfire and damnation.
The building dates from the early 19th century.
Also listed at 3 Hospital Rd.
Gallery
West Gate 0.09 mile
Rose & Crown 0.09 mile
Masons' Arms 0.19 mile
Oakes Barn 0.20 mile
Dove 0.23 mile
Dog & Partridge 0.24 mileHistorical interest
In 2017, local CAMRA member Richard recalled The Trunk (as the Elephant & Castle was always known) held some very memorable New Year's Eve parties that would go on well into the early hours. Richard remembered meeting the milkman on his way home at four or five in the morning! As a young man he recalls it was known as a reliable source of out-of-hours drinking, for a liberal approach to hygiene and usually had a goat tethered out the back. Much later, under the auspices of a new land-lord and -lady (Terry and Jackie Moriarty) the Trunk was a perfectly respectable establishment. However, Terry was driven to distraction by people using the pub car park when they were either going shopping in town or, more often, when using the West End Chippy…
Landlords
Footnote
An elephant & castle has appeared in the crest of the Cutlers Company since 1622. Ivory was then used to create knife handles. Some claim that the name derives from "Infanta of Castile" a reference to Eleanor of Castile, wife of Edward I.
(Most pub, location & historic details collated by Nigel, Tony or Keith - original sources are credited)
