Limes, Needham Market

Classic 15th cent. timber framed building which was being used as an inn by the early 16th cent. Opened by 1537 as the Bull, which was then owned by Robert Hill. Subsequently owned by Thomas Sorrell (from 1545), Edward Utting (from 1553), John Wood (from 1556), Roger Bull (from 1607) & John Bull (from 1654). John Steward of Ipswich Great White Horse owned pub from 1711. Mary Stewart after 1726 & Susan Stewart from 1737. From 1739 a weekly carrier service was operated by Abraham Napp to London. William Trotman bought inn in 1763 & in 1784 sold it to Rev. George Paske who closed the inn & converted it to a private house. During most of 18th cent. Vestry meetings were regularly held at pub. In 1955 it reopened again as the Limes. NB: Bull Inn closed in 1784. Current bar/restaurant reopened in 1955. Photographs of this pub and more historical information about it can be found at suffolk.camra.org.uk/pub/744.

It was once a calling house for pilgrims on their way to Bury St Edmunds and was previously called the Bull Inn; it is believed to have once been named Boule House. The original name may have derived from John Bull who owned e pub in 1566 or from monastic seals i.e. a reference to a lead seal attached to a papal edict. Alternatively, bull baiting was also a popular local "sport" and may have once been practised nearby at about that time.