The French Horn - Church End, Steppingley, Bedfordshire, UK
Posted by: 
Dragontree
N 52° 00.463 W 000° 31.714
30U E 669623 N 5764780
This village pub lies in Steppingley.
Waymark Code: WMA28J
Location: Eastern England, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 11/05/2010
Views: 5
On the pub sign is a picture of a French Horn with a little twist in the 'O' of Horn. It is a simple but effective design.
The pub came to fame a few years ago when Jean Christophe Novelli owned it. The article below details this time:
visit link
'After an eagerly anticipated two year wait, Jean Christophe Novelli has now opened his second 'touch of Novelli' site at the aptly named French Horn in Steppingley, Bedfordshire. Sister of the flagship site, The White Horse in Harpenden, Hertfordshire, The French Horn is nestled into a sought after 562 hectare rural village centred around a small parish.
Much of the surrounded land is either part of Beckerings Park or the Woburn Estate. Once purely an agricultural village associated with the Duke of Bedford's estate, it is now mostly residential with the majority of buildings dating back from 1860.
Set to prevail in the strong, active sense of community, 'a touch of Novelli' will provide two dining options, for the destination diner, a 60-seater restaurant and the casual regular, a cosy snug bar area that serves a large selection of draft beers, a strong international wine list and comforting bar food.
'a touch of Novelli' at The French Horn - embedded into history already.'
The British History website visit link describes the pub as 'an inn of some antiquity, although refaced with a modern front'.
The Steppingley Parish Plan describes the possible reason for the name of the pub:
'Probably the most famous resident of the village was one of the early rectors, John Schorne, who took up office in 1273 (it has been said that the French Horn pub was named after him). He became well known as a healer and was credited with having imprisoned the devil, or demon of pain, in an old boot. He moved to North Marston church in 1283 and when he died North Marston became a place of pilgrimage. Small models of Schorne holding a boot with the devil’s head poking out were sold as pilgrim tokens and this is believed to have been the inspiration for the Jack-in-the-Box, so popular in Victorian times. John Schorne’s remains lie in St George’s Chapel, Windsor.'