View source for Bull Inn, Sonning

{{Short description|Historic public house in the village of Sonning in Berkshire, England}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2020}}
{{Use British English|date=February 2023}}

{{Infobox building
| name        = The Bull Inn
| image       = Evening at The Bull - geograph.org.uk - 536891.jpg
| caption     = The ''Bull'' in 2007
| map_type    = Berkshire
| map_caption = Location in Berkshire
| architectural_style =
| coordinates = {{coord|51.47372|0.91178|region:GB|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
| address     = High Street, Sonning-on-Thames, Berkshire, RG4 6UP
| location_town=[[Sonning]]
| location_country=[[United Kingdom]]
| owner       = [[St Andrew's Church, Sonning]]

| current_tenants   = [[Fuller's Brewery]]

| opened      =
| closed      =
| website     = http://www.bullinnsonning.co.uk
}}
The '''Bull Inn''', also known as '''The Bull at Sonning''' or just '''The Bull''', is a historic [[public house]] — now also a [[restaurant]] and [[hotel]] — in the centre of the village of [[Sonning]] in [[Berkshire]], England.<ref>Paddy Burt, [https://web.archive.org/web/20041115092817/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/main.jhtml?xml=/travel/2002/09/21/etpaddy21.xml The Bull, High Street, Sonning-on-Thames, Berkshire]. ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'' 21 September 2002.</ref>

==Overview==
[[File:The Bull, Sonning - geograph.org.uk - 1899.jpg|thumb|left|The Bull Inn when owned by [[Gales Brewery|George Gale & Co Ltd]].]]

Traditionally, the Bull was owned by the [[Bishop of Salisbury]], whose [[Sonning Bishop's Palace|palace]] once stood nearby.<ref name=MBTVH>{{cite book|last=Ford|first=David Nash|date=2020|title=Mid-Berkshire Town and Village Histories|url=http://www.nashfordpublishing.co.uk/publications/mid_berkshire_town_and_village_histories.html|location=Wokingham|publisher=Nash Ford Publishing|pages=213–221|isbn=9781905191024}}</ref> Today it is owned by [[St Andrew's Church, Sonning|St Andrew's Church]] who currently rent it to Fullers <ref>[http://www.fullershotels.com/rte.asp?id=67 The Bull Inn], [http://www.fullershotels.com/ Fullers Hotels], UK.</ref> The present 16th century [[timber-framed]] building,<ref name="pevsner">{{cite book |title=[[The Buildings of England]]: Berkshire |last=Pevsner |first=Nikolaus |authorlink=Nikolaus Pevsner | year=1966 |publisher=[[Penguin Books]] | page=221 | isbn=0-14-071045-0}}</ref> it is suggested, was a [[hospitium]] for [[pilgrims]] visiting the relics of the mysterious ''St Sarik'' at the adjoining [[St Andrew's Church, Sonning|St Andrew's Church]].<ref name=MBTVH /> The name stems from bulls which [[supporters|supported]] the [[coat of arms]] of [[Henry Neville (Gentleman of the Privy Chamber)|Sir Henry Neville]].<ref name=MBTVH /> He was steward at the palace after it was sold to [[Elizabeth I of England|Queen Elizabeth I]].<ref name=MBTVH />
The inn was featured in [[Jerome K. Jerome]]'s 1889 book ''[[Three Men in a Boat]]'':<ref>{{cite book | author=Jerome, Jerome K. | title=Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog) | publisher=[[J. W. Arrowsmith]] | year=1889 | isbn=0-7653-4161-1 | url-access=registration | url=https://archive.org/details/threemeninboatto00jero }}</ref>

{{blockquote|''If you stop at Sonning, put up at the "Bull," behind the church. It is a veritable picture of an old country inn, with green, square courtyard in front, where, on seats beneath the trees, the old men group of an evening to drink their ale and gossip over village politics; with low, quaint rooms and latticed windows, and awkward stairs and winding passages.''}}

The two storey [[timber-frame]]d building dates from the late 16th century with 19th/20th century additions.<ref name="IoE">{{NHLE |num=1117462 |desc=The Bull Inn, Church approach, Sonning, Wokingham, Berkshire |date=10 April 2007 |accessdate=12 June 2010}}</ref> It was [[Grade II* listed]] in 1967.
Opposite is a well-hidden [[Edwin Lutyens|Lutyens]]-designed house, [[Deanery Garden]].

Customers have included the American film star [[George Clooney]] and his British wife, the human rights lawyer [[Amal Clooney]], who purchased the Mill House in [[Sonning Eye]], just over the [[River Thames]] from Sonning, in 2014.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/celebritynews/11154328/Welcome-to-Sonning-Mr-and-Mrs-Clooney.html | title=Welcome to Sonning, Mr & Mrs Clooney | newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph]] | first=Patrick | last=Sawer | date=10 October 2014 | accessdate=11 October 2014 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/celebritynews/11152701/George-Clooney-snaps-up-10-million-manor-house-in-Sonning-Berkshire.html | title=George Clooney snaps up £10 million manor house in Sonning, Berkshire | newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph]] | first=Patrick | last=Sawer | date=9 October 2014 | accessdate=11 October 2014 }}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Great House at Sonning]]
* [[Sonning Bishop's Palace]]
* [[The Barley Mow, Clifton Hampden]], also mentioned in ''Three Men in a Boat''

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{NHLE |num=1117462}}
* [http://www.berkshirehistory.com/villages/sonning.html Royal Berkshire History: Sonning]



{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Grade II* listed pubs in Berkshire]]
[[Category:Sonning]]
[[Category:Timber framed buildings in England]]


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