THE KING'S HEAD

37 Hall Street, Soham, Cambridgeshire, CB7 5BW

Perhaps the most popular pub in Soham in bygone years was the 'Kings Head' which stood on Hall Street and served beer for well over a hundred years. It is mentioned in Pigot's Cambridgeshire of 1823 when it was kept by a landlord named Mr Robert Cropley.
Soham was of course, in bygone years, a seaport, and the 'Head' could possibly have been that of King William IV (1765-1837) as he was known as the sailor king.
In 1839 the pub was kept by by Mr William Gilson, but by 1850 he had been replaced by Mr William Goldsbrow. Mr James Eve kept the pub in 1853, moving on to what was then 'The Dog and Gun' and later 'The Sportsman'.
1864 found Mr James Elsden behind the bar, then came Henry Porter, who in 1883 was succeeded by Mr Burton Edward Whitmore. In 1925 the licence was held by John King, who some will remember well, and these are by no means all of the folk who at one time or another kept 'The Kings Head'
The building was of lathe and plaster. It may at some stage of its existence have been thatched, but it had a tiled roof until its demolition by a local man who has had a new home erected on the site. As with so many of the old pubs, there is many a tale to be told of happy times spent there in the years long passed.
The building was put further back from the road recently and bricks from a house opposite were used. Some of the original beams are still intact inside.