History of The Spyway Inn

This free house was, until 1975, named �The Three Horseshoes� Inn, Spyway, because the village blacksmith�s forge operated at it�s west end when it was first licensed in 1745. In 1845 the whole property was conveyed to a Mr Richard Williams whose family kept the public house for the next hundred years.

The long, two storey building with slated roofs and whitewashed walls on three levels blends in beautifully with the steeply descending road. The blacksmiths portion forming the top of the T plan shape of the building with its hipped gable facing across the Spyway Road.

At the time all functions of the forge were carried out at ground level but, following its closure, the Inn�s accommodation was increased by raising the double-hipped roof to provide a second storey. The auction notice of WM. Morey & Sons dated April 18th 1905 for the sales of the blacksmith�s stock in trade still hangs on the wall of the quaint and cosy public bar.

It is understood that the Inn�s change of name was partly due to the proximity of a �Three Horseshoes� in the next village and partly to historic smuggling undertones. For this Inn is reputed to have been much used by a notorious and clever leader, Isaac Gulliver, of a large band of smugglers some fifty strong during the late 18th Century.

Gulliver had owned Eggardon Hill Fort and North Eggardon Farm together with many other properties in Dorset, Somerset, Wiltshire and Hampshire. North Eggardon Farm, being the nearest to the hill, is reputed to have been used as his headquarters from time to time. However, Gulliver took advantage of the Government�s offer in 1792 to pardon smugglers who agreed either to serve for two years in the navy of to provide two substitutes to serve this term for them. He had become a wealthy and respected citizen of Wimbourne when he died there in 1822.

Over the years, the Inn is reputed to have many strange and unexplained happenings occur. Previous and current landlords and staff have witnessed incidents on regular occasions.