The Cock Hotel Stony Stratford. Buck's - Pictorial Pub Signs on Waymarking.com

The many Inns and Hotels of Stony Stratford
Throughout the ages, Watling Street and its important crossing over the River Ouse have created the need for services for travellers and pilgrims.
The Cock Hotel is the largest and arguably the most famous old coaching inn/hotel in Stony with a history going back centuries. A John Cok was the landlord in about 1480, and the hotel takes its name from him, not the bird depicted on the sign.

In the 17th century, the Cock could sleep 20 men and provide stabling for their horses. By the next century this capacity had doubled.
There were two main reasons for this.
One was the huge fire of Stony Stratford in 1742 which started in the nearby Bull Hotel and spread down to the river and beyond, destroying many buildings including the Cock Hotel and the old Parish Church. The Cock Hotel was rebuilt with increased capacity, a new frontage, and the wonderful wrought iron work bearing the hotel sign, as seen here.

The second major reason for the hotel's growth was the rise of the coaching trade in the eighteenth century, and Stony's prominence as a stopover point for famous coaches such as the "Manchester Flyer".


Part of the stabling facilities behind the Cock Hotel are still visible today though the yard area now serves a far more mundane purpose.

The 16th and 17th centuries probably saw the height of prosperity of the town; its situation on the great road to Ireland by way of Chester was a cause of much enrichment. (t was a noted rendezvous for pack-horses and a baiting station for travellers, whose accommodation was provided for by several good inns. The 'Cock,' the most celebrated, is mentioned in 1500–15 ; it was left in 1520 by Thomas Pigott of Beachampton, serjeant-at-law, for the maintenance and repair of the bridges.

At its peak, Stony Stratford had 30 or more stage-coaches per day passing through the town, all of which required servicing with food, horses and accommodation. Inns thrived, and as the coaches pulled into the town, the Ostler from the designated Inn would take care of the horses, providing hay, food, water, stabling and arranging any necessary blacksmith work. Coaches carrying mail would also stop off on their journey. The visitors would require overnight accommodation, food and ale, and any other services a traveller would need. Floods or bad weather meant that travellers were forced to stay longer in the town, which was good business for the merchants of Stony Stratford!

The most notable of Inns amongst the town's 50+ establishments were two hotels called The Cock and The Bull. During stops overnight, or for meals en-route, news and gossip would be passed on. Like all good stories, as they were passed on they were exaggerated and padded out as news travelled between the two Inns, and so the phrase 'cock and bull story' came to be applied to any such exaggerated story.

Local legend has it that the Cock hotel is the 'cock' of the nursery rhyme 'Ride a Cock Horse to Banbury Cross, to see a fine lady upon a white horse'. The lady is thought to be Celia Fiennes, who travelled to every county in England recording her experiences in her diary as she went.

Name of Artist: unknown Date of first pub on site: 1500- 1550c Date of current sign: Not listed

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Date Logged Log   07/01/2014 licenced visited it