Swan, Clare

This building was probably built around 1600, an earlier will of 1498 said John Norfolk bequeathed to his son 'a house (sometimes misread as 'alehouse') now called Le Swan but of old called Quylters'. The house goes back still further for there is a reference to Quylters (described as 'a tenement') in a Court Roll of 1361. Another record goes back even earlier, showing one owner died 'tempore pestilence,' (i.e. from the Black Death) in 1349. The public rooms are of around the year 1600, & the interior has exposed framing, beams & joists - an impressive array easily seen by stepping inside, where many other interesting artefacts from earlier centuries will be found. What is now used as an inn sign, possibly the oldest inn sign in England, is a carved solid block of oak about three metres long. It may have been used in connection with the earlier inn, but the arms & richness of the carving suggest its actual origin was more impressive. It seems likely that it started off as the base of an oriel window at the castle, made in the reign of Henry IV in the earlier part of the 15th cent. It was covered with plaster for a long time, & was only revealed around 1800, since when it has been repainted from time to time. The central figure is a chained swan with a crown around its neck, which was the badge of Henry IV. The coat of arms on the south end (left as we face the sign) are the Royal Arms of England incorporating the fleurs de lys of France in a form which first appeared around 1376. The arms on the north (our right) combine the Mortimers' & the de Burghs' arms, so indicate a member of the Mortimer/de Burgh family, a union which had come about when Edmund Mortimer married Philippa, daughter of Elizabeth de Burgh & Lionel Plantagenet, Duke of Clarence. The star in a crescent moon has often been used as a royal symbol. There is also an oak tree with two suns, & a grapevine which may link with Clare's past fame as a wine producing area. It is suggested that the sign may relate to the marriage in 1406 of Richard of Conisbrough, Earl of Cambridge (who was of royal descent) & Anne Mortimer but was actually made a few years later. The present inn front is 19c or early 20c. A report in the Ipswich Journal*** on 07 Dec in 1853 states that : On 30 Nov 1853, died, aged 57, Mary Ann, widow of the late Mr Edward STOWE, formerly of the Swan, Clare. A report in the Bury & Norwich Post** on Jul-03 in 1883 when Mr Pryke was the landlord states that : "Mr Pryke purchased the growing crop of grass, on Priory Moors approximately 7 acres, for £15 10s at an auction held at the Half Moon Hotel." A report in the Bury & Norwich Post** on Aug-10 in 1893 states that the pub was purchased by Mr J Andrews for £440. Photographs of this pub and more historical information about it can be found at suffolk.camra.org.uk/pub/205