1. Sep, 2020


The village's main public house was built in 1637 and was known as The Plough until 1798 when it was renamed The Lord Nelson in honour of the victory at the Battle of the Nile.

The look of the pub has been preserved as it would have looked during Nelson's time; the floors are stone, there is no bar, and drinks are served from a tap room. See the wooden settle (a wooden bench with a solid back) where Nelson sat while drinking, and Nelson memorabilia lining the walls.

As a young naval officer Nelson sailed to the Caribbean, where he met Frances 'Fanny' Nisbet (1761-1831) on the island of Nevis, where Fanny was born, and where she married Nelson in 1787 after a two-year long engagement. At the time, Nelson had command of HMS Boreas and was tasked with enforcing the Navigation Acts in the seas around Antigua.

At the end of his period of service in 1787, Nelson returned to England with Fanny and they settled in Burnham Thorpe. They lived at the rectory for the next five years, during which time Nelson is said to have spent many hours at the pub. This no doubt helped him compose his letters of protest to the Admiralty at his lack of a ship, which meant he was only on half pay. In 1793 he was recalled to service and given command of HMS Agamemnon. He celebrated by laying on a dinner for the villagers at the pub.