2 Mill Hill
What Three Words: ///locator.grading.meanwhile
Opposite the war memorial and on the corner of Mill Hill is the house that was formerly the Dolphin public house. This is now a private residence, so please respect the privacy of its owners.
The Dolphin was a traditional ‘locals’ pub in the heart of Bridge End. It stands next door to the old Toll House, where tolls were collected from those using the turnpike road from Liskeard. It is recorded as a pub in 1823 under the ownership of John Burt, who also owned the Earl of Chatham. From 1844 it was run by John Hoar, who combined it with his work as a miller, but its ownership had passed to Stephen Rickard Highman who was declared bankrupt in 1879. This was a difficult time in the pub’s history, both in terms of ownership and tenancy. It was acquired by William Grimble of Lamerton in Devon and tenanted by W. and E.C. Carne, but the license was transferred to John Brown in 1885. By this time, the pub had become very dilapidated and had a reputation as a rather unruly house that encouraged heavy drinking and gambling. It was around this time that it lost its license and closed down.
There is no particular significance to the name. The sign of a Dolphin was used widely as pubs wanted to use a striking image to distinguish their house from other pubs in the locality. An adjoining cottage retains the name Dolphin Cottage today.
Cross the railway and the bridge into North Street to